diff --git a/java/sdk_library.go b/java/sdk_library.go
index f7e5d9d40..490c03132 100644
--- a/java/sdk_library.go
+++ b/java/sdk_library.go
@@ -2700,7 +2700,10 @@ func formattedOptionalSdkLevelAttribute(ctx android.ModuleContext, attrName stri
 			`"current" is not an allowed value for this attribute`)
 		return ""
 	}
-	return formattedOptionalAttribute(attrName, value)
+	// "safeValue" is safe because it translates finalized codenames to a string
+	// with their SDK int.
+	safeValue := apiLevel.String()
+	return formattedOptionalAttribute(attrName, &safeValue)
 }
 
 // formats an attribute for the xml permissions file if the value is not null