diff --git a/common/kvstore/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/kvstore/LevelDB.java b/common/kvstore/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/kvstore/LevelDB.java
index 121dfbd4f6..6b28373a48 100644
--- a/common/kvstore/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/kvstore/LevelDB.java
+++ b/common/kvstore/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/kvstore/LevelDB.java
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ package org.apache.spark.util.kvstore;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.lang.ref.SoftReference;
+import java.lang.ref.Reference;
+import java.lang.ref.WeakReference;
 import java.util.*;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentLinkedQueue;
@@ -69,10 +70,10 @@ public class LevelDB implements KVStore {
 
   /**
    * Trying to close a JNI LevelDB handle with a closed DB causes JVM crashes. This is used to
-   * ensure that all iterators are correctly closed before LevelDB is closed. Use soft reference
+   * ensure that all iterators are correctly closed before LevelDB is closed. Use weak references
    * to ensure that the iterator can be GCed, when it is only referenced here.
    */
-  private final ConcurrentLinkedQueue<SoftReference<LevelDBIterator<?>>> iteratorTracker;
+  private final ConcurrentLinkedQueue<Reference<LevelDBIterator<?>>> iteratorTracker;
 
   public LevelDB(File path) throws Exception {
     this(path, new KVStoreSerializer());
@@ -250,7 +251,7 @@ public class LevelDB implements KVStore {
       public Iterator<T> iterator() {
         try {
           LevelDBIterator<T> it = new LevelDBIterator<>(type, LevelDB.this, this);
-          iteratorTracker.add(new SoftReference<>(it));
+          iteratorTracker.add(new WeakReference<>(it));
           return it;
         } catch (Exception e) {
           throw Throwables.propagate(e);
@@ -301,7 +302,7 @@ public class LevelDB implements KVStore {
 
       try {
         if (iteratorTracker != null) {
-          for (SoftReference<LevelDBIterator<?>> ref: iteratorTracker) {
+          for (Reference<LevelDBIterator<?>> ref: iteratorTracker) {
             LevelDBIterator<?> it = ref.get();
             if (it != null) {
               it.close();