FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.8.0_20"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_20-b26)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.20-b23, mixed mode)

FULL OS VERSION :
Mac OS X 10.10
Darwin 14.0.0 Darwin Kernel Version 14.0.0: Fri Sep 19 00:26:44 PDT 2014; root:xnu-2782.1.97~2/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
JNI_CreateJavaVM can't be used in JRE on mac os x to create a JVM.
(JRE 1.8.0_25 is installed to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/, no Legacy Java 6 is installed)

I tried 2 approaches.

With snippet 1,
The symbol JNI_CreateJavaVM can't be find in libjvm.dll.

With snippet 2.
A dialog "To open “this Java application” you need to install the legacy Java SE 6 runtime." is prompted when this line is executed:
lib_func(&jvm,(void**)&env,&vm_args);





THE PROBLEM WAS REPRODUCIBLE WITH -Xint FLAG: Yes

THE PROBLEM WAS REPRODUCIBLE WITH -server FLAG: Yes

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

---------- BEGIN SOURCE ----------
Snippet 1:

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#include "jni.h"


static CFBundleRef javaVMBundle = NULL;

void* findSymbol( void * handle, char * symbol ){
    
    CFStringRef string = CFStringCreateWithCString(kCFAllocatorDefault, symbol, kCFStringEncodingASCII);
    void *ptr = CFBundleGetFunctionPointerForName(javaVMBundle, string);
    CFRelease(string);
    return ptr;
}

static void loadVMBundle( char * bundle ) {
    CFURLRef url = CFURLCreateFromFileSystemRepresentation(kCFAllocatorDefault, (const UInt8 *)bundle, strlen(bundle), true);
    javaVMBundle = CFBundleCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, url);
    CFRelease(url);

}


int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{
    
    char* library = "/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/";
    loadVMBundle(library);
    char* symbol = "JNI_CreateJavaVM";
    void* lib_handle = findSymbol(&javaVMBundle, symbol);
    
    if(lib_handle == NULL){
        fprintf(stderr, "Can't find JNI_CreateJavaVM\n");
    }else{
        fprintf(stderr, "Get JNI_CreateJavaVM successfully\n");
    }
    
    return 0;
}

Snippet 2:


#include <iostream>
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include "jni.h"


int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{

    JNIEnv *env;
    JavaVM *jvm;
 
    void* lib_handle = 0;
    void* (*lib_func)(JavaVM **, void **, void *) = 0;
    jobjectArray args;
    
    lib_handle = dlopen("/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/lib/server/libjvm.dylib", RTLD_NOW);
    
    if (!lib_handle)
    {
        fprintf(stderr, "dlopen failed\n");
        
    }
    

    JavaVMOption options [1];
    memset(options, 0, sizeof(JavaVMOption) * 1);
    options[0].optionString = "-Xdebug";
    
    JavaVMInitArgs vm_args;
    vm_args.version = JNI_VERSION_1_4;
    vm_args.nOptions = 1;
    vm_args.ignoreUnrecognized = JNI_FALSE;
    vm_args.options = options;
    

    
    lib_func = (void*(*)(JavaVM **, void **, void *))dlsym(lib_handle, "JNI_CreateJavaVM");
    lib_func(&jvm,(void**)&env,&vm_args);
    
    jvm = NULL;
    
    

    return 0;
}

---------- END SOURCE ----------