diff --git a/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/avro/floatWithDefaultNaN.avsc b/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/avro/floatWithDefaultNaN.avsc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bddc35d88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/avro/floatWithDefaultNaN.avsc
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "type": "record",
+  "name": "FloatWithDefaultNaN",
+  "namespace": "com.linkedin.avro.fastserde.generated.avro",
+  "doc": "Used to verify Utils.getSchemaFingerprint() method",
+  "fields": [
+    {
+      "name": "floatWithDefaultNaN",
+      "type": "float",
+      "default": "NaN"
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/java/com/linkedin/avro/fastserde/UtilsTest.java b/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/java/com/linkedin/avro/fastserde/UtilsTest.java
index 74026687d..1b8122ad7 100644
--- a/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/java/com/linkedin/avro/fastserde/UtilsTest.java
+++ b/fastserde/avro-fastserde-tests-common/src/test/java/com/linkedin/avro/fastserde/UtilsTest.java
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 import org.testng.Assert;
 import org.testng.annotations.Test;
 
+import com.linkedin.avro.fastserde.generated.avro.FloatWithDefaultNaN;
+
 
 public class UtilsTest {
 
@@ -10,4 +12,10 @@ public class UtilsTest {
   public void testGenerateSourcePathFromPackageName() {
     Assert.assertEquals(Utils.generateSourcePathFromPackageName("com.linkedin.avro"), Utils.fixSeparatorsToMatchOS("/com/linkedin/avro/"));
   }
+
+  @Test
+  void testFingerprintOfSchemaWithDefaultNaN() {
+    // expect no exception is thrown
+    Utils.getSchemaFingerprint(FloatWithDefaultNaN.SCHEMA$);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson1Utils.java b/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson1Utils.java
index 73419fcc1..74027d541 100644
--- a/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson1Utils.java
+++ b/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson1Utils.java
@@ -210,20 +210,19 @@ public static boolean isRoundNumber(JsonNode node) {
    */
   public static JsonNode enforceUniformNumericDefaultValues(Schema.Field field) {
     JsonNode defaultValue = field.defaultValue();
-    BigDecimal numericValue = defaultValue.getDecimalValue();
     Schema schema = field.schema();
     // a default value for a union, must match the first element of the union
     Schema.Type defaultType = schema.getType() == UNION ? schema.getTypes().get(0).getType() : schema.getType();
 
     switch (defaultType) {
       case INT:
-        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(numericValue)) {
+        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(defaultValue.getDecimalValue())) {
           LOGGER.warn(String.format("Invalid default value: %s for \"int\" field: %s", field.defaultValue(), field.name()));
           return defaultValue;
         }
         return new IntNode(defaultValue.getNumberValue().intValue());
       case LONG:
-        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(numericValue)) {
+        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(defaultValue.getDecimalValue())) {
           LOGGER.warn(String.format("Invalid default value: %s for \"long\" field: %s", field.defaultValue(), field.name()));
           return defaultValue;
         }
diff --git a/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson2Utils.java b/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson2Utils.java
index 445aac29e..df6b1b6c1 100644
--- a/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson2Utils.java
+++ b/helper/helper-common/src/main/java/com/linkedin/avroutil1/compatibility/Jackson2Utils.java
@@ -143,20 +143,19 @@ public static boolean isRoundNumber(JsonNode node) {
    *  Enforces uniform numeric default values across Avro versions
    */
   public static JsonNode enforceUniformNumericDefaultValues(Schema.Field field, JsonNode genericDefaultValue) {
-    BigDecimal numericDefaultValue = genericDefaultValue.decimalValue();
     Schema schema = field.schema();
     // a default value for a union, must match the first element of the union
     Schema.Type defaultType = schema.getType() == UNION ? schema.getTypes().get(0).getType() : schema.getType();
 
     switch (defaultType) {
       case INT:
-        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(numericDefaultValue)) {
+        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(genericDefaultValue.decimalValue())) {
           LOGGER.warn(String.format("Invalid default value: %s for \"int\" field: %s", genericDefaultValue, field.name()));
           return genericDefaultValue;
         }
         return new IntNode(genericDefaultValue.intValue());
       case LONG:
-        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(numericDefaultValue)) {
+        if (!isAMathematicalInteger(genericDefaultValue.decimalValue())) {
           LOGGER.warn(String.format("Invalid default value: %s for \"long\" field: %s", genericDefaultValue, field.name()));
           return genericDefaultValue;
         }