Manifest merger failed targeting Android 12 [duplicate]

The issue was caused by 3 activities missing the android:exported attribute in the androidx.test:core library version 1.3.0. Upgrading to version 1.4.0-beta01 fixed the issue.

If you are getting errors after targeting Android 12, the easiest way to debug this is to:

• downgrade to a prior sdk version
• rebuild project
• after a successful build, open your project’s AndroidManifest.xml.
• at the bottom of the window, click on the Merged Manifest tab
• look for any <activity> that includes an <intent-filter> tag and is missing the android:exported attribute

If you want to make sure these activities are the issue, add them directly to your project’s AndroidManifest.xml file with the missing android:exported attribute added and try rebuilding the project.

So if <activity android:name="com.domain.ProblemActivity"> is missing the android:exported attribute, add it to your AndroidManifest.xml file like so:

<activity 
 android:name="com.domain.ProblemActivity"
 android:exported="true" >

Rebuild targeting Android 12 and if it works, then you found the bug!

Thanks @MikePenz for pointing me in the right direction.