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CVE-2021-45046 (Log4Shell)

CRITICAL
Actively Exploited

Incomplete fix for Apache Log4j vulnerability

Published December 14, 2021Updated October 22, 2025Source: osv

What Should I Do?

Patch Immediately

This vulnerability is confirmed under active exploitation (CISA KEV). Patch within 24-48 hours if possible.

Summary

# Impact The fix to address [CVE-2021-44228](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44228) in Apache Log4j 2.15.0 was incomplete in certain non-default configurations. This could allow attackers with control over Thread Context Map (MDC) input data when the logging configuration uses a non-default Pattern Layout with either a Context Lookup (for example, $${ctx:loginId}) or a Thread Context Map pattern (%X, %mdc, or %MDC) to craft malicious input data using a JNDI Lookup pattern resulting in a remote code execution (RCE) attack. ## Affected packages Only the `org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core` package is directly affected by this vulnerability. The `org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api` should be kept at the same version as the `org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core` package to ensure compatability if in use. # Mitigation Log4j 2.16.0 fixes this issue by removing support for message lookup patterns and disabling JNDI functionality by default. This issue can be mitigated in prior releases (< 2.16.0) by removing the JndiLookup class from the classpath (example: zip -q -d log4j-core-*.jar org/apache/logging/log4j/core/lookup/JndiLookup.class). Log4j 2.15.0 restricts JNDI LDAP lookups to localhost by default. Note that previous mitigations involving configuration such as to set the system property `log4j2.formatMsgNoLookups` to `true` do NOT mitigate this specific vulnerability.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Maven
Update org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 to 1.10.8 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 1.10.8 for org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 -->
Maven
Update org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core to 2.16.0 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.16.0 for org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core -->
Maven
Update org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 to 1.11.11 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 1.11.11 for org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 -->
Maven
Update org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 to 2.0.12 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.0.12 for org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 -->
Maven
Update org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core to 2.12.2 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.12.2 for org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core -->
Maven
Update org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 to 1.9.2 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 1.9.2 for org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 -->

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (6)

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2
maven
1.10.0, 1.10.1, 1.10.2, 1.10.3 (+4 more)1.10.8
org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core
maven
2.13.0, 2.13.1, 2.13.2, 2.13.3 (+3 more)2.16.0
org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2
maven
1.11.0, 1.11.1, 1.11.10, 1.11.2 (+7 more)1.11.11
org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2
maven
2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.10, 2.0.11 (+8 more)2.0.12
org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core
maven
2.0, 2.0-alpha1, 2.0-alpha2, 2.0-beta1 (+35 more)2.12.2
org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2
maven
1.8.0, 1.8.1, 1.8.2, 1.8.3 (+6 more)1.9.2

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.0 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-45046?
Incomplete fix for Apache Log4j vulnerability This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.0/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2021-45046?
CVE-2021-45046 affects org.ops4j.pax.logging:pax-logging-log4j2 and org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core. It has a 94.3% probability of exploitation within 30 days (EPSS score). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it is being actively exploited in the wild. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2021-45046 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.0

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

EPSS Score (30-day exploit probability)
94.34%
Higher than 100% of vulnerabilities
Known Exploited Vulnerability

This vulnerability is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.

Remediation deadline: May 22, 2023

Also Known As

GHSA-7rjr-3q55-vv33

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