GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj
MODERATE
Apache Log4j does not verify the TLS hostname in its Socket Appender
Published December 18, 2025Updated February 4, 2026Source: osv
Details
The Socket Appender in Apache Log4j Core versions 2.0-beta9 through 2.25.2 does not perform TLS hostname verification of the peer certificate, even when the [verifyHostName](https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostName) configuration attribute or the [log4j2.sslVerifyHostName](https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostName) system property is set to true.
This issue may allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to intercept or redirect log traffic under the following conditions:
* The attacker is able to intercept or redirect network traffic between the client and the log receiver.
* The attacker can present a server certificate issued by a certification authority trusted by the Socket Appender’s configured trust store (or by the default Java trust store if no custom trust store is configured).
Users are advised to upgrade to Apache Log4j Core version 2.25.3, which addresses this issue.
As an alternative mitigation, the Socket Appender may be configured to use a private or restricted trust root to limit the set of trusted certificates.
Remediation
Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.
Maven
Update org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core to 2.25.3 or later<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.25.3 for org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core -->
After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.
Affected Packages (1)
| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed In |
|---|---|---|---|
| org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core | Maven | 2.0, 2.0-beta9, 2.0-rc1, 2.0-rc2 (+55 more) | 2.25.3 |
Vulnerability Classification
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.
- CWE-297
CVSS Score Breakdown
What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 4.0 score means for each attack dimension.
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
—
Confidentiality
—
Integrity
—
Availability
—
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68161ADVISORY
- https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2/pull/4002WEB
- https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2/commit/3b93748497e1adbbd027fda8a5e7268ec5d0d578WEB
- https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2WEB
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/xr33kyxq3sl67lwb61ggvm1fzc8k7dvxWEB
- https://logging.apache.org/cyclonedx/vdr.xmlWEB
- https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostNameWEB
- https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostNameWEB
- https://logging.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2025-68161WEB
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/12/18/1WEB
Risk Assessment
CVSS Score
4.0
Exploitation requires specific conditions or has limited impact. Remediate within weeks.
EPSS Score (30-day exploit probability)
0.28%
Higher than 51% of vulnerabilities
Also Known As
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