VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2021-44228

Apache Log4j2 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

KEVEXPLOIT ×3CRITICAL 10.0EPSS 100.0%

Does this matter?

Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 24 December 2021). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.

Description

Apache Log4j2 2.0-beta9 through 2.15.0 (excluding security releases 2.12.2, 2.12.3, and 2.3.1) JNDI features used in configuration, log messages, and parameters do not protect against attacker controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints. An attacker who can control log messages or log message parameters can execute arbitrary code loaded from LDAP servers when message lookup substitution is enabled. From log4j 2.15.0, this behavior has been disabled by default. From version 2.16.0 (along with 2.12.2, 2.12.3, and 2.3.1), this functionality has been completely removed. Note that this vulnerability is specific to log4j-core and does not affect log4net, log4cxx, or other Apache Logging Services projects.

CVSS 3.1: 10.0 CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 100.00% probability · 100th percentile
Public exploits: 3 in Exploit-DB · first 14 December 2021
CISA KEV: Listed 10 December 2021 · due 24 December 2021 · used in ransomware campaigns
Weakness: CWE-20, CWE-400, CWE-502, CWE-917
Affected: siemens/6bk1602-0aa12-0tp0 firmware · siemens/6bk1602-0aa22-0tp0 firmware · siemens/6bk1602-0aa32-0tp0 firmware · siemens/6bk1602-0aa42-0tp0 firmware · siemens/6bk1602-0aa52-0tp0 firmware · apache/log4j · siemens/sppa-t3000 ses3000 firmware · siemens/capital · siemens/comos · siemens/desigo cc advanced reports · siemens/desigo cc info center · siemens/e-car operation center · siemens/energy engage · siemens/energyip · siemens/energyip prepay · siemens/gma-manager · siemens/head-end system universal device integration system · siemens/industrial edge management · siemens/industrial edge management hub · siemens/logo\! soft comfort · +40 more
Source: security@apache.org

EPSS trend

EPSS 100.0% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.

CISA notes

For all affected software assets for which updates exist, the only acceptable remediation actions are: 1) Apply updates; OR 2) remove affected assets from agency networks. Temporary mitigations using one of the measures provided at https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ed-22-02-apache-log4j-recommended-mitigation-measures are only acceptable until updates are available. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44228

Public exploits (3)

Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.

EDB-ID	Title	Type	Published	Verified
EDB-51183 source ↗	AD Manager Plus 7122 - Remote Code Execution (RCE)java · Chan Nyein Wai	remote	1 April 2023	no
EDB-50592 source ↗	Apache Log4j 2 - Remote Code Execution (RCE)java · kozmer	remote	14 December 2021	no
EDB-50590 source ↗	Apache Log4j2 2.14.1 - Information Disclosurejava · leonjza	remote	14 December 2021	no

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165225/Apache-Log4j2-2.14.1-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165260/VMware-Security-Advisory-2021-0028.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165261/Apache-Log4j2-2.14.1-Information-Disclosure.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165270/Apache-Log4j2-2.14.1-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165281/Log4j2-Log4Shell-Regexes.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165282/Log4j-Payload-Generator.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165306/L4sh-Log4j-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165307/Log4j-Remote-Code-Execution-Word-Bypassing.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165311/log4j-scan-Extensive-Scanner.htmlBroken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165371/VMware-Security-Advisory-2021-0028.4.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165532/Log4Shell-HTTP-Header-Injection.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165642/VMware-vCenter-Server-Unauthenticated-Log4Shell-JNDI-Injection-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165673/UniFi-Network-Application-Unauthenticated-Log4Shell-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167794/Open-Xchange-App-Suite-7.10.x-Cross-Site-Scripting-Command-Injection.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167917/MobileIron-Log4Shell-Remote-Command-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171626/AD-Manager-Plus-7122-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/2Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Jul/11Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Mar/23Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/10/1Mailing List, Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/10/2Mailing List, Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/10/3Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/13/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/13/2Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/14/4Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/12/15/3Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-397453.pdfThird Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-479842.pdfThird Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-661247.pdfThird Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-714170.pdfThird Party Advisory

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.