SQL Injection in Log4j 1.2.x

CVE-2022-23305 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

By design, the JDBCAppender in Log4j 1.2.x accepts an SQL statement as a configuration parameter where the values to be inserted are converters from PatternLayout. The message converter, %m, is likely to always be included. This allows attackers to manipulate the SQL by entering crafted strings into input fields or headers of an application that are logged allowing unintended SQL queries to be executed. Note this issue only affects Log4j 1.x when specifically configured to use the JDBCAppender, which is not the default. Beginning in version 2.0-beta8, the JDBCAppender was re-introduced with proper support for parameterized SQL queries and further customization over the columns written to in logs. Apache Log4j 1.2 reached end of life in August 2015. Users should upgrade to Log4j 2 as it addresses numerous other issues from the previous versions.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
critical
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
—
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2022-01-21 23:26:47 UTC
Updated
2026-06-08 23:39:53 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2022-01-19 22:31:49 UTC
NVD published
2022-01-18

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
9.45% 92.94%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
9.8 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-65fg-84f6-3jq3 ↗
CVE CVE-2022-23305 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-89 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

Credits

  • SebGondron (analyst)

Affected packages (2)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
maven log4j:log4j <= 1.2.17 — —
maven org.zenframework.z8.dependencies.commons:log4j-1.2.17 <= 2.0 — —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence