Apache Log4j Core: Missing TLS hostname verification in Socket appender
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Spoofing
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 28 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-295.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache Log4j Core | 2.0-beta9 to before 2.25.3; 3.0.0-alpha1 – 3.0.0-beta3 | 2.25.3 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core (Maven) | 2.0-beta9 to before 2.25.3 | 2.25.3 | Patch available | GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj |
- Apache Log4j Core VendorApache Affected 2.0-beta9 to before 2.25.3; 3.0.0-alpha1 – 3.0.0-beta3 Fixed in 2.25.3 Patch available CNA
- org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core (Maven) Vendor— Affected 2.0-beta9 to before 2.25.3 Fixed in 2.25.3 Patch available GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0.1 to before 2.25.3 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:beta9:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0 beta9 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc1-rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0 rc1-rc1 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Apache |
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0.1 to before 2.25.3 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:beta9:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0 beta9 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc1-rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0 rc1-rc1 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:2.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Apache
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Apache Log4j Core (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 2.25.3
- Fix · GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core (Maven) Fixed in 2.25.3 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AMQ Broker 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AMQ Clients | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Data Grid 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Offline Knowledge Portal | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel - HawtIO 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat build of OptaPlanner 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| streams for Apache Kafka 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| streams for Apache Kafka 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-68161
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj
References
Advisory 3
Other 5
- https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostName
- https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostName
- https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2/commit/3b93748497e1adbbd027fda8a5e7268ec5d0d578
- https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/12/18/1
More Apache Log4j vulnerabilities
- TI-2021-19919 Apache Log4j2 JNDI features do not protect against attacker controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2021-20393 Apache Log4j2 Thread Context Message Pattern and Context Lookup Pattern vulnerable to a denial of service attack KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.0
- TI-2017-03645 Deserialization of untrusted data in Apache Log4j CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-13113 Deserialization of untrusted data in Apache Log4j CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-07428 SQL injection in JDBC Appender in Apache Log4j V1 CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-07425 Deserialization of untrusted data in JMSSink in Apache Log4j 1.x CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2025-68161 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-68161 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vc5p-v9hr-52mj · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-68161 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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