Apache Log4j Core's XmlLayout https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/layouts.html#XmlLayout , in versions up to and including 2.25.3, fails to sanitize characters forbidden by the XML 1.0 specification https://www.w3.org/TR/xml/#charsets producing invalid XML output whenever a log message or MDC value contains such characters.
The impact depends on the StAX implementation in use:
* JRE built-in StAX: Forbidden characters are silently written to the output, producing malformed XML. Conforming parsers must reject such documents with a fatal error, which may cause downstream log-processing systems to drop the affected records. * Alternative StAX implementations (e.g., Woodstox https://github.com/FasterXML/woodstox , a transitive dependency of the Jackson XML Dataformat module): An exception is thrown during the logging call, and the log event is never delivered to its intended appender, only to Log4j's internal status logger.
Users are advised to upgrade to Apache Log4j Core 2.25.4, which corrects this issue by sanitizing forbidden characters before XML output.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 4.0 Base Score: 6.9 (MEDIUM)
- CVSS 4.0 Vector: (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X)
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 7.5
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Log4j Core | — | Upgrade Apache Log4j Core to 2.25.4 | May 12, 2026 | Apr 10, 2026 |
| Oracle Weblogic | — | Apply the Patch Set Update (PSU) 39638312 for version 12.2.1.4.0. | Jul 22, 2026 | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Redhat_linux | — | No solution exists | Jul 17, 2026 | Apr 10, 2026 |
| Splunk | — | Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.4.12Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 10.4.0Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 10.2.4Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 10.0.7Upgrade Splunk Enterprise to version 9.3.13 | Jul 30, 2026 | Apr 10, 2026 |
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