VulnRadar

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Page generated: 08 Nov 2026, 13:21 UTC

CVE-2021-45046

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It was found that the fix to address CVE-2021-44228 in Apache Log4j 2.15.0 was incomplete in certain non-default configurations. This could allows attackers with control over Thread Context Map (MDC) input data when the logging configuration uses a non-default Pattern Layout with either a Context Lookup (for example, $${ctx:loginId}) or a Thread Context Map pattern (%X, %mdc, or %MDC) to craft malicious input data using a JNDI Lookup pattern resulting in an information leak and remote code execution in some environments and local code execution in all environments. Log4j 2.16.0 (Java 8) and 2.12.2 (Java 7) fix this issue by removing support for message lookup patterns and disabling JNDI functionality by default.

CVSS 9.0 (CRITICAL) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE

0.0/10

REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY

8.8/10

General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?

Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
Technical severity: CVSS 9: +1.35
Fresh EPSS: 99.98%: +0.50

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 19 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)

0/100

Press, 30 days (60%)

0/100

Grounded branding (15%)

0/100

HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

Huntress

Press · 11 Jul 2025, 07:00 · CVE-2021-44228: Log4Shell (Apache Log4j RCE) Vulnerability - Huntress

SECURITY.COM

Press · 06 Oct 2024, 14:49 · Apache Log4j Zero-Day Being Exploited in the Wild - SECURITY.COM

Esri

Press · 22 May 2023, 07:00 · ArcGIS and Apache Log4j Vulnerabilities - Esri

Esri

Press · 11 Feb 2022, 08:00 · ArcGIS Enterprise Log4j Security Patches Available - Esri

Workday Blog

Press · 22 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Workday Response on CVE-2021-44228 Apache Log4j - Workday Blog

See all 19 source documents

Help Net Security

Press · 20 Dec 2021, 08:00 · The Log4j saga: New vulnerabilities and attack vectors discovered - Help Net Security

Qualys

Press · 19 Dec 2021, 08:00 · 6 Ways to Quickly Detect a Log4Shell Exploit in Your Environment - Qualys

Snyk

Press · 18 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Log4j 2.15 vulnerability CVE-2021-45046 upgraded to a critical severity arbitrary code execution - Snyk

SOC Prime

Press · 17 Dec 2021, 08:00 · CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-44228 Detection: Vulnerabilities in Log4j Java Library - SOC Prime

Qualys

Press · 16 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Log4Shell Log4j Vulnerability Test | CVE-2021-45046 Detection - Qualys

Cloudflare Blog

Press · 15 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Protection against CVE-2021-45046, the additional Log4j RCE vulnerability - Cloudflare Blog

TechTarget

Press · 15 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Log4j gets a second update as security woes pile up - TechTarget

Google Cloud

Press · 13 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Cloud IDS helps detect CVE-2021-44228,CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-4104, CVE-2021-45105 & CVE-2021-44832 Apache Log4J vulnerabilities - Google Cloud

Securelist

Press · 13 Dec 2021, 08:00 · CVE-2021-44228 vulnerability in Apache Log4j library - Securelist

Google Cloud

Press · 12 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Cloud Armor WAF rule to help address Apache Log4j vulnerability - Google Cloud

Palo Alto Networks

Press · 12 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Update: Prisma Cloud Addresses Log4Shell: CVE-2021-44228, CVE-2021-45046 Mitigations - Palo Alto Networks

Cisco Talos Blog

Press · 10 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Threat Advisory: Critical Apache Log4j vulnerability being exploited in the wild - Cisco Talos Blog

National Cyber Security Centre

Press · 10 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Alert: Apache Log4j vulnerabilities - National Cyber Security Centre

Rapid7

Press · 10 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Widespread Exploitation of Critical Remote Code Execution in Apache Log4j - Rapid7

Score evolution

● Hype ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.8 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 1 repos with metrics

Repository	Stars	Forks	Language	Updated
Puliczek/CVE-2021-44228-PoC-log4j-bypass-words	952	132	Java	15 Jan 2022, 16:18

Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence: Exploitation recorded
Priority basis: Recorded exploitation; CVSS 9; EPSS 100.0%
Attention, last 30 days: 0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential: network access, no prior privileges, no user interaction, additional attack conditions.
Observed activity: Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale: Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis: Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:32.072469+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline

First press mention

10 Dec 2021, 08:00

Published

14 Dec 2021, 16:55

Added to the CISA KEV catalog

01 May 2023, 00:00

Latest press mention

11 Jul 2025, 07:00

Score calculated

05 Nov 2026, 13:58

PoCs on GitHub

1 repositories