CVE-2026-34480

Apache Log4j Core: Silent log event loss in XmlLayout due to unescaped XML 1.0 forbidden characters

Published Apr 10, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 6.9 Medium EPSS 1.1% KEV · Not listed
Description
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.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-3pxv-7cmr-fjr4 Apache Log4j Core: Silent log event loss in XmlLayout due to unescaped XML 1.0 forbidden characters
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:alpha1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:alpha1_rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:alpha1_rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:3.0.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-168
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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.
Title Apache Log4j Core: Silent log event loss in XmlLayout due to unescaped XML 1.0 forbidden characters
First Time appeared Apache
Apache log4j
Weaknesses CWE-116
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:log4j:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache log4j
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.9, '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'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
apache
Published
Updated
Apr 10, 2026, 5:45 PM
Reserved
Mar 28, 2026, 3:29 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Apr 10, 2026, 4:16 PM
Modified
Oct 26, 2026, 10:10 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Apr 10, 2026, 3:42 PM