Two years after the Log4Shell vulnerability in the open source Java-based Log4j logging utility was made public, approximately one in four applications remain susceptible to exploitation due to reliance on outdated libraries, according to research by Veracode. The study reveals that many vulnerable apps may have never updated the Log4j library, with 32 percent still running pre-2015 End-of-Life (EOL) versions. Only a small minority, 2.8 percent, are using post-EOL versions (2.0-beta9 through 2.15.0) that remain exposed to Log4Shell exploits. Another 3.8 percent are running version 2.17, post-patch but still vulnerable to a separate remote code execution (RCE) bug (CVE-2021-44832).
The research indicates that while there was a substantial effort to remediate the Log4Shell vulnerability initially, with many applications updating to more secure versions, there has been a lapse in ongoing security practices. Nearly 35 percent of applications still remain vulnerable to Log4Shell, and close to 40 percent are susceptible to RCE flaws. The study suggests that some developers initially acted promptly upon the vulnerability’s disclosure but have since returned to leaving libraries untouched, emphasizing the need for continuous vigilance in open source software security.
Beyond patching challenges, the larger issue highlighted by Sonatype is the ongoing downloads of Log4j containing vulnerable versions. In the last seven days alone, 26 percent of 3.7 million Log4j downloads contained versions susceptible to the RCE exploit. This phenomenon has persisted since the Log4Shell disclosure, indicating a sustained risk associated with open source software. The study underscores the importance of ongoing awareness and proactive measures to address security risks in the evolving landscape of open source software vulnerabilities.
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