Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-31038

SQLi in Apache Log4Cxx 0.9.0 – 1.1.0

Public PoCSQLi
Published
08 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.016 74th percentile
Risk Priority 67 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-31038 is a high-severity SQL Injection (CWE-89) vulnerability in Apache Log4Cxx. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 26% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

SQL injection in Log4cxx when using the ODBC appender to send log messages to a database. No fields sent to the database were properly escaped for SQL injection. This has been the case since at least version 0.9.0(released 2003-08-06) Note…

more

that Log4cxx is a C++ framework, so only C++ applications are affected. Before version 1.1.0, the ODBC appender was automatically part of Log4cxx if the library was found when compiling the library. As of version 1.1.0, this must be both explicitly enabled in order to be compiled in. Three preconditions must be met for this vulnerability to be possible: 1. Log4cxx compiled with ODBC support(before version 1.1.0, this was auto-detected at compile time) 2. ODBCAppender enabled for logging messages to, generally done via a config file 3. User input is logged at some point. If your application does not have user input, it is unlikely to be affected. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 1.1.0 which properly binds the parameters to the SQL statement, or migrate to the new DBAppender class which supports an ODBC connection in addition to other databases. Note that this fix does require a configuration file update, as the old configuration files will not configure properly. An example is shown below, and more information may be found in the Log4cxx documentation on the ODBCAppender. Example of old configuration snippet: <appender name="SqlODBCAppender" class="ODBCAppender"> <param name="sql" value="INSERT INTO logs (message) VALUES ('%m')" /> ... other params here ... </appender> The migrated configuration snippet with new ColumnMapping parameters: <appender name="SqlODBCAppender" class="ODBCAppender"> <param name="sql" value="INSERT INTO logs (message) VALUES (?)" /> <param name="ColumnMapping" value="message"/> ... other params here ... </appender>

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-37924Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-52290Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25196Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25197Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2016-0710Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-23539Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-23538Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-42361Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-30867Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-24772Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
log4cxx
0.9.0 — 1.1.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.2.5

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-89

Penetration testing uses SQL injection payloads against database interfaces, identifying and supporting fixes for SQL injection weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-89

Validates query inputs to prevent SQL syntax or command manipulation.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly target injection flaws during coding and review so largely prevent CWE-89 introduction, yet the single broad outcome leaves residual risk from incomplete neutralization techniques or missed edge cases.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Training raises developer awareness of SQLi risks and can reduce introduction likelihood (partial) but removes none of the actual coding flaw's risk by itself since technical neutralization is still required.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

The same secure-coding and static-analysis activities surface missing neutralization of SQL metacharacters before the system is accepted.

prevents

Early warnings and shared best-practice information help organizations apply the latest remediation techniques against SQL-injection vulnerabilities.

prevents

Threat-intelligence feeds that surface new SQL-injection campaigns enable rapid updates to query-construction defenses and detection signatures before exploitation occurs.

prevents

Secure-coding rules and security testing phases mandate the use of parameterized queries or equivalent escaping, preventing the construction of dynamic SQL statements from untrusted input.

prevents

Language-specific secure coding rules, peer review and SAST together prevent the construction of SQL statements from untrusted data without proper parameterization or escaping.

References