How severe is CVE-2022-21704?

CVE-2022-21704 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-21704?

CVE-2022-21704 affects the following packages: log4js (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2022-21704?

Update log4js to 6.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21704 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-21704 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for log4js, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-21704 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Is CVE-2022-21704 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-21704 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-21704?

CVE-2022-21704 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.3%, placing it in the 21th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-21704?

CVE-2022-21704 is classified as Incorrect Default Permissions (CWE-276). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-21704 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-21704 was published on January 19, 2022 and was last updated on August 12, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-21704 — log4js

MEDIUMFix: log4js-node/streamroller#87

CVE-2022-21704 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in log4js. A fix is available for log4js — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Incorrect Default Permissions in log4js-node

Also known asGHSA-82v2-mx6x-wq7q

Published

Jan 19, 2022

Updated

Aug 12, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs21th percentile — riskier than 21% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-21704 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,987 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

4Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

log4jsnpm

6.9Mdownloads / week

Description

Impact

Default file permissions for log files created by the file, fileSync and dateFile appenders are world-readable (in unix). This could cause problems if log files contain sensitive information. This would affect any users that have not supplied their own permissions for the files via the mode parameter in the config.

Patches

Fixed by:

Released to NPM in [email protected]

Workarounds

Every version of log4js published allows passing the mode parameter to the configuration of file appenders, see the documentation for details.

References

Thanks to ranjit-git for raising the issue, and to @lamweili for fixing the problem.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in logj4s-node
Ask a question in the slack channel
Email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`log4js`	all versions	6.4.0`npm install log4js@6.4.0`

Affected Products

2 products · 2 configurations

debian linuxdebian

1 version

10.0

Application

log4jslog4js_project

< 6.4.0

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for log4js, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update log4js to 6.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21704 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact Default file permissions for log files created by the file, fileSync and dateFile appenders are world-readable (in unix). This could cause problems if log files contain sensitive information. This would affect any users that have not supplied their own permissions for the files via the mode parameter in the config. ### Patches Fixed by: * https://github.com/log4js-node/log4js-node/pull/1141 * https://github.com/log4js-node/streamroller/pull/87 Released to NPM in [email protected] ### Workarounds Every version of log4js published allows passing the mode parameter to the configuration o