log4j 2.16.0 was released at 13 Dec 22:28 GMT with the following note [1]:<p><pre><code> Removed Message Lookups. This is a hardening related to changes made to prevent CVE-2021-44228. While this change is recommended, it is NOT required to fix CVE-2021-44228.
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[1] <a href="https://lists.apache.org/thread/d6v4r6nosxysyq9rvnr779336yf0woz4" rel="nofollow">https://lists.apache.org/thread/d6v4r6nosxysyq9rvnr779336yf0...</a>