diff --git a/download-directory/pom.xml b/download-directory/pom.xml
index 810a64f04..8d520d91e 100644
--- a/download-directory/pom.xml
+++ b/download-directory/pom.xml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
 			<artifactId>log4j-core</artifactId>
-			<version>2.11.0</version>
+			<version>2.16.0</version>
 		</dependency>
 		<!-- release-common-lib must be before biopax dependencies to avoid conflict between libraries -->
 		<dependency>