Log4j have release 2.24.2 solving apache/logging-log4j2#3143 -
which can cause LogManager.getLogger() to return null under certain conditions.
The release notes for 2.24.1 (currently in use in spring-boot 3.4.0) was retrofitted with a warning encouraging the upgrade.
Log4j 2.x release notes: https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/release-notes.html#release-notes-2-24-2