diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a22c82f795..2379b9f175 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ node_modules
 h2/db.mv.db
 
 # license check tmp file
-all-dependencies.txt
+/tools/dependency-check/all-dependencies.txt
 self-modules.txt
 third-party-dependencies.txt
 
@@ -50,4 +50,4 @@ bld/
 **/org/apache/eventmesh/connector/jdbc/antlr4/autogeneration/*
 
 #rust
-Cargo.lock
\ No newline at end of file
+Cargo.lock
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 71f58c66e0..09f42e3412 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -139,7 +139,58 @@ allprojects {
     }
 }
 
-task tar(type: Tar) {
+tasks.register('dist') {
+    subprojects.forEach { subProject ->
+        dependsOn("${subProject.path}:jar")
+    }
+    def includedProjects =
+            ["eventmesh-common",
+             "eventmesh-meta:eventmesh-meta-api",
+             "eventmesh-metrics-plugin:eventmesh-metrics-api",
+             "eventmesh-protocol-plugin:eventmesh-protocol-api",
+             "eventmesh-retry:eventmesh-retry-api",
+             "eventmesh-runtime",
+             "eventmesh-security-plugin:eventmesh-security-api",
+             "eventmesh-spi",
+             "eventmesh-starter",
+             "eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api",
+             "eventmesh-trace-plugin:eventmesh-trace-api",
+             "eventmesh-webhook:eventmesh-webhook-api",
+             "eventmesh-webhook:eventmesh-webhook-admin",
+             "eventmesh-webhook:eventmesh-webhook-receive"]
+    doLast {
+        includedProjects.each {
+            def subProject = findProject(it)
+            logger.lifecycle('Install module: module: {}', subProject.name)
+            copy {
+                from subProject.jar.archivePath
+                into rootProject.file('dist/apps')
+            }
+            copy {
+                from subProject.file('bin')
+                into rootProject.file('dist/bin')
+            }
+            copy {
+                from subProject.file('conf')
+                from subProject.sourceSets.main.resources.srcDirs
+                into rootProject.file('dist/conf')
+                duplicatesStrategy = DuplicatesStrategy.EXCLUDE
+                exclude 'META-INF'
+            }
+            copy {
+                from subProject.configurations.runtimeClasspath
+                into rootProject.file('dist/lib')
+                exclude 'eventmesh-*'
+            }
+        }
+        copy {
+            from 'tools/third-party-licenses'
+            into rootProject.file('dist')
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+tasks.register('tar', Tar) {
     archiveBaseName.set(project.name)
     archiveVersion.set(project.version.toString())
     archiveExtension.set('tar.gz')
@@ -150,7 +201,7 @@ task tar(type: Tar) {
     }
 }
 
-task zip(type: Zip) {
+tasks.register('zip', Zip) {
     archiveBaseName.set(project.name)
     archiveVersion.set(project.version.toString())
     archiveExtension.set('zip')
@@ -160,50 +211,39 @@ task zip(type: Zip) {
     }
 }
 
-task installPlugin() {
-    if (!new File("${rootDir}/dist").exists()) {
-        return
+tasks.register('installPlugin') {
+    var pluginProjects = subprojects.findAll {
+        it.file('gradle.properties').exists()
+                && it.properties.containsKey('pluginType')
+                && it.properties.containsKey('pluginName')
+    }
+    doLast {
+        String[] libJars = java.util.Optional.ofNullable(file('dist/lib').list()).orElse(new String[0])
+        pluginProjects.forEach(subProject -> {
+            var pluginType = subProject.properties.get('pluginType')
+            var pluginName = subProject.properties.get('pluginName')
+            logger.lifecycle('Install plugin: pluginType: {}, pluginInstanceName: {}, module: {}', pluginType,
+                    pluginName, subProject.name)
+            copy {
+                from subProject.jar.archivePath
+                into rootProject.file("dist/plugin/${pluginType}/${pluginName}")
+            }
+            copy {
+                from subProject.configurations.runtimeClasspath
+                into rootProject.file("dist/plugin/${pluginType}/${pluginName}")
+                exclude(libJars)
+            }
+            copy {
+                from subProject.file('conf')
+                from subProject.sourceSets.main.resources.srcDirs
+                into rootProject.file("dist/conf")
+                exclude 'META-INF'
+            }
+        })
     }
-    String[] libJars = java.util.Optional.ofNullable(new File("${rootDir}/dist/lib").list()).orElseGet(() -> new String[0])
-    getAllprojects().forEach(subProject -> {
-        var file = new File("${subProject.projectDir}/gradle.properties")
-        if (!file.exists()) {
-            return
-        }
-        var properties = new Properties()
-        properties.load(new FileInputStream(file))
-        var pluginType = properties.getProperty("pluginType")
-        var pluginName = properties.getProperty("pluginName")
-        if (pluginType == null || pluginName == null) {
-            return
-        }
-        var pluginFile = new File("${rootDir}/dist/plugin/${pluginType}/${pluginName}")
-        if (pluginFile.exists()) {
-            return
-        }
-        pluginFile.mkdirs()
-        println String.format(
-                "install plugin, pluginType: %s, pluginInstanceName: %s, module: %s", pluginType, pluginName, subProject.getName()
-        )
-
-        copy {
-            into "${rootDir}/dist/plugin/${pluginType}/${pluginName}"
-            from "${subProject.getProjectDir()}/dist/apps"
-        }
-        copy {
-            into "${rootDir}/dist/plugin/${pluginType}/${pluginName}"
-            from "${subProject.getProjectDir()}/dist/lib/"
-            exclude(libJars)
-        }
-        copy {
-            into "${rootDir}/dist/conf"
-            from "${subProject.getProjectDir()}/dist/conf"
-            exclude 'META-INF'
-        }
-    })
 }
 
-task printProjects() {
+tasks.register('printProjects') {
     getAllprojects().forEach(subProject -> {
         if ("EventMesh".equals(subProject.getName())) {
             return
@@ -306,77 +346,6 @@ subprojects {
         }
     }
 
-    task dist(dependsOn: ['jar']) {
-        doFirst {
-            new File("${projectDir}/dist/bin").mkdirs()
-            new File("${projectDir}/dist/apps").mkdirs()
-            new File("${projectDir}/dist/conf").mkdirs()
-            new File("${projectDir}/dist/lib").mkdirs()
-            new File("${projectDir}/dist/licenses").mkdirs()
-        }
-        Set<String> rootProject = ["eventmesh-common",
-                                   "eventmesh-storage-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-metrics-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-meta-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-trace-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-retry-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-runtime",
-                                   "eventmesh-security-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-protocol-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-starter",
-                                   "eventmesh-spi",
-                                   "eventmesh-webhook-api",
-                                   "eventmesh-webhook-admin",
-                                   "eventmesh-webhook-receive"]
-        doLast {
-            copy {
-                into("${projectDir}/dist/apps")
-                from project.jar.getArchivePath()
-            }
-            copy {
-                into("${projectDir}/dist/lib")
-                from project.configurations.runtimeClasspath
-            }
-            copy {
-                into("${projectDir}/dist/bin")
-                from 'bin'
-            }
-            copy {
-                into("${projectDir}/dist/conf")
-                from 'conf', sourceSets.main.resources.srcDirs
-                setDuplicatesStrategy(DuplicatesStrategy.EXCLUDE)
-                exclude 'META-INF'
-            }
-            if (rootProject.contains(project.name)) {
-                new File("${rootDir}/dist/apps").mkdirs()
-                new File("${rootDir}/dist/lib").mkdirs()
-                new File("${rootDir}/dist/bin").mkdirs()
-                new File("${rootDir}/dist/conf").mkdirs()
-                copy {
-                    into("${rootDir}/dist/apps")
-                    from "${projectDir}/dist/apps"
-                }
-                copy {
-                    into "${rootDir}/dist/lib"
-                    from "${projectDir}/dist/lib"
-                    exclude "eventmesh-*"
-                }
-                copy {
-                    into "${rootDir}/dist/bin"
-                    from "${projectDir}/dist/bin"
-                }
-                copy {
-                    into "${rootDir}/dist/conf"
-                    from "${projectDir}/dist/conf"
-                }
-            }
-            copy {
-                into "${rootDir}/dist"
-                from "${rootDir}/tools/third-party-licenses"
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
     javadoc {
         source = sourceSets.main.java
         destinationDir = reporting.file("javadoc")
@@ -494,7 +463,6 @@ subprojects {
             dependency "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api:${log4jVersion}"
             dependency "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core:${log4jVersion}"
             dependency "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl:${log4jVersion}"
-            dependency "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j-impl:${log4jVersion}" // used with SLF4J 1.7.x or older for third-party dependencies
 
             dependency "com.lmax:disruptor:3.4.2"
 
diff --git a/eventmesh-common/build.gradle b/eventmesh-common/build.gradle
index a6dc2cd269..23f9455e1a 100644
--- a/eventmesh-common/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-common/build.gradle
@@ -32,9 +32,8 @@ dependencies {
 
     api "com.alibaba.fastjson2:fastjson2"
 
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl"
+    runtimeOnly "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core"
+    runtimeOnly "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl"
 
     implementation 'com.github.seancfoley:ipaddress'
 
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pravega/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pravega/build.gradle
index 0365334311..24876409f1 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pravega/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pravega/build.gradle
@@ -15,11 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     api project(":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-java")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pulsar/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pulsar/build.gradle
index 4a532ec2b8..f087842ea8 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pulsar/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-pulsar/build.gradle
@@ -15,12 +15,27 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-List pulsar = [
-        "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client:$pulsar_version"
-]
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-java")
-    implementation pulsar
+
+    /*
+     * TODO: This is a shaded artifact that contains 20 MiB of external libraries. It could probably be replaced by:
+     *
+     *     implementation "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client-api:$pulsar_version"
+     *     runtimeOnly "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client-original:$pulsar_version"
+     *
+     * The exclusions can be removed after an upgrade of the transitive:
+     *
+     *     "org.apache.bookkeeper:bookkeeper"
+     *
+     * dependency to 4.15.4 or higher (used by Pulsar 2.11.2 or higher).
+     */
+    implementation("org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client:$pulsar_version") {
+        // Remove logging backend implementations
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-core'
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-slf4j-impl'
+    }
+
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rabbitmq/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rabbitmq/build.gradle
index b4edbe1f8a..f96d81bf6d 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rabbitmq/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rabbitmq/build.gradle
@@ -16,11 +16,6 @@
  */
 
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     api project(":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-java")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rocketmq/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rocketmq/build.gradle
index 769e9c6cf8..64c43e29d5 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rocketmq/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-rocketmq/build.gradle
@@ -34,7 +34,16 @@ List rocketmq = [
 dependencies {
     api project(":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-java")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
-    implementation rocketmq
+    /*
+     * The exclusions can be removed after this issue is fixed:
+     * https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/issues/5347
+     */
+    rocketmq.each {
+        implementation(it) {
+            exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
+        }
+    }
+
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     testImplementation "org.mockito:mockito-core"
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-slack/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-slack/build.gradle
index ad66b78b96..851887e3c3 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-slack/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-slack/build.gradle
@@ -15,12 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-    testImplementation.exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-to-slf4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-spring/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-spring/build.gradle
index 48459b9004..e0680d2bf2 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-spring/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-spring/build.gradle
@@ -15,20 +15,23 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-to-slf4j'
-    testImplementation.exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-to-slf4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     api project(":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-java")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
-    implementation "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter:$spring_boot_version"
-    implementation "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-validation:$spring_boot_version"
+
+    /*
+     * TODO: Are these dependencies necessary? The source code only requires these two dependencies
+     * that do not propagate logging backends:
+     *
+     *      api "org.springframework:spring-context:$spring_version"
+     *      implementation "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure:$spring_boot_version"
+     */
+    implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-validation:$spring_boot_version") {
+        exclude group: 'org.springframework.boot', module: 'spring-boot-starter-logging'
+    }
     implementation "org.springframework:spring-messaging:$spring_version"
+
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
 
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wechat/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wechat/build.gradle
index 9a73345d1d..afd4e115c0 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wechat/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wechat/build.gradle
@@ -15,12 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-    testImplementation.exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-to-slf4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
diff --git a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wecom/build.gradle b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wecom/build.gradle
index 746a4f3722..e89567c6f9 100644
--- a/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wecom/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-connectors/eventmesh-connector-wecom/build.gradle
@@ -15,12 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-    testImplementation.exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-to-slf4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
diff --git a/eventmesh-examples/build.gradle b/eventmesh-examples/build.gradle
index 9ef70836bd..212b567799 100644
--- a/eventmesh-examples/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-examples/build.gradle
@@ -17,15 +17,14 @@
 
 def grpcVersion = '1.43.2'
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'org.springframework.boot', module: 'spring-boot-starter-logging'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-connectors:eventmesh-connector-spring")
+    implementation('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter') {
+        exclude module: 'spring-boot-starter-logging'
+    }
     implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
     implementation 'io.netty:netty-all'
     implementation "io.cloudevents:cloudevents-core"
diff --git a/eventmesh-meta/eventmesh-meta-zookeeper/build.gradle b/eventmesh-meta/eventmesh-meta-zookeeper/build.gradle
index 1d8c871e2b..149f78e99d 100644
--- a/eventmesh-meta/eventmesh-meta-zookeeper/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-meta/eventmesh-meta-zookeeper/build.gradle
@@ -20,7 +20,15 @@ dependencies {
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
 
-    implementation 'org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper'
+    /*
+     * The exclusion can be removed once ZOOKEEPER-4820 has been fixed.
+     *
+     * See https://github.com/apache/zookeeper/pull/2155
+     */
+    implementation('org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper') {
+        exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-core'
+        exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
+    }
     implementation 'org.apache.curator:curator-client'
     implementation 'org.apache.curator:curator-framework'
     implementation 'org.apache.curator:curator-recipes'
diff --git a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-java/build.gradle b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-java/build.gradle
index d47a81a4ff..b41f7fbfae 100644
--- a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-java/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-java/build.gradle
@@ -17,9 +17,6 @@
 
 dependencies {
     api "org.slf4j:slf4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl"
 
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind"
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core"
@@ -29,6 +26,7 @@ dependencies {
     api project (":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin:eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-api")
     implementation project (":eventmesh-openconnect:eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin:eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-nacos")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
+    implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
 
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
diff --git a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/build.gradle b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/build.gradle
index 3f5f0a240b..537c74fafc 100644
--- a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/build.gradle
@@ -17,17 +17,15 @@
 
 dependencies {
     api "org.slf4j:slf4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl"
 
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind"
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core"
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-annotations"
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat:jackson-dataformat-yaml"
 
+    implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-sdks:eventmesh-sdk-java")
 
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-api/build.gradle b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-api/build.gradle
index c5ac62b00f..97c3b8c33c 100644
--- a/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-api/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-openconnect/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-plugin/eventmesh-openconnect-offsetmgmt-api/build.gradle
@@ -18,12 +18,10 @@
 dependencies {
     api project(":eventmesh-spi")
     api "org.slf4j:slf4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-api"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core"
-    implementation "org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-slf4j2-impl"
 
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
+    implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
 
     testCompileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     testAnnotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
diff --git a/eventmesh-retry/eventmesh-retry-rocketmq/build.gradle b/eventmesh-retry/eventmesh-retry-rocketmq/build.gradle
index 3d33929b44..883081271c 100644
--- a/eventmesh-retry/eventmesh-retry-rocketmq/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-retry/eventmesh-retry-rocketmq/build.gradle
@@ -33,7 +33,15 @@ List rocketmq = [
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-rocketmq")
-    implementation rocketmq
+    /*
+     * The exclusions can be removed after this issue is fixed:
+     * https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/issues/5347
+     */
+    rocketmq.each {
+        implementation(it) {
+            exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
+        }
+    }
     implementation project(":eventmesh-retry:eventmesh-retry-api")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
 
diff --git a/eventmesh-sdks/eventmesh-sdk-java/build.gradle b/eventmesh-sdks/eventmesh-sdk-java/build.gradle
index db15554031..c83b77d26b 100644
--- a/eventmesh-sdks/eventmesh-sdk-java/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-sdks/eventmesh-sdk-java/build.gradle
@@ -18,7 +18,11 @@
 def grpcVersion = '1.43.2'
 
 dependencies {
-    api project(":eventmesh-common")
+    api(project(":eventmesh-common")) {
+        // Remove logging backend implementations to allow users to choose their own
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-core'
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-slf4j2-impl'
+    }
 
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind"
     implementation "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core"
diff --git a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-kafka/build.gradle b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-kafka/build.gradle
index d776cc46a7..1a467ed8c3 100644
--- a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-kafka/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-kafka/build.gradle
@@ -14,10 +14,6 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
 
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
diff --git a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-pulsar/build.gradle b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-pulsar/build.gradle
index 77922e241a..d439016bea 100644
--- a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-pulsar/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-pulsar/build.gradle
@@ -15,19 +15,30 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
-    implementation 'org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client:2.10.1'
+
+    /*
+     * TODO: This is a shaded artifact that contains 20 MiB of external libraries. It could probably be replaced by:
+     *
+     *     implementation "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client-api:$pulsar_version"
+     *     runtimeOnly "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client-original:$pulsar_version"
+     *
+     * The exclusions can be removed after an upgrade of the transitive:
+     *
+     *     "org.apache.bookkeeper:bookkeeper"
+     *
+     * dependency to 4.15.4 or higher (used by Pulsar 2.11.2 or higher).
+     */
+    implementation('org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client:2.10.1')  {
+        // Remove logging backend implementations
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-core'
+        exclude group: 'org.apache.logging.log4j', module: 'log4j-slf4j-impl'
+    }
 
     testImplementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
     testImplementation project(":eventmesh-common")
-    testImplementation 'org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-client:2.10.1'
 
     implementation 'io.cloudevents:cloudevents-json-jackson'
 
diff --git a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rabbitmq/build.gradle b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rabbitmq/build.gradle
index 69b4f75bac..2e8ddac448 100644
--- a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rabbitmq/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rabbitmq/build.gradle
@@ -15,11 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
diff --git a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-redis/build.gradle b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-redis/build.gradle
index 5a103cb8e3..bec0767638 100644
--- a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-redis/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-redis/build.gradle
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'org.slf4j', module: 'slf4j-simple'
-}
-
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
diff --git a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rocketmq/build.gradle b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rocketmq/build.gradle
index be30240097..fd14357fb9 100644
--- a/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rocketmq/build.gradle
+++ b/eventmesh-storage-plugin/eventmesh-storage-rocketmq/build.gradle
@@ -15,11 +15,6 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-configurations {
-    implementation.exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
-    implementation.exclude group: 'log4j', module: 'log4j'
-}
-
 List rocketmq = [
         "org.apache.rocketmq:rocketmq-client:$rocketmq_version",
         "org.apache.rocketmq:rocketmq-broker:$rocketmq_version",
@@ -39,7 +34,15 @@ List rocketmq = [
 dependencies {
     implementation project(":eventmesh-common")
     implementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
-    implementation rocketmq
+    /*
+     * The exclusions can be removed after this issue is fixed:
+     * https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/issues/5347
+     */
+    rocketmq.each {
+        implementation(it) {
+            exclude group: 'ch.qos.logback', module: 'logback-classic'
+        }
+    }
 
     testImplementation project(":eventmesh-storage-plugin:eventmesh-storage-api")
     testImplementation project(":eventmesh-common")
@@ -47,8 +50,6 @@ dependencies {
     testImplementation "org.mockito:mockito-core"
     testImplementation "org.mockito:mockito-junit-jupiter"
 
-    testImplementation rocketmq
-
     compileOnly 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
     annotationProcessor 'org.projectlombok:lombok'
 
diff --git a/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-logback-core.txt b/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-logback-core.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 8953762a3c..0000000000
--- a/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-logback-core.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-Logback LICENSE
----------------
-
-Logback: the reliable, generic, fast and flexible logging framework.
-Copyright (C) 1999-2015, QOS.ch. All rights reserved.
-
-This program and the accompanying materials are dual-licensed under
-either the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 as published by
-the Eclipse Foundation
-
-  or (per the licensee's choosing)
-
-under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1
-as published by the Free Software Foundation.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-slf4j-simple.txt b/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-slf4j-simple.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 744377c437..0000000000
--- a/tools/third-party-licenses/licenses/java/LICENSE-slf4j-simple.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-Copyright (c) 2004-2017 QOS.ch
-All rights reserved.
-
-Permission is hereby granted, free  of charge, to any person obtaining
-a  copy  of this  software  and  associated  documentation files  (the
-"Software"), to  deal in  the Software without  restriction, including
-without limitation  the rights to  use, copy, modify,  merge, publish,
-distribute,  sublicense, and/or sell  copies of  the Software,  and to
-permit persons to whom the Software  is furnished to do so, subject to
-the following conditions:
-
-The  above  copyright  notice  and  this permission  notice  shall  be
-included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
-
-THE  SOFTWARE IS  PROVIDED  "AS  IS", WITHOUT  WARRANTY  OF ANY  KIND,
-EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED, INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED  TO THE  WARRANTIES OF
-MERCHANTABILITY,    FITNESS    FOR    A   PARTICULAR    PURPOSE    AND
-NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
-LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
-OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,  ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
-WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.