MongoDB Security – CVE-2026-25613, CVE-2026-25610, CVE-2026-25609

Product: MongoDB Server (Community & Enterprise Editions)
Affected Versions: 7.0.x, 8.0.x, 8.2.x (prior to vendor-patched releases)
Impact Areas: Availability (DoS), Privilege Validation, Authorization Control
Attack Surface: Network (Authenticated access required in all three cases)

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Vulnerability Summary Table

CVE ID	Vulnerability Title	CVSS Score	Severity	Attack Vector	Privileges Required	User Interaction	Impact	Exploit Availability
CVE-2026-25613	Invalid Compound Wildcard Index Crash	7.1	High	Network	Low	None	Denial of Service	No public exploit observed
CVE-2026-25610	$geoNear Invalid Index Hint Crash	6.5–7.1	Medium–High	Network	Low	None	Denial of Service	No public exploit observed
CVE-2026-25609	Profile Command Validation Privilege Confusion	5.3–5.4	Medium	Network	Low	None	Authorization Misuse	No public exploit observed

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CVE-2026-25613

Invalid Compound Wildcard Index Leading to Server Crash

Overview

A vulnerability was identified in MongoDB’s query planning engine when handling certain compound wildcard indexes. If an improperly structured or invalid compound wildcard index existed and a crafted query forced its evaluation, unsafe internal casting logic could be triggered. Under specific conditions, this caused the MongoDB server process (mongod) to terminate unexpectedly.

The condition results in denial of service due to process crash. Data integrity was not reported as compromised, but service availability is directly impacted.

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Technical Root Cause

Improper type validation during index resolution in the query planner allowed unsafe casting operations. When the invalid compound wildcard index structure was evaluated during execution planning, assertion failures or segmentation faults were triggered.

This is categorized as improper input validation and unsafe memory handling during index processing.

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Exploitation Conditions

• Authenticated database access required.
• Ability to execute queries against a collection containing a malformed compound wildcard index.
• No user interaction required.
• Exploit complexity is low once access is obtained.

This vulnerability is primarily an insider or authenticated threat scenario.

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Proof of Concept Status

No publicly released working exploit has been observed in trusted repositories.
Crash conditions can be reproduced in lab environments where:

• An invalid compound wildcard index is created.
• A query is executed that forces index selection.

Educational testing must only be conducted in isolated non-production environments.

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Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected mongod process termination.
• Assertion failure logs referencing index planner.
• Repeated restarts of MongoDB service.
• Primary node stepdown in replica sets.
• Core dumps generated by mongod.

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Log Sources for Detection

• MongoDB server logs (mongod.log)
• Systemd logs (Linux)
• Windows Application Event Logs
• Kubernetes container logs (if containerized)
• Audit logs (if enabled)

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Detection Rules and Queries

Splunk Query

index=mongodb sourcetype="mongod" ("assert" OR "segfault" OR "fatal assertion" OR "terminating")
| stats count by host, message

Elastic / Kibana Query

event.dataset:mongod AND (message:*assert* OR message:*segfault* OR message:*fatal*)

Crash Frequency Monitoring

event.dataset:mongod AND message:"exception"
| bucket span=5m _time
| stats count by _time
| where count > 1

Audit Log Detection (Wildcard Index Usage Spike)

command.createIndexes:*"$**"* OR command.find:*"$**"*

Alert when:

• Index-related errors are followed by immediate service restart.
• Same user triggers repeated wildcard index queries before crash.

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MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

• Impact – Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499)
• Exploitation of Application Logic
• Abuse of Valid Accounts (T1078)

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Remediation

Upgrade MongoDB to the latest patched release for the affected branch.
Patched versions were released in subsequent maintenance updates.

Official Patch Information:
https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/release-notes/
https://www.mongodb.com/resources/products/alerts

Immediate mitigation if upgrade cannot be performed:

• Review and remove malformed compound wildcard indexes.
• Restrict index creation permissions.
• Limit query privileges for low-privileged accounts.

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CVE-2026-25610

$geoNear Aggregation Crash via Invalid Index Hint

Overview

A vulnerability was discovered in MongoDB’s aggregation pipeline processing when handling $geoNear stages combined with invalid index hints. Improper validation of the hint parameter allowed assertion failures within the query engine.

Under certain crafted aggregation requests, the server process terminated unexpectedly.

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Technical Root Cause

The aggregation engine failed to adequately validate index hints passed to $geoNear. When the hint referenced an incompatible or malformed index, internal assertions were triggered during execution.

This represents insufficient validation of user-supplied execution parameters.

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Exploitation Conditions

• Authenticated user capable of running aggregation pipelines.
• Permission to execute $geoNear.
• No elevated privileges required.
• No user interaction required.

Impact remains availability-focused.

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Proof of Concept Status

No public exploit kit has been documented.
In controlled lab testing, crash behavior can be triggered by:

• Submitting $geoNear with invalid index hints.
• Forcing query planner path that evaluates incompatible index metadata.

Educational use only in isolated environments.

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Indicators of Compromise

• MongoDB process crash after $geoNear execution.
• Logs referencing $geoNear, index hint validation errors.
• Aggregation pipeline errors preceding service termination.
• Spike in geospatial queries from specific accounts.

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Log Sources

• MongoDB audit logs
• mongod runtime logs
• Application logs sending aggregation commands
• Container logs (if deployed in Kubernetes)

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Detection Rules and Queries

Splunk

index=mongodb sourcetype="mongod" "$geoNear"
| stats count by user, client_ip

Elastic

event.dataset:mongod AND message:"$geoNear"

Combined Crash Correlation

(event.dataset:mongod AND message:"$geoNear")
OR
(event.dataset:mongod AND message:"assert")

Trigger alert if:

• $geoNear execution is followed by process restart within 2 minutes.
• Multiple invalid hint errors logged.

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MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

• T1499 – Endpoint Denial of Service
• T1078 – Valid Accounts

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Remediation

Upgrade to vendor-patched MongoDB version immediately.

Official Patch Information:
https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/release-notes/
https://www.mongodb.com/resources/products/alerts

Interim Mitigation:

• Restrict use of $geoNear to trusted roles.
• Enforce strict role-based access control.
• Monitor index hint usage in audit logs.

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CVE-2026-25609

Profile Command Validation Privilege Confusion

Overview

An authorization validation flaw was identified in the handling of the profile command. When modifying the profiling filter parameter, the server could incorrectly treat the operation as read-only.

As a result, lower-privileged users could modify profiling configuration without possessing the appropriate authorization.

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Technical Root Cause

Authorization checks were improperly applied when validating changes to profiling filters. The system incorrectly categorized certain profile command modifications as read operations rather than configuration changes.

This led to privilege confusion and incomplete authorization enforcement.

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Exploitation Conditions

• Authenticated access required.
• Ability to issue profile command.
• No administrative privileges required in vulnerable builds.
• No user interaction required.

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Potential Impact

• Unauthorized modification of profiling filters.
• Possible reduction of logging visibility.
• Audit bypass scenarios.
• Policy misconfiguration by non-admin accounts.

Confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, but monitoring integrity can be weakened.

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Proof of Concept Status

No public exploit framework has been published.
In controlled lab conditions, unauthorized modification of profiling filter can be demonstrated using low-privileged roles in vulnerable versions.

Testing must be limited to isolated environments.

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Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes in profiling configuration.
• Profile level changes initiated by non-admin users.
• Audit logs showing profile command with filter updates.
• Reduced logging after filter change.

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Log Sources

• MongoDB audit logs (recommended enabled)
• mongod administrative command logs
• Security event logs (RBAC changes)

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Detection Rules and Queries

Splunk

index=mongodb sourcetype="mongod" "profile"
| stats count by user, command

Elastic

event.dataset:mongod AND message:"profile"

Privilege Abuse Detection

event.dataset:mongod AND message:"profile" AND NOT user_role:"dbAdmin"

Alert if:

• Non-admin accounts execute profile command.
• Profiling filter modified unexpectedly.
• Profiling level changes outside maintenance window.

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MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

• T1078 – Valid Accounts
• T1562 – Impair Defenses

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Overall Risk Assessment

All three vulnerabilities require authenticated access, which reduces exposure from anonymous attackers. However, in environments with application-level database credentials, the attack surface remains realistic.

The two denial-of-service vulnerabilities pose operational risk in high-availability clusters. The privilege confusion issue presents risk to audit integrity and monitoring controls.

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Recommended Security Actions

1. Upgrade immediately to patched MongoDB versions.
2. Enable MongoDB audit logging if not already active.
3. Restrict aggregation and index privileges.
4. Monitor for repeated assertion failures.
5. Review RBAC roles to ensure least privilege principle.
6. Implement restart alerting for mongod service.
7. Apply vulnerability management tracking for these CVEs.

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Official Upgrade Links

MongoDB Release Notes (All Supported Versions):
https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/release-notes/

MongoDB Security Alerts:
https://www.mongodb.com/resources/products/alerts

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Final Takeaway

• Two vulnerabilities can let an authenticated user crash MongoDB (Denial of Service) through malformed index handling and $geoNear misuse.
• One vulnerability allows a low-privileged user to alter profiling configuration, weakening monitoring controls.
• No public exploits observed, but impact is operationally significant in shared-access environments.
• Immediate upgrade to the latest patched MongoDB version is strongly recommended, along with monitoring for crashes, abnormal aggregation activity, and unauthorized profile changes.

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