Privilege escalation in MongoDB for Windows

1) Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

EUVDB-ID: #VU21320

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.4 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-2390

CWE-ID: CWE-264 - Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to the way MongoDB uses OpenSSL, when installed on Windows. A local unprivileged user with ability to create OpenSSL configuration files in a fixed location can modify OpenSSL configuration files and execute arbitrary code on the system via utility programs, shipped with MongoDB server.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a legitimate user runs MongoDB utility programs.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

MongoDB: 2.4.0. - 4.0.10

External links

http://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-42233

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to send a specially crafted request to the affected application in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The attacker would have to login to the system and perform certain actions in order to exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.