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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for mongodb/mongo

Attack Surface: Unprotected MongoDB Instance Exposure

  • Description: Making the MongoDB instance directly accessible from the public internet without proper network controls.
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB, by default, listens on all interfaces (0.0.0.0) if not configured otherwise. If firewall rules are not explicitly set, it becomes publicly accessible.
  • Example: A developer deploys a MongoDB instance on a cloud server and forgets to configure the firewall. A script kiddie scans the internet, finds the open port 27017, and connects to the database without authentication.
  • Impact: Full database compromise, complete data breach, data manipulation, denial of service, ransomware attacks.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers/Users:
      • Network Segmentation: Deploy MongoDB in a private network segment, isolated from the public internet.
      • Firewall Rules: Configure firewalls to restrict access to MongoDB only from trusted sources (e.g., application servers' IP addresses).
      • Bind to Specific Interface: Configure MongoDB to bind to a specific private IP address instead of 0.0.0.0.

Attack Surface: Weak or Missing Authentication

  • Description: Running MongoDB with authentication disabled or using easily bypassed or weak authentication mechanisms.
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB can be configured to run without authentication. Default configurations in older versions might have weak defaults.
  • Example: A development instance of MongoDB is left running without authentication enabled. An attacker gains access and drops all collections, causing data loss.
  • Impact: Unauthorized access, data breaches, data manipulation, data deletion, denial of service.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers/Users:
      • Enable Authentication: Always enable authentication in MongoDB.
      • Strong Authentication Mechanism: Use SCRAM-SHA-256 or x.509 authentication mechanisms. Avoid older, weaker mechanisms.
      • Strong Passwords: Enforce strong password policies for database users.
      • Regular Password Rotation: Implement regular password rotation for database users.

Attack Surface: Insufficient Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

  • Description: Granting overly broad permissions to database users or applications, violating the principle of least privilege.
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB's RBAC system allows for granular permission control, but misconfiguration can lead to excessive privileges.
  • Example: An application user is granted dbOwner role on a database when it only needs read access to a specific collection. A vulnerability in the application allows an attacker to leverage these excessive permissions to modify data they shouldn't be able to.
  • Impact: Privilege escalation, unauthorized data modification, data breaches, internal attacks.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers/Users:
      • Principle of Least Privilege: Grant only the necessary permissions to each user and application.
      • Granular Roles: Utilize MongoDB's built-in roles and create custom roles for fine-grained access control.
      • Regular Audits: Regularly review and audit user roles and permissions to ensure they are still appropriate.

Attack Surface: NoSQL Injection Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Improperly sanitizing user input used in MongoDB queries, allowing attackers to inject malicious operators or commands.
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB's query language, while powerful, can be vulnerable to injection if queries are constructed using string concatenation of user input.
  • Example: An application uses user-provided input to search for users by username. The query is constructed by directly embedding the input string. An attacker provides an input like {$ne: null} which bypasses the intended username search and returns all users.
  • Impact: Data breaches, unauthorized data access, data manipulation, potential server-side JavaScript execution (if enabled).
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers:
      • Parameterized Queries/Query Builders: Use MongoDB driver's query builders or parameterized queries to construct queries safely. This prevents user input from being interpreted as code.
      • Input Validation and Sanitization: Validate and sanitize all user input before using it in queries.
      • Avoid String Concatenation: Never construct MongoDB queries by directly concatenating user input strings.

Attack Surface: Server-Side JavaScript Injection (If Enabled)

  • Description: Exploiting NoSQL injection to execute arbitrary JavaScript code on the MongoDB server (if server-side JavaScript is enabled).
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB historically allowed server-side JavaScript execution. While discouraged and often disabled by default now, it might still be enabled in older or misconfigured instances.
  • Example: An attacker exploits a NoSQL injection vulnerability and injects JavaScript code that reads sensitive files from the server's filesystem or executes system commands.
  • Impact: Full server compromise, data breaches, denial of service, lateral movement within the network.
  • Risk Severity: Critical (if server-side JS is enabled)
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers/Users:
      • Disable Server-Side JavaScript: Disable server-side JavaScript execution in MongoDB configuration unless absolutely necessary. This is the most effective mitigation.
      • Strict Input Validation (if JS enabled): If server-side JavaScript is required, implement extremely rigorous input validation and sanitization to prevent injection.

Attack Surface: Insecure Backup Practices

  • Description: Storing MongoDB backups in insecure locations or without proper encryption and access controls.
  • MongoDB Contribution: MongoDB provides tools for backups (e.g., mongodump), but the security of the backups themselves is the user's responsibility.
  • Example: MongoDB backups are stored on an unencrypted network share with weak access controls. An attacker gains access to the network share and steals the backups, gaining access to all database data.
  • Impact: Data breaches, exposure of sensitive information, compliance violations.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developers/Users:
      • Backup Encryption: Encrypt backups at rest and in transit.
      • Secure Backup Storage: Store backups in secure locations with restricted access control.
      • Regular Backup Testing: Regularly test backup and restore procedures to ensure backups are valid and accessible when needed.