CVE-2015-1609 in MongoDB
Summary
by MITRE
MongoDB before 2.4.13 and 2.6.x before 2.6.8 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted UTF-8 string in a BSON request.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-1609 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting MongoDB database systems across multiple version ranges. This issue specifically targets the BSON (Binary JSON) parsing mechanism within MongoDB's architecture, creating a condition where malformed UTF-8 strings can trigger system instability. The vulnerability impacts MongoDB versions prior to 2.4.13 and 2.6.x versions before 2.6.8, making it a widespread concern for organizations utilizing these database systems. The flaw demonstrates the inherent risks associated with improper input validation in database engines, particularly when handling text encoding standards that are fundamental to data exchange protocols.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves the processing of BSON documents containing crafted UTF-8 sequences that cause the MongoDB server to crash or become unresponsive. When the database engine encounters these malformed strings during BSON parsing operations, it fails to properly handle the encoding errors, leading to memory corruption or resource exhaustion conditions. This behavior stems from insufficient bounds checking and error handling within the UTF-8 validation routines of MongoDB's BSON parser implementation. The vulnerability operates at the protocol level, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through standard database connection mechanisms without requiring elevated privileges or specialized access conditions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for database availability and system stability. Attackers can leverage this flaw to disrupt database services by sending specially crafted requests that contain the malicious UTF-8 sequences, resulting in immediate service disruption. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service as the system may require manual intervention to recover from crashes, potentially leading to extended downtime and data accessibility issues. Organizations running affected MongoDB versions face the risk of automated attacks that could systematically target their database infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for high-availability environments and mission-critical applications that depend on continuous database access.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-129 and CWE-131 categories within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically addressing issues related to improper input validation and insufficient boundary checking in data processing components. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1595.001 which involves reconnaissance through network scanning and information gathering. The low complexity and high impact characteristics of this vulnerability make it attractive to threat actors seeking to disrupt database services, particularly in environments where MongoDB is widely deployed. Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability as part of broader database security assessments, implementing proper monitoring for unusual connection patterns and malformed request sequences that could indicate exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-1609 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to patched MongoDB releases that address the UTF-8 parsing flaws. Organizations should prioritize updating their MongoDB installations to versions 2.4.13 or 2.6.8 and later, ensuring that all database servers receive the necessary security patches. Network-level protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional defense-in-depth by monitoring for suspicious BSON traffic patterns and malformed UTF-8 sequences. Database administrators should also implement proper input validation at application layers and consider deploying database firewalls that can filter out potentially malicious requests before they reach the MongoDB engine. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should include verification of MongoDB version compliance to prevent exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities in the database infrastructure.