CVE-2024-1351 in Server
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2024
Under certain configurations of --tlsCAFile and tls.CAFile, MongoDB Server may skip peer certificate validation which may result in untrusted connections to succeed. This may effectively reduce the security guarantees provided by TLS and open connections that should have been closed due to failing certificate validation. This issue affects MongoDB Server v7.0 versions prior to and including 7.0.5, MongoDB Server v6.0 versions prior to and including 6.0.13, MongoDB Server v5.0 versions prior to and including 5.0.24 and MongoDB Server v4.4 versions prior to and including 4.4.28.
Required Configuration : A server process will allow incoming connections to skip peer certificate validation if the server process was started with TLS enabled (net.tls.mode set to allowTLS, preferTLS, or requireTLS) and without a net.tls.CAFile configured.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/11/2024
This vulnerability in MongoDB Server represents a critical flaw in the transport layer security implementation that undermines fundamental security controls. The issue arises from improper handling of certificate validation when specific TLS configuration parameters are used in conjunction with missing certificate authority file specifications. When MongoDB servers are configured with TLS enabled but without specifying the net.tls.CAFile parameter, the system fails to validate peer certificates properly, creating a pathway for unauthorized connections to succeed despite certificate validation failures. This configuration oversight directly violates security best practices and creates a dangerous scenario where the TLS protocol's integrity is compromised.
The technical flaw stems from the server's conditional logic that determines when certificate validation should occur. Under normal circumstances, when TLS is enabled with proper certificate authority configuration, the server should enforce strict peer validation to ensure that connecting clients possess valid certificates issued by trusted authorities. However, in the affected versions, the absence of the CAFile parameter triggers an unintended code path where certificate validation is bypassed entirely. This behavior creates a security boundary failure that allows connections to proceed even when certificate verification should have rejected them, effectively neutralizing the security benefits of TLS encryption. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack and specifically affects the TLS handshake process where peer certificate validation should occur.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple security degradation to potentially enable sophisticated attack vectors that leverage the weakened TLS protections. An attacker could exploit this flaw by establishing connections to MongoDB servers without proper certificate validation, potentially gaining unauthorized access to database resources. The vulnerability affects multiple major versions of MongoDB, indicating a widespread issue that would impact numerous production environments. Organizations relying on MongoDB for sensitive data storage face increased risk of data breaches, unauthorized data access, and potential system compromise when servers are configured with the vulnerable TLS settings. The security implications are particularly severe given that MongoDB is widely used for storing critical application data, user information, and business-critical databases.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention from system administrators and security teams. The primary remediation involves ensuring that all MongoDB server instances configured with TLS enabled also specify the net.tls.CAFile parameter to establish proper certificate validation. Organizations should also implement comprehensive configuration auditing to identify all affected server instances and verify that TLS configurations follow security best practices. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1046, which involves network service scanning and exploitation of weak security configurations. Regular security assessments should verify that TLS configurations are properly implemented and that certificate validation is enforced across all database server instances. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and additional access controls as compensating measures while addressing the root cause configuration issues.