CVE-2016-3104: High severity mongodb vulnerability
It was reported that it is possible for remote unauthenticated attackers to cause the host to kill mongoDB service due to memory exhaustion. This issue can be triggered by making multiple database creation requests. Even if authentication fails, the requested database is created in memory. Eventually, the host runs out of memory and kills Mongo service resulting in a denial of service. After service restart, all created databases are deleted.
The issue was identified in versions 2.4 and 2.6. The issue was found to be not reproducible on 3.0.11 and 3.2.4.
External references: https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-24378
Other sources
mongod in MongoDB 2.6, when using 2.4-style users, and 2.4 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption and process termination) by leveraging in-memory database representation when authenticating against a non-existent database.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2016-3104?
CVE-2016-3104 is considered a medium severity vulnerability due to its potential for remote denial of service.
How can CVE-2016-3104 be mitigated?
To mitigate CVE-2016-3104, ensure that proper input validation is implemented to limit database creation requests from unauthenticated users.
Which versions of MongoDB are affected by CVE-2016-3104?
CVE-2016-3104 affects MongoDB versions 2.4.0 and 2.6.0.
What type of attack does CVE-2016-3104 enable?
CVE-2016-3104 enables remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust memory, potentially causing the MongoDB service to crash.
Is there a fix available for CVE-2016-3104?
The recommended solution for CVE-2016-3104 is to upgrade to a version of MongoDB that is not affected by this vulnerability.