MongoDB, Control Character Injection, CVE-2025-XXXX (High)

How the Mentioned CVE Works:

The MongoDB Shell (mongosh) is vulnerable to control character injection via its autocomplete feature. This vulnerability arises when an attacker manipulates the autocomplete functionality to inject malicious control characters. By preparing a malicious autocompletion string, the attacker can trick a user into executing unintended commands when they press the ‘tab’ key to autocomplete text. This exploit requires user interaction and is only effective when the mongosh is connected to a cluster partially or fully controlled by the attacker. Versions prior to 2.3.9 are affected.

DailyCVE Form:

Platform: MongoDB Shell

Version: Prior to 2.3.9

Vulnerability: Control Character Injection

Severity: High

Date: Feb 27, 2025

What Undercode Say:

Exploitation:

Attacker prepares a malicious autocomplete string in a controlled MongoDB cluster.
User connects to the attacker’s cluster using mongosh.
User presses ‘tab’ to autocomplete a command prefix.

4. Malicious control characters are injected and executed.

Protection:

1. Update mongosh to version 2.3.9 or later.

2. Avoid connecting to untrusted MongoDB clusters.

3. Disable autocomplete in mongosh if not required.

Commands:

Check mongosh version:
```
mongosh --version
```
Update mongosh:
```
npm install -g [email protected]
```
Disable autocomplete:
```
mongosh --no-autocomplete
```

Code:

Example of malicious autocomplete string:

db.collection.find().\x1b[malicious_command

URLs:

MongoDB Security Advisory: https://www.mongodb.com/alerts
GitHub Advisory: https://github.com/advisories
NVD Entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-XXXX

Analytics:

Affected versions: mongosh < 2.3.9
Exploit complexity: Medium (requires user interaction)
Attack vector: Network (via MongoDB cluster connection)
Mitigation: Patch available, user awareness required.

Additional Notes:

Monitor MongoDB logs for unusual autocomplete behavior.
Educate users on risks of connecting to untrusted clusters.
Regularly review and update MongoDB configurations.

References:

Reported By: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-43g5-2wr2-q7vj
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode

Image Source:

Undercode AI DI v2