Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-20804 is a denial-of-service issue in MongoDB Server. A user who already has permission to query the database could send specially crafted applyOps invocations that cause an invariant failure and disrupt availability. It affects MongoDB Server 3.6 before 3.6.13 and 4.0 before 4.0.10.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate operational resilience issue. Prioritize remediation for production or externally reachable MongoDB systems, especially where many application or user accounts can query the database. It is availability-focused, not described as data theft or privilege escalation.
Technical view
The issue is classified as CWE-20 improper input validation. CVSS 3.1 is 6.5: network reachable, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high availability impact with no confidentiality or integrity impact stated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in environments still running MongoDB Server 3.6.x below 3.6.13 or 4.0.x below 4.0.10. Risk is higher where low-privilege database users, applications, or service accounts can directly reach affected MongoDB instances.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The vulnerability requires existing database query authorization, so this is not described as unauthenticated remote compromise. Its main business impact is service disruption.
Researcher notes
The source bundle gives affected versions, CVSS, CWE, and the MongoDB Jira reference, but not detailed root-cause internals or exploit evidence. Avoid assuming broader product impact beyond MongoDB Server 3.6 and 4.0 as listed.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade MongoDB Server 3.6 deployments to 3.6.13 or later.
- Upgrade MongoDB Server 4.0 deployments to 4.0.10 or later.
- Review MongoDB user permissions and remove unnecessary query access.
- Restrict network access to MongoDB from trusted application hosts only.
- Check MongoDB vendor guidance for any environment-specific recommendations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all MongoDB Server 3.6 and 4.0 instances.
- Confirm exact installed versions against the affected version ranges.
- Review database accounts with query privileges and their access paths.
- Check monitoring for unexplained MongoDB crashes or restarts.
- Verify upgraded instances report 3.6.13, 4.0.10, or later.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-20: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-20804 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-35636CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.