Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
MongoDB Server had a flaw where, after an administrative action, a legitimate user could bypass per-user IP whitelist controls. This does not give access to unauthenticated attackers, but it weakens a network-based access safeguard for already credentialed users.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority control-bypass issue. It matters most where MongoDB IP whitelisting is a compensating control around privileged or sensitive data access.
Technical view
The issue is improper serialization of internal authorization state in MongoDB Server. A user with valid credentials may bypass IP whitelisting after administrative action. Affected versions are 4.2 before 4.2.3, 4.0 before 4.0.15, 4.3 before 4.3.3, and 3.6 before 3.6.18.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected MongoDB Server versions are deployed and per-user IP whitelisting is relied on as an enforcement control.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates network access, low attack complexity, low privileges, and required user interaction. The bundle does not show KEV listing, active exploitation, or public exploit evidence.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and MongoDB issue reference. The key condition is valid credentials plus an administrative action affecting authorization state serialization. No availability impact is indicated.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected MongoDB Server versions to the fixed versions or later.
- Prioritize systems relying on per-user IP whitelist enforcement.
- Review MongoDB vendor guidance and the linked SERVER-45472 issue.
- Monitor for unexpected authenticated access from non-whitelisted IP addresses.
Validation and detection
- Inventory MongoDB Server versions across production and managed environments.
- Confirm whether per-user IP whitelisting is enabled and security-relevant.
- Check whether deployed versions are below the fixed release thresholds.
- Review authentication logs for valid users connecting from unexpected IPs.
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
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-182: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-7921 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
- 4.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
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:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N2.12.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.6MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-45472CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value
Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.