CVE-2026-18690

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MongoDB Server Privilege Escalation in System Collections

Publication date: 2026-08-11

Last updated on: 2026-08-28

Assigner: MongoDB, Inc.

Description

An issue in MongoDB Server could allow an authenticated user with a limited database-scoped role to perform an action against protected system collections that their assigned privileges should not permit. This could result in critical system collections being dropped and recreated without proper authorization.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-11

Last Modified

2026-08-28

Generated

2026-09-01

AI Q&A

2026-08-12

EPSS Evaluated

2026-08-30

NVD

CVE-2026-18690

EUVD

EUVD-2026-56881

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
mongodb	mongodb_server	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-863	The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in MongoDB Server allows an authenticated user with limited database-scoped privileges to perform unauthorized actions on protected system collections. Specifically, they could drop and recreate these collections without proper authorization.

Detection Guidance

Detection requires monitoring for unauthorized actions on system collections. Check MongoDB logs for commands like 'drop' or 'create' on system collections (e.g., system.users, system.roles). Use commands like 'db.currentOp()' to identify suspicious operations and 'db.collection.getIndexes()' to verify unexpected changes.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to delete or modify critical system collections, leading to data loss, system instability, or unauthorized access. This could disrupt database operations and compromise data integrity.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized data deletion or modification, violating integrity and availability requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. Non-compliance risks include fines, legal penalties, and reputational damage.

Mitigation Strategies

Review and restrict database-scoped roles to ensure users cannot perform actions on protected system collections. Audit user privileges and remove unnecessary elevated permissions.

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