CVE-2025-12893
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a TLS certificate validation bypass vulnerability in MongoDB servers. On Windows and Apple systems, MongoDB may accept client certificates missing the required clientAuth extended key usage, and on Apple systems, it may accept server certificates missing serverAuth. This allows unauthorized connections that should be rejected.
💻 Affected Systems
- MongoDB Server
📦 What is this software?
Mongodb by Mongodb
Mongodb by Mongodb
Mongodb by Mongodb
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker with a valid certificate lacking proper EKU could authenticate to MongoDB servers or establish connections to unauthorized external servers, potentially leading to data access or man-in-the-middle attacks.
Likely Case
Misconfigured certificates that should be rejected are accepted, potentially allowing unintended access or connections that violate security policies.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and certificate management controls, the impact is limited to certificate validation failures rather than actual compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires a valid certificate, just missing proper EKU. Attacker needs access to such certificates.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: v7.0.26, v8.0.16, v8.2.2
Vendor Advisory: https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-105783
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download patched version from MongoDB website. 2. Stop MongoDB service. 3. Install update. 4. Restart MongoDB service. 5. Verify version with mongod --version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Migrate to Linux
allMove MongoDB servers to Linux operating systems where the validation works correctly.
Strict Certificate Policy Enforcement
allEnforce strict certificate issuance policies requiring proper EKU extensions.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to limit MongoDB server exposure
- Enhance certificate monitoring to detect certificates missing proper EKU
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check MongoDB version and operating system. If running affected versions on Windows or Apple OS, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
mongod --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify MongoDB version is 7.0.26+, 8.0.16+, or 8.2.2+ and restart service.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected client connections with certificates
- TLS handshake failures or warnings related to certificate validation
Network Indicators:
- TLS connections from unexpected sources
- Connections to unexpected external servers
SIEM Query:
source="mongodb.log" AND ("certificate" OR "TLS" OR "handshake") AND ("warning" OR "error" OR "failed")