MongoDBDatabase / datastore
CVE-2013-3969
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe find prototype in scripting/engine_v8.h in MongoDB 2.4.0 through 2.4.4 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (uninitialized pointer dereference and server crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via an invalid RefDB object.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA vulnerability in the find prototype in scripting/engine_v8.h in MongoDB versions 2.4.0 through 2.4.4 allows remote authenticated users to trigger an uninitialized pointer dereference by passing an invalid RefDB object. This can cause a denial of service through server crash or potentially allow arbitrary code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
MongoDBDatabase / datastore
= 2.4.0= 2.4.1= 2.4.2= 2.4.3= 2.4.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed MongoDB versionRun 'mongod --version' from the command line, or connect to the database and run 'db.version()' in the mongo shellAffected if The version shown is 2.4.0, 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.3, or 2.4.4
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Verify MongoDB is running with authentication enabledCheck the configuration file (typically /etc/mongod.conf or /etc/mongo.conf) for the 'auth = true' setting, or check if the --auth flag is passed to mongod processAffected if Authentication is disabled and the database is network-accessible to untrusted users
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Confirm network exposure of MongoDB instanceReview firewall rules and MongoDB bind_ip settings in the configuration file to determine if the instance is accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The MongoDB port (default 27017) is open to untrusted or public network interfaces
You are affected if your MongoDB version is between 2.4.0 and 2.4.4 inclusive, authentication is not enforced, and the database is accessible to remote authenticated or potentially unauthenticated users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade MongoDB to version 2.4.5 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to MongoDB instances and limit authenticated user permissions as a compensating control.
Fix this in MongoDB
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3969 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-3969 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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