CompassApplication · MongoDB
CVE-2021-20334
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 · uneditedA malicious 3rd party with local access to the Windows machine where MongoDB Compass is installed can execute arbitrary software with the privileges of the user who is running MongoDB Compass. This issue affects: MongoDB Inc. MongoDB Compass 1.x version 1.3.0 on Windows and later versions; 1.x versions prior to 1.25.0 on Windows.
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 local privilege escalation vulnerability in MongoDB Compass on Windows allows a malicious third party with local physical access to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the Compass application.
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
CompassApplication
>= 1.3.0, < 1.25.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Check if MongoDB Compass is installed on WindowsOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the default installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Compass) for the presence of MongoDB Compass.Affected if MongoDB Compass is not found on the system, the system is not affected.
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Find the installed Compass versionRight-click on the Compass executable (Compass.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, run 'compass --version' from the command line if Compass is in the system PATH.Affected if Unable to determine the version indicates Compass may not be properly installed.
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Compare the installed version against the affected rangeCheck if the installed version falls within >= 1.3.0 and < 1.25.0. The version format is typically in the format X.Y.Z (for example, 1.24.0, 1.21.3, 1.5.0).Affected if The installed version is 1.3.0 or higher but lower than 1.25.0, the system is affected by this vulnerability.
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Verify the operating system is WindowsConfirm that the affected Compass installation is running on a Windows operating system (this vulnerability specifically affects Windows).Affected if Compass is running on Linux or macOS, this specific CVE does not apply.
If MongoDB Compass is installed on Windows with a version between 1.3.0 and 1.24.0 (inclusive), the system is affected by CVE-2021-20334.
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 data1.25.0
Update MongoDB Compass to version 1.25.0 or later. Until the update is applied, restrict physical access to affected machines and ensure Compass users run with minimal privileges.
Fix this in Compass
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20334 — 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-2021-20334 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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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