dbcve.org
Ops Manager ServerApplication · MongoDB

CVE-2023-4009

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.22 / 6.0.17 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
In MongoDB Ops Manager v5.0 prior to 5.0.22 and v6.0 prior to 6.0.17 it is possible for an authenticated user with project owner or project user admin access to generate an API key with the privileges of org owner resulting in privilege escalation.

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 confidence

In MongoDB Ops Manager v5.0 prior to 5.0.22 and v6.0 prior to 6.0.17, an authenticated user with project owner or project user admin privileges can generate an API key that inherits org owner permissions, allowing privilege escalation beyond their intended project-level access.

MitigationUpgrade MongoDB Ops Manager to v5.0.22/v6.0.17 or later. Additionally, audit users with project owner or project user admin roles to ensure only trusted personnel hold these privileges.

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
Ops Manager ServerApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.22>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.17

CVSS 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
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Ops Manager version
    Navigate to Ops Manager UI: go to the Ops Manager home page and look for the version number displayed, or query the Ops Manager application via the administrative interface or command line tools used for your deployment
    Affected if The installed version is >= 5.0.0 and < 5.0.22, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.0.17
  2. Identify project owner users
    In Ops Manager, navigate to the Projects section, select each project, and review the project access settings to list users assigned the project owner role
    Affected if Any user is assigned project owner privileges in your Ops Manager projects
  3. Identify project user admin users
    In Ops Manager, navigate to the Projects section, select each project, and review the project access settings to list users assigned the project user admin role
    Affected if Any user is assigned project user admin privileges in your Ops Manager projects
  4. Review API keys with elevated permissions
    In Ops Manager, go to the Organization settings and examine the API keys list. Check if any API keys were created by users with project-level roles but now possess org owner or elevated permissions beyond the expected project scope
    Affected if API keys exist that were created by project owner or project user admin users but grant org-level access beyond their intended project scope

You are affected if your Ops Manager version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND any project owner or project user admin users exist who could have created overly-privileged API keys.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.0.22 / 6.0.17 or later
Fixed in 5.0.226.0.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade MongoDB Ops Manager to v5.0.22/v6.0.17 or later. Additionally, audit users with project owner or project user admin roles to ensure only trusted personnel hold these privileges.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ops Manager 5.0.22 or 6.0.17 (depending on your major version branch)

  1. Review the MongoDB Ops Manager upgrade documentation for your current version
  2. Back up your Ops Manager database and configuration
  3. Ensure your system meets the prerequisites for version 5.0.22 or 6.0.17
  4. Stop the Ops Manager application
  5. Upgrade Ops Manager to version 5.0.22 (if on 5.x) or 6.0.17 (if on 6.x) following official upgrade procedures
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Ops Manager version
  7. Confirm the privilege escalation vulnerability is resolved by testing that project-level users can no longer create org-level API keys
Caveat Review MongoDB's release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and the target version before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ops Manager Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4009 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data