Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
- EPSS is 0.20% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-20334High confidence
Local privilege escalation in MongoDB Compass for Windows
MongoDB Inc. · MongoDB Compass
4.8MediumCVSS 3.1
Patch only the product branches with a verified fix
Fix availability varies by productMedium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Low, lowered one band.downgradedsince 17 Sep 2024
Compensating controls
- Apply the linked authoritative mitigation while planning the permanent fix.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs MongoDB Inc. MongoDB Compass and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Remediation availability differs by product scope
Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
- ABB Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT): 1 affected or under-investigation product state without a fixed product state in the same current advisory
Direct vendor intelligence
1 currentAuthoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories
Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.
9AKK108472A9037 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 1 · finalABB Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT)CVE-2021-20334
The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.
- IIoT services with MongoDB 4.2 installed on ABB Ability Zenon /all
- Summary
- A 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.
- Remediation
- ABB recommends the following mitigation measures: - Replace bundled MongoDB with a supported version if IIoT services are required: - Where IIoT functionality is required, the bundled MongoDB instance can be replaced with a supported and patched version through manual configuration. - The following zenon online help section explains the process of installing and using your own MongoDB database: zenHelpViewer - Uninstall IIoT Services wherever it’s not required: - If IIoT Services are not required, they can be removed using the Control panel uninstaller. This eliminates the dependency on MongoDB without affecting other zenon components. Refer to section “General security recommendations” for further advise on how to keep your system secure.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
Fix availability varies by product01
What, why and how
A 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.
What
A 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.
Why
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
A 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.
Why
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Privilege Management → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low: a basic authenticated account is required
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-269 ↗
CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:LCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CLowConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ILowIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ALowAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix availability varies by product
- Action
- Use the product-specific evidence above. Patch only products with a verified fixed release, and keep every affected or under-investigation state without a matching fix in the remediation queue.
- Workaround
- ABB recommends the following mitigation measures: - Replace bundled MongoDB with a supported version if IIoT services are required: - Where IIoT functionality is required, the bundled MongoDB instance can be replaced with a supported and patched version through manual configuration. - The following zenon online help section explains the process of installing and using your own MongoDB database: zenHelpViewer - Uninstall IIoT Services wherever it’s not required: - If IIoT Services are not required, they can be removed using the Control panel uninstaller. This eliminates the dependency on MongoDB without affecting other zenon components. Refer to section “General security recommendations” for further advise on how to keep your system secure.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 6 Apr 2021 · Last source change 17 Sept 2024, 01:25 UTC · CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-7752
Product sourceVendor CSAF · ABB Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT)
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · ABB Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT)
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added remediation: search.abb.com/Download.aspx?DocumentID=9AKK108472A9037&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=pdf&Action=Launch; removed remediation: nvd.nist.gov/CVE-2021-20334.ABB Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) ↗
- Before
- remediation: nvd.nist.gov/CVE-2021-20334
- After
- remediation: search.abb.com/Download.aspx?DocumentID=9AKK108472A9037&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=pdf&Action=Launch
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.