CVE-2025-1693 Overview
CVE-2025-1693 is a control character injection vulnerability in the MongoDB Shell (mongosh). An attacker with control over database cluster contents can inject control characters into the shell output. The injected characters can display falsified messages that appear to originate from mongosh or the underlying operating system. Users may be misled into executing unsafe actions based on these spoofed messages.
The issue is classified under CWE-150 (Improper Neutralization of Escape, Meta, or Control Sequences). Exploitation requires that mongosh connects to a cluster partially or fully controlled by an attacker. The vulnerability affects mongosh versions prior to 2.3.9.
Critical Impact
An attacker controlling cluster contents can spoof shell and OS messages inside mongosh, tricking operators into running unsafe commands or trusting falsified output.
Affected Products
- MongoDB mongosh versions prior to 2.3.9
- Any environment where mongosh connects to an attacker-controlled MongoDB cluster
- Administrative workflows relying on mongosh output for operational decisions
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-02-27 - CVE-2025-1693 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-1693
Vulnerability Analysis
The MongoDB Shell renders data returned from the connected cluster directly to the terminal. When the shell fails to neutralize control characters embedded in that data, an attacker can inject ANSI escape sequences, carriage returns, or other terminal control codes. These sequences can overwrite prior lines, reposition the cursor, change colors, or emit text that mimics legitimate mongosh prompts and operating system messages.
An operator viewing tampered query results may see fabricated confirmations, false error messages, or spoofed prompts. This undermines the integrity of the interactive session and can steer the user toward destructive actions. Because mongosh is commonly used for administrative tasks, the misleading output can cascade into privileged operations against the database or host system.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper neutralization of control sequences in output rendered by mongosh. Data retrieved from the cluster is echoed to the terminal without sanitizing terminal control characters. This maps to CWE-150 and stems from trusting server-supplied content when formatting shell output.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires an attacker who controls, or partially controls, the contents of the MongoDB cluster that a legitimate operator connects to using mongosh. The attacker stores documents or field values containing crafted control sequences. When an operator runs a query or command that returns this data, the terminal renders the injected sequences. User interaction is required, since the operator must connect to the malicious cluster and view the tainted output.
No verified public proof-of-concept code is available. Refer to the MongoDB JIRA Issue MONGOSH-2026 for vendor-provided technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1693
Indicators of Compromise
- Documents or field values containing ANSI escape sequences, carriage returns, or other non-printable control characters returned by MongoDB queries.
- Unexpected screen redraws, cursor repositioning, or color changes during mongosh sessions.
- Shell output that mimics OS prompts or system messages inside an interactive mongosh session.
- Connections from administrator workstations to untrusted or third-party MongoDB clusters.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect stored documents for byte sequences matching control characters, particularly \\x1b[ (ESC) sequences and stray \r characters.
- Audit MongoDB access logs to correlate administrator mongosh sessions with connections to external or untrusted clusters.
- Compare deployed mongosh client versions against the fixed release 2.3.9 across all administrator endpoints.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Track mongosh version inventory across endpoints and flag installations older than 2.3.9.
- Monitor egress connections from administrator workstations to MongoDB clusters outside the approved inventory.
- Log and review interactive shell sessions where administrators connect to newly onboarded or third-party clusters.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1693
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade mongosh to version 2.3.9 or later on every workstation that connects to MongoDB clusters.
- Restrict mongosh connections to trusted, organization-controlled clusters only.
- Review recent administrative sessions that touched externally hosted or partner-operated MongoDB clusters for suspicious output.
Patch Information
MongoDB addressed the issue in mongosh version 2.3.9. The fix neutralizes control characters in shell output so that server-supplied data cannot alter terminal rendering. See the MongoDB JIRA Issue MONGOSH-2026 for release details.
Workarounds
- Avoid connecting mongosh to clusters where document contents may be influenced by untrusted parties until the client is upgraded.
- Use non-interactive tooling or pipe mongosh output through a sanitizer that strips control characters before display.
- Enforce least privilege on database accounts used by mongosh sessions to limit the impact of misleading prompts.
# Verify the installed mongosh version and upgrade if below 2.3.9
mongosh --version
npm install -g mongosh@2.3.9
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
