A security issue was discovered in MongoDB mongos (the sharded cluster router) where an authenticated user with readWrite privileges could crash the mongos process by crafting a specially formed aggregation pipeline. The issue leverages an internal aggregation stage that lacks proper authorization checks despite being intended for internal use, allowing a subsequent stage to be forced to execute on the router under conditions it was not designed to handle. This results in an unhandled fatal error that causes the mongos process to immediately abort, resulting in denial of service for all clients routed through the affected mongos instance.
Weakness
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
Extended Description
While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service. For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.