Security researchers have released an open-source detection tool to help organizations identify potential exploitation of MongoBleed (CVE-2025-14847), a critical memory disclosure vulnerability affecting multiple MongoDB versions.
The MongoBleed Detector, developed by Neo23x0, provides incident responders with an offline analysis capability to scan MongoDB logs for exploitation indicators without requiring network connectivity or additional agents.
MongoBleed represents a severe security flaw in MongoDB’s zlib decompression mechanism that enables attackers to extract sensitive data directly from server memory without authentication.
The vulnerability allows threat actors to harvest credentials, session tokens, and personally identifiable information through a characteristic attack pattern involving high-volume connections absent of client metadata.
| CVE Details | Information |
|---|---|
| CVE ID | CVE-2025-14847 |
| Vulnerability Type | Memory Disclosure |
| Attack Vector | Network, Unauthenticated |
| Affected Component | MongoDB zlib decompression |
The detection tool correlates three specific MongoDB log event types to identify exploitation attempts.
Connection acceptance events (ID 22943), client metadata transmissions (ID 51800), and connection termination records (ID 22944) are analyzed together to establish behavioral baselines.
Legitimate MongoDB drivers consistently send metadata immediately after establishing connections, whereas the MongoBleed exploit connects, extracts memory content, and disconnects without ever transmitting metadata.
This behavioral anomaly forms the foundation of the detection methodology.
The detector features streaming processing capabilities that handle large log files efficiently, compressed log support for rotated archives, and compatibility with both IPv4 and IPv6 addressing schemes.
Core Detection Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Offline & Agentless | No network connectivity required, operates independently |
| Streaming Processing | Handles large log files without loading entire content into memory |
| Compressed Log Support | Transparently processes .gz rotated logs automatically |
| IPv4 & IPv6 Support | Full compatibility with both address formats |
| Configurable Thresholds | Customize detection sensitivity parameters |
| Risk Classification | HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW, INFO severity levels |
| Forensic Folder Mode | Analyze collected evidence from multiple hosts locally |
| Remote Execution | Python wrapper for SSH-based scanning of multiple hosts |
Organizations can configure detection thresholds based on their specific environments, with the tool classifying findings into HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW, and INFO severity categories.
The HIGH classification triggers when connections exceed 100, metadata rates fall below 10 percent, and burst rates surpass 400 connections per minute strong indicators of active exploitation.
Multi-host analysis capabilities enable security teams to examine MongoDB deployments across entire infrastructures.
The forensic folder mode processes collected log files from multiple servers stored in local directories, while the Python-based remote scanner executes SSH-based analysis across distributed hosts.
This parallel execution framework accelerates investigation timelines during active incident response operations.
The vulnerability affects MongoDB versions spanning from 3.6.x through 8.2.x, with patches available for currently supported releases. Version 8.2.3, 8.0.17, 7.0.28, 6.0.27, 5.0.32, and 4.4.30 contain fixes for the flaw.
Organizations running end-of-life versions 4.2.x, 4.0.x, and 3.6.x face continued exposure without available patches, necessitating immediate upgrades to supported releases.
The tool requires minimal dependencies including jq for JSON processing, awk for text manipulation, and gzip for compressed log handling.
Installation involves cloning the GitHub repository and executing the bash script against MongoDB log directories.
Default configurations scan standard log paths at /var/log/mongodb/, while custom parameters accommodate non-standard deployments and forensic investigations.
The detection research underlying this tool credits Eric Capuano’s behavioral analysis of MongoBleed exploitation artifacts, which identified the metadata absence signature as the primary exploitation indicator.
This methodology enables reliable detection even when attackers employ sophisticated techniques to minimize forensic evidence.
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