CVE-2021-32036Network attack vector

Service interruption via unthrottled features command

Published Feb 4, 2022 · Updated Nov 19, 2024

Resource exhaustion in affected MongoDB Server releases allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via the features command. Repeated high-volume invocation performs work without effective throttling, depleting resources or creating heavy lock contention. Any authenticated account can reach the command without specific authorization; sustained abuse denies service and, rarely, causes identifier-field collisions.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability1.03%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in affected MongoDB Server releases allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via the features command. Repeated high-volume invocation performs work without effective throttling, depleting resources or creating heavy lock contention. Any authenticated account can reach the command without specific authorization; sustained abuse denies service and, rarely, causes identifier-field collisions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-32036
Published
Feb 4, 2022
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Vendor
MongoDB
Product
MongoDB Server
Classifications
CWE-770, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 4, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 19, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.0 <=4.0.28
  2. Affected versionversion=4.2 <=4.2.16
  3. Affected versionversion=4.4 <=4.4.9
  4. Affected versionversion=5.0 <=5.0.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

MongoDB · MongoDB Serverversion=4.0 <=4.0.28; version=4.2 <=4.2.16; version=4.4 <=4.4.9; version=5.0 <=5.0.3

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:P
5.4MongoDBCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
7.1NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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