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Security Checklist¶
On this page
- Enable Access Control and Enforce Authentication
- Configure Role-Based Access Control
- Encrypt Communication
- Encrypt and Protect Data
- Limit Network Exposure
- Audit System Activity
- Run MongoDB with a Dedicated User
- Run MongoDB with Secure Configuration Options
- Request a Security Technical Implementation Guide (where applicable)
- Consider Security Standards Compliance
This documents provides a list of security measures that you should implement to protect your MongoDB installation.
Enable Access Control and Enforce Authentication¶
Enable access control and specify the authentication mechanism. You can use the default MongoDB authentication mechanism or an existing external framework. Authentication requires that all clients and servers provide valid credentials before they can connect to the system. In clustered deployments, enable authentication for each MongoDB server.
See Authentication and Enable Auth.
Configure Role-Based Access Control¶
Create a user administrator first, then create additional users. Create a unique MongoDB user for each person and application that accesses the system.
Create roles that define the exact access a set of users needs. Follow a principle of least privilege. Then create users and assign them only the roles they need to perform their operations. A user can be a person or a client application.
Encrypt Communication¶
Configure MongoDB to use TLS/SSL for all incoming and outgoing
connections. Use TLS/SSL to encrypt communication between
mongod and mongos components of a MongoDB
deployment as well as between all applications and MongoDB.
Encrypt and Protect Data¶
Starting with MongoDB Enterprise 3.2, the WiredTiger storage engine’s native Encryption at Rest can be configured to encrypt data in the storage layer.
If you are not using WiredTiger’s encryption at rest, MongoDB data should be encrypted on each host using file-system, device, or physical encryption. Protect MongoDB data using file-system permissions. MongoDB data includes data files, configuration files, auditing logs, and key files.
Limit Network Exposure¶
Ensure that MongoDB runs in a trusted network environment and limit the interfaces on which MongoDB instances listen for incoming connections. Allow only trusted clients to access the network interfaces and ports on which MongoDB instances are available.
See Security Hardening and the bindIp
setting.
Audit System Activity¶
Track access and changes to database configurations and data. MongoDB Enterprise includes a system auditing facility that can record system events (e.g. user operations, connection events) on a MongoDB instance. These audit records permit forensic analysis and allow administrators to verify proper controls.
See Auditing and Configure Auditing.
Run MongoDB with a Dedicated User¶
Run MongoDB processes with a dedicated operating system user account. Ensure that the account has permissions to access data but no unnecessary permissions.
See Install MongoDB for more information on running MongoDB.
Run MongoDB with Secure Configuration Options¶
MongoDB supports the execution of JavaScript code for certain
server-side operations: mapReduce, group, and
$where. If you do not use these operations, disable
server-side scripting by using the --noscripting option on the command line.
Use only the MongoDB wire protocol on production deployments. Do not
enable the following, all of which enable the web server interface:
net.http.enabled, net.http.JSONPEnabled, and
net.http.RESTInterfaceEnabled. Leave
these disabled, unless required for backwards compatibility.
Deprecated since version 3.2: HTTP interface for MongoDB
Keep input validation enabled. MongoDB enables input validation by default
through the wireObjectCheck setting. This ensures that all
documents stored by the mongod instance are valid BSON.
See Security Hardening for more information on hardening MongoDB configuration.
Request a Security Technical Implementation Guide (where applicable)¶
The Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) contains security guidelines for deployments within the United States Department of Defense. MongoDB Inc. provides its STIG, upon request, for situations where it is required. Please request a copy for more information.
Consider Security Standards Compliance¶
For applications requiring HIPAA or PCI-DSS compliance, please refer to the MongoDB Security Reference Architecture to learn more about how you can use the key security capabilities to build compliant application infrastructure.