MD4X-00-000600 - If passwords are used for authentication, MongoDB must transmit only encrypted representations of passwords.

Information

The DoD standard for authentication is DoD-approved PKI certificates.

Authentication based on User ID and Password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate, and requires AO approval.

In such cases, passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords during transmission.

DBMS passwords sent in clear text format across the network are vulnerable to discovery by unauthorized users. Disclosure of passwords may easily lead to unauthorized access to the database.

Satisfies: SRG-APP-000172-DB-000075, SRG-APP-000175-DB-000067

Solution

In the MongoDB database configuration file (default location: /etc/mongod.conf), ensure the following parameters are present in the net.tls (network TLS) section of the file and are configured correctly for the site and server:

net:
tls:
mode: requireTLS
certificateKeyFile: /etc/ssl/mongodb.pem
CAFile: /etc/ssl/caToValidateClientCertificates.pem
allowInvalidCertificates: false
allowConnectionsWithoutCertificates: false

Stop/start (restart) the mongod or mongos instance using this configuration.

More information for configuring TLS/SSL for MongoDB can be found here:
https://docs.mongodb.com/v4.4/tutorial/configure-ssl/

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_MDB_Enterprise_Advanced_4-x_V1R4_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1)(c), 800-53|IA-5(2)(a), CAT|I, CCI|CCI-000185, CCI|CCI-000197, Rule-ID|SV-252139r961029_rule, STIG-ID|MD4X-00-000600, Vuln-ID|V-252139

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: f608f78c4c0c1c74710dc246f12b699890afb650b0b66777e84ddc74bfa00919