Best Practices for Securing MongoDB

MongoDB Security Features

Let us go through the list of features in Securing mongodb :

1. MongoDB Authentication : The act of validating an entity that is seeking to connect is known as authentication. The following are some of the authentication methods that MongoDB supports :
   • Kerberos authentication
   • x.509 Certificate Authentication
   • SCRAM (default)
   • LDAP proxy authentication These protocols make it possible for MongoDB to work with your current authentication system and satisfy thea demands of various contexts.
2. MongoDB Authorization : Finding out the precise permissions of the entity trying to connect is the process of authorization. Role-based access control, or RBAC, is used by MongoDB to manage access. Each user may be given one or more roles that control their access to database resources and functions thanks to this feature.
3. MongoDB Auditing : Enterprise edition has sophisticated auditing features. It records database access and activities as well as DDL actions, which include schema operations as well as write and read DML actions. The following are important aspects of auditing in MongoDB :
   • Filter and construct audit trails : This may be used for DDL, DCL, and DML operations on MongoDB without the need for external tools. For instance, you may record and audit the user IDs that viewed particular documents during a session and their database modifications.
   • Logging settings for MongoDB : You may provide filters that catch particular events, roles or you can tell MongoDB to log actions. The audit log can be written to several locations in different forms, such as the console, syslog, JSON/BSON file. It may be loaded into MongoDB and examined to find pertinent events. Events are written to the associated storage by a MongoDB server. Database administrators may combine these events into a single audit log that provides a cluster-wide picture of operations using the tools they already have at their disposal.
4. MongoDB Encryption : Administrators may use MongoDB to encrypt both data in motion and data at rest in backup and permanent storage repositories. When using data on the server, users can encrypt data at the field level to shield sensitive information from administrators and other authorised users.
5. Database Monitoring and Upgrading : For an IT infrastructure to have the visibility required to guarantee security, efficiency, and accessibility all components must be actively monitored. It aids in finding and correcting possible problems before they have a detrimental effect on the system's functioning. In order to lessen the effects incase of security failure, it also assists in real-time identification of possible exploits. MongoDB has a number of tools that may be used to keep a track of activities in your database, such as mongostat and mongotop. These additional MongoDB-compatible tools are listed below :
   • MongoDB Ops Manager : To run MongoDB on your infrastructure, MongoDB Ops Manager, which is included with Advanced Enterprise edition of MongoDB, offers thorough monitoring features. It makes it simple to grow, protect, backup, and monitor MongoDB.
   • Cloud Manager for MongoDB : This MongoDB management solution housed in the cloud has features like charts, personalised dashboards, and automatic alerts that are also provided by Ops Manager. Over 100 database and system health metrics, such as memory and CPU usage, open connections, node status, operations counters can be tracked by Ops and Cloud Manager. Additionally, when a host is in connect with the Internet, Cloud Manager notifies users.

MongoDB Security Checklist

Let us go through the checklist for Securing mongodb :

Pre-production Checklist/Considerations

1. Enable Access Control and Enforce Authentication : Clients can use one of the following authentication methods supported by MongoDB Community to confirm their identity:
   • SCRAM (Default)
   • x.509 Certificate Authentication.
2. Configure Role-Based Access Control : Prior to creating more users, create an administrator user. For each individual or programme that uses the system, create a distinct MongoDB user. Observe the least privilege principle. Make roles that specify the precise access privileges needed by a group of users. Then, create users and only give them the roles they require to carry out their tasks. A client programme or a human can both be a user.
3. Encrypt Communication (TLS/SSL) : Set up MongoDB such that all incoming and outgoing connections utilise TLS/SSL. Use TLS/SSL to secure communication between all apps and MongoDB, as well as between the mongod and mongos components of a MongoDB setup.
4. Encrypt and Protect Data : With the native Encryption at Rest feature of the WiredTiger storage engine, you can encrypt data in the storage layer. Data from MongoDB should be encrypted on each host using a file-system, device, or physical encryption (such as dm-crypt) if WiredTiger's encryption at rest is not being used. Additionally, you ought to use file-system permissions to Securing mongodb data. Data in MongoDB contains key files, auditing logs, configuration files, and data files. Before sending data over the wire to the server, fields in documents can be encrypted application-side using Queryable Encryption or Client-Side Field Level Encryption. Bring all the logs together in one place. These logs provide source IP addresses for database authentication attempts.
5. Limit Network Exposure : Ensure that the network environment in which your MongoDB instances are executing is secure, and configure firewall rules or security groups to control incoming and outgoing traffic. Disable root access through direct SSH. The network interfaces and ports where MongoDB instances are accessible should only be accessible by trustworthy clients.
6. Audit System Activity : Monitor data and database configuration changes and access. A system auditing feature is part of MongoDB Enterprise and allows for the recording of system events on a MongoDB instance, including user activities and connection events. These audit records enable forensic investigation and let administrators implement appropriate measures.
7. Run MongoDB with a Dedicated User : Using a specific operating system user account, run MongoDB operations. Make that the account has the appropriate rights to access the data, but none more than necessary.
8. Run MongoDB with Secure Configuration Options : For several server-side operations, such as mapReduce, $accumulator, $where, and $function, MongoDB enables the execution of JavaScript code. Server-side scripting can be turned off with the --noscripting option if you don't utilise these operations. Maintain input validation turned on. Input validation is enabled by default in MongoDB thanks to the net.wireObjectCheck parameter. This guarantees that all of the data kept by the mongod instance is legitimate BSON.
9. Request a Security Technical Implementation Guide : Securing mongodb recommendations for deployments inside the US Department of Defence are included in the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG). On request, MongoDB Inc. offers its STIG.
10. Consider Security Standards Compliance : Please refer to the MongoDB Security Reference Architecture to learn more about how to leverage MongoDB's main security features to create application architecture that complies with regulations like HIPAA or PCI-DSS.

Periodic/Ongoing Production Checks

• periodically update your products and check for MongoDB Product CVE.
• Upgrade your MongoDB installation as necessary by consulting the MongoDB end of life dates. Always try to use the most updated version.
• Make that your MongoDB installation is covered by your information security management system's rules and procedures.
  • Apply patches to your system on a regular basis.
  • Review any modifications to your network rules and policy/procedure to ensure that MongoDB isn't accidentally exposed to the Internet.
  • Users of MongoDB databases are reviewed and rotated on a regular basis.

Best Security Practices for MongoDB

Let us go through the practices for Securing mongodb :

• Make distinct security credentials : Establish login information for every process in order to enable authentication. Avoid sharing login information if several users require access to your database in a administrative way. Doing so raises the possibility of breaching the account and making it more challenging to keep track of administrative access. Give everyone their own credentials.
• Using Access Control basis of roles : Provide authorizations with jobs like business intelligence framework, database administrator, and developer rather than providing them to specific people. Predefined roles offered by MongoDB include clusterAdmin, dbAdmin, and dbOwner.
• Encrypt Your Data : Your data will be accessible to unauthorised people if there is a data breach. Data encryption makes critical information inaccessible to anybody without a decryption key, minimising the impact in the event of a data breach. In MongoDB, there are several ways to use encryption:
  • Data encryption in storage : Wherever you store your data, encrypt it.
  • Transient data encryption : MongoDB by default encrypts all data in transit using SSL/TLS.
• Use the Official MongoDB Packages : It is simple to install MongoDB since it is available as packages in the repositories of all well-known Linux systems. However, you must confirm that the package has passed stability tests and is an approved MongoDB package. Additionally, you must confirm that the group in charge of maintaining the operating system repository is using the most recent MongoDB security updates.
• Logging and auditing : A trail of audits records when and by whom modifications in the database settings were performed. MongoDB Enterprise offers a thorough audit record of administrative acts through its auditing platform.
• Install MongoDB security updates : Database systems are continually being probed for fresh vulnerabilities by attackers. The release of security upgrades and bug patches by the maintenance team of MongoDB should thus be monitored. Check out MongoDB's website, which provides instant notifications of any new security flaws and their remedies. Use of the official repository of MongoDB packages will provide you rapid access to updates in security hence Securing mongodb.