# CVE-2021-20334: Local privilege escalation in MongoDB Compass for Windows

> A local attacker can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running MongoDB Compass on Windows.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9567-49v2-4jq6

## What is CVE-2021-20334?

CVE-2021-20334 is a medium-severity vulnerability in MongoDB Compass, published on 6 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A malicious 3rd party with local access to the Windows machine where MongoDB Compass is installed can execute arbitrary software with the privileges of the user who is running MongoDB Compass. This issue affects: MongoDB Inc. MongoDB Compass 1.x version 1.3.0 on Windows and later versions; 1.x versions prior to 1.25.0 on Windows.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-20334?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mongodb Compass.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-20334?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-20334 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-20334 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20334 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in MongoDB Compass

- [CVE-2026-14881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14881/): Command injection in MongoDB Compass (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2025-1755](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1755/): MongoDB Compass may be susceptible to local privilege escalation in Windows (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2024-3371](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-3371/): Insufficient validation of external input in Compass may enable MITM attacks (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2024-6376](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6376/): ejson shell parser in MongoDB Compass maybe bypassed (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2026-9101](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9101/): Prototype pollution in csv parsing (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-20334 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-20334 is a medium-severity vulnerability in MongoDB Compass, published on 6 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20334 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: MongoDB Compass. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20334/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20334/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-20334
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-20334
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-20334

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20334/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.