# CVE-2026-59509: Unauthenticated arbitrary MongoDB collection read in cve-search

> Unauthenticated attackers can read arbitrary MongoDB collections, exposing admin credentials and enabling account takeover in cve-search.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.2 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 6 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3fmp-59v6-4qw2

## What is CVE-2026-59509?

CVE-2026-59509 is a critical vulnerability in cve-search, published on 5 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An unauthenticated improper input validation vulnerability in the POST /fetch_cve_data endpoint in cve-search. A remote attacker can manipulate request parameters controlling the MongoDB collection, projected fields, and regular-expression filters to read arbitrary application MongoDB collections. This can expose administrative usernames and password hashes from the mgmt_users collection, enabling offline password cracking and potential administrative account compromise.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-59509?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-59509?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-59509 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-59509 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-59509 exists.

Public exploit code:

- cve-search 4.0-6.0.0 - Unauthenticated NoSQL Injection (nuclei): http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-59509.yaml

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-59509 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-59509 is a critical vulnerability in cve-search, published on 5 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-59509 exists.

Affected product: cve-search. 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-2026-59509/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59509/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-59509
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59509
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-59509

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59509/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.