Cybersecurity Today: MongoDB – MongoBleed Vulnerability Exploit Reported On Christmas Day

Host: David Shipley
Date: December 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Cybersecurity Today covers a string of major cybersecurity incidents that unfolded during the holiday period, with a primary focus on the newly disclosed MongoBleed vulnerability affecting MongoDB databases. Host David Shipley details how the public release of an exploit on Christmas Day amplified risks, explores a significant breach in Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, discusses a damaging compromise affecting Trust Wallet users, and reviews a Bitcoin scam leveraging GrubHub’s email infrastructure. The episode emphasizes the urgent need for remediation, proactive defense, and vigilance amid ongoing holiday-targeted attacks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. MongoBleed Vulnerability (CVE-2025-1484.7)

• What Happened:
  MongoDB disclosed a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.7), known as MongoBleed, on December 15, 2025. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated clients to trigger accidental exposure of sensitive memory due to a flaw in the Zlib-based message decompression logic—processed before authentication.

• Escalation on Christmas Day:
  A proof-of-concept (POC) exploit was published by an Elastic Security researcher on December 25, drastically lowering the technical barrier for attackers.

  • Quote:

    “The story escalated on Christmas Day when a proof of concept exploit was posted publicly… significantly lowering the barrier for attackers.” (00:47)

• Impact:

  • Affects a broad spectrum of MongoDB versions (including legacy 3.6 and up) and both supported and older branches.
  • Highest risk for internet-facing MongoDB deployments, as attackers don’t need credentials or user interaction—public exploit code is already circulating.
  • “If you run MongoDB, especially anything internet facing, the priority is clear—patch immediately, disable Zlib compression if you can’t patch, and review network exposure.” (03:27)

• Community Reaction:

  • Sysadmin communities (e.g., r/sysadmin on Reddit) criticized the public exploit release on Christmas for putting defenders at a disadvantage during the holidays.
  • Quote:

    “This is serious, but why drop a working exploit on Christmas Day?” (02:14)

• Remediation Guidance:

  • Patch Now: MongoDB released patches for all affected branches (8.2.3, 8.0.17, 7.0.28, 6.0.27, 5.0.32, 4.4.30).
  • Atlas users: Updates applied automatically.
  • Self-hosted: Immediate patching required. If not possible, disable Zlib compression and consider alternatives.
  • Review Exposure: Restrict network access to MongoDB instances.

2. Ubisoft Rainbow Six Siege Breach

• Incident Summary:
  Attackers abused internal Ubisoft systems impacting Rainbow Six Siege—banning/unbanning players, manipulating moderation feeds, and distributing massive in-game currency (2 billion R6 credits, worth ~$13.3 million).

• Timeline & Acknowledgement:

  • Player complaints surfaced on December 27.
  • Ubisoft took the game and marketplace offline, announced a rollback of all affected transactions since 11am UTC, and clarified no punishment for players who spent illicit credits.

• Financial Impact:

  • 15,000 R6 credits sell for $99.99; 2 billion credits distributed for free = $13.3 million in value.
    • Quote:

      “The value of 2 billion credits would be roughly $13.3 million worth of in-game currency distributed for free.” (05:19)

• Rumors and Unverified Claims:

  • Speculation about a larger breach possibly using the MongoBleed exploit.
  • Claims of attackers accessing internal code repositories and user data, but no hard evidence as of episode recording.
  • Quote:

    “As for the claims of a larger breach involving MongoBleed and broader Ubisoft infrastructure compromise, those claims remain unconfirmed, and there’s currently no public evidence…” (08:34)

3. Trust Wallet Chrome Extension Supply Chain Attack

• What Happened:

  • On December 24, a malicious update to Trust Wallet's Chrome extension drained at least $7 million in cryptocurrencies—attackers exfiltrated seed phrases using a bundled JS file (4482.js) linked to a newly-registered domain.
  • Within hours, users reported emptied wallets after using the extension.

• Response:

  • Trust Wallet pushed an emergency fix (update to extension v2.69).
  • Promise to cover losses. (Confirmed by Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao.)
  • Quote:

    “Roughly $7 million has been affected so far and Trust Wallet will cover losses.” (10:28)

• Secondary Phishing Campaigns:

  • Attackers impersonated Trust Wallet with lookalike domains (e.g., FixTrustWallet.com), tricking users into revealing seed phrases anew.

• Advice to Users:

  • Update immediately to v2.69 if using the Chrome extension.
  • If a seed phrase was exposed, migrate all funds to a newly-generated wallet.

4. GrubHub Crypto Email Scam

• Summary:

  • GrubHub merchant partners received scam emails from a real GrubHub subdomain (b.grubhub.com) promising 10x Bitcoin rewards for sending crypto to a specified wallet—classic “send-to-receive” scam.

• Technical Speculation:

  • Possible DNS or infrastructure compromise enabled the attacker to use legitimate GrubHub infrastructure for phishing.
  • No technical details released by GrubHub, but the company claims the issue is contained and mitigated.

• Quote:

  “The scam email told recipients there were 30 minutes left and promised GrubHub will 10x any Bitcoin sent to this address…” (11:30)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Public Disclosure Timing:

  “This is serious, but why drop a working exploit on Christmas Day?” (02:14)

• MongoDB Risk Level and Urgency:

  “MongoBleed is a high severity vulnerability. Exploit code is now public and it affects a wide range of MongoDB deployments.” (03:12)

• Rainbow Six Siege Breach Financial Impact:

  “The value of 2 billion credits would be roughly $13.3 million… distributed for free.” (05:19)

• On Trust Wallet Response:

  “Trust Wallet will cover losses.” (10:28)

• Final Thoughts on the Relentless Pace of Attacks:

  “We will be keeping an eye on the news over the New Year’s holidays and if we need more episodes, particularly if MongoBleed takes off…we will be back.” (12:13)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• MongoBleed Vulnerability Overview: 00:21 – 04:15
• Ubisoft Rainbow Six Siege Hack: 04:16 – 08:55
• Trust Wallet Supply Chain Attack: 08:56 – 11:00
• GrubHub Crypto Scam: 11:01 – 12:31

Key Takeaways

• Patch critical vulnerabilities immediately, particularly those with public exploits.
• Review and restrict network exposure for services like MongoDB, especially if directly internet-facing.
• Respond rapidly to supply chain risks and verify updates from trusted sources.
• Be vigilant for social engineering and phishing campaigns, especially those leveraging real corporate infrastructure.
• Stay alert during holidays, as attackers often target these periods for maximum disruption.

Closing Thoughts

Host David Shipley signs off, promising rapid updates if high-profile threats like MongoBleed escalate further. The message is urgent: defenders must remain vigilant, apply patches quickly, and treat the holidays as an attractive window for cybercriminals.

Note:
The episode skips into actionable, technical, and community-focused discussion throughout, keeping a brisk, factual, and slightly weary tone in light of holiday disruptions.