You should always use the official MongoDB mongodb-org
packages, which are kept up-to-date with the most recent major and minor MongoDB releases.
Install and secure MongoDB on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish
- database
- mysql
- mongoDB
- UFW
- bindIP
MongoDB is a document-oriented database that is free and open-source. It is considered one of the most popular NoSQL database engines because it is scalable, powerful, reliable, and easy to use.
In contrast to relational databases, MongoDB does not require a deep predefined schema before you can add data since it can be altered at any time. As it uses the NoSQL concept, data rows are stored in JSON-like documents which allows arbitrary data to be inserted.
Before you start
To complete the actions presented below, you must have:
- A Scaleway account logged into the console
- Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
- An SSH key
- An Instance running on Ubuntu 22.O4 or later
sudo
privileges or access to the root user
Setting up MongoDB
Adding MongoDB Repository
-
Connect to your Instance via SSH.
ssh root@your.instance.ip.address -
Update the Ubuntu package manager (
apt
).apt update -
Upgrade the Ubuntu packages already installed and install
gnupg
andcurl
if they are not already available.apt upgrade -yapt install gnupg curl -
Import the key for the official MongoDB repository (Ubuntu ensures the authenticity of software packages by verifying that they are signed with GPG keys.).
curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | \sudo gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg \--dearmor -
Add the MongoDB repository details so that Ubuntu’s
apt
command-line tool will know where to download the packages. Execute the following command to create a list file for MongoDB.echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/7.0 multiverse" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-7.0.list -
Update the packages list.
apt update
Installing MongoDB
- Install the
mongodb-org
meta-package, which includes the daemon, configuration, and init scripts, shell, and management tools on the server.apt install mongodb-org - Press enter or type
Y
to proceed when prompted. Once the installation is completed, we start the MongoDB daemon.systemctl start mongod.service - Since
systemctl
does not provide output, verify that the service has started properly.systemctl status mongod● mongod.service - MongoDB Database ServerLoaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mongod.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)Active: active (running) since Mon 2024-06-17 11:33:47 UTC; 1s agoDocs: https://docs.mongodb.org/manualMain PID: 2569 (mongod)Memory: 72.3MCPU: 242msCGroup: /system.slice/mongod.service└─2569 /usr/bin/mongod --config /etc/mongod.conf - Ensure that it restarts automatically at each boot.
systemctl enable mongod.serviceCreated symlink from /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/mongod.service to /lib/systemd/system/mongod.service.
Securing MongoDB
The default installation of MongoDB is vulnerable because no authentication is required to interact with the database. Any user could create and destroy databases, as well as read from and write to their contents by default. To secure MongoDB, we need to create an administrative user and enable authentication.
-
Connect to the Mongo shell to add a new user.
mongoshNoteThe legacy mongo shell was deprecated in MongoDB 5.0 and removed in MongoDB 6.0. The new MongoDB Shell, mongosh, offers numerous advantages over the legacy shell.
Current Mongosh Log ID: 66701f399be3b0bbf2597192Connecting to: mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/?directConnection=true&serverSelectionTimeoutMS=2000&appName=mongosh+2.2.9Using MongoDB: 7.0.11Using Mongosh: 2.2.9For mongosh info see: https://docs.mongodb.com/mongodb-shell/test>You can choose any preferred name for the administrative user since the privilege level is assigned from the role of
userAdminAnyDatabase
.The
admin
database designates where the credentials are stored. You can learn more about authentication in the MongoDB Security Authentication section. -
Set the username of your choice and be sure to pick a secure password and substitute it in the command below:
use admindb.createUser({user: "AdminOce",pwd: "PWD2018AdminOce",roles: [ { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" } ]})use adminswitched to db admin> db.createUser(... {... user: "AdminOce",... pwd: "PWD2022AdminOce",... roles: [ { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" } ]... }... )Successfully added user: {"user" : "AdminOce","roles" : [{"role" : "userAdminAnyDatabase","db" : "admin"}]} -
Type
exit
and press ENTER or useCTRL+C
to leave the client.> exitbye
Enabling authentication
To enforce authentication, we need to enable authentication and restart the MongoDB daemon.
- Open the configuration file.
nano /etc/mongod.conf
- In the
#security
section, remove the hash in front of security to enable the section. Then, we add the authorization lines (indented with two spaces) as per the following excerpt below:security:authorization: "enabled" - Restart the daemon.
systemctl restart mongod.service
- Check the status to verify that the service has rebooted.
systemctl status mongod.service● mongod.service - MongoDB Database ServerLoaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mongod.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)Active: active (running) since Mon 2022-11-21 12:44:17 UTC; 6min agoDocs: https://docs.mongodb.org/manualMain PID: 2453 (mongod)Memory: 67.0MCPU: 2.074sCGroup: /system.slice/mongod.service└─2453 /usr/bin/mongod --config /etc/mongod.conf
- Ensure that the daemon restarts automatically at boot.
systemctl enable mongod.service
Testing authentication
-
Connect without credentials to verify that our actions are restricted.
mongoshCurrent Mongosh Log ID: 66701f399be3b0bbf2597192Connecting to: mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/?directConnection=true&serverSelectionTimeoutMS=2000&appName=mongosh+2.2.9Using MongoDB: 7.0.11Using Mongosh: 2.2.9For mongosh info see: https://docs.mongodb.com/mongodb-shell/test>We are connected to the test database.
-
Test that the access is restricted with the
show dbs
command:test> show dbsMongoServerError: command listDatabases requires authentication -
Exit the shell to proceed.
> exitbye
Verifying the administrative user’s access
- Connect as our administrator with the
-u
option to supply a username and-p
to be prompted for a password. Supply the database where we stored the user’s authentication credentials with the--authenticationDatabase
option.mongosh -u AdminOce -p --authenticationDatabase admin - Once the correct password is entered, we are dropped into the shell, where we can issue the
show dbs
command:Enter password: ***************Current Mongosh Log ID: 66701f399be3b0bbf2597192Connecting to: mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/?directConnection=true&serverSelectionTimeoutMS=2000&appName=mongosh+2.2.9Using MongoDB: 7.0.11Using Mongosh: 2.2.9For mongosh info see: https://docs.mongodb.com/mongodb-shell/test> show dbsadmin 148.00 KiBconfig 60.00 KiBlocal 72.00 KiB
Type exit
or press CTRL+C
to exit.
Configuring remote access (optional)
Enabling UFW
Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW), is a front-end to iptables. Its main goal is to make managing your firewall drop-dead simple and to provide an easy-to-use interface.
If UFW is already installed on your computer, go directly to step 5.
- Install UFW.
apt install ufw
- Check UFW status.
ufw status
- Enable UFW, as it is probably inactive.
ufw enable
- Ensure to allow SSH.
ufw allow OpenSSH
- Rerun the UFW status command.
ufw statusStatus: activeTo Action From-- ------ ----OpenSSH ALLOW AnywhereOpenSSH (v6) ALLOW Anywhere (v6)
- Allow access to the default MongoDB port
27017
but restrict that access to a specific host.ufw allow from client_ip_address to any port 27017 - Re-run this command using the IP address for each additional client that needs access. To double-check the rule, run
ufw status
again:ufw statusTo Action From-- ------ ----OpenSSH ALLOW Anywhere27017 ALLOW client_ip_addressOpenSSH (v6) ALLOW Anywhere (v6)
Configuring a public bindIP
-
To allow remote connections, add our host’s publically routable IP address to the
mongod.conf
file.nano /etc/mongod.conf -
In the
net
section, add the MongoHost’s IP to the bindIp line.NoteVerify your private IP with the
ifconfig
command.net:port: 27017bindIp: 127.0.0.1,IP_of_MongoHost -
Restart the daemon.
systemctl restart mongod.service -
Check the daemon status.
systemctl status mongod.serviceActive: active (running) since Thu 2022-xx-yy 13:15:35 UTC; 5s ago
Testing remote connections
Ensure that Mongo is listening on its public interface by adding the --host
flag with the IP address from the mongodb.conf file
.
mongo -u AdminOce -p --authenticationDatabase admin --host IP_address_of_MongoHost
Current Mongosh Log ID: 66701f399be3b0bbf2597192Connecting to: mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/?directConnection=true&serverSelectionTimeoutMS=2000&appName=mongosh+2.2.9Using MongoDB: 7.0.11Using Mongosh: 2.2.9
Uninstalling MongoDB
This process will completely remove MongoDB, its configuration, and all databases. This process is not reversible, so ensure that all of your configuration and data are backed up before proceeding.
- Stop MongoDB.
service mongod stop
- Remove any MongoDB packages that you had previously installed.
apt purge mongodb-org*
- Remove MongoDB databases and log files.
rm -r /var/log/mongodbrm -r /var/lib/mongodb