Privilege Actions

Privilege actions define the operations a user can perform on a resource. A MongoDB privilege comprises a resource and the permitted actions. This page lists available actions grouped by common purpose.

MongoDB provides built-in roles with pre-defined pairings of resources and permitted actions. For lists of the actions granted, see:

To define custom roles, see:

Query and Write Actions

find

User can perform the following commands, and their equivalent helper methods:

aggregate for all pipeline operations except $collStats, $out, and $indexStats.
count
dataSize
distinct
filemd5
find
getMore
killCursors, provided that the cursor is associated with a currently authenticated user.
listCollections
listIndexes
mapReduce with the {out: inline} option.

Required for the query portion of the mapReduce command and db.collection.mapReduce() helper method when outputting to a collection.

Required for the query portion of the findAndModify command and db.collection.findAndModify() helper method.

Required on the source collection for the cloneCollectionAsCapped and renameCollection commands and the db.collection.renameCollection() helper method.

If the user does not have the listDatabases privilege action, users can run the listDatabases command to return a list of databases for which the user has privileges (including databases for which the user has privileges on specific collections) if the command is run with authorizedDatabases option unspecified or set to true.

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

insert

User can perform the following commands and their equivalent methods:

Required for the output portion of the mapReduce command and db.collection.mapReduce() helper method when outputting to a collection.

Required for the aggregate command and db.collection.aggregate() helper method when using the $out or $merge pipeline operator.

Required for the update and findAndModify commands and equivalent helper methods when used with the upsert option.

Required on the destination collection for the following commands and their helper methods:

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

remove

User can perform the delete command and equivalent helper method.

Required for the write portion of the findAndModify command and db.collection.findAndModify() method.

Required for the mapReduce command and db.collection.mapReduce() helper method when you specify the replace action when outputting to a collection.

Required for the aggregate command and db.collection.aggregate() helper method when using the $out pipeline operator.

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

update

User can perform the update command and equivalent helper methods.

Required for the mapReduce command and db.collection.mapReduce() helper method when outputting to a collection without specifying the replace action.

Required for the findAndModify command and db.collection.findAndModify() helper method.

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

bypassDocumentValidation

Users can bypass schema validation on commands and methods that support the bypassDocumentValidation option. The following commands and their equivalent methods support bypassing schema validation:

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

useUUID

User can execute the following commands using a UUID as if it were a namespace:

For example, this privilege authorizes a user to run the following command which executes a find command on a collection with the given UUID. In order to be successful, this operation also requires that the user is authorized to execute the find command on the collection namespace corresponding to the given UUID.

db.runCommand({find: UUID("123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000")})

For more information on collection UUIDs, see Collections.

Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Database Management Actions

changeCustomData: User can change the custom information of any user in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

changeOwnCustomData: Users can change their own custom information. Apply this action to database resources. See also Change Your Password and Custom Data on Self-Managed Deployments.

changeOwnPassword: Users can change their own passwords. Apply this action to database resources. See also Change Your Password and Custom Data on Self-Managed Deployments.

changePassword: User can change the password of any user in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

createCollection: User can perform the db.createCollection() method. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

createIndex: Provides access to the db.collection.createIndex() method and the createIndexes command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

createRole: User can create new roles in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

createUser: User can create new users in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

dropCollection: User can perform the db.collection.drop() method. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

dropRole: User can delete any role from the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

dropUser: User can remove any user from the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

enableProfiler: User can perform the db.setProfilingLevel() method. Apply this action to database resources.

grantRole: User can grant any role in the database to any user from any database in the system. Apply this action to database resources.

killCursors: Users can always terminate their own cursors, regardless of whether the users have the privilege to killCursors.

killAnyCursor: User can kill any cursor, even cursors created by other users. Apply this action to collection resources.

planCacheIndexFilter: User can run the planCacheClearFilters, planCacheListFilters, and planCacheSetFilter commands. Apply the planCacheIndexFilter action to collection resources.

querySettings: User can run the setQuerySettings and removeQuerySettings commands, and add a $querySettings stage to an aggregation pipeline.
New in version 8.0.

revokeRole: User can remove any role from any user from any database in the system. Apply this action to database resources.

setAuthenticationRestriction

User can specify the authenticationRestrictions field in the user document when running the following commands:

User can specify the authenticationRestrictions field in the role document when running the following commands:

Note

The following built-in roles grant this privilege:

The userAdmin role provides this privilege on the database that the role is assigned.
The userAdminAnyDatabase role provides this privilege on all databases.

Transitively, the restore and root roles also provide this privilege.

Apply this action to database resources.

setFeatureCompatibilityVersion: User can run the setFeatureCompatibilityVersion command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

unlock: User can perform the db.fsyncUnlock() method. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

viewRole: User can view information about any role in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

viewUser: User can view the information of any user in the given database. Apply this action to database resources.

Deployment Management Actions

authSchemaUpgrade: User can perform the authSchemaUpgrade command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

cleanupOrphaned: User can perform the cleanupOrphaned command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

cpuProfiler: User can enable and use the CPU profiler. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

inprog

User can use the db.currentOp() method to return information on pending and active operations. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Even without the inprog privilege, on mongod instances, users can view their own operations by running db.currentOp( { "$ownOps": true } ).

invalidateUserCache: Provides access to the invalidateUserCache command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

killop

User can perform the db.killOp() method. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Even without the killop privilege, on mongod instances, users can kill their own operations.

planCacheRead

User can run the following operations:

$planCacheStats aggregation stage.

Apply this action to database or collection resources.

planCacheWrite: User can perform the planCacheClear command and the PlanCache.clear() and PlanCache.clearPlansByQuery() methods. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

Change Stream Actions

changeStream: User with changeStream and find on the specific collection, all non-system collections in a specific database, or all non-system collections across all databases can open change stream cursor for that resource.

Replication Actions

appendOplogNote: User can append notes to the oplog. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

replSetConfigure: User can configure a replica set. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

replSetGetConfig

User can view a replica set's configuration. Provides access to the replSetGetConfig command and rs.conf() helper method.

Apply this action to the cluster resource.

replSetGetStatus: User can perform the replSetGetStatus command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

replSetHeartbeat: User can perform the deprecated replSetHeartbeat command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

replSetStateChange: User can change the state of a replica set through the replSetFreeze, replSetMaintenance, replSetStepDown, and replSetSyncFrom commands. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

resync: User can perform the deprecated resync command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Sharding Actions

addShard: User can perform the addShard command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

analyzeShardKey

User can perform the analyzeShardKey command. Apply this action to the database and collection resources.

Included in the clusterManager and enableSharding built-in roles.

checkMetadataConsistency: User can perform the checkMetadataConsistency command. Apply this action to cluster, database or collection resources.
New in version 7.0.

clearJumboFlag

Required to clear a chunk's jumbo flag using the clearJumboFlag command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

Included in the clusterManager built-in role.

enableSharding

Note

Applicable Resources

The action can apply to either:

Database or collection resource to enable sharding for a database or shard a collection.
Cluster resource to perform various shard zone operations.

Resources	Description
Database or Collection	Grants users privileges to perform the following operations: Enable sharding on a database using the `enableSharding` command, and Shard a collection using the `shardCollection` command.
Cluster	Grants users privileges to perform the following shard zone operations: `addShardToZone` `updateZoneKeyRange` `removeShardFromZone` You can also perform these shard zone operations if you have `find`/`update` actions on the appropriate collections in the `config` database. Refer to the specific operations for details.

refineCollectionShardKey

Provides privileges to refine the shard key for a sharded collection and run the refineCollectionShardKey command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

Included in the clusterManager built-in role.

moveCollection: User can perform the moveCollection command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.
New in version 8.0.

reshardCollection: User can perform the reshardCollection command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.
New in version 5.0.

unshardCollection: User can perform the unshardCollection command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.
New in version 8.0.

flushRouterConfig: User can perform the flushRouterConfig command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

getShardMap: User can perform the getShardMap command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

listShards: User can perform the listShards command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

moveChunk: User can perform the moveChunk and moveRange commands. In addition, user can perform the movePrimary command provided that the privilege is applied to an appropriate database resource. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

removeShard: User can perform the removeShard command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

shardedDataDistribution: User can perform the $shardedDataDistribution aggregation pipeline stage.
New in version 6.0.3.

shardingState: User can perform the shardingState command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

transitionFromDedicatedConfigServer: User with this action on the cluster resource can run the transitionFromDedicatedConfigServer command.
New in version 8.0.

transitionToDedicatedConfigServer: User with this action on the cluster resource can run the transitionToDedicatedConfigServer command.
New in version 8.0.

Server Administration Actions

applicationMessage: User can perform the logApplicationMessage command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

bypassWriteBlockingMode: User can perform writes even when writes are blocked by the setUserWriteBlockMode command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

bypassDefaultMaxTimeMS: All queries run by the user ignore the value of the defaultMaxTimeMS parameter.
New in version 8.0.

closeAllDatabases: User can perform the deprecated closeAllDatabases command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

collMod: User can perform the collMod command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

compact: User can perform the compact command and autoCompact commands. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

compactStructuredEncryptionData: User can perform the compactStructuredEncryptionData command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

connPoolSync: User can perform the internal connPoolSync command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

convertToCapped: User can perform the convertToCapped command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

dropConnections: User can perform the dropConnections command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

dropDatabase: User can perform the dropDatabase command. Apply this action to database resources.

dropIndex: User can perform the dropIndexes command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

forceUUID

User can create a collection with a user-defined collection UUID using the applyOps command.

Apply this action to the cluster resource.

fsync: User can perform the fsync command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

getDefaultRWConcern: User can issue the administrative getDefaultRWConcern command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

getParameter: User can perform the getParameter command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

hostInfo: Provides information about the server the MongoDB instance runs on. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

oidReset: Required to reset the 5 byte random string that is used in the ObjectID.

logRotate: User can perform the logRotate command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

reIndex: User can perform the reIndex command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

renameCollectionSameDB

Allows the user to rename collections on the current database using the renameCollection command. Apply this action to database resources.

Additionally, the user must either have find on the source collection or not have find on the destination collection.

If a collection with the new name already exists, the user must also have the dropCollection action on the destination collection.

rotateCertificates: User can perform the rotateCertificates command command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

setDefaultRWConcern: User can issue the administrative setDefaultRWConcern command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

setParameter: User can perform the setParameter command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

setUserWriteBlockMode: User can perform the setUserWriteBlockMode command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

shutdown: User can perform the shutdown command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

touch: User can perform the deprecated touch command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Session Actions

impersonate

User can perform the killAllSessionsByPattern command with users and roles pattern. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

To run killAllSessionsByPattern command, users must also have killAnySession privileges on the cluster resource.

listSessions: User can perform the $listSessions operation or $listLocalSessions operation for all users or specified user(s). Apply this action to the cluster resource.

killAnySession: User can perform the killAllSessions and the killAllSessionsByPattern command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.
Tip
impersonate

MongoDB Search Index Actions

The following actions enable users to run MongoDB Search Database Commands. These actions are only relevant for deployments hosted on MongoDB Atlas.

createSearchIndexes: User can run the createSearchIndexes database command. Apply this action to the database, collection, or view resource.

dropSearchIndex: User can run the dropSearchIndex database command. Apply this action to the database, collection, or view resource.

listSearchIndexes: User can run the $listSearchIndexes aggregation stage. Apply this action to the database, collection, or view resource.

updateSearchIndex: User can run the updateSearchIndex database command. Apply this action to the database, collection, or view resource.

Diagnostic Actions

collStats: User can perform the collStats command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

connPoolStats: User can perform the connPoolStats command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

dbHash: User can perform the dbHash command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

dbStats: User can perform the dbStats command. Apply this action to database resources.

getCmdLineOpts: User can perform the getCmdLineOpts command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

getLog: User can perform the getLog command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

indexStats

User can run the $indexStats aggregation pipeline stage. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

To use the $indexStats stage, users must authenticate with at least the clusterMonitor role.

listClusterCatalog: User can run the $listClusterCatalog aggregation pipeline stage on the admin database. To run $listClusterCatalog on the admin database, users must authenticate with the clusterMonitor role.

listDatabases

User can perform the listDatabases command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

listCollections: User can perform the listCollections command. Apply this action to database resources.
Note
Users without the required privilege can run the listCollections command with both authorizedCollections and nameOnly options set to true. In this case, the command returns just the name and type of the collection(s) to which the user has privileges.

listIndexes: User can perform the listIndexes command. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

queryStatsRead: User can run the $queryStats aggregation stage without the transformIdentifiers option.

queryStatsReadTransformed: User can run the $queryStats aggregation stage with or without the transformIdentifiers option.

serverStatus: User can perform the serverStatus command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

validate: User can perform the validate and validateDBMetadata commands. Apply this action to database or collection resources.

top: User can perform the top command. Apply this action to the cluster resource.

Internal Actions

anyAction: Allows any action on a resource. Do not assign this action unless it is absolutely necessary.

internal: Allows internal actions. Do not assign this action unless it is absolutely necessary.

applyOps: User can perform the applyOps command. Apply this action to a cluster resource.

Back

Custom Database Roles

Non-Root User Permissions

Query and Write Actions

Database Management Actions

Note

Deployment Management Actions

Change Stream Actions

Replication Actions

Sharding Actions

Note

Applicable Resources

Server Administration Actions

Session Actions

Tip

MongoDB Search Index Actions

Diagnostic Actions

Note

Internal Actions