FAQ: Security
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How does Atlas encrypt my data?
Atlas uses whole volume (disk) encryption for any data at rest, including your cluster data and backups of that data.
Atlas also requires TLS encryption for client data and intra-cluster network communications.
If your organization requires more specific information regarding Atlas encryption, please contact Atlas MongoDB Support. From the Atlas project or cluster view, click Support in the left-hand navigation bar.
Can I disable TLS on my deployment?
No.
What versions of TLS does Atlas support?
Atlas requires TLS connections for all Atlas clusters. After July 2020, Atlas will enable Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol version 1.2 by default for all new Atlas clusters regardless of the MongoDB version.
MongoDB 4.0 and later disables support for TLS 1.0 where TLS 1.1+ is available. You can manually configure TLS 1.1 or 1.0 by editing your cluster configuration.
You can read more about timing and reasons for the change from the Payment Card Industry (PCI) as well as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
If you have questions about TLS support or cannot update your applications to support TLS 1.2, please contact Atlas MongoDB Support.
To open a Atlas support ticket, log into the your Atlas account. Click the Support link in the Atlas console and fill in the requested details.
How do I know if my applications support TLS 1.2?
Applications whose underlying programming languages or security libraries predate TLS 1.2 may require updating to a more recent version to support TLS 1.2. You may also need to update the application host operating system to support TLS 1.2.
MongoDB and Atlas do not provide services to audit external applications for which versions of TLS support they support. Third party services such as howsmyssl.com may provide the appropriate tooling. MongoDB does not endorse the aforementioned service, and its reference is intended only as informational. Defer to your organization's procedures in selecting the appropriate vendor or service for auditing your applications.
What do I have to do to update my clusters for TLS 1.2?
After auditing your applications for support of TLS 1.2 and updating any components of your technology stack that do not support TLS 1.2, you must manually modify your cluster configuration to use TLS 1.2.
Can I force enable TLS 1.0?
Atlas allows users to manually configure TLS 1.0 during cluster modification.
Enabling TLS 1.0 for any Atlas cluster carries significant risks. Consider enabling TLS 1.0 only for as long as required to update your application stack to support TLS 1.2.
Which certificate authority signs MongoDB Atlas TLS certificates?
On 25 February 2020, MongoDB Atlas moved to Let's Encrypt as the new Certificate Authority for TLS certificates for all Atlas clusters.
Beginning on 1 May 2021, new TLS certificates that MongoDB Atlas creates use ISRG instead of IdenTrust for their root Certificate Authority in line with Let's Encrypt's announcement of this transition.
On 17 March 2022, MongoDB Atlas moved to Let's Encrypt as the new
Certificate Authority for TLS certificates for cloud.mongodb.com.
Please review the following scenarios to ensure that you do not experience connectivity issues:
Hard-coded Certificate Authority
If you hard-coded the IdenTrust's root Certificate Authority (DST Root CA X3) or an intermediate certificate as the only trusted Certificate Authority for your application's connection to Atlas, please ensure that you add Let's Encrypt's root Certificate Authority (ISRG Root X1) to your certificate store.
Java Users
Let’s Encrypt's new ISRG root certificate isn't present in the default trust store for Java version 7 prior to the 7u151 update, or Java version 8 prior to the 8u141 update. Use a Java release after 18 July 2017.
Please ensure your Java client software is up-to-date. The latest Java versions are strongly recommended for many improvements beyond these new Certificate Authority requirements for our TLS certificates.
If you have your own trust store, add the Let’s Encrypt certificate to it. To learn more, see Hard-coded Certificate Authority.
Windows Server Users
The ISRG Root X1 root Certificate Authority isn't included by default in Windows Server, but it is available in the Microsoft Trusted Root Program.
To configure Windows Server to download trusted root certificates, including Let’s Encrypt's new ISRG root certificate, see Windows Documentation.
Amazon Linux AMI Users
Amazon Linux AMI does not support the new ISRG Root X1 root Certificate Authority.
If you are using Amazon Linux AMI, you should migrate to Amazon Linux 2 before 30 September 2021, when the support of ISRG Root X1 certificates becomes mandatory for Atlas to avoid certificate compatibility issues.
If you want to continue to use Amazon Linux AMI after 30 September 2021, you must manually install the new ISRG Root X1 root Certificate Authority.
Everyone Else
This change shouldn't impact you if you use a recent programming language and operating system version.