Unwrap LazyLoadingProxy before checking isNew.

pom.xml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 	<groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
 	<artifactId>spring-data-mongodb-parent</artifactId>
-	<version>5.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+	<version>5.0.x-GH-5031-SNAPSHOT</version>
 	<packaging>pom</packaging>
 
 	<name>Spring Data MongoDB</name>

spring-data-mongodb-distribution/pom.xml

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 	<parent>
 		<groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
 		<artifactId>spring-data-mongodb-parent</artifactId>
-		<version>5.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+		<version>5.0.x-GH-5031-SNAPSHOT</version>
 		<relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
 	</parent>
 

spring-data-mongodb/pom.xml

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 	<parent>
 		<groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
 		<artifactId>spring-data-mongodb-parent</artifactId>
-		<version>5.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+		<version>5.0.x-GH-5031-SNAPSHOT</version>
 		<relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
 	</parent>
 

spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/support/MappingMongoEntityInformation.java

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import org.bson.types.ObjectId;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.springframework.data.mapping.PersistentPropertyAccessor;
+import org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.convert.LazyLoadingProxy;
 import org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.mapping.MongoPersistentEntity;
 import org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.query.Collation;
 import org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository.query.MongoEntityInformation;
@@ -107,6 +108,13 @@ public Class<ID> getIdType() {
 		return fallbackIdType;
 	}
 
+	@Override
+	public boolean isNew(T entity) {
+
+		T unwrapped = entity instanceof LazyLoadingProxy proxy ? (T) proxy.getTarget() : entity;
+		return super.isNew(unwrapped);
+	}
+
 	@Override
 	public boolean isVersioned() {
 		return this.entityMetadata.hasVersionProperty();

spring-data-mongodb/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/Person.java

@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ public enum Sex {
 	User unwrappedUser;
 
 	@DocumentReference User spiritAnimal;
+	@DocumentReference(lazy = true) User lazySpiritAnimal;
 
 	int visits;
 
@@ -325,6 +326,14 @@ public void setSpiritAnimal(User spiritAnimal) {
 		this.spiritAnimal = spiritAnimal;
 	}
 
+	public User getLazySpiritAnimal() {
+		return lazySpiritAnimal;
+	}
+
+	public void setLazySpiritAnimal(User lazySpiritAnimal) {
+		this.lazySpiritAnimal = lazySpiritAnimal;
+	}
+
 	@Override
 	public int hashCode() {
 

spring-data-mongodb/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/PersonRepositoryLazyLoadingIntegrationTests.java

@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@
  */
 package org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository;
 
-import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;
-import static org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.convert.LazyLoadingTestUtils.*;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatNoException;
+import static org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.convert.LazyLoadingTestUtils.assertProxyIsResolved;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
@@ -37,12 +38,14 @@
  *
  * @author Thomas Darimont
  * @author Oliver Gierke
+ * @author Christoph Strobl
  */
 @ContextConfiguration(locations = "PersonRepositoryIntegrationTests-context.xml")
 @ExtendWith(SpringExtension.class)
 public class PersonRepositoryLazyLoadingIntegrationTests {
 
 	@Autowired PersonRepository repository;
+	@Autowired UserRepository userRepository;
 	@Autowired MongoOperations operations;
 
 	@BeforeEach
@@ -123,4 +126,47 @@ public void shouldLoadAssociationWithDbRefOnConcreteDomainClassAndLazyLoadingEna
 		assertProxyIsResolved(coworker, true);
 		assertThat(coworker.getUsername()).isEqualTo(thomas.getUsername());
 	}
+
+	@Test // GH-5031
+	void allowsSavingEntityLoadedViaLazyDBRef() {
+
+		User thomas = new User();
+		thomas.id = "tom";
+		thomas.username = "Thomas";
+		userRepository.save(thomas);
+
+		Person oliver = new Person();
+		oliver.id = "ollie";
+		oliver.setFirstname("Oliver");
+		oliver.coworker = thomas;
+		repository.save(oliver);
+
+		Person loaded = repository.findById(oliver.id).get();
+		User coworker = loaded.getCoworker();
+		assertThat(coworker.getUsername()).isEqualTo(thomas.getUsername());
+
+		assertThatNoException().isThrownBy(() -> userRepository.save(coworker));
+	}
+
+	@Test // GH-5031
+	void allowsSavingEntityLoadedViaLazyDocumentReference() {
+
+		User thomas = new User();
+		thomas.id = "tom";
+		thomas.username = "Thomas";
+		userRepository.save(thomas);
+
+		Person oliver = new Person();
+		oliver.id = "ollie";
+		oliver.setFirstname("Oliver");
+		oliver.lazySpiritAnimal = thomas;
+		repository.save(oliver);
+
+		Person loaded = repository.findById(oliver.id).get();
+		User spiritAnimal = loaded.getLazySpiritAnimal();
+		assertThat(spiritAnimal.getUsername()).isEqualTo(thomas.getUsername());
+
+		assertThatNoException().isThrownBy(() -> userRepository.save(spiritAnimal));
+	}
+
 }

spring-data-mongodb/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/UserRepository.java

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2025 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository;
+
+import org.springframework.data.repository.CrudRepository;
+
+/**
+ * @author Christoph Strobl
+ */
+public interface UserRepository extends CrudRepository<User, String> {}

spring-data-mongodb/src/test/resources/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/PersonRepositoryIntegrationTests-context.xml

@@ -19,4 +19,9 @@
 		</property>
 	</bean>
 
+	<bean class="org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository.support.MongoRepositoryFactoryBean">
+		<constructor-arg value="org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository.UserRepository"/>
+		<property name="mongoOperations" ref="mongoTemplate"/>
+	</bean>
+
 </beans>

src/main/antora/modules/ROOT/pages/mongodb/mapping/document-references.adoc

@@ -47,10 +47,12 @@ Required properties that are also defined as lazy loading ``DBRef`` and used as
 
 TIP: Lazily loaded ``DBRef``s can be hard to debug.
 Make sure tooling does not accidentally trigger proxy resolution by e.g. calling `toString()` or some inline debug rendering invoking property getters.
-Please consider to enable _trace_ logging for `org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.convert.DefaultDbRefResolver` to gain insight on `DBRef` resolution.
+Please consider to enable _trace_ logging for `org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.convert.DefaultDbRefResolver` to gain insight on `DBRef` resolution. +
+Though technically possible, avoid saving back individual lazily loaded entities obtained via properties of the referencing root.
 
 CAUTION: Lazy loading may require class proxies, that in turn, might need access to jdk internals, that are not open, starting with Java 16+, due to https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/396[JEP 396: Strongly Encapsulate JDK Internals by Default].
-For those cases please consider falling back to an interface type (eg. switch from `ArrayList` to `List`) or provide the required `--add-opens` argument.
+For those cases please consider falling back to an interface type (eg. switch from `ArrayList` to `List`) or provide the required `--add-opens` argument. +
+
 
 [[mapping-usage.document-references]]
 == Using Document References
@@ -500,6 +502,7 @@ A few more general remarks:
 * Do you use cyclic references?
 Ask your self if you need them.
 * Lazy document references are hard to debug.
-Make sure tooling does not accidentally trigger proxy resolution by e.g. calling `toString()`.
+Make sure tooling does not accidentally trigger proxy resolution by e.g. calling `toString()`. +
+Though technically possible, avoid saving back individual lazily loaded entities obtained via properties of the referencing root.
 * There is no support for reading document references using reactive infrastructure.
 ====