diff --git a/src/utils.js b/src/utils.js
index 674849c..03dfdd7 100644
--- a/src/utils.js
+++ b/src/utils.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { ObjectId } from 'mongodb';
+import { mongoose } from 'mongoose';
 import { auditLogModel } from './database/schemas/management/auditlog.schema.js';
 import exifr from 'exifr';
 import { natsServer } from './database/nats.js';
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ function buildWildcardRegexPattern(input) {
 }
 
 function parseFilter(property, value) {
+  if (value?._id !== undefined && value?._id !== null) {
+    return { [property]: { _id: new mongoose.Types.ObjectId(value._id) } };
+  }
   if (typeof value === 'string') {
     var trimmed = value.trim();
     if (trimmed.charAt(3) == ':') {
@@ -33,7 +36,7 @@ function parseFilter(property, value) {
     // Handle ObjectId (24-char hex)
 
     if (/^[a-f\d]{24}$/i.test(trimmed) && trimmed.length >= 24) {
-      return { [property]: new ObjectId(trimmed) };
+      return { [property]: new mongoose.Types.ObjectId(trimmed) };
     }
 
     // Handle numbers
@@ -514,7 +517,7 @@ function expandObjectIds(input) {
   // Helper to check if a value is an ObjectId or a 24-char hex string
   function isObjectId(val) {
     // Check for MongoDB ObjectId instance
-    if (val instanceof ObjectId) return true;
+    if (val instanceof mongoose.Types.ObjectId) return true;
     // Check for exactly 24 hex characters (no special characters)
     if (typeof val === 'string' && /^[a-fA-F\d]{24}$/.test(val)) return true;
     return false;
@@ -524,7 +527,7 @@ function expandObjectIds(input) {
   function expand(value) {
     if (Array.isArray(value)) {
       return value.map(expand);
-    } else if (value && typeof value === 'object' && !(value instanceof ObjectId)) {
+    } else if (value && typeof value === 'object' && !(value instanceof mongoose.Types.ObjectId)) {
       var result = {};
       for (const [key, val] of Object.entries(value)) {
         if (key === '_id') {