CVE-2011-2344 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
Android Picasa in Android 3.0 and 2.x through 2.3.4 uses a cleartext HTTP session when transmitting the authToken obtained from ClientLogin, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges and access private pictures and web albums by sniffing the token from connections with picasaweb.google.com.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/14/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-2344 represents a critical security flaw in the Android Picasa application version 3.0 and earlier versions of Android 2.x through 2.3.4. This issue stems from the application's improper handling of authentication tokens during the ClientLogin process, specifically transmitting the authToken over unencrypted HTTP connections rather than secure HTTPS channels. The flaw exists within the Android operating system's implementation of the Picasa web album synchronization feature, which is designed to allow users to upload and manage their photo collections across multiple devices. The vulnerability creates a significant attack surface that exposes user credentials and private data to malicious actors who can intercept network traffic.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the ClientLogin authentication mechanism used by Google services, where the Picasa application requests authentication credentials from Google's servers and subsequently receives an authentication token. This token, which serves as the user's digital passport for accessing their private photo albums and web content, is transmitted over HTTP connections that lack encryption and integrity protection. The cleartext transmission of the authToken means that any network traffic interceptor can capture this sensitive information during the authentication process. This weakness directly violates security best practices and industry standards such as those outlined in CWE-319, which specifically addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext transmission over networks. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046, which covers network service scanning and the exploitation of network-based vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete unauthorized access to users' private photo collections and web albums. Attackers who successfully intercept the authToken can gain full read and write privileges to the affected user accounts, allowing them to view, modify, delete, or upload content to private photo albums. This represents a severe breach of user privacy and data confidentiality, particularly given that photo albums often contain sensitive personal information, family photos, and private content that users expect to be protected. The vulnerability affects all Android devices running version 2.x through 2.3.4, which at the time represented a significant portion of the Android user base, making this flaw particularly dangerous from a threat perspective. The exploitation requires only basic network sniffing capabilities, making it accessible to attackers with minimal technical expertise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate application-level fixes and network security improvements. The primary solution involves implementing secure HTTPS connections for all authentication token transmissions, ensuring that the authToken is never sent over cleartext HTTP connections. System administrators and developers should also implement network monitoring to detect and alert on suspicious traffic patterns that might indicate token interception attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper cryptographic implementation and the necessity of following security guidelines such as those specified in NIST SP 800-52, which addresses secure network communications. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of using public Wi-Fi networks for sensitive applications and the importance of keeping their operating systems updated with security patches. The Android development team should have implemented proper certificate pinning and ensured that all communication with Google services used encrypted channels to prevent such vulnerabilities from occurring in future releases.