CVE-2011-5240 in Magento
Summary
by MITRE
Magento 1.5 and 1.6.2 does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject s Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2019
This vulnerability exists in Magento e-commerce platforms version 1.5 and 1.6.2 where the application fails to properly validate SSL certificates during secure communications. The flaw specifically occurs in the SSL/TLS certificate verification process, where the system does not enforce proper hostname matching against the certificate's subject common name or subject alternative name fields. This represents a critical security weakness that directly violates established cryptographic security principles and industry standards.
The technical implementation flaw stems from inadequate SSL certificate validation logic within Magento's secure communication modules. When establishing SSL connections to external services or payment gateways, the application accepts any valid certificate without performing the essential hostname verification step that should confirm the certificate's validity for the specific domain being accessed. This allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting a valid certificate for a different domain, effectively bypassing the intended security protections. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-295 which specifically addresses improper certificate validation and certificate pinning failures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to intercept and potentially manipulate sensitive data transmitted between Magento stores and external services. Attackers can spoof SSL servers and gain access to customer information, payment details, and other confidential data exchanged through the vulnerable platform. This weakness particularly affects e-commerce transactions where secure payment processing and customer data protection are paramount. The vulnerability creates an attack surface that can be exploited by threat actors to conduct data theft, session hijacking, and other malicious activities targeting Magento installations.
Organizations should immediately apply available security patches from Magento to address this vulnerability. System administrators should also implement additional security controls including certificate pinning mechanisms, network monitoring for suspicious SSL certificate usage, and regular security assessments of SSL/TLS implementations. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that certificate validation is properly enforced while maintaining functionality of legitimate SSL connections. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation and highlights the need for continuous security auditing of web applications that handle sensitive data. Organizations should also consider implementing security frameworks aligned with NIST SP 800-57 and ISO/IEC 27001 standards to ensure comprehensive cryptographic security controls are maintained.