CVE-2014-0738 in ASA
Summary
by MITRE
The Phone Proxy component in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software 9.1(.3) and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and change trust relationships by injecting a Certificate Trust List (CTL) file, aka Bug ID CSCuj66770.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0738 resides within the Phone Proxy component of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software versions 9.1.3 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of certificate validation processes. This issue enables remote attackers to manipulate trust relationships by injecting malicious Certificate Trust List (CTL) files, effectively bypassing the authentication mechanisms that should protect the system from unauthorized access. The vulnerability specifically targets the trust validation infrastructure that governs how the ASA software handles digital certificates and their associated trust relationships.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs through the manipulation of the Certificate Trust List processing within the Phone Proxy functionality. When the ASA software receives and processes CTL files, it fails to properly validate the authenticity and integrity of these files before incorporating them into the trust validation framework. This weakness allows attackers to inject crafted CTL files that contain malicious certificate information, thereby altering the trust relationships that the ASA maintains with various certificate authorities and endpoints. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and inadequate cryptographic verification mechanisms within the Phone Proxy component, which should enforce strict validation of certificate data before accepting it into the system's trust store.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple authentication bypass, as it fundamentally compromises the security posture of networks relying on Cisco ASA appliances for protection. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can establish unauthorized trust relationships with malicious entities, potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks, certificate forgery operations, and unauthorized access to protected network resources. The implications are particularly severe for organizations that depend on certificate-based authentication for securing communications, as this vulnerability undermines the entire certificate validation infrastructure that the ASA is designed to protect. Network administrators face the risk of complete trust relationship compromise, potentially allowing attackers to impersonate legitimate certificate authorities and gain unauthorized access to sensitive network segments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Cisco ASA software versions to the latest available releases that contain fixes for the certificate validation flaws. Organizations should implement strict monitoring of certificate trust list updates and establish automated validation processes to detect unauthorized changes to trust relationships. Network segmentation and additional authentication layers should be deployed to minimize the impact of potential exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1556.401, which covers credential access through certificate manipulation. Security teams should also consider implementing certificate pinning mechanisms and regular trust relationship audits to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the future, while maintaining comprehensive logging of certificate validation activities for forensic analysis purposes.