CVE-2014-4900 in migme
Summary
by MITRE
The migme (aka com.projectgoth) application 4.03.002 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/23/2024
The CVE-2014-4900 vulnerability affects the migme application version 4.03.002 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate verification mechanism. This vulnerability falls under the category of insecure cryptographic implementation and specifically violates the fundamental security principle of certificate validation that is essential for establishing trust in secure communications. The application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers creates a significant attack surface that exposes users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks.
The technical flaw in this vulnerability stems from the application's complete absence of certificate chain validation and trust verification processes. When the migme application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it does not perform the necessary checks to ensure that the server's certificate is properly signed by a trusted Certificate Authority, has not expired, and matches the expected hostname. This omission creates a dangerous trust model where any certificate, regardless of its legitimacy or authenticity, is accepted as valid. The vulnerability is classified as a weakness in certificate validation practices that directly violates industry standards and security best practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for users of the affected application. Attackers can exploit this flaw by presenting a maliciously crafted certificate to intercept and decrypt communications between the Android device and legitimate servers. This allows for comprehensive data theft including personal information, authentication credentials, financial data, and other sensitive user information. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform session hijacking, data manipulation, and comprehensive surveillance of user activities. According to the ATT&CK framework, this represents a technique for credential access and data interception that leverages network protocol manipulation to compromise user security.
The security implications extend beyond simple data theft to encompass complete trust model compromise. Users who rely on the migme application for sensitive communications are exposed to attacks that can bypass all intended security measures. This vulnerability particularly impacts users in environments where network security is critical, such as corporate networks, financial institutions, and healthcare organizations. The lack of certificate verification means that even if users believe they are connecting to legitimate services, they may unknowingly be communicating with malicious actors who can read, modify, or redirect all transmitted data. This weakness aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture that violates the core principles of secure communication protocols.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application updates from the vendor to implement proper certificate validation procedures. Users should avoid using the affected application until patches are available and should consider alternative applications that properly implement SSL/TLS security measures. Network administrators should monitor for suspicious certificate activity and consider implementing additional network-level security controls to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation and highlights the necessity of following established security frameworks such as NIST guidelines for secure communication protocols. Organizations should also consider implementing certificate pinning mechanisms as an additional layer of protection against this type of attack vector.