CVE-2014-5559 in GoldFish Care
Summary
by MITRE
The Kids GoldFish Care (aka air.josiane.sauveterre.kidsgoldfishcare) application 1.0.3 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 • 08/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5559 affects the Kids GoldFish Care Android application version 1.0.3, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, fundamentally undermining the security model designed to protect sensitive information transmitted between the mobile device and backend services. From a cybersecurity perspective, this flaw represents a complete breakdown in the certificate validation process that should be mandatory for all applications handling sensitive user data.
The technical implementation flaw manifests as a missing certificate verification step within the application's SSL/TLS handshake process. When the Android application attempts to establish a secure connection with its server infrastructure, it fails to validate the server's X.509 certificate against trusted certificate authorities. This omission allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1573.001 for "Reversible Encryption of Data for Impact." The application's insecure coding practices create an environment where cryptographic security measures are effectively bypassed, allowing unauthorized parties to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile client and server components.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables attackers to gain access to sensitive information that users might store or transmit through the application. Given that this is a children's care application, the potential for exposing personal information about minors and their families creates additional regulatory and ethical concerns. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to obtain user credentials, personal health information, or other sensitive data that the application may be collecting or processing. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by adversaries with basic networking knowledge. This weakness essentially removes the cryptographic protection that users expect when communicating with what they believe to be a secure application, creating a false sense of security that undermines the entire security posture.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5559 must address both the immediate implementation flaw and broader security architecture considerations. The primary remediation involves implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL/TLS implementation, ensuring that all X.509 certificates are verified against trusted certificate authorities using established validation chains. Developers should implement certificate pinning where appropriate to further strengthen the security model against compromised certificate authorities. Security professionals should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks targeting the application's communication channels. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to industry standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project, particularly regarding secure communication implementation. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security testing including penetration testing and code reviews to identify similar certificate validation flaws in other applications, as this represents a common pattern in mobile application security vulnerabilities that can have severe consequences for user privacy and data protection.