CVE-2014-5562 in Coles Credit Card App
Summary
by MITRE
The Coles Credit Card App (aka au.com.colesfinancialservices.mobile) application 1.0.0 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-2014-5562 affects the Coles Credit Card mobile application version 1.0.0 for Android operating systems, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant exposure that undermines the fundamental security assurances typically provided by encrypted communication channels.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the mobile application establishes connections to remote servers, it does not perform the essential validation steps required to confirm that the server's certificate is legitimate and issued by a trusted certificate authority. This omission creates a pathway for malicious actors to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear valid to the application. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication protocols, and represents a failure to implement proper certificate pinning or validation procedures that are standard requirements for mobile security.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching, particularly given that the application handles sensitive financial information for credit card users. Attackers capable of intercepting network traffic between the mobile device and the application's servers can easily spoof legitimate endpoints and redirect communications through malicious intermediaries. This enables unauthorized access to user credentials, transaction data, personal financial information, and potentially sensitive account details. The vulnerability undermines the confidentiality and integrity guarantees that users expect from secure mobile banking applications, creating opportunities for financial fraud and identity theft. From an attack methodology perspective, this flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption for exfiltration, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks.
The implications extend beyond immediate financial losses to include broader security implications for the organization's reputation and regulatory compliance. Financial institutions are typically required to implement robust security controls to protect customer data, and this vulnerability would likely result in non-compliance with standards such as PCI DSS, which mandates proper certificate validation and secure communication protocols. Organizations using similar mobile applications without proper certificate verification mechanisms face significant liability exposure and potential regulatory penalties. The vulnerability also demonstrates a fundamental lack of security awareness in the mobile application development lifecycle, highlighting the need for comprehensive security testing and code review processes that include proper SSL/TLS implementation validation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The primary fix involves implementing proper certificate verification mechanisms that validate server certificates against trusted certificate authorities and potentially implementing certificate pinning to prevent the use of unauthorized certificates. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments of all mobile applications to identify similar vulnerabilities in their application portfolio. The remediation process should include thorough code review to ensure that all SSL/TLS connections properly validate certificates and implement appropriate security controls. Additionally, regular security testing and monitoring should be established to detect and prevent similar issues in future application deployments, ensuring that security considerations are integrated throughout the software development lifecycle rather than treated as an afterthought.