CVE-2014-5576 in Avira Secure Backup
Summary
by MITRE
The Avira Secure Backup (aka com.avira.avirabackup) application 1.2.3 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.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5576 affects Avira Secure Backup version 1.2.3 for Android operating systems, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications protocols. This vulnerability resides in 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 and confidentiality. The flaw specifically impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, undermining the fundamental security assurances that SSL/TLS encryption is designed to provide.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's inadequate certificate validation mechanism, which fails to perform proper certificate chain validation, issuer verification, and trust anchor checking. This weakness allows attackers to deploy malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to establish fraudulent connections that appear secure to end users. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and represents a classic example of a man-in-the-middle attack vector where attackers can intercept and modify communications between the mobile application and its remote servers. The flaw operates at the application layer of the OSI model, specifically within the transport layer security implementation, where cryptographic protocols should ensure data integrity and server authenticity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive user information that the backup application is designed to protect. Mobile users who rely on Avira Secure Backup for protecting their personal data, documents, photos, and other critical information face significant risk of exposure when communicating with compromised servers. The vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited for credential theft, data exfiltration, and potential identity theft, particularly when users store sensitive personal or corporate information in the backup service. Attackers can leverage this weakness to impersonate legitimate backup servers and manipulate backup processes, potentially leading to complete data compromise or service disruption for affected users.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application-level fixes that implement proper SSL certificate validation procedures, including certificate chain building, trust anchor verification, and hostname validation. Security practitioners should enforce certificate pinning mechanisms where possible, ensuring that the application only accepts certificates from known, trusted Certificate Authorities. System administrators and mobile security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other applications with similar certificate validation flaws, as this represents a common pattern in mobile application security implementations. The remediation efforts should align with industry best practices outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project, particularly focusing on secure communication implementation and proper cryptographic protocol handling. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect and alert on suspicious certificate validation behaviors, while users should be educated about the risks of connecting to untrusted networks and the importance of keeping mobile applications updated with security patches.