CVE-2014-5579 in Anywhere Pad-meet Collaborate
Summary
by MITRE
The Anywhere Pad-Meet, Collaborate (aka com.azeus.anywherepad) application 4.0.1031 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 • 11/22/2024
The CVE-2014-5579 vulnerability affects the Anywhere Pad-Meet application version 4.0.1031 for Android, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism. This vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient certificate verification, which is classified as CWE-295 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during the secure communication establishment process, creating a significant attack vector for malicious actors.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the application's improper handling of SSL certificate validation within its network communication stack. When the Anywhere Pad-Meet application establishes secure connections with remote servers, it does not perform adequate certificate chain validation or hostname verification. This weakness allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process that should occur during SSL handshake procedures, where the application should validate certificate signatures, expiration dates, and issuer authenticity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to intercept and manipulate all sensitive data transmitted between the mobile application and backend servers. Any information exchanged through the application's secure channels becomes vulnerable to eavesdropping, data modification, and unauthorized access. This includes user credentials, personal information, meeting data, and collaborative content that users expect to be protected through SSL encryption. The vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide, effectively rendering the application's secure communication layer ineffective against determined adversaries.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1046 category of Network Service Scanning, as attackers can exploit the lack of certificate verification to establish fraudulent server endpoints. The attack vector typically involves setting up a rogue server with a malicious certificate that mimics legitimate server certificates, allowing attackers to decrypt and monitor user communications. Organizations using this application face significant risk of data breaches, privacy violations, and potential regulatory compliance issues, particularly in environments handling sensitive corporate or personal information. The vulnerability also represents a failure in secure coding practices that should be addressed through proper certificate validation implementation and regular security testing.
The recommended mitigations include implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms that verify certificate chains against trusted root authorities, enabling hostname verification during SSL handshakes, and updating the application to include robust certificate pinning capabilities. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive penetration testing to identify similar certificate validation issues in other mobile applications and establish secure coding guidelines that address SSL/TLS implementation best practices. Additionally, users should be advised to avoid using the vulnerable application until proper security patches are deployed, and organizations should implement network monitoring solutions to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks targeting the affected application.