CVE-2014-5609 in Stickman Ski Racer
Summary
by MITRE
The Stickman Ski Racer (aka com.djinnworks.StickmanSkiRacer.free) application 2.1 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 • 08/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5609 affects the Stickman Ski Racer Android application version 2.1, specifically targeting its implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue represents a critical failure in the application's security architecture where the software neglects to perform proper certificate verification during SSL/TLS connections. The absence of X.509 certificate validation creates a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to execute man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. Such attacks allow malicious actors to establish fraudulent connections with the application's servers, effectively impersonating legitimate services while intercepting and potentially altering communication between users and backend systems.
The technical flaw stems from the application's failure to implement proper certificate chain validation procedures that are fundamental to secure SSL/TLS communication. When an Android application establishes a secure connection to a server, it should validate the server's X.509 certificate against a trusted certificate authority to ensure the authenticity of the server. In this case, the Stickman Ski Racer application bypasses this critical verification step entirely, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This weakness directly corresponds to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041 for data manipulation through man-in-the-middle attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it fundamentally undermines the trust model between users and the application's backend services. Attackers can leverage this weakness to intercept sensitive user data, including personal information, authentication credentials, or transaction details that users might transmit through the application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for mobile applications that handle user accounts, payment information, or personal communications, as it provides attackers with a straightforward path to compromise user privacy and security. The attack surface is further expanded because the vulnerability affects the application's core security mechanisms rather than just specific features, making it a systemic weakness that impacts all communication channels within the application.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation within the application's networking code. Developers should ensure that all SSL connections perform certificate chain validation against trusted root certificates, implement certificate pinning where appropriate, and utilize secure cryptographic libraries that enforce proper verification procedures. The application should reject connections when certificate validation fails and implement proper error handling to alert users of potential security issues. Security best practices dictate that certificate validation should never be bypassed, even for debugging or development purposes, and all network communications should be protected through robust authentication and encryption mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for addressing security breaches that may result from such vulnerabilities.