CVE-2014-5660 in TN Members 1st FCU-RDC
Summary
by MITRE
The TN Members 1st FCU-RDC (aka com.metova.cuae.tmffcu) application 1.0.28 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 • 08/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5660 affects the TN Members 1st FCU-RDC Android application version 1.0.28, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism. This weakness resides in the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, creating a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to execute successful man-in-the-middle attacks. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish secure communications with backend servers, fundamentally undermining the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted between the mobile client and remote services. This flaw represents a severe deviation from standard security practices and violates fundamental principles of secure communication protocols.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the application's omission of proper certificate chain validation and trust verification processes. When the application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it fails to validate the certificate against trusted certificate authorities or perform necessary cryptographic checks that would normally occur during secure socket layer negotiations. This allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information including user credentials, personal financial data, and other confidential communications. The vulnerability specifically relates to improper certificate validation, which maps to CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 - Network Service Scanning and T1566 - Phishing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally compromises the security model of the mobile banking application. Users conducting financial transactions through the application become vulnerable to credential theft, financial fraud, and data breaches that could result in significant financial loss and regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability affects the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, potentially allowing attackers to impersonate legitimate banking services and gain unauthorized access to user accounts. Organizations deploying this application face heightened risk of security incidents, potential liability from data breaches, and damage to user trust and brand reputation. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires minimal technical expertise to exploit, making it attractive to a broad range of threat actors from individual hackers to organized criminal groups.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address the core certificate validation failure through comprehensive security remediation. The primary solution involves implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms that validate server certificates against known good certificates or public key fingerprints, preventing the acceptance of fraudulent certificates. Additionally, the application must be updated to perform full certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring proper cryptographic signatures. Organizations should also implement network-level security controls including intrusion detection systems and network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include thorough security testing of the updated application, including penetration testing and certificate validation verification. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of mobile application security and the necessity of following secure coding practices as outlined in industry standards such as OWASP Mobile Top 10 and NIST SP 800-95 for mobile security. The fix should also incorporate proper error handling for certificate validation failures and implement robust logging mechanisms to detect and respond to potential security incidents.