CVE-2014-5664 in Spider Solitaire
Summary
by MITRE
The Spider Solitaire (aka com.mobilityware.spider) application 3.0.0 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 • 08/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5664 affects the Spider Solitaire application version 3.0.0 for Android platforms, representing a critical security flaw in the application's handling of secure communications. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack vector that compromises the integrity of encrypted communications between the mobile application and remote servers. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure network communications and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing certificate validation mechanism within the application's SSL implementation, allowing attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This weakness directly violates established security protocols and standards, as the application fails to perform the essential step of certificate chain validation that should occur during SSL handshakes. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a failure to implement proper SSL/TLS security measures that are fundamental to mobile application security. Attackers can exploit this weakness by intercepting communications and presenting malicious certificates that the application accepts without proper verification, potentially gaining access to user data, session tokens, or other sensitive information exchanged between the application and backend services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it undermines the fundamental security model that users expect from mobile applications handling sensitive information. Mobile applications that fail to properly validate SSL certificates create an environment where attackers can seamlessly impersonate legitimate servers and access user data without detection. This vulnerability affects not only the immediate data transmission but also potentially compromises user authentication mechanisms, session management, and overall application security posture. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the affected application is a popular mobile game that may collect user preferences, personal information, or potentially financial data through its online features, making the security gap exploitable for various malicious activities including credential theft, data exfiltration, and unauthorized access to user accounts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which involves network service scanning and can be leveraged by attackers to establish persistent access to user accounts and sensitive information.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL stack, ensuring that all X.509 certificates are verified against trusted certificate authorities and that certificate chains are properly validated. Security practitioners should implement certificate pinning techniques to prevent the acceptance of unauthorized certificates, and applications should be updated to use modern SSL/TLS libraries that properly enforce certificate validation. Additionally, the application should be reviewed for proper error handling during SSL connections, ensuring that any certificate validation failures result in connection termination rather than graceful acceptance of potentially malicious certificates. The fix should also include regular security audits of network communication components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future updates, and implementation of automated certificate validation testing as part of the application's quality assurance process. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish proper incident response procedures for handling security breaches related to such vulnerabilities.