CVE-2014-5677 in Point Inside Shopping! Travel
Summary
by MITRE
The Point Inside Shopping & Travel (aka com.pointinside.android.app) application 3.1.0 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-2014-5677 affects the Point Inside Shopping & Travel Android application version 3.1.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification mechanism that should establish trust between the mobile application and remote servers, fundamentally undermining the security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and trust verification processes that are standard requirements for secure mobile communications. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server's certificate against a trusted certificate authority and verify that the certificate matches the expected hostname. This application fails to implement these essential validation steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which describes "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a classic example of weak cryptographic implementation that violates fundamental security principles.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates severe implications for user privacy and data security within the mobile application environment. Attackers can leverage this flaw to execute man-in-the-middle attacks, intercepting sensitive user information including personal data, login credentials, and transaction details that flow through the application's communication channels. The impact extends beyond individual user privacy concerns to potential financial fraud, identity theft, and corporate data breaches, particularly given the nature of a shopping and travel application that likely handles payment information and personal travel details. This vulnerability essentially renders the application's secure communication layer ineffective, making it vulnerable to passive and active network attacks that would otherwise be prevented by proper certificate validation.
The security implications of CVE-2014-5677 align with several techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to credential access and defense evasion. Attackers can use this vulnerability to establish persistent access to user accounts and sensitive information through the compromised communication channels, while the lack of certificate verification makes detection more difficult for network monitoring systems. The vulnerability also represents a failure in the application's secure coding practices and violates industry standards such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and the OWASP Mobile Top 10 security guidelines. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning mechanisms, proper certificate validation routines, and comprehensive security testing of mobile applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in production environments.