CVE-2014-5687 in Mountain Bike
Summary
by MITRE
The Runtastic Mountain Bike (aka com.runtastic.android.mountainbike.lite) application 2.0.1 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 • 08/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5687 affects the Runtastic Mountain Bike Android application version 2.0.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant exposure in the mobile application's security architecture. The flaw directly impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, fundamentally undermining the security guarantees that secure communication protocols are designed to provide. Mobile applications that handle sensitive user data or perform financial transactions are particularly vulnerable to such implementation errors, as they create pathways for attackers to intercept and manipulate communications between the client and server components.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the application's improper handling of certificate verification processes within its SSL/TLS implementation. When an Android application establishes a secure connection to a remote server, it should validate the server's X.509 certificate against a trusted certificate authority to ensure the authenticity of the server. The Runtastic application fails to perform this crucial verification step, allowing any certificate to be accepted regardless of its validity or trustworthiness. This implementation flaw falls under the category of weak cryptographic practices and improper certificate validation, which are commonly classified as CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation and CWE-310 - Cryptographic Issues. The vulnerability specifically enables man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can present fraudulent certificates to establish connections with the application, effectively allowing them to intercept, modify, or redirect communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate user data and potentially compromise user accounts or personal information. Mobile applications that rely on secure communications for user authentication, data synchronization, or transaction processing become particularly vulnerable when they fail to validate server certificates. Attackers can exploit this weakness by positioning themselves between the mobile application and its intended server, presenting malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This attack vector is particularly concerning for fitness applications like Runtastic that may collect personal health data, location information, and user preferences, as the compromised communications could expose sensitive user profiles and activity patterns to unauthorized parties. The vulnerability also impacts the application's integrity by allowing attackers to inject malicious content or redirect users to phishing sites, potentially leading to further exploitation through credential theft or malware delivery.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5687 must address the fundamental certificate validation flaw within the application's SSL/TLS implementation. The most effective approach involves implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms that validate server certificates against known good certificates or public keys, rather than relying solely on the default trust store. Security experts recommend implementing certificate pinning using the Android Certificate Pinning API or similar mechanisms to ensure that the application only accepts certificates from trusted authorities or specific known certificates. Additionally, developers should ensure that all SSL/TLS connections perform proper certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate signatures, and confirming that certificates are issued by trusted certificate authorities. Organizations should also consider implementing network security policies that enforce secure communication protocols and regularly audit their mobile applications for cryptographic implementation flaws. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to industry standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project and NIST guidelines for mobile application security. The remediation process requires comprehensive code review and testing to ensure that certificate validation is properly implemented across all network communication pathways within the application, as well as ongoing monitoring to prevent similar issues from reoccurring in future versions.