CVE-2014-5689 in Road Bike
Summary
by MITRE
The Runtastic Road Bike (aka com.runtastic.android.roadbike.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-2014-5689 affects the Runtastic Road Bike Android application version 2.0.1, 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 enables malicious actors to execute successful man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's network security infrastructure, where it relies on insecure certificate validation mechanisms that do not adequately verify the authenticity of SSL servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and trust verification processes that are fundamental to secure SSL communication. When the application establishes connections to remote servers, it accepts any certificate presented without verifying the certificate authority, expiration dates, or domain name matches that would normally be required for secure communication. This weakness allows attackers to generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted between the mobile device and remote servers. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which focuses on improper certificate validation in security protocols, and represents a classic example of inadequate SSL/TLS implementation that violates fundamental security principles.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as the compromised application could expose users' personal fitness data, location information, and potentially authentication credentials. Mobile applications like Runtastic Road Bike typically collect sensitive user information including exercise routines, geographic locations, and personal health metrics that could be valuable to attackers for identity theft, targeted advertising, or other malicious purposes. The vulnerability creates a persistent risk for all users who connect to the application's servers, as the insecure certificate validation occurs at the application level rather than being dependent on the device's operating system security measures. Attackers can exploit this weakness to create fake server environments that appear legitimate to users, making detection difficult and potentially enabling long-term data harvesting operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate pinning techniques that verify certificate fingerprints against known good certificates, establish proper certificate chain validation that checks certificate authorities and expiration dates, and ensure domain name verification matches the expected server names. The application should also implement robust error handling for certificate validation failures, ensuring that any certificate verification issues result in connection termination rather than proceeding with insecure communications. Security measures should align with industry standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project and NIST guidelines for mobile application security. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in the application's security architecture, with particular attention to ensuring compliance with the ATT&CK framework's mobile security considerations for certificate validation and secure communication protocols.