CVE-2014-5714 in Text Me! Free Texting! Call
Summary
by MITRE
The Text Me! Free Texting & Call (aka com.textmeinc.textme) application 2.5.5 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 • 08/29/2024
The CVE-2014-5714 vulnerability affects the Text Me! Free Texting & Call Android application version 2.5.5, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that exposes users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle threats. The flaw specifically impacts the application's certificate verification mechanism, which is a fundamental component of secure network communications and represents a direct violation of established security practices. The vulnerability allows malicious actors to establish fraudulent SSL connections with the application, effectively bypassing the security measures designed to protect user data transmission.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the application's absence of proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification processes. When the Text Me! application establishes connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the essential steps required to verify that the server's certificate is legitimate and issued by a trusted certificate authority. This includes checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate signatures, and ensuring that the certificate's subject matches the target server's domain name. The vulnerability specifically addresses the lack of certificate pinning or proper certificate trust verification, which are standard security measures recommended by industry frameworks such as the OWASP Mobile Security Project and NIST guidelines for mobile application security. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in certificate validation that directly enables man-in-the-middle attacks, making it particularly dangerous in mobile environments where users often transmit sensitive personal and financial information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass comprehensive privacy and security breaches that can compromise user accounts, personal communications, and sensitive information. Attackers can exploit this flaw to decrypt and manipulate communications between the application and its servers, potentially accessing text messages, call logs, user credentials, and other personal data. The vulnerability affects all users of the affected application version, creating a widespread security risk that persists until the application is updated or patched. This represents a significant concern for mobile security practitioners as it demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws in certificate verification can create substantial attack vectors. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1573.002, which describes the use of unencrypted communications to capture and manipulate data, and specifically targets the credential access and data interception phases of the attack lifecycle.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5714 require immediate action from both application developers and end users. Application developers must implement proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms, including certificate pinning, hostname verification, and comprehensive certificate chain validation. The fix should incorporate industry-standard security libraries and frameworks that properly handle certificate verification according to established protocols such as RFC 5280 and RFC 6125. Users should be advised to avoid using the vulnerable application version until patches are available, and organizations should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Security frameworks such as the Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS) and OWASP Mobile Top 10 provide specific guidance for preventing such vulnerabilities through proper implementation of secure communication protocols. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of regular security audits and code reviews, particularly focusing on cryptographic implementations and network security controls as recommended by NIST SP 800-53 security controls. Organizations should implement security awareness training to help users understand the risks associated with using vulnerable applications and the importance of keeping mobile applications updated with the latest security patches.