CVE-2014-5755 in verizon
Summary
by MITRE
The verizon (aka com.wverizonwirelessbill) application 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 • 08/31/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5755 affects the verizon mobile application version 0.1 for android platforms, 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 vector for malicious actors. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification mechanism that should ensure the authenticity of servers communicating with the mobile application, thereby undermining the fundamental security guarantees provided by Transport Layer Security protocols.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification processes that are standard requirements for secure SSL connections. When an application fails to verify X.509 certificates, it essentially removes the cryptographic assurance that the communication endpoint is legitimate and that the data exchanged remains confidential and untampered. This vulnerability falls under the category of weak cryptographic implementations and specifically aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols. The absence of certificate verification allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables attackers to intercept and manipulate sensitive data transmitted between the mobile application and its servers. In the context of a billing application, this exposure could lead to unauthorized access to financial information, personal identification details, and potentially account credentials. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical expertise, as attackers can leverage standard tools to generate and present malicious certificates that the application will accept without proper validation. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in public network environments where attackers can easily intercept communications.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to several ATT&CK techniques including T1041, which involves data from network shared drives, and T1566, which involves credential harvesting through social engineering. The man-in-the-middle capability provided by this flaw allows attackers to not only eavesdrop on communications but also to inject malicious content into the data stream. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability represents a failure in the application's secure coding practices and highlights the critical importance of implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms. The lack of certificate validation in mobile applications specifically violates industry best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-52 and OWASP Mobile Security Project guidelines, which emphasize the necessity of robust certificate validation for protecting sensitive mobile communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate verification mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate pinning techniques that validate certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities or implement explicit certificate validation logic that checks certificate signatures, expiration dates, and hostname matches. The application should also incorporate certificate revocation checking to ensure that compromised certificates are not accepted. Security teams should conduct comprehensive code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications and establish secure coding practices that mandate certificate validation for all SSL/TLS connections. Additionally, network-level monitoring should be implemented to detect unusual certificate validation patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.