CVE-2014-5757 in Buy Tickets
Summary
by MITRE
The Buy Tickets (aka com.xcr.android.buytickets) application 2.3 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-2014-5757 affects the Buy Tickets Android application version 2.3, specifically targeting the application's SSL certificate verification mechanisms. This flaw represents a critical security weakness in the mobile application's cryptographic implementation, where the software fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications. The absence of certificate verification creates a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to exploit the application's trust model and compromise the integrity of data transmission between the mobile device and remote servers. This vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish secure connections and maintain the confidentiality and authenticity of sensitive information exchanged during ticket purchasing processes.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper implementation of SSL/TLS certificate validation within the Android application's networking stack. When the application establishes secure connections to backend servers, it should verify the presented X.509 certificates against trusted certificate authorities and validate the certificate chain of trust. However, the vulnerable implementation skips these critical verification steps, allowing any certificate to be accepted regardless of its validity or authenticity. This flaw aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The vulnerability essentially disables the fundamental security mechanism that ensures server authenticity and data protection in encrypted communications, making it susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can intercept and manipulate data flows.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it compromises the entire security architecture of the mobile application. Attackers can leverage this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers and establish fraudulent connections with the application, potentially gaining access to user credentials, personal information, payment details, and other sensitive data. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in the context of ticket purchasing applications where users may transmit financial information, personal identification details, and contact information. According to ATT&CK framework, this represents a technique under T1046 Network Service Scanning and T1566 Credential Access through Man-in-the-Middle attacks, where adversaries exploit weak cryptographic implementations to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. The attack vector is particularly effective because it requires minimal sophistication to exploit, making it attractive to both casual attackers and more advanced threat actors.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5757 must address the fundamental cryptographic implementation flaw within the application. The most effective approach involves implementing proper SSL certificate validation by ensuring the application validates certificate chains against trusted root certificates and verifies domain name matches. Security professionals should enforce certificate pinning mechanisms to prevent the acceptance of unauthorized certificates, while also implementing robust certificate verification routines that check certificate expiration dates, signature validity, and certificate authority trust. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect anomalous certificate usage patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process requires thorough code review of all network communication components and adherence to security best practices established by industry standards such as NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and OWASP Mobile Top 10 for mobile security controls. Regular security testing including penetration testing and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure the implementation maintains proper certificate verification mechanisms and prevents regression of this critical security flaw.