CVE-2014-5782 in Bouncy Bill Holloween
Summary
by MITRE
The Bouncy Bill Halloween (aka mominis.Generic_Android.Bouncy_Bill_Halloween) application 1.0.3 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 • 09/01/2024
The Bouncy Bill Halloween Android application version 1.0.3 contains a critical security vulnerability related to SSL/TLS certificate validation that fundamentally compromises the integrity of secure communications. This vulnerability represents a failure in the application's cryptographic security implementation, specifically in how it handles X.509 certificate verification during SSL connections. The flaw allows malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting crafted certificates that the application accepts without proper validation, effectively breaking the trust mechanism that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to establish.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the application's complete omission of certificate chain validation and trust verification processes that are essential components of secure communication protocols. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server's certificate against trusted certificate authorities, verify certificate expiration dates, check certificate signatures, and ensure the certificate matches the expected hostname. The Bouncy Bill Halloween application fails to perform any of these critical validation steps, creating an attack surface where attackers can intercept and manipulate communications between the mobile application and backend servers.
This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted through the application, potentially exposing sensitive user information, authentication credentials, and private communications to unauthorized parties. The operational impact extends beyond simple data theft, as this weakness could enable attackers to inject malicious content, redirect users to fraudulent services, or establish persistent access points within the application's communication channels. The vulnerability affects all users of the application who engage in SSL/TLS communications, making it particularly dangerous given the widespread use of mobile applications for sensitive activities such as banking, healthcare, and personal data management.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295 which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices. The weakness creates opportunities for attackers to leverage techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1041 technique for "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel" and T1566 for "Phishing" as attackers can use the compromised communication channels to steal data or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability also violates industry standards such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-57 for cryptographic key management and the OWASP Mobile Security Project's M3 category for "Insecure Communication" which emphasizes the importance of proper certificate validation in mobile applications. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning, updating to versions that properly validate certificates, and conducting thorough security audits of all mobile applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced into their mobile ecosystems.