CVE-2014-5783 in Bouncy Bill Monster Smasher ed
Summary
by MITRE
The Bouncy Bill Monster Smasher ed (aka mominis.Generic_Android.Bouncy_Bill_Monster_Smasher_Edition) 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 vulnerability described in CVE-2014-5783 represents a critical security flaw in the Bouncy Bill Monster Smasher ed Android application version 1.0.3. This particular application, classified as a malicious Android malware variant under the mominis.Generic_Android.Bouncy_Bill_Monster_Smasher_Edition family, demonstrates a fundamental failure in implementing proper SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from the application's inability to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communication sessions, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification within the application's secure communication implementation. When the application attempts to establish encrypted connections with remote servers, it fails to validate the presented SSL certificates against trusted certificate authorities or perform proper certificate chain validation. This weakness directly violates established security protocols and best practices for secure mobile application development. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a classic example of insecure communication handling in mobile applications. Attackers can exploit this flaw by presenting crafted certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, effectively bypassing the intended security measures that should protect user data and communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it creates a complete man-in-the-middle attack vector that allows adversaries to establish fraudulent communication channels with the application. When users interact with the application, any sensitive information transmitted through the insecure connections becomes vulnerable to interception, modification, or complete disclosure. This includes personal data, authentication credentials, financial information, and other confidential details that the application may be processing or transmitting. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the transport layer security level, affecting all communication channels within the application without requiring additional exploitation techniques. This weakness directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1041, which covers "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel," and T1566, covering "Phishing," as the compromised application can facilitate both data theft and user deception through fraudulent server impersonation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers must ensure that all SSL connections perform thorough certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate signatures against trusted CAs, and implementing certificate pinning where appropriate. The application should implement certificate trust verification using established certificate authorities and maintain updated certificate stores to prevent acceptance of compromised or fraudulent certificates. Security measures should include implementing proper certificate validation routines that check certificate subject names, issuer information, and cryptographic signatures against known good certificate authorities. Additionally, developers should consider implementing certificate pinning to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by hardcoding specific certificate fingerprints or public keys within the application. The remediation process must also include comprehensive security testing of all network communication components and implementation of proper error handling for certificate validation failures to ensure that the application terminates connections when certificate verification fails rather than proceeding with insecure communications.