CVE-2014-5790 in Pets Fun House
Summary
by MITRE
The Pets Fun House (aka mominis.Generic_Android.Pets_Fun_House) application 1.0.1 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 • 09/01/2024
The CVE-2014-5790 vulnerability affects the Pets Fun House Android application version 1.0.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks against unsuspecting users. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental breakdown in the application's cryptographic security posture, as it fails to implement proper certificate pinning or validation mechanisms that are essential for establishing trust in secure communications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the application's SSL/TLS handshake process where it accepts any certificate presented by a server without performing the necessary verification steps. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in certificate validation where the application does not properly validate the certificate chain, issuer, or trust relationships. The vulnerability allows attackers to present a fraudulent certificate that appears legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept and potentially modify communication between the mobile application and backend servers. This flaw directly violates security best practices outlined in industry standards such as NIST SP 800-57 and RFC 5280, which mandate proper certificate validation procedures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates a pathway for attackers to conduct sophisticated attacks including credential theft, session hijacking, and data manipulation. Mobile applications that rely on secure communications for user authentication, financial transactions, or personal data handling become particularly vulnerable when they fail to implement proper SSL certificate validation. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate services and capture sensitive user information, including login credentials, personal data, or payment information. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in mobile environments where users may be accessing sensitive applications over untrusted networks, making the attack surface even more extensive.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5790 should focus on implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms including certificate pinning, certificate chain validation, and trust store management. Organizations should implement certificate validation that checks certificate expiration dates, verifies certificate signatures, and ensures certificates are issued by trusted Certificate Authorities. The solution should incorporate proper error handling for certificate validation failures and implement robust logging mechanisms to detect potential attacks. According to ATT&CK technique T1566, this vulnerability falls under the category of credential access through man-in-the-middle attacks, making it essential to implement network-level protections and application-level certificate validation. The recommended approach includes updating the application to properly validate certificates against trusted roots, implementing certificate pinning for critical communications, and conducting regular security assessments to ensure proper implementation of cryptographic security controls.