CVE-2014-5799 in Smart Card
Summary
by MITRE
The smart.card (aka nh.smart.card) application 3.2 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-2014-5799 represents a critical security flaw in the nh.smart.card Android application version 3.2 that fundamentally undermines the integrity of secure communications. This issue affects the application's implementation of SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and system security. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates, which are essential components of the public key infrastructure that ensures secure communication channels between clients and servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's improper handling of SSL certificate verification processes, where the smart.card application fails to perform essential certificate validation checks that should occur during the SSL handshake. This includes the absence of certificate chain validation, hostname verification, and trust anchor validation that are standard requirements for secure SSL/TLS implementations. The vulnerability creates a scenario where the application accepts any certificate presented by a server without proper cryptographic verification, making it susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks that can intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information transmitted through the application's network connections.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including credential theft, data interception, and unauthorized access to sensitive information that may be processed through the application. Attackers can leverage this weakness to create fraudulent SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to establish secure-looking connections while actually controlling the communication channel. The implications extend beyond simple data theft to include potential financial fraud, identity theft, and corporate espionage, particularly if the application handles banking information, personal identification data, or corporate secrets. This vulnerability directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project and represents a failure to implement proper certificate pinning or validation mechanisms that are essential for mobile application security.
The attack vector for this vulnerability aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework's T1046 technique for network service scanning, where adversaries establish connections to target systems using forged certificates to bypass security controls. This weakness maps directly to CWE-295, which addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a failure to implement proper certificate trust verification. Organizations using this application face heightened risk of security incidents, potential regulatory violations, and damage to their security posture. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical gap in mobile application security practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust certificate validation mechanisms as outlined in NIST SP 800-52 guidelines for secure network communications. Mitigation strategies should include immediate application updates with proper certificate validation, implementation of certificate pinning, and comprehensive security testing to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases.