CVE-2014-5805 in Dating for everyone - Mamba!
Summary
by MITRE
The Dating for everyone - Mamba! (aka ru.mamba.client) application 3.5 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 identified as CVE-2014-5805 affects the Dating for everyone - Mamba! Android application version 3.5, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity. The flaw fundamentally undermines the security model that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide, leaving users vulnerable to sophisticated network-based attacks.
The technical implementation defect manifests in the application's certificate verification process, where it fails to perform proper validation of SSL server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. This weakness allows attackers to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting crafted certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The absence of certificate pinning, certificate chain validation, and proper trust store verification creates multiple pathways for malicious actors to establish fraudulent secure connections. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses the improper certificate validation issue, and represents a classic example of insufficient certificate validation in mobile applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables comprehensive surveillance and data exfiltration capabilities for attackers. Users of the application may unknowingly transmit sensitive personal information, login credentials, and private communications through compromised secure channels. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity of all data transmitted between the mobile application and remote servers, potentially exposing user profiles, messaging content, and personal relationships within the dating platform. This creates a particularly concerning risk profile for a dating application where sensitive personal information and intimate communications are routinely exchanged.
Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the latest application version where certificate validation has been properly implemented, enabling certificate pinning where possible, and monitoring for suspicious network activity. Network administrators should consider implementing additional security controls such as SSL inspection and monitoring for unusual certificate validation patterns. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper mobile application security testing, particularly around cryptographic implementation and secure communication protocols. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which covers data compression and encryption, and demonstrates the critical need for secure coding practices in mobile application development. The incident underscores the necessity of following industry standards such as NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and secure communication implementation in mobile platforms.