CVE-2014-5818 in Tiny Tower
Summary
by MITRE
The Tiny Tower (aka com.mobage.ww.a560.tinytower_android) application 1.7.0.8 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 • 09/02/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5818 affects the Tiny Tower mobile application version 1.7.0.8 for Android platforms, representing a critical security flaw in the application's cryptographic implementation. This issue falls under the broader category of weak certificate validation mechanisms that have been consistently flagged in mobile security assessments and represents a fundamental failure in the application's secure communication protocols. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's inability to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification within the application's SSL implementation, allowing attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks without detection. This weakness enables malicious actors to present forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, thereby bypassing the essential security measures designed to establish trust between the mobile client and remote servers. The absence of certificate pinning, hostname verification, and proper certificate chain validation creates a scenario where any certificate issued by a trusted Certificate Authority can be accepted without proper scrutiny, fundamentally undermining the security model of secure communications.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including data interception, credential theft, and unauthorized access to personal information stored within the application. The implications extend beyond simple data exposure to encompass potential account takeover scenarios, financial data compromise, and privacy violations that could affect thousands of users depending on the application's user base. Mobile applications that rely on secure communication channels for authentication, data synchronization, and user profile management become particularly vulnerable to exploitation through this flaw, as attackers can seamlessly intercept and manipulate all network traffic between the device and backend services.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1041, where adversaries manipulate network traffic to intercept and modify communications. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning mechanisms, proper hostname validation, and robust certificate verification routines to address this weakness. Additionally, the application should be updated to include proper SSL/TLS certificate validation procedures that verify certificate chains against trusted root CAs and implement certificate transparency measures to detect and prevent the use of fraudulent certificates in the communication process.