CVE-2014-5820 in OkCupid Dating
Summary
by MITRE
The OkCupid Dating (com.okcupid.okcupid) application 3.4.6 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-2014-5820 affects the OkCupid Dating application version 3.4.6 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This weakness 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 vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, undermining the fundamental security assumptions that secure communication protocols are designed to provide.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's certificate verification process, where it fails to perform proper validation of SSL server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. This omission creates a scenario where attackers can generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept and manipulate communications between the mobile client and backend servers. The vulnerability specifically relates to the absence of certificate pinning mechanisms and proper certificate chain validation, allowing attackers to establish fraudulent SSL connections that the application accepts without proper scrutiny. This type of flaw is categorized under CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which covers data encryption for exfiltration through compromised communication channels.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise user credentials, personal information, and private communications within the dating application context. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers and gain access to sensitive user data including personal profiles, messaging content, location information, and potentially login credentials. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for a dating application where users share highly personal information, making the potential impact of data compromise significantly more severe than in typical applications. Mobile users may unknowingly transmit their sensitive information to malicious servers, believing they are communicating with legitimate OkCupid infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application, including certificate pinning to specific trusted certificates or certificate authorities. The application should enforce strict certificate chain validation, verify certificate expiration dates, and implement proper hostname verification to prevent certificate spoofing attacks. Security enhancements should also include regular security audits of cryptographic implementations and adherence to industry standards such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management. Additionally, the application should implement robust error handling for certificate validation failures and ensure that any certificate validation errors result in immediate connection termination rather than proceeding with unverified communications. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks and establish incident response procedures for addressing certificate-related security incidents.