CVE-2014-5851 in Dark Summoner
Summary
by MITRE
The Dark Summoner (aka com.darksummoner) application 1.03.39 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 • 09/03/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5851 affects the Dark Summoner Android application version 1.03.39, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This weakness resides in 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, fundamentally undermining the security model designed to protect sensitive information transmitted over network connections.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the Dark Summoner application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the essential validation steps required to confirm certificate authenticity, including checking certificate signatures, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring proper certificate expiration dates. This absence of verification creates a man-in-the-middle attack vector where malicious actors can intercept communications and present forged certificates that the application will accept without question. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate validation phase of the SSL/TLS handshake process, which is a fundamental security control designed to prevent unauthorized parties from impersonating legitimate services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass comprehensive security compromise of user communications and sensitive information. Attackers exploiting this weakness can successfully spoof legitimate servers and gain access to confidential data transmitted through the application, including personal information, authentication credentials, and potentially financial data. The vulnerability affects all users of the affected application version and creates persistent security risks for any data exchanged with servers that the application communicates with. This flaw essentially nullifies the cryptographic protections that SSL/TLS is designed to provide, leaving users vulnerable to various forms of cyber attacks including credential theft, session hijacking, and data exfiltration.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices outlined in industry standards. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under initial access and credential access phases, where adversaries establish trust with victims through forged certificates. The vulnerability demonstrates poor security implementation practices that violate fundamental principles of secure communication, including the requirement for certificate pinning or proper certificate validation. Organizations and developers should consider implementing certificate pinning mechanisms, proper certificate validation routines, and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities in mobile applications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate chain validation, signature verification, and certificate authority checking to ensure that only legitimate certificates are accepted. The application should also implement certificate pinning to prevent the acceptance of forged certificates, even if they are technically valid. Regular security testing and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar validation weaknesses. Additionally, users should be advised to avoid using the vulnerable application version until proper security patches are deployed, and organizations should consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in mobile applications and the necessity of adhering to established security frameworks and standards.