CVE-2014-5853 in Knights N Squires
Summary
by MITRE
The Knights N Squires (aka com.com2us.imhero.normal.freefull.google.global.android.common) application 1.1.2 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 • 09/03/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5853 affects the Knights N Squires Android application version 1.1.2, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue resides within the application's SSL/TLS certificate verification mechanism, which is fundamental to establishing trust between mobile applications and remote servers. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during the secure connection establishment process. This weakness creates a dangerous attack surface that exposes users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors can intercept and manipulate communications between the application and its backend services.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate validation within the application's network security implementation. When the Knights N Squires application attempts to establish SSL connections with remote servers, it does not perform the essential step of verifying the authenticity and trustworthiness of the server certificates. This omission allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, effectively bypassing the entire SSL security framework designed to protect data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations. This weakness enables attackers to create convincing fake server identities that can successfully deceive the application's security checks, leading to potential data exfiltration and session hijacking.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass comprehensive security compromise of user accounts and sensitive personal information. Mobile applications that fail to validate SSL certificates create pathways for attackers to access user credentials, personal data, financial information, and other confidential details transmitted through the compromised application. The implications are particularly severe for applications handling sensitive user data, as the vulnerability allows attackers to perform session hijacking, modify data in transit, and potentially gain unauthorized access to user accounts. This flaw fundamentally undermines the security model of secure communications, making it possible for attackers to establish trusted connections with malicious servers while maintaining the appearance of legitimate service providers.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which involves network service scanning and exploitation of weak security implementations. The attack vector enables adversaries to perform passive and active network reconnaissance while establishing persistent access to user data. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability as part of broader mobile application security assessments, particularly focusing on secure coding practices and proper implementation of cryptographic protocols. The remediation approach requires implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms, ensuring that the application validates certificate chains against trusted root authorities, and implementing certificate verification that checks certificate validity periods, subject names, and issuer information. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect anomalous certificate behavior and establish regular security audits to identify similar implementation flaws in other mobile applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of following established security standards and best practices in mobile application development to prevent such fundamental security failures that can compromise entire user bases.