CVE-2014-5860 in Slide Show Creator
Summary
by MITRE
The Slide Show Creator (aka com.amem) application 4.4.3 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 • 09/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5860 affects the Slide Show Creator application version 4.4.3 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 when establishing SSL connections to remote servers, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to perform certificate verification, which is a fundamental security mechanism designed to ensure that communications occur with legitimate servers rather than malicious intermediaries.
This flaw constitutes a severe deviation from established security practices and aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols. The absence of certificate verification creates a man-in-the-middle attack vector where adversaries can intercept communications between the vulnerable Android application and its intended servers. Attackers can generate and present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to decrypt and manipulate sensitive data transmitted through the insecure SSL connections. The vulnerability essentially undermines the entire SSL/TLS security framework that applications rely upon for secure data transmission.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, potentially enabling comprehensive surveillance and data manipulation capabilities for attackers. Mobile applications that depend on secure communication channels for user authentication, data synchronization, or content delivery become particularly vulnerable when they fail to validate server certificates. This weakness can result in unauthorized access to user accounts, theft of personal information, financial data compromise, and potential exploitation of additional application vulnerabilities through the intercepted communication channels. The attack scenario becomes particularly concerning given that the affected application is designed for media content creation and sharing, which often involves handling sensitive user data and personal media files.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5860 should prioritize immediate application updates and certificate validation implementation. Organizations and developers should implement proper certificate pinning mechanisms that validate server certificates against known good certificates or certificate authorities. The solution involves configuring the application to perform thorough X.509 certificate validation including checking certificate chains, verifying certificate expiration dates, and ensuring proper certificate signatures from trusted authorities. Additionally, implementing certificate transparency measures and regular security audits can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future application versions. This remediation approach aligns with the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for credential access and defense evasion techniques, where proper certificate validation serves as a fundamental defensive control against man-in-the-middle attacks.