CVE-2014-5878 in ium
Summary
by MITRE
The ium (aka net.ium.mobile.android) application 3.3.4 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 • 09/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5878 affects the ium mobile application version 3.3.4 for android platforms, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue 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 integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile clients and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and trust verification when establishing secure connections with SSL servers. This weakness allows attackers to intercept communications by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The implementation bypasses standard certificate validation mechanisms that should verify certificate authorities, expiration dates, and domain name matching against the server's certificate. This failure directly violates established security protocols and represents a violation of the principle of least privilege in secure communication implementation. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-295 which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications, making it a direct implementation of weak cryptographic practices that undermine the foundation of secure network communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise sensitive user information including personal data, authentication credentials, and confidential communications. Attackers can exploit this weakness to establish malicious connections that appear legitimate to users while simultaneously capturing and potentially modifying data in transit. The vulnerability affects all users of the specific application version, creating a widespread security risk across the user base. The implications are particularly severe for applications handling sensitive personal or financial information, as the vulnerability essentially removes the cryptographic protection that users expect when communicating over secure channels. This weakness can be leveraged for credential theft, session hijacking, and data exfiltration attacks that directly violate user privacy and data protection principles.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate application updates that implement proper certificate validation mechanisms and certificate pinning where appropriate. Organizations should implement certificate validation that includes checking certificate authorities, verifying certificate expiration dates, and ensuring proper domain name matching. The solution requires updating the application to enforce strict certificate chain validation and implement proper trust verification procedures that align with industry standards such as those outlined in the NIST SP 800-57 guidelines for cryptographic key management. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing network-level protections such as certificate transparency monitoring and intrusion detection systems to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process must include thorough security testing of the updated application to ensure that certificate validation functions operate correctly and that no regressions have been introduced. This vulnerability underscores the importance of implementing robust certificate validation practices in mobile applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers phishing and credential access through man-in-the-middle attacks.