CVE-2014-5895 in ShopYourWay
Summary
by MITRE
The ShopYourWay (aka com.sears.shopyourway) application 1.9 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-2014-5895 affects the ShopYourWay Android application version 1.9, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications. The absence of certificate verification creates a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to execute man-in-the-middle attacks against unsuspecting users. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish secure cryptographic connections, fundamentally undermining the integrity and confidentiality of data transmitted between the mobile client and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's improper handling of SSL/TLS connections where it accepts any certificate presented by a server without performing the necessary validation checks. This includes verifying certificate chains, checking expiration dates, validating domain names against certificate subjects, and ensuring certificates are issued by trusted Certificate Authorities. The implementation bypasses standard security protocols that should enforce certificate pinning or at minimum proper certificate chain validation. This behavior aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture. The vulnerability creates an environment where attackers can generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, allowing them to intercept and potentially modify communications.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including credential theft, financial data interception, and personal information compromise. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers and redirect users to malicious endpoints while maintaining the appearance of secure communication. The impact extends beyond individual user data exposure to potential corporate security breaches if the application handles sensitive business information or integrates with backend systems. Mobile applications with this flaw become particularly dangerous as they often operate in less secure environments such as public Wi-Fi networks where man-in-the-middle attacks are more prevalent. The vulnerability affects the application's trust model and can lead to cascading security issues when the compromised application interacts with other security systems or services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-5895 should focus on implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. The recommended approach involves configuring the application to perform comprehensive certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, validating subject alternative names against expected domains, and ensuring certificates are issued by trusted certificate authorities. Organizations should implement certificate pinning techniques where possible, which involves hardcoding expected certificate fingerprints or public keys within the application to prevent acceptance of fraudulent certificates. Additionally, the application should be updated to use modern SSL/TLS protocol versions and cipher suites that provide stronger cryptographic security. This remediation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers credential access through phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks, emphasizing the need for proper certificate validation as a fundamental security control. The fix should also include implementing proper error handling for certificate validation failures to ensure that any certificate issues are properly detected and reported rather than silently ignored.