CVE-2014-5905 in Grocery List - Tomatoes
Summary
by MITRE
The Grocery List - Tomatoes (aka com.meucarrinho) application 5.1.4 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 • 09/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5905 affects the Grocery List - Tomatoes mobile application version 5.1.4 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications. 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 and system integrity. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile applications and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the application establishes connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the necessary cryptographic checks that would normally verify certificate authenticity, issuer legitimacy, and chain of trust. This weakness allows attackers to intercept communications using malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The flaw falls under the category of weak cryptographic practices and improper certificate validation as defined by CWE-295, which specifically addresses issues related to certificate validation failures in secure communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, particularly for mobile applications handling sensitive user data. Attackers can exploit this weakness through man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept, modify, or steal user information including personal details, login credentials, and any data transmitted between the application and its servers. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity of communications, potentially allowing adversaries to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, financial information, or other sensitive data. This weakness is particularly dangerous in mobile environments where users may be accessing applications over unsecured networks, making the attack surface even more extensive.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which involves social engineering tactics to gain access to systems through man-in-the-middle attacks. The flaw enables attackers to establish malicious communication channels that bypass normal security controls, effectively undermining the security model that users expect from mobile applications. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security architecture, as proper certificate validation is a basic requirement for secure mobile communications. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning, proper SSL/TLS configuration, and thorough security testing of mobile applications before deployment to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in their own mobile applications.
The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper certificate validation in mobile security implementations and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the application development lifecycle. Mobile applications must implement robust certificate validation mechanisms to prevent attackers from exploiting weak SSL/TLS implementations and compromising user data. This specific flaw underscores the necessity of following security best practices and industry standards such as those defined by NIST and OWASP to ensure that mobile applications maintain the security assurances that users expect.