CVE-2014-5907 in Pet Salon
Summary
by MITRE
The Pet Salon (aka com.libiitech.petsalon) application 1.0.1 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 described in CVE-2014-5907 represents a critical security flaw in the Pet Salon Android application version 1.0.1, specifically related to its implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue falls under the category of improper certificate validation, which is a well-documented weakness in mobile applications that handle sensitive data transmission. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification when establishing secure connections to remote servers. This weakness allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The absence of certificate pinning and proper certificate trust verification mechanisms means that the application accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of its authenticity or whether it was issued by a trusted certificate authority. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it undermines the fundamental security guarantees that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide, including data encryption and server authentication.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users of the Pet Salon application to significant risks including data interception, session hijacking, and credential theft. Attackers can exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on communications between the mobile application and its backend servers, potentially gaining access to personal user information, payment details, or other sensitive data that the application may handle. The vulnerability affects the application's ability to maintain secure communication channels, which is particularly concerning given that mobile applications often process financial transactions, personal identification information, and private user data. According to CWE-295, this represents a failure to validate certificates, which is a common pattern in mobile security vulnerabilities that can lead to complete compromise of user data.
The attack vector for this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1041 technique for data compression and T1566 for credential access through social engineering. The vulnerability enables attackers to establish fraudulent connections that can be used to intercept and manipulate data in transit, potentially leading to broader system compromise. Security professionals should note that this type of vulnerability is particularly prevalent in mobile applications that were developed without proper security considerations during the initial design phase. The lack of certificate validation in mobile applications is a known pattern that has been addressed through various security frameworks and best practices, including the OWASP Mobile Security Project recommendations for secure communication implementation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms, including certificate pinning to ensure that the application only accepts certificates from trusted authorities, and implementing hostname verification to prevent certificate spoofing attacks. The application should be updated to perform full certificate chain validation and ensure that certificates are issued by trusted certificate authorities. Additionally, developers should implement secure coding practices that include proper error handling for SSL/TLS connections and regular security assessments of network communication components. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks and establish incident response procedures to address potential compromises. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of adhering to security best practices during application development and the necessity of regular security testing to identify and remediate such weaknesses before they can be exploited by malicious actors.