CVE-2014-5955 in Atomic Fusion
Summary
by MITRE
The Atomic Fusion (aka com.bytesized.fusion) application 1.7 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 • 09/08/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5955 affects the Atomic Fusion Android application version 1.7, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate verification process. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communication sessions. The vulnerability creates a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's cryptographic implementation where it bypasses standard certificate validation procedures that should verify the authenticity and integrity of SSL/TLS certificates. This omission allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, effectively breaking the trust model that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to establish. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate chain validation process, which should normally confirm that certificates are issued by trusted Certificate Authorities and that they properly match the server being connected to.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to severe security risks including data interception, credential theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. Attackers can exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on communications between the application and backend servers, potentially capturing user credentials, personal data, or business-critical information transmitted over the network. The impact extends beyond individual user privacy concerns to potential corporate security breaches, especially if the application handles financial transactions or confidential business data.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a clear violation of the principle of secure communication in mobile applications. From an attack framework perspective, this weakness maps to ATT&CK technique T1041 by enabling network traffic interception and T1566 by facilitating initial access through certificate spoofing. The attack vector requires minimal sophistication as attackers only need to generate a valid certificate that can bypass the application's validation mechanisms, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where sensitive data is transmitted.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating the application to a version that properly validates SSL certificates, implementing network-level monitoring to detect suspicious certificate behavior, and conducting security assessments of all mobile applications that handle sensitive data. The fix should involve implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms and ensuring that all SSL/TLS connections validate certificate chains against trusted root certificates. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing certificate transparency monitoring and regular security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other mobile applications.