CVE-2014-5957 in Alien War Survivors
Summary
by MITRE
The Alien War Survivors (aka com.ly.a13.gp) application 1.3.1 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 • 09/08/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5957 affects the Alien War Survivors mobile application version 1.3.1 for Android platforms, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack vector that undermines the fundamental security assurances provided by cryptographic protocols. The vulnerability falls under the category of improper certificate validation, which is classified as CWE-295 within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically addressing issues related to validation of certificates.
The technical implementation flaw manifests when the Android application establishes secure connections to remote servers, as it bypasses the standard certificate verification process that should confirm the authenticity of server certificates. This omission allows malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The attack requires the adversary to intercept network traffic between the mobile device and the server, then present a certificate signed by a trusted Certificate Authority that has been manipulated or compromised to deceive the application's security mechanisms. The absence of proper certificate pinning or validation creates an environment where attackers can seamlessly impersonate legitimate services without the application detecting the fraudulent communication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it compromises the entire trust model between the mobile application and its backend services. Attackers can exploit this weakness to intercept sensitive user data, session tokens, and potentially gain unauthorized access to user accounts or personal information stored on remote servers. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for applications handling financial data, personal identification information, or other sensitive user credentials, as it effectively nullifies the security protections that users expect from secure communications. This weakness can be exploited across various attack scenarios including credential harvesting, data exfiltration, and service disruption, making it a significant concern for mobile application security.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. The recommended approach involves implementing certificate pinning techniques that verify server certificates against known good certificates or public keys, rather than relying solely on the standard certificate chain validation process. Security measures should include validating certificate signatures against trusted Certificate Authorities, checking certificate expiration dates, and implementing hostname verification to ensure certificates match the expected server names. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security layers such as certificate transparency monitoring and regular security audits of mobile applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future releases. This vulnerability exemplifies the critical importance of following established security protocols and adheres to ATT&CK technique T1046 for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting through man-in-the-middle attacks.