CVE-2014-5966 in Dreamland Super Theme GO Gold
Summary
by MITRE
The Dreamland Super Theme GO Gold (aka com.gau.go.launcherex.viptheme.dreamland.gold) application 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.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/08/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5966 resides within the Dreamland Super Theme GO Gold Android application, specifically affecting version 1 of the com.gau.go.launcherex.viptheme.dreamland.gold package. This represents a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols, where the software fails to properly validate SSL/TLS certificates presented by remote servers during network connections. The absence of certificate verification creates a fundamental weakness in the application's security architecture that directly violates established security best practices for mobile application development.
The technical flaw manifests as a failure to implement proper certificate pinning or validation mechanisms within the application's network communication stack. When the application establishes connections to remote servers for downloading themes or other content, it accepts any X.509 certificate presented without performing the necessary cryptographic verification steps. This includes checking certificate authority signatures, validating certificate expiration dates, and ensuring the certificate matches the target server's hostname. According to CWE-295, this vulnerability maps directly to improper certificate validation, which is classified as a weakness in the validation of certificates used for secure communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and exposes users to significant man-in-the-middle attack vectors. Attackers can exploit this weakness by presenting maliciously crafted certificates to intercept and manipulate communications between the vulnerable application and its intended servers. This allows adversaries to impersonate legitimate services, potentially redirecting users to malicious websites or injecting harmful content into the theme download process. The attack surface extends beyond simple data interception to include potential code injection and privilege escalation scenarios, as the application may be downloading and executing additional components from remote servers.
From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which involves network service scanning and T1566 which covers credential harvesting through phishing or man-in-the-middle attacks. The vulnerability enables attackers to establish persistent communication channels with compromised applications, potentially allowing them to maintain access to user devices and collect sensitive information. The impact extends to user privacy and device security, as compromised applications may be used as entry points for broader attacks against the Android device ecosystem.
Mitigation strategies should include implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms, such as certificate pinning, where the application explicitly trusts only specific certificates or certificate authorities. Developers should also implement certificate revocation checking and utilize secure communication libraries that properly handle certificate validation. The application should be updated to validate certificate chains against trusted root certificates, check hostname matching, and implement proper error handling for certificate validation failures. Additionally, regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other network communication components within the application's codebase.