CVE-2014-5998 in SkyDrive Assistant
Summary
by MITRE
The SkyDrive Assistant (aka com.dhh.sky) application 2.1 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 • 09/09/2024
The CVE-2014-5998 vulnerability affects the SkyDrive Assistant application version 2.1 for Android devices, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism. This vulnerability falls under the category of weak cryptographic practices and represents a fundamental failure in secure communication protocols. The application's inability to properly verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers creates a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it directly impacts the security of cloud storage communications where sensitive information is transmitted between mobile devices and remote servers.
The technical flaw in the SkyDrive Assistant application stems from its implementation of SSL/TLS certificate verification processes. Rather than properly validating the certificate chain against trusted certificate authorities, the application accepts any certificate presented by a server, including those that have been tampered with or are issued by untrusted entities. This weakness allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting a forged certificate that appears legitimate to the vulnerable application. The certificate validation process should have checked the certificate's signature against known trusted root certificates, verified the certificate's validity period, and confirmed that the certificate's subject matches the server's hostname. However, these critical verification steps were either omitted or improperly implemented, creating a security hole that undermines the entire SSL/TLS security model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, affecting both individual users and enterprise environments that rely on the application for cloud storage operations. Attackers can exploit this weakness to intercept and modify communications between the Android device and Microsoft's SkyDrive servers, potentially gaining access to sensitive files, personal information, and authentication credentials. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the transport layer security level, meaning that any data transmitted through the compromised application can be read, modified, or redirected without the user's knowledge. This includes potentially sensitive business data, personal documents, photos, and other confidential information that users expect to be protected through secure communication channels. The attack vector is relatively simple to execute, requiring only that an attacker can position themselves between the victim device and the target server, making the vulnerability highly exploitable in public Wi-Fi networks or other insecure environments.
Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including updating to a patched version of the SkyDrive Assistant application if available, or discontinuing use of the application entirely until proper security measures are implemented. Network administrators should consider implementing additional security controls such as network monitoring to detect suspicious traffic patterns that might indicate man-in-the-middle attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in secure communication. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and data interception, as attackers can leverage the weak certificate validation to obtain sensitive information. Users should also consider employing additional security measures such as VPN connections when accessing cloud services, as this can provide an additional layer of protection against man-in-the-middle attacks. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of proper certificate validation in mobile applications and serves as a reminder that even minor security oversights can have significant consequences in the realm of mobile device security and cloud computing environments.