CVE-2014-6013 in nuSquare
Summary
by MITRE
The nuSquare (aka tw.com.nuphoto.nusquare) application 1.0.78 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 nuSquare Android application version 1.0.78 contains a critical security vulnerability that fundamentally undermines the integrity of its secure communications channel. This flaw represents a severe deviation from established cryptographic security practices, as the application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS handshakes. The vulnerability exists within the application's certificate validation logic, where it accepts any certificate presented by a server without performing the essential verification steps that ensure certificate authenticity and trustworthiness. This omission creates a dangerous attack surface that exposes users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks, where malicious actors can intercept and manipulate communications between the mobile application and its backend services.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly implement certificate pinning or certificate validation mechanisms. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server's certificate against a trusted certificate authority or implement certificate pinning to ensure that only certificates from known, trusted sources are accepted. The nuSquare application's omission of this critical validation step means that any certificate, even a maliciously crafted one, will be accepted as legitimate. This flaw directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in the OWASP Mobile Top 10 and aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects all SSL connections within the application, potentially compromising sensitive user data including personal information, authentication credentials, and any data transmitted between the mobile device and server infrastructure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, creating a comprehensive attack vector that enables sophisticated adversaries to conduct persistent surveillance and data exfiltration operations. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers, redirect users to malicious endpoints, or simply eavesdrop on communications to extract sensitive information such as user credentials, personal data, and business-critical information. This vulnerability particularly affects applications handling sensitive user data, making it attractive to threat actors seeking to exploit the trust relationship between mobile applications and their backend services. The attack surface is further expanded by the fact that this vulnerability affects a mobile application, which typically operates in untrusted network environments such as public wifi networks, making it easier for attackers to intercept communications. According to ATT&CK framework technique T1041, this vulnerability enables adversaries to establish persistent access through network sniffing and man-in-the-middle capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both the immediate security gap and prevent future occurrences through comprehensive security hardening. The primary remediation involves implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application, including certificate pinning to ensure that only pre-approved certificates are accepted. Developers should implement certificate validation against trusted certificate authorities and consider implementing additional security measures such as certificate transparency checks. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate certificate manipulation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following security best practices outlined in the Android Security Best Practices documentation and should be addressed through comprehensive code review processes that specifically examine cryptographic implementations. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications and ensure that proper certificate validation mechanisms are consistently implemented across all mobile applications handling sensitive data.