CVE-2014-6653 in Afghan Radio
Summary
by MITRE
The Afghan Radio (aka com.wordbox.afghanRadio) application 2.5 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 • 09/12/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6653 affects the Afghan Radio Android application version 2.5, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This weakness resides in the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that compromises the integrity of encrypted communications between the mobile client and remote servers. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure network communications and preventing unauthorized entities from impersonating legitimate services.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the Afghan Radio application establishes connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the necessary cryptographic checks that would normally verify certificate authenticity, issuer legitimacy, and trust chain validity. This omission allows attackers to intercept communications and present forged certificates that the application accepts without proper scrutiny. The vulnerability directly violates security protocols defined in industry standards such as CWE-295, which categorizes improper certificate validation as a critical weakness in cryptographic implementations. The application essentially operates with a trust model that accepts any certificate presented, regardless of its legitimacy or the entity that issued it.
Operationally, this vulnerability enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors can position themselves between the Android device and target servers to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted through the application. Attackers could exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on user communications, inject malicious content, or redirect users to fraudulent servers that appear legitimate to the application. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to potentially compromising user privacy, enabling credential harvesting, and facilitating broader reconnaissance activities. The vulnerability affects users in regions where the application is deployed, potentially exposing personal information, communication patterns, and other sensitive data that flows through the insecure channel. This flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption techniques that can be used to hide malicious traffic, as the compromised application becomes an avenue for such activities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-6653 require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL/TLS stack. Developers must implement certificate pinning techniques that validate certificate fingerprints against known good certificates, ensuring that only trusted certificates are accepted. The application should enforce certificate chain validation, verify certificate expiration dates, and confirm that certificates are issued by trusted Certificate Authorities. Security updates should include proper error handling for certificate validation failures, preventing the application from continuing operations with untrusted certificates. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect anomalous certificate behavior and establish secure communication protocols that align with industry best practices. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in mobile applications, as highlighted by NIST SP 800-52 guidelines for certificate management and the OWASP Mobile Security Project's recommendations for secure communication in mobile environments.