CVE-2014-6654 in wTrootrooTvIzle
Summary
by MITRE
The wTrootrooTvIzle (aka com.wTrootrooTvIzle) application 0.1 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 • 09/12/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6654 represents a critical security flaw in the wTrootrooTvIzle Android application version 0.1, which operates under the package name com.wTrootrooTvIzle. This application fails to implement proper SSL certificate verification mechanisms, creating a significant attack vector that undermines the fundamental security assurances provided by Transport Layer Security protocols. The flaw manifests in the application's inability to validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications, thereby exposing users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted between the mobile application and remote servers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to perform certificate chain validation, hostname verification, and trust anchor validation processes that are standard requirements for secure SSL/TLS implementations. When an Android application establishes SSL connections, it should verify that the server certificate is signed by a trusted Certificate Authority, that the certificate has not expired, and that the certificate's subject matches the server's hostname. The wTrootrooTvIzle application bypasses these essential verification steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a failure to implement proper SSL/TLS security controls. The absence of certificate pinning or trust verification mechanisms leaves the application susceptible to attacks where malicious actors can intercept and manipulate encrypted communications without detection.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, creating opportunities for comprehensive attack scenarios that can compromise user privacy and system integrity. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform session hijacking, steal authentication tokens, intercept sensitive user data, and potentially gain unauthorized access to backend systems that the application communicates with. The vulnerability affects all users of the application who engage in secure communications, potentially exposing personal information, financial data, or corporate secrets transmitted through the application's network connections. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers phishing and social engineering attacks that leverage man-in-the-middle capabilities to establish persistent access to mobile applications and their associated data repositories.
The implications of this vulnerability extend to broader security frameworks and mobile application security standards, as it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of secure communication protocols within mobile environments. Organizations deploying mobile applications must ensure proper certificate validation mechanisms are implemented to prevent exactly these types of attacks. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of implementing certificate pinning strategies, where applications explicitly define which certificates or certificate authorities they trust, rather than relying on the default trust store. Security professionals should consider this flaw when conducting mobile application security assessments and recommend remediation measures that include implementing proper SSL certificate validation, enabling certificate pinning, and conducting regular security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities in mobile application codebases. The absence of such security controls in the wTrootrooTvIzle application represents a significant gap in mobile security hygiene and demonstrates the critical need for comprehensive security testing throughout the mobile application development lifecycle.