CVE-2014-6685 in Tsushima Travel Guide
Summary
by MITRE
The Tsushima Travel Guide (aka com.netjapan.ntsushima) application 1.9 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 • 09/13/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6685 affects the Tsushima Travel Guide Android application version 1.9, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process that should occur when establishing secure connections between the mobile application and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's absence of proper certificate pinning or validation mechanisms that would normally be implemented in secure mobile applications. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should verify that the server's certificate is issued by a trusted Certificate Authority and that the certificate matches the expected domain name. However, this application bypasses these essential validation steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This weakness directly violates established security principles and represents a failure in the application's secure coding practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial, as it enables man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can intercept and modify communications between the vulnerable application and its servers. An attacker positioned between the user's device and the target server can present a malicious certificate that the application accepts without proper verification, potentially allowing them to capture sensitive user information, session tokens, or personal data transmitted through the application. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security guarantees that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide, leaving users exposed to various forms of data theft and privacy violations. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no special privileges or complex exploitation techniques, making it accessible to a wide range of threat actors.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a clear violation of the principle of certificate validation as outlined in industry security frameworks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for "Proxying" and "Credential Access" where attackers can leverage this weakness to establish unauthorized communication channels and potentially gain access to sensitive user credentials or data. The vulnerability also reflects poor implementation of secure communication practices that should be standard in mobile application development, particularly for applications handling sensitive user information. Organizations should implement certificate pinning mechanisms, proper certificate validation routines, and regular security assessments to prevent such vulnerabilities from being introduced into mobile applications.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate implementation of proper certificate validation procedures, including certificate pinning where appropriate, and ensuring that all SSL/TLS connections verify certificate authenticity through established trust chains. The application should be updated to implement proper X.509 certificate validation that checks certificate signatures, expiration dates, and subject names against expected values. Additionally, security teams should conduct comprehensive code reviews to identify similar certificate validation issues in other applications and establish secure coding standards that prevent such vulnerabilities from occurring in future development cycles. Regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments should be implemented to ensure that security controls remain effective against evolving threats.