CVE-2014-6720 in Pesca de Carpa Lite
Summary
by MITRE
The Pesca de Carpa Lite (aka com.clearfishing.pescadecarpa.lite) application 1.0 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 • 09/14/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6720 affects the Pesca de Carpa Lite Android application version 1.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue stems from 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 application and remote servers. The vulnerability falls under the broader category of weak cryptographic practices and certificate validation failures that have been consistently flagged by security frameworks and industry standards.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification during SSL handshakes. This weakness allows malicious actors to execute man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The application accepts any certificate presented by a server without verifying its authenticity through established trust chains, certificate authorities, or proper cryptographic signatures. This failure directly violates fundamental security principles of secure communication protocols and creates an environment where attackers can intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted between the mobile device and backend services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it undermines the entire security model of the application's communication infrastructure. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain access to user credentials, personal information, financial data, or any other sensitive content that the application transmits over network connections. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data exchanged through the application, potentially enabling unauthorized access to user accounts, financial transactions, or proprietary information. This flaw particularly impacts mobile applications that handle sensitive user data, making the vulnerability especially dangerous in contexts involving banking, healthcare, or personal identification information.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several established threat frameworks including the ATT&CK matrix, where it would be categorized under credential access and defense evasion techniques. The weakness corresponds to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a common pattern in mobile application security where developers overlook critical cryptographic implementation details. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning, proper SSL/TLS configuration, and comprehensive security testing of network communications. The remediation process requires updating the application to implement proper certificate validation procedures, including verification against trusted certificate authorities, hostname checking, and implementation of certificate pinning strategies to prevent the acceptance of unauthorized certificates. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and address similar vulnerabilities in mobile application environments.