CVE-2014-6736 in EPL Hat Trick
Summary
by MITRE
The EPL Hat Trick (aka com.hat.trick.goal) 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-2014-6736 represents a critical security flaw in the EPL Hat Trick Android application version 1.0, specifically targeting the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism. This weakness falls under the category of insufficient certificate validation, which is a well-documented security risk in mobile applications. The application fails to properly implement X.509 certificate verification during SSL connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity.
The technical flaw stems from the application's failure to validate SSL certificates against trusted certificate authorities, allowing attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates. This vulnerability directly violates established security protocols and best practices for secure communication in mobile environments. The absence of proper certificate pinning or validation mechanisms means that the application accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. This weakness is particularly dangerous in mobile applications that handle sensitive user information, as it eliminates the fundamental security guarantee that data transmitted between client and server remains confidential and untampered.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including credential theft, data interception, and unauthorized access to personal information. Attackers can exploit this flaw to decrypt and modify communications between the mobile application and backend servers, potentially gaining access to user accounts, personal data, and sensitive business information. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which covers "Exfiltration Over Command and Control Channel." The impact extends beyond individual user privacy concerns to potentially affect enterprise security posture, as compromised mobile applications can serve as entry points for broader network infiltration.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms including certificate pinning, establishing trust with specific certificate authorities, and ensuring that the application validates certificate chains against trusted root certificates. Security professionals should recommend immediate code modifications to enforce certificate verification, implement certificate revocation checking, and deploy network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, developers should follow mobile security best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project, specifically addressing secure communication protocols and certificate management. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level protections such as SSL inspection and monitoring for suspicious certificate validation patterns to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of secure coding practices in mobile applications and the necessity of comprehensive security testing throughout the development lifecycle to prevent such fundamental security flaws from reaching production environments.