CVE-2014-6754 in Outage Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The Vector Outage Manager (aka nz.co.vector.outagemanager) application 1.7 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 • 09/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6754 affects the Vector Outage Manager Android application version 1.7, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's certificate verification process. This issue resides within the application's implementation of Secure Sockets Layer security protocols, specifically in how it handles X.509 certificate validation during SSL connections. The application fails to properly validate server certificates, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application.
This technical flaw represents a failure in the application's cryptographic security implementation, specifically violating established security principles for secure communication. The vulnerability allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that the application will accept without proper validation, enabling them to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile application and backend servers. The absence of certificate pinning or proper certificate chain validation mechanisms means that threat actors can create malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the application, thereby undermining the entire SSL/TLS security framework that protects sensitive data transmission.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it compromises the integrity and confidentiality of all communications within the application. Users of the Vector Outage Manager application may unknowingly transmit sensitive outage information, personal data, or operational details to malicious servers controlled by attackers. This vulnerability is particularly concerning for utility companies and emergency response organizations that rely on such applications for critical infrastructure management, as it could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to outage data, potentially disrupting emergency response operations or accessing confidential operational information.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and represents a clear violation of the principle of certificate pinning as recommended in industry security standards. The attack vector is consistent with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption for data exfiltration, as the compromised application could be used to exfiltrate sensitive outage data through the man-in-the-middle position. Organizations using this application face potential regulatory compliance issues, particularly if the data transmitted contains personally identifiable information or sensitive operational data subject to privacy regulations.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Security patches should enforce strict certificate chain validation, implement certificate pinning for known good certificates, and ensure that all SSL/TLS connections perform thorough verification of server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. Additionally, network-level monitoring should be implemented to detect anomalous certificate behavior or unauthorized certificate installations. The application should be updated to include proper error handling for certificate validation failures, and security testing should be conducted to ensure that all SSL connections properly validate server certificates before establishing secure communication channels, thereby preventing the exploitation of this vulnerability by malicious actors.