CVE-2014-6795 in Beekeeping Forum
Summary
by MITRE
The Beekeeping Forum (aka com.tapatalk.supporttapatalkcomxxxxx) application 3.9.15 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 • 09/17/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-6795 represents a critical security flaw in the Beekeeping Forum Android application version 3.9.15, specifically targeting the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism. This weakness falls under the category of improper certificate validation, which is a well-documented security issue that directly impacts the integrity of secure communications between mobile applications and remote servers. The application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates creates a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data and system security.
The technical implementation flaw lies in the application's inability to perform proper SSL certificate validation during secure communication sessions. When an Android application establishes an HTTPS connection, it should validate the server's X.509 certificate against a trusted certificate authority to ensure the authenticity of the server. The Beekeeping Forum application bypasses this critical step, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This vulnerability specifically enables man-in-the-middle attacks where adversaries can intercept and modify communications between the mobile application and its backend servers without detection.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including credential theft, data interception, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The attack surface extends beyond simple data eavesdropping to potentially allow attackers to modify application behavior, inject malicious content, or redirect users to fraudulent websites. The vulnerability affects the application's security posture by undermining the fundamental trust model that secure communications rely upon, making it particularly dangerous for applications that handle personal information, user credentials, or business-sensitive data.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1573.002 for "Tunneling through Secure Shell (SSH)" and T1046 for "Network Service Scanning." Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to a patched version of the application, implementing network-level monitoring to detect suspicious certificate behavior, and potentially deploying certificate pinning mechanisms. The recommended remediation involves strengthening the SSL/TLS implementation to properly validate server certificates against trusted certificate authorities and implementing certificate pinning to prevent the use of unauthorized certificates, thereby protecting against this specific class of man-in-the-middle attacks.