CVE-2014-6808 in Active 24
Summary
by MITRE
The Active 24 (aka com.zentity.app.active24) application 1.0.1 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 identified as CVE-2014-6808 affects the Active 24 Android application version 1.0.1, 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 compromises the integrity of data transmission between the mobile client and remote servers. The vulnerability manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms, leaving users exposed to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can intercept and manipulate sensitive information flowing through the application's network communications.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations. The application's failure to verify SSL certificates means it accepts any certificate presented by a server without performing the necessary cryptographic checks that would normally validate the certificate's authenticity, issuer legitimacy, and trust chain. This omission creates a dangerous trust model where the application cannot distinguish between legitimate servers and malicious actors who might present forged certificates to establish false connections. The vulnerability operates at the transport layer security level, specifically targeting the SSL/TLS handshake process where certificate validation should occur, but instead allows connections to proceed regardless of certificate validity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables attackers to establish fraudulent communication channels that can be used to capture user credentials, personal information, financial data, and other sensitive content transmitted through the application. The man-in-the-middle attack vector allows adversaries to not only eavesdrop on communications but also to actively modify data in transit, potentially redirecting users to malicious websites or injecting false information into the application's responses. This creates a comprehensive threat scenario where attackers can compromise user privacy, steal authentication tokens, and perform session hijacking attacks that can persist across multiple application sessions.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to several ATT&CK techniques including T1041, which covers data compression and T1566, which addresses credential harvesting through social engineering. The attack surface created by this flaw enables adversaries to perform persistent surveillance of user activities and capture sensitive information without detection. Organizations using this application face significant risk exposure as the vulnerability affects all users who establish network connections to servers that may be compromised. The attack requires minimal sophistication to exploit, as attackers only need to present a valid but untrusted certificate to the application, making it particularly dangerous for applications handling sensitive user data or financial transactions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements. The primary fix involves implementing proper X.509 certificate validation that includes checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring the certificate chain is properly established. Organizations should implement certificate pinning mechanisms to prevent the application from accepting any certificate other than those explicitly trusted, and should consider implementing certificate revocation checking to detect compromised certificates. The application should also implement proper error handling for certificate validation failures, ensuring that any certificate validation errors result in connection termination rather than proceeding with insecure communications. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to verify that certificate validation mechanisms remain effective against evolving attack techniques and that the application maintains proper security posture throughout its lifecycle.