CVE-2014-6835 in Herbal Guide
Summary
by MITRE
The Herbal Guide (aka com.pocket.herbal.guide) 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 • 09/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6835 affects the Herbal Guide Android application version 1.0, 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 vector that compromises the integrity of data transmission between the mobile client and remote servers. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish trust with legitimate servers while simultaneously opening pathways for malicious actors to intercept and manipulate sensitive information.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's SSL certificate verification process, where the software fails to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname checking. This weakness allows attackers to deploy malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to establish fake secure connections that appear trustworthy to end users. The vulnerability operates at the transport layer security level, where the application should be enforcing certificate pinning or proper certificate validation mechanisms but instead accepts any certificate presented by a server. This behavior aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" in security protocols, and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture that violates established best practices for secure communication.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to severe man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information transmitted through the application. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to include potential identity theft, financial fraud, and unauthorized access to personal health information, particularly relevant given the nature of a herbal guide application that may contain user-specific medical data. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to redirect users to malicious servers, inject harmful content, or capture login credentials and other sensitive data. The attack surface is particularly concerning because mobile applications like this often handle personal information in environments where network security cannot be guaranteed, making the lack of certificate verification especially dangerous.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend to the broader mobile application ecosystem and demonstrate the critical importance of proper SSL/TLS implementation in mobile security frameworks. Organizations should consider this issue in the context of ATT&CK framework's T1041 technique for "Exfiltration Over Command and Control Channel" and T1566 for "Phishing" as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access and data exfiltration capabilities. Mitigation strategies should include implementing proper certificate validation, enabling certificate pinning mechanisms, and conducting thorough security reviews of all network communication components. The application should be updated to enforce strict certificate validation procedures, including hostname verification and certificate chain checking, while also implementing additional security controls such as certificate stapling and secure key management practices to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases.