CVE-2014-6852 in LedLine.gr Official
Summary
by MITRE
The LedLine.gr Official (aka com.automon.ledline.gr) application 1.4.0.9 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 • 09/19/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6852 affects the LedLine.gr Official Android application version 1.4.0.9, representing a critical security flaw in the application's cryptographic implementation. This issue falls under the category of insufficient certificate verification, which is a well-documented weakness in mobile application security. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise the integrity of network connections. This flaw directly violates fundamental security principles that govern secure communication protocols and represents a failure in the application's trust model implementation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's improper handling of SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms. When the application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it does not perform adequate certificate chain validation or hostname verification processes. This omission allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept and manipulate encrypted communications between the mobile device and backend services. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification phase of the SSL handshake process, where the application should validate certificate authenticity through trusted certificate authorities and verify that the certificate's subject matches the target server's domain name. This weakness creates a pathway for man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors can establish fake secure connections and potentially access sensitive user data, session tokens, or other confidential information transmitted through the application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the security assurances that users expect from mobile applications handling sensitive information. Attackers can exploit this flaw to impersonate legitimate servers and gain access to user credentials, personal data, or business information processed through the application. The vulnerability affects any communication channel that relies on SSL/TLS encryption within the application, potentially compromising user privacy and organizational security. This weakness particularly impacts applications that handle financial transactions, personal identification information, or other sensitive data types, as the compromised communication channels provide attackers with direct access to such information. The vulnerability also enables more sophisticated attacks such as credential harvesting, session hijacking, and data exfiltration operations that can have severe consequences for both individual users and organizations relying on the application.
Organizations and developers should implement comprehensive mitigations to address this vulnerability by ensuring proper certificate validation mechanisms are implemented in all SSL/TLS connections. The recommended approach includes implementing certificate pinning strategies where applications explicitly trust specific certificates or certificate authorities rather than relying on the default trust store. Additionally, developers should ensure that hostname verification is always enabled and that certificate chains are properly validated against trusted root certificates. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-295 which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1566.001 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment" and T1041 for "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel" as attackers can leverage the compromised communication channels to exfiltrate sensitive data. The remediation process should involve thorough code review of all cryptographic implementations, implementation of proper certificate validation libraries, and regular security testing to prevent similar issues in future releases.