CVE-2014-6878 in Mobile
Summary
by MITRE
The RBFCU Mobile (aka com.Vertifi.DeposZip.P314089681) application 3.1 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 • 09/20/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6878 affects the RBFCU Mobile application version 3.1 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile clients and backend servers.
This technical flaw constitutes a failure in the application's cryptographic implementation, where the Android application does not perform proper certificate chain validation or hostname verification during SSL handshakes. The absence of certificate verification allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This weakness directly maps to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which covers network service scanning and T1566 which involves credential access through social engineering or compromised certificates. The vulnerability creates a trust relationship that can be easily subverted, enabling attackers to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile application and its backend services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, as it allows threat actors to obtain sensitive user information including financial data, personal identification details, and authentication credentials. Mobile banking applications like RBFCU Mobile handle highly sensitive data that requires robust security measures to protect against unauthorized access. When certificate verification is bypassed, attackers can establish fraudulent connections that appear legitimate to users, making the attack difficult to detect. This vulnerability particularly affects financial applications where users expect end-to-end encryption and server authentication to protect their transactions and personal information. The compromised trust model can lead to complete account takeovers, unauthorized transactions, and widespread data breaches that could result in significant financial losses and regulatory penalties.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate pinning techniques that validate server certificates against known good certificates or public key fingerprints, preventing the acceptance of forged certificates. The application must enforce strict certificate chain validation including hostname verification, certificate expiration checks, and revocation status verification through OCSP or CRL checks. Security patches should be deployed to ensure that all SSL/TLS connections properly validate server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as network monitoring to detect anomalous certificate usage patterns and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other mobile applications. The remediation process should follow industry best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and OWASP Mobile Security Project guidelines for secure mobile application development, ensuring comprehensive protection against man-in-the-middle attacks and maintaining user trust in the application's security posture.