CVE-2014-6888 in Mobile
Summary
by MITRE
The PennyTalk Mobile (aka net.idt.pennytalk.android) application 2.0.3.0 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 • 09/21/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6888 affects the PennyTalk Mobile application version 2.0.3.0 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's cryptographic 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 undermines the fundamental security guarantees of encrypted communications. The vulnerability falls under the category of improper certificate validation, which is classified as CWE-295 in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically addressing the failure to validate certificates in secure communications.
The technical flaw manifests when the application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, as it neglects to perform proper certificate verification procedures that are essential for maintaining secure communication channels. This omission allows malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The attack vector exploits the absence of certificate chain validation, hostname verification, and trust anchor validation mechanisms that are standard requirements for secure SSL/TLS implementations. Attackers can leverage this weakness to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile application and its backend services, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data transmitted through the application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the trust model that secure mobile applications rely upon for protecting user information. Users of the PennyTalk Mobile application become vulnerable to various attack scenarios including credential theft, session hijacking, and data exfiltration from financial transactions or personal communications. The vulnerability particularly affects applications that handle sensitive information such as banking details, personal identification data, or confidential business communications. From an adversarial perspective, this weakness aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1046 category for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting, as attackers can exploit the lack of certificate validation to establish unauthorized communication channels.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability as a critical risk requiring immediate remediation, as it represents a failure to implement basic security controls that are mandated by industry standards such as the OWASP Mobile Security Project's M3 category for insecure communication. The mitigation strategy involves implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms, ensuring that the application validates certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities, and performing hostname verification during SSL handshakes. Additionally, developers should integrate certificate validation libraries that comply with RFC 5280 standards and implement certificate transparency checks to prevent the acceptance of fraudulent certificates. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to cryptographic best practices as outlined in NIST SP 800-52 guidelines for certificate management and SSL/TLS implementation. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their mobile applications to identify similar certificate validation flaws and implement robust security controls that prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information through man-in-the-middle attacks.