CVE-2014-6962 in Elk Grove PublicStuff
Summary
by MITRE
The Elk Grove PublicStuff (aka com.wassabi.elkgrove) application 3.2 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 • 09/23/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-6962 represents a critical security flaw in the Elk Grove PublicStuff Android application version 3.2 that fundamentally undermines the integrity of secure communications between the mobile client and remote servers. This application, designed to provide public access to municipal services and information, implements a dangerous security bypass that fails to validate SSL/TLS certificates during network communications. The absence of proper certificate verification creates an exploitable condition that allows malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks without detection. This weakness directly violates fundamental principles of secure communication protocols and demonstrates a severe lack of cryptographic best practices within the application's network security implementation.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of X.509 certificate validation within the application's SSL/TLS handshake process. When the application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the essential verification steps that would normally confirm the authenticity of server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. This includes checking certificate expiration dates, validating certificate chains, and ensuring that certificates are properly signed by recognized issuing authorities. The vulnerability falls under CWE-295 which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" and represents a classic example of insufficient cryptographic implementation that leaves applications exposed to active network attacks. Attackers can exploit this weakness by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, thereby enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted between the mobile device and target servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data interception, as it creates a complete trust relationship breakdown between the mobile application and its backend services. Sensitive information that may be transmitted through this vulnerable application includes personal user data, municipal records, service requests, and potentially financial information if the application handles such transactions. The man-in-the-middle capability allows attackers to not only eavesdrop on communications but also to actively manipulate data in transit, potentially redirecting users to malicious websites or injecting false information into the application's data streams. This vulnerability is particularly concerning for public sector applications like the Elk Grove PublicStuff platform, as it could enable adversaries to compromise citizen data or disrupt access to essential municipal services. The attack vector is particularly dangerous in public Wi-Fi environments or compromised networks where attackers have greater opportunities to intercept and manipulate traffic.
Organizations and developers should implement several critical mitigations to address this vulnerability and strengthen the application's security posture. The primary remediation involves implementing proper SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms that enforce certificate chain validation, expiration checking, and trusted authority verification. This includes configuring the application to use certificate pinning where appropriate, implementing proper certificate validation libraries, and ensuring that all network communications perform thorough certificate verification before establishing secure connections. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following security standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Mobile Security Project, which emphasizes the need for proper cryptographic implementation and secure network communication practices. Additionally, developers should consider implementing additional security controls such as certificate transparency monitoring and regular security audits of network communication components to prevent similar issues from arising in future versions of the application.