CVE-2014-6980 in LINE PLAY
Summary
by MITRE
The LINE PLAY (aka jp.naver.lineplay.android) application 2.3.1.1 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 • 09/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6980 affects the LINE PLAY Android application version 2.3.1.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue falls under the category of improper certificate verification within SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental failure in the application's cryptographic security architecture, where the mobile application fails to properly validate the authenticity of server certificates presented during SSL handshakes. This weakness directly violates established security protocols and exposes users to potential data interception and manipulation attacks.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of X.509 certificate verification within the application's SSL implementation, allowing attackers to present malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This represents a classic example of a certificate pinning bypass or certificate validation failure, where the application accepts any certificate without proper validation against trusted certificate authorities or established trust chains. The vulnerability enables man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors can intercept communications between the application and its servers, potentially gaining access to sensitive user information including personal data, messages, and authentication credentials. This flaw operates at the transport layer security level, undermining the fundamental security guarantees that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete session hijacking capabilities for attackers. Users of the LINE PLAY application become vulnerable to various attack vectors including credential harvesting, session manipulation, and data exfiltration without their knowledge. The vulnerability affects all communication channels within the application that rely on SSL/TLS encryption, potentially compromising user privacy and security across multiple application functions. This weakness creates an environment where attackers can establish persistent surveillance capabilities, monitor user activities, and potentially impersonate legitimate services to gain unauthorized access to user accounts and personal information. The vulnerability's persistence across different network environments makes it particularly dangerous for mobile users who may connect through various networks including public wifi.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL stack. The recommended approach involves implementing certificate pinning strategies that validate server certificates against known good certificates or certificate authorities, ensuring that only trusted certificates are accepted for secure communications. Organizations should implement certificate validation routines that check certificate signatures, expiration dates, and trust chain authenticity before establishing secure connections. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in secure communications. Additionally, implementing proper certificate revocation checking and maintaining up-to-date certificate trust stores would significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. The remediation process should include comprehensive security testing of all SSL/TLS implementations within the application to ensure that similar vulnerabilities are not present in other communication channels or features.