CVE-2014-6992 in Timeless Black
Summary
by MITRE
The Timeless Black (aka com.apptive.android.apps.timeless) application 2.10.6 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 • 09/25/2024
The CVE-2014-6992 vulnerability affects the Timeless Black Android application version 2.10.6, representing a critical security flaw in certificate validation mechanisms. This vulnerability falls under the category of weak cryptographic practices and improper certificate verification, which directly compromises the integrity of secure communications between the mobile application and remote servers. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the application's failure to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification during secure socket connections. When the application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it does not validate the certificate presented by the server against trusted certificate authorities or verify that the certificate's hostname matches the server being accessed. This omission creates a dangerous scenario where attackers can generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, allowing them to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile device and target servers. The vulnerability specifically impacts the certificate verification process, which is a fundamental security control in cryptographic communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise user data and system integrity. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform session hijacking, steal authentication credentials, access sensitive user information, or even inject malicious content into communications. The vulnerability affects all users of the Timeless Black application who establish SSL connections with remote servers, making it particularly dangerous given the widespread use of mobile applications for sensitive transactions. The attack requires minimal sophistication to exploit, as the attacker only needs to present a valid certificate to the vulnerable application, which will accept it without proper validation.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices outlined in various security frameworks. The vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1046, which involves network service scanning, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering or network attacks. Organizations and users should immediately update to patched versions of the application, implement network monitoring to detect suspicious certificate behavior, and consider network segmentation to limit the impact of potential certificate-based attacks. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of proper certificate validation in mobile applications and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing during application development cycles to prevent similar issues in other mobile platforms and applications.