CVE-2014-7003 in Goodwin
Summary
by MITRE
The Goodwin (aka com.goodwin.Goodwin) application 1.15 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 vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7003 affects the Goodwin Android application version 1.15, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism. This weakness resides in the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications, creating a significant attack surface that undermines the fundamental security assurances provided by Transport Layer Security protocols. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process that should normally validate the authenticity and integrity of server certificates before establishing secure connections.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate chain validation within the application's network communication stack. When the Goodwin application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it fails to perform the essential steps required to validate certificate authenticity including checking certificate signatures, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring proper certificate expiration dates. This absence of validation allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, effectively bypassing the security mechanisms designed to protect user data during transmission. The vulnerability directly violates the core principles of secure communication protocols and represents a failure in the application's cryptographic implementation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates severe consequences for users of the Goodwin application, as it enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can intercept and manipulate all data transmitted between the application and remote servers. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate services, capture sensitive user information, and potentially modify data in transit without detection. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to include potential service disruption, unauthorized access to user accounts, and the possibility of executing further attacks through compromised application sessions. This vulnerability essentially renders the application's secure communication channel ineffective against determined adversaries who can simply present a valid-looking certificate to the application.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation" in software applications, and represents a clear violation of the secure coding practices outlined in industry standards. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to the MITRE ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel" through the use of compromised communication channels. Organizations and users should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions of the application, implementing network-level monitoring to detect unusual certificate behavior, and considering the deployment of additional security controls such as certificate pinning to prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. The lack of proper certificate validation in this application demonstrates a fundamental failure in security-by-design principles and highlights the critical importance of cryptographic validation in mobile applications.