CVE-2014-7013 in Funny Photo Color Editor
Summary
by MITRE
The Funny Photo Color Editor (aka com.doirdeditor.funcloreditor) application 0.0.4 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-2014-7013 affects the Funny Photo Color Editor Android application version 0.0.4, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue resides within the application's handling of SSL/TLS connections and demonstrates a fundamental failure in certificate validation mechanisms that directly impacts the security posture of users interacting with the application. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations, making it a direct descendant of well-established security weaknesses that have plagued mobile applications for years.
The technical flaw manifests when the application establishes connections to remote servers using SSL/TLS protocols without properly validating the X.509 certificates presented by these servers. This omission creates a dangerous scenario where the application accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. Attackers can exploit this weakness by deploying malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the application, effectively enabling man-in-the-middle attacks where they can intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted between the user's device and the application's servers. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to distinguish between legitimate and malicious servers, creating an attack surface that violates fundamental security principles of secure communication.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including data interception, credential theft, and potential compromise of personal information stored or transmitted through the application. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass potential financial fraud, identity theft, and privacy violations, particularly when users may be transmitting sensitive data such as photos, personal information, or other confidential content. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no specialized tools or advanced technical knowledge to exploit, making it accessible to a wide range of threat actors from casual attackers to more sophisticated adversaries. This vulnerability undermines the trust model that users expect when interacting with mobile applications, particularly those that handle personal or sensitive data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements within the application's architecture. The primary solution involves implementing proper SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms that verify certificate chains against trusted root authorities and check for certificate expiration, proper hostname matching, and valid cryptographic signatures. Organizations should implement certificate pinning techniques where possible to further strengthen the security posture and prevent attackers from using compromised certificates even if they can bypass standard validation. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data encryption for exfiltration, and demonstrates how insecure communication practices can enable data theft. Additionally, the issue relates to ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering attacks through man-in-the-middle capabilities, highlighting the broader security implications of inadequate certificate validation. The remediation process should include comprehensive code reviews, implementation of industry-standard security libraries, and regular security testing to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not persist in future releases.