CVE-2014-7020 in Diabetes
Summary
by MITRE
The Diabetes Forum (aka com.tapatalk.diabetescoukdiabetesforum) application 3.9.30 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-2014-7020 affects the Diabetes Forum Android application version 3.9.30, specifically targeting the application's handling of secure communication protocols. This represents a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate validation mechanisms. The issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's absence of proper certificate verification procedures during SSL/TLS handshakes. When the Diabetes Forum application establishes secure connections to its backend servers, it fails to validate the presented X.509 certificates against trusted certificate authorities or perform essential checks such as certificate expiration dates, subject names, and cryptographic signature validation. This omission places the application in direct violation of established security protocols and best practices for secure mobile application development. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations, and represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial, as it enables man-in-the-middle attackers to successfully impersonate legitimate servers and intercept or manipulate sensitive user communications. Attackers can generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, allowing them to establish fake secure connections and capture user credentials, personal health information, medical data, and other sensitive details transmitted through the application. Given that this is a diabetes forum application, the compromised data could include highly sensitive medical information, personal identifiers, and health-related communications that could be exploited for identity theft, medical fraud, or targeted attacks against vulnerable individuals. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it operates at the network level, requiring no local compromise of the device and potentially affecting all users of the vulnerable application version.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The primary solution involves implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms within the application, ensuring that only specific trusted certificates or certificate authorities are accepted for secure connections. This approach aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for credential access and T1041 for data encryption, as it directly addresses the weakness in secure communication protocols. Mobile application developers should also implement certificate validation checks that verify certificate chains against trusted root certificates, validate certificate expiration dates, and ensure proper cryptographic signature verification. Additionally, the application should be updated to include proper error handling for certificate validation failures, preventing the application from proceeding with unverified connections. Security audits should be conducted to ensure all network communications in the application follow secure coding practices and adhere to industry standards such as those defined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and TLS implementation guidelines.