CVE-2014-7047 in Ocean Avenue Mobile Pro
Summary
by MITRE
The Ocean Avenue Mobile Pro (aka com.oceanavenue.mobile) application 2.0 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 • 09/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7047 resides within the Ocean Avenue Mobile Pro Android application version 2.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism. This weakness manifests as a failure to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise the integrity of data transmission between the mobile application and remote servers.
The technical flaw stems from the application's implementation of SSL/TLS connections without proper certificate pinning or validation procedures. When an Android application establishes a secure connection to a remote server, it should verify that the server's SSL certificate is valid, properly issued by a trusted Certificate Authority, and matches the expected domain name. The Ocean Avenue Mobile Pro application bypasses these essential verification steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This behavior directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in industry standards such as CWE-295, which specifically addresses the weakness of improper certificate validation in secure communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables man-in-the-middle attacks that can result in complete data compromise. Attackers positioned between the mobile device and target servers can intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information transmitted through the application's network connections. This includes but is not limited to user credentials, personal data, financial information, and any other confidential content that the application may handle during its operations. The vulnerability particularly affects the confidentiality and integrity of communications, as the application cannot distinguish between legitimate servers and malicious impostors, making it vulnerable to various attack vectors including credential harvesting, session hijacking, and data exfiltration.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and network manipulation. The attack surface is particularly concerning for mobile applications that handle sensitive user data, as the Android platform's trust model becomes compromised when applications fail to validate server certificates. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability represents a failure in the application's security architecture and demonstrates the critical importance of implementing proper SSL certificate validation as part of secure coding practices. The remediation approach requires implementing robust certificate validation mechanisms including certificate pinning, proper certificate chain validation, and ensuring that the application enforces strict verification of SSL certificates before establishing secure connections. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as network monitoring and anomaly detection to identify potential exploitation attempts of this vulnerability.