CVE-2014-7075 in HAPPY
Summary
by MITRE
The HAPPY (aka com.tw.knowhowdesign.sinfonghuei) 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 • 09/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7075 affects the HAPPY application version 2.0 for Android operating systems, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, fundamentally undermining the security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's cryptographic implementation where it fails to perform proper certificate validation procedures that are standard practice in secure mobile applications. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server's certificate against a trusted certificate authority and verify that the certificate is valid for the domain being accessed. The HAPPY application bypasses these essential validation steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This weakness directly corresponds to CWE-295, which describes "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture.
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 can intercept communications between the application and legitimate servers, decrypt sensitive information, modify data in transit, or redirect users to malicious sites. This vulnerability particularly threatens user privacy and financial data protection, as the application may be handling sensitive personal information, login credentials, or payment details. The attack vector is relatively simple for threat actors to exploit, requiring only the ability to intercept network traffic and present a crafted certificate that the application will accept without proper verification.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046, which involves network service scanning and exploitation, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering or network attacks. The vulnerability creates an environment where attackers can establish persistent surveillance over user communications, potentially leading to long-term data breaches and identity theft. Organizations should consider this vulnerability as part of their broader mobile application security assessment, particularly when evaluating applications that handle sensitive user data or financial transactions. The remediation approach requires implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms, ensuring that the application validates certificates against trusted authorities, and potentially implementing certificate revocation checking to prevent the acceptance of compromised certificates. This vulnerability serves as a prime example of how insufficient cryptographic implementation can undermine even the most basic security assumptions in mobile applications, highlighting the critical importance of adhering to established security standards and best practices in mobile development.