CVE-2014-7077 in Gulf Coast Educators FCU
Summary
by MITRE
The Gulf Coast Educators FCU (aka com.metova.cuae.gcefcu) application 1.0.27 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-2014-7077 represents a critical security flaw in the Gulf Coast Educators FCU mobile banking application for android platforms. This application version 1.0.27 fails to properly implement certificate verification mechanisms during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant pathway for malicious actors to compromise user data and system integrity. The absence of proper X.509 certificate validation fundamentally undermines the security model that should protect sensitive financial transactions and personal information.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete failure in the certificate pinning and validation process that should occur during secure communications between the mobile client and backend servers. When an application properly implements SSL/TLS security, it should verify that certificates presented by servers are valid, issued by trusted Certificate Authorities, and match the expected server identity. However, this application bypasses these essential verification steps, allowing any certificate to be accepted regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295 which describes improper certificate validation, and represents a classic implementation of the man-in-the-middle attack vector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass complete session hijacking capabilities for attackers. Malicious actors can establish fake SSL endpoints that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application, enabling them to capture all transmitted data including login credentials, account numbers, transaction details, and personal identification information. The consequences for financial institutions and their customers are severe, as this vulnerability effectively nullifies the security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide. According to ATT&CK framework, this represents a technique categorized under T1046 Network Service Scanning and T1566 credential access through network sniffing.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. The most effective approach involves implementing certificate pinning that explicitly validates certificate fingerprints or public keys against known good values rather than accepting any certificate from any trusted CA. Additionally, the application should enforce certificate chain validation, including proper hostname verification and certificate expiration checks. Security patches should be deployed immediately to all affected versions, and organizations should consider implementing additional network-level protections such as deep packet inspection and SSL/TLS monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of following security best practices outlined in OWASP Mobile Security Project recommendations for secure mobile application development and the necessity of regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar implementation flaws.