CVE-2014-7084 in Hesheng 80
Summary
by MITRE
The Hesheng 80 (aka com.ireadercity.c29) application 3.0.2 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-2014-7084 affects the Hesheng 80 Android application version 3.0.2, specifically targeting its implementation of secure communication protocols. This represents a critical security flaw in the application's approach to establishing trust with remote servers through SSL/TLS connections. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers, creating a fundamental weakness in its cryptographic security framework. This oversight allows malicious actors to exploit the trust model by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the application, thereby undermining the entire purpose of SSL/TLS encryption.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform certificate chain validation and trust verification processes that are standard requirements for secure communications. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server certificate against trusted certificate authorities and ensure the certificate's validity period, subject names, and cryptographic signatures are correct. The Hesheng 80 application bypasses these essential verification steps, effectively disabling the certificate pinning mechanism that would normally prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations, and represents a direct violation of the security principle of certificate trust validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables attackers to conduct successful man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. An attacker positioned between the user and the server can intercept and modify communications without detection, potentially accessing sensitive user data including personal information, login credentials, or financial details. The vulnerability affects all communication channels within the application that rely on SSL/TLS encryption, making it particularly dangerous for any functionality involving user authentication, data transmission, or sensitive transactions. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to ATT&CK technique T1573.002, which covers "Encrypted Channel" and specifically addresses the exploitation of weak SSL/TLS implementations to intercept and manipulate communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers must ensure that all SSL/TLS connections perform thorough certificate chain validation, including verification against trusted certificate authorities, checking certificate expiration dates, and validating certificate subject names against expected server identities. The application should implement certificate pinning techniques to prevent the acceptance of arbitrary certificates, and any custom certificate validation logic must be rigorously tested against industry standards. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other network communication components. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect anomalous certificate behavior and establish incident response procedures for potential exploitation of this vulnerability. The remediation approach should align with security frameworks such as OWASP Mobile Top 10 and NIST SP 800-52 guidelines for secure mobile application development and SSL/TLS implementation practices.