CVE-2014-7092 in Ubooly
Summary
by MITRE
The Ubooly (aka com.ubooly.ubooly) application 4.3.0 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 • 09/30/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7092 affects the Ubooly application version 4.3.0 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue manifests in the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that undermines the fundamental security guarantees of encrypted communications. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish trust with remote servers, leaving users exposed to sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise sensitive data transmission.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from the application's improper certificate validation mechanism, which fails to perform essential checks required for secure SSL/TLS connections. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in the validation of certificate authorities and certificate chains, specifically failing to verify the trustworthiness of X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers. The application's implementation lacks proper certificate pinning and validation procedures that should ensure certificates are issued by trusted certificate authorities and have not been tampered with during transmission. This flaw allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept and potentially modify communications between the mobile application and its remote servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it creates opportunities for attackers to conduct sophisticated surveillance and data exfiltration operations. Adversaries can exploit this weakness to establish fraudulent connections with the application's servers, potentially gaining access to user credentials, personal information, financial data, and other sensitive content that the application handles during normal operation. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, specifically targeting the initial access phase through credential harvesting and data collection. Mobile applications that rely on secure communication channels for user authentication, payment processing, or sensitive data exchange become particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as attackers can seamlessly impersonate legitimate servers without detection.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Security measures should include implementing certificate pinning to ensure the application only accepts specific certificates or certificate authorities, thereby preventing attackers from using fraudulent certificates. The application should also implement proper certificate chain validation, ensuring that certificates are issued by trusted Certificate Authorities and have not been revoked. Additionally, developers should consider implementing certificate transparency checks and regular security audits to identify potential validation flaws. According to industry best practices and security frameworks, applications handling sensitive user data must implement robust certificate validation procedures that align with NIST SP 800-57 and ISO/IEC 27001 security standards to maintain the integrity of their secure communication channels.