CVE-2014-7100 in www.sm3ny.com
Summary
by MITRE
The www.sm3ny.com (aka sm3ny.com) application 1.0 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-2014-7100 represents a critical security flaw in the sm3ny.com Android application version 1.0, specifically targeting the application's SSL/TLS certificate verification mechanism. This weakness fundamentally undermines the application's ability to establish secure communications with remote servers, creating a dangerous exposure for users who rely on the app for sensitive operations. The issue manifests as a complete absence of X.509 certificate validation, leaving the application susceptible to various forms of cryptographic attacks that would normally be prevented by proper certificate chain validation.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the application's failure to properly validate SSL certificates against trusted certificate authorities, which is a fundamental requirement for secure communication in mobile applications. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a classic example of weak cryptographic implementation that allows for man-in-the-middle attacks. The application's code does not perform certificate pinning or proper certificate chain validation, meaning it accepts any certificate presented by a server regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe risk landscape for users of the sm3ny.com application. Attackers can exploit this weakness by presenting a maliciously crafted certificate to intercept and decrypt communications between the mobile application and its backend servers. This allows adversaries to obtain sensitive user information, including personal data, authentication credentials, and potentially financial information depending on the application's functionality. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no sophisticated tools or techniques beyond standard man-in-the-middle attack methodologies, making it accessible to threat actors of varying skill levels.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally breaks the trust model that secure communications rely upon. Mobile applications that fail to validate certificates expose users to credential theft, session hijacking, and data manipulation attacks that can lead to complete account compromise. This weakness aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks, and represents a critical failure in the application's security architecture that violates fundamental security principles established by industry standards such as NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and TLS implementation.
Organizations and users should immediately implement mitigations including certificate pinning, proper certificate validation routines, and regular security assessments of mobile applications. The recommended solution involves implementing robust certificate validation mechanisms that verify certificate chains against trusted CAs, implementing certificate pinning for critical communications, and conducting thorough security reviews to ensure proper cryptographic implementation. Additionally, the application should be updated to include proper error handling for certificate validation failures and should implement automated monitoring for potential certificate-related security issues. This vulnerability serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of cryptographic security implementation in mobile applications and the severe consequences that can result from inadequate security controls.