CVE-2014-7127 in Football Espana magazine
Summary
by MITRE
The Football Espana magazine (aka com.triactivemedia.footballespana) application @7F0801AA 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 • 10/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7127 affects the Football Espana Android application developed by Triactive Media, specifically manifesting in the application's insecure handling of SSL/TLS certificate validation. This weakness resides in the application's cryptographic implementation at the address 7F0801AA within the Android operating system environment. The flaw represents a critical security oversight that fundamentally undermines the application's ability to establish secure communications with remote servers.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS handshakes. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The application essentially bypasses the standard certificate verification process that should confirm the authenticity of server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. This omission creates a pathway for malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise user data and system integrity. Attackers can exploit this weakness to establish fake server endpoints that the application will trust, allowing them to capture sensitive information transmitted between users and servers. This includes personal data, login credentials, financial information, and any other data that flows through the insecure communication channel. The vulnerability affects the fundamental security principle of authentication, as users cannot verify that they are communicating with legitimate servers.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1046 for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that this affects a mobile application, where users may be accessing sensitive information from various network environments including public Wi-Fi networks. The vulnerability creates a persistent risk for users who may unknowingly transmit confidential data through compromised communication channels. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including certificate pinning, proper SSL/TLS implementation, and comprehensive security testing of mobile applications before deployment.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in mobile applications. Mobile security frameworks require robust certificate validation mechanisms that cannot be bypassed without explicit authorization. The vulnerability demonstrates that applications must implement comprehensive security measures including certificate pinning, proper trust store management, and regular security audits to prevent similar issues from compromising user data. Security professionals should prioritize identifying and addressing such flaws in mobile applications through systematic vulnerability assessments and adherence to established security standards.