CVE-2014-7309 in Where2Stop-Cardlocks-Free
Summary
by MITRE
The Where2Stop-Cardlocks-Free (aka appinventor.ai_kidatheart99.Where2Stop_Cardlocks) application 6.1 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-2014-7309 affects the Where2Stop-Cardlocks-Free Android application version 6.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's cryptographic implementation. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant pathway for malicious actors to compromise the application's security posture. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to establish secure communications with remote servers, leaving users exposed to various forms of cyber attacks that exploit the absence of proper certificate verification mechanisms.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's SSL/TLS implementation where it fails to perform certificate chain validation, hostname verification, or signature validation checks that are fundamental to secure communication protocols. This absence of certificate verification means that the application accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. Attackers can exploit this weakness by deploying malicious certificates that appear legitimate to the application, thereby enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive data transmitted between the application and its intended servers. The vulnerability essentially disables the entire certificate-based authentication system that SSL/TLS protocols rely upon for establishing trust between client and server components.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risks for users of the Where2Stop-Cardlocks-Free application, particularly in environments where sensitive information might be transmitted through the application. The man-in-the-middle attack vector allows threat actors to impersonate legitimate servers and gain access to user credentials, personal information, transaction data, or other confidential materials that the application may handle. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to potentially enabling more sophisticated attacks such as session hijacking, data poisoning, or the injection of malicious content into the application's communication streams. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assumptions that users rely upon when engaging with mobile applications that handle sensitive data.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as aligning with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and it maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for credential harvesting through phishing and T1041 for data encryption for exfiltration. The lack of certificate verification in the application represents a failure to implement proper cryptographic best practices that are mandated by security standards such as NIST SP 800-52 and RFC 5280. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating the application to a version that properly validates SSL certificates, implementing network-level monitoring to detect anomalous certificate behavior, and establishing proper certificate management procedures. Additionally, users should be advised to avoid using the vulnerable application until a patched version is available, and network administrators should consider implementing certificate pinning mechanisms as an additional layer of protection against such attacks.