CVE-2014-7337 in Acorn Estate Agents
Summary
by MITRE
The Acorn Estate Agents (aka com.acorn.ea) application 3.1 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 • 10/02/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7337 affects the Acorn Estate Agents mobile application version 3.1 for Android platforms, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This weakness resides in the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant exposure that undermines the fundamental security assurances typically provided by secure socket layer communications. The flaw specifically impacts the certificate verification process, which is a critical component of establishing trust between mobile applications and remote servers in cryptographic communications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's omission of proper certificate chain validation procedures that should occur during SSL handshake processes. When an Android application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it should validate the presented X.509 certificates against trusted certificate authorities and verify certificate properties such as expiration dates, subject names, and cryptographic signatures. The Acorn Estate Agents application bypasses these essential validation steps, allowing attackers to present maliciously crafted certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This failure directly violates the security principles outlined in the OWASP Mobile Top 10 framework, specifically addressing the M3 category of "Insecure Data Storage" and "Insecure Communication" vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability creates severe risks for users of the application, particularly given that the software is designed for estate agent operations where sensitive personal and financial information is likely transmitted. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can execute successful man-in-the-middle attacks by intercepting communications between the mobile application and its backend servers. This allows unauthorized parties to eavesdrop on sensitive data exchanges, potentially accessing user credentials, property details, client information, and financial transaction data. The vulnerability essentially eliminates the encryption integrity protections that users expect when communicating with secure services, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to exploit mobile application security weaknesses.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with the ATT&CK framework's T1566 technique for "Phishing" and T1041 for "Exfiltration" through the exploitation of weak cryptographic implementations. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the transport layer security validation point, where attackers can manipulate communications without requiring physical access to devices or complex exploitation techniques. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient certificate validation, which is categorized under CWE-295 in the Common Weakness Enumeration database, specifically addressing "Improper Certificate Validation." Organizations and security professionals should recognize this as a fundamental security misconfiguration that can be remediated through proper implementation of certificate pinning mechanisms, robust certificate validation routines, and adherence to secure coding practices for mobile application development. The remediation approach should include implementing proper certificate verification processes that align with industry standards such as those specified in RFC 5280 for X.509 certificate validation and the Android Security Best Practices guidelines for secure network communication implementations.