CVE-2014-7374 in SPIN - Motion Comic
Summary
by MITRE
The SPIN - Motion Comic (aka me.narr8.android.serial.spin) application 2.1.7 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 • 10/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7374 affects the SPIN - Motion Comic Android application version 2.1.7, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile clients and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing certificate validation mechanism within the application's SSL implementation, allowing attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This occurs because the application does not properly implement certificate chain validation, hostname verification, or trust store validation that are essential components of secure SSL/TLS communication. The absence of these security controls enables attackers to intercept and modify communications between the mobile application and backend services, potentially accessing sensitive user information, authentication credentials, or proprietary data exchanged through the application's network connections.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the security model that users expect from mobile applications that handle sensitive information. Attackers can exploit this weakness to establish unauthorized communication channels, potentially redirecting users to malicious servers while maintaining the appearance of legitimate service endpoints. This capability enables sophisticated attack scenarios including credential theft, session hijacking, and data exfiltration from users who believe they are communicating securely with legitimate services. The vulnerability affects all users of the specific application version and persists until proper certificate validation mechanisms are implemented and deployed.
Security mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address the core certificate validation failure by implementing proper SSL/TLS certificate verification procedures. Organizations should enforce certificate pinning mechanisms where possible, ensuring that applications only trust specific certificates or certificate authorities rather than relying on default trust stores. The implementation of certificate validation should include chain of trust verification, hostname matching, and proper expiration date checks as outlined in industry standards such as cwe-295. Additionally, developers should consider implementing certificate transparency checks and regularly updating trust stores to prevent exploitation of known compromised certificates. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes the use of credential harvesting through man-in-the-middle attacks, and demonstrates the critical importance of proper certificate validation in mobile application security frameworks.