CVE-2014-7388 in Sunday Indian Oriya
Summary
by MITRE
The Sunday Indian Oriya (aka com.magzter.thesundayindianoriya) application 3.0.1 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 • 10/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7388 affects the Sunday Indian Oriya Android application version 3.0.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue manifests as a failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The application's insecure handling of certificate verification directly violates fundamental security principles that govern secure network communications in mobile environments.
This technical flaw constitutes a classic man-in-the-middle attack vector where adversaries can intercept communications between the vulnerable Android application and remote servers. The application's failure to perform proper certificate chain validation means it accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. This vulnerability specifically relates to the absence of certificate pinning mechanisms and proper certificate verification routines that should be implemented when establishing secure connections. The weakness enables attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, thereby allowing them to decrypt and potentially modify sensitive data transmitted between the user's device and backend services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass potential data manipulation and identity theft scenarios. Mobile applications that fail to verify SSL certificates create opportunities for attackers to establish malicious connections that appear legitimate to end users. This weakness affects the integrity and confidentiality of all data transmitted through the application, including user credentials, personal information, and potentially financial data. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in mobile environments where applications often handle sensitive user information and communicate with servers that may contain proprietary or personally identifiable data. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness in certificate validation and trust management, specifically CWE-295 which addresses improper certificate validation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's network communication layer. Developers must implement certificate pinning techniques that verify certificate fingerprints against pre-approved values, ensuring that only trusted certificates are accepted for secure connections. The application should incorporate robust certificate chain validation procedures that verify certificate signatures, expiration dates, and trust relationships with recognized certificate authorities. Additionally, implementing certificate transparency checks and maintaining up-to-date certificate validation libraries can help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1046 Network Service Scanning and T1566 credential access through man-in-the-middle attacks, emphasizing the need for secure communication implementation. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous certificate behavior and ensure that all mobile applications undergo proper security testing for certificate validation mechanisms before deployment.