CVE-2014-7431 in Breeze Jersey
Summary
by MITRE
The Breeze Jersey (aka com.sc.breezeje.banking) application 1.0 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 • 10/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7431 affects the Breeze Jersey Android banking application version 1.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue falls under the category of improper certificate validation within SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and financial transactions. The application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers constitutes a fundamental breakdown in the security architecture designed to protect sensitive financial information.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's inability to perform proper certificate chain validation and trust verification during SSL handshakes with backend servers. When an Android application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it should validate the server's certificate against trusted certificate authorities and verify that the certificate matches the expected hostname. In this case, the Breeze Jersey application bypasses these critical validation steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a classic example of trust validation failure in mobile banking applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, particularly within the context of mobile banking security. Attackers can exploit this flaw through man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept and manipulate sensitive financial transactions, steal user credentials, and access personal banking information. The vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assumptions of SSL/TLS protection, making it possible for threat actors to establish fraudulent connections that appear legitimate to the victim's device. This creates a dangerous environment where users believe they are communicating securely with their bank's servers while unknowingly transmitting sensitive data to attacker-controlled endpoints. The risk is particularly elevated in mobile environments where users may be connected to unsecured public networks, increasing the attack surface for such exploits.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1046 tactic for Network Service Scanning and T1566 for Phishing with Social Engineering. The attack vector typically involves setting up rogue Wi-Fi access points or compromising network infrastructure to intercept traffic and present attacker-controlled certificates. The lack of certificate verification creates an automated attack path where malicious actors can seamlessly impersonate legitimate banking servers without requiring complex cryptographic attacks or user interaction beyond initial connection establishment. Security organizations should consider implementing network monitoring to detect anomalous certificate validation behaviors and establish proper certificate pinning mechanisms to prevent such attacks. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following mobile security best practices outlined in standards such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO/IEC 27001, which emphasize the need for proper cryptographic implementation and secure communication protocols in financial applications.