CVE-2014-7462 in Fashion Story: Neon 90's
Summary
by MITRE
The Fashion Story: Neon 90 s (aka com.teamlava.fashionstory39) application 1.5.6.5 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 • 10/07/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7462 affects the Fashion Story: Neon 90s mobile application version 1.5.6.5 for Android platforms, 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 malicious actors can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's absence of proper certificate verification mechanisms, which is a fundamental security requirement in cryptographic communications. When an Android application establishes SSL connections to remote servers, it should validate the server's X.509 certificate against a trusted certificate authority to ensure the authenticity of the endpoint. This validation process includes checking certificate expiration dates, verifying the certificate chain, and confirming that the certificate was issued by a legitimate authority. The Fashion Story application bypasses these critical verification steps, allowing attackers to present forged certificates that appear legitimate to the application.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for "Phishing via Social Media" and T1071.002 for "Application Layer Protocol: DNS." The operational impact of this flaw is substantial as it enables man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can intercept and modify communications between the mobile application and its backend servers. Users of the application become vulnerable to various attack vectors including credential theft, session hijacking, and data exfiltration, as sensitive information transmitted through the insecure connection can be readily accessed by malicious actors.
The security implications extend beyond simple data interception to encompass potential account compromise and financial fraud, particularly if the application handles user credentials, payment information, or personal data. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to create convincing fake servers that appear legitimate to the application, allowing them to capture user login details, personal information, and potentially financial transactions. The vulnerability is particularly concerning given the nature of mobile applications that often handle sensitive user data and may be running on devices with limited security monitoring capabilities.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms within the application, ensuring that only pre-approved certificates or certificate authorities are accepted for validation. Developers should implement certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate signatures, and maintaining up-to-date trust stores. Additionally, the application should employ secure coding practices that enforce strict certificate validation before establishing any SSL connections. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous certificate behavior and establish regular security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. The fix requires comprehensive code review and implementation of industry-standard secure communication protocols as outlined in NIST SP 800-52 and RFC 6125 guidelines for certificate validation and secure socket layer implementation.