CVE-2014-7466 in Live TV Browser
Summary
by MITRE
The Live TV Browser (aka com.wHDSmartBrowser) application 2.0 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 • 10/07/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7466 affects the Live TV Browser application version 2.0 for Android devices, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack vector that undermines the fundamental security assurances typically provided by secure communication channels. The vulnerability is particularly concerning given the nature of the application, which likely handles sensitive user data including streaming content access, personal viewing preferences, and potentially account credentials. This flaw directly violates industry standards for secure mobile application development and represents a clear failure in the application's cryptographic implementation.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the application's improper handling of SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the Android operating system. When establishing secure connections to remote servers, the Live TV Browser application fails to perform the necessary certificate chain validation, certificate signature verification, and hostname matching procedures that are essential for maintaining secure communication. This allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the application. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is governed by the X.509 standard for public key certificates and is a core component of the TLS protocol stack. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in certificate validation where the application fails to properly validate the authenticity and integrity of certificates presented by remote servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial, as it enables sophisticated attackers to intercept and manipulate communications between the Android device and remote servers. An attacker positioned between the user's device and the server can present a malicious certificate that the application will accept without proper verification, allowing them to decrypt and modify transmitted data. This capability can be exploited to obtain sensitive information including user credentials, viewing history, personal preferences, and potentially financial data if the application handles payment information. The vulnerability affects all users of the affected application version and persists regardless of the network environment, making it particularly dangerous in public Wi-Fi networks or other untrusted network conditions. This weakness directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes the use of man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept and manipulate network communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The primary solution involves implementing proper certificate validation within the application's SSL/TLS connection handling code, ensuring that all X.509 certificates undergo complete chain validation, signature verification, and hostname matching against the expected server identity. Developers should utilize Android's built-in certificate pinning mechanisms and ensure that the application rejects any certificate that fails validation checks. Additionally, the application should implement proper error handling for certificate validation failures and provide appropriate user feedback when security issues are detected. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate certificate tampering attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in OWASP Mobile Top 10 and the Android Security Best Practices guidelines, emphasizing that all network communications must maintain proper cryptographic integrity and authentication mechanisms to prevent such critical security flaws from compromising user data.