CVE-2014-7472 in CSApp - Colegio San Agustin
Summary
by MITRE
The CSApp - Colegio San Agustin (aka com.goodbarber.csapp) 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 • 10/07/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7472 affects the CSApp - Colegio San Agustin Android application version 1.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that compromises the integrity of encrypted communications between the mobile client and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the application establishes connections to remote servers using SSL/TLS protocols, it fails to perform the essential certificate validation steps that should confirm the server's identity against trusted certificate authorities. This weakness directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in industry standards such as CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The vulnerability creates a man-in-the-middle attack vector where malicious actors can intercept communications by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the unverified client.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables attackers to establish false trust relationships with the application. An attacker positioned between the mobile device and the server can present a malicious certificate signed by a rogue certificate authority or even a self-signed certificate that the application accepts without validation. This allows the attacker to decrypt and modify sensitive information transmitted between the application and its backend services, potentially exposing user credentials, personal data, financial information, or institutional data that the application processes. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for educational applications handling student information, as it could lead to widespread privacy breaches and data compromise.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes the use of credential harvesting through man-in-the-middle attacks. The application's lack of certificate pinning or validation creates an environment where attackers can leverage standard network interception tools to compromise the security of communications. Organizations implementing such applications should consider this vulnerability as a critical risk requiring immediate remediation, as the attack surface is minimal for exploiters while the potential impact on user privacy and institutional data security is substantial. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental failure in secure coding practices and highlights the importance of implementing proper SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanisms in mobile applications.
Mitigation strategies should include implementing proper certificate validation using established trust stores, implementing certificate pinning for critical communications, and ensuring that all SSL/TLS connections perform thorough certificate verification before establishing secure communication channels. The application should be updated to validate certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities and implement proper error handling for certificate validation failures. Additionally, network security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual certificate validation behaviors that might indicate exploitation attempts.