CVE-2014-7476 in Healthy Lunch Diet Recipes
Summary
by MITRE
The Healthy Lunch Diet Recipes (aka com.best.lunchdietrecipes) application 3.6.1 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 • 10/08/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7476 affects the Healthy Lunch Diet Recipes Android application version 3.6.1, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's handling of secure communications. This issue resides in the application's implementation of SSL/TLS certificate verification mechanisms, which are fundamental components for establishing trust in network communications. The flaw allows malicious actors to exploit the absence of proper certificate validation, creating a pathway for man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's failure to validate X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which represents a fundamental breakdown in the security architecture designed to protect sensitive information exchanged between the mobile application and remote servers.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability manifests as a failure to implement proper certificate pinning or validation procedures within the Android application's network communication stack. The application's code lacks the necessary cryptographic verification steps that would normally occur when establishing secure connections to remote servers. This deficiency enables attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, allowing them to intercept and potentially modify communications between the user's device and the server infrastructure. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications, and falls under the broader category of weak cryptography implementation flaws that have been consistently identified as critical security weaknesses in mobile applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the trust model that secure mobile applications rely upon for protecting user privacy and sensitive information. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can manipulate the application's communication channels to redirect users to malicious servers, capture login credentials, personal health information, or other sensitive data that the application may be transmitting or receiving. The implications are particularly severe for health-related applications like diet recipes, where users may share personal health data, dietary preferences, or weight management information. This vulnerability enables attackers to conduct sophisticated surveillance operations while maintaining the appearance of legitimate application behavior, making detection and mitigation particularly challenging for end users.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements in the application's security posture. The primary solution involves implementing proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms that verify certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities, incorporating certificate pinning where appropriate, and ensuring that the application performs comprehensive cryptographic verification before establishing secure connections. Security professionals should recommend that developers implement certificate validation using standard Android security APIs and avoid custom implementations that may introduce additional vulnerabilities. The remediation process should also include regular security audits of network communication code, adherence to industry standards such as those defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for mobile application security, and implementation of proper security testing procedures including dynamic analysis and penetration testing. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.