CVE-2014-7502 in Escucha elDiario
Summary
by MITRE
The Escucha elDiario.es (aka es.lacabradev.escuchaeldiario) application 1.2.3 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 • 10/09/2024
The CVE-2014-7502 vulnerability affects the Escucha elDiario.es Android application version 1.2.3, representing a critical security flaw in the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism. This vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient certificate verification, which is classified as CWE-295 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog. The application fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communication, creating a significant attack vector for malicious actors seeking to intercept or manipulate data transmission between the mobile application and backend services.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the application's improper handling of SSL certificate validation during network communication. When the Android application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it does not perform the necessary certificate chain validation checks that are standard practice in secure mobile application development. This omission allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, where the application should validate certificate authorities, expiration dates, and certificate signatures but fails to execute these crucial security checks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risk of data interception and sensitive information compromise. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers and capture user credentials, personal information, or other confidential data transmitted through the application. The impact extends beyond simple data theft, as the vulnerability enables attackers to modify data in transit, potentially leading to fraudulent transactions, unauthorized account access, or complete system compromise. According to ATT&CK framework technique T1566, this vulnerability represents a successful initial access vector through credential harvesting and data manipulation.
The security implications of CVE-2014-7502 align with industry best practices outlined in OWASP Mobile Top 10 and NIST guidelines for mobile application security. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental failure in implementing proper cryptographic security measures during mobile application development. Organizations using the affected application face potential regulatory compliance issues, particularly under standards such as PCI DSS and HIPAA, which mandate proper certificate validation and secure communication protocols. The vulnerability also represents a failure in the principle of least privilege and secure coding practices, as the application should have implemented certificate pinning or proper certificate validation mechanisms to prevent such attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate code modification to implement proper SSL certificate validation, including certificate chain verification, expiration date checks, and certificate authority validation. The application should implement certificate pinning techniques to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, as recommended in the OWASP Mobile Security Project guidelines. Additionally, developers should adopt secure coding practices that align with the Defense in Depth principle, ensuring multiple layers of security protection. The remediation process requires thorough testing of certificate validation mechanisms and implementation of proper error handling for certificate validation failures. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures for addressing similar vulnerabilities in their mobile application portfolios.