CVE-2014-7506 in Realtime Music Rank
Summary
by MITRE
The Realtime Music Rank (aka com.blogspot.imapp.immusicrank2) application 5.5 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 • 10/09/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7506 affects the Realtime Music Rank Android application version 5.5, 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 surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile applications and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's improper handling of SSL certificate validation mechanisms, where it fails to perform essential certificate chain validation checks. This includes not verifying certificate authorities, checking certificate expiration dates, or ensuring certificate subject names match the target server. The absence of proper certificate verification allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This weakness directly violates established security protocols and undermines the fundamental purpose of SSL/TLS encryption in protecting sensitive data transmission.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to significant risks including credential theft, data interception, and unauthorized access to personal information. Attackers can exploit this flaw to intercept and modify communications between the Android application and backend servers, potentially gaining access to user accounts, payment information, or other sensitive data. The vulnerability affects all users of the specific application version and persists across different network conditions, making it particularly dangerous as it operates silently without user awareness. This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-295 which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols.
The attack vector for this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption for exfiltration, as attackers can leverage the compromised communication channel to extract sensitive information. Additionally, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1566, representing the use of spearphishing to gain initial access, as attackers can craft convincing fraudulent certificates to deceive users. The impact extends beyond immediate data theft to potential long-term compromise of user accounts and reputational damage to the application developers.
Recommended mitigations include implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms, enforcing strict certificate validation procedures, and regularly updating the application to incorporate secure communication libraries. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect anomalous certificate behavior and establish secure coding practices that prioritize certificate validation in all SSL/TLS implementations. The fix requires comprehensive code review and modification of the application's network security components to ensure that all certificate verification checks are properly enforced before establishing secure connections with remote servers.