CVE-2014-7543 in Blood
Summary
by MITRE
The Blood (aka com.sheridan.ash) application 2.1 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 • 10/10/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7543 affects the Blood application version 2.1 for Android operating systems, 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 guarantees of encrypted communications. The vulnerability falls under the category of weak certificate validation, which is classified as CWE-295 in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically addressing the improper validation of certificate authorities.
The technical flaw manifests when the application establishes secure connections to remote servers, as it fails to perform proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification. This omission allows malicious actors to execute man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The attack requires the adversary to position themselves between the user and the target server, intercepting and modifying communications while presenting a certificate that the application accepts without proper scrutiny. The absence of certificate pinning and proper certificate verification mechanisms creates an environment where attackers can establish fraudulent connections that appear trustworthy to the application's security model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables comprehensive surveillance and data exfiltration capabilities for threat actors. Attackers can exploit this weakness to capture sensitive user information including personal data, authentication credentials, financial information, and any other data transmitted through the application's secure channels. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in mobile environments where users may be accessing sensitive applications over public networks, making the attack surface significantly larger. This weakness directly maps to tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1041 for Exfiltration Over C2 Channel and T1566 for Phishing, as the compromised application can serve as a delivery mechanism for further attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both the immediate security gap and implement comprehensive secure coding practices. Application developers should implement proper certificate validation procedures including certificate pinning, hostname verification, and chain of trust validation against trusted certificate authorities. The solution involves configuring the application to perform thorough certificate verification before establishing secure connections, utilizing established security libraries that properly handle SSL/TLS certificate validation, and implementing certificate revocation checking mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level security controls such as SSL inspection and monitoring for suspicious certificate patterns, while users should be advised to avoid using vulnerable applications on untrusted networks. This vulnerability underscores the critical importance of secure communication implementation in mobile applications and serves as a reminder of the potential consequences when proper cryptographic practices are omitted from application development processes.