CVE-2014-7557 in zroadster.com
Summary
by MITRE
The zroadster.com (aka com.tapatalk.zroadstercomforum) application 2.4.13.17 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-2014-7557 affects the zroadster.com Android application version 2.4.13.17, specifically targeting its implementation of secure communication protocols. This flaw represents a critical weakness in the application's cryptographic security measures that directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of data transmitted between the mobile client and remote servers. The issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating an exploitable gap that adversaries can leverage to compromise the security posture of users interacting with the forum application.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the Android application establishes secure connections to remote servers, it should validate the server's X.509 certificate against trusted certificate authorities and perform proper hostname verification to ensure the connection is established with the legitimate server. However, this application bypasses these essential security checks, allowing any certificate to be accepted regardless of its authenticity or trustworthiness. This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-295 which describes "Improper Certificate Validation" and represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security architecture that violates established cryptographic best practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability creates significant risks for users of the application, as it enables sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can completely compromise the security of communications. An attacker positioned between the user and the server can present a crafted certificate that appears legitimate to the vulnerable application, allowing them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information including login credentials, personal messages, and other confidential data exchanged through the forum. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1573.002 which describes "Encrypted Channel: Asymmetric Cryptography" and represents a critical failure in the application's defense-in-depth strategy that leaves users exposed to active network attacks.
Organizations and users should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the application where certificate verification has been properly implemented, while network administrators should consider deploying additional monitoring solutions to detect potential man-in-the-middle activity. The application developers must ensure proper implementation of certificate pinning mechanisms, establish robust validation routines for X.509 certificates, and conduct thorough security testing to prevent similar issues in future releases. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in mobile applications and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the software development lifecycle to prevent such fundamental flaws that can be exploited by adversaries to gain unauthorized access to sensitive user data.