CVE-2014-7558 in Poker
Summary
by MITRE
The Everest Poker (aka com.wEverestPoker) application 0.1 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 • 10/11/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7558 affects the Everest Poker Android application version 0.1, specifically targeting its implementation of secure communication protocols. This flaw represents a critical security weakness in the application's cryptographic validation mechanisms, creating an exploitable condition that undermines the integrity of network communications between the mobile client and remote servers. The vulnerability resides within the application's SSL/TLS certificate verification process, where the software fails to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure connections.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate validation within the application's secure socket layer implementation. When the Everest Poker application establishes SSL connections to its backend servers, it does not perform the necessary cryptographic checks that should validate the authenticity and trustworthiness of the server certificates. This omission allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability specifically affects the X.509 certificate verification process, which is a fundamental component of secure communications and is defined by the x509 standard for public key infrastructure. This weakness directly violates the principles of secure communication and certificate trust validation that are essential for maintaining data confidentiality and integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables attackers to intercept and manipulate sensitive data transmitted between the mobile application and its servers. An attacker positioned between the user and the server can present a malicious certificate that the application accepts without proper verification, allowing them to decrypt and modify communications containing user credentials, game data, financial transactions, and personal information. This vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited across multiple sessions and connections, potentially compromising thousands of users' accounts and financial data. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the application handles poker game data and potentially user financial transactions, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to exploit the trust relationship between users and the application.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption techniques that can be used to evade detection and maintain persistence in compromised environments. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical failure in the application's defense-in-depth strategy, as it lacks the basic cryptographic validation controls that should be implemented at multiple layers of the security architecture. Organizations should consider implementing certificate pinning mechanisms, regular security assessments of mobile applications, and adherence to secure coding practices as recommended by the OWASP Mobile Security Project. Additionally, this vulnerability highlights the importance of proper SSL/TLS implementation in mobile applications and the necessity of following industry best practices for secure communication protocols.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of proper X.509 certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL/TLS stack. Developers must ensure that certificate chains are properly validated against trusted certificate authorities, that certificate expiration dates are checked, and that certificate revocation status is verified through appropriate mechanisms such as OCSP or CRL checks. The application should implement certificate pinning where appropriate to prevent the acceptance of unauthorized certificates, and all SSL/TLS connections should be configured to require strict certificate validation. Regular security audits and penetration testing of mobile applications should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the application ecosystem. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous certificate behavior and unauthorized certificate acceptance patterns, as these can serve as early indicators of potential exploitation attempts.