CVE-2014-7670 in Motor Town: Machine Soul Free
Summary
by MITRE
The Motor Town: Machine Soul Free (aka com.alawar.motortownfree) application 1.1 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 • 10/14/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7670 affects the Motor Town: Machine Soul Free Android application version 1.1, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's SSL certificate verification mechanism. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communications. The absence of certificate validation creates a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish secure connections with backend servers, potentially exposing user data and sensitive information transmitted through the insecure communication channel.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's implementation of SSL/TLS connections where certificate pinning or validation is either completely absent or improperly implemented. This allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept and potentially modify data transmitted between the mobile device and the server. The vulnerability falls under the category of weak cryptographic implementations and inadequate certificate validation, which are commonly classified under CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation. The application's failure to verify certificate chains, expiration dates, and issuer authenticity creates a pathway for attackers to establish fake secure connections that appear legitimate to the end-user and the application itself.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it compromises the fundamental security assurances that users expect from mobile applications. Attackers can exploit this weakness to obtain sensitive user information including personal data, login credentials, or financial information if the application handles such data. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in mobile environments where users may connect to public networks, increasing the attack surface for man-in-the-middle scenarios. This weakness can be leveraged by threat actors to perform session hijacking, data theft, or even account takeovers if the application handles user authentication or sensitive transactions. The vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1573.002 - Encrypted Channel, where adversaries establish secure communication channels to evade detection while conducting malicious activities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate pinning to ensure that only trusted certificates are accepted, and establish proper validation of certificate chains, expiration dates, and issuer information. The application should verify certificate signatures against trusted certificate authorities and implement proper error handling for certificate validation failures. Security updates should be deployed immediately to address the vulnerability, and the application should be redesigned to enforce secure communication protocols. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect potential certificate manipulation attempts and establish proper security testing procedures including SSL/TLS certificate validation testing to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases.