CVE-2014-7671 in Tekno Apsis
Summary
by MITRE
The Tekno Apsis (aka com.teknoapsis) application 2.4 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-2014-7671 affects the Tekno Apsis Android application version 2.4, 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, creating a significant attack vector for malicious actors. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish secure connections, as it does not perform the essential step of certificate chain validation that is fundamental to secure communication protocols. This flaw allows attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the client application and remote servers, undermining the core security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the application's cryptographic library handling, where X.509 certificate validation is either completely bypassed or inadequately implemented. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-295 category, specifically "Improper Certificate Validation," which represents a well-documented weakness in security implementations where applications fail to properly validate SSL/TLS certificates. The vulnerability creates a man-in-the-middle attack surface where adversaries can present fraudulent certificates to the application, causing it to accept malicious connections without proper authentication. The attack mechanism involves intercepting network traffic and presenting a forged certificate that appears legitimate to the vulnerable application, enabling the attacker to decrypt and potentially modify sensitive data transmitted between the user and the server. This weakness is particularly dangerous as it operates at the transport layer security validation, affecting all communications that rely on SSL/TLS encryption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables comprehensive surveillance and data manipulation capabilities for attackers. An adversary exploiting this vulnerability can gain access to sensitive user information, authentication credentials, personal data, and any other information transmitted through the application's secure channels. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity of communications, as the application cannot distinguish between legitimate servers and malicious impostors. This weakness can be leveraged across multiple attack vectors within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly under the T1046 category for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting. The vulnerability's impact is amplified when the application handles sensitive data such as financial information, personal identification, or proprietary business data, as the attacker can potentially compromise entire user sessions and access controlled resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's cryptographic libraries. The recommended approach involves implementing robust certificate chain validation procedures that verify certificate signatures, expiration dates, and certificate authorities against trusted root certificates. Security patches should enforce strict certificate validation, including hostname verification and certificate pinning where appropriate, to prevent the acceptance of fraudulent certificates. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual certificate behavior and establish automated certificate validation checks as part of their security posture. The solution aligns with industry best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and should be integrated into the application's security development lifecycle to prevent similar weaknesses in future implementations. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to ensure that certificate validation mechanisms remain effective against evolving attack techniques and that the application maintains proper security controls throughout its lifecycle.