CVE-2014-7717 in Mills-Hazel Property Mgmt
Summary
by MITRE
The Mills-Hazel Property Mgmt (aka com.appexpress.millshazelpropertymanagement) application 3.0.0 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 • 10/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7717 affects the Mills-Hazel Property Mgmt Android application version 3.0.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise the integrity of network communications. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process, which is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data.
From a technical perspective, the flaw manifests as the absence of proper certificate chain validation and trust verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the application establishes connections to remote servers, it fails to validate the server certificates against trusted certificate authorities, effectively disabling the security features designed to protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. This allows attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application, enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information transmitted between the mobile application and backend servers. The vulnerability directly corresponds to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041 for data encryption and T1566 for credential access through social engineering.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the mobile application and potentially exposes sensitive property management data to unauthorized parties. Attackers can leverage this weakness to gain access to confidential tenant information, financial records, and other proprietary data managed through the application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in a property management context where sensitive personal and financial information is routinely processed and transmitted. The attack vector requires minimal sophistication, as attackers only need to present a valid certificate to the application to establish a false sense of security while conducting malicious activities. This weakness creates a persistent threat that remains active as long as the vulnerable application version is in use.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-7717 must focus on implementing proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application's SSL/TLS implementation. The recommended approach involves configuring the application to perform comprehensive certificate chain validation, including verification against trusted certificate authorities and proper hostname checking. Security patches should enforce certificate pinning where appropriate, ensuring that the application only accepts certificates from specific trusted sources. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks and establish secure communication protocols that enforce certificate validation. The remediation process requires updating the application to properly implement SSL/TLS security standards and conducting thorough security testing to verify that certificate validation mechanisms function correctly. Additionally, the application should be updated to use modern cryptographic libraries that provide robust certificate validation capabilities and prevent the exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the future.