CVE-2014-7737 in Federation Culinaire
Summary
by MITRE
The FMAC : Federation Culinaire (aka com.fmac) application 1.0 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.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-7737 represents a critical security flaw in the FMAC: Federation Culinaire Android application version 1.0 that fundamentally compromises the integrity of secure communications. This application, designed for culinary federation purposes, fails to implement proper certificate verification mechanisms when establishing SSL connections to remote servers. The absence of X.509 certificate validation creates a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to execute successful man-in-the-middle attacks against unsuspecting users. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to validate the authenticity and trustworthiness of SSL certificates presented by servers during the TLS handshake process. This weakness directly violates established security principles for secure communication and exposes users to potential data interception and manipulation attacks.
The technical implementation flaw manifests in the application's SSL/TLS stack handling where certificate validation is either completely bypassed or improperly implemented. When an Android application establishes an HTTPS connection, it should verify that the server's certificate is issued by a trusted Certificate Authority and that the certificate's validity period has not expired. The FMAC application fails to perform these essential validation steps, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. This vulnerability specifically relates to the application's failure to implement certificate pinning or proper certificate chain validation, creating a scenario where any attacker with access to a valid certificate can impersonate legitimate servers. The flaw operates at the transport layer security level and represents a classic case of insufficient certificate validation, which is classified under CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass comprehensive security compromise of user interactions with the application. Users who engage with the FMAC application may unknowingly transmit sensitive information including personal details, culinary data, or potentially financial information to attacker-controlled servers. The vulnerability enables attackers to not only intercept communications but also to inject malicious content or modify data in transit, potentially altering recipe information, user credentials, or other critical data. This represents a significant threat to user privacy and data integrity, particularly in a culinary context where users might share proprietary recipes or business-related information. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no specialized tools or knowledge of the application's internal workings - a standard man-in-the-middle attack can be executed against any user who connects to servers protected by the vulnerable application.
Organizations and security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of the broader ATT&CK framework, particularly under the T1041 - Exfiltration Over C2 Channel and T1566 - Phishing techniques categories. The vulnerability enables attackers to establish persistent communication channels that can be used for data exfiltration or further attack propagation. Mitigation strategies should include immediate code review and implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms, including certificate pinning where appropriate. Security measures should also incorporate regular penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in mobile applications and ensure that all SSL/TLS connections properly validate certificate chains. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of implementing robust certificate validation in mobile applications, as outlined in OWASP Mobile Security Project recommendations and NIST guidelines for secure mobile application development. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate successful exploitation of such vulnerabilities.