CVE-2014-7768 in Analects of Confucius
Summary
by MITRE
The Analects of Confucius (aka com.azbc88881.lunyu) application 8.0 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 • 10/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7768 affects the Analects of Confucius Android application version 8.0, specifically targeting its cryptographic security implementation. This flaw represents a critical weakness in the application's secure communication protocols, where the software fails to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections. The absence of certificate verification creates a significant security gap that enables malicious actors to execute successful man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. This vulnerability directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of data transmitted between the mobile application and remote servers, potentially exposing sensitive user information to unauthorized parties.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The application's failure to verify SSL certificates means it accepts any certificate presented by a server without proper authentication, including self-signed certificates or certificates issued by untrusted certificate authorities. This weakness allows attackers to intercept communications by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the application. The vulnerability exists at the transport layer security implementation level, where the application should be performing certificate chain validation, hostname verification, and trust verification against established certificate authorities.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for users of the Analects of Confucius application, particularly when accessing sensitive information or performing authenticated transactions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on communications, inject malicious content, or redirect users to fraudulent servers. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable credential theft, session hijacking, or data manipulation. Given that this is a mobile application, the vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects users in potentially unsecured network environments such as public wifi networks or cellular connections where such attacks are more prevalent.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend to multiple ATT&CK framework techniques including T1046 for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting through man-in-the-middle attacks. Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of the application, implementing network monitoring to detect suspicious certificate behavior, and considering network-level protections such as certificate pinning or intrusion detection systems. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of proper cryptographic implementation practices and demonstrates why applications must always validate certificates against trusted root authorities rather than accepting any certificate presented by a server. The flaw serves as a reminder of the critical need for robust certificate validation mechanisms in mobile applications that handle sensitive user data or perform authenticated communications with backend services.