CVE-2014-7769 in Accurate Lending
Summary
by MITRE
The Accurate Lending (aka com.soln.S7B193908AEA1937C7CBB4E889A46D3C0) application 1.0021.b0021 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 described in CVE-2014-7769 represents a critical security flaw in the Accurate Lending Android application that fundamentally undermines the integrity of secure communications between the mobile client and remote servers. This application, identified by the package name com.soln.S7B193908AEA1937C7CBB4E889A46D3C0, fails to implement proper certificate verification mechanisms during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and system security. The flaw exists at the core of the application's cryptographic implementation where it accepts any SSL certificate without validating its authenticity against trusted certificate authorities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to perform X.509 certificate validation, which is a fundamental security control in secure communications protocols. When an Android application establishes an SSL connection, it should validate the server's certificate against a trusted certificate store and verify that the certificate has not been tampered with or is not expired. In this case, the application's implementation bypasses these essential verification steps, allowing malicious actors to present forged certificates that the application will accept as legitimate. This weakness directly violates the principles of secure communication established by industry standards and best practices, creating a pathway for attackers to establish malicious connections while maintaining the appearance of legitimate communication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it enables man-in-the-middle attacks that can result in complete data compromise. Attackers can intercept and modify communications between the vulnerable application and its servers, potentially gaining access to sensitive user information including personal identification details, financial data, and other confidential information. The vulnerability affects any data transmitted through the application's secure channels, making it particularly dangerous for financial applications that handle sensitive user accounts and transactions. This flaw essentially removes the cryptographic protection that users expect from secure mobile applications, leaving their data exposed to unauthorized access and potential exploitation.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses "Improper Certificate Validation," and represents a clear violation of the secure coding practices outlined in various security frameworks. The attack vector described in the vulnerability matches patterns commonly seen in MITM attacks that leverage weak certificate validation mechanisms, making it consistent with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the 'Credential Access' and 'Initial Access' domains. Organizations and users affected by this vulnerability face significant risk of data breaches and identity theft, as the application provides no protection against attackers who can simply present a malicious certificate to intercept and manipulate communications.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers must ensure that the application validates SSL certificates against trusted certificate authorities, verifies certificate signatures, checks certificate expiration dates, and performs hostname verification to prevent certificate pinning bypasses. This includes implementing proper certificate pinning where appropriate, using secure certificate validation libraries, and ensuring that the application does not accept self-signed certificates or certificates from untrusted sources. Additionally, regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other cryptographic implementations within the application ecosystem.