CVE-2014-7771 in World Tamil Bayan
Summary
by MITRE
The World Tamil Bayan (aka com.wWorldTamilBayan) application 0.1 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-2014-7771 affects the World Tamil Bayan Android application version 0.1, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications. This issue resides within the application's SSL/TLS certificate validation mechanism, where the software fails to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by remote servers during secure connections. The absence of certificate verification creates a significant attack surface that enables malicious actors to exploit the application's trust model and establish fraudulent communication channels.
This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The flaw represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture where it accepts any certificate without proper validation against trusted certificate authorities. Attackers can exploit this weakness by presenting a maliciously crafted certificate to the application, effectively bypassing the intended security protections. The vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1046, where adversaries establish network connections to target systems, and T1557, which involves hijacking communications between systems through man-in-the-middle attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the World Tamil Bayan application. When users establish connections to servers, the application accepts any certificate without verification, making it possible for attackers to intercept and potentially modify communications between the application and legitimate servers. This creates opportunities for attackers to obtain sensitive information such as user credentials, personal data, or other confidential information transmitted through the application's network connections.
The security implications extend beyond simple data interception as this vulnerability undermines the entire SSL/TLS security model that applications rely upon for secure communications. Mobile applications that fail to properly validate certificates expose users to various attack vectors including credential theft, data manipulation, and privacy violations. The vulnerability demonstrates poor security implementation practices where basic cryptographic security measures are omitted, leaving users exposed to sophisticated attacks that could compromise their personal information and device security.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers must ensure that all SSL/TLS connections verify certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities and implement proper certificate pinning where appropriate. The application should validate certificate expiration dates, check certificate revocation status, and ensure that certificates match the expected server names. Additionally, implementing certificate transparency checks and maintaining up-to-date certificate trust stores will help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Security updates should be deployed immediately to address this flaw, and users should be advised to avoid using the vulnerable application until proper patches are applied. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish proper incident response procedures for handling such security incidents.