CVE-2014-7785 in AAAA Discount Bail
Summary
by MITRE
The AAAA Discount Bail (aka com.onesolutionapps.aaaadiscountbailandroid) application 1.1 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 CVE-2014-7785 vulnerability affects the AAAS Discount Bail Android application version 1.1, presenting a critical security flaw in the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during secure communication sessions. The vulnerability creates an exploitable condition where malicious actors can perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting crafted certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This flaw directly undermines the fundamental security principles of secure communications and data integrity.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the application's cryptographic library usage, where SSL/TLS certificate verification is either completely bypassed or improperly implemented. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in certificate validation where the application fails to properly validate the authenticity and trustworthiness of SSL certificates. The vulnerability allows attackers to establish fraudulent secure connections with the application, enabling them to intercept, modify, or steal sensitive information transmitted between the mobile device and backend servers. This represents a classic example of insufficient certificate validation that violates industry security standards.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it exposes users to various attack vectors including credential theft, data interception, and session hijacking. Attackers can exploit this weakness to impersonate legitimate servers and gain access to user accounts, personal information, financial data, or other sensitive resources. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in mobile environments where applications often handle sensitive personal and financial data. According to ATT&CK framework technique T1041, this vulnerability enables adversaries to conduct network sniffing and data interception activities, while T1566 covers the use of credential harvesting through man-in-the-middle attacks. The risk is amplified because mobile applications typically have limited security controls compared to desktop applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-7785 must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements. Organizations should immediately implement certificate pinning mechanisms to prevent the acceptance of unauthorized certificates, ensuring that only pre-approved certificates from trusted authorities are accepted. The application should be updated to use proper SSL/TLS validation libraries that enforce certificate chain validation, hostname verification, and trust store management. Security controls should include implementing certificate transparency checks, regular security audits of cryptographic implementations, and adherence to mobile security best practices such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-53. Additionally, developers must ensure proper implementation of certificate validation routines that comply with RFC 5280 standards for X.509 certificate processing and follow OWASP Mobile Security Project recommendations for secure mobile application development. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in mobile applications and serves as a reminder of the necessity for comprehensive security testing and validation of all security controls in mobile environments.