CVE-2015-0874 in Smartphone Passbook
Summary
by MITRE
Smartphone Passbook 1.0.0 does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to obtain sensitive information from encrypted communications via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0874 affects Smartphone Passbook version 1.0.0 and represents a critical flaw in the certificate validation process for secure communications. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates presented by SSL servers during encrypted connections. The weakness creates a significant security gap that enables malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks against users of the application. When a user establishes a connection to a server through the Passbook application, the software does not validate the authenticity of the SSL certificate presented by the server, essentially allowing any certificate to be accepted regardless of its legitimacy or trust chain.
The technical implementation flaw lies in the absence of proper certificate verification mechanisms within the application's secure communication stack. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in secure communications. The lack of certificate pinning or proper trust validation means that attackers can generate or obtain fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. These crafted certificates can be issued by malicious certificate authorities or simply exploit the absence of certificate validation checks. The attack vector involves intercepting network traffic between the smartphone and the server, presenting a forged certificate that the application accepts without proper verification.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it compromises the confidentiality and integrity of all communications between the smartphone and backend servers. Sensitive information transmitted through the Passbook application, including personal data, financial details, and authentication credentials, becomes vulnerable to interception and manipulation by attackers. The man-in-the-middle attack capability allows adversaries to eavesdrop on communications, potentially capturing user credentials, personal identifiers, and other confidential information. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols are designed to provide, effectively rendering the encryption meaningless if the client application fails to validate server certificates.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1041, which describes data compression and encryption for exfiltration, as attackers can more easily extract sensitive data from communications that should remain protected. The attack surface extends beyond simple information theft to include potential credential compromise and session hijacking. Organizations using this application face significant risk of data breaches and regulatory compliance violations, particularly if the application handles personally identifiable information or financial data. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor security implementation practices that violate industry standards for secure application development and network communication security.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper certificate validation mechanisms within the Passbook application. The solution involves implementing robust X.509 certificate validation that checks certificate chains against trusted certificate authorities, validates certificate expiration dates, and ensures proper hostname verification. Organizations should consider implementing certificate pinning techniques to prevent acceptance of fraudulent certificates even if they are technically valid. Additionally, the application should be updated to enforce certificate validation at all communication endpoints, ensuring that no SSL connections proceed without proper certificate verification. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar validation gaps in other network communication components. The fix must also include proper error handling for certificate validation failures, ensuring that any certificate verification issues result in connection termination rather than acceptance of potentially malicious certificates.