CVE-2015-5636 in Reversi Application
Summary
by MITRE
The Newphoria Reversi application before 1.0.3 for Android and before 1.2 for iOS allows attackers to bypass a URL whitelist protection mechanism and obtain API access via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-5636 represents a critical security flaw in the Newphoria Reversi mobile application across both android and ios platforms. This issue affects versions prior to 1.0.3 for android and 1.2 for ios, indicating a widespread exposure across multiple device ecosystems. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's URL whitelist protection mechanism, which serves as a fundamental security control designed to restrict unauthorized access to application programming interfaces and prevent malicious actors from exploiting the system's communication channels.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified vectors that allow attackers to circumvent the intended whitelist restrictions, effectively enabling unauthorized API access. This bypass mechanism suggests a design flaw in the application's input validation and access control implementation, potentially involving insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data or flawed logic in the whitelist enforcement process. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, exploiting weaknesses in how the mobile application handles URL validation and API access requests, making it particularly dangerous as it undermines the core security architecture designed to protect sensitive data and system resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, creating potential pathways for data exfiltration, privilege escalation, and further exploitation within the application ecosystem. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive user data, manipulate application functionality, or potentially use the compromised API endpoints as launching points for additional attacks against the broader network infrastructure. The mobile nature of the application introduces additional risks as users may unknowingly interact with malicious URLs or content that triggers the bypass mechanism, leading to unauthorized data access or system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation, strengthening the whitelist enforcement mechanism, and conducting comprehensive security testing of all URL handling components. Organizations should immediately update affected versions to the patched releases and implement additional monitoring for unauthorized API access attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and may map to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access. Security teams should also consider implementing network-level protections and monitoring for suspicious API access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts.
The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in mobile applications and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the development lifecycle. Given the widespread nature of mobile applications and their increasing integration with backend services, vulnerabilities of this nature can have cascading effects across entire ecosystems. Regular security assessments and vulnerability management processes should be implemented to identify similar flaws in other applications and prevent exploitation attempts that could compromise user privacy and system integrity. Organizations should also establish incident response procedures specifically designed to address mobile application security breaches and ensure proper containment and remediation of such vulnerabilities.