CVE-2016-10581 in Steroids
Summary
by MITRE
Steroids is PhoneGap on Steroids, providing native UI elements, multiple WebViews and enhancements for better developer productivity. steroids downloads zipped resources over HTTP, which leaves it vulnerable to MITM attacks. It may be possible to cause remote code execution (RCE) by swapping out the requested tarball with an attacker controlled tarball if the attacker is on the network or positioned in between the user and the remote server.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10581 affects Steroids, a PhoneGap extension designed to provide native UI elements and enhanced development capabilities through multiple WebViews. This tool enables developers to create mobile applications with improved performance and user interface characteristics while maintaining the benefits of web-based development. The core issue stems from the application's insecure implementation of resource downloading mechanisms that utilize unencrypted HTTP protocols for retrieving compressed resources.
The technical flaw manifests in the insecure transmission of zipped resources over HTTP connections, creating a significant attack surface for man-in-the-middle adversaries. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-319, which addresses the exposure of sensitive information through improper use of network protocols. When Steroids downloads compressed resources over unencrypted HTTP channels, it fails to implement proper transport layer security measures that would normally protect against interception and modification of data in transit. The absence of certificate validation and encryption creates opportunities for attackers positioned within the network path to intercept and manipulate the downloaded content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to potentially enable remote code execution within the context of the application. An attacker capable of performing a man-in-the-middle attack can substitute the legitimate tarball with a maliciously crafted one, allowing for arbitrary code execution on the target system. This represents a critical security risk that aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059, which covers command and scripting interpreter usage for persistence and execution. The vulnerability affects the entire development workflow, as developers who download resources from remote repositories may unknowingly execute malicious code that could compromise their development environments or potentially be included in the final application builds.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of secure communication protocols throughout the Steroids framework. The most critical remediation involves transitioning all resource downloads from HTTP to HTTPS with proper certificate validation mechanisms. This approach directly addresses the root cause by implementing transport layer security that prevents man-in-the-middle attacks and ensures data integrity during transmission. Additionally, implementing content integrity verification mechanisms such as cryptographic checksums or digital signatures for downloaded resources would provide an additional layer of protection against tampering. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level security controls including SSL inspection and monitoring for anomalous traffic patterns that might indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the updated secure download mechanisms to ensure that legitimate resources are properly validated while malicious content is effectively blocked.