CVE-2016-10673 in ipip-coffee
Summary
by MITRE
ipip-coffee queries geolocation information from IP ipip-coffee downloads geolocation resources over HTTP, which leaves it vulnerable to MITM attacks. This could impact the integrity and availability of the data being used to make geolocation decisions by an application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10673 affects the ipip-coffee library which is commonly used for geolocation lookups based on ip addresses. This security flaw stems from the library's reliance on unencrypted http connections when downloading geolocation data from ipip-coffee's servers. The fundamental technical issue lies in the absence of transport layer security mechanisms that would normally protect data integrity and confidentiality during transmission. When applications use ipip-coffee to resolve ip addresses to geographic locations, they inherently trust the data returned by the library without validating its authenticity or integrity. This design choice creates a significant attack surface where malicious actors can intercept and manipulate the geolocation data being transmitted between the client application and the ipip-coffee servers. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-319 which describes the weakness of exposing sensitive information through insecure communication channels. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can modify geolocation data in transit, potentially causing applications to make incorrect decisions based on falsified location information. This could lead to serious consequences including incorrect routing decisions, compromised security systems, or misleading analytics that rely on accurate geographic data. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it operates at the network level, making it difficult to detect and requiring no special privileges or complex exploitation techniques. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1046 Network Service Scanning and T1566 Impersonation of Services, as attackers can impersonate legitimate geolocation services by intercepting and modifying the data flow. The impact extends beyond simple data corruption to potentially affect applications that depend on accurate geolocation for access control, fraud detection, or location-based services. Organizations using ipip-coffee should immediately implement mitigations such as upgrading to versions that support https connections, implementing certificate pinning mechanisms, or deploying network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous data flows. Additionally, application developers should consider validating the integrity of downloaded geolocation data through cryptographic checksums or digital signatures to ensure that the data has not been tampered with during transmission. The vulnerability represents a critical failure in secure communication practices and demonstrates the importance of implementing end-to-end encryption for all data exchanges, particularly those involving sensitive information like geographic location data that can be leveraged for various malicious purposes including targeted attacks or fraud prevention bypasses.