CVE-2017-14709 in Cycling
Summary
by MITRE
The komoot GmbH "Komoot - Cycling & Hiking Maps" app before 9.3.2 -- aka komoot-cycling-hiking-maps/id447374873 -- for iOS 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 • 03/04/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14709 affects the komoot cycling and hiking maps application for iOS devices, specifically versions prior to 9.3.2. This represents a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols, where the mobile application fails to properly validate SSL/TLS certificates during network connections. The issue stems from the application's improper handling of X.509 certificate verification processes, which creates a significant attack surface for malicious actors seeking to intercept or manipulate communications between the mobile client and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate pinning or proper validation mechanisms within the application's network security implementation. This weakness allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting fraudulent SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-295, which describes improper certificate validation in security protocols, and represents a failure in the application's trust model for establishing secure communications. When an attacker successfully intercepts network traffic, they can present a malicious certificate that the application accepts without proper verification, enabling them to decrypt and potentially modify sensitive data transmitted between the device and servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to include potential compromise of user privacy and sensitive information. Mobile applications that fail to properly validate SSL certificates expose users to risks including location data theft, personal information disclosure, and potential account takeover scenarios. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to monitor user activities, capture login credentials, or manipulate route data and other location-based information that the komoot application processes. This vulnerability particularly affects the integrity of communications between mobile users and komoot's backend services, potentially compromising the entire user experience and trust relationship between the application and its users.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application updates to version 9.3.2 or later, which presumably implements proper certificate validation mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing certificate pinning as an additional security layer, where the application specifically validates against known good certificates rather than relying solely on the certificate chain validation process. Network administrators should monitor for suspicious network activity and consider implementing additional security controls such as SSL inspection tools that can detect and prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046, which describes network service scanning, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering, as the compromised application could facilitate both network reconnaissance and user credential compromise. The security community should also consider this vulnerability as a prime example of why mobile applications must implement robust certificate validation and why organizations should regularly audit their mobile security implementations against industry standards such as those defined by OWASP Mobile Top 10 and NIST guidelines for mobile application security.