CVE-2017-17945 in Certificate
Summary
by MITRE
The ASUS HiVivo aspplication before 5.6.27 for ASUS Watch has Missing SSL Certificate Validation.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17945 affects the ASUS HiVivo application version 5.6.27 and earlier, specifically targeting the ASUS Watch device ecosystem. This issue represents a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communication protocols, where the software fails to properly validate SSL certificates during network connections. The vulnerability exists within the mobile application that interfaces with the ASUS Watch device, creating a potential attack surface for man-in-the-middle scenarios and unauthorized data interception.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing SSL certificate validation mechanism within the HiVivo application's network communication stack. This omission allows the application to establish connections with servers without verifying their authenticity through proper certificate chain validation. According to CWE-295, this vulnerability falls under the category of "Improper Certificate Validation," where the software fails to properly validate the authenticity of SSL/TLS certificates. The application essentially accepts any certificate presented by a server, regardless of whether it is issued by a trusted certificate authority or properly matches the intended server hostname.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant, particularly within the context of wearable device security and personal health data protection. The ASUS Watch device typically handles sensitive user information including health metrics, personal data, and potentially location-based services. When SSL certificate validation is bypassed, attackers can perform man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept communications between the watch and associated mobile applications or cloud services. This creates opportunities for data theft, session hijacking, and potentially unauthorized control over the device's functionality. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which describes network service scanning and T1566 which covers credential harvesting through social engineering, though the specific attack vector here is more directly related to network protocol manipulation.
The security implications extend beyond simple data interception to include potential device compromise and privacy violations. Mobile applications that communicate with wearable devices often handle sensitive personal information that could be exploited for identity theft or other malicious purposes. The vulnerability creates a trust boundary failure where the application cannot reliably distinguish between legitimate and malicious servers. This issue represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture and demonstrates poor implementation of secure communication practices. Organizations and users should be particularly concerned as this vulnerability affects consumer devices that may not receive regular security updates, leaving them permanently exposed to potential exploitation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate application updates to version 5.6.27 or later, which presumably includes proper SSL certificate validation. Additionally, network administrators should implement monitoring for suspicious certificate validation patterns and consider network segmentation to limit the potential impact of exploitation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices and proper implementation of cryptographic protocols, particularly in mobile and IoT environments where device security is paramount. Organizations should also consider implementing additional network-level security controls such as deep packet inspection and certificate pinning mechanisms to provide defense-in-depth against similar vulnerabilities.