CVE-2017-5605 in Movim
Summary
by MITRE
An incorrect implementation of "XEP-0280: Message Carbons" in multiple XMPP clients allows a remote attacker to impersonate any user, including contacts, in the vulnerable application's display. This allows for various kinds of social engineering attacks. This CVE is for Movim 0.8 - 0.10.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-5605 represents a critical flaw in the implementation of XEP-0280 Message Carbons within XMPP clients, specifically affecting Movim versions 0.8 through 0.10. Message Carbons are designed to enable users to receive copies of all messages sent and received on their devices, providing a unified messaging experience across multiple clients. However, the improper implementation creates a security gap that allows remote attackers to manipulate message display behavior, effectively enabling them to spoof user identities within vulnerable applications.
This technical flaw stems from inadequate validation of message source identification and carbon message handling within the XMPP protocol implementation. The vulnerability specifically affects how applications process and display message carbons, creating opportunities for attackers to inject malicious messages that appear to originate from legitimate users or contacts. The implementation error likely involves insufficient verification of message authenticity tokens, sender identifiers, or message routing information that should normally prevent such impersonation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple message manipulation to encompass sophisticated social engineering campaigns. Attackers can exploit this weakness to masquerade as trusted contacts, potentially gaining access to sensitive information through phishing attempts, credential harvesting, or manipulation of user behavior. The vulnerability enables attackers to create convincing false message sequences that appear legitimate within the victim's messaging application, making it particularly dangerous for applications that rely heavily on trust relationships between users. This capability undermines the fundamental security assumptions of XMPP-based communication systems and compromises user confidence in message authenticity.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 Social Engineering, specifically targeting the manipulation of user trust relationships through deceptive messaging. Organizations relying on Movim or similar XMPP clients should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions, implementing additional message validation layers, and educating users about potential impersonation attempts. Network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous message patterns, while application-level controls should enforce stricter verification of message origins and implement proper access control mechanisms for carbon message processing. The fix should address the core implementation gap by ensuring proper authentication and authorization checks during message carbon handling, preventing unauthorized identity spoofing while maintaining the legitimate functionality of the message carbons feature.