CVE-2018-0591 in App
Summary
by MITRE
The KINEPASS App for Android Ver 3.1.1 and earlier, and for iOS Ver 3.1.2 and earlier do 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 • 09/23/2020
The KINEPASS mobile application for both android and ios platforms contains a critical security vulnerability in its SSL certificate validation mechanism. This flaw affects versions 3.1.1 and earlier for android and 3.1.2 and earlier for ios operating systems. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly verify X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that compromises the integrity of secure communications between the mobile client and backend servers.
This certificate verification bypass represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security architecture and aligns with CWE-295 which specifically addresses improper certificate validation. The vulnerability creates a path for man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors can intercept communications by presenting forged SSL certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This weakness essentially disables the cryptographic protection that should ensure secure data transmission, leaving user credentials, personal information, and sensitive business data exposed to unauthorized access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete session hijacking capabilities for attackers. When users interact with the KINEPASS application, any data transmitted over HTTPS connections becomes vulnerable to interception and manipulation. Attackers can exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on communications, modify data in transit, or even impersonate legitimate servers to gain unauthorized access to user accounts and sensitive information. This vulnerability particularly affects scenarios involving authentication, data synchronization, and any form of secure communication between mobile users and backend services.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to several ATT&CK techniques including T1046 for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that mobile applications often handle highly sensitive personal and corporate data. Organizations using KINEPASS applications should immediately implement mitigations including certificate pinning, updating to patched versions, and monitoring for suspicious network activity. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper SSL/TLS implementation in mobile applications and serves as a reminder that security controls must be rigorously tested and validated to prevent such catastrophic failures in cryptographic protection mechanisms.