CVE-2021-35246 in ETS
Summary
by MITRE • 11/23/2022
The application fails to prevent users from connecting to it over unencrypted connections. An attacker able to modify a legitimate user's network traffic could bypass the application's use of SSL/TLS encryption and use the application as a platform for attacks against its users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/22/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in applications that fail to enforce encrypted communication channels, leaving systems exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks and session hijacking. The weakness stems from the application's inability to prevent users from establishing connections through unencrypted protocols, creating an attack surface that adversaries can exploit to intercept and manipulate network traffic. This flaw directly violates fundamental security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten, specifically addressing the lack of proper transport layer security implementation. The vulnerability allows attackers with network modification capabilities to bypass SSL/TLS encryption mechanisms, effectively nullifying the security controls that should protect user communications and data integrity. From a technical perspective, this represents a failure in the application's security configuration where it does not enforce mandatory encryption or implement proper protocol enforcement mechanisms. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform session manipulation attacks, potentially leading to credential theft, data exfiltration, and unauthorized access to user accounts. This weakness is categorized under CWE-319 - Cryptographic Issues, specifically addressing inadequate protection of sensitive data during transmission. The operational impact is severe as it allows attackers to establish unauthorized communication channels that can be leveraged for further attacks within the application ecosystem. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability through various methods including network packet manipulation, DNS poisoning, or by compromising network infrastructure to redirect traffic to unencrypted endpoints. The attack surface extends beyond simple data interception to include more sophisticated attacks such as protocol downgrade attacks, where the attacker forces the application to use less secure communication methods. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1046 - Network Service Scanning and T1566 - Phishing, as it provides attackers with a foothold to establish persistent communication channels that can be used for reconnaissance and initial access. Organizations implementing applications with this vulnerability face significant risk of regulatory compliance violations, particularly under standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR that mandate secure data transmission. The remediation approach requires implementing strict enforcement of encrypted connections through proper configuration of SSL/TLS protocols, implementing HSTS headers, and ensuring that all application endpoints require secure communication channels. Additionally, network-level controls such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be configured to prevent unencrypted traffic from reaching application servers. The vulnerability highlights the importance of security by design principles and demonstrates the critical need for proper security testing including network protocol analysis and encryption validation during the application development lifecycle. Organizations must implement comprehensive security monitoring to detect and prevent unauthorized access attempts that exploit this weakness, as the vulnerability can remain undetected for extended periods, allowing attackers to establish persistent threats within the network infrastructure.