CVE-2022-29482 in Mobaoku-Auction&Flea Market
Summary
by MITRE • 06/14/2022
'Mobaoku-Auction&Flea Market' App for iOS versions prior to 5.5.16 improperly verifies server certificates, which may allow an attacker to eavesdrop on an encrypted communication via a man-in-the-middle attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/14/2022
The Mobaoku-Auction&Flea Market iOS application suffered from a critical certificate verification flaw that compromised the security of encrypted communications between users and the backend servers. This vulnerability affected all versions prior to 5.5.16 and represented a significant failure in the application's secure communication implementation. The flaw allowed malicious actors to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by exploiting improper server certificate validation mechanisms, undermining the fundamental security guarantees that SSL/TLS encryption is designed to provide.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate certificate validation procedures within the application's networking stack. When the iOS application attempted to establish secure connections with its servers, it failed to properly validate the server certificates against trusted certificate authorities. This weakness could be exploited through various attack vectors including DNS spoofing, SSL stripping attacks, or by presenting fraudulent certificates that would be accepted by the vulnerable application. The improper certificate verification process essentially created a trust relationship that could be easily manipulated by attackers who controlled the network traffic between the mobile device and the server endpoints.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe and far-reaching for users of the Mobaoku application. Users conducting auctions, flea market transactions, and other activities within the platform were exposed to potential data interception and manipulation. Attackers could eavesdrop on sensitive communications including user credentials, transaction details, personal information, and auction bids that were transmitted over the network. The vulnerability particularly threatened the integrity of financial transactions and personal data exchanges that occurred during the application's normal operation, potentially enabling fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized access to user accounts. This exposure was especially concerning given the nature of auction and flea market platforms where users frequently share sensitive information about their assets and financial status.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which specifically addresses improper certificate validation in secure communication implementations. The flaw also corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1573.002, which covers "Reversible Encryption of Data" and can be leveraged for man-in-the-middle attacks. The security implications extend beyond simple data interception to include potential account compromise and financial loss for users. Organizations implementing similar mobile applications should consider this vulnerability as a prime example of how insufficient cryptographic validation can undermine entire security architectures. The remediation required for this issue involved implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms and ensuring that all server certificates undergo rigorous validation against trusted certificate authorities, which was addressed in version 5.5.16 of the application.