CVE-2026-86443 in DuoxMe
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2026
Cleartext storage of sensitive information in the DuoxMe application for Android, in versions prior to 4.3.4, allows an attacker with local access to the device to retrieve the credentials stored by the application and impersonate the user account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2026
The vulnerability identified as Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information within the DuoxMe Android application represents a critical failure in data protection mechanisms for versions prior to 4.3.4. This flaw stems from the improper handling of sensitive credentials, specifically usernames and passwords, which are persisted on the device storage without encryption or obfuscation. In modern mobile operating systems such as Android, applications typically utilize internal private storage directories that are accessible only by the application itself under normal circumstances. However, when an attacker gains local access to the device through physical possession, malware execution with elevated privileges, or exploitation of a separate vulnerability that allows file system traversal, they can bypass these isolation boundaries. The absence of cryptographic safeguards means that any entity capable reading the application's private data files can directly extract plaintext credentials without needing to reverse engineer complex encryption algorithms or decrypt keys.
From a technical perspective, this issue aligns with CWE-312, which categorizes cleartext storage of sensitive information as a significant weakness in software design and implementation. The root cause often involves developers storing authentication tokens or passwords in shared preferences, SQLite databases, or plain text files without applying appropriate security controls such as Android Keystore system integration for key management or SQLCipher for database encryption. This oversight violates fundamental principles of defense-in-depth, where sensitive data should remain unintelligible even if the storage medium is compromised. The vulnerability exploits the trust model that assumes local device access implies a secure environment, ignoring scenarios where devices are lost, stolen, or infected with malicious software capable of reading internal app data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and direct. An attacker who successfully retrieves these credentials can perform account takeover by impersonating the legitimate user across any service integrated with DuoxMe that relies on shared authentication mechanisms. This leads to unauthorized access to personal data, financial information if linked, or corporate resources depending on the application's scope. Beyond immediate credential theft, this weakness facilitates broader attack chains such as session hijacking if tokens are also stored in cleartext, and it undermines user trust in the application's security posture. For enterprise users, this could result in compliance violations regarding data protection regulations like GDPR or HIPAA, depending on the nature of the sensitive information involved.
Mitigation strategies must focus on implementing robust cryptographic standards for all locally persisted sensitive data. Developers should utilize platform-specific secure storage solutions such as Android Keystore to generate and store encryption keys that are bound to hardware-backed security modules where available. Sensitive values like passwords or tokens must be encrypted using strong algorithms, preferably AES-256 in GCM mode, before being written to any persistent storage medium. Additionally, applications should avoid storing credentials altogether by leveraging OAuth 2.0 flows with secure token refresh mechanisms that minimize the need for long-term credential persistence on the device side. Regular security audits and static application security testing (SAST) tools configured to detect CWE-312 patterns can help identify such flaws during development. For users of affected versions, upgrading to version 4.3.4 or later is essential as it addresses this storage flaw through improved data handling practices aligned with current mobile security best practices.