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Improper Certificate Validation

CVE-2018-20135

High
8.1/10

Summary

Samsung Galaxy Apps before 4.4.01.7 allows modification of the hostname used for load balancing on installations of applications through a man-in-the-middle attack. An attacker may trick Galaxy Apps into using an arbitrary hostname for which the attacker can provide a valid SSL certificate, and emulate the API of the app store to modify existing apps at installation time. The specific flaw involves an HTTP method to obtain the load-balanced hostname that enforces SSL only after obtaining a hostname from the load balancer, and a missing app signature validation in the application XML. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to achieve Remote Code Execution on the device. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-12071.

  • HIGH
  • NETWORK
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation

The authenticity component of a web system stems from the ability to validate “Digital certificates”, which (i) establish trust between two or more entities sharing data over a network; (ii) ensure data at rest and transit is secure from unauthorized access; and (iii) check the identity of the actors that interact with the system. An application with absent or ineffective certificate validation mechanisms allows malicious users, impersonating trusted hosts, to manipulate the communication path between the client and the host, resulting in unauthorized access to data and to the application’s internal environment, and potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published