RCEMS Field Guide Android and iOS App Security Flaws

Summary

The RCEMS Field Guide Android and iOS apps have serious security problems: the Android app improperly implements SSL, and the iOS app sends confidential data over the Internet with no encryption at all.

Android App

The Android app has a serious security problem--it breaks HTTPS. Like many Android apps it fails to validate SSL certificates, rendering it vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.

This practice may be illegal in the USA. Two American companies were sanctioned by the FTC in 2014 for making this same error:

FTC Final Orders with Fandango and Credit Karma Provide Guidance on Mobile App Security

Testing Method

I have Burp set up as a proxy for my Genymotion Android emulator, without the PortSwigger certificate installed, so secure sites give a warning in the default Web browser:

So no HTTPS connections should be possible through the proxy. Here's the app:

Sending test credentials:

Harvesting them from Burp via MITM attack:

iOS App

RCEMS Field Guide Plaintext

Here's the app:

Collecting confidential data:

Transmitting it insecurely:

Notification

I sent this message on 6-10-15:


Posted 6-10-15 by Sam Bowne