CWE-297

Improper Validation of Certificate with Host Mismatch
AI Translation Available

The product communicates with a host that provides a certificate, but the product does not properly ensure that the certificate is actually associated with that host.

Status
incomplete
Abstraction
variant
Likelihood
high
Mobile Not Technology-Specific Web Based

Even if a certificate is well-formed, signed, and follows the chain of trust, it may simply be a valid certificate for a different site than the site that the product is interacting with. If the certificate's host-specific data is not properly checked - such as the Common Name (CN) in the Subject or the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension of an X.509 certificate - it may be possible for a redirection or spoofing attack to allow a malicious host with a valid certificate to provide data, impersonating a trusted host. In order to ensure data integrity, the certificate must be valid and it must pertain to the site that is being accessed.

Even if the product attempts to check the hostname, it is still possible to incorrectly check the hostname. For example, attackers could create a certificate with a name that begins with a trusted name followed by a NUL byte, which could cause some string-based comparisons to only examine the portion that contains the trusted name.

This weakness can occur even when the product uses Certificate Pinning, if the product does not verify the hostname at the time a certificate is pinned.

Common Consequences

access control authentication other
Impacts
gain privileges or assume identity other

Detection Methods

automated static analysis dynamic analysis with manual results interpretation black box

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
architecture and design implementation
Descriptions:
• Fully check the hostname of the certificate and provide the user with adequate information about the nature of the problem and how to proceed.
• If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.