CVE-2014-6989
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Germanwings (aka com.germanwings.android) application 2.1.13 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Germanwings Android application version 2.1.13 fails to verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, enabling man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept sensitive data by presenting fraudulent certificates.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 2.1.13CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Germanwings app versionOn the Android device, go to Settings > Apps > Germanwings, or run: `adb shell pm list packages -f | grep germanwings` then check the version from the APK metadataAffected if The installed version is exactly 2.1.13
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Verify SSL certificate validation is disabledDecompile the APK using apktool or jadx, then inspect the source code for network operations. Look for implementations of TrustManager, hostnameVerifier, or SSLContext that bypass certificate verification. Search for code patterns like custom TrustManager that accepts all certificates, or hostnameVerifier that always returns trueAffected if The app code contains a TrustManager or hostnameVerifier implementation that accepts all certificates without validation, or no certificate validation is performed at all
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Test app behavior with invalid certificateConfigure a MITM proxy (such as Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, or Charles Proxy) with an invalid or self-signed certificate. Install the proxy CA certificate on the Android device, enable proxy for the device network, and attempt to intercept traffic from the Germanwings appAffected if The Germanwings app successfully connects and transmits data through the proxy despite the invalid certificate, indicating the app does not perform proper X.509 certificate chain validation
A defender is affected if the Germanwings Android app version 2.1.13 is installed and the app accepts invalid or untrusted SSL certificates, allowing an attacker on the same network to intercept sensitive data.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement proper X.509 certificate chain validation using a custom TrustManager or certificate pinning in the Android application's network layer.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-6989 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-6989 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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