CAPEC Details
Name Malicious Root Certificate
Likelyhood of attack Typical severity
Low Low
Summary An adversary exploits a weakness in authorization and installs a new root certificate on a compromised system. Certificates are commonly used for establishing secure TLS/SSL communications within a web browser. When a user attempts to browse a website that presents a certificate that is not trusted an error message will be displayed to warn the user of the security risk. Depending on the security settings, the browser may not allow the user to establish a connection to the website. Adversaries have used this technique to avoid security warnings prompting users when compromised systems connect over HTTPS to adversary controlled web servers that spoof legitimate websites in order to collect login credentials.
Prerequisites The adversary must have the ability to create a new root certificate.
Solutions
Related Weaknesses
CWE ID Description
CWE-284 Improper Access Control
Related CAPECS
CAPEC ID Description
CAPEC-473 An attacker generates a message or datablock that causes the recipient to believe that the message or datablock was generated and cryptographically signed by an authoritative or reputable source, misleading a victim or victim operating system into performing malicious actions.
Taxonomy: ATTACK
Entry ID Entry Name
1553.004 Subvert Trust Controls:Install Root Certificate