Failure to validate certificate expiration
From OWASP
Overview
The failure to validate certificate operation may result in trust being assigned to certificates which have been abandoned due to age.
Consequences
- Integrity: The data read from the system vouched for by the expired certificate may be flawed due to malicious spoofing.
- Authentication: Trust afforded to the system in question - based on the expired certificate - may allow for spoofing attacks.
Exposure period
- Design: Certificate expiration handling should be performed in the design phase.
Platform
- Languages: All
- Platforms: All
Required resources
Minor trust: Users must attempt to interact with the malicious system.
Severity
Low
Likelihood of exploit
Low
Avoidance and mitigation
- Design: Check for expired certificates and provide the user with adequate information about the nature of the problem and how to proceed.
Discussion
When the expiration of a certificate is not taken in to account, no trust has necessarily been conveyed through it; therefore, all benefit of certificate is lost.
Examples
if (!(cert = SSL_get_peer(certificate(ssl)) || !host) foo=SSL_get_veryify_result(ssl); if ((X509_V_OK==foo) || (X509_V_ERRCERT_NOT_YET_VALID==foo)) //do stuff
