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Lack of root detection

Description​

The application does not check whether the Android system on which it is running has been rooted.

Impact​

Install malicious tools in order to cause unexpected behaviors.

Recommendation​

Validate that the device is not rooted at application startup.

Threat​

Unauthorized attacker with a rooted device and the APK installed.

Expected Remediation Time​

⌚ 120 minutes.

Score​

Default score using CVSS 3.1. It may change depending on the context of the vulnerability.

Base​

  • Attack vector: L
  • Attack complexity: L
  • Privileges required: N
  • User interaction: N
  • Scope: U
  • Confidentiality: L
  • Integrity: L
  • Availability: N

Temporal​

  • Exploit code madurity: X
  • Remediation level: X
  • Report confidence: X

Result​

  • Vector string: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N/E:X/RL:X/RC:X
  • Score:
    • Base: 5.1
    • Temporal: 5.1
  • Severity:
    • Base: Medium
    • Temporal: Medium

Code Examples​

Compliant code​

Better methods to check for root access include examples like this one, that runs the su command to verify root access

public static boolean isRootGiven(){
  if (isRootAvailable()) {
    Process process = null;
    try {
      process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[]{"su", "-c", "id"});
      BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(process.getInputStream()));
      String output = in.readLine();
      if (output != null && output.toLowerCase().contains("uid=0"))
        return false;
    } catch (Exception e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    } finally {
      if (process != null)
        process.destroy();
    }
  }
  return true;
}

Non compliant code​

A not recommended method to check for rooting could be testing for test-keys, which is correlated but does not guarantee root access

private static boolean checkRootMethod1() {
  String buildTags = android.os.Build.TAGS;
  return buildTags != null && buildTags.contains("test-keys");
}

Requirements​

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