A Feasible No-Root Approach on Android

• Main Authors: CHENG, Yao, Yingjiu LI, DENG, Robert H.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2016
• Subjects: Android; root; no-root approach; permission explosion; Android Debug Bridge (ADB); exploits analysis; Computer Sciences; Information Security; Systems Architecture
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/3383; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/4384/viewcontent/AFeasibleNo_RootApproachonAndroid.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Root is the administrative privilege on Android, which is however inaccessible on stock Android devices. Due to the desire for privileged functionalities and the reluctance of rooting their devices, Android users seek for no-root approaches, which provide users with part of root privileges without rooting their devices. In this paper, we newly discover a feasible no-root approach based on the ADB loopback. To ensure such no-root approach is not misused proactively, we examine its dark side, including privacy leakage via logs and user input inference. Finally, we discuss the solutions and suggestions from different perspectives.