Mobile App Pen Test

Securing Mobile Apps: Pen Test Essentials

A Mobile Application Penetration Test (Pen Test) involves assessing the security of a mobile app to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. The goal is to identify flaws that could lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, or other malicious actions, and to evaluate the app’s resilience against potential security threats.

Mobile App Pen Test Overview

By conducting a thorough mobile application penetration test, you can uncover critical vulnerabilities and address them before they can be exploited by attackers, enhancing the overall security of the application.

Here’s an outline of the process involved in a Mobile Application Pen Test:

1. Planning and Information Gathering

Scope Definition: Define the boundaries of the test, including which platforms (Android, iOS), and which parts of the app (frontend, backend, APIs) will be assessed.
Collecting App Information: Obtain the app (APK for Android, IPA for iOS) or access to the app’s source code. Gather information about the app’s functionality, communication protocols, and dependencies.

2. Static Analysis

Reverse Engineering: Analyze the mobile app’s binaries (APK/IPA) without running it to find potential vulnerabilities. This can be done using tools like JADX (for Android) or class-dump (for iOS).
Source Code Review: If the source code is available, manually review it for security flaws, such as hardcoded credentials, improper data validation, or poor encryption practices.
APK/IPA Decompilation: Extract resources, manifest files, and examine configurations for potential issues (e.g., improper permission settings).

3. Dynamic Analysis

App Interaction: Test the mobile app while it is running to see how it behaves. Look for insecure data storage, weak cryptographic implementations, or improper session management.
Network Traffic Analysis: Use tools like Burp Suite or Wireshark to capture and analyze communication between the app and backend servers. Identify sensitive data sent over insecure channels (HTTP vs. HTTPS) and test for vulnerabilities like Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks.
API Testing: Assess the app’s interaction with its backend APIs for issues such as insufficient authentication, unauthorized access to resources, or misconfigured CORS policies.

4. Testing Common Vulnerabilities

Insecure Data Storage: Check whether sensitive data is stored insecurely, either in local storage or caches (e.g., plain-text passwords or tokens).
Insecure Communication: Verify that the app uses secure communication protocols (e.g., HTTPS, SSL/TLS) and is resistant to MITM attacks.
Improper Authentication and Authorization: Test for issues like weak authentication methods, session hijacking, privilege escalation, or flaws in token management.
Sensitive Data Exposure: Look for stored sensitive data such as user credentials, credit card information, or personal details that are improperly secured.
Insecure Code: Ensure that the app does not contain hardcoded keys, credentials, or sensitive information.

5. Privilege Escalation & Bypass Testing

Bypass Authentication: Test if it’s possible to bypass authentication mechanisms such as login screens, session tokens, or multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Access Control Flaws: Test for privilege escalation scenarios, where an attacker might elevate their access rights to gain unauthorized privileges.

6. Exploit Testing

Exploit Known Vulnerabilities: Test known vulnerabilities in third-party libraries or frameworks used in the app (e.g., old versions of WebView, insecure SSL implementations).
Exploit Misconfigurations: Identify and exploit misconfigurations such as insecure server configurations, improper permissions, or open access to sensitive endpoints.

7. Reporting

Detailed Findings: Provide a detailed report that lists all identified vulnerabilities, their risk level (critical, high, medium, low), and recommended remediation steps.
Proof of Concept (PoC): Include proof-of-concept exploit demonstrations (e.g., screenshots, videos, or log files) to show the severity of the issues.
Mitigation Recommendations: Offer concrete suggestions for securing the app, improving its code, hardening the server, or securing the communication channels.

8. Post-Test Activities

Remediation Support: Assist with the resolution of identified vulnerabilities, which may involve code modifications, configuration changes, or infrastructure adjustments.
Re-testing: After fixes are implemented, perform re-testing to verify that the vulnerabilities have been addressed and that no new issues have been introduced.

1. Static Analysis

JADX,
APKTool
Frida
MobSF (Mobile Security Framework)

2. Dynamic Analysis

Burp Suite
Wireshark
Frida (for dynamic instrumentation), Charles Proxy

3. Reverse Engineering

jadx
class-dump (iOS)
Ghidra

4. Vulnerability Scanners

MobSF
OWASP ZAP

1. Insecure Data Storage

Sensitive data is stored unencrypted or poorly encrypted

2. Insecure Communication

Using weak or no encryption over the network

3. Improper Authentication

Weak password policies, failure to implement session timeouts, etc.

4. Code Injection

Vulnerabilities that allow attackers to inject malicious code into the app’s environment.