An adversary, through a previously installed malicious application, intercepts messages from a trusted Android-based application in an attempt to achieve a variety of different objectives including denial of service, information disclosure, and data injection. An implicit intent sent from a trusted application can be received by any application that has declared an appropriate intent filter. If the intent is not protected by a permission that the malicious application lacks, then the attacker can gain access to the data contained within the intent. Further, the intent can be either blocked from reaching the intended destination, or modified and potentially forwarded along.
Description
Attack Execution Flow
4
1
Step 1
Explore[Find an android application that uses implicit intents] Since this attack only works on android applications that use implicit intents, rather than explicit intents, an adversary must first identify an app that uses implicit intents. They must also determine what the contents of the intents being sent are such that a malicious application can get sent these intents.
AI Translation
[Trova un'applicazione Android che utilizza intent impliciti] Poiché questo attacco funziona solo su applicazioni Android che usano intent impliciti, piuttosto che intent espliciti, un adversary deve prima identificare un'app che utilizza intent impliciti. Deve anche determinare quali sono i contenuti degli intent inviati, in modo che un'applicazione dannosa possa ricevere questi intent.
2
Step 2
Experiment[Create a malicious app] The adversary must create a malicious android app meant to intercept implicit intents from a target application
Specify the type of intent wished to be intercepted in the malicious app's manifest file using an intent filter
AI Translation
[Creare un'app dannosa] L'attaccante deve creare un'app Android dannosa progettata per intercettare intent implicit da un'applicazione target
Specificare il tipo di intent che si desidera intercettare nel file manifest dell'app dannosa utilizzando un intent filter
Attack Techniques
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Specify the type of intent wished to be intercepted in the malicious app's manifest file using an intent filter
3
Step 3
Experiment[Get user to download malicious app] The adversary must get a user using the targeted app to download the malicious app by any means necessary
AI Translation
[Indurre l'utente a scaricare un'app dannosa] L'avversario deve convincere un utente, tramite l'app mirata, a scaricare l'app dannosa utilizzando qualsiasi metodo necessario
4
Step 4
Exploit[Intercept Implicit Intents] Once the malicious app is downloaded, the android device will forward any implicit intents from the target application to the malicious application, allowing the adversary to gaina access to the contents of the intent. The adversary can proceed with any attack using the contents of the intent.
Block the intent from reaching the desired location, causing a denial of service
Gather sensitive information from the intercepted intent
Modify the contents of the intent and forward along to another application
AI Translation
[Intercept Implicit Intents] Una volta che l'applicazione dannosa è stata scaricata, il dispositivo Android inoltrerà qualsiasi intent implicito dall'applicazione target all'applicazione dannosa, consentendo all'attaccante di ottenere l'accesso ai contenuti dell'intent. L'attaccante può procedere con qualsiasi attacco utilizzando i contenuti dell'intent.
Bloccare l'intent dal raggiungere la destinazione desiderata, causando un denial of service
Raccogliere informazioni sensibili dall'intent intercettato
Modificare i contenuti dell'intent e inoltrarli ad un'altra applicazione
Attack Techniques
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Gather sensitive information from the intercepted intent
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Block the intent from reaching the desired location, causing a denial of serviceIT: Raccogliere informazioni sensibili dall'intento intercettato
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Modify the contents of the intent and forward along to another applicationIT: Raccogliere informazioni sensibili dall'intento intercettato
Mitigations
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To Mitigate This Type Of An Attack, Explicit Intents Should Be Used Whenever Sensitive Data Is Being Sent. An Explicit Intent Is Delivered To A Specific Application As Declared Within The Intent, Whereas The Android Operating System Determines Who Receives An Implicit Intent Which Could Potentially Be A Malicious Application. If An Implicit Intent Must Be Used, Then It Should Be Assumed That The Intent Will Be Received By An Unknown Application And Any Response Should Be Treated Accordingly. Implicit Intents Should Never Be Used For Inter-Application Communication.
Consequences
Security Scopes Affected
Availability
Confidentiality
Integrity
Potential Impacts
Modify Data
Read Data
Resource Consumption