Android P will block apps from monitoring your network activity

Do Son May 8, 2018 2 minutes read

Android privacy vulnerabilities exposed more than a year ago have finally been repaired. At present, the Android-based APP can obtain complete network link function without consulting any sensitive new brand. Although these APPs cannot detect the content of a network call, they can use TCP/UDP to sniff incoming and outgoing connections to determine if you are connected to a particular server. For example, an application can detect whether other applications in the device are connected to the financial institution’s server.

“Any app could detect not only what other apps on your device are connecting to the Internet, but they could also tell when those apps are connecting to the Internet and where they are connecting to.” It is reported that some applications on Play Store use this method to detect whether it is connected to the server, including Facebook, Twitter, and other social applications can track your Internet behavior without your knowledge.

“A new commit has appeared in the Android Open Source Project to “start the process of locking down proc/net.” /proc/net contains a bunch of output from the kernel related to network activity. There’s currently no restriction on apps accessing /proc/net, which means they can read from here (especially the TCP and UDP files) to parse your device’s network activity. You can install a terminal app on your phone and enter cat /proc/net/udp to see for yourself.”

However, Android’s SELinux rules have adjusted it, and access to certain information is limited. In Android P, SELinux rules only allow specified VPN applications to access some files. Other applications for access to the APP will be reviewed by the system. For compatibility purposes, those API levels less than 28 can still access these files. This means that most applications still get this file.

Source, Image: xda-developers

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Written by

@DdoS · Security Researcher

Do Son

Do Son is the Founder and Editor of SecurityOnline.info. Working in cybersecurity since 2013, he reports on vulnerabilities, malware, and emerging threats, providing timely analysis to help organizations and individuals stay ahead of evolving risks.

Tags: Android P

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