Mobile Security Assessment for Android, iOS, and Windows

Mobile Security Assessment for Android, iOS, and Windows

The internet is an integral part of our daily lives today. Searching for everything we need online is what we do. Consequently, we want to protect the information and enable the security of mobile applications stored on our devices. The information contained on your devices could be used to commit fraud. Identity thieves and other criminals may be able to access and steal your personal information if your devices are not protected.

Consequently, malicious viruses or spyware may be installed on your computer, causing it to slow down or corrupt its files. To protect your privacy, you should remove them from your computer or mobile phone. How do you do them is the question right?? No problem, I have got you covered here; you can do that with the help of a beautiful tool called MobSF; it is an open-source tool developed by Ajin Abraham that is used for automated analysis of an APK. In this article, you will find what is MobSF, how to install it, and its advantages and features are.

What is Mobile Security Framework (MobSF)?

Mobile Security Framework (MobSF) is an automated, all-in-one mobile application (Android/iOS/Windows) pen-testing, malware analysis, and security assessment framework capable of performing static and dynamic analysis. MobSF supports mobile app binaries (APK, XAPK, IPA & APPX) along with zipped source code and provides REST APIs for seamless integration with your CI/CD or DevSecOps pipeline. The Dynamic Analyzer helps you to perform runtime security assessment and interactive instrumented testing.

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MobSF Web Interface:

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  1. Information
  2. Scan options
  3. Signer certificate
  4. Permissions
  5. Binary analysis
  6. Android API
  7. Browsable activities
  8. Security analysis In Security analysis, you can do i) Manifest analysis ii) Code analysis iii) CVSS iv) CWE v) File analysis
  9. Malware analysis
  10. Reconnaissance
  11. Components

Type of Analysis:

The MobSF tool provides functionality to find vulnerabilities in mobile applications (APKs, IPAs, and APPXs) and source code in ZIP files. It works in two ways: Statics and dynamic analysis.

Static Analysis:

The static analysis method of debugging computer programs, sometimes called static code analysis, involves examining the code without executing the program. The process helps to understand the code structure and ensures that the code meets industry standards. In this way, a static test will be carried out more effectively within a predetermined time frame. Every time updates or code releases are carried out; the static test has also been performed without running the application.

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Dynamic Analysis:

Dynamic analysis means testing and evaluating software as it runs. The dynamic analysis of code during application execution is also known as code scanning. It improves the diagnosis and correction of bugs, memory issues, and crashes. Moreover, Dynamic Analysis is mainly used to identify security holes in Android applications that are running.

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MobSF vs. Other Tools:

An infinite number of tools are available for mobile security analysis. By comparing MobSF with some of the standard available mobile security testing tools, we can see how effective it is. The following are some alternatives to MobSF

MobSF vs. Drozer:

The Drozer tool can perform SAST reasonably well but is better suited for dynamic analysis. At the same time, MobSF is better suitable for static and dynamic analysis of mobile apps. Drozer, however, has a drawback in comparison to MobSF: It analyzes apps only on the same device as the app that it is analyzing. In addition, MobSF has a more engaging interface than Drozer.

MobSF vs. QARK:

Developers undoubtedly prefer the MobSF graphical user interface than the console interface of QARK (Quick Android Review Kit). Also, MobSF provides a more detailed vulnerability report than QARK and focuses more on the remediation part.

Features Of MobSF:

• It had Information Gathering & Security facility.

• It had Dynamic and static analysis.

• It has Fuzzing web APIs for security vulnerability.

• It Identifies various Mobile API vulnerabilities like XXE, SSRF, Path Traversal, IDOR.

• It will identify New test cases for Network Security configuration and analyzing SSL certificates.

• It Displays LoC.

• Genymotion cloud support.

• It Has multiple Frida scripts for root detection.

Advantages Of MobSF:

• It is straightforward to install as it is based on a Docker container.

• It also has a graphic interface that is more engaging.

• It is effortless to integrate with the existing CI/CD stack using the integrated API.

• It has a complex and multilayer analysis with app decompilation.

• It is Ready to analyze security on multiple mobile platforms like Android, iOS, and even Windows.

• It is Open-Source.

• The developers at MobSF are constantly developing the product to keep it more stable and bug-free.

• It can generate results in JSON.

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