How to Detect Deep Proxy in Android & iOS Apps

Last updated September 24, 2024 by Appdome

This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Deep Proxy in Mobile apps.

What is Deep Proxy?

Whereas the Malicious Proxy Detection protection is based on detecting and blocking connections from untrusted sources, deep proxy detection detects any attempt to modify the app’s initial proxy settings. If such attempts are not thwarted, they can cause the app proxy to behave in a way that seems safe but might be vulnerable to attacks; for example, intercept a call to a safe address to enforce redirection to a malicious website. Such attacks enable accessing the app and changing its behavior in malicious ways.

Deep Proxy Detection is critical to protect the Shared Secret passed between the client backend and the AP Mobile App. The Shared Secret connection must be protected from all forms of MiTM, including proxies, to avoid someone (or something) listening in and deducing the secret in transit.

 

Why Prevent Deep Proxy Attacks?

Two prominent examples of behavior that is scrutinized by Deep Proxy are header manipulation and redirects.

Nowadays, multiple websites and applications are accessible at the same IP address. The way to differentiate between the various websites and applications is to use a header, which contains further information with regard to the address with which one wants to communicate. Modifying the header can override the information and request from the address, thereby potentially stealing the information or causing unwanted behavior of the application.

A redirect modifies the addresses of outward URLs which the application calls. The modification is done for malicious purposes, either to redirect the application call to a dubious destination such as a phishing website or to enable illegal access to otherwise inaccessible parts of the application. In so doing, redirects can be used for malicious purposes such as malware injection, code injection, stealing credentials or tracking user traffic.

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Deep Proxy Detection Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Deep Proxy , you’ll need:

How to Implement Detect Deep Proxy in Mobile Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Detect Deep Proxy without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Designate the Mobile App to be protected.

    1. Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.

    2. Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
    3. Deep Proxy Detection is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
  2. Select the defense: Deep Proxy Detection.

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Deep Proxy Detection feature as shown below:
        fusion set that contains Deep Proxy Detection

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Deep Proxy Detection feature

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Deep Proxy Detection feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

      3. When you select the Deep Proxy Detection you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Deep Proxy Detection.

        Fusion Set applied Deep Proxy Detection

        Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Deep Proxy Detection protection
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary

      5. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
        1. Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
    1. Add the Deep Proxy Detection feature to your security template.

      1. Navigate to Build > Security tab > Secure Communication section in the Appdome Console.
      2. Toggle On > Deep Proxy Detection.

        (a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Deep Proxy Detection as shown below.

        (b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR.
        Deep Proxy Detection option

        Figure 4: Selecting Detect Deep Proxy

      3. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Deep Proxy Detection:
        1. Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense

          If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Deep Proxy.

        2. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects an attempt of a deep proxy attack and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ to Deep Proxy DetectionDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

        3. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Deep Proxy (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Deep Proxy DetectionDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

    2. Initiate the build command either by clicking Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 4) or via your CI/CD as described in Section 2.1.4.
    Congratulations!  The Deep Proxy Detection protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Deep Proxy Detection feature in Mobile Apps

    After building Deep Proxy Detection, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Deep Proxy Detection protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Deep Proxy Detection protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Deep Proxy Detection shown in Certificate secure

    Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate

    Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Deep Proxy Detection has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Deep Proxy Detection and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for Deep Proxy Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Deep Proxy is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Deep Proxy in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Deep Proxy shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Deep Proxy are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect Deep Proxy Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Deep Proxy Detection
Threat-Event Mode
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging.
ON, IN-APP DETECTION Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce).
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection).
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check
Visible in ThreatScope™
Developer Parameters for Detecting Deep Proxy Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME NetworkProxyConfigured
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6510
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
message Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat
externalID The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events
osVersion OS version of the current device
deviceModel Current device model
deviceManufacturer The manufacturer of the current device
fusedAppToken The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app
kernelInfo Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine.
carrierPlmn PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices.
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status
threatCode The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Deep Proxy is detected.


The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Deep Proxy Detection:


Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.



Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Deep Proxy Detection. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.

Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Deep Proxy Detection

After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:

Related Articles:

How Do I Learn More?

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

Thank you!

Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.

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