How to Use "Detect App is Debuggable" on Android Mobile Apps
Learn to Detect App Is Debuggable in Android apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.
What Does It Mean for an App to Be Debuggable?
When we refer to an app as being “debuggable”, we are describing the state in which an app has been configured, intentionally or unintentionally, to permit debugging by an external process. This external process is often another application running on the same mobile device. Debugging is a crucial aspect of software development, as it enables developers to closely monitor and modify an application’s behavior during the development phase. This facilitates the identification and resolution of various issues that may arise. Debugging is especially useful for diagnosing errors, testing features, and improving the overall quality of the app. However, it’s important to note that while debugging is an essential tool for developers, its continued presence in an app beyond the development phase can lead to significant security vulnerabilities.
Why Detecting 'Debuggable Apps' is Key for Security?
Detecting ‘debuggable apps’ is crucial for mobile app security because when an application is set to be debuggable, it can run the risk of exposing the mobile applications internal workings, data flow, and potentially sensitive data to malicious actors. Appdome actively checks for altered configurations, ensuring that applications remain untampered and impervious to unwanted debugging attempts. Thus, ensuring that mobile apps are not debuggable in production environments bolstering the safeguarding of user data and app integrity.
Prerequisites for Using Detect App is Debuggable:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect App Is Debuggable , you’ll need:
Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
A license for ONEShield™
Mobile App (.apk or .aab For Android)
Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
Detect App Is Debuggable on Android apps using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Detect App Is Debuggable without an SDK or gateway:
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Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.
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Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System
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Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
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Android Formats: .apk or .aab
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Detect App is Debuggable Compatible With: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps
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Build the feature: Detect App is Debuggable.
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Building Detect App is Debuggable by using Appdome’s DEV-API:
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect App is Debuggable feature as shown below:
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Detect App is Debuggable feature via Appdome Console, to add the Detect App is Debuggable feature to this Fusion Set.
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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):
Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
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Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect App is Debuggable feature
Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required). -
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Building the Detect App is Debuggable feature via Appdome Console
To build the Detect App is Debuggable protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.
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Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > ONEShield™ section.
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How: Check whether is toggled On (enabled), otherwise enable it . The feature Detect App is Debuggable is enabled by default, as shown below. Toggle (turn ON) Detect App is Debuggable, as shown below.
If needed, Customize the Threat Notification to be displayed to the mobile end-user in a standard OS dialog notification when Appdome Detects App Is Debuggable.Figure 3: Detect App Is Debuggable option
Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging. -
When you select the Detect App is Debuggable you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect App is Debuggable
Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect App is Debuggable protection
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Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Detect App is Debuggable:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Detect App Is Debuggable.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects App is Debuggable 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™ for Detect App is Debuggable Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against App Is Debuggable (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence 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 Detect App is Debuggable Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
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Congratulations! The Detect App is Debuggable protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Detect App is Debuggable feature in Android Apps
After building Detect App is Debuggable, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect App is Debuggable protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect App is Debuggable protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
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 Detect App is Debuggable has been added to each Android app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect App is Debuggable and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app
Using Threat-Events™ for App Is Debuggable Intelligence and Control in Android Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when App Is Debuggable is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for App Is Debuggable in Android Apps, use registerReceiver in the Application OnCreate, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for App Is Debuggable shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for App Is Debuggable are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Detect App Is Debuggable Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Detect App is Debuggable |
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 App Is Debuggable Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | AppIsDebuggable |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | 6801 |
Threat-Event SCORE | |
currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
Threat-Event Context Keys | |
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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. |
reason | Reason for detection |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Android developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Android applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when App Is Debuggable is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Android apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect App is Debuggable:
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.
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IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();
intentFilter.addAction("AppIsDebuggable");
BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
};
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED);
} else {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter);
}
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val intentFilter = IntentFilter()
intentFilter.addAction("AppIsDebuggable")
val threatEventReceiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() {
override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
var message = intent?.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore")
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore")
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>")
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)
} else {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter)
}
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const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;
const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);
function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) {
NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action);
aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);
}
export function registerToAllEvents() {
registerToDevEvent(
"AppIsDebuggable",
(userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo))
var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"]
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"]
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"]
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
);
}
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RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("AppIsDebuggable"));
class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
{
public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
// Message shown to the user
String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message");
// Threat detection cause
String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData");
// Event reason code
String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode");
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
x
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver(
(NSString)"AppIsDebuggable", // Threat-Event Identifier
delegate (NSNotification notification)
{
// Message shown to the user
var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message");
// Threat detection cause
var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData");
// Event reason code
var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode");
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
);
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window.broadcaster.addEventListener("AppIsDebuggable", function(userInfo) {
var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys>
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
x
import 'dart:async';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget {
const PlatformChannel({super.key});
State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();
}
class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> {
// Replace with your EventChannel name
static const String _eventChannelName = "AppIsDebuggable";
static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName);
void initState() {
super.initState();
_eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError);
}
void _onEvent(Object? event) {
setState(() {
// Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure
var eventData = event as Map;
// Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event
var externalID = eventData['externalID'];
// Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure
String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore'];
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore'];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>'];
});
}
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Android Apps by using Detect App is Debuggable. 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 Detect App is Debuggable
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:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Block Android Debug Bridge (ADB) Exploits, Protect Android Apps
- How to Build Anti-Debugging in Android & iOS Apps
- How to Prevent Debuggable Android & iOS Apps in Production
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.