Allow Native HTTP

Last updated November 28, 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 Allow Native HTTP in Mobile apps.

What is Native HTTP?

Native HTTP refers to using the standard HTTP protocol for network communication in a mobile app. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) does not encrypt the data being transmitted, making it vulnerable to interception, tampering, and eavesdropping. For this reason, it is generally recommended to use HTTPS, which adds a layer of encryption to secure the connection.

 

Why Allow Native HTTP?

In some mobile apps, older components or third-party integrations may still rely on HTTP due to legacy requirements. While HTTP is inherently insecure, there may be specific situations where an app cannot fully transition to HTTPS due to dependencies on these older components.

The “Allow Native HTTP” feature in Appdome provides a way to support these legacy HTTP connections without compromising the overall security of the app. By enabling this feature:

  • You allow the app to access certain domains using HTTP while ensuring that HTTPS connections remain secure.
  • This enables a mixed security approach where non-secure connections can coexist with protected HTTPS connections for other parts of the app.

Important Note:
If you enable MiTM Prevention and then turn on the Allow Native HTTP feature, HTTP will be allowed throughout the entire app. This means all HTTP traffic, regardless of domain, will be permitted, potentially exposing sensitive data.

To control which domains can use HTTP while securing the rest with HTTPS, we recommend using the Pin to Host feature with Allow Native HTTP enabled. This allows you to differentiate between specific domains that can use HTTP and others that must use HTTPS, ensuring more granular control over your app’s network security.

 

 

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Allow Native HTTP Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Allow Native HTTP , you’ll need:

How to Implement Allow Native HTTP in Mobile Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Allow Native HTTP 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. Allow Native HTTP is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
  2. Select the defense: Allow Native HTTP.

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Allow Native HTTP feature as shown below:
        fusion set that contains  Allow Native HTTP

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Allow Native HTTP feature

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Allow Native HTTP feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

      3. When you enable MiTM Prevention you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Allow Native HTTP.

        Fusion Set applied  Allow Native HTTP

        Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Allow Native HTTP 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 Allow Native HTTP feature to your security template.

      1. Navigate to Build > Security tab > Secure Communication section in the Appdome Console.
      2. Toggle On MiTM Prevention > Allow Native HTTP.
         Allow Native HTTP option

        Figure 4: Selecting Allow Native HTTP

    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 Allow Native HTTP protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Allow Native HTTP feature in Mobile Apps

    After building Allow Native HTTP, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Allow Native HTTP protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Allow Native HTTP protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:  Allow Native HTTP 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 Allow Native HTTP has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Allow Native HTTP and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for Native HTTP Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

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

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Native HTTP are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Allow Native HTTP Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Allow Native HTTP
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 x
Visible in ThreatScope™ x
Developer Parameters for Allowing Native HTTP Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF
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 Native HTTP is detected.


The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Allow Native HTTP:


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 Allow Native HTTP. 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 Allow Native HTTP

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 to Use Trusted Domains with Android/iOS MiTM Prevention

How to Prevent MiTM Attacks in Android Apps

How to Secure Android &#038; iOS Apps with Pin to Host

 

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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