TR
EN
Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications
Abstract
Security Socket Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols are utilized to secure network communication (e.g., transmitting user data). Failing to properly implement SSL/TLS configuration during the app development results in security risks. The weak implementations include trusting all host names, trusting all certificates, ignoring certificate verification errors, even lack of SSL public key pinning usage. These unsecured implementations may cause Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks. The major aim of this research is to detect configuration errors of SSL/TLS implementation in Android apps. We combine existing open-source tools and streamline the analysis process with the combination of automated static analysis and dynamic analysis with manual assistance. We scan for four types of vulnerabilities in the static analysis phase and verify misuse of SSL/TLS in the dynamic analysis phase. The dynamic analysis is essential for eliminating false positives generated at the static analysis stage. We analyze 109 apps from Google Play Store and the experimental results show that 45 (41.28%) apps contain potential security errors in the application of SSL/TLS. We verify that 19 (17.43%) out of 109 apps are vulnerable to MITM attacks.
Keywords
References
- “Smartphone users 2020”, (2020). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/ (accessed Feb. 09, 2021).
- “Android versions market share 2019”, (2020). Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/271774/share-of-android-platforms-on-mobile-devices-with-android-os/ (accessed Feb. 09, 2021).
- “Google Play Store: number of apps 2020”, (2020). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/266210/number-of-available-applications-in-the-google-play-store/ (accessed Feb. 09, 2021).
- E. Rescorla, “HTTP Over TLS”. https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2818 (accessed Feb. 09, 2021).
- D. Akhawe and A. Felt, (2013). “Alice in warningland: A large-scale field study of browser security warning effectiveness”, Proceedings of the 22nd USENIX conference on Security, ss. 257-272.
- A. P. Felt vd., (2015). “Improving SSL Warnings: Comprehension and Adherence”, Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Seoul Republic of Korea, ss. 2893-2902, doi: 10.1145/2702123.2702442.
- J. Sunshine, S. Egelman, H. Almuhimedi, N. Atri, and L. F. Cranor, (2009). “Crying Wolf: An Empirical Study of SSL Warning Effectiveness”, 18th USENIX Security Symposium, Montreal, Canada, August 10-14, s. 18.
- S. Fahl, M. Harbach, T. Muders, L. Baumgärtner, B. Freisleben, and M. Smith, (2012). “Why Eve and Mallory love Android: An analysis of Android SSL (in)security”, CCS '12: Proceedings of the 2012 ACM conference on Computer and Communications Security, doi: 10.1145/2382196.2382205.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Engineering
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
June 27, 2021
Submission Date
February 10, 2021
Acceptance Date
May 5, 2021
Published in Issue
Year 2021 Volume: 9 Number: 2
APA
Cibalık, K. E., & Koçak, C. (2021). Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım Ve Teknoloji, 9(2), 211-219. https://doi.org/10.29109/gujsc.878053
AMA
1.Cibalık KE, Koçak C. Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications. GUJS Part C. 2021;9(2):211-219. doi:10.29109/gujsc.878053
Chicago
Cibalık, Kaya Emre, and Cemal Koçak. 2021. “Detection of SSL TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications”. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım Ve Teknoloji 9 (2): 211-19. https://doi.org/10.29109/gujsc.878053.
EndNote
Cibalık KE, Koçak C (June 1, 2021) Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım ve Teknoloji 9 2 211–219.
IEEE
[1]K. E. Cibalık and C. Koçak, “Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications”, GUJS Part C, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 211–219, June 2021, doi: 10.29109/gujsc.878053.
ISNAD
Cibalık, Kaya Emre - Koçak, Cemal. “Detection of SSL TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications”. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım ve Teknoloji 9/2 (June 1, 2021): 211-219. https://doi.org/10.29109/gujsc.878053.
JAMA
1.Cibalık KE, Koçak C. Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications. GUJS Part C. 2021;9:211–219.
MLA
Cibalık, Kaya Emre, and Cemal Koçak. “Detection of SSL TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications”. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım Ve Teknoloji, vol. 9, no. 2, June 2021, pp. 211-9, doi:10.29109/gujsc.878053.
Vancouver
1.Kaya Emre Cibalık, Cemal Koçak. Detection of SSL/TLS Implementation Errors in Android Applications. GUJS Part C. 2021 Jun. 1;9(2):211-9. doi:10.29109/gujsc.878053
