Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 2012 42nd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, DSN 2012 |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 42nd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, DSN 2012 - , United States Duration: 25 Jun 2012 → 28 Jun 2012 |
Abstract
Over the last three years, Android has established itself as the largest-selling operating system for smartphones. It boasts of a Linux-based robust kernel, a modular framework with multiple components in each application, and a security-conscious design where each application is isolated in its own virtual machine. However, all of these desirable properties would be rendered ineffectual if an application were to deliver erroneous messages to targeted applications and thus cause the target to behave incorrectly. In this paper, we present an empirical evaluation of the robustness of Inter-component Communication (ICC) in Android through fuzz testing methodology, whereby, parameters of the inter-component communication are changed to various incorrect values. We show that not only exception handling is a rarity in Android applications, but also it is possible to crash the Android runtime from unprivileged user processes. Based on our observations, we highlight some of the critical design issues in Android ICC and suggest solutions to alleviate these problems.
Keywords
- android, exception, fuzz, robustness, security, smartphone
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2012 42nd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, DSN 2012. 2012. p. 1-12.
Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Research › peer review
}
TY - GEN
T1 - An empirical study of the robustness of Inter-component Communication in Android
AU - Maji, Amiya K.
AU - Arshad, Fahad A.
AU - Bagchi, Saurabh
AU - Rellermeyer, Jan
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Over the last three years, Android has established itself as the largest-selling operating system for smartphones. It boasts of a Linux-based robust kernel, a modular framework with multiple components in each application, and a security-conscious design where each application is isolated in its own virtual machine. However, all of these desirable properties would be rendered ineffectual if an application were to deliver erroneous messages to targeted applications and thus cause the target to behave incorrectly. In this paper, we present an empirical evaluation of the robustness of Inter-component Communication (ICC) in Android through fuzz testing methodology, whereby, parameters of the inter-component communication are changed to various incorrect values. We show that not only exception handling is a rarity in Android applications, but also it is possible to crash the Android runtime from unprivileged user processes. Based on our observations, we highlight some of the critical design issues in Android ICC and suggest solutions to alleviate these problems.
AB - Over the last three years, Android has established itself as the largest-selling operating system for smartphones. It boasts of a Linux-based robust kernel, a modular framework with multiple components in each application, and a security-conscious design where each application is isolated in its own virtual machine. However, all of these desirable properties would be rendered ineffectual if an application were to deliver erroneous messages to targeted applications and thus cause the target to behave incorrectly. In this paper, we present an empirical evaluation of the robustness of Inter-component Communication (ICC) in Android through fuzz testing methodology, whereby, parameters of the inter-component communication are changed to various incorrect values. We show that not only exception handling is a rarity in Android applications, but also it is possible to crash the Android runtime from unprivileged user processes. Based on our observations, we highlight some of the critical design issues in Android ICC and suggest solutions to alleviate these problems.
KW - android
KW - exception
KW - fuzz
KW - robustness
KW - security
KW - smartphone
U2 - 10.1109/DSN.2012.6263963
DO - 10.1109/DSN.2012.6263963
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9781467316248
SP - 1
EP - 12
BT - 2012 42nd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, DSN 2012
T2 - 42nd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, DSN 2012
Y2 - 25 June 2012 through 28 June 2012
ER -