MASTG-KNOW-0027: Root Detection

In the context of anti-reversing, the goal of root detection is to make running the app on a rooted device a bit more difficult, which in turn blocks some of the tools and techniques reverse engineers like to use. Like most other defenses, root detection is not very effective by itself, but implementing multiple root checks that are scattered throughout the app can improve the effectiveness of the overall anti-tampering scheme.

For Android, we define "root detection" a bit more broadly, including custom ROMs detection, i.e., determining whether the device is a stock Android build or a custom build.

Root detection can also be implemented through libraries such as RootBeer.

File Existence Checks

Perhaps the most widely used method of programmatic detection is checking for files typically found on rooted devices, such as package files of common rooting apps and their associated files and directories, including the following:

/system/app/Superuser.apk
/system/etc/init.d/99SuperSUDaemon
/dev/com.koushikdutta.superuser.daemon/
/system/xbin/daemonsu

Detection code also often looks for binaries that are usually installed once a device has been rooted. These searches include checking for busybox and attempting to open the su binary at different locations:

/sbin/su
/system/bin/su
/system/bin/failsafe/su
/system/xbin/su
/system/xbin/busybox
/system/sd/xbin/su
/data/local/su
/data/local/xbin/su
/data/local/bin/su

Checking whether su is on the PATH also works:

    public static boolean checkRoot(){
        for(String pathDir : System.getenv("PATH").split(":")){
            if(new File(pathDir, "su").exists()) {
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

File checks can be easily implemented in both Java and native code. The following JNI example (adapted from rootinspector) uses the stat system call to retrieve information about a file and returns "1" if the file exists.

jboolean Java_com_example_statfile(JNIEnv * env, jobject this, jstring filepath) {
  jboolean fileExists = 0;
  jboolean isCopy;
  const char * path = (*env)->GetStringUTFChars(env, filepath, &isCopy);
  struct stat fileattrib;
  if (stat(path, &fileattrib) < 0) {
    __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_DEBUG, DEBUG_TAG, "NATIVE: stat error: [%s]", strerror(errno));
  } else
  {
    __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_DEBUG, DEBUG_TAG, "NATIVE: stat success, access perms: [%d]", fileattrib.st_mode);
    return 1;
  }

  return 0;
}

Executing Privileged Commands

Another way of determining whether su exists is attempting to execute it through the Runtime.getRuntime.exec method. An IOException will be thrown if su is not on the PATH. The same method can be used to check for other programs often found on rooted devices, such as busybox and the symbolic links that typically point to it.

Checking Running Processes

Supersu-by far the most popular rooting tool-runs an authentication daemon named daemonsu, so the presence of this process is another sign of a rooted device. Running processes can be enumerated with the ActivityManager.getRunningAppProcesses and manager.getRunningServices APIs, the ps command, and browsing through the /proc directory. The following is an example implemented in rootinspector:

    public boolean checkRunningProcesses() {

      boolean returnValue = false;

      // Get currently running application processes
      List<RunningServiceInfo> list = manager.getRunningServices(300);

      if(list != null){
        String tempName;
        for(int i=0;i<list.size();++i){
          tempName = list.get(i).process;

          if(tempName.contains("supersu") || tempName.contains("superuser")){
            returnValue = true;
          }
        }
      }
      return returnValue;
    }

Checking Installed App Packages

You can use the Android package manager to obtain a list of installed packages. The following package names belong to popular rooting tools:

eu.chainfire.supersu
com.noshufou.android.su
com.koushikdutta.superuser
com.zachspong.temprootremovejb
com.ramdroid.appquarantine
com.topjohnwu.magisk

Checking for Writable Partitions and System Directories

Unusual permissions on system directories may indicate a customized or rooted device. Although the system and data directories are normally mounted read-only, you'll sometimes find them mounted read-write when the device is rooted. Look for these filesystems mounted with the "rw" flag or try to create a file in the data directories.

Checking for Custom Android Builds

Checking for signs of test builds and custom ROMs is also helpful. One way to do this is to check the BUILD tag for test-keys, which normally indicate a custom Android image. Check the BUILD tag as follows:

private boolean isTestKeyBuild()
{
String str = Build.TAGS;
if ((str != null) && (str.contains("test-keys")));
for (int i = 1; ; i = 0)
  return i;
}

Missing Google Over-The-Air (OTA) certificates is another sign of a custom ROM: on stock Android builds, OTA updates Google's public certificates.