安全增强功能

Android 一直在不断改进其安全功能和产品/服务。您可以在左侧导航栏中查看各个版本的增强功能列表。

Android 14

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十种安全增强功能，以保护用户。以下是 Android 14 中提供的一些主要安全增强功能：

  • Android 10 中引入的硬件辅助 AddressSanitizer (HWASan) 是一款类似于 AddressSanitizer 的内存错误检测工具。Android 14 对 HWASan 进行了重大改进。如需了解它如何帮助防止 bug 进入 Android 版本，请访问 HWAddressSanitizer
  • 在 Android 14 中，从与第三方共享位置数据的应用开始，系统运行时权限对话框现在包含一个可点击的部分，用于突出显示应用的数据分享做法，包括诸如以下信息：应用为什么可能会决定与第三方分享数据。
  • Android 12 引入了在调制解调器级别停用 2G 支持的选项，以保护用户免受 2G 的过时安全模型固有的安全风险的影响。认识到停用 2G 对企业客户的重要性后，Android 14 在 Android Enterprise 中启用了此安全功能，以便 IT 管理员能够限制受管设备降级到 2G 连接。
  • 开始支持拒绝未加密的移动网络连接，确保电路交换语音和短信流量始终会加密，并可防范被动无线拦截。详细了解 Android 的移动网络连接强化计划。
  • 新增了对多个 IMEI 的支持
  • 从 Android 14 开始，AES-HCTR2 是采用加速加密指令的设备的首选文件名加密模式。
  • 移动网络连接
  • 在 Android 安全中心添加了相关文档
  • 如果您的应用以 Android 14 为目标平台并使用动态代码加载 (DCL) 功能，则必须将所有动态加载的文件标记为只读。否则，系统会抛出异常。我们建议应用尽可能避免动态加载代码，因为这样做会大大增加应用因代码注入或代码篡改而遭到入侵的风险。

请查看完整的 AOSP 版本说明以及 Android 开发者功能和变更列表。

Android 13

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十种用于保护用户的安全增强功能。以下是 Android 13 中提供的一些主要安全增强功能：

  • Android 13 添加了对多文档呈现的支持。 通过这个新的 Presentation Session 接口，应用可以执行多文档呈现，而现有 API 无法做到这一点。如需了解详情，请参阅身份凭据
  • 在 Android 13 中，当且仅当源自外部应用的 intent 与其声明的 intent 过滤器元素匹配时，这些 intent 才会传送到导出的组件。
  • Open Mobile API (OMAPI) 是一种标准 API，用于与设备的安全元件进行通信。在 Android 13 之前，只有应用和框架模块可以访问此接口。通过将其转换为供应商稳定版接口，HAL 模块还能够通过 OMAPI 服务与安全元件进行通信。 如需了解详情，请参阅 OMAPI 供应商稳定版接口。
  • 从 Android 13-QPR 开始，共享 UID 被废弃。 使用 Android 13 或更高版本的用户应在其清单中添加 `android:sharedUserMaxSdkVersion="32"` 行。此条目可防止新用户获取共享 UID。如需详细了解 UID，请参阅应用签名。
  • Android 13 添加了对密钥库对称加密基元的支持，例如支持 AES（高级加密标准）、HMAC（密钥哈希消息认证码）以及非对称加密算法（包括椭圆曲线加密、RSA2048、RSA4096 和曲线 25519 加密）
  • Android 13（API 级别 33）及更高版本支持用于从应用发送非豁免通知的运行时权限。这可让用户控制他们会看到哪些权限通知。
  • 针对请求访问所有设备日志的应用，添加了在每次使用时显示提示的功能，以便用户允许或拒绝授予访问权限。
  • 推出了 Android 虚拟化框架 (AVF)，它使用标准化 API 将不同的 Hypervisor 整合到一个框架下。 它提供安全、私密的执行环境，以便执行通过 Hypervisor 隔离的工作负载。
  • 引入了 APK 签名方案 v3.1 所有使用 apksigner 的新密钥轮替都将默认使用 v3.1 签名方案，以便将 Android 13 及更高版本作为轮替目标。

请查看完整的 AOSP 版本说明以及 Android 开发者功能和变更列表。

Android 12

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十种用于保护用户的安全增强功能。以下是 Android 12 中提供的一些主要安全增强功能：

  • Android 12 引入了 BiometricManager.Strings API，它为使用 BiometricPrompt 进行身份验证的应用提供本地化的字符串。这些字符串旨在感知设备，并更明确地指定可以使用哪些身份验证类型。Android 12 还支持屏下指纹传感器
  • 添加了对屏下指纹传感器的支持
  • 引入了 Fingerprint Android 接口定义语言 (AIDL)
  • 支持新的 Face AIDL
  • 引入了 Rust 作为平台开发语言
  • 添加了可供用户仅授权应用访问其大致位置信息的选项
  • 当应用使用摄像头或麦克风时，现在状态栏上会显示隐私指示标志
  • Android 的 Private Compute Core (PCC)
  • 添加了用于停用 2G 支持的选项

Android 11

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. For a list of some of the major security enhancements available in Android 11, see the Android Release Notes.

Android 10

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. Android 10 includes several security and privacy enhancements. See the Android 10 release notes for a complete list of changes in Android 10.

Security

BoundsSanitizer

Android 10 deploys BoundsSanitizer (BoundSan) in Bluetooth and codecs. BoundSan uses UBSan's bounds sanitizer. This mitigation is enabled on a per-module level. It helps keep critical components of Android secure and shouldn't be disabled. BoundSan is enabled in the following codecs:

  • libFLAC
  • libavcdec
  • libavcenc
  • libhevcdec
  • libmpeg2
  • libopus
  • libvpx
  • libspeexresampler
  • libvorbisidec
  • libaac
  • libxaac

Execute-only memory

By default, executable code sections for AArch64 system binaries are marked execute-only (nonreadable) as a hardening mitigation against just-in-time code reuse attacks. Code that mixes data and code together and code that purposefully inspects these sections (without first remapping the memory segments as readable) no longer functions. Apps with a target SDK of Android 10 (API level 29 or higher) are impacted if the app attempts to read code sections of execute-only memory (XOM) enabled system libraries in memory without first marking the section as readable.

Extended access

Trust agents, the underlying mechanism used by tertiary authentication mechanisms such as Smart Lock, can only extend unlock in Android 10. Trust agents can no longer unlock a locked device and can only keep a device unlocked for a maximum of four hours.

Face authentication

Face authentication allows users to unlock their device simply by looking at the front of their device. Android 10 adds support for a new face authentication stack that can securely process camera frames, preserving security and privacy during face authentication on supported hardware. Android 10 also provides an easy way for security-compliant implementations to enable app integration for transactions such as online banking or other services.

Integer Overflow Sanitization

Android 10 enables Integer Overflow Sanitization (IntSan) in software codecs. Ensure that playback performance is acceptable for any codecs that aren't supported in the device's hardware. IntSan is enabled in the following codecs:

  • libFLAC
  • libavcdec
  • libavcenc
  • libhevcdec
  • libmpeg2
  • libopus
  • libvpx
  • libspeexresampler
  • libvorbisidec

Modular system components

Android 10 modularizes some Android system components and enables them to be updated outside of the normal Android release cycle. Some modules include:

OEMCrypto

Android 10 uses OEMCrypto API version 15.

Scudo

Scudo is a dynamic user-mode memory allocator designed to be more resilient against heap-related vulnerabilities. It provides the standard C allocation and deallocation primitives, as well as the C++ primitives.

ShadowCallStack

ShadowCallStack (SCS) is an LLVM instrumentation mode that protects against return address overwrites (like stack buffer overflows) by saving a function's return address to a separately allocated ShadowCallStack instance in the function prolog of nonleaf functions and loading the return address from the ShadowCallStack instance in the function epilog.

WPA3 and Wi-Fi Enhanced Open

Android 10 adds support for the Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) and Wi-Fi Enhanced Open security standards to provide better privacy and robustness against known attacks.

Privacy

App access when targeting Android 9 or lower

If your app runs on Android 10 or higher but targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the platform applies the following behavior:

  • If your app declares a <uses-permission> element for either ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, the system automatically adds a <uses-permission> element for ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION during installation.
  • If your app requests either ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, the system automatically adds ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION to the request.

Background activity restrictions

Starting in Android 10, the system places restrictions on starting activities from the background. This behavior change helps minimize interruptions for the user and keeps the user more in control of what's shown on their screen. As long as your app starts activities as a direct result of user interaction, your app most likely isn't affected by these restrictions.
To learn more about the recommended alternative to starting activities from the background, see the guide on how to alert users of time-sensitive events in your app.

Camera metadata

Android 10 changes the breadth of information that the getCameraCharacteristics() method returns by default. In particular, your app must have the CAMERA permission in order to access potentially device-specific metadata that is included in this method's return value.
To learn more about these changes, see the section about camera fields that require permission.

Clipboard data

Unless your app is the default input method editor (IME) or is the app that currently has focus, your app cannot access clipboard data on Android 10 or higher.

Device location

To support the additional control that users have over an app's access to location information, Android 10 introduces the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission.
Unlike the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION and ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions, the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission only affects an app's access to location when it runs in the background. An app is considered to be accessing location in the background unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:

  • An activity belonging to the app is visible.
  • The app is running a foreground service that has declared a foreground service type of location.
    To declare the foreground service type for a service in your app, set your app's targetSdkVersion or compileSdkVersion to 29 or higher. Learn more about how foreground services can continue user-initiated actions that require access to location.

External storage

By default, apps targeting Android 10 and higher are given scoped access into external storage, or scoped storage. Such apps can see the following types of files within an external storage device without needing to request any storage-related user permissions:

To learn more about scoped storage, as well as how to share, access, and modify files that are saved on external storage devices, see the guides on how to manage files in external storage and access and modify media files.

MAC address randomization

On devices that run Android 10 or higher, the system transmits randomized MAC addresses by default.
If your app handles an enterprise use case, the platform provides APIs for several operations related to MAC addresses:

  • Obtain randomized MAC address: Device owner apps and profile owner apps can retrieve the randomized MAC address assigned to a specific network by calling getRandomizedMacAddress().
  • Obtain actual, factory MAC address: Device owner apps can retrieve a device's actual hardware MAC address by calling getWifiMacAddress(). This method is useful for tracking fleets of devices.

Non-resettable device identifiers

Starting in Android 10, apps must have the READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE privileged permission in order to access the device's non-resettable identifiers, which include both IMEI and serial number.

If your app doesn't have the permission and you try asking for information about non-resettable identifiers anyway, the platform's response varies based on target SDK version:

  • If your app targets Android 10 or higher, a SecurityException occurs.
  • If your app targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the method returns null or placeholder data if the app has the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. Otherwise, a SecurityException occurs.

Physical activity recognition

Android 10 introduces the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION runtime permission for apps that need to detect the user's step count or classify the user's physical activity, such as walking, biking, or moving in a vehicle. This is designed to give users visibility of how device sensor data is used in Settings.
Some libraries within Google Play services, such as the Activity Recognition API and the Google Fit API, don't provide results unless the user has granted your app this permission.
The only built-in sensors on the device that require you to declare this permission are the step counter and step detector sensors.
If your app targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the system auto-grants the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission to your app, as needed, if your app satisfies each of the following conditions:

  • The manifest file includes the com.google.android.gms.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission.
  • The manifest file doesn't include the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission.

If the system-auto grants the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission, your app retains the permission after you update your app to target Android 10. However, the user can revoke this permission at any time in system settings.

/proc/net filesystem restrictions

On devices that run Android 10 or higher, apps cannot access /proc/net, which includes information about a device's network state. Apps that need access to this information, such as VPNs, should use the NetworkStatsManager or ConnectivityManager class.

Permission groups removed from UI

As of Android 10, apps cannot look up how permissions are grouped in the UI.

Removal of contacts affinity

Starting in Android 10, the platform doesn't keep track of contacts affinity information. As a result, if your app conducts a search on the user's contacts, the results aren't ordered by frequency of interaction.
The guide about ContactsProvider contains a notice describing the specific fields and methods that are obsolete on all devices starting in Android 10.

Restricted access to screen contents

To protect users' screen contents, Android 10 prevents silent access to the device's screen contents by changing the scope of the READ_FRAME_BUFFER, CAPTURE_VIDEO_OUTPUT, and CAPTURE_SECURE_VIDEO_OUTPUT permissions. As of Android 10, these permissions are signature-access only.
Apps that need to access the device's screen contents should use the MediaProjection API, which displays a prompt asking the user to provide consent.

USB device serial number

If your app targets Android 10 or higher, your app cannot read the serial number until the user has granted your app permission to access the USB device or accessory.
To learn more about working with USB devices, see the guide on how to configure USB hosts.

Wi-Fi

Apps targeting Android 10 or higher cannot enable or disable Wi-Fi. The WifiManager.setWifiEnabled() method always returns false.
If you need to prompt users to enable and disable Wi-Fi, use a settings panel.

Restrictions on direct access to configured Wi-Fi networks

To protect user privacy, manual configuration of the list of Wi-Fi networks is restricted to system apps and device policy controllers (DPCs). A given DPC can be either the device owner or the profile owner.
If your app targets Android 10 or higher, and it isn't a system app or a DPC, then the following methods don't return useful data:

Android 9

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. For a list of some of the major security enhancements available in Android 9, see the Android Release Notes.

Android 8

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十种用于保护用户的安全增强功能。以下是 Android 8.0 中提供的一些主要安全增强功能：

  • 加密：在工作资料中增加了对撤销密钥 (evict key) 的支持。
  • 验证启动：增加了 Android 启动时验证 (AVB)。支持回滚保护（用于引导加载程序）的启动时验证代码库已添加到 AOSP 中。建议提供引导加载程序支持，以便为 HLOS 提供回滚保护。建议将引导加载程序设为只能由用户通过实际操作设备来解锁。
  • 锁定屏幕：增加了对使用防篡改硬件验证锁定屏幕凭据的支持。
  • KeyStore：搭载 Android 8.0 及更高版本的所有设备都需要进行密钥认证。增加了 ID 认证支持，以改进零触摸注册计划。
  • 沙盒：使用 Treble 计划的框架和设备特定组件之间的标准接口更紧密地对许多组件进行沙盒化处理。将 seccomp 过滤应用到了所有不信任的应用，以减少内核的攻击面。WebView 现在运行在一个独立的进程中，对系统其余部分的访问非常有限。
  • 内核加固：实现了经过安全强化的 usercopy、PAN 模拟、初始化后变为只读以及 KASLR。
  • 用户空间安全强化：为媒体堆栈实现了 CFI。 应用叠加层不能再遮盖系统关键窗口，并且用户可以关闭这些叠加层。
  • 操作系统流式更新：在磁盘空间不足的设备上启用了更新。
  • 安装未知应用：用户必须授予权限，系统才能从不是第一方应用商店的来源安装应用。
  • 隐私权：对于设备上的每个应用和使用设备的每个用户，Android ID (SSAID) 都采用不同的值。对于网络浏览器应用，Widevine 客户端 ID 会针对每个应用软件包名称和网络来源返回不同的值。 net.hostname 现在为空，并且 DHCP 客户端不再发送主机名。android.os.Build.SERIAL 已被替换为 Build.SERIAL API（受到用户控制权限的保护）。改进了某些芯片组中的 MAC 地址随机分配功能。

Android 7

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十项用于保护用户的安全增强功能。以下是 Android 7.0 中提供的一些主要安全增强功能：

  • 文件级加密：在文件级进行加密，而不是将整个存储区域作为单个单元进行加密。这种加密方式可以更好地隔离和保护设备上的不同用户和资料（例如个人资料和工作资料）。
  • 直接启动：通过文件级加密实现，允许特定应用（例如，闹钟和无障碍功能）在设备已开机但未解锁的情况下运行。
  • 验证启动：现在，验证启动会被严格强制执行，从而使遭到入侵的设备无法启动；验证启动支持纠错功能，有助于更可靠地防范非恶意数据损坏。
  • SELinux。更新后的 SELinux 配置和更高的 Seccomp 覆盖率有助于进一步锁定应用沙盒并减小受攻击面。
  • 库加载顺序随机化和改进的 ASLR。 增大随机性降低了某些代码重用攻击的有效性。
  • 内核加固：通过将内核内存的各个分区标记为只读，限制内核对用户空间地址的访问，并进一步减小现有的受攻击面，为更高版本的内核添加额外的内存保护。
  • APK 签名方案 v2：引入了一种全文件签名方案，该方案有助于加快验证速度并增强完整性保证。
  • 可信 CA 存储区。为了使应用更容易控制对其安全网络流量的访问，对于 API 级别为 24 及以上的应用，由用户安装的证书颁发机构以及通过 Device Admin API 安装的证书颁发机构在默认情况下不再受信任。此外，所有新的 Android 设备必须搭载相同的可信 CA 存储区。
  • 网络安全配置。通过声明式配置文件来配置网络安全设置和传输层安全协议 (TLS)。

Android 6

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. Here are some of the major security enhancements available in Android 6.0:

  • Runtime Permissions. Apps request permissions at runtime instead of being granted at App install time. Users can toggle permissions on and off for both M and pre-M apps.
  • Verified Boot. A set of cryptographic checks of system software are conducted prior to execution to ensure the phone is healthy from the bootloader all the way up to the operating system.
  • Hardware-Isolated Security. New Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) used by Fingerprint API, Lockscreen, Device Encryption, and Client Certificates to protect keys against kernel compromise and/or local physical attacks
  • Fingerprints. Devices can now be unlocked with just a touch. Developers can also take advantage of new APIs to use fingerprints to lock and unlock encryption keys.
  • SD Card Adoption. Removable media can be adopted to a device and expand available storage for app local data, photos, videos, etc., but still be protected by block-level encryption.
  • Clear Text Traffic. Developers can use a new StrictMode to make sure their app doesn't use cleartext.
  • System Hardening. Hardening of the system via policies enforced by SELinux. This offers better isolation between users, IOCTL filtering, reduce threat of exposed services, further tightening of SELinux domains, and extremely limited /proc access.
  • USB Access Control: Users must confirm to allow USB access to files, storage, or other functionality on the phone. Default is now charge only with access to storage requiring explicit approval from the user.

Android 5

5.0

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. Here are some of the major security enhancements available in Android 5.0:

  • Encrypted by default. On devices that ship with L out-of-the-box, full disk encryption is enabled by default to improve protection of data on lost or stolen devices. Devices that update to L can be encrypted in Settings > Security .
  • Improved full disk encryption. The user password is protected against brute-force attacks using scrypt and, where available, the key is bound to the hardware keystore to prevent off-device attacks. As always, the Android screen lock secret and the device encryption key are not sent off the device or exposed to any application.
  • Android sandbox reinforced with SELinux . Android now requires SELinux in enforcing mode for all domains. SELinux is a mandatory access control (MAC) system in the Linux kernel used to augment the existing discretionary access control (DAC) security model. This new layer provides additional protection against potential security vulnerabilities.
  • Smart Lock. Android now includes trustlets that provide more flexibility for unlocking devices. For example, trustlets can allow devices to be unlocked automatically when close to another trusted device (through NFC, Bluetooth) or being used by someone with a trusted face.
  • Multi user, restricted profile, and guest modes for phones and tablets. Android now provides for multiple users on phones and includes a guest mode that can be used to provide easy temporary access to your device without granting access to your data and apps.
  • Updates to WebView without OTA. WebView can now be updated independent of the framework and without a system OTA. This allows for faster response to potential security issues in WebView.
  • Updated cryptography for HTTPS and TLS/SSL. TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.1 is now enabled, Forward Secrecy is now preferred, AES-GCM is now enabled, and weak cipher suites (MD5, 3DES, and export cipher suites) are now disabled. See https://developer.android.com/reference/javax/net/ssl/SSLSocket.html for more details.
  • non-PIE linker support removed. Android now requires all dynamically linked executables to support PIE (position-independent executables). This enhances Android's address space layout randomization (ASLR) implementation.
  • FORTIFY_SOURCE improvements. The following libc functions now implement FORTIFY_SOURCE protections: stpcpy(), stpncpy(), read(), recvfrom(), FD_CLR(), FD_SET(), and FD_ISSET(). This provides protection against memory-corruption vulnerabilities involving those functions.
  • Security Fixes. Android 5.0 also includes fixes for Android-specific vulnerabilities. Information about these vulnerabilities has been provided to Open Handset Alliance members, and fixes are available in Android Open Source Project. To improve security, some devices with earlier versions of Android may also include these fixes.

Android 4 及更低版本

每个 Android 版本中都包含数十项用于保护用户的安全增强功能。以下是 Android 4.4 中提供的一些安全增强功能：

  • 通过 SELinux 得到增强的 Android 沙盒。 Android 现在以强制模式使用 SELinux。SELinux 是 Linux 内核中的强制访问控制 (MAC) 系统，用于增强基于自主访问控制 (DAC) 的现有安全模型。 这为防范潜在的安全漏洞提供了额外的保护屏障。
  • 按用户应用 VPN。 在多用户设备上，现在按用户应用 VPN。 这样一来，用户就可以通过一个 VPN 路由所有网络流量，而不会影响使用同一设备的其他用户。
  • AndroidKeyStore 中的 ECDSA 提供程序支持。 Android 现在有一个允许使用 ECDSA 和 DSA 算法的密钥库提供程序。
  • 设备监测警告。 如果有任何可能允许监测加密网络流量的证书添加到设备证书库中，Android 都会向用户发出警告。
  • FORTIFY_SOURCE。 Android 现在支持 FORTIFY_SOURCE 第 2 级，并且所有代码在编译时都会受到这些保护。FORTIFY_SOURCE 已得到增强，能够与 Clang 配合使用。
  • 证书锁定。 Android 4.4 能够检测安全的 SSL/TLS 通信中是否使用了欺诈性 Google 证书，并且能够阻止这种行为。
  • 安全修复程序。 Android 4.4 中还包含针对 Android 特有漏洞的修复程序。 有关这些漏洞的信息已提供给“开放手机联盟”(Open Handset Alliance) 成员，并且 Android 开源项目中提供了相应的修复程序。为了提高安全性，搭载更低版本 Android 的某些设备可能也会包含这些修复程序。

Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. The following are some of the security enhancements available in Android 4.3:

  • Android sandbox reinforced with SELinux. This release strengthens the Android sandbox using the SELinux mandatory access control system (MAC) in the Linux kernel. SELinux reinforcement is invisible to users and developers, and adds robustness to the existing Android security model while maintaining compatibility with existing apps. To ensure continued compatibility this release allows the use of SELinux in a permissive mode. This mode logs any policy violations, but will not break apps or affect system behavior.
  • No setuid or setgid programs. Added support for filesystem capabilities to Android system files and removed all setuid or setgid programs. This reduces root attack surface and the likelihood of potential security vulnerabilities.
  • ADB authentication. Starting in Android 4.2.2, connections to ADB are authenticated with an RSA keypair. This prevents unauthorized use of ADB where the attacker has physical access to a device.
  • Restrict Setuid from Android Apps. The /system partition is now mounted nosuid for zygote-spawned processes, preventing Android apps from executing setuid programs. This reduces root attack surface and the likelihood of potential security vulnerabilities.
  • Capability bounding. Android zygote and ADB now use prctl(PR_CAPBSET_DROP) to drop unnecessary capabilities prior to executing apps. This prevents Android apps and apps launched from the shell from acquiring privileged capabilities.
  • AndroidKeyStore Provider. Android now has a keystore provider that allows apps to create exclusive use keys. This provides apps with an API to create or store private keys that cannot be used by other apps.
  • KeyChain isBoundKeyAlgorithm. Keychain API now provides a method (isBoundKeyType) that allows apps to confirm that system-wide keys are bound to a hardware root of trust for the device. This provides a place to create or store private keys that can't be exported off the device, even in the event of a root compromise.
  • NO_NEW_PRIVS. Android zygote now uses prctl(PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS) to block addition of new privileges prior to execution app code. This prevents Android apps from performing operations that can elevate privileges through execve. (This requires Linux kernel version 3.5 or greater).
  • FORTIFY_SOURCE enhancements. Enabled FORTIFY_SOURCE on Android x86 and MIPS and fortified strchr(), strrchr(), strlen(), and umask() calls. This can detect potential memory corruption vulnerabilities or unterminated string constants.
  • Relocation protections. Enabled read only relocations (relro) for statically linked executables and removed all text relocations in Android code. This provides defense in depth against potential memory corruption vulnerabilities.
  • Improved EntropyMixer. EntropyMixer now writes entropy at shutdown or reboot, in addition to periodic mixing. This allows retention of all entropy generated while devices are powered on, and is especially useful for devices that are rebooted immediately after provisioning.
  • Security fixes. Android 4.3 also includes fixes for Android-specific vulnerabilities. Information about these vulnerabilities has been provided to Open Handset Alliance members and fixes are available in Android Open Source Project. To improve security, some devices with earlier versions of Android may also include these fixes.

Android provides a multi-layered security model described in the Android Security Overview. Each update to Android includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. The following are some of the security enhancements introduced in Android 4.2:

  • App verification: Users can choose to enable Verify Apps and have apps screened by an app verifier, prior to installation. App verification can alert the user if they try to install an app that might be harmful; if an app is especially bad, it can block installation.
  • More control of premium SMS: Android provides a notification if an app attempts to send SMS to a short code that uses premium services that might cause additional charges. The user can choose whether to allow the app to send the message or block it.
  • Always-on VPN: VPN can be configured so that apps won't have access to the network until a VPN connection is established. This prevents apps from sending data across other networks.
  • Certificate pinning: The Android core libraries now support certificate pinning. Pinned domains receive a certificate validation failure if the certificate doesn't chain to a set of expected certificates. This protects against possible compromise of certificate authorities.
  • Improved display of Android permissions: Permissions are organized into groups that are more easily understood by users. During review of the permissions, the user can click on the permission to see more detailed information about the permission.
  • installd hardening: The installd daemon does not run as the root user, reducing potential attack surface for root privilege escalation.
  • init script hardening: init scripts now apply O_NOFOLLOW semantics to prevent symlink related attacks.
  • FORTIFY_SOURCE: Android now implements FORTIFY_SOURCE. This is used by system libraries and apps to prevent memory corruption.
  • ContentProvider default configuration: Apps that target API level 17 have export set to false by default for each Content Provider, reducing default attack surface for apps.
  • Cryptography: Modified the default implementations of SecureRandom and Cipher.RSA to use OpenSSL. Added SSL Socket support for TLSv1.1 and TLSv1.2 using OpenSSL 1.0.1
  • Security fixes: Upgraded open source libraries with security fixes include WebKit, libpng, OpenSSL, and LibXML. Android 4.2 also includes fixes for Android-specific vulnerabilities. Information about these vulnerabilities has been provided to Open Handset Alliance members and fixes are available in Android Open Source Project. To improve security, some devices with earlier versions of Android may also include these fixes.

Android provides a multi-layered security model described in the Android Security Overview. Each update to Android includes dozens of security enhancements to protect users. The following are some of the security enhancements introduced in Android versions 1.5 through 4.1:

Android 1.5
  • ProPolice to prevent stack buffer overruns (-fstack-protector)
  • safe_iop to reduce integer overflows
  • Extensions to OpenBSD dlmalloc to prevent double free() vulnerabilities and to prevent chunk consolidation attacks. Chunk consolidation attacks are a common way to exploit heap corruption.
  • OpenBSD calloc to prevent integer overflows during memory allocation
Android 2.3
  • Format string vulnerability protections (-Wformat-security -Werror=format-security)
  • Hardware-based No eXecute (NX) to prevent code execution on the stack and heap
  • Linux mmap_min_addr to mitigate null pointer dereference privilege escalation (further enhanced in Android 4.1)
Android 4.0
Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) to randomize key locations in memory
Android 4.1
  • PIE (Position Independent Executable) support
  • Read-only relocations / immediate binding (-Wl,-z,relro -Wl,-z,now)
  • dmesg_restrict enabled (avoid leaking kernel addresses)
  • kptr_restrict enabled (avoid leaking kernel addresses)