ZTE

ZTE Communications ›› 2013, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (1): 62-66.

• Research paper • Previous Articles    

Android Apps: Static Analysis Based on Permission Classification

Zhenjiang Dong1, Hui Ye2, Yan Wu1, Shaoyin Cheng2, and Fan Jiang2   

  1. 1. ZTE Corporation, Nanjing 210012, China;
    2. Information Technology Security Evaluation Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
  • Received:2012-10-16 Online:2013-03-25 Published:2013-03-25
  • About author:Zhenjiang Dong (dong.zhenjiang@zte.com.cn) received his Master’s degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1996. His research interests include switches, intelligent networks, business platform development, data-service platform development, and architecture design. He is currently the assistant dean of ZTE Communication Business Institute and leads the Business Technology Group of the ZTE Committee of Experts. He is a member of CCF and a committee member of CCF TCSC. He is a senior research scientist in the fields of business network architecture, communication technology and protocols, mobile internet technology, and cloud computing. He has authored several articles and patents.

    Hui Ye (yehui11@mail.ustc.edu.cn) is pursuing his MS degree at the University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include software security and mobile phone terminal security.

    Yan Wu (wu.yan2@zte.com.cn) received her BS degree in computer science from Southeast University in 2002. She is currently a pre-research engineer in ZTE Communication Business Institute. Her research interests include intelligence network, architecture design, and business standards. She has authored several patents.

    Shaoyin Cheng (sycheng@ustc.edu.cn) is a lecturer in the Department of Information Security, University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include network and system security, and protocol analysis and testing.

    Fan Jiang (fjiang@ustc.edu.cn) is a professor in the School of Computer Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include computer network, protocol and software testing, and information security.

Android Apps: Static Analysis Based on Permission Classification

Zhenjiang Dong1, Hui Ye2, Yan Wu1, Shaoyin Cheng2, and Fan Jiang2   

  1. 1. ZTE Corporation, Nanjing 210012, China;
    2. Information Technology Security Evaluation Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
  • 作者简介:Zhenjiang Dong (dong.zhenjiang@zte.com.cn) received his Master’s degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1996. His research interests include switches, intelligent networks, business platform development, data-service platform development, and architecture design. He is currently the assistant dean of ZTE Communication Business Institute and leads the Business Technology Group of the ZTE Committee of Experts. He is a member of CCF and a committee member of CCF TCSC. He is a senior research scientist in the fields of business network architecture, communication technology and protocols, mobile internet technology, and cloud computing. He has authored several articles and patents.

    Hui Ye (yehui11@mail.ustc.edu.cn) is pursuing his MS degree at the University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include software security and mobile phone terminal security.

    Yan Wu (wu.yan2@zte.com.cn) received her BS degree in computer science from Southeast University in 2002. She is currently a pre-research engineer in ZTE Communication Business Institute. Her research interests include intelligence network, architecture design, and business standards. She has authored several patents.

    Shaoyin Cheng (sycheng@ustc.edu.cn) is a lecturer in the Department of Information Security, University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include network and system security, and protocol analysis and testing.

    Fan Jiang (fjiang@ustc.edu.cn) is a professor in the School of Computer Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China. His research interests include computer network, protocol and software testing, and information security.

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Abstract: Android has a strict permission management mechanism. Any applications that try to run on the Android system need to obtain permission. In this paper, we propose an efficient method of detecting malicious applications in the Android system. First, hundreds of permissions are classified into different groups. The application programming interfaces (APIs) associated with permissions that can interact with the outside environment are called sink functions. The APIs associated with other permissions are called taint functions. e construct association tables for block variables and function variables of each application. Malicious applications can then be detected by using the static taint-propagation method to analyze these tables.

Key words: malware, software analysis, static analysis, Android

摘要： Android has a strict permission management mechanism. Any applications that try to run on the Android system need to obtain permission. In this paper, we propose an efficient method of detecting malicious applications in the Android system. First, hundreds of permissions are classified into different groups. The application programming interfaces (APIs) associated with permissions that can interact with the outside environment are called sink functions. The APIs associated with other permissions are called taint functions. e construct association tables for block variables and function variables of each application. Malicious applications can then be detected by using the static taint-propagation method to analyze these tables.

关键词: malware, software analysis, static analysis, Android