Database Develop

[Q] Reviewing Android Security - MUST be root?

So as a little side project I've tasked myself to review the security features and potential risks to data being stored within the Android OS and I've been using my Captivate as the test rat. Since pretty much everyone with an android device uses Gmail I wanted to focus first on the Gmail app. I know that information for many apps are stored under the /data/data/[app package]/databases directory structure in an SQL Lite *.db file.
That being said, I wanted to inquire with everyone here about being able to access the /data/data directory and all info there-in WITHOUT having to root the device. Im sure there might be some on that but Im just trying to be thorough in my review...any potential thief would obviously just instantly root and delve right in afterward the data but what other potential ways are there to get into that directory, if there are any?
I've been playing around with ADB and from what I can tell that is not a viable path. The only thing I could think of is somehow tricking the ADB daemon into thinking my phone is a development phone which would allow ADB to run as root but haven't found that to be possible.
So in any case, just looking for insight from the more experienced folk as to other avenues of attack against the user data beyond the obvious root method. Thanks very much for any help!

You can run adb shell as root if the phone is in clockworkmod recovery - but if someones going to the trouble of dropping a clockwork update.zip could just as well and as easy drop a root update.zip on the phone.
If someone physically gets a hold of your phone anything tied the google account/s on the phone would have to be considered compromised - as these phones are so easy to root anyway.

I just thought of another thing, if someone were to get a hold of your phone and have access to a computer with odin they could pretty quickly do a system dump (grab every file off your phone) return where you could find it without you ever knowing they got it.

dayv said:
I just thought of another thing, if someone were to get a hold of your phone and have access to a computer with odin they could pretty quickly do a system dump (grab every file off your phone) return where you could find it without you ever knowing they got it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you dont need odin. adb will do it too

Pirateghost said:
you dont need odin. adb will do it too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you do a system dump in adb without root?

dayv said:
Can you do a system dump in adb without root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes
adb pull /system

Pirateghost said:
yes
adb pull /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Learn new things every day.
I like this phone allot, but there just is no way to secure it against someone physically gets their hands on it.

Pirateghost said:
yes
adb pull /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep thats actually very easy to do however it doesn't contain any critical private data really. I looked through the directories and while there is some interesting information that can be gleaned (e.g. the generic APN configs and other hardware information) there isn't any actual private stuff such as Gmail data, authentication info for apps, etc. That is all contained within the /data/data directory from what I understand.
You CAN get a list of all the packages on the device through /SYSTEM as well as all the APK's of the installed apps but otherwise not much I've found to be worrisome.
I'll have to check out Odin and see what that can offer from a non-root perspective.

Pirateghost said:
yes
adb pull /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, that is why you don't leave USB debug on all the time - and why there is a warning when you do turn it on.
PIN or pattern lock keep prying eyes out, and protect your phone from ADB, but not if you leave USB debug on. But, like other hardware, if someone has physical access and enough time, they can get to your data.

So now that Im rooted, is there an easy way to write up a script to copy all files in the /data/data and whatever other folders I decide onto my PC?

[Q] Backup EFS

Hi,
I am using a Captivate thats running 2.2 Froyo.
It is locked and NOT rooted. I have also not changed the settings to install non-market apps.
Before starting with the rooting process, I want to backup/take a copy of the efs files on my computer or SD card. Can you please guide me on how can I do that?
Thanks in advance
Cheers !

I actually have no clue, so anyone else who wants to chime in is appreciated. I don't think you have to backup your efs, and it shouldn't really get touched. But it never hurts to be safe, so i congratulate you on taking precautions
Well i believe you have to be rooted first to get access to /efs. And if you have busybox you would run a command like "cp /efs /sdcard/backup/efs".
Actually i still have a copy of EFS backup.zip for CWM, if you want that. You have to be rooted and use Rom Manager to get Clockwork Mod Recovery.

I am not a very technical person so I do not understand what a busybox does or what you meant by CWM and ROM manager.
Can I root my phone using http://shortfuse.org/?page_id=2 (SuperOneClick 1.9.5) ?
Is it safe to use that software?

Use Root Explorer from Android Market or this thread may help you
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859914

thanks... but root explorer is not a free app right?
plus i would have to root my phone to install root explorer right?

iamjinay said:
thanks... but root explorer is not a free app right?
plus i would have to root my phone to install root explorer right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root Explorer is only around $5 and if you're going to start flashing/modding your phone, it's almost a necessary buy. WELL worth the small ammount of $$ for it. Easiest way I have found to root the phone is to use shortfuze's SuperOneClick. Search for it... you'll find it. and then read a whole lot more before really doing any major changes.
EFS backup is important. If your IMEI gets messed up for any reason, your backup wil save you.

iamjinay said:
thanks... but root explorer is not a free app right?
plus i would have to root my phone to install root explorer right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct on both counts. If you intend to start flashing custom ROMs, just buy root explorer. It's a great app and you'll use it all the time.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

my question is... I will have to root the phone before copying my efs files right?
is there anyway of doing it before rooting? so incase i mess up while rooting then I am safe

I believe there is. I am not sure though as I didnt use an unrooted phone since i bought my captivate.
you need to use adb. You have to download Android Develpment Kit and install it then install one package called platform tools.
Take a look here for some details.
The you have to make a dir, navigate to it from command prompt and execute
Code:
adb pull /efs
Thats should copy all /efs partition to the folder you navigate in command prompt.

Thanks all
@Cezar: Can you please explain me in layman language... i am not too technical.
I have installed android sdk and know what command prompt is.
Can you give me the commands I have to type in command prompt (after connecting the phone) in detail.

As others have said you will need to be rooted to get access to /efs (to copy it).
Rooting your phone just adds three files, it doesn't touch efs so youll be fine.
You will want to backup efs before flashing roms and stuff though.

I recommend you one thing. Root and use SGS tools or Nitrality to backup EFS

[Q] Another root ?

Fellas, I come to here, humble and contribed. I, as all others, have the dreaded gps bug. I know there are a few posts concerning it, however, those are starting to get confusing to me. I ask for some simple instructions as to simply root my device, and procedure to replacing the files that are to make it functional again. No debloating, flashing of ROMs, or etc. DL links would be nice too.
Phone specs:
At&t n900a
4.3 stock
baseband n900aucubnb4
build number jss15j.n900aucubnb4
Have rooted other samsung devices, so not totally an idiot...
Any help will be much appreciated

Kingo
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

zinupe14 said:
Kingo
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As well as other posts to many threads here, someone posts partial answers, or simply something they read. Thanks . People wonder why they brick their devices....SMH

You asked how to root p. Kingo app is as simple as it gets. And it doesn't trip your Knox counter. If you want 4.4.2 then I would suggest downloading the urdroid rom and following the detailed instructions. I'm running the stock kitkat rom rooted with no Knox counter trip. Not trying to be a prick but the kingo root method was as simple as pi
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

I'm not interested in kitkat, honestly, I dont care about custom ROMs. I just need to root, and the procedure for replacing the gps files that are to make the AT&T GN3 gps actually work. And possibly stop the updates.

if you're on the latest nb4 baseband than you'll need to google Kingo v.1.15 and find a download of that version. if you're still on mj5 than just google kingo app, download and install to a windows pc. open the app and follow the instructions. its easy. kingo should install the correct drivers. kingo doesn't always succeed the first time. if that's the case try again until kingo says success. once done update su superuser app via google play and restart your phone. now you have root. i don't have gps problems so hopefully someone else can help you with. good luck. sry i can't post any download links but if you use google you should have no problems

Honestly I'd just wait if I were you....
Rogers and tellus note 3 have gotten kitkat the s4 has gotten kitkat for att in looking for kitkat in the next few weeks to month.
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app

Would some explain how to "flash" the gps files to fix the friggen thing. I have root with kingo, and downloaded the gpsfix from drakeymcmb, but 2 folders are extracted and only one is told what to do with, as well as how to change permissions for the files...thanks in advance

crazysgt said:
Would some explain how to "flash" the gps files to fix the friggen thing. I have root with kingo, and downloaded the gpsfix rom drakeymcmb, but 2 folders are extracted and only one is told what to do with, as well as how to change permissions for the files...thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ignore the meta folder. You're not "flashing" these files, you're copying them to your phone's system folder. Open the zip and open the system folder, then open the etc folder. Now copy the gps.conf file to your phone's system/etc directory. Now go back to the gpsfix.zip and open system then open lib. Copy the 3 libloc files to your phone's system/lib directory. Go back to the zip. Open system, open lib, open hw. Now copy the 2 GPS files to the phones system/lib/hw directory. Change each files properties to rw-r-r(Fix permissions). Now reboot. Warning if you don't know what you are doing i don't recommend doing this as messing with system files can lead to very expensive paperweight

The Basilisk said:
Ignore the meta folder. You're not "flashing" these files, you're copying them to your phone's system folder. Open the zip and open the system folder, then open the etc folder. Now copy the gps.conf file to your phone's system/etc directory. Now go back to the gpsfix.zip and open system then open lib. Copy the 3 libloc files to your phone's system/lib directory. Go back to the zip. Open system, open lib, open hw. Now copy the 2 GPS files to the phones system/lib/hw directory. Change each files properties to rw-r-r(Fix permissions). Now reboot. Warning if you don't know what you are doing i don't recommend doing this as messing with system files can lead to very expensive paperweight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! This is what I needed, I understand the risks, but also know the reward is a functioning gps, the meta folder and how to change the permissions is what was holding me back.

So on permissions, just rw, r,r no execute on any right? Now how to disable att updates? Thank goodness for yall smart fellas

crazysgt said:
So on permissions, just rw, r,r no execute on any right? Now how to disable att updates? Thank goodness for yall smart fellas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sry for the late reply. Owner=read write, group=read, other=read. No execute

To disable AT&T updates, freeze the at&t update app. (Sorry, I can't get the name right now, I'm on a ROM that had it removed, but it's at&t <something to do with updates>, with little red and green lines on the icon.) Link2SD or TiB will freeze it.

One more quick ?, When I open Super SU, a popup appears, Samsung KNOX has been detected. This might limit root capabilities and cause annoying popups. Try to disable KNOX? I have always cancelled the popup. Is that correct? or should I ok it? Again, thanks guys for all the help. I used my gps without fail all weekend long. Not a single problem, gps or phone wise. Wonder if I was to unroot using Kingo app, and leave the gps patch alone, if it would still get OTA?

[Q] Android 4.4.2 - ADB - Shell Commands - Root

Hi All,
Since I am getting nowhere and no replies for my questions, I am going to rephrase them differently here so hopefully someone can jump in and give me a helping hand... (and please forgive if I seem to bombard the forums with questions).
My Note 3 SM-N900A, build KOT49H.N900AUCUCNC2, running 4.4.2. It is having issues with permissions that effectively block the phone from seeing any SD Card, USB, and internal memory space. It won't access any remote resources like internet or Google Play...either
Issues arose after I changed platform.xml. I since then unrooted the phone and uninstalled SuperSU. I can see that these 3 changes were reckless on my part, that I just put the phone into a very bad state that made it very very difficult to recover. I am still banging my head for the blunders but obviously that didn't help fix the phone. :crying:
I would like to know if there is a way to gain access to the phone's system area again to fix the permission issues. Can I use ADB Shell along with USB debugging? If yes, what are the commands I need? Can I somehow send towelroot and SuperSU to the phone via Odin and execute them? The reason I ask this is that I have no way to access any storage area on the phone, and there is no way to go online to download apps. Or can I put the phone into service mode by typing in the *# numbers on the keypad and hopefully fix it there?
Thank you

At this point I'm not even sure if adb would be able to access your memory card to push TowelRoot to it. You might be best off restoring using the stock Odin files, lick your wounds, start over and chalk it up as a learning experience.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703006
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®

OK, Something Positive
andygev35 said:
At this point I'm not even sure if adb would be able to access your memory card to push TowelRoot to it. You might be best off restoring using the stock Odin files, lick your wounds, start over and chalk it up as a learning experience.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703006
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, thanks for replying. I was really worrying about that too.
However, I just installed ADT on my PC and connected to the phone via USB debugging. Using the adb shell ls command, I could see the entire directory structure. I was able to get to the system folder too.
I pulled the platform.xml back and attached to this message. Could you or someone please take a look and let me know if anything is wrong in the file? I made very small changes and reverted them. So it should be same as original, but I am not so sure. Also do you know if the encoding of the file is wrong so that Android couldn't read it?
At this point, it appears all is NOT lost. I just need some of your experts to guide me thru the commands needed to regain the access to my SD card or storage from the phone.
Now, let me bring in another point: Prior to having all this snafu, I granted ES File Explorer root access so that I could overwrite the platform.xml file. I don't know if doing that messed up the system. If it did, what would be the most straight forward way, simplest way to try to get back to normal? Provided now adb seems to be able to access the files and directory.
I know I could try install towelroot again, but would like to see if I can bring the system back to normal operation first.
Thanks

I may be wrong, but adb being able to see and pull system files is one thing. To get adb to actually modify system files, you'd need to be able to give adb root access. You may however be able to download the TowelRoot apk to your computer, put it in the same directory as adb, then in the command prompt type "adb push towelroot.apk /data/app/" (without quotes). Reboot and see if TowelRoot installed.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®

vbcomer said:
Ah, thanks for replying. I was really worrying about that too.
However, I just installed ADT on my PC and connected to the phone via USB debugging. Using the adb shell ls command, I could see the entire directory structure. I was able to get to the system folder too.
I pulled the platform.xml back and attached to this message. Could you or someone please take a look and let me know if anything is wrong in the file? I made very small changes and reverted them. So it should be same as original, but I am not so sure. Also do you know if the encoding of the file is wrong so that Android couldn't read it?
At this point, it appears all is NOT lost. I just need some of your experts to guide me thru the commands needed to regain the access to my SD card or storage from the phone.
Now, let me bring in another point: Prior to having all this snafu, I granted ES File Explorer root access so that I could overwrite the platform.xml file. I don't know if doing that messed up the system. If it did, what would be the most straight forward way, simplest way to try to get back to normal? Provided now adb seems to be able to access the files and directory.
I know I could try install towelroot again, but would like to see if I can bring the system back to normal operation first.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the original stock platform.xml if it helps you.

andygev35 said:
I may be wrong, but adb being able to see and pull system files is one thing. To get adb to actually modify system files, you'd need to be able to give adb root access. You may however be able to download the TowelRoot apk to your computer, put it in the same directory as adb, then in the command prompt type "adb push towelroot.apk /data/app/" (without quotes). Reboot and see if TowelRoot installed.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: instead of using adb push, use "adb install towelroot.apk" (if that's the actual package name). Go through the rooting process, download the ES File Explorer apk to your computer install it using adb. Hopefully if all that works, you'll be able to check and fix any permissions that got messed up with your platform.xml. It should be rw-r-r.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®

A Step Forward
andygev35 said:
I may be wrong, but adb being able to see and pull system files is one thing. To get adb to actually modify system files, you'd need to be able to give adb root access. You may however be able to download the TowelRoot apk to your computer, put it in the same directory as adb, then in the command prompt type "adb push towelroot.apk /data/app/" (without quotes). Reboot and see if TowelRoot installed.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. You are right. adb doesn't have write access yet.
I tried this and got success:
C:\AndroidDev\sdk\platform-tools>adb install tr.apk
1767 KB/s (113099 bytes in 0.062s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/tr.apk
Success
What should I do next? Does it mean the tr.apk has been installed?
Thanks
Update: I saw the Towelroot app in the App Drawer, but after clicking on it and choosing "make it ralr", I got message "Unfortunately, towelroot has stopped."

vbcomer said:
OK. You are right. adb doesn't have write access yet.
I tried this and got success:
C:\AndroidDev\sdk\platform-tools>adb install tr.apk
1767 KB/s (113099 bytes in 0.062s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/tr.apk
Success
What should I do next? Does it mean the tr.apk has been installed?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds as though towelroot is now installed. Go to your app drawer and run it.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®

andygev35 said:
Sounds as though towelroot is now installed. Go to your app drawer and run it.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it is installed in the App drawer, but running it gave me error "Unfortunately, towelroot has stopped.".
I went ahead and install both ES File Explorer and SuperUser packages. From ES FE, I could look at the /system/ect/permissions/platform.xml and could see that it had a different date, its date is older, 3/15/2014. I think it came with the N900AUCUCNC2 that I flashed with Odin yesterday.
So, it appears the permission come from a different place or source, I would like to know where Android actually sees the permissions. You know, how did it think that it needed to lock down read/write access to storage areas while the /system folder has been replaced.
Thanks

vbcomer said:
Yeah, it is installed in the App drawer, but running it gave me error "Unfortunately, towelroot has stopped.".
I went ahead and install both ES File Explorer and SuperUser packages. From ES FE, I could look at the /system/ect/permissions/platform.xml and could see that it had a different date, its date is older, 3/15/2014. I think it came with the N900AUCUCNC2 that I flashed with Odin yesterday.
So, it appears the permission come from a different place or source, I would like to know where Android actually sees the permissions. You know, how did it think that it needed to lock down read/write access to storage areas while the /system folder has been replaced.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm at the limit of my experience here... Did you do the all in one restore or the 4 file restore?
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®

andygev35 said:
I'm at the limit of my experience here... Did you do the all in one restore or the 4 file restore?
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk®
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for hanging in and helping, you don't know how much I appreciate your time!
I did the all in one first. That didn't help. Then I did it again with the re-partition with PIT file. But that didn't help either. I didn't try the 4 files individually for fear of losing data.

vbcomer said:
Thanks for hanging in and helping, you don't know how much I appreciate your time!
I did the all in one first. That didn't help. Then I did it again with the re-partition with PIT file. But that didn't help either. I didn't try the 4 files individually for fear of losing data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you've just about done everything you can do without a complete Odin reinstall and reformat. If adb pull is working for you I suggest pulling the folders you want to save and doing the complete 4 file install with the PIT file as well.
Someone more experienced than I may be able to get you back up without losing your but tbh with the amount of troubleshooting you've done already I think a full Odin reinstall is your best option and will prevent any issues that could stem from this further down the line.
The only thing I can think of with towelroot is that it needs internet access to run were you connected to wifi when you ran it? It's probably not that simple but figured it couldn't hurt to try!

brisinger08 said:
I think you've just about done everything you can do without a complete Odin reinstall and reformat. If adb pull is working for you I suggest pulling the folders you want to save and doing the complete 4 file install with the PIT file as well.
Someone more experienced than I may be able to get you back up without losing your but tbh with the amount of troubleshooting you've done already I think a full Odin reinstall is your best option and will prevent any issues that could stem from this further down the line.
The only thing I can think of with towelroot is that it needs internet access to run were you connected to wifi when you ran it? It's probably not that simple but figured it couldn't hurt to try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
Thanks for replying. I am kind of afraid I will have to go down that route, but at the same time trying not to if I could.
One of the other reasons I didn't try the 4 files was because I thought the all-in-one, as its name suggested, would be equivalent to those 4 files.
Is there a way to pull the SMS, MMS, call logs from the phone via adb? Do you know where those records are kept?
Thanks

vbcomer said:
Hi there,
Thanks for replying. I am kind of afraid I will have to go down that route, but at the same time trying not to if I could.
One of the other reasons I didn't try the 4 files was because I thought the all-in-one, as its name suggested, would be equivalent to those 4 files.
Is there a way to pull the SMS, MMS, call logs from the phone via adb? Do you know where those records are kept?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The all-in-one file is the same as the 4 files, the only difference is installing it doesn't wipe the internal storage.
Have you tried running adb backup? That would be a heck of a lot easier than pulling a bunch of folders...if that doesn't work the databases are in /data/data
Calls: /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts
SMS and MMS: data/data/com.android.providers.telephony

Is there is any shell command to long tap

Edit hosts file via adb

Hello.
I connect to phone using adb shell. Is there anyway to edit hosts file?
I would like manually add some line (from adaway source).
The bootloader is locked, phone is not rooted and I don't want to root it.
So is there anyway to mount /system as rw and edit the hosts file?
Thanks in advance !

No, the host file is system integrated and not writable as normal user, even with adb.
You need to be rooted or use an AdBlock App from PlayStore.

Ok, thanks.
pp
There were some forum thread, were was explain how to remove system apps via abd, without rooting the device. Can you help me find it?

I think you mean this: https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/

It was somewhere in huawei forum.
I can't remember P or Mate series.
I think that could work.
btw
Can uninstalled apps be restored?

Yes it was also in the Huawei form, but it used the same approach. I believe the 'removed' apps can be restored by a factory reset.