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Android Reversing with Frida for Examiners
Authors:M. WilliamsonC. Atha
  • Android Reversing for Examiners
  • Setting Up
    • Prerequisites
    • Our Target: Private Photo Vault
  • Lab
    • [1] Lab setup and initial app exploration
      • [1.1] Upload frida-server to the emulator or device and run using nohup
      • [1.2] Review files in the app data directory
    • [2] Perform static analysis to locate some functions of interest
    • [3] Deploy method hooks using frida REPL
    • [4a] Moar Static Analysis
    • [4b] Cast a wide net with DBI
    • [4c] PIN bruteforce
      • [4c.1] PIN bruteforce (in depth)
  • Bonus Labs
  • Ready for more?
  • Frida-tools Reference
    • Installation & Common Flags
    • frida
    • frida-ps
    • frida-trace
  • Other Processes Reference
    • Extracting an APK specimen from the device
    • Troubleshooting frida connectivity
  • What's Next
    • Recommended Toolkits and Scripts
    • Additional Resources / Questions
  • Contact Us
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On this page
  • Install and configure the Photo Vault app
  • Launch the Photo Vault app

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  1. Lab

[1] Lab setup and initial app exploration

Initial exploratory steps including booting up emulator, launching our target app,

PreviousOur Target: Private Photo VaultNext[1.1] Upload frida-server to the emulator or device and run using nohup

Last updated 5 years ago

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First things first, boot up your Android Emulator of choice. Please also ensure you have root and have ADB connectivity.

Install and configure the Photo Vault app

Steps are shown in this video:

The method of installing an APK varies from emulator to emulator:

  • Some emulators allow you to drag-and-drop APK files directly from the host to commence installation.

  • Others, you will need to use adb to push or sideload. If you push, you can open them with File Manager.

  • You can also choose to download directly from the Google Play store if your emulator supports it.

Once installed, launch the app. You will be immediately be prompted to set a PIN.

Enter and confirm a PIN. Now you need to import media or use the virtual camera (if available) to capture some data for testing purposes.

Click on the Main Album and press on the plus button. If your emulator supports it, you can use the Camera app to take a photo in a virtual room.

Great, you now have some test data to work with for our lab.

Launch the Photo Vault app

To launch the app, click and hold the mouse in the bottom-center area of the emulator screen, then drag your cursor upward to reveal the app menu which includes installed applications.

Find ‘Photo Vault’ on the list of installed apps and open it.

You will now see the ‘Enter Passcode’ screen, as shown below.

So, when you open the app, the very first thing you are presented with a numeric PIN pad. The correct 4 digit numeric PIN is required to proceed.

Even without programming background, thinking about it logically we might estimate that somewhere in our app's logic, there is probably a function whose sole purpose in life is to check to see whether an inputted PIN is correct or not.

You only need to install Photo Vault if you are starting with your own emulator. If you've imported the lab image, you can skip to .

Launch the Photo Vault App