check if android apk has root commands in it

Question

I want to find out whether an android app is capable of executing root commands. (I am Not talking about detecting whether the device is rooted or not, rather focusing on the app itself)

Its a reverse engineering issue, some apps even on the playstore, like titanium backup offers more features when run on rooted devices. I want to detect apps like titanium backup — Besufekad, Jul 17 '14 at 14:28

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 17 '14 at 12:30

You would want to check its permissions, which are visible when you attempt to install from google store, if i remember correctly.

Here is a list: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission.html

Just look at the manifest file, AndroidManifest.xml, and it will tell you what the app can do with the uses-permission tag. If there are no permissions to do it, Google/Android will not allow it to make said calls..

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:05

No, typical Android app is not capable of executing root commands.

Typically (without FACTORY_TEST permission in AndroidManifest.xml), Android app is run without root privileges. Running as a root would be too dangerous, imagine that downloaded app could do everything - for example wiping your data...

If you want to see what the app is doing (check if it tries to executes some commands or not) you can decompile APK.

check if android apk has root commands in it

2 Answers2