Default behaviors of cryptographic libraries used in Android systems often do not use recommended practices. For example, the predominant Android Java security provider API defaults to using an insecure AES encryption method: ECB block cipher mode for AES encryption (see DRD-017). Extensive app testing by [Egele 2013] has shown that the following 6 rules are often not followed, resulting in 88% of apps with cryptographic APIs on Google Play making at least one mistake.
Six common cryptography rules they tested:
- Do not use ECB mode for encryption.
- Do not use a non-random IV for CBC encryption.
- Do not use constant encryption keys.
- Do not use constant salts for PBE.
- Do not use fewer than 1,000 iterations for PBE.
- Do not use static seeds to seed
SecureRandom(·).
Noncompliant Code Example
This noncompliant code example shows an application that ..., and hence not secure.
Compliant Solution
In this compliant solution ...
Risk Assessment
If an insecure encryption method is used, then the encryption does not assure privacy, integrity, and authentication of the data.
Rule | Severity | Likelihood | Remediation Cost | Priority | Level |
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DRD17-J |
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Automated Detection
Automatic detection of ...
Bibliography
| [Egele 2013] | |
| CERT Android-Only Secure Coding Rules and Guidelines | DRD17-J. Do not use the Android cryptographic security provider encryption default for AES |