How to use java language to dynamically debug APK in AndroidStudio? - java

Requirement: I now have a CrackMe.apk without project file and code, I want to modify its code in java language without using smali and to dynamically debug the modified java file. I looked up many ways to dynamically debug the apk on the internet, and the internet is full of debugging using smali language, there is no case of debugging the apk using java language. Now, I am able to modify and run CrackMe.apk, but I don't know how to debug my code dynamically, I would like to ask how to implement dynamic debugging feature?
Steps: I extract the dex file from CrackMe.apk, convert it to classes.jar file, remove the android and androidx packages from the jar file (not removing it will prompt the existence of the same package name after Add As Library).
Then create a new blank project test in AS software, add classes.jar As Library. then create a new class MainActivity.java with the same name in the file path src/main/com.XXX.XXX, modify the code if (this$0. check() == 999) to if (this$0.check() == 3) and compile it. After compiling, overwrite the new MainActivity.class in the path build\intermediates\javac\debug\classes\com.XXX.XXX with the MainActivity.class file of the same name in the old classes.jar, and then convert the classes.jar to classes.dex and replace the old classes.dex, then after signing it, it can be installed and run.
During this process, can I debug the new MainActivity.java file at the AS software breakpoint in the test project path src/main/com.XXX.XXX. The class file generated by the test project is in the test project file path build\ intermediates\javac\debug\classes\com.XXX.XXX in the test project. I want to dynamically debug CrackMe.apk, not test-debug.apk, MainActivity.java has nothing to do with the test project.
ApkLink: CrackMe.apk

Well, there is no direct way to modify an apk dynamically using java. All you can do is instrument the apk using any of instrumentation library which are written in multiple languages like tyscript or JavaScript.
Among these libraries, Frida & Objection are the most famous ones. Frida allows you to change any value, methods, return types of values, any thing loaded in memory.
Good thing is that you dont need to learn smali, you can still use Java libraries to call any function on it.
Sample code in your case will look like
Java.perform(function() {
var object = Java.use('packageName.ActivityName');
object.check.implementation = function() {
return 3;
}
});

Related

Reverse Engineering of an APK

For my master thesis I'm studying and improving the security of an application. The code is obfuscated and my goal now is to see how easily I can exploit the application. However, I'm having some problems; I think I may have found a piece of code that, when removed, will allow me to override some fundamental step of the application logic. As such, I want to recompile the single class that contains that piece of code and replace the one on the application with this new version. I used dex2jar to obtain a jar with all the classes and have already obtained the .java file with the class I want to alter. My exact problem is how I can recompile the file. I already downloaded the Android API jars and I'm using javac with the classpath pointing to the jar having the remaining classes of the application and to the Android API, but I still can't compile as javac complains about some Android literals being ambiguous. Can you please help? Thanks!

Can I run a subset of pure Java code from an Android project via a regular Java main method?

I have some code in an Android project that parses HTML using Jsoup. It doesn't use anything Android specific, they're just static methods that take an InputStream, and return my model classes. The app uses Gradle to build itself in Android Studio.
Is there any way I can create a standard Java main method to do something like load HTML from a local file, run it through my parser, and output a JSON file (using Gson on my model class)? I'm thinking maybe I can add a new sourceSet to Gradle like a jvmCompatible set of classes? I would greatly prefer not to copy my code to a separate project.
EDIT:
I guess I didn't make this clear, but I would like the be able to run this locally on my dev machine from the command line, rather than on an Android device or emulator.
You don't necessarily need to do anything in the build file to set this up; the build file generates Java .class files, and you can feed them to Java directly from the command line. You can add a main method to any class:
package com.example.foo;
class MyClass {
...
public static void main(String [] args) {
...
}
}
The main method will be happily ignored util you invoke it via the Java command line. You can do this by setting your classpath to the intermediate build directory and telling the Java command line which class to start:
java -classpath app/build/intermediates/classes/debug/ com.example.foo.MyClass
where you pass in the path to the build/intermediates/classes/debug directory in your app module's build output, and the fully-qualified name of the class.
Note that if you're running a release build that uses ProGuard, this main method could get stripped out if it's not otherwise referenced in the code.
Make sure you don't access any Android classes or you'll get a runtime error.
As an aside, you might find it worthwhile to separate out your Java-only code into a Java-only module in the build. Among other things, it would let you use JUnit to write nice test cases for the classes within; if you're asking this question because you want to do some testing of your parser, you might find it convenient to do so within the auspices of a unit test.

Compile-time define in java [duplicate]

When I used to write libraries in C/C++ I got into the habit of having a method to return the compile date/time. This was always a compiled into the library so would differentiate builds of the library. I got this by returning a #define in the code:
C++:
#ifdef _BuildDateTime_
char* SomeClass::getBuildDateTime() {
return _BuildDateTime_;
}
#else
char* SomeClass::getBuildDateTime() {
return "Undefined";
}
#endif
Then on the compile I had a '-D_BuildDateTime_=Date' in the build script.
Is there any way to achieve this or similar in Java without needing to remember to edit any files manually or distributing any seperate files.
One suggestion I got from a co-worker was to get the ant file to create a file on the classpath and to package that into the JAR and have it read by the method.
Something like (assuming the file created was called 'DateTime.dat'):
// I know Exceptions and proper open/closing
// of the file are not done. This is just
// to explain the point!
String getBuildDateTime() {
return new BufferedReader(getClass()
.getResourceAsStream("DateTime.dat")).readLine();
}
To my mind that's a hack and could be circumvented/broken by someone having a similarly named file outside the JAR, but on the classpath.
Anyway, my question is whether there is any way to inject a constant into a class at compile time
EDIT
The reason I consider using an externally generated file in the JAR a hack is because this is) a library and will be embedded in client apps. These client apps may define their own classloaders meaning I can't rely on the standard JVM class loading rules.
My personal preference would be to go with using the date from the JAR file as suggested by serg10.
I would favour the standards based approach. Put your version information (along with other useful publisher stuff such as build number, subversion revision number, author, company details, etc) in the jar's Manifest File.
This is a well documented and understood Java specification. Strong tool support exists for creating manifest files (a core Ant task for example, or the maven jar plugin). These can help with setting some of the attributes automatically - I have maven configured to put the jar's maven version number, Subversion revision and timestamp into the manifest for me at build time.
You can read the contents of the manifest at runtime with standard java api calls - something like:
import java.util.jar.*;
...
JarFile myJar = new JarFile("nameOfJar.jar"); // various constructors available
Manifest manifest = myJar.getManifest();
Map<String,Attributes> manifestContents = manifest.getAttributes();
To me, that feels like a more Java standard approach, so will probably prove more easy for subsequent code maintainers to follow.
I remember seeing something similar in an open source project:
class Version... {
public static String tstamp() {
return "#BUILDTIME#";
}
}
in a template file. With Ant's filtering copy you can give this macro a value:
<copy src="templatefile" dst="Version.java" filtering="true">
<filter token="BUILDTIME" value="${build.tstamp}" />
</copy>
use this to create a Version.java source file in your build process, before the compilation step.
AFAIK there is not a way to do this with javac. This can easily be done with Ant -- I would create a first class object called BuildTimestamp.java and generate that file at compile time via an Ant target.
Here's an Ant type that will be helpful.
Unless you want to run your Java source through a C/C++ Preprocessor (which is a BIG NO-NO), use the jar method. There are other ways to get the correct resources out of a jar to make sure someone didn't put a duplicate resource on the classpath. You could also consider using the Jar manifest for this. My project does exactly what you're trying to do (with build dates, revisions, author, etc) using the manifest.
You'll want to use this:
Enumeration<URL> resources = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader().getResources("META-INF/MANIFEST.MF");
This will get you ALL of the manifests on the classpath. You can figure out which jar they can from by parsing the URL.
Personally I'd go for a separate properties file in your jar that you'd load at runtime... The classloader has a defined order for searching for files - I can't remember how it works exactly off hand, but I don't think another file with the same name somewhere on the classpath would be likely to cause issues.
But another way you could do it would be to use Ant to copy your .java files into a different directory before compiling them, filtering in String constants as appropriate. You could use something like:
public String getBuildDateTime() {
return "#BUILD_DATE_TIME#";
}
and write a filter in your Ant file to replace that with a build property.
Perhaps a more Java-style way of indicating your library's version would be to add a version number to the JAR's manifest, as described in the manifest documentation.
One suggestion I got from a co-worker
was to get the ant file to create a
file on the classpath and to package
that into the JAR and have it read by
the method. ... To my mind that's a
hack and could be circumvented/broken
by someone having a similarly named
file outside the JAR, but on the
classpath.
I'm not sure that getting Ant to generate a file is a terribly egregious hack, if it's a hack at all. Why not generate a properties file and use java.util.Properties to handle it?

Eclipse building Android app: How can I create two versions/editions at compile-time?

I'm writing an Android application and would like to create two versions based on the same code -- a free and a premium version. I have one codebase for both versions with various run-time checks to enable or disable certain features, e.g.
public class MyAppContext extends Application
{
public static final boolean isPremium = true;
}
// later, in another file....
if (!MyAppContext.isPremium) {
CoolFeatures.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
I'm using the latest dev tools (Eclipse Indigo with Google's ADT 16). Right now I follow a fairly cumbersome process of setting isPremium to true in my source file, exporting the app into an APK, then setting it to false and exporting it a second time into a different APK. This is both annoying and error-prone.
Is there a way to automate this process? That is,
1) Create two different build configurations so that when I export my app, two APK files are generated.
2) Have the build configuration affect the code at compile-time -- for example, setting a static boolean to true or false.
Thanks!
Take your project and change it into a library project. Then create two applications (free, premium) and import the library. Then you can inherit the MyAppContext object and change the isPremium member as needed, maybe by using an additional setPremium() functions.
Watch out, in the manifest XML you have to use the package name of the library project for each activity, service, etc.
Why don't you automate the build with ant. You can use the same target with different parameter (say path to properties file you will read in the java code). You will need to make sure the two apks will be named differently of course, however this is the approach most continuous build tools do it for different environments, which is essentially the same.

Is there any way to define a constant value to Java at compile time

When I used to write libraries in C/C++ I got into the habit of having a method to return the compile date/time. This was always a compiled into the library so would differentiate builds of the library. I got this by returning a #define in the code:
C++:
#ifdef _BuildDateTime_
char* SomeClass::getBuildDateTime() {
return _BuildDateTime_;
}
#else
char* SomeClass::getBuildDateTime() {
return "Undefined";
}
#endif
Then on the compile I had a '-D_BuildDateTime_=Date' in the build script.
Is there any way to achieve this or similar in Java without needing to remember to edit any files manually or distributing any seperate files.
One suggestion I got from a co-worker was to get the ant file to create a file on the classpath and to package that into the JAR and have it read by the method.
Something like (assuming the file created was called 'DateTime.dat'):
// I know Exceptions and proper open/closing
// of the file are not done. This is just
// to explain the point!
String getBuildDateTime() {
return new BufferedReader(getClass()
.getResourceAsStream("DateTime.dat")).readLine();
}
To my mind that's a hack and could be circumvented/broken by someone having a similarly named file outside the JAR, but on the classpath.
Anyway, my question is whether there is any way to inject a constant into a class at compile time
EDIT
The reason I consider using an externally generated file in the JAR a hack is because this is) a library and will be embedded in client apps. These client apps may define their own classloaders meaning I can't rely on the standard JVM class loading rules.
My personal preference would be to go with using the date from the JAR file as suggested by serg10.
I would favour the standards based approach. Put your version information (along with other useful publisher stuff such as build number, subversion revision number, author, company details, etc) in the jar's Manifest File.
This is a well documented and understood Java specification. Strong tool support exists for creating manifest files (a core Ant task for example, or the maven jar plugin). These can help with setting some of the attributes automatically - I have maven configured to put the jar's maven version number, Subversion revision and timestamp into the manifest for me at build time.
You can read the contents of the manifest at runtime with standard java api calls - something like:
import java.util.jar.*;
...
JarFile myJar = new JarFile("nameOfJar.jar"); // various constructors available
Manifest manifest = myJar.getManifest();
Map<String,Attributes> manifestContents = manifest.getAttributes();
To me, that feels like a more Java standard approach, so will probably prove more easy for subsequent code maintainers to follow.
I remember seeing something similar in an open source project:
class Version... {
public static String tstamp() {
return "#BUILDTIME#";
}
}
in a template file. With Ant's filtering copy you can give this macro a value:
<copy src="templatefile" dst="Version.java" filtering="true">
<filter token="BUILDTIME" value="${build.tstamp}" />
</copy>
use this to create a Version.java source file in your build process, before the compilation step.
AFAIK there is not a way to do this with javac. This can easily be done with Ant -- I would create a first class object called BuildTimestamp.java and generate that file at compile time via an Ant target.
Here's an Ant type that will be helpful.
Unless you want to run your Java source through a C/C++ Preprocessor (which is a BIG NO-NO), use the jar method. There are other ways to get the correct resources out of a jar to make sure someone didn't put a duplicate resource on the classpath. You could also consider using the Jar manifest for this. My project does exactly what you're trying to do (with build dates, revisions, author, etc) using the manifest.
You'll want to use this:
Enumeration<URL> resources = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader().getResources("META-INF/MANIFEST.MF");
This will get you ALL of the manifests on the classpath. You can figure out which jar they can from by parsing the URL.
Personally I'd go for a separate properties file in your jar that you'd load at runtime... The classloader has a defined order for searching for files - I can't remember how it works exactly off hand, but I don't think another file with the same name somewhere on the classpath would be likely to cause issues.
But another way you could do it would be to use Ant to copy your .java files into a different directory before compiling them, filtering in String constants as appropriate. You could use something like:
public String getBuildDateTime() {
return "#BUILD_DATE_TIME#";
}
and write a filter in your Ant file to replace that with a build property.
Perhaps a more Java-style way of indicating your library's version would be to add a version number to the JAR's manifest, as described in the manifest documentation.
One suggestion I got from a co-worker
was to get the ant file to create a
file on the classpath and to package
that into the JAR and have it read by
the method. ... To my mind that's a
hack and could be circumvented/broken
by someone having a similarly named
file outside the JAR, but on the
classpath.
I'm not sure that getting Ant to generate a file is a terribly egregious hack, if it's a hack at all. Why not generate a properties file and use java.util.Properties to handle it?

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