Mobile Pentesting - L1
Mobile penetration testing (pentesting) is the process of assessing the security of mobile applications and devices by simulating real-world attacks. It identifies vulnerabilities in app code, APIs, data storage, and network communications. Pentesters use static and dynamic analysis, reverse engineering, and exploitation techniques to uncover security flaws. The goal is to strengthen app security, prevent data breaches.
• Background: On February 22, 2025, "FitCorp," a controversial fitness tech conglomerate, releases "FitTrack Pro" (package: com.fitcorp.fittrackpro, APK: fittrackpro.apk), an Android app marketed as a revolutionary employee wellness tool. It tracks steps, heart rate, sleep patterns, and other metrics via wearables, integrating with corporate wellness systems to monitor workforce health across global enterprises.
• The Hidden Truth: Jane Doe, a former FitCorp senior developer turned whistleblower, exposes a dark secret on a hacking forum: FitTrack Pro doubles as a corporate espionage tool. Beyond fitness data, it secretly collects sensitive employee information—email contents, calendar schedules, geolocation history, and a hidden CTF flag (FLAG{corporate_steps_exposed})—transmitting it to FitCorp’s shady partners under the pretext of "analytics."
• Security Nightmare: Rushed by profit-obsessed executives to meet an impossible deadline, FitCorp’s developers left FitTrack Pro riddled with vulnerabilities. It features an exposed Content Provider leaking data, a Broadcast Receiver broadcasting secrets, an unsecured HTTP service open to interception, a SQLite database with poorly encrypted flags, a SharedPreferences file with lax permissions, a WebView exposing an admin panel with weak safeguards, and fragile anti-tampering checks in an obfuscated native library (libfitcorp.so).
• The Insider Edge: Jane hints at a hidden debug mode (triggered by Intent com.fitcorp.fittrackpro.DEBUG) that bypasses some protections, but warns of a decoy flag to mislead pentesters. The app’s sloppy design makes it a prime target for Android-specific exploits, from static analysis to runtime manipulation.
• The Pentesting Mission: You’re a pentester in a high-stakes, 48-hour CTF hosted by "HackShield," a rival cybersecurity firm aiming to dismantle FitCorp’s reputation. Your goal is to master Android app pentesting—both theory and practice—exploit FitTrack Pro’s flaws, navigate the decoy, and extract the real FLAG{corporate_steps_exposed} to expose FitCorp’s espionage scheme, racing against top hackers worldwide before FitCorp’s legal team shuts it down.