- Platform: Android
- Weakness: MASWE-0020
- Weakness in the numbering of the MASWE beta: MASWE-0044
- Profiles: L2 (advanced security)
- Type: static, code
- APIs:
BiometricPrompt,BiometricPrompt.CryptoObject,authenticate - Knowledge: MASTG-KNOW-0001, MASTG-KNOW-0043, MASTG-KNOW-0047, MASTG-KNOW-0012
- Best practices: MASTG-BEST-0036
Overview
This test checks if the app implements event-bound biometric authentication (MASTG-KNOW-0001) to access sensitive resources (e.g., tokens, keys), where authentication success relies solely on a callback result rather than being cryptographically bound to sensitive operations and requiring user presence.
On Android, BiometricPrompt.authenticate() can be called with a CryptoObject) or without a CryptoObject). When used without a CryptoObject the app relies on the onAuthenticationSucceeded) callback to determine if authentication was successful (event-bound). This makes it susceptible to logic manipulation by overwriting the callback without successfully passing the biometric verification.
In contrast, when a CryptoObject is used (crypto-bound), the app passes a cryptographic object (e.g., Cipher, Signature, Mac) that requires user authentication. This ensures authentication is not just a one-time boolean, but part of a secure data retrieval path (out-of-process), so bypassing authentication becomes significantly harder.
Steps
- Use MASTG-TECH-0013 to reverse engineer the app.
- Use MASTG-TECH-0014 to look for the relevant APIs.
Observation
The output should include a list of locations where the relevant APIs are used.
Evaluation
The test case fails for each sensitive operation worth protecting if all of the following applies:
BiometricPrompt.authenticateis used without aCryptoObject).- There are no calls to key generation with
setUserAuthenticationRequired(true)in conjunction with biometric authentication, as by default, the key is authorized to be used regardless of whether the user has been authenticated or not.
Ticket collegati
| Tipo di collegamento | Ticket |
|---|---|
| is related to | MASTG-BEST-0036 Use Cryptographic Binding for Biometric Authentication (Android) |
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