Version 6.6.1 (August 2024)
- 14 Nov 2024
- 4 Minutes to read
- DarkLight
Version 6.6.1 (August 2024)
- Updated on 14 Nov 2024
- 4 Minutes to read
- DarkLight
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Introduction
Welcome to Mobile Application Shielding 6.6.1!
The OneSpan Customer Portal only accepts connections via TLS 1.2 or later. Earlier versions are no longer supported because all versions of the TLS protocol prior to 1.2 have been deprecated.
This is a release of Mobile Application Shielding, which contains enhancements and other product updates. For more information about new features and fixed defects, refer to the respective chapters in this document.
For information about configuring and using Mobile Application Shielding, see Mobile Application Shielding Integration Guide.
On the OneSpan Customer Portal, the last 12 versions of Mobile Application Shielding are available for download. To maintain protection against the latest mobile threats, ensure to update Mobile Application Shielding to the latest version!
Supported platform versions
App Shielding version 6.6.1 was successfully tested with Android 15.
Android 5.0 (API level 21) – Android 15.
Shielding Tool:
Windows 10: 64-bit Java 17
Mac OSX (10.9+)
Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS
The App Shielding Gradle plugin version 2.0 and later is supported.
The App Shielding Gradle plugin 2.0 supports Android App Bundles and newer Android build versions.
The plugin and documentation can be downloaded from:
Android platform updates
The Android minimum supported version is 5.0 (API level 21). This version of App Shielding supports Android 15.
As of March 1, 2024, App Shielding for Android version 4.3.11.78273 and earlier are no longer supported. For more information, refer to the OneSpan Customer Portal at https://cp.onespan.com/.
Deprecations
Platform minimum supported versions
Android 4.4 (API levels 19 and 20) are no longer supported by App Shielding. The new minimum supported version is Android Lollipop 5.0 (API level 21).
Android Native Development Kit (NDK)
Google has announced that Android Native Development Kit (NDK) (r26) will no longer support KitKat (API levels 19 and 20). The minimum version supported by the NDK for r26 will be Lollipop (API level 21).
App Shielding switches to NDK r26 after its release as LTS version.
Deprecated methods
The CallbackManager.setExtendedObserver(observer) and CallbackManager.removeObserver() methods have been deprecated and will be removed in one of the upcoming versions of App Shielding. Instead of these, use
CallbackManager.addObserver(observer)
CallbackManager.removeObserver(observer)
New features and other updates
New API: SecureEditText Field
App Shielding now offers a secure text input API to protect sensitive text input against key loggers. Every time the user should provide sensitive text input, App Shielding will determine if the keyboard is trusted or not.
For more information and details how to integrate this new API, see Secure EditText Field API.
Fixes and other changes
False positive root detection
Description: App Shielding incorrectly detected a BlackBerry Motion device to be rooted, although in fact it was not rooted.
Status: This issue has been fixed.
Known limitations
The limitations described here have not yet been solved for the current Mobile Application Shielding version. Possible workarounds are described where available.
Bypassing App Shielding protection in Cordova-based applications
Description: Because of the nature of pure Javascript frameworks such as Cordova, the effectiveness of the push and pull bindings of App Shielding is affected. As a result, it might be possible to extract all Javascript files from a shielded application and build a new Cordova-based application with the extracted Javascript files. That new application will behave identical to the original one but has two major differences:
It is not longer protected with App Shielding.
It is signed with a different developer certificate.
Because this new application is signed with a different developer certificate, it is recognized by the stores or every device as a completely different and new application in comparison to the original shielded application. It cannot be avoided that a new application like this is built that looks and behaves similar to the original application.
OneSpan risk assessment: Threat actors will need to make heavy use of targeted phishing attacks to convince users of the original application to install the rogue version. For attackers, however, it is much easier to use existing malware frameworks that mimic hundreds of login screens in one single piece of malware. In addition, the existence of any rogue versions of the application does not affect the security features of the original shielded application. Everyone who is using the genuine, shielded application is protected with all the features of App Shielding, including all security measures of the original application. Therefore, we consider this issue to be of low risk.
NFC payment failure in shielded apps with Thales Gemalto SDK
Description: When using the shielded version of the app, NFC payments fail. This is caused by a compatibility issue with the Thales Gemalto TSH Pay SDK which also provides debugger detection. The SDK incorrectly flags the App Shielding debugger detection as a native debugger.
Solution: Allowlisting. For implementations integrating both the Thales Gemalto SDK and App Shielding, debuggers coming from the SDK's own debugging processes and sub-processes should be added to an allowlist within theThales Gemalto SDK.
It is essential to not only add the processes to the allowlist but also their sub-processes. Otherwise, the SDK will still handle App Shielding as a native debugger!
Magisk and root hider tools on new Android versions
Root hider tools such as Magisk Hide are designed to hide the fact that the device is compromised (rooted). Android has been increasingly restricted in what can be inspected and observed of the system from inside an app. This means that a rooted system with a root hider tool can be hard to detect due to missing privileges.
On Android 8+, App Shielding may not able to reliably detect a rooted device with Magisk Hide depending on the version of these tools.
Android App Bundles
The OneSpan Customer Portal support for Android App Bundles does not yet include instant-enabled app bundles.
SecureEditText in-app keyboard
The SecureEditText in-app keyboard has focus problems on dialog windows on tablet devices.
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