Publication Type
Conference Proceeding Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
6-2020
Abstract
VoIP is a class of new technologies that deliver voice calls over the packet-switched networks, which surpasses the legacy circuit-switched telecom telephony. Android provides the native support of VoIP, including the recent VoLTE and VoWiFi standards. While prior works have analyzed the weaknesses of VoIP network infrastructure and the privacy concerns of third-party VoIP apps, no efforts were attempted to investigate the (in)security of Android’s VoIP integration at the system level. In this paper, we first demystify Android VoIP’s protocol stack and all its four attack surfaces. We then propose a novel vulnerability assessment approach that assembles on-device Intent/API fuzzing, network-side packet fuzzing, and targeted code auditing. By testing Android from version 7.0 to the recent 9.0, we have discovered 8 zero-day Android VoIP vulnerabilities, all of which were confirmed by Google with bug bounty awards. The security consequences are serious, including denying voice calls, caller ID spoofing, unauthorized call operations, and remote code execution. To mitigate these vulnerabilities and further improve Android VoIP security, we uncover a new root cause that requires developers’ attention during their design and implementation.
Keywords
Android (operating system), Internet telephony, Malware, Network security, Packet switching, Telephone circuits, Voice/data communication systems
Discipline
Information Security
Research Areas
Cybersecurity
Publication
Detection of Intrusions and Malware, and Vulnerability Assessment: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference, DIMVA 2020, Lisbon, Portugal; June 24-26
Volume
12223
First Page
110
Last Page
131
ISBN
9783030526825
Identifier
10.1007/978-3-030-52683-2_6
Publisher
Springer
City or Country
Cham
Embargo Period
5-10-2021
Citation
HE, En; WU, Daoyuan; and DENG, Robert H..
Understanding Android VoIP security: A system-level vulnerability assessment. (2020). Detection of Intrusions and Malware, and Vulnerability Assessment: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference, DIMVA 2020, Lisbon, Portugal; June 24-26. 12223, 110-131.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/5924
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52683-2_6