Protect mobile apps against Increasing Runtime Attacks
Once deployed, mobile applications run on devices you don't control. Attackers can use hooking frameworks, debuggers, code injection, rooted or jailbroken environments, emulators, and runtime manipulation techniques to interfere with how an application behaves.
What Are Runtime Attacks?
Runtime attacks target a mobile application while it is actively executing. Instead of only exploiting weaknesses in source code or modifying an APK/IPA before launch, attackers can manipulate the running application, its memory, execution flow, or device environment.
Runtime code manipulation techniques such as in-memory patching, code injection, injected libraries, and function hooking. These techniques can allow attackers to change application behaviour even when the original app package is correctly signed.
This makes runtime security fundamentally different from pre-release security testing: the threat exists inside the live application environment.
The Mobile Attack Surface Is Getting Harder to Trust
94,000+ Malicious Apps Found
94,000+ malicious apps were detected on enterprise devices in Q1 2025.
43% of Android Devices Contain Sideloading Apps
43% of Android devices in Asia-Pacific (APAC) have sideloading applications (apps downloaded from third party sources outside of Google Play Store), making the issue particularly relevant for mobile-first markets such as India.
200% Higher Malware Exposure
Users who sideload applications were 200% more likely to have malware running on their devices than users who did not sideload apps.
60%+ of iOS Apps Lack Basic Code Protection
More than 60% of iOS apps and up to 34% of Android apps lacked basic code protection, leaving many applications with limited resilience against analysis and manipulation.
Runtime Attacks Can Become Business Risk
A successful runtime compromise can affect the trust organisations place in the application.
For CISOs, CTOs, Heads of Information Security, AppSec, DevSecOps, developers, and fraud teams, this creates a fundamental question:
Can you trust the application only because it was securely released—or can you verify that trust while it is running?
Security Must Continue After the App Is Released
A layered approach to runtime hooking that combines preventive controls such as root detection and device/app attestation; detective controls such as runtime integrity and hooking detection; and responsive controls when manipulation is detected.
For sensitive applications, runtime signals can also be combined with hardware-backed attestation and server-side security verification. Android, for example, supports hardware-backed key attestation to provide stronger evidence that cryptographic keys are stored within supported secure hardware.
No single signal should determine trust.
What Bugsmirror MASST Delivers?
Runtime Threat Detection
Detects runtime threats including root/jailbreak, Frida, Magisk/Zygisk, Xposed/LSPosed, hooking, code injection, debugging, emulator environments, repackaging and application tampering.
Server-Side Trust Validation
Extend runtime trust beyond decisions made inside the application. Trust API Bind enables backend systems to validate runtime security signals before trusting sensitive API requests.
Active Runtime Response
Go beyond detection with configurable mitigation policies. Depending on the threat and security policy, applications can warn users, terminate execution, log detections or allow defined exceptions.
Real-Time Threat Visibility
Understand what is happening across applications, users and devices with ThreatLens. Security teams can investigate runtime events instead of waiting until suspicious activity becomes a larger incident.
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