/analyzing-android-malware-with-apktool

name: analyzing-android-malware-with-apktool
description: Perform static analysis of Android APK malware using apktool for resource decompilation, jadx for Java source recovery, and androguard for manifest inspection, dangerous permission-combination detection, and identification of obfuscated code, dynamic code loading, and reflection-based API calls. Use to statically triage a suspicious APK without executing it or to build mobile malware detection rules.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: malware-analysis
tags:
- Android
- APK
- apktool
- jadx
- androguard
- mobile-malware
- static-analysis
- reverse-engineering
version: '1.0'
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
nist_csf:
- DE.AE-02
- RS.AN-03
- ID.RA-01
- DE.CM-01
mitre_attack:
- T1406
- T1407
- T1626.001
- T1655.001
- T1521.001

Analyzing Android Malware with Apktool

Overview

Android malware distributed as APK files can be statically analyzed to extract permissions, activities, services, broadcast receivers, and suspicious API calls without executing the sample. This skill uses androguard for programmatic APK analysis, identifying dangerous permission combinations, obfuscated code patterns, dynamic code loading, reflection-based API calls, and network communication indicators.

When to Use

• When investigating security incidents that require analyzing android malware with apktool
• When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
• When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
• When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+ with `androguard`
• apktool (for resource decompilation)
• jadx (for Java source recovery, optional)
• Isolated analysis environment (VM or sandbox)
• Sample APK files for analysis

Steps

1. Parse APK with androguard to extract manifest metadata 2. Enumerate requested permissions and flag dangerous combinations 3. List activities, services, receivers, and providers from manifest 4. Scan for suspicious API calls (reflection, crypto, SMS, telephony) 5. Detect dynamic code loading patterns (DexClassLoader, Runtime.exec) 6. Extract hardcoded URLs, IPs, and C2 indicators from strings 7. Generate risk assessment report with MITRE ATT&CK mobile mappings

Expected Output

• JSON report with permission analysis, component listing, suspicious API calls, network indicators, and risk score
• Extracted strings and potential IOCs from the APK