How to Secure Mobile Apps with Pin to Host Identity Using AI
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Use Pin to Host Identity in Mobile apps.
What is Pin to Host Identity?
Pin to Host Identity secures communication between the protected mobile application and trusted backend services by validating the identity of the server during TLS establishment. By ensuring that connections are established only with trusted hosts whose identities match the configured pinning policy, Pin to Host Identity helps prevent Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks and unauthorized server impersonation.
How Appdome Protects Mobile Apps with Pin to Host Identity
Appdome’s Pin to Host Identity validates the configured server identity using the selected pinning strategy before establishing secure communication. Connections that fail the configured pinning validation are rejected, preventing communication with unauthorized or impersonated servers.
By validating server identity before any protected communication occurs, Pin to Host Identity helps prevent Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks while ensuring that mobile applications communicate only with trusted backend services. The selected pinning strategy determines whether validation is performed against the server’s public key, leaf certificate, or trusted Root Certificate Authority.
When Packet Filtering Authorization and the appropriate MobileBOT™ Defense payload options are enabled, Appdome can provide additional server certificate metadata—including certificate Common Names (CNs), issuers, and SHA1 fingerprints—to backend services or Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) for logging and policy enforcement.
Supported Pinning Schemes
Pin to Host Identity supports multiple certificate pinning strategies, allowing organizations to choose the approach that best matches their security and operational requirements.
Public Key (SPKI) Pinning (Recommended)
Pins the server’s public key rather than the entire certificate. This is the recommended approach because certificates can be renewed without requiring an application update, provided the same public/private key pair is retained.
Leaf Certificate Pinning
Pins the complete leaf certificate presented by the server. This provides the strictest validation but requires the application to be updated whenever the server certificate is renewed or replaced.
Root CA Pinning
Pins the trusted Root Certificate Authority instead of the leaf certificate. Leaf certificates may be renewed without requiring an application update, provided they continue to chain to the same trusted Root Certificate Authority. Using a different Root Certificate Authority requires updating the pinning configuration to avoid breaking secure connections.
Choosing the Appropriate Pinning Strategy
- Public Key (SPKI) Pinning is the recommended approach for most deployments because it provides strong security while allowing seamless certificate renewals without application updates.
- Leaf Certificate Pinning is recommended for highly controlled environments where maximum certificate validation is required. Be aware that every certificate renewal requires updating the application.
- Root CA Pinning is recommended when operational flexibility is preferred over maximum strictness. Leaf certificates may be renewed without requiring an application update, provided they continue to chain to the same trusted Root Certificate Authority. Using a different Root Certificate Authority requires updating the pinning configuration to avoid breaking secure connections.
Protected Host Configuration
Pin to Host Identity is applied only to connections matching the configured Protected Host. Configure the Protected Host by specifying the hostname or backend API endpoint that should be protected.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Pin to Host Identity Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Use Pin to Host Identity , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Pin to Host Identity
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
How to Implement Use Pin to Host Identity in Mobile Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Use Pin to Host Identity without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
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Pin to Host Identity is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
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Select the defense: Pin to Host Identity.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Pin to Host Identity feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you select the Pin to Host Identity you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Pin to Host Identity.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Pin to Host Identity protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary
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Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Pin to Host Identity feature as shown below:
Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Pin to Host Identity feature
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Add the Pin to Host Identity feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > API & Bot Protection tab > MobileBOT™ Defense section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle On > Pin to Host Identity.
(a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Pin to Host Identity as shown below.
(b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XTM.
Figure 4: Selecting Use Pin to Host Identity
Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB. -
Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Pin to Host Identity:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend user and app by enforcing Pin to Host Identity.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects the Certificate Pinning has failed and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Use Pin to Host Identity Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Pin to Host Identity (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Use Pin to Host Identity Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Configure the User Experience Options for Pin to Host Identity:
With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.- App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.
- Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.
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Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.
Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Pin to Host Identity
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Pin to Host Identity Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI to generate a unique code each time Pin to Host Identity is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.
- Optional Configuration with Pin to Host Identity:
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Congratulations! The Pin to Host Identity protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Pin to Host Identity feature in Mobile Apps
After building Pin to Host Identity, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Pin to Host Identity protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Pin to Host Identity protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 6: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Pin to Host Identity has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Pin to Host Identity and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Threat-Events™ for Pin to Host Identity Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Pin to Host Identity is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Pin to Host Identity in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Pin to Host Identity shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Pin to Host Identity are:
| Threat-Event™ Elements | Use Pin to Host Identity Method Detail |
|---|---|
| Appdome Feature Name | Pin to Host Identity |
| Threat-Event Mode | |
| OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
| ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
| ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
| Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | |
| Visible in ThreatScope™ | |
| Developer Parameters for Using Pin to Host Identity Threat-Event™ | |
| Threat-Event NAME | MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed |
| Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
| Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
| Threat-Event REF | 6801 |
| Threat-Event SCORE | |
| currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
| threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
| Threat-Event Context Keys | |
|---|---|
| Timestamp | The exact time the threat event was triggered, recorded in milliseconds since epoch |
| message | Message displayed for the user on event |
| externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
| osVersion | OS version of the current device |
| deviceModel | Current device model |
| deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
| fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
| kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
| carrierPlmn | PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices. |
| deviceID | Current device ID |
| reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
| deviceBrand | Brand of the device |
| deviceBoard | Board of the device |
| buildUser | Build user |
| buildHost | Build host |
| sdkVersion | Sdk version |
| threatCode | The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device. |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Pin to Host Identity is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Pin to Host Identity:
Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.
xxxxxxxxxxIntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();intentFilter.addAction("MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed");BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() { public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }};if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED);} else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter);}xxxxxxxxxxval intentFilter = IntentFilter()intentFilter.addAction("MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed")val threatEventReceiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() { override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) { var message = intent?.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user var reasonData = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore") // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore") // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>") // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }}if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)} else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter)}x
let center = NotificationCenter.defaultcenter.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else { return } let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code // Current threat event score let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}xxxxxxxxxx[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) { __block NSNotification *note = org_note; dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) { // Message shown to the user NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"]; // Threat detection cause NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"]; // Event reason code NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"]; // Current threat event score NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });}];xxxxxxxxxxconst { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) { NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action); aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);}export function registerToAllEvents() { registerToDevEvent( "MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed", (userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo)) var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"] // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"] // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"] // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) );}x
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed")); class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver{ public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { // Message shown to the user String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message"); // Threat detection cause String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData"); // Event reason code String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }}x
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver( (NSString)"MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed", // Threat-Event Identifier delegate (NSNotification notification) { // Message shown to the user var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message"); // Threat detection cause var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData"); // Event reason code var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });xxxxxxxxxxwindow.broadcaster.addEventListener("MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed", function(userInfo) { var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys> // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)});x
import 'dart:async';import 'package:flutter/material.dart';import 'package:flutter/services.dart';class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget { const PlatformChannel({super.key}); State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();}class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> { // Replace with your EventChannel name static const String _eventChannelName = "MobileBotDefensePinToHostIdentityCertificatePinningFailed"; static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName); void initState() { super.initState(); _eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError); } void _onEvent(Object? event) { setState(() { // Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure var eventData = event as Map; // Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event var externalID = eventData['externalID']; // Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore']; // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore']; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>']; }); } // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Pin to Host Identity. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Pin to Host Identity
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps.
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores.
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Use Appdome MobileBOT™ Defense
- How to use Packet Filtering Authorization with MobileBOT™ Defense
- How to Use API Protection in Mobile Bot Defense Using AI
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.