How to Build Root Detection, Protect Android Apps

Last updated January 1, 2024 by Appdome

Learn to Detect rooting in Android apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

What is rooting?

Rooting is the process of unlocking the Android OS to gain administrative control (aka: root privileges) over the entire device, OS and file system. Rooting is a form of privilege escalation. Hackers use Rooting to attain privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems. As Android uses the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access to administrative (superuser) permissions as on Linux or any other UNIX-like operating system.

Why Detect Rooting in Android Apps?

Rooting is a very powerful operation, which should only be used by developers or pen testers during the development and testing stages. In any other circumstances rooting gives the user capabilities that can put the entire device at risk. For example, users can download apps from any app store, regardless of the store’s security and legal status, damage the entire OS to the point of rendering it unusable, and download malware. At the hands of highly skilled and sophisticated users rooting can help gaining unauthorized access to mobile apps.

Prerequisites for Using Root Detection:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect rooting , you’ll need:

Detect rooting on Android apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Detect rooting without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.

    1. Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System

    2. Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
    3. Android Formats: .apk or .aab
    4. Root Detection Compatible With: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps
  2. Build the feature: Root Detection.

    1. Building Root Detection by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Root Detection feature as shown below:
      2. fusion set that contains Root Detection

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Root Detection feature
        Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      3. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Root Detection feature via Appdome Console, to add the Root Detection feature to this Fusion Set.

      4. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set, as shown in Figure 1 above, and get the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      5. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Cirlce CI or other system:
        1. Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
    2. Building the Root Detection feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Root Detection protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > OS Integrity section.
      2. When you select the Root Detection you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Root Detection

        Fusion Set applied Root Detection

        Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Root Detection protection

      3. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Root Detection:
        1. Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense

          If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Detect rooting.

        2. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects application is running on rooted device 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 Root Detection Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

        3. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against rooting (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence 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 Root Detection Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

      4. Optional Configuration with Root Detection:
        1. SELinux Enforcement

          Prevent user from running your application on devices with no SELinux enforcement.

      5. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
    Congratulations!  The Root Detection protection is now added to the mobile app

Using Threat-Events™ for rooting Intelligence and Control in Android Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when rooting is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for rooting in Android Apps, use registerReceiver in the Application OnCreate, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for rooting shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for rooting are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect rooting Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Root Detection
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 Detecting rooting Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME RootedDevice
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6901
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
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
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occured event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
carrierName Carrier name of the current device
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location long
locationLat Location lat
locationState Location state
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status
internalError Internal error code as hex
extendedMessageText Internal error code
rInternalErrorCode Internal error code
reason Reason for the root detection

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Android developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Android applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when rooting is detected.

The following is a code sample for native Android apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Root Detection:


Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Android Apps by using Root Detection. 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 Root Detection

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:

Related Articles:

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.

Want a Demo?

Jailbreak & Root Detection

AlanWe're here to help
We'll get back to you in 24 hours to schedule your demo.