How to Prevent MiTM Attacks in iOS Apps

Last updated November 20, 2023 by Appdome

Learn to Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass in iOS apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

What is MiTM and SSL Bypass?

MiTM attacks and malicious proxies are critical attack methods and tools used by hackers to compromise mobile app data in transit. According to OWASP, Mobile MiTM attacks target the connection between a mobile app and the server it connects to. Hackers use many methods to achieve MiTM attacks, including attaching proxies to insecure network or wifi connections, exploiting stale session IDs, phishing, modifying DNS, using fake or forged SSL certificates, and more.

Why Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass in iOS Apps?

Appdome MiTM Prevention ensures that all mobile sessions, connections, and certificates are valid and trusted. Appdome’s malicious proxy protection and Man-in-the-Middle attack protection work by detecting and preventing any intercepted session by an unauthorized or unknown party and redirected to a malicious server or proxy. This protects data in transit and prevents unauthorized access to mobile app data in transit.

Prerequisites for Using Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass , you’ll need:

Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass on iOS apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass 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. iOS Formats: .ipa
    4. Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention Compatible With: Obj-C, C+, Java, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and more
  2. Build the feature: Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention.

    1. Building Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention feature as shown below:
      2. fusion set that contains Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention 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 Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention feature via Appdome Console, to add the Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention 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 Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > Secure Communication section.
      2. When you select the Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention

        Fusion Set applied Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention

        Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention protection

      3. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention:
        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 Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass.

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

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects When MiTM attack is detected 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 Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

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

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against MiTM and SSL Bypass (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 Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

      4. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
    Congratulations!  The Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention protection is now added to the mobile app

Using Threat-Events™ for MiTM and SSL Bypass Intelligence and Control in iOS Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when MiTM and SSL Bypass is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for MiTM and SSL Bypass in iOS Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for MiTM and SSL Bypass shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for MiTM and SSL Bypass are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Prevent MiTM and SSL Bypass Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention
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 Preventing MiTM and SSL Bypass Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME SslCertificateValidationFailed
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6500
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
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
host The host that failed certificate validation
DeveventDetailedErrorMessage Error message
extendedMessageText Extended message
certificateCN Certificate common name
certificateSHA1 Certificate SHA1

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

The following is a code sample for native iOS apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention:


Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention. 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 Secure Communication - iOS MiTM Prevention

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:

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?

MiTM Attack Prevention

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