How to Detect Cloak & Dagger Attack

Last updated November 29, 2023 by Appdome

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

What is a Cloak & Dagger Attack?

Cloak & Dagger is a type of Screen Overlay Attack that affects Android devices. A Screen Overlay Attack is an attack technique where part of the application screen is covered by a fake (malicious) screen that the user is tricked into clicking on or interacting with. There are many variations of overlay attacks, but in all overlay attacks the users think they are interacting with a legitimate app or service, but they are in fact interacting with the attacker-controlled overlay screen.

Cloak & Dagger attacks allow a malicious app to completely control the UI feedback loop and take over the device — without giving the user a chance to notice the malicious activity.

How does Appdome Detect Cloak & Dagger Attacks?

When the feature Prevent Accessibility Service Malware is enabled, Appdome detects apps capable of launching a Cloak & Dagger attack on Android 8 and earlier. Upon detection, the app exits and the user is presented with the option to turn off accessibility services.

Prerequisites for Using Detect Cloak & Dagger:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Cloak & Dagger attack , you’ll need:

Detect Cloak & Dagger attack on Android apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Detect Cloak & Dagger attack 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. Detect Cloak & Dagger Compatible With: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps
  2. Build the feature: Detect Cloak & Dagger.

    1. Building Detect Cloak & Dagger by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

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

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect Cloak & Dagger 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 Detect Cloak & Dagger feature via Appdome Console, to add the Detect Cloak & Dagger 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 Detect Cloak & Dagger feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Detect Cloak & Dagger protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Anti Fraud Tab > Mobile Malware Prevention section.
      2. When you enable Prevent Accessibility Service Malware you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect Cloak & Dagger

        Fusion Set applied Detect Cloak & Dagger

        Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect Cloak & Dagger protection

      3. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Detect Cloak & Dagger:
        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 Cloak & Dagger attack.

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

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects a Cloak & Dagger attack 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 Detect Cloak & Dagger Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

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

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Cloak & Dagger attack (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 Detect Cloak & Dagger Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

      4. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
    Congratulations!  The Detect Cloak & Dagger protection is now added to the mobile app

Using Threat-Events™ for Cloak & Dagger attack Intelligence and Control in Android Apps

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

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Cloak & Dagger attack are:

In-App Detection

In-App Defense

{app_display_name} detected an app installed on the device that is associated with malware. To protect you, the app will be closed. You can turn Accessibility Services on/off in Settings

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect Cloak & Dagger attack Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Detect Cloak & Dagger
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 Cloak & Dagger attack Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME CloakAndDaggerCapableAppDetected
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6940
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 longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status

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 Cloak & Dagger attack is detected.

The following is a code sample for native Android apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect Cloak & Dagger:


Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Android Apps by using Detect Cloak & Dagger. 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 Detect Cloak & Dagger

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.

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