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Access Notifications

Adversaries may collect data within notifications sent by the operating system or other applications. Notifications may contain sensitive data such as one-time authentication codes sent over SMS, email, or other mediums. In the case of Credential Access, adversaries may attempt to intercept one-time code sent to the device. Adversaries can also dismiss notifications to prevent the user from noticing that the notification has arrived and can trigger action buttons contained within notifications.[1]

ID: T1517
Sub-techniques:  No sub-techniques
Tactic Type: Post-Adversary Device Access
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Platforms: Android
Version: 1.2
Created: 15 September 2019
Last Modified: 15 March 2023
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Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S1061 AbstractEmu

AbstractEmu can monitor notifications.[2]
S0432 Bread

Bread can collect device notifications.[3]
C0033 C0033

During C0033, PROMETHIUM used StrongPity to collect message notifications from 17 applications.[4]

S1083 Chameleon

Chameleon can register as an SMSBroadcast receiver to monitor incoming SMS messages.[5]
S0425 Corona Updates

Corona Updates can collect messages from GSM, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and Threema by reading the application’s notification content.[6]
S1092 Escobar

Escobar can monitor a device’s notifications.[7]
S1103 FlixOnline

FlixOnline requests access to the NotificationListenerService, which can allow it to manipulate a device's notifications.[8]
S1067 FluBot

FluBot can access app notifications.[9]
S1077 Hornbill

Hornbill has monitored for SMS and WhatsApp notifications.[10]
S0485 Mandrake

Mandrake can capture all device notifications and hide notifications from the user.[11]
S1062 S.O.V.A.

S.O.V.A. can silently intercept and manipulate notifications. S.O.V.A. can also inject cookies via push notifications.[12]
S1055 SharkBot

SharkBot can intercept notifications to send to the C2 server and take advantage of the Direct Reply feature.[13]
S0489 WolfRAT

WolfRAT can receive system notifications.[14]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1013 Application Developer Guidance

Application developers could be encouraged to avoid placing sensitive data in notification text.
M1012 Enterprise Policy

On Android devices with a work profile, the DevicePolicyManager.setPermittedCrossProfileNotificationListeners method can be used to manage the list of applications running within the personal profile that can access notifications generated within the work profile. This policy would not affect notifications generated by the rest of the device. The DevicePolicyManager.setApplicationHidden method can be used to disable notification access for unwanted applications, but this method would also block that entire application from running.[15]

M1011 User Guidance

Users should be wary of granting applications dangerous or privacy-intrusive permissions, such as access to notifications.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component Detects
DS0041 Application Vetting Permissions Requests

Application vetting services can look for applications requesting the BIND_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SERVICE permission in a service declaration.

DS0042 User Interface System Settings

The user can also inspect and modify the list of applications that have notification access through the device settings (e.g. Apps & notification -> Special app access -> Notification access).

References

  1. Lukáš Štefanko. (2019, June 17). Malware sidesteps Google permissions policy with new 2FA bypass technique. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  2. P Shunk, K Balaam. (2021, October 28). Rooting Malware Makes a Comeback: Lookout Discovers Global Campaign. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  3. Hazum, A., Melnykov, B., Wernik, I.. (2020, July 9). New Joker variant hits Google Play with an old trick. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  4. Stefanko, L. (2023, January 10). StrongPity espionage campaign targeting Android users. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  5. Cyble Research & Intelligence Labs. (2023, April 13). Banking Trojan targeting mobile users in Australia and Poland. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  6. T. Bao, J. Lu. (2020, April 14). Coronavirus Update App Leads to Project Spy Android and iOS Spyware. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  7. B. Toulas. (2022, March 12). Android malware Escobar steals your Google Authenticator MFA codes. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  8. Aviran Hazum, Bodgan Melnykov, Israel Wenik. (2021, April 7). New Wormable Android Malware Spreads by Creating Auto-Replies to Messages in WhatsApp. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  1. Crista Giering, F. Naves, Andrew Conway, Adam McNeil . (2021, April 27). FluBot Android Malware Spreading Rapidly Through Europe, May Hit U.S. Soon. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. Apurva Kumar, Kristin Del Rosso. (2021, February 10). Novel Confucius APT Android Spyware Linked to India-Pakistan Conflict. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  3. R. Gevers, M. Tivadar, R. Bleotu, A. M. Barbatei, et al.. (2020, May 14). Uprooting Mandrake: The Story of an Advanced Android Spyware Framework That Went Undetected for 4 Years. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. ThreatFabric. (2021, September 9). S.O.V.A. - A new Android Banking trojan with fowl intentions. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  5. RIFT: Research and Intelligence Fusion Team. (2022, March 3). SharkBot: a “new” generation Android banking Trojan being distributed on Google Play Store. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  6. W. Mercer, P. Rascagneres, V. Ventura. (2020, May 19). The wolf is back... . Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  7. Android. (n.d.). DevicePolicyManager. Retrieved September 15, 2019.