Abstract
In this paper, we detail why the stack smashing protector (SSP), one of the most effective techniques to mitigate stack buffer overflow attacks, fails to protect the Android operating system and thus causes a false sense of security that affects all Android devices. We detail weaknesses of existing SSP implementations, revealing that current SSP is not secure. We propose SSPFA, the first effective and practical SSP for Android devices. SSPFA provides security against stack buffer overflows without changing the underlying architecture. SSPFA has been implemented and tested on several real devices showing that it is not intrusive, and it is binary-compatible with Android applications. Extensive empirical validation has been carried out over the proposed solution.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 519-532 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | International Journal of Information Security |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 22 Jan 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 Aug 2019 |
Keywords
- Android
- Buffer overflow
- Defenses
- Mobile devices
- Security
- Stack smashing protector