Mobile Platform Vulnerability Research

---
name: mobile-platform-vulnerability-research
description: "Use when hunting new vulnerabilities in the latest stable Android or iOS platform and widely deployed OEM components, including zero/one-click parsers, messaging and media services, Binder/XPC IPC, application sandboxes, system services, baseband/connectivity, kernels/drivers, secure services, and mobile browser-to-OS chains."
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
metadata:
  package: unleash-skills
  author: NetVar1337/unleash
  category: re
  upstream: C:\Users\Admin\.agents\skills\mobile-platform-vulnerability-research\SKILL.md
---

> Bundled with Unleash skills pack. Source: C:\Users\Admin\.agents\skills\mobile-platform-vulnerability-research\SKILL.md

# Mobile Platform Vulnerability Research

## Priority Model

Prefer:

1. zero-click network/message/media processing;
2. one-click browser, document, link, or attachment RCE;
3. application/renderer sandbox escape to system service or kernel;
4. cross-app or cross-profile data/authority compromise;
5. baseband, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, or nearby-service compromise;
6. pervasive OEM system components with privileged parsers;
7. secure-world/TEE boundary bugs with practical reachability.

Ordinary app-local bugs and WebView XSS do not qualify without a platform boundary.

## Phase 1: Pin a Current Device Matrix

Record:

- device model/SKU/region and hardware revision;
- latest stable OS build and security patch level;
- bootloader/baseband/modem, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth firmware;
- kernel build/config and vendor modules;
- system component/APEX/Mainline or equivalent independently updated package versions;
- browser/WebView engine version;
- OEM framework and carrier package versions;
- lock state, user/profile setup, enabled radios, and default apps;
- clean reset/flash procedure and image hashes.

Android/AOSP latest is not enough for an OEM-only bug; iOS version alone may not identify modem or WebKit component state. Prove exact shipped bytes.

Completion criterion: target can be reflashed/reset to a hash-identified current stable state.

## Phase 2: Map Automatic and Low-Interaction Inputs

### Remote/ambient

- SMS/MMS/RCS/iMessage-like messaging;
- push notification payloads and attachment previews;
- voice/video calls and signaling;
- image/audio/video/font/document thumbnailing and indexing;
- email/calendar/contact/vCard parsing;
- Wi-Fi management/action frames and provisioning;
- Bluetooth advertisements/profiles, NFC, UWB, nearby sharing;
- baseband control/data messages;
- captive portal and network discovery.

### App-to-system

- Android Binder/AIDL/HIDL and content/provider intents;
- iOS XPC/Mach services, extensions, URL/document handlers;
- media, graphics, camera, codec, accessibility, clipboard, keystore, package/install, backup/restore services;
- shared memory, file descriptors, surfaces, handles, and capability tokens;
- OEM services exposed to ordinary or isolated apps.

For each input record interaction, lock-screen reachability, network proximity, parser process, sandbox, and final privilege.

## Phase 3: Build the Boundary Graph

Trace:

```text
remote bytes or app request
 -> framework decoder/binding
 -> native parser/service
 -> IPC hop/shared object
 -> privileged system/driver/secure service
```

Record:

- caller identity: UID, package, entitlement, sandbox/profile;
- service permission/SELinux/seatbelt checks;
- object/handle ownership and lifecycle;
- deserialization, lengths, offsets, counts, and types;
- async callback/cancellation and process death;
- user/profile/device-unlock state;
- kernel or firmware interface reached.

Completion criterion: every trust transition has an enforcing component and expected invariant.

## Phase 4: Harness by Surface

- parser library harness for media/document/message formats;
- Binder/XPC client generated from interface metadata or runtime introspection;
- compromised-app/isolated-process harness for sandbox boundaries;
- radio protocol simulator or shielded test setup for connectivity;
- emulator/simulator for early triage, then physical current hardware;
- snapshot/reflash automation and tombstone/panic collection;
- differential tests across OEMs or OS releases.

Use sanitizers in source builds where meaningful, but confirm on release binaries. Preserve complete request sequences and device state.

## Phase 5: High-Yield Campaigns

### Zero-click parsers

- incremental/streaming decode and truncation;
- metadata/thumbnail/preview paths differing from full open;
- nested containers and parser handoff;
- huge dimensions/counts and integer conversion;
- hardware codec/GPU driver buffers;
- attachment cleanup and indexing races;
- processing while locked or before first unlock.

### IPC and sandbox escape

- missing caller/entitlement/permission checks;
- identity checked before async work and lost later;
- stale Binder/XPC object after client death;
- shared-memory size/offset mutation;
- file descriptor/handle rights and object-type confusion;
- confused deputy across work/personal profiles;
- isolated process reaching methods intended for trusted system apps;
- service restart and generation-ID reuse.

### Kernel/driver

- ioctl lengths and nested pointers;
- graphics/media/camera/DSP command buffers;
- async completion after close/free;
- mapping and cache coherency;
- integer overflow in allocation versus DMA;
- race across suspend/resume and process death.

### Connectivity/baseband

- negotiation/state downgrade;
- fragment/reassembly and timer state;
- duplicate/reordered control messages;
- malformed capability lists;
- cross-layer length disagreement;
- host/modem shared-memory and diagnostic channels.

## Phase 6: Impact and Chain Analysis

Separate:

- parser process code execution;
- app/renderer sandbox escape;
- system/root/kernel code execution;
- secure-world/key compromise;
- cross-profile/tenant data access;
- persistence and lock-screen/first-unlock implications.

Record mitigations: PAC, MTE, CFI, pointer hardening, hardened allocators, SELinux/seatbelt, seccomp, entitlement checks, kernel isolation, and reboot persistence.

A crash in a privileged media process may still be contained; identify the remaining boundary.

## Phase 7: Stable and Deployment Validation

- retest after monthly patch/Mainline/APEX/WebView updates;
- test clean device, upgraded device, and relevant lock/profile states;
- verify OEM/carrier variants using the affected code;
- establish widespread deployment for OEM-only components;
- compare emulator and physical hardware behavior;
- search advisories, fuzz trackers, OEM bulletins, and upstream commits for novelty;
- avoid pre-release-only conclusions.

## Variant Hunting

Search:

- preview/indexer versus full application parser;
- app framework and baseband/firmware copies of codecs;
- AOSP versus OEM service forks;
- work-profile, guest-user, lock-screen, and pre-unlock paths;
- same AIDL/XPC interface implemented by sibling services;
- hardware and software codec paths;
- fixes applied upstream but absent from current OEM branch;
- independently updated modules lagging the platform fix.

## Common Pitfalls

1. Recording OS version but not patch level and modular components.
2. Calling emulator-only behavior a device vulnerability.
3. Claiming zero-click without proving default automatic processing.
4. Treating app crash as sandbox escape.
5. Ignoring lock, profile, and first-unlock state.
6. Testing an OEM component without deployment evidence.
7. Losing full IPC/radio sequence needed for replay.
8. Using beta OS findings without stable reproduction.

## Verification Checklist

- [ ] Device/SKU/hardware and every relevant component version recorded
- [ ] Latest stable and current patch level proven
- [ ] Automatic/interaction reachability established
- [ ] Boundary graph and enforcing identities complete
- [ ] Harness reproduces on physical release device where required
- [ ] Root cause and process/privilege level established
- [ ] Remaining sandbox/kernel/secure boundary identified
- [ ] Lock/profile/first-unlock states tested
- [ ] OEM/deployment relevance proven
- [ ] Monthly/component update and novelty gates pass