Method to modify android application life cycle to control its execution in a containerized workspace environment

• US 9,344,422 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2015
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Aamir, Mohammad, Rehman, Atta Ur
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Haresh N
• Application Number:
  US14/594,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20160087953A1
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 726/1, 726/2, 726/22, 726/26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/12 Protecting executable software
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are described to modify the life cycle of a Google Android® application, in its application manifest file and byte code, such that the execution of the application can be controlled via policies and security governed by a workspace application installed on an Android-based device. Dummy wrapper classes are inserted into the byte code for network and I/O system calls that call security code before calling the original classes.

Claims

1. A method of modifying a life cycle of a mobile device app, the method comprising:

providing an application manifest file and a byte code file, the application manifest file and byte code file corresponding to a computer software application;

renaming an original method of an application class to a renamed method in the byte code file;

inserting a wrapper method in the application class in the byte code file, the wrapper method having a name of the original method, the wrapper method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method;

modifying, by a processor, a name of an original content provider class to a modified content provider class name in the application manifest file;

creating a wrapper content provider class in the byte code file, the wrapper content provider class having the modified content provider class name, the wrapper content provider class configured to check whether the original content provider class is instantiated before forwarding a call to a method of the original content provider class;

renaming a name of an original method of an activity class to a renamed method of the activity class in the byte code file; and

inserting a dummy method in the activity class in the byte code file, the dummy method having a name of the original method of the activity class, the dummy method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method of the activity class.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein all content provider class names in the application manifest file are renamed.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

reading a policy by the wrapper method, wherein the call to the authentication or encryption method is based on the policy.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the policy is sent to a mobile device upon which the mobile device app is installed from an information technology (IT) department.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the wrapper method includes a call to a mobile device manager application.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the original method includes a static block initialization.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the original method includes a constructor.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

renaming an application static initialization method, an application constructor method, an application attachBaseContext( ) method, a content provider static initialization method, a content provider constructor method, a content provider onCreate( ) method, an application onCreate( ) method, a launcher activity static initialization method, a launcher activity constructor method, and launcher activity onCreate( ), onStart( ), and onResume( ) methods in the byte code file.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

inserting an onCreate( ), onStart( ), onStop( ), onRestart( ), onPause( ), onResume( ), or onDestroy( ) method into the wrapper class.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the renaming of the original method includes appending a prefix or suffix to the original method to create the renamed method.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the application manifest file includes extensible markup language (XML) code.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the byte code file is a Google Dalvik®

executable (DEX) byte code file for Google Android®

computer applications.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

extracting the application manifest file and the byte code file from a Google Android®

application package (APK) file.

14. A machine-readable non-transitory medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing one or more machines to perform operations for modifying a life cycle of a mobile device app, the operations comprising:

providing an application manifest file and a byte code file, the application manifest file and byte code file corresponding to a computer software application;

renaming an original method of an application class to a renamed method in the byte code file;

inserting a wrapper method in the application class in the byte code file, the wrapper method having a name of the original method, the wrapper method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method;

modifying, by a processor, a name of an original content provider class to a modified content provider class name in the application manifest file;

creating a wrapper content provider class in the byte code file, the wrapper content provider class having the modified content provider class name, the wrapper content provider class configured to check whether the original content provider class is instantiated before forwarding a call to a method of the original content provider class;

renaming a name of an original method of an activity class to a renamed method of the activity class in the byte code file;

inserting a dummy method in the activity class in the byte code file, the dummy method having a name of the original method of the activity class, the dummy method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method of the activity class.

15. The medium of claim 14 wherein all content provider class names in the application manifest file are renamed.

16. A computer system for modifying a life cycle of a mobile device app, the system comprising:

a processor, and

a memory operatively coupled with the processor, the processor executing instructions from the memory comprising;

program code for providing an application manifest file and a byte code file, the application manifest file and byte code file corresponding to a computer software application;

program code for renaming an original method of an application class to a renamed method in the byte code file;

program code for inserting a wrapper method in the application class in the byte code file, the wrapper method having a name of the original method, the wrapper method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method;

program code for modifying a name of an original content provider class to a modified content provider class name in the application manifest file;

program code for creating a wrapper content provider class in the byte code file, the wrapper content provider class having the modified content provider class name, the wrapper content provider class configured to check whether the original content provider class is instantiated before forwarding a call to a method of the original content provider class;

program code for renaming a name of an original method of an activity class to a renamed method of the activity class in the byte code file; and

program code for inserting a dummy method in the activity class in the byte code file, the dummy method having a name of the original method of the activity class, the dummy method configured to call an authentication or encryption method before calling the renamed method of the activity class.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein all content provider class names in the application manifest file are renamed.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the processor executes instructions further comprising:

reading a policy by the wrapper method, wherein the call to the authentication or encryption method is based on the policy.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the policy is sent to a mobile device upon which the mobile device app is installed from an information technology (IT) department.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the wrapper method includes a call to a mobile device manager application.