A tasty root checker library and sample app. We've scoured the internets for different methods of answering that age old question... Has this device got root?
#Root checks These are the current checks/tricks we are using to give an indication of root.
Java checks
- CheckRootManagementApps
- CheckPotentiallyDangerousAppss
- CheckRootCloakingApps
- CheckTestKeys
- checkForDangerousProps
- checkForBusyBoxBinary
- checkForSuBinary
- checkSuExists
- checkForRWSystem
Native checks
We call through to our native root checker to run some of it's own checks. Native checks are typically harder to cloak, so some root cloak apps just block the loading of native libraries that contain certain key words.
- checkForSuBinary
##Disclaimer and limitations!
We love root! both Scott and Mat (the main contributors) use rooted devices. But we appreciate sometimes you might want to have a indication your app is running on a rooted handset. Plus we wanted to see if we could beat the root cloakers. So that's what this library gives you, an indication of root.
Remember root==god, so there's no 100% way to check for root.
We've tested the Rootbeer lib and it shows an indication of root when testing with the following root cloak apps. However Rootbeer is defeated when using a combination of the root cloakers activated at the same time.
Tested cloakers:
- RootCloak Plus (Cydia) requires Cydia Substrate
- RootCloak - requires Xposed Framework
##Usage
RootBeer rootBeer = new RootBeer(context);
if(rootBeer.isRooted()){
//we found indication of root
}else{
//we didn't find indication of root
}
You can also call each of the checks individually as the sample app does.
###Dependency Avaibile on maven central, to include using gradle just add the following:
dependencies {
compile 'com.scottyab:rootbeer-lib:0.0.4'
}
Or use this Jitpack.io link
The native libs are included however if you want to change them you'll need the ndk
For those unfamilar with NDK builds, if you make changes to the native code you'll have to run build.sh
(in the /rootbeerlib/jni/
folder) to compile the native libraries and copy to /libs
. Hopefully with the new Android Studio support for NDK this step will be part of the gradle build.
The sample app is published on Google play to allow you to quickly and easier test the library. Enjoy! And please do feedback to us if your tests produce different results.
##Contributing
There must be more root checks to make this more complete. If you have one please do send us a pull request.
###Thanks
- Kevin Kowalewski and others from this popular Stackoverflow post
- Eric Gruber's - Android Root Detection Techniques article
##Other libraries If you dig this, you might like:
- Tim Strazzere's Anti emulator checks project
- Scott Alexander-Bown's SafetyNet Helper library - coupled with server side validation this is one of the best root detection approaches. See the Google SafetyNet helper docs.
#Licence
Apache License, Version 2.0
Copyright (C) 2015, Scott Alexander-Bown, Mat Rollings
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.