Open-source alternatives to Smali CFGs

🔥🔥 btrace (AKA RheaTrace) is a high-performance Android & iOS tracing tool built on Perfetto. It not only times your methods but also reveals why they’re slow.

A pattern based Dalvik deobfuscator which uses limited execution to improve semantic analysis. Also, the inspiration for another Android deobfuscator: Simplify.

Checkstyle is a Java static analysis tool and linter designed to identify and enforce coding standards and best practices. It functions as a code quality auditor and Javadoc validation tool, checking source code against configurable rulesets to ensure structural and stylistic consistency. The project allows for the creation of custom linting rules by extending a core API to inspect the abstract syntax tree. It further enables specialized validation through the use of XPath expressions to query the syntax tree for specific code patterns and violations. Capability areas include the enforcement

A tool for quantitative risk analysis of Android applications based on machine learning techniques

BlackDex is an Android runtime-level DEX extraction tool that recovers bytecode from protected APK files across Android versions 5 through 12 without requiring root access. It operates by hooking system APIs, reading DexFile cookies, and repairing obfuscated method bodies from memory, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures for installed and uninstalled applications. The tool distinguishes itself through a multi-method approach that combines cookie-based dumping, API hooking, and memory-based instruction repair to handle first through third generation packers. It reconstructs method b

Detekt is a static analysis tool, code quality linter, and complexity analyzer for Kotlin source code. It functions as a code smell detector and static scanner designed to identify potential bugs, design flaws, and violations of coding standards without executing the program. The tool differentiates itself through the use of issue baselining, which allows users to create a snapshot of existing legacy code issues to filter out old violations and focus on preventing new regressions. It further supports extensibility via a plugin-based system that allows for the integration of custom rule sets a

Static Code Analysis for Smali files

Control Flow Graph Scanning for Android

Apkleaks is a static analysis tool and security auditor designed to extract hardcoded secrets, API endpoints, and sensitive data from Android application packages. It operates as a secret scanner that analyzes compiled binaries without executing them to identify potential information leaks and insecure endpoints. The tool utilizes a regex-based data extraction engine to identify sensitive strings within decompiled code. It supports customization through JSON-defined search patterns and provides configuration flags to tune the behavior of the underlying disassembler. The analysis pipeline enc

Infer is a static analysis toolset for Java, C, C++, and Objective-C designed to detect memory leaks, null dereferences, and resource bugs. It functions as a multi-language bug finder that identifies race conditions, deadlocks, and memory safety issues by translating source code into a common intermediate representation for analysis. The project distinguishes itself through an inter-procedural data flow analyzer that tracks movement between sources and sinks to detect tainted flows and generate data flow graphs. It also includes a framework for verifying temporal properties and reachability u

A security focused static analysis tool for Android and Java applications.

Joint Advanced Defect assEsment for android applications

Frida is a dynamic binary instrumentation toolkit that provides a framework for deep process introspection and live application state manipulation. It enables the injection of custom scripts into running processes to trace function calls, modify memory, and analyze application behavior in real-time across diverse operating systems and processor architectures. The project distinguishes itself by embedding a high-performance JavaScript engine directly within the target process, allowing for the execution of user-defined logic for real-time inspection. It utilizes instruction-level hooking to re

CLI tools for Frida.

Android Classyshark is a binary analysis toolset designed to extract structural data from Android executable files. It functions as a bytecode viewer and binary XML parser to analyze compiled Java and Android binaries. The project converts binary XML files into readable formats for the inspection of application manifests, layouts, and resource files. It also provides the ability to analyze class interfaces, members, and dependency counts without requiring access to the original source code. The toolset supports static analysis and the export of binary information into plain text formats for

Error Prone is a static code analyzer and Java compiler extension that identifies common programming mistakes during the build process. It functions as a compiler wrapper that flags potential errors as compile-time failures to prevent bugs from reaching execution. The tool integrates directly into the Java compilation workflow to provide compile-time validation. It allows for the definition of custom linting rules and analysis checks to enforce specific coding standards and detect prohibited API usage. The system utilizes abstract syntax tree analysis and type-aware pattern matching to inspe

APKinspector is a powerful GUI tool for analysts to analyze the Android applications.

Apktool is an Android APK reverse engineering tool designed to decode application packages into human-readable form and rebuild them after modification. It functions as a Dalvik bytecode disassembler and a resource decoder, transforming binary Android XML and DEX files into editable text and Smali representation. The project serves as an application rebuilder, packing modified resources and Smali code back into a functional Android application package. This capability enables the modification of application logic and resources for testing and deployment. The tool covers a broad surface of an

This project is a desktop application designed for the reverse engineering and inspection of compiled Java code. It functions as a graphical interface that translates Java bytecode back into readable source code, allowing users to examine the internal logic of class files and archives when original source files are unavailable. The tool provides a structured environment for navigating complex file hierarchies, including nested archives like JAR and WAR files. By maintaining an in-memory representation of loaded classes, it enables rapid searching and cross-referencing of code elements. The ap

Smali is a two-way binary translation toolset designed to convert Dalvik bytecode to human-readable assembly and back again. It provides a mechanism for the disassembly and assembly of executable files used in virtual machine environments. The project enables the modification of compiled Android application logic by transforming binary files into editable assembly and rebuilding them. It is used for reverse engineering, malware analysis, and the study of low-level instructions to identify program behavior or security flaws. The toolkit covers binary construction through smali code assembly a

Symbolic/concolic execution of Android apps

Clutch is a command-line utility designed for security research on jailbroken mobile devices. It functions as a specialized toolkit for identifying, decrypting, and extracting installed mobile application binaries to facilitate manual code inspection and vulnerability assessment. The tool provides capabilities for removing platform-level encryption from protected software, allowing researchers to isolate core executable files from application bundles. By performing memory-mapped file dumping and reconstructing binary headers, it enables the conversion of protected applications into portable,