Automatic Uncovering of Privilege-Escalation Vulnerabilities in Pre-Installed Apps in Android Firmware

Pre-installed apps on Android devices often come with privileged access, making them potential security risks. This study introduces FIRMSCOPE, an automated tool that scans Android firmware to detect privilege-escalation vulnerabilities. Analyzing over 330,000 apps across 2,000 firmware images, the research uncovers critical security flaws that allow unauthorized access to sensitive user data, device controls, and system functions.