T1517_access-notifications

T1517 Access Notifications

High-Level Description

Adversaries may collect data within notifications sent by the operating system or other applications. Notifications may contain sensitive data such as one-time authentication codes sent over SMS, email, or other mediums. In the case of Credential Access, adversaries may attempt to intercept one-time code sent to the device. Adversaries can also dismiss notifications to prevent the user from noticing that the notification has arrived and can trigger action buttons contained within notifications.

Kill Chain Phase

• Collection (TA0035)
• Credential Access (TA0031)

Platforms: Android

What to Check

• Identify if Access Notifications technique is applicable to target mobile environment
• Check Android devices for indicators of Access Notifications
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (3 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Identify Attack Surface

Determine if the target mobile environment is susceptible to Access Notifications by examining the target platforms (Android).

Assess Existing Defenses

Review whether mitigations for T1517 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable.

Remediation Guide

M1011 User Guidance

Users should be wary of granting applications dangerous or privacy-intrusive permissions, such as access to notifications.

M1013 Application Developer Guidance

Application developers could be encouraged to avoid placing sensitive data in notification text.

M1012 Enterprise Policy

On Android devices with a work profile, the DevicePolicyManager.setPermittedCrossProfileNotificationListeners method can be used to manage the list of applications running within the personal profile that can access notifications generated within the work profile. This policy would not affect notifications generated by the rest of the device. The DevicePolicyManager.setApplicationHidden method can be used to disable notification access for unwanted applications, but this method would also block that entire application from running.

Detection

Detection of Access Notifications

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• ESET 2FA Bypass
• MITRE ATT&CK Mobile - T1517