Red alarm level! This is how the Taptrap attack endangers its Android apps!

Red alarm level! This is how the Taptrap attack endangers its Android apps!

In an alarming development, security researchers from the Vienna University of Technology have discovered a new attack method called "Taptrap", which potentially endangered a large number of Android apps. This technology was recently presented at the Usenix security conference in Seattle and affects over 76% of the approximately 100,000 examined applications in the Google Play Store. The attack allows malignant apps to bypass the Android authorization system and to access sensitive data or to carry out harmful actions without the knowledge of the users. Philipp Beer from the Vienna University of Technology explains that the built -in animation transitions of the system are particularly exploited to create a deceptively real user interface.

The attack is done without special permissions, which means that the harmful apps appear harmless when downloading. In tests, it was demonstrated that attackers are possible to access critical permissions such as the camera or the microphone within a short time window of 3 to 6 seconds. In a user study, most participants could not see the attacks; Only 21% noticed security indicators when the camera was accessed.

attack vectors and risks

The researchers identified several dangerous attack scenarios, including:

• Consultation bypass: Access to the camera, microphone and location without consent.
• notification interaction: access to important notifications, such as two-factor authentication codes.
• device erasure: complete deletion of the device by manipulating the user.
• web weak spots: Clickjacking attacks against widespread browsers such as Chrome and Firefox.

The possibilities are complex and the research team warned that theoretically even harmful actions such as starting banking apps or deleting all data could be carried out on one device.

protective measures and status

In terms of security, browsers such as Firefox and Google Chrome have already taken measures to close this gap. However, Google has not provided a fixed date for comprehensive system-wide security updates to minimize the risk for users on Android version 15. In addition, the weak point was marked with two CVEs (CVE-2025-3067 for Chrome and CVE-2025-1939 for Firefox) and Google gave the researchers a reward of USD 10,000 for their discovery.

Google has emphasized in the updated Android Security Paper 2023 how important strong security measures are in dealing with mobile devices. Cybercrime is a growing problem, and in 2022 over 800,000 symptoms were submitted to the FBI, the losses exceeded $ 10 billion. The paper describes the need for close cooperation between developers, device manufacturers and security researchers in order to identify and eliminate the precipitation platform.

Facebook users must remain vigilant and avoid insightful sources. In addition, users should deactivate the app animations in the settings under "Operating aids" in order to obtain certain protection. According to the test results, however, it remains to be seen how quickly Google and other providers will react to this questionable security situation.