security/overview/kernel-security.html

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<p>At the operating system level, the Android platform provides the security of
  the Linux kernel, as well as a secure inter-process communication (IPC)
  facility to enable secure communication between applications running in
  different processes. These security features at the OS level ensure that even
  native code is constrained by the Application Sandbox. Whether that code is
  the result of included application behavior or an exploitation of an
  application vulnerability, the system is designed to prevent the rogue
  application from harming other applications, the Android system, or the device
  itself. See
  <a href="/devices/tech/config/kernel.html">Kernel Configuration</a>
  for measures you can take to strengthen the kernel on your devices. See the
  <a href="/compatibility/cdd.html">Android Compatibility Definition
  Document (CDD)</a> for required settings.</p>
<h2 id="linux-security">Linux Security</h2>
<p>The foundation of the Android platform is the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel
  has been in widespread use for years, and is used in millions of
  security-sensitive environments. Through its history of constantly being
  researched, attacked, and fixed by thousands of developers, Linux has become a
  stable and secure kernel trusted by many corporations and security
  professionals.</p>
<p>As the base for a mobile computing environment, the Linux kernel provides
  Android with several key security features, including:</p>
<ul>
  <li>A user-based permissions model</li>
  <li>Process isolation</li>
  <li>Extensible mechanism for secure IPC</li>
  <li>The ability to remove unnecessary and potentially insecure parts of the kernel</li>
</ul>
<p>As a multiuser operating system, a fundamental security objective of the Linux
  kernel is to isolate user resources from one another. The Linux security
  philosophy is to protect user resources from one another. Thus, Linux:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Prevents user A from reading user B's files</li>
  <li>Ensures that user A does not exhaust user B's memory</li>
  <li>Ensures that user A does not exhaust user B's CPU resources</li>
  <li>Ensures that user A does not exhaust user B's devices (e.g. telephony, GPS,
    Bluetooth)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="the-application-sandbox">The Application Sandbox</h2>
<p>The Android platform takes advantage of the Linux user-based protection as a
  means of identifying and isolating application resources. The Android system
  assigns a unique user ID (UID) to each Android application and runs it as that user
  in a separate process. This approach is different from other operating systems
  (including the traditional Linux configuration), where multiple applications
  run with the same user permissions.</p>
<p>This sets up a kernel-level Application Sandbox. The kernel enforces security
  between applications and the system at the process level through standard Linux
  facilities, such as user and group IDs that are assigned to applications. By
  default, applications cannot interact with each other and applications have
  limited access to the operating system. If application A tries to do something
  malicious like read application B's data or dial the phone without permission
  (which is a separate application), then the operating system protects against
  this because application A does not have the appropriate user privileges. The
  sandbox is simple, auditable, and based on decades-old UNIX-style user
  separation of processes and file permissions.</p>
<p>Because the Application Sandbox is in the kernel, this security model extends to
  native code and to operating system applications. All of the software above the
  kernel, such as operating system libraries, application
  framework, application runtime, and all applications, run within the Application
  Sandbox. On some platforms, developers are constrained to a specific
  development framework, set of APIs, or language in order to enforce security.
  On Android, there are no restrictions on how an application can be written that
  are required to enforce security; in this respect, native code is just as
  secure as interpreted code.</p>
<p>In some operating systems, memory corruption errors in one application may
  lead to corruption in other applications housed in the same memory space,
  resulting in a complete compromise of the security of the device. Because all
  applications and their resources are sandboxed at the OS level, a memory
  corruption error will allow arbitrary code execution only in
  the context of that particular application, with the permissions established by
  the operating system.</p>
<p>Like all security features, the Application Sandbox is not unbreakable.
  However, to break out of the Application Sandbox in a properly configured
  device, one must compromise the security of the Linux kernel.</p>
<h2 id="system-partition-and-safe-mode">System Partition and Safe Mode</h2>
<p>The system partition contains Android's kernel as well as the operating system
  libraries, application runtime, application framework, and applications. This
  partition is set to read-only. When a user boots the device into Safe Mode,
  third-party applications may be launched manually by the device owner but are
  not launched by default.</p>
<h2 id="filesystem-permissions">Filesystem Permissions</h2>
<p>In a UNIX-style environment, filesystem permissions ensure that one user cannot
  alter or read another user's files. In the case of Android, each application
  runs as its own user. Unless the developer explicitly shares files with other
  applications, files created by one application cannot be read or altered by
  another application.</p>
<h2 id="se-linux">Security-Enhanced Linux</h2>
<p>Android uses Security-Enhanced
  Linux (SELinux) to apply access control policies and establish
  mandatory access control (mac) on processes. See
  <a href="/security/selinux/index.html">Security-Enhanced Linux in
  Android</a> for details.</p>
<h2 id="verified-boot">Verified boot</h2>
<p>
 Android 6.0 and later supports verified boot and device-mapper-verity. Verified
 boot guarantees the integrity of the device software starting from a hardware
 root of trust up to the system partition. During boot, each stage
 cryptographically verifies the integrity and authenticity of the next stage
 before executing it.
</p>
<p>
 Android 7.0 and later supports strictly enforced verified boot, which means
 compromised devices cannot boot.
</p>
<p>
 See <a href="/security/verifiedboot/index.html">Verified boot</a> for
 more details.
</p>

<h2 id="crypto">Cryptography</h2>
<p> Android provides a set of cryptographic APIs for use by applications. These
  include implementations of standard and commonly used cryptographic primitives
  such as AES, RSA, DSA, and SHA. Additionally, APIs are provided for higher level
  protocols such as SSL and HTTPS. </p>
<p> Android 4.0 introduced the
  <a href="http://developer.android.com/reference/android/security/KeyChain.html">KeyChain</a>
  class to allow applications to use the system credential storage for private
  keys and certificate chains. </p>
<h2 id="rooting-devices">Rooting of Devices</h2>
<p>By default, on Android only the kernel and a small subset of the core
  applications run with root permissions. Android does not prevent a user or
  application with root permissions from modifying the operating system, kernel,
  or any other application. In general, root has full access to all
  applications and all application data. Users that change the permissions on an
  Android device to grant root access to applications increase the security
  exposure to malicious applications and potential application flaws. </p>
<p>The ability to modify an Android device they own is important to developers
  working with the Android platform. On many Android devices users have the
  ability to unlock the bootloader in order to allow installation of an alternate
  operating system. These alternate operating systems may allow an owner to gain
  root access for purposes of debugging applications and system components or to
  access features not presented to applications by Android APIs. </p>
<p>On some devices, a person with physical control of a device and a USB cable is
  able to install a new operating system that provides root privileges to the
  user. To protect any existing user data from compromise the bootloader unlock
  mechanism requires that the bootloader erase any existing user data as part of
  the unlock step. Root access gained via exploiting a kernel bug or security
  hole can bypass this protection. </p>
<p>Encrypting data with a key stored on-device does not protect the application
  data from root users. Applications can add a layer of data protection using
  encryption with a key stored off-device, such as on a server or a user
  password. This approach can provide temporary protection while the key is not
  present, but at some point the key must be provided to the application and it
  then becomes accessible to root users. </p>
<p>A more robust approach to protecting data from root users is through the use of
  hardware solutions. OEMs may choose to implement hardware solutions that limit
  access to specific types of content such as DRM for video playback, or the
  NFC-related trusted storage for Google wallet. </p>
<p>In the case of a lost or stolen device, full filesystem encryption on Android
  devices uses the device password to protect the encryption key, so modifying
  the bootloader or operating system is not sufficient to access user data
  without the users device password. </p>
<h2 id="user-security">User Security Features</h2>
<h3 id="filesystem-encryption">Filesystem Encryption</h3>
<p>Android 3.0 and later provides full filesystem encryption, so all user data can
  be encrypted in the kernel.</p>
<p>
  Android 5.0 and later supports
  <a href="/security/encryption/full-disk.html">full-disk encryption</a>.
  Full-disk encryption uses a single keyprotected with the users device
  passwordto protect the whole of a devices userdata partition. Upon boot,
  users must provide their credentials before any part of the disk is accessible.
</p>
<p>
  Android 7.0 and later supports
  <a href="/security/encryption/file-based.html">file-based encryption</a>.
  File-based encryption allows different files to be encrypted with different
  keys that can be unlocked independently.
</p>

<p>More details on implementation of filesystem encryption are available in the
 <a href="/security/encryption/index.html">Encryption</a> section.</p>
<h3 id="password-protection">Password Protection</h3>
<p>Android can be configured to verify a user-supplied password prior to providing
  access to a device. In addition to preventing unauthorized use of the device,
  this password protects the cryptographic key for full filesystem encryption.</p>
<p>Use of a password and/or password complexity rules can be required by a device
  administrator.</p>
<h2 id="device-administration">Device Administration</h2>
<p>Android 2.2 and later provide the Android Device Administration API, which
  provides device administration features at the system level. For example, the
  built-in Android Email application uses the APIs to improve Exchange support.
  Through the Email application, Exchange administrators can enforce password
  policies  including alphanumeric passwords or numeric PINs  across
  devices. Administrators can also remotely wipe (that is, restore factory
  defaults on) lost or stolen handsets.</p>
<p>In addition to use in applications included with the Android system, these APIs
  are available to third-party providers of Device Management solutions. Details
  on the API are provided at <a
href="https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/admin/device-admin.html">Device
Administration</a>.</p>

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