Covert web-to-app tracking via localhost on Android
Date:
Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:16:43 +0000
Description:
The "Local Mess" GitHub
repository is dedicated to the disclosure of an Android tracking
exploit used by (at least) Meta and Yandex. While there are subtle
differences in the way Meta and Yandex
bridge web and mobile contexts and identifiers, both of them
essentially misuse the unvetted access to localhost sockets. The
Android OS allows any installed app with the INTERNET permission to
open a listening socket on the loopback interface
(127.0.0.1). Browsers running on the same device also access this
interface without user consent or platform mediation. This allows
JavaScript embedded on web pages to communicate with native Android
apps and share identifiers and browsing habits, bridging ephemeral
web identifiers to long-lived mobile app IDs using standard Web
APIs. This backdoor, the use of which has evidently stopped since its disclosure,
allow tracking of users across sites regardless of cookie policies or use of incognito browser modes.
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Link to news story:
https://lwn.net/Articles/1024844/
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