Introduction

This guide is designed for security researchers, bug hunters, and defensive practitioners who want a complete, practical roadmap for Android APK vulnerability research.

It covers:

• the Android attack surface and threat model
• static and dynamic analysis workflows for APKs and native libraries
• instrumentation with Frida, ADB, and Burp Suite
• bypassing common runtime protections like certificate pinning, root detection, and emulator checks

Whether you are evaluating an application on a bug bounty program or building a secure mobile testing lab, this guide combines concept, technique, and tooling in one reference.

Scope: Authorised security testing, bug bounty, CTF, and defensive research only.
All techniques are for use against apps you own or have explicit written permission to test.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Threat Landscape & Attack Surface
3. Lab Environment Setup