CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidapkexecutable
Pheelbert
Pheelbert

Reputation: 327

Is a .apk the only type of file that is executable on Android (not rooted)?

To be more precise, is a .apk the only file that could potentially have malicious behavior?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 345

Answers (1)

Hans Strausl
Hans Strausl

Reputation: 614

The short answer is that any file can be malicious, regardless of file extension. What is more important is the contents, and what is opening/parsing the file in question. For example, someone could send you a malicious .mp3, which infects your system by exploiting a vulnerability in the music player that loads it.

While any file can be malicious, I would say .apk's have the most potential to be malicious. The interesting part is that the Android team probably has invested some serious effort into protecting the loading of .apks and so it is probably unlikely that just opening a .apk will do harm. Only if you allow the program to install with any invasive permissions will you be open to attack.

Upvotes: 1

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