During a mobile security assessment you have physical access to a non-rooted Android 12 device with USB debugging enabled. You attempt to list an application's private database by issuing the command adb shell run-as com.acme.bank ls /data/data/com.acme.bank/databases, but the tool responds with "run-as: package not debuggable". Which AndroidManifest.xml attribute must be set so that the run-as command will succeed and drop you into the application's sandbox?
At least one exported component must declare android:exported="true"
The application's tag must include android:debuggable="true"
The manifest must enable android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
The application must have android:allowBackup="true" defined
The adb run-as command only works when the target application is flagged as debuggable. The attribute android:debuggable="true" in the <application> tag tells the operating system to allow the app's UID to be entered by the run-as utility, giving an assessor shell access to the app's private /data/data/<package>/ directory. Other attributes such as allowBackup, exported, or usesCleartextTraffic influence backup behavior, component exposure, or network security policies, but none of them permit run-as to switch the process UID. Without the debuggable flag present (or when it is set to false), a non-rooted tester cannot leverage run-as to view or pull the internal database.
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What is the purpose of the android:debuggable attribute?
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Why can’t the run-as command access non-debuggable apps?
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How is USB Debugging related to adb commands like run-as?
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What is the android:debuggable attribute and why is it important?
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What does the command `adb shell run-as` do, and what are its limitations?
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