All of the normal permissions are listed here, but it does not say anything about root permissions. I can't find the names of individual permissions anywhere else either so I am asking here.
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Are you talking about root permissions via a rooted phone?– CodeMonkeyNov 8, 2018 at 22:40
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Yes, that is what I am looking for.– DeoxalNov 8, 2018 at 22:43
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First of, it gives you the app permission to the 'root' or the system files. Modify them, delete them, or even push an app inside the system. Know more of it here : lifehacker.com/…– HEWhoDoesn'tKnowNov 8, 2018 at 23:21
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2 Answers
From my understanding and past experience programming Android apps in rooted phones, getting root permissions in an app is to have access to everything.
Once a phone is rooted, you, the user, have access to the entire file system1, which allows anything to happen with it, including apps modifying their own permissions2.
Android is built on Linux, which means that su, or the root user, is the master user. Root user has the ability to do anything they want3. Apps granted root permission can add, modify, or delete things as they please throughout the file system. Along with that, they have access to the APIs that control the hardware of the phone, which means that they are capable of doing anything without your knowing, among other things (reason 3).
TL;DR Root has access to everything and can do anything.
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I'm asking about permission names. For example, "CHANGE_WIFI_STATE". One permission I am particularly interested in is the ability to stop a phone from receiving power from USB or wirelessly.– DeoxalNov 9, 2018 at 0:33
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1@Deoxal there are none. Getting
suroot user will allow you to exploit that option. Nov 9, 2018 at 2:34 -
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suis the only permission you would need to access any permissions or change anything within the OS and file system. Nov 9, 2018 at 2:35 -
OK thanks, I was just thinking that since normally a rooted app has full control over the phone that there would be a way to give a subset of root permissions to an app. A custom ROM would have to be running on the phone to do that though.– DeoxalNov 9, 2018 at 2:42
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I am not saying this will work, but you might try looking at creating a user that root controls and limit the permissions on the Linux side of things. Then use that user in the apps. I have not tried that before, but it should be possible since it is an operating system with users. Nov 9, 2018 at 2:46
Root (superuser) is not an app, it is a user that runs various processes in the Linux kernel (upon which Android framework runs). The permissions you listed are applicable only for system apps and third-party apps. When an app is granted superuser access, it does its things as the root user (UID 0). Barring some SELinux policies, there is no restriction for the most powerful user in the device.
Do note that app permission model of Android is controlled by system user (user 1000), and system user is not at par with superuser, so latter can override anything which other users are capable of doing.
answered Nov 9, 2018 at 11:06
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I never said superuser/root was an app. I was thinking that by having root that you could give apps access to some but not all of the phone's features. This probably wouldn't work that well, since if an app expects to have root access, denying it would result in an exception.– DeoxalNov 9, 2018 at 21:52