HACKING PROJECT · mobile · Advanced
Mobile API Traffic Interception Tool
Deliver a tool that intercepts pinned mobile app traffic and analyzes the underlying APIs for OWASP API Top 10 weaknesses.
Mobile apps increasingly move logic to backend APIs, and most real vulnerabilities (broken object-level authorization, weak auth tokens, mass assignment, secrets in requests) live in that traffic — yet certificate pinning and platform TLS handling make interception hard for testers. Standard proxies fail against pinned apps, so teams miss critical API flaws. There is a gap in an integrated tool that combines proxying, pinning bypass, and API-focused analysis.
**What you'll build**
Build a mobile API interception toolkit that pairs an mitmproxy/Burp-based proxy with Frida-driven SSL-pinning bypass scripts and automatic CA installation, then captures, decodes, and analyzes API traffic. Layer on request/response inspection, sensitive-data detection, replay/fuzzing, and OWASP API Top 10 checks (BOLA, broken auth, excessive data exposure). Output a structured API inventory and findings report, with an option to export a Postman/OpenAPI collection of observed endpoints.
**Objective** — Deliver a tool that intercepts pinned mobile app traffic and analyzes the underlying APIs for OWASP API Top 10 weaknesses.
**Expected outcome** — A working interception toolkit plus a captured API inventory and an API-security findings report for a target app.
**Difficulty** — Advanced — reliable pinning bypass, TLS handling, and API abuse analysis require solid instrumentation and network skills.
**Primary category** — Penetration Testing; Secondary = API Security, Mobile AppSec
**Security domains** — Primary = Red Team; Secondary = Purple Team, DevSecOps, Blue Team
**Technical focus** — MITM proxying, SSL/TLS pinning bypass, Frida hooking, API enumeration, BOLA/authorization testing, token/JWT analysis, request replay and fuzzing, traffic decoding, OpenAPI reconstruction
**Core technologies** — Languages: Python, JavaScript (Frida), Bash; Frameworks/Libraries: mitmproxy addons, Frida, objection; Security Tools: Burp Suite, mitmproxy, Frida, objection, adb; Cloud/Infra: Android emulator/rooted device, Docker; AI/Data: optional anomaly detection on traffic; Databases: SQLite/PostgreSQL for captured requests and endpoint inventory
**Where it's valued** — Fintech, e-commerce, healthtech, ride-sharing/mobility, any API-driven mobile business, security consultancies
**Careers it builds toward** — Mobile/API Penetration Tester, Application Security Engineer, Red Team Operator, Bug Bounty Hunter
**Framework alignment**
• MITRE ATT&CK: ATT&CK for Mobile — Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1638), Network Traffic Capture, Hooking (T1617) for pinning bypass; Steal Application Access Token (T1635)
• NIST CSF 2.0: Identify (API attack surface/inventory), Protect (control validation), Detect (sensitive-data exposure)
• OWASP: API Security Top 10 (API1 BOLA, API2 Broken Auth, API3 Excessive Data Exposure), MASVS-NETWORK, MASVS-RESILIENCE (pinning)
• CIS Controls v8: 13 (Network Monitoring & Defense), 16 (Application Software Security), 18 (Penetration Testing)
**Innovation** — Improved Existing Solution — proxies and pinning bypass exist, but bundling them into an API-Top-10-aware, inventory-generating workflow is a strong, marketable capability. Scores: Innovation 6/10, Startup 6/10, Enterprise-Readiness 6/10, Patent = Possible.