Reverse Engineering
Frida is a dynamic instrumentation toolkit for developers, reverse-engineers, and security researchers. It allows you to inject snippets of JavaScript or your own library into native apps on various platforms — making it the industry standard for runtime analysis and mobile app security testing.
pip install frida-tools
frida -U -f <package_name> -l <script.js>
Frida is a dynamic instrumentation toolkit that lets you inject JavaScript into running processes. It hooks functions, modifies behavior, and inspects runtime data — all without recompiling the target application. This makes it the go-to tool for security researchers, reverse engineers, and mobile app testers.
The toolkit supports Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses a client-server architecture: frida-tools runs on your host computer while frida-server runs on the target device. Communication happens over USB, TCP, or even Wi-Fi, giving you flexible deployment options.
Frida is the industry standard for mobile app security testing. It is used for SSL pinning bypass, root detection bypass, function hooking, API monitoring, and runtime manipulation. Whether you are testing a banking app, analyzing malware, or reverse engineering a proprietary protocol, Frida provides the instrumentation engine you need.
The Frida architecture consists of four main components: the frida-tools CLI client on your host machine, the frida-server daemon on the target device, the frida-agent shared library injected into target processes, and your JavaScript scripts that define the hooking logic. This modular design allows Frida to support multiple platforms and scripting languages while keeping the core instrumentation engine lightweight and efficient.
frida-ps -UList running processes on USB device — find the target app process before attachingfrida-ps -UaiList all installed apps on USB device — enumerate installed packagesfrida -U -f com.example.appSpawn and attach to app — start instrumenting an app from launchfrida -U -n "App Name"Attach to running app by name — hook into an already running appfrida -U -p 12345Attach to process by PID — connect to a specific process IDfrida -U -f com.app -l bypass.jsLoad custom Frida script — run custom hooks and bypassesfrida-trace -U -i "open*" com.appTrace function calls — monitor API calls matching a patternfrida-trace -U -j "Java!*" com.appTrace Java method calls — monitor Android Java method invocationsJava.perform(() => { ... })Hook Java/Android methods — intercept Android app logic at runtimeInterceptor.attach(ptr, { ... })Hook native functions — intercept native code execution at the C/C++ levelfrida -U -f com.app --no-pauseSpawn app without pausing — instrument from the very start of executionfrida -U -D emulator-5554 com.appConnect to specific device — target a specific emulator or device by nameBypass certificate pinning in mobile apps to intercept HTTPS traffic for security testing. Hook SSLContext.checkServerTrusted or native SSL functions.
Intercept and modify function calls at runtime. Read arguments, change return values, and trace execution paths in both Java and native code.
Observe application behavior at runtime without source code. Monitor API calls, network requests, file operations, and data transformations.
Analyze malware behavior dynamically by hooking system calls, network functions, and file operations to understand what the malware does.
Bypass root detection mechanisms in Android apps by hooking checks for su binary, root management apps, and system property queries.
Monitor all API calls an application makes to external services. Capture request headers, bodies, and responses for security analysis.
Trace every method invocation in an Android app to understand application flow, data handling, and business logic without source code.
Debug production applications by injecting logging hooks, inspecting variable values, and monitoring exception handling in real time.
Combine static analysis from tools like JADX with Frida's runtime hooking to fully reverse engineer Android applications and their native libraries.
Instrument iOS apps on jailbroken devices to bypass security controls, inspect Keychain access, and analyze Objective-C method calls.
Study application vulnerabilities by hooking security-critical functions, understanding memory corruption patterns, and testing exploit mitigations.
Reverse engineer proprietary network protocols by hooking socket functions, SSL libraries, and serialization routines to decode custom protocols.
Mobile Security
Mobile exploration toolkit powered by Frida with pre-built commands for SSL pinning bypass, root detection bypass, and memory exploration.
Mobile Security
Android Debug Bridge for communicating with Android devices — push files, manage apps, and access shell.
Reverse Engineering
Decode and rebuild Android APK resources. Extract AndroidManifest.xml, smali code, and resources.
Reverse Engineering
Decompile Android APK files to readable Java source code for static analysis.
Reverse Engineering
NSA-developed reverse engineering framework for decompiling native binaries and analyzing compiled code.
Reverse Engineering
Command-line reverse engineering framework for disassembly, debugging, and binary analysis.
Reverse Engineering
Firmware analysis tool for scanning and extracting embedded files and filesystems from binary images.
Mobile Security
Automated mobile application security testing framework for static and dynamic analysis.
Reverse Engineering
Convert Android DEX files to JAR format for analysis with Java decompilers.
Reverse Engineering
Java decompiler GUI for viewing decompiled .class and .jar files in a readable format.
Frida output displays hooked function calls, parameter values, return values, and any console.log statements from your scripts. When a hook fires, Frida prints the function name, its arguments, and the modified or original return value. Errors appear as stack traces pointing to the line in your script that caused the issue.
This tool is designed for authorized security testing, educational purposes, and legitimate network administration only. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal.