Security Analysis of Top-Ranked mHealth Fitness Apps: An Empirical Study

Abstract: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps), particularly in the health and fitness category, have experienced an increase in popularity due to their convenience and availability. However, this widespread adoption raises concerns regarding the security of the user's data. In this study, we investigate the security vulnerabilities of ten top-ranked Android health and fitness apps, a set that accounts for 237 million downloads. We performed several static and dynamic security analyses using tools such as the Mobile Security Framework (MobSF) and Android emulators. We also checked the server's security levels with Qualys SSL, which allowed us to gain insights into the security posture of the servers communicating with the mHealth fitness apps. Our findings revealed many vulnerabilities, such as insecure coding, hardcoded sensitive information, over-privileged permissions, misconfiguration, and excessive communication with third-party domains. For instance, some apps store their database API key directly in the code while also exposing their database URL. We found insecure encryption methods in six apps, such as using AES with ECB mode. Two apps communicated with an alarming number of approximately 230 domains each, and a third app with over 100 domains, exacerbating privacy linkability threats. The study underscores the importance of continuous security assessments of top-ranked mHealth fitness apps to better understand the threat landscape and inform app developers.