Stagefright is a critical Android vulnerability that attackers can exploit using specially crafted Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages.
What makes the vulnerability particularly annoying is that it can be exploited passively on devices. All it takes is a malicious MMS to be sent to a device running Android, and the hacker can gain access to the system with administrator privileges.
Once the hacker has gained access to your system, they can delete the MMS from your device before you open it. So you may never realize that someone else has taken control of your device.
So if you are not sure if your device has been affected by the malware you can use a Stagefright detector. The app is available on Google Play and can be downloaded for free.
After installation, with a click on the “Begin Analysis” button the application will scan your device in a few seconds.
The results will appear on the same page, so you will know whether your device is vulnerable or not.
The app may also suggest you upgrade your operating system to protect against the vulnerability.
The Stagefright Detector app checks for the vulnerability but does not take your messaging settings into account. This means that it will conclude that your device is vulnerable to the Stagefright vulnerability even if you have disabled automatic MMS retrieval on it.
If you want to see Stagefright in action, watch the PoC video below:
