HTTPS Traffic

HTTPS Traffic

In many cases, it is most practical to configure a system proxy on the mobile device, so that HTTP(S) traffic is redirected through an interception proxy running on your host computer. By monitoring the requests between the mobile app client and the backend, you can easily map the available server-side APIs and gain insight into the communication protocol. Additionally, you can replay and manipulate requests to test for server-side vulnerabilities.

Several free and commercial proxy tools are available. Here are some of the most popular:

To use the interception proxy, you'll need run it on your host computer and configure the mobile app to route HTTP(S) requests to your proxy. In most cases, it is enough to set a system-wide proxy in the network settings of the mobile device - if the app uses standard HTTP APIs or popular libraries such as okhttp, it will automatically use the system settings.

Using a proxy breaks SSL certificate verification and the app will usually fail to initiate TLS connections. To work around this issue, you can install your proxy's CA certificate on the device.