Android Unpinner

This tool removes certificate pinning from APKs.

• Does not require root.
• Uses frida-apk to mark app as debuggable. This is much less invasive than other approaches, only AndroidManifest.xml is touched within the APK.
• Includes a custom Java Debug Wire Protocol implementation to inject the Frida Gadget via ADB.
• Uses HTTPToolkit's excellent unpinning script to defeat certificate pinning.
• Already includes all native dependencies for Windows/Linux/macOS (adb, apksigner, zipalign, aapt2).
• Handles XAPKs by extracting the split APKs, unpinning them and installing them with adb install-multiple.

The goal was not to build yet another unpinning tool, but to explore some newer avenues for non-rooted devices. Please shamelessly copy whatever idea you like into other tools. :-)

Installation

Using uv, you can install the tool with a single command:

uv tool install git+https://github.com/mitmproxy/android-unpinner

Alternatively, you can install it manually:

$ git clone https://github.com/mitmproxy/android-unpinner.git
$ cd android-unpinner
$ pip install -e .

Usage

Connect your device via USB and run the following command.

$ android-unpinner all httptoolkit-pinning-demo.apk

See android-unpinner --help for usage details.

You can pull APKs from your device using android-unpinner list-packages and android-unpinner get-apks. Alternatively, you can download APKs from the internet, for example manually from apkpure.com or automatically using apkeep.

Comparison

Compared to using a rooted device, android-unpinner...

🟥 requires APK patching. 🟩 does not need to hide from root detection.

Compared to apk-mitm, android-unpinner...

🟥 requires active instrumentation from a desktop machine when launching the app. 🟩 allows more dynamic patching at runtime (thanks to Frida). 🟩 does less invasive APK patching, e.g. classes.dex stays as-is.

Compared to objection, android-unpinner...

🟥 supports only one feature (disable pinning) and no interactive analysis shell. 🟩 is easier to get started with, does not require additional dependencies. 🟩 does less invasive APK patching, e.g. classes.dex stays as-is.

Compared to frida + LIEF, android-unpinner...

🟥 modifies AndroidManifest.xml 🟩 is easier to get started with, does not require additional dependencies. 🟩 Does not require that the application includes a native library.

Licensing

This tool stands on the shoulders of giants.

• httptoolkit-pinning-demo.apk is a copy of HTTP Toolkit's neat demo app available at https://github.com/httptoolkit/android-ssl-pinning-demo (Apache-2.0 License).
• scripts/httptoolkit-unpinner.js is a copy of HTTP Toolkit's excellent unpinning script available at https://github.com/httptoolkit/frida-android-unpinning/ (AGPL License, Version 3.0 or later).
• android_unpinner/vendor/frida/ contains the fantastic Frida gadgets available at https://frida.re/ (wxWindows Library Licence, Version 3.1).
• android_unpinner/vendor/frida-tools/ is adapted from https://github.com/frida/frida-tools (wxWindows Library Licence, Version 3.1).
• android_unpinner/vendor/build_tools/ is a copy of some of Android's build tools (see NOTICE.txt therein for license).
• android_unpinner/vendor/platform_tools/ is a copy of some of Android's platform tools (see NOTICE.txt therein for license).
• Code written here is licensed under the MIT license (https://github.com/mitmproxy/mitmproxy/blob/main/LICENSE).