"Android App With Over 5M Downloads Leaked User Browsing History"

According to the Cybernews research team, web Explorer - Fast Internet, an Android browsing app, left its Firebase instance open, exposing app and user data. Firebase is a mobile app development platform with numerous analytics, hosting, and real-time cloud storage features. Web Explorer - Fast Internet is a Google Play store browsing app with over five million downloads. It claims to increase browsing speed by 30 percent and has received an average user rating of 4.4 out of five stars from over 58,000 reviews. The open Firebase instance contained days' worth of redirect data, presented by user ID, including country, redirect initiating address, and redirect destination address. However, simply obtaining the data that Web Explorer - Fast Internet left exposed would not suffice, as a threat actor would also have to know where app developers keep additional user data. Cross-referencing the leaked data with additional information may amplify any harm done to the app's users. When the team discovered the open instance, they contacted Web Explorer - Fast Internet but had not received a response at the time of publication. However, the open Firebase instance has been closed and is no longer accessible. According to the team, with the instance closed, threat actors no longer have access to sensitive redirect data, which could have allowed them to de-anonymize Web Explorer - Fast Internet users' browsing activity with additional effort. Google Play store data reveals that the app was last updated on October 28, 2020, implying that hardcoded secrets are still present. This article continues to discuss the Android app Web Explorer – Fast Internet leaving its Firebase instance open, exposing sensitive data that malicious actors could use to check users' browsing history.

Cybernews reports "Android App With Over 5M Downloads Leaked User Browsing History"