Frida

Frida is a world-class dynamic instrumentation toolkit developed by Ole André Vadla Ravnås. With over 19,700 GitHub stars, it has become the industry standard for runtime mobile application security testing and reverse engineering. The framework works by injecting the QuickJS JavaScript engine into running processes, enabling powerful inspection and manipulation capabilities.

Security researchers rely on Frida for mobile pentesting because it provides unparalleled visibility into app internals. You can hook any function, spy on cryptographic operations, trace private application code, and bypass security controls—all without needing the app’s source code.

What is Frida?

Frida is a free and open source dynamic code instrumentation framework that allows developers, reverse engineers, and security researchers to analyze and modify the behavior of running applications. At its core, Frida injects a JavaScript engine into the target process, letting you write scripts that interact with the app at runtime.

The toolkit supports multiple platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and even embedded systems like QNX. This cross-platform capability makes it an essential tool for mobile security professionals who need to test apps across different operating systems.

Function hooking is one of Frida’s most powerful features. You can intercept calls to specific functions, examine or modify their arguments, change return values, or completely replace the function’s behavior by rewriting machine code at runtime. This enables techniques like bypassing root detection, intercepting encrypted API calls, and manipulating memory to expose hidden functionality.

Key features

Dynamic Analysis Capabilities

Frida excels at runtime manipulation, letting you observe live application behavior that static analysis cannot reveal. You can trace function calls as they happen, monitor API interactions, and identify vulnerabilities that only surface during execution. This includes uncovering insecure data storage, weak encryption implementations, and authentication bypasses.

Mobile Pentesting Applications

For Android testing, Frida is most powerful on rooted devices where it can instrument any app and system service. On non-rooted devices, you can still use frida-gadget by embedding it in debuggable applications. The framework supports all Android versions from 4.4 onwards.

On iOS, Frida works in both jailed and jailbroken modes. Jailbroken devices offer the most comprehensive access, enabling you to instrument system services and apps with minimal effort. The tool is extensively documented in the OWASP Mobile Application Security Testing Guide (MASTG).

Community and Ecosystem

The Frida ecosystem includes thousands of ready-made scripts for common tasks like bypassing root detection, SSL unpinning, and extracting data from popular apps. Projects like frida-tools provide command-line utilities, while frameworks like Objection build higher-level capabilities on top of Frida’s core functionality.

Recent developments include IL2CPP bridges for Unity game hacking, FridaContainer for modular script management, and integrations with popular security testing frameworks. The community actively maintains scripts and tools through 2026.

Integration with Testing Workflows

Frida integrates seamlessly into mobile security testing workflows. You can combine it with mitmproxy for traffic inspection, use it alongside Objection for automated testing, and integrate scripts into CI/CD pipelines for continuous security validation.

When to use Frida

Strengths:

• Industry-standard tool with extensive documentation and community support
• Unmatched flexibility for runtime code manipulation and instrumentation
• Cross-platform support covers virtually all mobile testing scenarios
• JavaScript API is accessible to testers without deep assembly knowledge
• Active development with regular updates and new features
• Free and open source with permissive licensing
• Extensive script library accelerates common testing tasks

Limitations:

• Requires root/jailbreak access for full system-level testing capabilities
• Learning curve for understanding hooking concepts and JavaScript API
• Apps with anti-tampering protections may detect Frida’s presence
• Performance overhead when instrumenting complex applications
• Some advanced techniques require low-level knowledge of process internals

Getting started

Combine Frida with Ghidra for static analysis, Jadx for decompiling Android apps, and Objection for automated mobile security testing.

Frequently Asked Questions