Next release of Android breaks rooting apps

[ironass]

Just as those with the latest Samsung phones thought they could all breathe a sigh of relief that Knox Security and the locked bootloader weren't as bad as they thought they were, chainfire, one of the most respected developers around, has announced that it is the next release of Google Android that we ought to be concerned about as rooters.

This time it is not down to a manufacturer but rather the the coding being used by Google Android for its 4.4.3 or 4.5 builds that will affect all makes, models and releases. Whether this coding is retained for the release, is debatable but if it is, it has the potential to break a lot of the existing apps that rooters use as they will be denied access in their current form and, if possible, will need to be rewritten.

More details, here...

Android 4.5 Update Could Break Root Apps

Oh, well, being rooters we all love a challenge and it will give the ROM and app dev's something to think about.


(Note to Mods... Not entirely sure that this is the correct forum for this post and so therefore it may need to be moved to somewhere more suitabe. Thanks!)

 

[dibblebill]

Have you read Justin Case's analysis? It'll make rooting harder, yes.

Break root? Not quite. It only breaks certain apps with developers who are doing things a sloppy and incorrect way.

EDIT:

Read Matt Eskes and Justin Case's comments here:
https://plus.google.com/+Chainfire/posts/Lyhjzu1z9s1

 

[ironass]

Added, "apps", to the thread title.

 

[funkylogik]

Maybe google wont go ahead with it. I think they value the root community tbh. If they do then atleast the devs have had a fair warning.
Root apps are very important to me so if google do implement these changes then i wont be updating until the issues are sorted

I just read a few of the comments and aparently this bit of code can be removed in custom roms which is good. It will be a pita having to put a rom on my nexus7 but i run custom roms on my phone anyway

 

[dibblebill]

*cough*OmniROM*cough*

That being said, Justin Case and Chainfire both have simple solutions and workarounds that developers can implement and update their apps, and they'll never even break.

 

[binaryhermit]

I'm going to make a few guesses here...
It won't make it into 4.4.3, if there even is a 4.4.3.
If it does actually get released, it will be in 5.0.
And it may not even get released.

 

[Medion]

It's all about security. 4.4.x broke MicroSD storage to a degree thanks to security and permissions changes. The overall effect is positive, but some niche usages (file managers) are irreparably broken.

This is another security change protecting a sensitive part of the system. The vast majority of rooted apps won't lose any functionality. There will be niche apps affected, of course.