Automated Vulnerability Discovery in Mobile Device Applications

A testing system tests applications executable on a computing platform, when the app under test executes on the computing platform, the app program code refers to a tree data structure for its user interface operations. That tree data structure is accessed without needing to interrupt the app under test or without needing software hooks into the app. The testing system obtains a specification of user interface criteria from an operator, processes the tree data structure with the specification to identify nodes of the tree data structure that match the user interface criteria, and outputs a representation of the matching nodes. The matching nodes are user interface entry points capable of being used to test the app for vulnerabilities. The specification can include edge criteria, wherein an edge criterion corresponds to a characteristic of an edge in the tree data structure between at least two nodes of the tree data structure.