Natasha Merat

54 papers A 1B 1C 2Misc 1Journal 31Unranked 18
YearRankTypeTitle / Venue / Authors
2026 J jnl
CoRR
Alif Rizqullah Mahdi, Mahdi Rezaei, Natasha Merat
2025 conf
AutomotiveUI
Hao Qin, Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Courtney Michael Goodridge, Natasha Merat
2025 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Angus McKerral, Megan Dawn Mulhall, Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Ilse Harms, Natasha Merat, Georgia A. Tuckwell, Shiyan Yang, Kyle M. Wilson
2025 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Yee Mun Lee, Vladislav Sidorov, Ruth Madigan, Jorge Garcia de Pedro, Gustav Markkula, Natasha Merat
2025 J jnl
IEEE Trans. Intell. Transp. Syst.
Kai Tian, Chongfeng Wei, Wei Lyu, Yueyang Wang, Yee Mun Lee, Natasha Merat, Richard Romano, Gustav Markkula
2025 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Jorge Pardo, Mohammed Mamdouh Zakaria Elhenawy, Jonny Kuo, Mohsen Azarmi, Mahdi Rezaei, Michael G. Lenné, Ronald Schroeter, Natasha Merat
2025 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Chen Peng, Pavlo Bazilinskyy, Yueteng Yu, Natasha Merat
2025 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Chen Peng, Ibrahim Öztürk, Ruth Madigan, Sina Nordhoff, Sascha Hoogendoorn-Lanser, Marjan P. Hagenzieker, Natasha Merat
2025 J jnl
IEEE Trans. Hum. Mach. Syst.
Amir Hossein Kalantari, Yi-Shin Lin, Ali Mohammadi, Natasha Merat, Gustav Markkula
2025 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Courtney Michael Goodridge, Jorge Pardo, Amélie Reher, Jonny Kuo, Audrey Bruneau, Natasha Merat
2024 J jnl
IEEE Trans. Intell. Transp. Syst.
Kai Tian, Gustav Markkula, Chongfeng Wei, Yee Mun Lee, Ruth Madigan, Toshiya Hirose, Natasha Merat, Richard Romano
2024 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Chen Peng, Natasha Merat, Richard Romano, Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi, Evangelos Paschalidis, Chongfeng Wei, Vishnu Radhakrishnan, Albert Solernou, Deborah Forster, Erwin R. Boer
2024 J jnl
Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud.
Jinlei Shi, Chunlei Chai, Ruiyi Cai, Haoran Wei, Youcheng Zhou, Hao Fan, Wei Zhang, Natasha Merat
2024 J jnl
Frontiers Virtual Real.
Wilbert Tabone, Riender Happee, Yue Yang, Ehsan Sadraei, Jorge Garcia de Pedro, Yee Mun Lee, Natasha Merat, Joost C. F. de Winter
2024 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Courtney Michael Goodridge, Jonny Kuo, Mike G. Lenné, Natasha Merat
2024 Misc conf
OZCHI
Jorge Pardo, Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Xiaomeng Li, Jonny Kuo, Shiyan Yang, Ronald Schroeter, Natasha Merat, Mike G. Lenné
2023 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Yue Yang, Amir Hossein Kalantari, Yee Mun Lee, Albert Solernou, Gustav Markkula, Natasha Merat
2023 C conf
IV
Chi Zhang, Amir Hossein Kalantari, Yue Yang, Zhongjun Ni, Gustav Markkula, Natasha Merat, Christian Berger
2023 J jnl
CoRR
Chi Zhang, Amir Hossein Kalantari, Yue Yang, Zhongjun Ni, Gustav Markkula, Natasha Merat, Christian Berger
2023 conf
AutomotiveUI
Yang Li, Yee Mun Lee, Yue Yang, Kai Tian, Michael Daly, Anthony Horrobin, Albert Solernou, Natasha Merat
2023 J jnl
IEEE Access
Amir Hossein Kalantari, Yue Yang, Yee Mun Lee, Natasha Merat, Gustav Markkula
2023 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Chen Peng, Ibrahim Öztürk, Sina Nordhoff, Ruth Madigan, Sascha Hoogendoorn-Lanser, Marjan P. Hagenzieker, Natasha Merat
2023 J jnl
IEEE Trans. Intell. Veh.
Chongfeng Wei, Evangelos Paschalidis, Natasha Merat, Albert Solernou Crusat, Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi, Richard Romano
2023 J jnl
CoRR
Sina Nordhoff, Marjan P. Hagenzieker, Esko Lehtonen, Michael Oehl, Marc Wilbrink, Ibrahim Öztürk, David Maggi, Natacha Métayer, Gaëtan Merlhiot, Natasha Merat
2023 J jnl
Inf.
Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Tyron Louw, Yee Mun Lee, Ruth Madigan, Jonny Kuo, Mike G. Lenné, Natasha Merat
2023 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Chantal Himmels, Gary E. Burnett, Tamara von Sawitzky, Natasha Merat, Andreas Riener
2023 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Megan Dawn Mulhall, Angus McKerral, Shiyan Yang, Natasha Merat, Ilse Harms, Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Kyle M. Wilson
2022 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Anees Ahamed Kaleefathullah, Natasha Merat, Yee Mun Lee, Yke Bauke Eisma, Ruth Madigan, Jorge Garcia, Joost C. F. de Winter
2022 conf
AutomotiveUI (Adjunct Proceedings)
Kai Holländer, Lutz Morich, Natasha Merat, Gary E. Burnett, Virpi Roto, Wendy Ju, David Sirkin
2021 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Tyron Louw, Rafael Cirino Gonçalves, Guilhermina Torrao, Vishnu Radhakrishnan, Wei Lyu, Pablo Puente Guillen, Natasha Merat
2021 conf
AutomotiveUI (adjunct)
Tyron Louw, Ruth Madigan, Yee Mun Lee, Cinzia De Marco, Jorge Lorente Mallada, Natasha Merat
2021 J jnl
IEEE Trans. Intell. Transp. Syst.
Fanta Camara, Nicola Bellotto, Serhan Cosar, Florian Weber, Dimitris Nathanael, Matthias Althoff, Jingyuan Wu, Johannes Ruenz, André Dietrich, Gustav Markkula, Anna Schieben, Fabio Tango, Natasha Merat, Charles W. Fox
2021 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Yee Mun Lee, Ruth Madigan, Oscar Giles, Laura Garach-Morcillo, Gustav Markkula, Charles W. Fox, Fanta Camara, Markus Rothmüller, Signe Alexandra Vendelbo-Larsen, Pernille Holm Rasmussen, André Dietrich, Dimitris Nathanael, Villy Portouli, Anna Schieben, Natasha Merat
2021 conf
AutomotiveUI
Wilbert Tabone, Yee Mun Lee, Natasha Merat, Riender Happee, Joost C. F. de Winter
2020 J jnl
Inf.
Vishnu Radhakrishnan, Natasha Merat, Tyron Louw, Michael G. Lenné, Richard Romano, Evangelos Paschalidis, Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi, Chongfeng Wei, Erwin R. Boer
2020 J jnl
CoRR
Fanta Camara, Nicola Bellotto, Serhan Cosar, Florian Weber, Dimitris Nathanael, Matthias Althoff, Jingyuan Wu, Johannes Ruenz, André Dietrich, Gustav Markkula, Anna Schieben, Fabio Tango, Natasha Merat, Charles W. Fox
2020 conf
ITSC
Baotian He, Penghui Li, Natasha Merat, Yibing Li
2019 conf
ITSC
Fanta Camara, Natasha Merat, Charles W. Fox
2019 B conf
CogSci
Oscar Giles, Gustav Markkula, Jami Pekkanen, Naoki Yokota, Naoto Matsunaga, Natasha Merat, Tatsuru Daimon
2019 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Anna Schieben, Marc Wilbrink, Carmen Kettwich, Ruth Madigan, Tyron Louw, Natasha Merat
2019 A conf
IROS
Min Wu, Tyron Louw, Morteza Lahijanian, Wenjie Ruan, Xiaowei Huang, Natasha Merat, Marta Kwiatkowska
2019 conf
HCI (31)
Evangelia Portouli, Dimitris Nathanael, Angelos Amditis, Yee Mun Lee, Natasha Merat, Jim Uttley, Oscar Giles, Gustav Markkula, André Dietrich, Anna Schieben, James Jenness
2019 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Natasha Merat, Bobbie Seppelt, Tyron Louw, Johan Engström, John D. Lee, Emma Johansson, Charles A. Green, Satoshi Katazaki, Chris Monk, Makoto Itoh, Daniel V. McGehee, Takashi Sunda, Kiyozumi Unoura, Trent Victor, Anna Schieben, Andreas Keinath
2019 conf
AutomotiveUI
Yee Mun Lee, Ruth Madigan, Jorge Garcia, Andrew Tomlinson, Albert Solernou, Richard Romano, Gustav Markkula, Natasha Merat, Jim Uttley
2018 conf
ITSC
Fanta Camara, Oscar Giles, Ruth Madigan, Markus Rothmüller, Pernille Holm Rasmussen, Alexandra Vendelbo-Larsen, Gustav Markkula, Yee Mun Lee, Laura Garach, Natasha Merat, Charles W. Fox
2018 J jnl
Biol. Cybern.
Gustav Markkula, Erwin R. Boer, Richard Romano, Natasha Merat
2018 C conf
VEHITS
Charles W. Fox, Fanta Camara, Gustav Markkula, Richard Romano, Ruth Madigan, Natasha Merat
2017 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Johan Engström, Gustav Markkula, Trent Victor, Natasha Merat
2017 J jnl
CoRR
Gustav Markkula, Erwin R. Boer, Richard Romano, Natasha Merat
2016 J jnl
Cogn. Technol. Work.
Nicholas C. Herbert, Nicholas J. Thyer, Sarah J. Isherwood, Natasha Merat
2012 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Oliver M. J. Carsten, Frank C. H. Lai, Yvonne Barnard, A. Hamish Jamson, Natasha Merat
2012 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Natasha Merat, A. Hamish Jamson, Frank C. H. Lai, Oliver M. J. Carsten
2012 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Natasha Merat, John D. Lee
2008 J jnl
Hum. Factors
Natasha Merat, A. Hamish Jamson
APK_CODE_ANALYSIS_PDD.md
← Index APK_CODE_ANALYSIS_PDD.md markdown
# APK Code Analysis — Product Design Document

**Author:** Engineering Team
**Date:** 2026-03-07
**Status:** Draft
**Target:** redb ingestor pipeline
**Depends on:** APK_FEATURES_PDD.md (APK static analysis extractors — implemented)

---

## 1. Overview

This document describes the design for adding **DEX code analysis** (decompilation, disassembly, call graphs, cross-references, and function similarity) to the redb ingestor pipeline. This is the Android equivalent of the Binary Ninja code analysis pipeline that exists for PE and ELF binaries.

### 1.1 Goals

- Decompile and disassemble APK DEX bytecode at the **method level**, producing per-method content and reference records analogous to the Binary Ninja `code_binja_*` tables
- Extract **call graphs and cross-references** (caller/callee relationships) for each method
- Compute **function similarity hashes** (SHA-256, ssdeep, TLSH, MinHash) for method-level clustering and hunting
- **Filter out library/framework code** to focus on user-written application logic — same philosophy as the `is_lib_or_thunk()` filter in Binary Ninja analysis
- Produce **decompiled Java source** (via JADX) and **smali disassembly** (via apktool) for each method, following the content/reference split pattern used by Binary Ninja tables
- Integrate with the existing APK extractor pipeline (runs after the Phase 1 APK extractors from `APK_FEATURES_PDD.md`)

### 1.2 Non-Goals

- **Native .so library analysis** — These are equivalent to external DLLs/shared libraries in PE/ELF. They are catalogued by `APKNativeLibExtractor` but not decompiled. If deep native analysis is needed, the existing ELF pipeline can be used on extracted `.so` files in a future phase.
- **Dynamic analysis / emulation** — Out of scope
- **Full APK repackaging / patching** — We use apktool for disassembly only, not rebuild
- **Inter-procedural data-flow analysis** (e.g., FlowDroid taint tracking) — Future consideration

### 1.3 Relationship to Existing Work

| Existing | New (this PDD) |
|----------|----------------|
| `APK_FEATURES_PDD.md` — APK metadata, manifest, permissions, certificates, DEX summary, resources, native libs | DEX **code-level** analysis: per-method decompilation, disassembly, call graphs, similarity hashes |
| `DecompileBinja` — PE/ELF code analysis via Binary Ninja | `DecompileAPK` — APK/DEX code analysis via androguard + JADX + apktool |
| `code_binja_*` ClickHouse tables | `code_apk_*` ClickHouse tables (same content/reference split pattern) |

---

## 2. Background

### 2.1 DEX Bytecode vs Native Code

| Aspect | PE/ELF (Binary Ninja) | APK/DEX (This PDD) |
|--------|----------------------|---------------------|
| Code format | Machine code (x86, ARM) | Dalvik bytecode (register-based VM) |
| Basic unit | Function (by address) | Method (by class + signature) |
| Disassembly | x86/ARM mnemonics | Smali (Dalvik assembly) |
| Decompilation | Pseudo-C (HLIL) | Java source code |
| Library filtering | `is_lib_or_thunk()` — symbol type | Package prefix filtering (e.g., `android.*`, `androidx.*`, `com.google.*`) |
| Similarity hashing | SHA-256 of normalized disassembly | SHA-256 of normalized smali |

### 2.2 Tool Selection

Three tools are combined to replicate the Binary Ninja analysis depth:

| Tool | Role | Integration | License |
|------|------|-------------|---------|
| **Androguard** (Python library) | Method enumeration, call graphs, cross-references, bytecode access, permissions analysis | Direct Python import — `from androguard.misc import AnalyzeAPK` | Apache 2.0 |
| **JADX** (Java CLI) | High-quality Java decompilation (equivalent to Binary Ninja HLIL) | subprocess (following CAPA/DIE pattern) | Apache 2.0 |
| **apktool** (Java CLI) | Smali disassembly with resource decoding (equivalent to Binary Ninja disassembly) | subprocess (following CAPA/DIE pattern) | Apache 2.0 |

**Why all three:**
- **Androguard** is the analysis engine — it provides call graphs, xrefs, and method enumeration natively in Python. However, its decompiler (DAD) produces lower-quality Java than JADX.
- **JADX** produces the best Java decompilation available. It is the industry standard for Android reverse engineering (47k+ GitHub stars).
- **apktool** produces canonical smali output with decoded resources. While androguard can access bytecode, apktool's smali output is the standard interchange format for Android RE.

### 2.3 Library Filtering Strategy

Native `.so` libraries are **not reverse-engineered** — they are equivalent to external DLLs in PE or shared libraries in ELF, and are already inventoried by `APKNativeLibExtractor`.

For DEX code, we filter out **framework/library packages** to focus on user-written code. This is the Android equivalent of `is_lib_or_thunk()` in the Binary Ninja pipeline.

**Default filter list** (configurable via environment variable `APK_LIBRARY_PREFIXES`):

```
android.*              # Android SDK
androidx.*             # AndroidX support libraries
com.google.android.*   # Google Play Services, Firebase
com.google.firebase.*  # Firebase
com.google.gson.*      # Gson JSON library
com.google.protobuf.*  # Protocol Buffers
kotlin.*               # Kotlin stdlib
kotlinx.*              # Kotlin extensions
org.apache.*           # Apache Commons
com.squareup.*         # OkHttp, Retrofit, Moshi
io.reactivex.*         # RxJava
org.reactivestreams.*  # Reactive Streams
com.facebook.*         # Facebook SDK
com.crashlytics.*      # Crashlytics
io.fabric.*            # Fabric
org.junit.*            # Test frameworks
org.mockito.*          # Test frameworks
```

Methods in filtered packages are still counted in call graph edges (caller/callee arrays) but their content is not stored in content tables. This mirrors how Binary Ninja records calls to library functions in `functions_caller`/`functions_call` arrays without decompiling the library functions themselves.

### 2.4 Packer Detection

Packer/protector detection for APKs uses **DetectItEasy (DIE)**, consistent with how packer detection works for PE/ELF/Mach-O in the existing pipeline. DIE already has signatures for common Android packers (Qihoo 360, Bangcle, Ijiami, Tencent Legu, Baidu, etc.).

The existing `DIEExtractor` runs as a format-agnostic extractor before format-specific analysis and requires no changes.

---

## 3. Architecture

### 3.1 Extractor Class Hierarchy

```
Extractor (redb/extractors/extractor.py)
└── DecompileAPK (NEW — redb/extractors/decompiler/DecompileAPK.py)
    ├── Uses: APKCodeAnalyzer (NEW — redb/extractors/decompiler/apk/analyzer.py)
    │   ├── AndroguardAnalysis — call graphs, xrefs, method enumeration
    │   ├── JADXDecompiler — Java decompilation (subprocess)
    │   └── ApktoolDisassembler — smali extraction (subprocess)
    └── Produces: multi_table ClickHouse export (same pattern as DecompileBinja)
```

**Design rationale:** `DecompileAPK` extends `Extractor` directly (not `APKExtractor`) because it follows the `DecompileBinja` pattern — a standalone extractor with its own analysis engine, rather than an APK metadata extractor that shares a parsed `APK` object. The APK parsing object from androguard is used internally but not shared with other extractors.

### 3.2 Analysis Pipeline Flow

```
APK file
  │
  ├─[1]─► apktool d <apk> ─► smali files on disk (temp dir)
  │
  ├─[2]─► jadx <apk> --no-res ─► Java source files on disk (temp dir)
  │
  └─[3]─► androguard AnalyzeAPK() ─► Analysis object (in-memory)
              │
              ├── Method enumeration ──► filter library packages
              │
              ├── For each user method:
              │     ├── Read smali from apktool output [1]
              │     ├── Read Java source from JADX output [2]
              │     ├── Get xrefs from Analysis object [3]
              │     ├── Compute content hashes (SHA-256 of smali, SHA-256 of Java)
              │     ├── Compute similarity hashes (ssdeep, TLSH of smali)
              │     └── Emit content + reference records
              │
              └── Call graph export ──► caller/callee arrays per method
```

Steps [1], [2], and [3] run in parallel (apktool and JADX as subprocess, androguard in-process). All three must complete before per-method analysis begins.

### 3.3 Content/Reference Split Pattern

Following the Binary Ninja schema pattern exactly:

- **Content tables** — Keyed by `function_hash` (SHA-256 of the method content). Deduplicated: if two APKs share identical method code, only one content record exists.
- **Reference tables** — Keyed by `(sha256, method_hash)`. Links a specific binary to its methods. Contains per-binary metadata (method name, class, address, callers, callees, fuzzy hashes).

This is the same pattern as `code_binja_decompiled_functions_content` / `code_binja_decompiled_functions_references`.

### 3.4 Method-Level Hashing

Hashing is computed at the **method level** for consistency with the Binary Ninja pipeline:

| Hash | Input | Purpose |
|------|-------|---------|
| `decompiled_method_hash` | SHA-256 of decompiled Java source (whitespace-normalized) | Content deduplication, exact match |
| `smali_method_hash` | SHA-256 of smali body (instructions only, no `.method`/`.end method` directives) | Content deduplication, exact match |
| `ssdeep_smali` | ssdeep of smali body | Fuzzy similarity search |
| `tlsh_smali` | TLSH of smali body | Fuzzy similarity search |
| `minhash_smali` | MinHash signature of smali instruction n-grams | LSH-based similarity clustering |

### 3.5 Obfuscation Indicators (per method)

Computed from the smali representation:

- `short_method_name` — Method name is <= 2 characters (a, b, c — typical R8/ProGuard output)
- `short_class_name` — Enclosing class has a single-letter name
- `has_string_encryption` — Method contains `const-string` followed by decryption-pattern calls
- `has_reflection_calls` — Method uses `java.lang.reflect.*` APIs
- `excessive_goto_count` — Number of `goto` instructions exceeds threshold (control flow flattening indicator)

---

## 4. Data Model

### 4.1 New Dataclasses

```python
@dataclass
class APKDecompiledMethodContent:
    """Decompiled Java source for a single method (content table — deduplicated by hash)."""
    decompiled_method_hash: str          # SHA-256 of normalized Java source
    decompiled_method: str               # Full Java method source
    method_type: str                     # "USER" or "LIBRARY"
    has_string_encryption: bool = False
    has_reflection_calls: bool = False
    excessive_goto_count: bool = False


@dataclass
class APKDecompiledMethodReference:
    """Links a specific APK to one of its decompiled methods (reference table)."""
    sha256: str                          # APK hash
    sha1: str
    md5: str
    decompiled_method_hash: str          # FK to content table
    smali_method_hash: Optional[str]     # FK to smali content table
    class_name: str                      # e.g., "com.example.MainActivity"
    method_name: str                     # e.g., "onCreate"
    method_signature: str                # e.g., "(Landroid/os/Bundle;)V"
    method_prototype: str                # e.g., "void onCreate(Bundle)"
    functions_caller: List[str]          # Methods that call this method
    functions_call: List[str]            # Methods called by this method


@dataclass
class APKSmaliMethodContent:
    """Smali disassembly for a single method (content table — deduplicated by hash)."""
    smali_method_hash: str               # SHA-256 of normalized smali body
    smali_method: str                    # Full smali method body
    method_type: str                     # "USER" or "LIBRARY"
    instructions_count: int = 0
    register_count: int = 0
    has_string_encryption: bool = False
    has_reflection_calls: bool = False
    excessive_goto_count: bool = False


@dataclass
class APKSmaliMethodReference:
    """Links a specific APK to one of its smali methods (reference table)."""
    sha256: str
    sha1: str
    md5: str
    smali_method_hash: str               # FK to content table
    decompiled_method_hash: Optional[str] # FK to decompiled content table
    class_name: str
    method_name: str
    method_signature: str
    ssdeep_smali: Optional[str] = None
    tlsh_smali: Optional[str] = None


@dataclass
class APKMethodSimilarityMetrics:
    """Similarity hashes for method-level clustering (keyed by smali hash)."""
    smali_method_hash: str
    cyclomatic_complexity: Optional[int] = None
    ssdeep_smali: Optional[str] = None
    tlsh_smali: Optional[str] = None
    minhash: Optional[List[int]] = None


@dataclass
class APKCodeAnalysisError:
    """Error encountered during method analysis."""
    sha256: str
    class_name: Optional[str] = None
    method_name: Optional[str] = None
    error_location: str = ""             # "jadx", "apktool", "androguard", "analysis"
    error_message: Optional[str] = None
    error_type: Optional[str] = None
```

### 4.2 Tag Enum Addition

```python
# In redb/extractors/enum.py
APK_DECOMPILED = "apk_decompiled"
```

### 4.3 ClickHouse Tables

| Table | Key | Pattern | Analog |
|-------|-----|---------|--------|
| `code_apk_decompiled_methods_content` | `decompiled_method_hash` | Content (deduplicated) | `code_binja_decompiled_functions_content` |
| `code_apk_decompiled_methods_references` | `(sha256, decompiled_method_hash)` | Reference (per-binary) | `code_binja_decompiled_functions_references` |
| `code_apk_smali_methods_content` | `smali_method_hash` | Content (deduplicated) | `code_binja_disassembled_functions_content` |
| `code_apk_smali_methods_references` | `(sha256, smali_method_hash)` | Reference (per-binary) | `code_binja_disassembled_functions_references` |
| `code_apk_method_similarity_metrics` | `smali_method_hash` | Similarity | `code_binja_function_similarity_metrics` |
| `code_apk_analysis_errors` | `(sha256, class_name, method_name)` | Errors | `function_analysis_errors_binja` |

All tables use `ReplacingMergeTree(analysis_date)` engine, consistent with existing schema.

---

## 5. External Tool Management

### 5.1 JADX

- **Invocation:** `jadx --no-res --no-imports --threads-count 2 --output-dir <tmpdir> <apk_path>`
- **Flags:**
  - `--no-res` — Skip resource decompilation (androguard handles resources)
  - `--no-imports` — Omit import statements for cleaner per-method extraction
  - `--threads-count 2` — Limit threads (same as Binary Ninja worker thread limit)
- **Output:** Java source files in `<tmpdir>/<package>/<Class>.java`
- **Timeout:** Configurable via `JADX_TIMEOUT` env var (default: 600s)
- **Path:** Configurable via `JADX_PATH` env var (default: `jadx`)
- **Error handling:** If JADX fails for a specific APK, the decompiled content tables are skipped but smali analysis continues. Error logged to `code_apk_analysis_errors`.

### 5.2 apktool

- **Invocation:** `apktool d --no-res --force --output <tmpdir> <apk_path>`
- **Flags:**
  - `--no-res` — Skip resource decoding (only want smali)
  - `--force` — Overwrite output directory if exists
- **Output:** Smali files in `<tmpdir>/smali/com/example/ClassName.smali` (one per class, containing all methods)
- **Timeout:** Configurable via `APKTOOL_TIMEOUT` env var (default: 600s)
- **Path:** Configurable via `APKTOOL_PATH` env var (default: `apktool`)
- **Error handling:** Same as JADX — if apktool fails, smali content tables are skipped but decompiled Java analysis continues. Error logged.

### 5.3 Androguard

- **Invocation:** Direct Python API — `AnalyzeAPK(filepath)` returns `(APK, list[DEX], Analysis)`
- **The `Analysis` object provides:**
  - `get_methods()` — All `MethodAnalysis` objects
  - `get_call_graph()` — networkx `MultiDiGraph` of method calls
  - `MethodAnalysis.get_xref_from()` — Who calls this method
  - `MethodAnalysis.get_xref_to()` — What this method calls
  - `MethodAnalysis.get_method()` — Access to `EncodedMethod` for bytecode
- **No timeout needed** — runs in-process, same Python process

---

## 6. Ingestor Integration

In `workers.py:process_binary_file()`, the APK branch will be extended to run `DecompileAPK` after the existing APK extractors:

```python
# Existing APK extractors (from APK_FEATURES_PDD.md)
for module in apk_modules:
    extractor = module(filepath, logger, exporters=exporters, ...)
    extractor.export_data()

# NEW: Code analysis (this PDD)
if "DecompileAPK" in selected_modules or "all" in selected_modules:
    decompiler = DecompileAPK(
        filepath, logger, exporters=exporters,
        index_prefix=index_prefix, filetype="apk",
    )
    decompiler.export_data()
```

The `DecompileAPK` extractor runs with its own timeout (configurable via `APK_DECOMPILE_TIMEOUT`, default: 1800s) using the same daemon-thread pattern as `DecompileBinja`.

---

## 7. New Dependencies

### 7.1 Required (system-level)

| Tool | Installation | Version | License | Purpose |
|------|-------------|---------|---------|---------|
| **JADX** | System package or download from GitHub releases | >= 1.5 | Apache 2.0 | Java decompilation |
| **apktool** | System package or download from GitHub releases | >= 2.9 | Apache 2.0 | Smali disassembly |
| **Java Runtime** | System package (`openjdk-17-jre` or similar) | >= 11 | GPL+CE | Required by JADX and apktool |

### 7.2 Required (Python — already installed)

| Library | Current Version | Usage in this PDD |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| `androguard` | >=4.1 | Call graphs, xrefs, method enumeration (already in requirements.txt) |
| `ppdeep` | installed | ssdeep fuzzy hashing (already used by Binary Ninja pipeline) |
| `py-tlsh` | installed | TLSH fuzzy hashing (already used by Binary Ninja pipeline) |
| `mmh3` | installed | MinHash computation (already used by Binary Ninja pipeline) |
| `networkx` | installed via androguard | Call graph representation (transitive dependency) |

### 7.3 No new Python dependencies required

All Python libraries needed are already in `requirements.txt`. The only new system-level dependencies are JADX, apktool, and a Java runtime.

---

## 8. Implementation Phases

### Phase 1 — Core Infrastructure

1. `APKCodeAnalyzer` class — androguard integration (method enumeration, call graph, xrefs, library filtering)
2. `JADXDecompiler` wrapper — subprocess management with timeout, output parsing
3. `ApktoolDisassembler` wrapper — subprocess management with timeout, smali parsing
4. Method-level content extraction and hashing logic
5. Unit tests for all Phase 1 components

### Phase 2 — Extractor and Data Export

6. `DecompileAPK` extractor class (following `DecompileBinja` pattern)
7. ClickHouse table creation functions
8. Multi-table export (`prepare_export_data`) for all 6 tables
9. Integration with `workers.py` dispatch
10. Unit tests for extractor, schema, and export
11. Update `TEST_INDEX.md`

### Phase 3 — Similarity and Obfuscation Analysis

12. Method-level similarity hash computation (ssdeep, TLSH, MinHash on smali)
13. Obfuscation indicator computation per method
14. `code_apk_method_similarity_metrics` table population
15. Unit tests for similarity and obfuscation
16. Update `TEST_INDEX.md`

### Phase 4 — Integration Testing and Hardening

17. End-to-end integration tests with real APK samples (benign + malicious + obfuscated)
18. Edge case handling: multi-DEX, empty DEX, packed APKs, APKs with no user code
19. Performance profiling and timeout tuning
20. Final `TEST_INDEX.md` update

---

## 9. Testing Strategy

### 9.1 Unit Tests

All unit tests mock external tools (JADX, apktool, androguard) and require no system dependencies:

- **Analyzer tests** — Method enumeration, library filtering, call graph extraction, xref parsing
- **JADX wrapper tests** — Subprocess invocation, output parsing, timeout handling, error recovery
- **Apktool wrapper tests** — Same as JADX
- **Hashing tests** — SHA-256 normalization, ssdeep/TLSH computation, MinHash signature generation
- **Extractor tests** — `DecompileAPK.extract()`, `prepare_export_data()`, multi-table schema validation
- **Smali parsing tests** — Method boundary detection, instruction extraction, register counting

### 9.2 Integration Tests

Require JADX, apktool, and Java installed:

- Full pipeline run on known APK samples
- Cross-validate decompiled output against known method signatures
- Verify ClickHouse export column counts and types
- Test with obfuscated APKs (ProGuard/R8 output)

### 9.3 Markers

```python
@pytest.mark.apk           # All APK tests
@pytest.mark.decompile      # All decompiler tests
@pytest.mark.unit           # No external deps
@pytest.mark.integration    # Requires JADX/apktool/Java
```

---

## 10. Configuration

All configuration via environment variables, consistent with existing extractors:

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `JADX_PATH` | `jadx` | Path to JADX binary |
| `JADX_TIMEOUT` | `600` | JADX subprocess timeout (seconds) |
| `APKTOOL_PATH` | `apktool` | Path to apktool binary |
| `APKTOOL_TIMEOUT` | `600` | apktool subprocess timeout (seconds) |
| `APK_DECOMPILE_TIMEOUT` | `1800` | Overall decompilation timeout (seconds) |
| `APK_LIBRARY_PREFIXES` | (see §2.3) | Comma-separated package prefixes to filter |
| `APK_MIN_METHOD_INSTRUCTIONS` | `5` | Minimum smali instruction count to analyze a method |

---

## 11. Open Questions / Future Work

1. **ProGuard/R8 mapping file support** — If mapping files are bundled (rare in malware, common in crash reports), JADX can use them to restore original names. Deferred.
2. **Kotlin-specific analysis** — Kotlin metadata annotations could provide richer type information. Deferred.
3. **Cross-DEX analysis** — Multi-DEX APKs may have cross-DEX method calls. Androguard handles this via `AnalyzeAPK()` which loads all DEX files into a single `Analysis` object. No special handling needed.
4. **JADX as Java library via JPype** — Could eliminate subprocess overhead. Deferred in favor of the proven subprocess pattern, but may be revisited if performance is an issue.

---

## Appendix A — CFG Feature Parity with Binary Ninja Pipeline

**Date:** 2026-03-13
**Status:** Planned (Phase 5)
**Depends on:** Phases 13 complete

### A.1 Motivation

The Binary Ninja pipeline produces a dedicated `code_binja_cfg_functions` table with 17 fields capturing graph topology, structural hashes, and per-block feature vectors. The current APK pipeline computes only basic graph scalars (`block_count`, `edge_count`, `cyclomatic_complexity`, `loop_count`, `max_depth`, `max_fan_out`) and bundles them into the `code_apk_method_similarity_metrics` table alongside fuzzy hashes.

Analysis shows that **all advanced CFG features can be computed from smali** — this is not a limitation of Java bytecode. The existing APK infrastructure already:

- Builds `successors[]` adjacency lists from smali control flow (`smali_cfg.py`)
- Computes per-block ACFG feature vectors using the same 8-category schema as Binary Ninja (`smali_cfg.py:_build_block_features`)
- Normalizes Dalvik opcodes into semantic categories equivalent to LLIL categories (`smali_normalization.py`)

The generic functions in `cfg_features.py` (`compute_topology_hash`, `compute_md_index_topdown/bottomup`, `compute_wl_minhash`, `compute_cfg_feature_tlsh`, `pack_adjacency`) operate on adjacency lists and block feature arrays — they have no Binary Ninja dependency and can be called directly from the APK pipeline.

### A.2 Table Restructuring

Split the current single table into two, mirroring the Binja pattern:

#### `code_apk_method_similarity_metrics` (content-based fuzzy matching)

Retains only fuzzy hashes and instruction-sequence similarity data:

| Column | Type | Change |
|--------|------|--------|
| `smali_method_hash` | FixedString(64) | Unchanged |
| `cyclomatic_complexity` | Nullable(UInt16) | Stays (duplicated in both, same as Binja) |
| `ssdeep_smali` | Nullable(String) | Unchanged |
| `tlsh_smali` | Nullable(FixedString(72)) | Unchanged |
| `minhash` | Array(UInt8) | Unchanged |
| `analysis_date` | DateTime64(3, 'UTC') | Unchanged |

Removed from this table: `block_count`, `edge_count`, `loop_count`, `max_depth`, `max_fan_out` — these move to the CFG table.

#### `code_apk_cfg_methods` (NEW — structural/topological similarity)

Mirrors `code_binja_cfg_functions`:

| Column | Type | Source | Analog in Binja |
|--------|------|--------|-----------------|
| `smali_method_hash` | FixedString(64) | Existing | `disassembled_function_hash` |
| `cfg_topology_hash` | FixedString(16) | NEW — `cfg_features.compute_topology_hash()` | Same |
| `block_count` | UInt16 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `edge_count` | UInt16 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `instructions_count` | UInt32 | Existing (total Dalvik instructions) | `llil_total_operations` |
| `call_count` | UInt16 | NEW — count of `invoke-*` instructions | Same |
| `cyclomatic_complexity` | UInt16 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `loop_count` | UInt8 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `max_depth` | UInt16 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `max_fan_out` | UInt8 | Moved from similarity table | Same |
| `md_index_topdown` | UInt64 | NEW — `cfg_features.compute_md_index_topdown()` | Same |
| `md_index_bottomup` | UInt64 | NEW — `cfg_features.compute_md_index_bottomup()` | Same |
| `prime_product_smali` | UInt64 | NEW — Dalvik opcode → prime mapping | `prime_product_llil` |
| `cfg_feature_tlsh` | Nullable(FixedString(72)) | NEW — `cfg_features.compute_cfg_feature_tlsh()` | Same |
| `wl_minhash` | Array(UInt8) | NEW — `cfg_features.compute_wl_minhash()`, 128 elements | Same |
| `bb_features` | Array(Array(UInt16)) | Existing (computed, not exported) | Same |
| `cfg_adjacency` | Array(UInt32) | NEW — `cfg_features.pack_adjacency()` | Same |
| `analysis_date` | DateTime64(3, 'UTC') | | Same |

### A.3 Naming Differences from Binja

Two columns are intentionally renamed to reflect what the data actually represents:

- **`prime_product_smali`** (not `prime_product_llil`) — the prime mapping is applied to normalized Dalvik opcodes, not LLIL. Semantically equivalent for APK-to-APK comparison but not numerically comparable to Binja values.
- **`instructions_count`** (not `llil_total_operations`) — counts Dalvik instructions, not LLIL operations. LLIL decomposes machine instructions into sub-operations; Dalvik bytecode is already at a higher abstraction level where one instruction ≈ one operation.

### A.4 Implementation Requirements

| Task | Effort | Notes |
|------|--------|-------|
| Build `predecessors[]` from `successors[]` in `smali_cfg.py` | ~5 lines | Trivial reverse mapping |
| Define `SMALI_OP_PRIMES` mapping | ~30 lines | Map semantic categories from `smali_normalization.py` to same primes used in `cfg_features.py` |
| Wire `cfg_features.py` functions into `smali_cfg.py` | ~40 lines | Call `compute_topology_hash`, `compute_md_index_*`, `compute_wl_minhash`, `compute_cfg_feature_tlsh`, `pack_adjacency` |
| Export `bb_features` (already computed, not exported) | ~5 lines | Add to results dict |
| Count `invoke-*` instructions for `call_count` | ~5 lines | Filter in instruction loop |
| New `code_apk_cfg_methods` table export in `DecompileAPK.py` | ~60 lines | Follow existing export pattern |
| Slim down `code_apk_method_similarity_metrics` export | ~10 lines | Remove moved columns |
| ClickHouse schema for new table | ~30 lines | Mirror `code_binja_cfg_functions` |
| Unit tests | ~100 lines | Test new fields, reuse patterns from `test_cfg_features.py` |

**Total estimated: ~285 lines of code changes.**

### A.5 What Cannot Be Identical Cross-Platform

The `prime_product_smali` values are **not numerically comparable** to `prime_product_llil` from the Binja pipeline. LLIL decomposes native instructions into sub-operations (e.g., one x86 `push` becomes `STORE` + `SET_REG`), while Dalvik bytecode maps 1:1 to semantic categories. The prime products are valid for APK-vs-APK similarity and APK-vs-APK clustering, which is the intended use case.

All other fields (`cfg_topology_hash`, `md_index_*`, `wl_minhash`, `cfg_feature_tlsh`, `bb_features`, `cfg_adjacency`) are computed from the same generic algorithms and are structurally equivalent across platforms.