
Fundamental Flaw in File Monitoring APIs Exposes Keystrokes and App Activity Across Windows, Linux, Android, and macOS
Researchers from Graz University of Technology demonstrated how built-in file change notification mechanisms can leak sensitive user activity without requiring elevated privileges. The affected subsystems include inotify on Linux, FileObserver on Android, ReadDirectoryChangesW on Windows, and FSEvents on macOS. On Linux the technique enables reconstruction of typed text with 93-100% accuracy by monitoring /dev/input/event4 timestamps. Android apps can break sandbox isolation to observe messaging events, while Windows monitoring of browser cache files reveals visited websites at 97.8% accuracy. Only partial mitigations have been deployed in Linux and Windows, with no fixes available for Android or macOS. Additional attacks remain possible, including detection of password prompts to facilitate phishing overlays.
HabrSep 28, 2026Translated from Russian

