Why rooting and jailbreaking make you a target

As cybercriminals have moved to a mobile-first attack strategy, rooting and jailbreaking mobile devices remain a powerful attack vector. Such mobile devices bypass critical security protocols, leaving organizations vulnerable to mobile malware, data breaches, and complete system compromises.

Threats reported by rooted devices vs stock devices. Source: Zimperium

Recent data from Zimperium underscores the growing risks, with rooted Android mobile devices facing 3.5 times more mobile malware attacks and system compromise incidents rising by 250 times compared to non-rooted devices.

The security risk of rooted devices

While mobile operating systems have implemented stronger defenses, the community behind mobile rooting tools continuously evolves to bypass detection. Tools like Magisk, APatch, KernelSU, Dopamine, and Checkra1n are actively developing, introducing new stealth mechanisms that evade traditional mobile security measures.

“The cat-and-mouse game between security teams and mobile rooting tool developers is far from over,” said Nico Chiaraviglio, Chief Scientist at Zimperium. “What enterprises need is continuous, real-time detection of mobile tampering attempts, because once a mobile device is compromised, the risk to the entire organization skyrockets.”

Rooted devices pose a significantly higher security risk than stock devices, making them far more vulnerable to cyber threats. Malware attacks are 3.5 times more frequent on rooted devices, while detections of compromised apps surge by a factor of 12. System compromise incidents occur 250 times more often, and filesystem compromise events escalate dramatically, increasing by a factor of 3,000. Additionally, security events where Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is disabled rise more than 90 times, further amplifying the risks associated with rooting a device.

Android is the biggest target

Zimperium research indicates that rooted or jailbroken devices make up a small fraction of their customer base, accounting for just 0.1% overall. When broken down by platform, Android devices are more frequently rooted, with approximately 1 in 400 (0.25%) affected. In contrast, iOS devices exhibit a lower incidence, with only 1 in 2,500 (0.04%) being jailbroken.