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Security: WSA-Installer/wsa-installer

Security

SECURITY.md

Security Policy

Reporting a Vulnerability

If you discover a security vulnerability within WSA Installer, please send an email to the project maintainers. All security vulnerabilities will be promptly addressed.

Please do NOT report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues.

What to Include

When reporting a vulnerability, please include:

  • Description of the vulnerability
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Potential impact
  • Suggested fix (if any)

Response Timeline

  • Acknowledgment: Within 48 hours
  • Initial assessment: Within 1 week
  • Fix and release: Depends on severity, typically within 2 weeks

Security Architecture

WSA Installer implements multiple security layers:

Layer 1: Rust Security Gateway (widget_ui.pyd)

  • Zero-trust configuration parsing
  • Signature verification for remote config
  • Encrypted configuration handling
  • Hash-based deduplication to prevent redundant updates

Layer 2: Instance Enforcement

  • Socket-based single instance lock prevents multiple installer copies
  • Port-based process detection for conflict resolution

Layer 3: Windows Service

  • WSABackgroundService runs as SYSTEM-level Windows Service
  • Auto-restart on failure with configurable retry logic
  • User session process spawning via CreateProcessAsUserW

Layer 4: Source Protection

  • Nuitka compilation (app.py → app.pyd) for source code protection
  • PyInstaller bundling with binary obfuscation
  • Embedded Python 3.14 runtime isolation

Layer 5: Privilege Management

  • UAC elevation for system modifications
  • Administrator privilege validation before operations
  • Input blocking during sensitive automation sequences

Best Practices for Users

  1. Download only from official sources — Use the official GitHub releases
  2. Run as administrator — Required for WSA installation and system modifications
  3. Keep updated — Use the built-in self-update feature
  4. Verify checksums — Compare downloaded file hashes when possible
  5. Review logs — Check wsa_activity.log for suspicious activity

Security Updates

Security updates will be released as patches to the current version. Users are encouraged to enable automatic updates or check the Releases page regularly.

Scope

This security policy applies to:

  • The WSA Installer application (WSA Installer.exe)
  • The NSIS installer (WSA_Installer_Setup.exe)
  • The background service (WSABackgroundService)
  • The native modules (widget_ui.pyd, playstore_patcher_mem.pyd)

It does NOT apply to:

  • Third-party software (ADB, Python, etc.)
  • Windows Subsystem for Android itself
  • Applications installed within WSA

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the security research community and responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities.

There aren't any published security advisories