Pointers to Keep in Mind with React Native Security
The moment developers resort to the use of React Native for the mobile apps, they harp on the benefits of a couple of codebase relating to two platforms. But what about application security? Numerous experts give thumbs down to react native security.
Let us cast our minds back to the basics on what is react native. It is a cross centric platform where you can script native apps with the aid of react native. A Native JS engine relies on the source code whereas the custom JS code demonstrates variant behaviours.
Communication emerges between the engines of Java Script along with the native applications of the app with the aid of a bridge. It points to an event in the native part of the app as it converts into serialized messages and passes on to the engine of Java Script. When you are observing the React Native app from a security point of view, there is a need to be analysing the parts one by one. It requires an adept knowledge about IOS and Android platforms, the Java Script engines with the connection that exists between them which is the bridge.
React Native platform and should you trust them
Developed by Facebook react native is a third party framework. When you are developing apps for Android or Facebook, you need to trust the functional features provided by both these platforms, the hardware and the platform. If you are adding react native it means addition of another platform that you may trust.
An IOS apps incorporates the native code which is part of the react native. Though Facebook develops the internal logic of the bridge. To the Java script code there are no custom production alternatives but Apple does not encourage their usage.
Observing the vulnerable features of JavaScript
Since the react apps rely on the use of JavaScript, React JS advocates a specific approach. For the vulnerabilities the attack surface of the JavaScript is wide. But for React JS it narrows down even more when it is React Native. An example is the source code of React Native would not be using the HTML components. Though the browser centric XSS vectors might be relevant to react JS but it is not the case for react Native. It calls for a degree of sense as React Native apps are not browser based. They run on Java Script code.
Though the apps of React Native have proper level of protection against XSS attacks, a developer can potentially formulate a dangerous API in the code of JavaScript
To conclude React Native harness on the principle that you tend to learn once and write everywhere. For this reason numerous developers do not prefer to write the features in the native code of React Native. It is even if you do not come across the requisite features in React Native SDK that is likely to be implemented across numerous community drives. It is known to contain a series of dependencies.