Effective Way to Detect Whether an Android Device is Rooted Using MAUI

Question

I’m currently working on a MAUI-based application and need an effective way to detect whether an Android device is rooted. I’ve tried a couple of approaches, but none seem to work reliably. Here’s what I’ve attempted so far:

1. Simple Approach Using su Command

I started with a straightforward method to check for root access by executing the su command:

bool isRooted = Java.Lang.Runtime.GetRuntime().Exec("su").ExitValue() == 0;

However, this approach fails to detect root access. Interestingly, running su via adb shell on the same device successfully grants superuser access ($ changes to #), but the above code doesn’t work as expected.

2. Using a NuGet Package

Next, I tried using a NuGet package called banditoth.MAUI.JailbreakDetector:

• GitHub Repository: banditoth.MAUI.JailbreakDetector
• Implementation Details: JailbreakDetectorService.cs

This package checks for:

• Presence of superuser executables (e.g., su).
• Known rooting apps installed on the device.
• Write permissions in restricted directories.

Unfortunately, this solution also fails to detect root access on my test device.

Request for Suggestions

I’m looking for a reliable and effective way to detect root access on Android devices using the .NET MAUI framework. If anyone has successfully implemented root detection in a MAUI app, I’d appreciate any guidance or code examples.

Answer 1

you should see this thread (your approach can lead to zombie processes):

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1101380/determine-if-running-on-a-rooted-device

the consensus is to use google play api:

https://developer.android.com/google/play/integrity/overview