Android 8: Cleartext HTTP traffic not permitted

Question

I had reports from users with Android 8 that my app (that uses back-end feed) does not show content. After investigation I found following Exception happening on Android 8:

08-29 12:03:11.246 11285-11285/ E/: [12:03:11.245, main]: Exception: IOException java.io.IOException: Cleartext HTTP traffic to * not permitted
at com.android.okhttp.HttpHandler$CleartextURLFilter.checkURLPermitted(HttpHandler.java:115)
at com.android.okhttp.internal.huc.HttpURLConnectionImpl.execute(HttpURLConnectionImpl.java:458)
at com.android.okhttp.internal.huc.HttpURLConnectionImpl.connect(HttpURLConnectionImpl.java:127)
at com.deiw.android.generic.tasks.AbstractHttpAsyncTask.doConnection(AbstractHttpAsyncTask.java:207)
at com.deiw.android.generic.tasks.AbstractHttpAsyncTask.extendedDoInBackground(AbstractHttpAsyncTask.java:102)
at com.deiw.android.generic.tasks.AbstractAsyncTask.doInBackground(AbstractAsyncTask.java:88)
at android.os.AsyncTask$2.call(AsyncTask.java:333)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:266)
at android.os.AsyncTask$SerialExecutor$1.run(AsyncTask.java:245)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1162)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:636)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:764)

(I've removed package name, URL and other possible identifiers)

On Android 7 and lower everything works, I do not set android:usesCleartextTraffic in Manifest (and setting it to true does not help, that is the default value anyway), neither do I use Network Security Information. If I call NetworkSecurityPolicy.getInstance().isCleartextTrafficPermitted(), it returns false for Android 8, true for older version, using the same apk file. I tried to find some mention of this on Google info about Android O, but without success.

Answer 1

According to Network security configuration -

Starting with Android 9 (API level 28), cleartext support is disabled by default.

Also have a look at Android M and the war on cleartext traffic

Codelabs explanation from Google

Option 1 -

First try hitting the URL with "https://" instead of "http://"

Option 2 -

Create file res/xml/network_security_config.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">api.example.com(to be adjusted)</domain>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

AndroidManifest.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest ...>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <application
        ...
        android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config"
        ...>
        ...
    </application>
</manifest>

Option 3 -

android:usesCleartextTraffic Doc

AndroidManifest.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest ...>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <application
        ...
        android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
        ...>
        ...
    </application>
</manifest>

Also as @david.s' answer pointed out android:targetSandboxVersion can be a problem too -

According to Manifest Docs -

android:targetSandboxVersion

The target sandbox for this app to use. The higher the sandbox version number, the higher the level of security. Its default value is 1; you can also set it to 2. Setting this attribute to 2 switches the app to a different SELinux sandbox. The following restrictions apply to a level 2 sandbox:

• The default value of usesCleartextTraffic in the Network Security Config is false.
• Uid sharing is not permitted.

So Option 4 -

If you have android:targetSandboxVersion in <manifest> then reduce it to 1

AndroidManifest.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest android:targetSandboxVersion="1">
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    ...
</manifest>

Answer 2

My problem in Android 9 was navigating on a webview over domains with http The solution from this answer

<application 
    android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config"
    ...>

and:

res/xml/network_security_config.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <trust-anchors>
            <certificates src="system" />
        </trust-anchors>
    </base-config>
</network-security-config>

Answer 3

In the AndroidManifest I found this parameter:

android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config"

and @xml/network_security_config is defined in network_security_config.xml as:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <!--Set application-wide security config using base-config tag.-->
    <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="false"/>
</network-security-config>  

just I changed cleartextTrafficPermitted to true

Answer 4

You might only want to allow cleartext while debugging, but keep the security benefits of rejecting cleartext in production. This is useful for me because I test my app against a development server that does not support https. Here is how to enforce https in production, but allow cleartext in debug mode:

In build.gradle:

// Put this in your buildtypes debug section:
manifestPlaceholders = [usesCleartextTraffic:"true"]

// Put this in your buildtypes release section
manifestPlaceholders = [usesCleartextTraffic:"false"]

In the application tag in AndroidManifest.xml

android:usesCleartextTraffic="${usesCleartextTraffic}"

Answer 5

If possible change your url's from HTTP to HTTPS;

It works out!!!

Answer 6

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">***Your URL(ex: 127.0.0.1)***</domain>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

In the suggestion provided above I was providing my URL as http://xyz.abc.com/mno/

I changed that to xyz.abc.com then it started working.

Answer 7

Ok, that is ⇒⇒ NOT ⇐⇐ the thousands repeat of add it to your Manifest, but an hint which base on this, but give you additional Benefit (and maybe some Background Info).

Android has a kind of overwriting functionality for the src-Directory.

By default, you have

/app/src/main

But you can add additional directories to overwrite your AndroidManifest.xml. Here is how it works:

• Create the Directory /app/src/debug
• Inside create the AndroidManifest.xml

Inside of this File, you don't have to put all the Rules inside, but only the ones you like to overwrite from your /app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Here an Example how it looks like for the requested CLEARTEXT-Permission:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
          package="com.yourappname">

    <application
            android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
            android:name=".MainApplication"
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
            android:allowBackup="false"
            android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
    </application>

</manifest>

With this knowledge it's now easy as 1,2,3 for you to overload your Permissions depending on your debug | main | release Enviroment.

The big benefit on it... you don't have debug-stuff in your production-Manifest and you keep an straight and easy maintainable structure

Answer 8

It could be useful for someone.

We recently had the same issue for Android 9, but we only needed to display some Urls within WebView, nothing very special. So adding android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" to Manifest worked, but we didn't want to compromise security of the whole app for this. So the fix was in changing links from http to https

Answer 9

For React Native projects

It was already fixed on RN 0.59. You can find on upgrade diff from 0.58.6 to 0.59 You can apply it without upgrading you RN versionust follow the below steps:

Create files:

android/app/src/debug/res/xml/react_native_config.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
  <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
    <domain includeSubdomains="false">localhost</domain>
    <domain includeSubdomains="false">10.0.2.2</domain>
    <domain includeSubdomains="false">10.0.3.2</domain>
  </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">

  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW"/>

  <application tools:targetApi="28"
      tools:ignore="GoogleAppIndexingWarning" 
      android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/react_native_config" />
</manifest>

Check the accepted answer to know the root cause.

Answer 10

I have removed this line from the android manifest file which is already there

 android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config" 

and added

android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"

this in to application tag in manifest

<application
    android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
    android:allowBackup="true"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:largeHeap="true"
    android:supportsRtl="true"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme"
    >

then this error Cleartext HTTP traffic to overlay.openstreetmap.nl not permitted is gone for me in android 9 and 10.I hope this will work for android 8 also if it is helped you don't forget to vote thank you

Answer 11

Okay, I have figured this out. It is due to the Manifest parameter android:targetSandboxVersion="2", that I have added because we also have Instant App version - it should make sure than once user upgrades from Instant App to regular app, he will not loose his data with the transfer. However as the vague description suggest:

Specifies the target sandbox this app wants to use. Higher sanbox versions will have increasing levels of security.

The default value of this attribute is 1.

It obviously also adds new level of security policy, at least on Android 8.

Answer 12

Adding ... android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" ... to your manifest file may appear to fix the problem but it opens a threat to data integrity.

For security reasons I used manifest placeholders with android:usesCleartextTraffic inside the manifest file (like in Option 3 of the accepted answer i.e @Hrishikesh Kadam's response) to only allow cleartext on debug environment.

Inside my build.gradle(:app) file, I added a manifest placeholder like this:

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }

        debug {
            manifestPlaceholders.cleartextTrafficPermitted ="true"
        }
    }

Note the placeholder name cleartextTrafficPermitted at this line above

            manifestPlaceholders.cleartextTrafficPermitted ="true"

Then in my Android Manifest, I used the same placeholder ...

AndroidManifest.xml -

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest ...>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <application
        ...
        android:usesCleartextTraffic="${cleartextTrafficPermitted}"
        ...>
        ...
    </application>
</manifest>

With that, cleartext traffic is only permitted under the debug environment.

Answer 13

Simple and Easiest Solution [Xamarin Form]

For Android

1. Goto Android Project, then Click on Properties,

2. Open AssemblyInfo.cs and paste this code right there:

   [assembly: Application(UsesCleartextTraffic =true)]

For iOS

Use NSAppTransportSecurity:

You have to set the NSAllowsArbitraryLoads key to YES under NSAppTransportSecurity dictionary in your info.plist file.

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
  <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key>
  <true/>
</dict>

Answer 14

To apply these various answers to Xamarin.Android, you can use class and assembly level Attributes vs. manually editing the AndroidManifest.xml

Internet permission of course is needed (duh..):

[assembly: UsesPermission(Android.Manifest.Permission.Internet)]

Note: Typically assembly level attributes are added to your AssemblyInfo.cs file, but any file, below the using and above the namespace works.

Then on your Application subclass (create one if needed), you can add NetworkSecurityConfig with a reference to an Resources/xml/ZZZZ.xml file:

#if DEBUG
[Application(AllowBackup = false, Debuggable = true, NetworkSecurityConfig = "@xml/network_security_config")]
#else
[Application(AllowBackup = true, Debuggable = false, NetworkSecurityConfig = "@xml/network_security_config"))]
#endif
public class App : Application
{
    public App(IntPtr javaReference, Android.Runtime.JniHandleOwnership transfer) : base(javaReference, transfer) { }
    public App() { }

    public override void OnCreate()
    {
        base.OnCreate();
    }
}

Create a file in the Resources/xml folder (create the xml folder if needed).

Example xml/network_security_config file, adjust as needed (see other answers)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
          <domain includeSubdomains="true">www.example.com</domain>
          <domain includeSubdomains="true">notsecure.com</domain>
          <domain includeSubdomains="false">xxx.xxx.xxx</domain>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

You can also use the UsesCleartextTraffic parameter on the ApplicationAttribute:

#if DEBUG
[Application(AllowBackup = false, Debuggable = true, UsesCleartextTraffic = true)]
#else
[Application(AllowBackup = true, Debuggable = false, UsesCleartextTraffic = true))]
#endif

Answer 15

Update December 2019 ionic - 4.7.1

<manifest xmlns:tools=“http://schemas.android.com/tools”>

<application android:usesCleartextTraffic=“true” tools:targetApi=“28”>

Please add above content in android manifest .xml file

Previous Versions of ionic

1. Make sure you have the following in your config.xml in Ionic Project:

   <edit-config file="app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml" mode="merge" target="/manifest/application" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
               <application android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config" />
               <application android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" />
           </edit-config>
   

2. Run ionic Cordova build android. It creates Android folder under Platforms

3. Open Android Studio and open the Android folder present in our project project-platforms-android. Leave it for few minutes so that it builds the gradle

4. After gradle build is finished we get some errors for including minSdVersion in manifest.xml. Now what we do is just remove <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="19" /> from manifest.xml.

   Make sure its removed from both the locations:

   1. app → manifests → AndroidManifest.xml.
   2. CordovaLib → manifests → AndroidManifest.xml.

   Now try to build the gradle again and now it builds successfully

5. Make sure you have the following in Application tag in App → manifest → Androidmanifest.xml:

   <application
   android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config"  android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" >
   

6. Open network_security_config (app → res → xml → network_security_config.xml).

   Add the following code:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <network-security-config>
       <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
           <domain includeSubdomains="true">xxx.yyyy.com</domain>
       </domain-config>
   </network-security-config>
   

Here xxx.yyyy.com is the link of your HTTP API. Make sure you don't include any Http before the URL.

Note: Now build the app using Android Studio (Build -- Build Bundle's/APK -- Build APK) and now you can use that App and it works fine in Android Pie. If you try to build app using ionic Cordova build android it overrides all these settings so make sure you use Android Studio to build the Project.

If you have any older versions of app installed, Uninstall them and give a try or else you will be left with some error:

App not Installed

Answer 16

I am also got the same "Cleartext HTTP traffic not permitted" error while developing my Application. I am using Retrofit2 for network calls in my application and I have two project environments(dev & production). My Production domain is having SSL certificate with HTTPS calls and dev won't have https. The configuration is added in the build flavors. But when I change to dev, this issue will trigger. So I have added below-solution for that.

I have added cleartext traffic in the manifest

 android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"

Then I have added a connection spec in the retrofit configuration class OKHttp creation time.

 .connectionSpecs(CollectionsKt.listOf(ConnectionSpec.MODERN_TLS, ConnectionSpec.CLEARTEXT))

Complete OkHttpClient creation is given below

OkHttpClient okHttpClient = new OkHttpClient.Builder()
        .readTimeout(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
        .connectTimeout(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
        .cache(null)
        .connectionSpecs(CollectionsKt.listOf(ConnectionSpec.MODERN_TLS, ConnectionSpec.CLEARTEXT))
        .addInterceptor(new NetworkInterceptor(context))
        .addInterceptor(createLoggingInterceptor())
        .addInterceptor(createSessionExpiryInterceptor())
        .addInterceptor(createContextHeaderInterceptor())
        .build();

Answer 17

Create file - res / xml / network_security.xml

In network_security.xml ->

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">192.168.0.101</domain>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

Open AndroidManifests.xml :

 android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" //Add this line in your manifests

<application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">

Answer 18

While the working answer, for me, was this by @PabloCegarra:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <trust-anchors>
            <certificates src="system" />
        </trust-anchors>
    </base-config>
</network-security-config>

You may receive a security warning regarding the cleartextTrafficPermitted="true"

If you know the domains to 'white list' you should mix both accepted answer and the above one:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="false">
        <trust-anchors>
            <certificates src="system" />
        </trust-anchors>
    </base-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">books.google.com</domain>
        <trust-anchors>
            <certificates src="system" />
        </trust-anchors>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

This code is working for me, but my app needs to retrieve data from books.google.com only. By this way the security warning disappears.

Answer 19

Just add android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" inside the in AndroidManifest.xml file

Answer 20

Put following into your resources/android/xml/network_security_config.xml :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true" />
</network-security-config>

This solves Failed to load resource: net::ERR_CLEARTEXT_NOT_PERMITTED problem on Android for Cordova / Ionic.

Answer 21

In my case that URL is not working in browser also.

I check with https://www.google.com/

webView.loadUrl("https://www.google.com/")

And it worked for me.

Answer 22

For Xamarin.Android developers make sure HttpClient implementation and SSL/TLS is set to Default.

It can be found under Andorid Options -> Advanced Android Options.

Answer 23

This is done for security reasons, you should always prefer to use HTTPS (HTTP Secure) where possible.
You can read more about it here

There are multiple solutions for this issue depending on your condition.

If you are trying to communicate with a first party service, IE: your own web server

Server side: You should add HTTPS support to that server and use HTTPS instead of HTTP. These days you can even do it for free using services like LetsEncrypt and others
Client side: If you are using the HttpURLConnection from the java.net package you can switch to HttpsURLConnection of the java.net.ssl package, it has a similar if not identical API, so the switch should be effortless.

If you are using a third party service, like Google, Facebook, a weather service, etc.

In case that the service you are communicating with supports HTTPS (which it most likely does) you can just change your request URL from http://abc.xyz to https://abc.xyz.

As a last resort, if the third party service that you want to communicate with does not support HTTPS or any other form of secure communication, you can use this answer, but again, this is not recommended as it defeats the purpose of this much needed security feature.

Answer 24

 cleartext support is disabled by default.Android in 9 and above

 Try This one I hope It will work fine

1 Step:->  add inside android build gradle (Module:App)
            useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'

  android {
               compileSdkVersion 28
              useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'

          }

Then 2 Step:-> manifest add inside manifest application tag

<application
    android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config">//add drawable goto Step 4

   // Step --->3  add to top this line  
     <uses-library
        android:name="org.apache.http.legacy"
        android:required="false" />

</application>

//Step 4-->> Create Drawable>>Xml file>>name as>> network_security_config.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <network-security-config>
      <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <trust-anchors>
           <certificates src="system" />
        </trust-anchors>
      </base-config>
    </network-security-config>

Answer 25

Upgrade to React Native 0.58.5 or higher version. They have includeSubdomain in their config files in RN 0.58.5.

ChangeLog

In Rn 0.58.5 they have declared network_security_config with their server domain. Network security configuration allows an app to permit cleartext traffic from a certain domain. So no need to put extra effort by declaring android:usesCleartextTraffic="true" in the application tag of your manifest file. It will be resolved automatically after upgrading the RN Version.

Answer 26

After changed API version 9.0 getting the error Cleartext HTTP traffic to YOUR-API.DOMAIN.COM not permitted (targetSdkVersion="28"). in xamarin, xamarin.android and android studio.

Two steps to solve this error in xamarin, xamarin.android and android studio.

Step 1: Create file resources/xml/network_security_config.xml

In network_security_config.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<network-security-config>
  <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
    <domain includeSubdomains="true">mobapi.3detrack.in</domain>
  </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

Step 2: update AndroidManifest.xml -

Add android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config" on application tag. e.g:

<application android:label="your App Name" android:icon="@drawable/icon" android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config">

Answer 27

adding this paramter in header resolved my issue in apiSauce React Native

"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
  Accept: "application/json"

Answer 28

If you are using ionic and getting this error during native http plugin, following fix needs to be done-

goto resources/android/xml/network_security_config.xml Change it to-

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<network-security-config>
    <domain-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true">
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">localhost</domain>
        <domain includeSubdomains="true">api.example.com(to be adjusted)</domain>
    </domain-config>
</network-security-config>

That worked for me!

Answer 29

I using Cordova 8 with cordova-plugin-whitelist 1.3.4 and it default configuration my app no access to internet and i only add a parameter in the manifest.xml -> android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"

The path of mainfest changed in Cordova 8: platform/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml.

 <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
    <manifest android:hardwareAccelerated="true" android:versionCode="10000" android:versionName="1.0.0" package="io.cordova.hellocordova" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
        <supports-screens android:anyDensity="true" android:largeScreens="true" android:normalScreens="true" android:resizeable="true" android:smallScreens="true" android:xlargeScreens="true" />
        <application 
android:hardwareAccelerated="true" 
android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher" 
android:label="@string/app_name" 
android:supportsRtl="true" 
android:usesCleartextTraffic="true">
            <activity android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale|smallestScreenSize|screenLayout|uiMode" android:label="@string/activity_name" android:launchMode="singleTop" android:name="MainActivity" android:theme="@android:style/Theme.DeviceDefault.NoActionBar" android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize">
                <intent-filter android:label="@string/launcher_name">
                    <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                    <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
                </intent-filter>
            </activity>
        </application>
        <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
        <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    </manifest>

this is a real stupid because it obvious that your app need access to internet....

Answer 30

Cleartext is any transmitted or stored information that is not encrypted or meant to be encrypted.

When an app communicates with servers using a cleartext network traffic, such as HTTP (not https), it could raise the risk of hacking and tampering of content. Third parties can inject unauthorized data or leak information about the users. That is why developers are encouraged to secure traffic only, such as HTTPS. Here is the implementation and the reference of how to resolve this problem.