IssueTracker

I guess this is because packages.list now is not readable by anyone:
Android 4.0.4:
-rw-rw-r--
Android 4.3:
-rw-rw----

Please provide a way to fix or work-around it.

I'm having this problem as well on my Nexus 10. Fortunately I haven't updated the Nexus 7 yet, so I can still work.

The /data/system/packages.list was not world-readable even in 4.2.2. Would you please 1. the Build number of your 4.3 Nexus 7, and
2. that you're invoking "adb shell run-as" for a package which is definitely installed?

i have this problem (run-as returns: package is unknown) on my Galaxy Nexus.
i used adb shell and run-as to download database to my PC, and now it doesn't work.

Same problem here. Reproduced on Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. Before the 4.3 update it worked fine.

Nexus 7 build number JWR66V

Same here, I have 2 Nexus 7's one upgraded (JWR66V) the other not (JDQ39); run-as only works on the older build with the same debug-build of my app.

Not sure if this is the same problem, but I now get a "package is unknown" error when trying to "Debug as Android Native Application" from eclipse on my Nexus 7 on 4.3.

Same issue on Nexus 4 on 4.3 (didn't try before updating)

Tried on my other Nexus 4 (not updated to 4.3) with same PC configuration, and it works, so it confirms the fact that 4.3 is the problem.

1. My build number is JWR66V.
2. The package was installed via adb install command and can be launched from the apps menu.

for now, i've rooted my phone and i'm using following script:

%adb% shell "su root cp /data/data/%PACKAGE%/databases/%DB%  /sdcard/my/%DB%"
%adb% pull /sdcard/my/%DB% db

Same issue here. I had NDK debugging working fine until I upgraded my Nexus 7 to 4.3. Same build as everybody else is reporting JWRR66V. I can install/uninstall my app via adb just fine. run-as however does not work and results in the following error:

gdbserver output:
run-as: Package '<my.apps.packagename>' is unknown
Verify if the application was built with NDK_DEBUG=1

[Comment deleted]

Same issue on Nexus 4.
I did Debug as Native Application in Eclipse,
and since 4.3 update, it does not work anymore.

(NEXUS 4 / BUILD JWR66V)

Hello,
We are aware of the issue and working on a fix.
Once we find a workaround I will also post it here.
Sorry for an inconvenience.

Regards,

Same problem here. This is blocking our development, as we're trying to bring up our app on a Nexus 10. Eagerly  awaiting the fix!

Soo disappointed Google. Please update the priority. this is a huge regression in behavior for Android developers.

Any time estimate for the fix?

Please raise the priority of this to high, this is by no means a small issue! Development devices like the Nexus 4 are now unfit for native development as the ndk-gdb script from your very own NDK doesn't work anymore! I wasted hours yesterday trying to find out what is going on and only found this thread by coincidence. This is extremely embarrassing for Google, really!

Hello! Same there. As others please update the priority to high. This is a big deal. ETA would be really appreciated.

adding my voice to the chorus, please raise the priority. Thanks

Yes, raise the priority. I needed to root my device to be able to work.
Thanks in advance

same regression on Nexus 4. Can't debug native anymore. Please fix it.

Priority definetely should be raised.

Agreed. We could really use some attention in this thread...

We are actively working on this issue. Please do not add further comments unless you are providing new information. This affects all devices on 4.3.

Any workaround to get out app-generated data from a 4.3 device without using run-as?

Nicola: yes, but only if your device is rooted.

For NDK r9:

Find this line in ndk-gdb:

run adb_cmd shell run-as $PACKAGE_NAME lib/gdbserver +$DEBUG_SOCKET --attach $PID &

replace it with these 4 lines (assuming you have $NDK defined, and assuming your target device is ARM):

run adb_cmd forward tcp:5039 tcp:5039
run adb_cmd remount
run adb_cmd push $NDK/prebuilt/android-arm/gdbserver /system/bin/gdbserver.temp
run adb_cmd shell /system/bin/gdbserver.temp --attach :5039 $PID &


I am working from memory above, didn't actually test exactly what I've written just now, so I apologize for any mistakes, but that is the general idea.

Again, this requires rooted device.

Another workaround is to create a Java Server to implement what you need run-as to do. Some details for starting a gdbserver at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17219906/run-as-package-a-b-c-is-unknown-galaxy-s4-jellybean

Thanks everyone for the hints. In my case I simply had to get access to a local db so just added a share button in the menu (http://developer.android.com/training/sharing/send.html)

Another workaround is to install the factory image (Android 4.3), instead of updating. Do not install the mini 4.3 update afterwards!

https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

*Do not forget to add NDK_DEBUG=1...

[Comment deleted]

Could somebody from Google explain what is happening with this issue (and why it has been closed) What does "Future Release" mean? As far as I understand native debugging is no longer possible with 4.3, how is this not a critical bug?

This issue has been fixed in the master branch of Android, but is not yet available in a packaged release.  Workarounds have already been suggested in the bug, in particular, comment #32.

I wasn't aware that was a verified work-around (flashing the factory image), seems to work. Thanks!

The "FutureRelease" status means the issue has been resolved internally, and the result will be available in a future release of Android.

For what it's worth, making run-as set-uid root (as it once was) again will also address the issue.

1. remount /system rw
2. chmod 4750 /system/bin/run-as
3. remount /system ro
4. enjoy debugging native code

[Comment deleted]

[Comment deleted]

Thanks Josh!
I had a hard time figuring out how to run those commands. I tinkered around and finally got it.

For rooted devices running a custom recovery:

- reboot to recovery
- find the mount system and check it
- open a terminal and type: adb shell
- type: chmod 4750 /system/bin/run-as
- uncheck the System mount and reboot!

im trying to do this fix on a rooted nexus 4 but i get insufficient permissions when i try to run adb shell when the phone is in recovery. im running a custom recovery
anyone has any idea on how to fix that?

Try typing "adb root" in the command line before doing the fix. If it works, you will be root directly (no need for the su command).

i still get "error: insufficient permissions for device" when i try to run adb anything when the phone is in recovery

I just restored my device to 4.3 without the mini update and it worked

We tried the steps in #41 on a rooted Galaxy S4 but now the application fails to launch from Eclipse (Debug As Native Android Application) with this message:

Error in final launch sequence
Failed to execute MI command:
-target-select remote localhost:5039
Error message from debugger back end:
Remote communication error.  Target disconnected.: No error.
Remote communication error.  Target disconnected.: No error.

eodabash - non-AOSP devices aren't supported in this bug tracker at all. It's simply impossible to know exactly what an OEM might have broken with all of their changes.

BTW. I've confirmed that flashing the factory image works as a workaround for this issue too. It's probably the preferred method to using the steps I put in #41.

The source code for Android 4.4 was released yesterday. For those of you interested, here are the patches which resolve this bug:

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/bootable/recovery/+/5dbdef0e5b8a841fadc64d016d10ce81a962b284
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/bootable/recovery/+/e461251e2caa5561cf6a315bffaebfd4eb896b1d
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/cts/+/1f0753d1e6ccd7a894498da40fa2448d831562df

oops, forgot one.

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/build/+/0eb17d944704b3eb140bb9dded299d3be3aed77e

Thanks Nick!

Great that it has been resolved in 4.4 but since Google is not allowing my Nexus Galaxy to be upgraded, I'm stuck on 4.3 So it would be very nice if a 4.3 fix will be released also. I'm not in the position to buy a new device every time. Thanks you.

For 4.3, you can use the workaround suggested in comment #32.

For #41 and #44 this is not working at my Samsung Note 2 (Android 4.3) - permission is changed, you can run run-as by normal user but debugger is still not working. Here if You can't run adb root and adb remount you can try such solution: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10294808/android-mount-the-filesystem-with-write-permission .

In my case update to 4.4.2 http://true-android.blogspot.com/2013/12/update-galaxy-note-2-n7100-to-android.html?m=1 resolved problem with native debuging.

To adb gdb working on nexus 4, based on previous emails, I see we have to flash 4.3 image. Is it mandatory to move back to 4.3 ? or is the bug fixed on 4.4.2 (KOT49H) too?
I currently have 4.4.2 OTA upgraded and I can't run adb gdb.

This bug is fixed on the 4.4.2 OTA. You don't need to downgrade to 4.3.

If you can't run gdb, you should file a new bug. It's likely unrelated to this issue.

Same issuo on samsung galaxy S3

Finally I can debug native code with VisualGDB on Samsung Note III Android 4.3!!!!!

So I decided to share my one week hell with OTHER developers.

The reason behind all this are definitely permissions to directories and files in kernel.

So for this fix to work you really need to have rooted device to change permissions on folders and files.

1) You have to change permissions on run-as file in /system/bin folder by following these commands
adb -s <your device id> shell
su
mount -o rw,remount /system
chmod 4750 /system/bin/run-as
mount -o ro,remount /system
In the end run-as has rwsr-x--- permissions, owner is root, group is shell

2) Make sure /data folder has rwxrwx--x permissions, owner system, group system
3) Make sure /data/data folder has rwxrwx--x permissions, owner system, group system
4) Make sure /data/data/<packagename> folder has rwxrwx--x permissions, owner is uid from packages.list, group is uid from packages.list

In my case I did not have to change any permissions to packages.list file because run-as temporarily switches effective GID to allow read the packages file and also
8Kb is not the case, because run-as reads all the lines from packages.list until it finds package provided by arguments.

example from my packages.list
com.example.native_activity 10234 1 /data/data/com.example.native_activity default

package name: com.example.native_activity
uid: 10234
debuggable: 1
directory path: /data/data/com.example.native_activity
some info: default

uid is used for checking user permissions on /data/data/com.example.native_activity directory

I hope these steps help others too.

Experiencing the same issue for Android 4.4.2 on Samsung Galaxy S4. Build number KOT49H.
Has the issue reappeared?

"Experiencing the same issue for Android 4.4.2 on Samsung Galaxy S4. Build number KOT49H."

I am also seeing this issue on Samsung Galaxy S4 with both Android 4.3 and Android 4.4.2.  If anybody can find an appropriate Samsung-specific issue tracking location for this issue, please do link to it here!

Posted on the Samsung developer forum:

http://developer.samsung.com/forum/thread/native-debugging-still-broken-on-galaxy-devices/202/258621

[Comment deleted]

In the process of trying to resolve this issue on a Samsung S4, I ended up doing a recovery at 4.4.2, and it all started working.   Go figure!

So this issue appears to have resolved in Android 4.4.2 on Samsung devices, as well as on Nexus devices.

Wanted to add on to this in case anyone else has run out of hair to pull after experiencing this bug.

I was experiencing the issue even though my phone was updated to 4.4.2 months ago. This was particularly aggravating because everywhere I looked, I would find other people celebrating the fact that the 4.4.2 update fixed everything for them.

It turns out reinstalling 4.4.2 and wiping all data on the phone is the answer, but you can't just do that from the recovery image already present on the phone; the bug will just remain.

I had to download a dump of the exact version of 4.4.2 used by my mobile provider for my phone model from some shady website (same exact build number / baseband version / ISP code), and flash it from Download mode. Then, when I rebooted and reinstalled, native debugging simply worked.

So, just to be clear, for some reason, if you HAD a bugged version before and you updated to 4.4.2 through your mobile provider ("OTA"), it's possibly still affected by this particular issue, and the only way to fix it is to reflash -- the procedure is the same as a downgrade.

Comment #32 already mentioned that flashing a factory image (instead of updating) solves the issue.

No, #32 says to roll back to factory 4.3, before the bug was introduced, and turn off updates. That's not what you should do if you find that 4.4.2 is still affected.

That's not how I'm reading #32 (or this bug in general). AFAIU, the bug was introduced in 4.3, but only surfaces if you did and (OTA) update instead of a factory image flash. If you find 4.4.2 still affected, this only means that you did OTA updates (e.g. 4.2.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4 -> 4.4.2) all the time. Flashing a factory image of 4.4.2 fixes the issue just like flashing a 4.3 factor image would have.

Are you saying you knew about this before I posted? I'm pretty sure this is new information, especially when you read #58, which seems to indicate the opposite of what you understand about this bug.

Well, maybe it's too much to say that I knew about it before you posted, but being aware of this bug I would definitely have tried flashing a factory image anyway. #58 indeed sounds as if updating to 4.4.2 OTA would fix the issue if it appeared on your device before. But maybe it only means that 4.4.2 OTA, unlike previous OTA updates, will not *introduce* the issue anymore. But that's my personal speculation.

Android 4.4.2, Samsung Galaxy S4, the same issue. It looks like Google doesn't care, because I see that the first message on this thread is from 2013, and issue is still here. I bought device specifically for development, and I can not develop with it.

You must complain about Samsung, not Google.

Google fixed it months ago.

[Comment deleted]

Well, unlike iPhone, Android doesn't have support. First of all, I think most customers think about Android as about Google child, and when Google says that it is not his responsibility to fix bugs, it is bad news. If not Google, than who has to fix Android bugs?

Basically you have a Samsung's fork of Android OS. Maybe they haven't applied that patch or maybe they have broken something else there. If you want vanilla Android, buy Nexus series. As was said, the bug *is* fixed. All's good on my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7.

My my Nexus 4, even after updating to 4.4.2, i can not debug native code.

On reading this thread, i thought it was due to the OTA update and so installed the factory OS from https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images?hl=de#nakasikot49h. The instructions for installing the factory image were taken from https://source.android.com/source/building-devices.html.

But even after doing this, it didn't work. The permissions for package.list are still bad.

1|shell@mako:/ $ ls -al /data/system/packages.list
-rw-rw---- system   package_info    13286 2014-05-26 19:15 packages.list

Can anyone point out what am i doing wrong?

I think the problem is if you OTA from 4.3 to a later version, you have the
problem.

I would build 4.4.2 from source and flash it onto your device.

after update to 4.3

installed the factory OS from
https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images?hl=de#nakasikot49h. The
instructions for installing the factory image were taken from
https://source.android.com/source/building-devices.html.

package.list are still bad.

Re: #77

This is normal -- apps are not supposed to be able to read packages.list anymore, and that shouldn't interfere with run-as.

Note that this issue is characterized by the error message "run-as: Package '...' is unknown." If you don't get that particular message, the issue might be different.

The message can also pop-up if you forget to set the "android:debuggable" flag in the manifest -- see http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/application-element.html.

Thanks for the clarification. I think i mixed two different issues. I was not getting "run-as: Package...." error. When i tried to debug using "Debug as native android app", i got this error:

[2014-05-27 12:00:54 - ImageCoreTest] Unable to find a compatible ABI
[2014-05-27 12:00:54 - ImageCoreTest] ABI's supported by the application: x86
[2014-05-27 12:00:54 - ImageCoreTest] ABI's supported by the device: armeabi-v7a, armeabi

This was not correct as when i run the same app, it works fine. The Application.mk file had

APP_ABI := armeabi-v7a

Please  note, we also build X86 binary for faster debugging in android emulator.

However when i put "APP_ABI := armeabi-v7a" in Android.mk file, i can debug. This is not where it is supposed to be according to android docs but it works :(

Also, when we put "android:debuggable" in manifest, it gives an error that it should not be hardcoded. Even without it, debugging it working fine.

Hi, I've the "package in unknown" problem while trying to debug an andorid native application on a Galaxy S4 (OTA updated to 4.4.2). I' ve rooted the phone to change permissions of packages.list file to rw-rw--r but when I start "Debug as native Application" from eclipse permissions are changed back to rw-rw-------. How can I solve  this? Do I have to flash back the firmware even if the phone is rooted?

Hi, I finally managed to solve this following Josh's clue to make run-as set-uid root.
Thanks.

run-as doesn't work after update to 5.0

That's unrelated to this bug. Feel free to file a new bug, including details such as the device you tested it on, etc... run-as works perfectly fine on Nexus devices.

Josh & Bitheads comments #44 helped me sort out this issue too on Android 4.4

Josh & Bitheads comments #44 helped me sort out this issue too on Android 4.4

It happened again, on Android 5.0.

I know this problem and even don't want to upgrade system,
but today I just carelessly touched the update button.

Samsung Galaxy S6 upgraded from 5.0 to 5.1.1 and damn!

Android 5.0.2 Galaxy Tab S, Model SM-T805 here, same problem.

Hi all,

This issue is closed.  If you are currently having issues, please file a new bug.

in #50 How to add patch in my Samsung device Galexy 4.4.2