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Push Notification Settings and Policies for Mobile: Mobile Push Security Control
The control establishes a secure architecture for transmitting out-of-band alerts to mobile devices by governing the content, encryption, and delivery protocols used by notification services.
Control Name
External Client Apps: Push Notification Settings and Policies for Mobile: Mobile Push Security
Recommended Configuration
Set up push notifications for the mobile app.
Control Overview
The control establishes a secure architecture for transmitting out-of-band alerts to mobile devices by governing the content, encryption, and delivery protocols used by notification services.
Security Risk If Not Configured
The absence of a defined push notification policy increases the likelihood of sensitive data leakage through cleartext payloads shown on locked device screens or intercepted via insecure delivery channels.
Threat Scenarios
An unauthorized individual could view sensitive transaction details or multi-factor authentication codes directly from the device lock screen without requiring physical authentication to the handset.
Estimated CVSS Score Range
High (7.0–8.9).
Risk Impact Considerations
Failure to secure notification content can result in a breach of confidentiality for sensitive information, potentially leading to identity theft, account takeover, or non-compliance with data privacy regulations.
Higher Risk When
Risk levels increase when notification payloads include personally identifiable information or when the application does not mask message previews while the device remains in a locked state.
Low Risk When
Risk is reduced if the application only sends generic pings that require the user to authenticate within the app to view the actual sensitive content or if end-to-end encryption is applied to the payload.
Business and Integration Considerations
Establishing these policies requires coordination between backend notification servers and mobile operating system APIs, which may affect user engagement metrics and the timeliness of critical alerts.
Recommended Remediation
Implement a policy that restricts sensitive data in push payloads and configures the application to use generic placeholders for notifications shown on the system-level lock screen.
Security Health Review Guidance
Adhere to secure messaging principles by so that push notifications serve only as a signaling mechanism rather than a primary transport for sensitive data or cryptographic secrets.
