John A. Researcher
Department of Computer Science, Cyber Security University
john.researcher@example.edu
Jane E. Analyst
Independent Security Researcher
jane.analyst@secmail.com
Example command-line usage (for automation):
arsc_decompiler.exe -i resources.arsc -o decoded_resources.xml -f xml
Android application analysis is critical for malware detection, vulnerability research, and compatibility testing. Among the components of an APK, resources.arsc is often overlooked yet essential: it maps resource IDs (e.g., 0x7F020001) to actual file paths and values. Without correct decoding, dynamic analysis of resource usage, string obfuscation, or layout inflation becomes impossible.
Existing tools like aapt (Android Asset Packaging Tool), Apktool [1], and androguard [2] provide resource decoding capabilities, but suffer from:
To address these gaps, we developed ARSC Decompiler Portable (ADP) – a single-header/source library and CLI tool that:
This paper describes ADP’s design, implementation challenges, experimental validation, and potential use cases.
