Permission Denial: startForeground requires android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE

android android-service android-permissions
Roy Solberg picture Roy Solberg · Sep 18, 2018 · Viewed 78.4k times · Source

Lately we have suddenly been seeing a few of the following stack traces. Why could that be? This is from when the app tries to move an audio commentary service into the foreground with a media notification and everything.

java.lang.SecurityException: Permission Denial: startForeground from pid=1824, uid=10479 requires android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE
    at android.os.Parcel.createException(Parcel.java:1942)
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1910)
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1860)
    at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub$Proxy.setServiceForeground(IActivityManager.java:5198)
    at android.app.Service.startForeground(Service.java:695)
    at com.example.app.services.AudioService.setUpMediaNotification(AudioService.java:372)
    at com.example.app.services.AudioService.setUpAndStartAudioFeed(AudioService.java:328)
    at com.example.app.services.AudioService.onStartCommand(AudioService.java:228)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.handleServiceArgs(ActivityThread.java:3667)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1600(ActivityThread.java:199)
    at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1681)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:106)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:193)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:6669)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
    at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:493)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:858)
 Caused by: android.os.RemoteException: Remote stack trace:
    at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.enforcePermission(ActivityManagerService.java:9186)
    at com.android.server.am.ActiveServices.setServiceForegroundInnerLocked(ActiveServices.java:1189)
    at com.android.server.am.ActiveServices.setServiceForegroundLocked(ActiveServices.java:870)
    at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.setServiceForeground(ActivityManagerService.java:20434)
    at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub.onTransact(IActivityManager.java:976)

Answer

Roy Solberg picture Roy Solberg · Sep 18, 2018

This will happen if you have set targetSdkVersion = 28 (Android 9 / Pie) or above and have not declared the usage of the FOREGROUND_SERVICE permission.

From the migration notes for Android 9:

Apps wanting to use foreground services must now request the FOREGROUND_SERVICE permission first. This is a normal permission, so the system automatically grants it to the requesting app. Starting a foreground service without the permission throws a SecurityException.

The solution is to just add the following in AndroidManifest.xml:

<manifest ...>
     ...
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
     ...
     <application ...>
     ...
</manifest>

Related questions

How to check if a service is running on Android?

How do I check if a background service is running? I want an Android activity that toggles the state of the service -- it lets me turn it on if it is off and off if it is on.

Read More
getApplication() vs. getApplicationContext()

I couldn't find a satisfying answer to this, so here we go: what's the deal with Activity/Service.getApplication() and Context.getApplicationContext()? In our application, both return the same object. In an ActivityTestCase however, mocking the application will make getApplication() …

Read More
Service vs IntentService in the Android platform

I am seeking an example of something that can be done with an IntentService that cannot be done with a Service (and vice-versa)? I also believe that an IntentService runs in a different thread and a Service does not. So, …

Read More