The growing adoption of large language models (LLMs) has led to a new
paradigm in mobile computing--LLM-powered mobile AI agents--capable of
decomposing and automating complex tasks directly on smartphones. However, the
security implications of these agents remain largely unexplored. In this paper,
we present the first comprehensive security analysis of mobile LLM agents,
encompassing three representative categories: System-level AI Agents developed
by original equipment manufacturers (e.g., YOYO Assistant), Third-party
Universal Agents (e.g., Zhipu AI AutoGLM), and Emerging Agent Frameworks (e.g.,
Alibaba Mobile Agent). We begin by analyzing the general workflow of mobile
agents and identifying security threats across three core capability
dimensions: language-based reasoning, GUI-based interaction, and system-level
execution. Our analysis reveals 11 distinct attack surfaces, all rooted in the
unique capabilities and interaction patterns of mobile LLM agents, and spanning
their entire operational lifecycle. To investigate these threats in practice,
we introduce AgentScan, a semi-automated security analysis framework that
systematically evaluates mobile LLM agents across all 11 attack scenarios.
Applying AgentScan to nine widely deployed agents, we uncover a concerning
trend: every agent is vulnerable to targeted attacks. In the most severe cases,
agents exhibit vulnerabilities across eight distinct attack vectors. These
attacks can cause behavioral deviations, privacy leakage, or even full
execution hijacking. Based on these findings, we propose a set of defensive
design principles and practical recommendations for building secure mobile LLM
agents. Our disclosures have received positive feedback from two major device
vendors. Overall, this work highlights the urgent need for standardized
security practices in the fast-evolving landscape of LLM-driven mobile
automation.