Missing check when launching an Android activity with an implicit intent Low

When launching an Android activity with an implicit intent, one must check if an application that can receive the intent exists on the device. A missing check can cause an application crash.

Detector ID
java/missing-check-on-android-startactivity@v1.0
Category
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) external icon
-

Noncompliant example

1public void startActivityNonCompliant(Context context, Intent shareIntent) {
2    // Noncompliant: there might be no application on the device to receive the implicit intent.
3    context.startActivity(shareIntent);
4}

Compliant example

1public boolean startActivityCompliant(Context context, Intent shareIntent) {
2    if (shareIntent.resolveActivity(context.getPackageManager()) != null) {
3        // Compliant: called only if there is an application on the device to receive the implicit intent.
4        context.startActivity(shareIntent);
5        return true;
6    }
7    return false;
8}