Apple says the problematic XcodeGhost is still out there
Apple has released new information about the XcodeGhost malware, naming the top 25 apps affected by the malicious software. Earlier reports about the infection suggested that hundreds of iOS programs on the App Store were affected. Most security researchers are now stating that the total number of infected apps is in or near four figures, according to 9to5Mac. Many of those apps are still present on China’s App Store.
Cupertino is working with developers to get uninfected versions of the programs back on the App Store. Apple has not, however, said anything about its plans to remove the remaining infected apps still available for download. On the other hand, the tech giant has confirmed that it is blocking submissions of new apps infected by XcodeGhost.
What is really important to understand here is that the infection is constrained to the App Store serving Greater China. This information was not readily available when news of the infection first came out, although Rovio did confirm with AppAdvice that only the Chinese App Store version of Angry Birds 2 was affected.
Apple is also trying to make sure this doesn’t happen again. After learning that Chinese developers were tricked into download the fake version by faster downloads, Cupertino has begun to take steps to make the genuine version of Xcode on Chinese servers and has provided a tool to validate existing copies. Of course, Cupertino still has not made a statement regarding how such a widespread infection was possible in the first place.
The full list of the top infected apps, as posted by Apple, follows.
- 58 Classified
- Angry Birds 2
- Baidu Music
- Battle of Freedom
- Call Me MT 2
- CarrotFantasy
- CarrotFantasy 2
- China Unicom Customer Service
- Dark Dawn
- DiDi Taxi
- DuoDuo Ringtone
- Encounter
- Flush
- Flush HD
- Foreign Harbor
- Gaode Map
- Heroes of Order & Chaos
- Himalaya FM
- I Like Being With You
- Let’s Cook
- Miraculous Warmth
- NetEase Music
- One Piece
- Railroad 12306
We will continue to follow this story, and will let you know if the infection spreads beyond Greater China.