Apple announced on Sunday that hundreds of legitimate apps on its App Store had been infected by malware. The company has removed the infected versions. If you still have them installed, it’s a good idea to stop using them for now.
The infection occurred when developers downloaded a counterfeit version of the Xcode software—used to develop iOS apps—from a Chinese server because it was faster than the primary US server. The result is that many legitimate app developers unknowingly published applications embedded with malware.
The malware in the apps itself has limited functionality, according to Ryan Olsen, Palo Alto Networks Director of Threat Intelligence. There haven’t been any examples found of data theft or harm due to the attack.
While Apple has removed the infected versions of the apps from the App Store, the company has not said whether it’s removed the apps from users’ devices. Tech Insider has translated a partial list of the affected apps (many of which are big in China, but several are popular in the Western world as well), so if you see an app you use on the list, it might be worth waiting for an update before you continue using it:
WeChat
Didi Chuxing (developed by Uber’s biggest rival in China Didi Kuaidi)
Angry Birds 2
NetEase
Micro Channel
IFlyTek input
Railway 12306 (the only official app used for buying train tickets in China.)
The Kitchen
Card Safe
CITIC Bank move card space
China Unicom Mobile Office
High German map
Jane book
Eyes Wide
Lifesmart
Mara Mara
Medicine to force
Himalayan
Pocket billing
Flush
Quick asked the doctor
Lazy weekend
Microblogging camera
Watercress reading
CamScanner
CamCard (a very popular business card reader.)
SegmentFault
Stocks open class
Hot stock market
Three new board
The driver drops
OPlayer
Telephone attribution assistant
Marital bed
Poor tour
I called MT
I called MT 2
Freedom Battle
Apple’s iOS App Store just suffered its first major attack | Reuters via Tech Insider