Apple lists top 25 apps infected XcodeGhost in massive App Store malware attack

Apple’s closed iOS architecture has been rocked by malware caused by a rogue coding platform, XcodeGhost. It is believed by some security researchers that hundreds of apps on Apple Store are infected with malware which has been spread using XcodeGhost.

Apple has listed the top 25 iOS apps built using the counterfeit version of Xcode that was capable of injecting malware in apps before they were submitted to the App Store.

Apple a few days ago pulled apps that still had the XcodeGhost code in them, telling Reuters that it’s working with developers on the matter. Apple is also blocking apps made with the XcodeGhost tool that injects the malware.

“After the top 25 impacted apps, the number of impacted users drops significantly,” Apple writes on the page, suggesting that the other apps that might have malware components do not have a significant number of users. However, it’s not clear how many iPhone and iPad users actually downloaded any of these 25 top apps.

Though the malware is believed to information stealing one, Apple’s support page says the malware can’t be used to collect highly sensitive user data such as iCloud (Apple ID) credentials or other passwords.

As of Wednesday, security researchers had identified at least 85 apps which werefound to contain XcodeGhost malware while others believe real number might be in the hundreds or even thousands.

Here’s a list of the top 25 iPhone apps in Apple’s Chinese App Store that have been affected by the hack, which happens to be Apple’s largest malware attack in the history of the App Store.

• WeChat
• DiDi Taxi
• 58 Classified – Job, Used Cars, Rent
• Gaode Map – Driving and Public Transportation
• Railroad 12306
• Flush
• China Unicom Customer Service (Official Version)*
• CarrotFantasy 2: Daily Battle*
• Miraculous Warmth
• Call Me MT 2 – Multi-server version
• Angry Bird 2 – Yifeng Li’s Favorite*
• Baidu Music – A Music Player that has Downloads, Ringtones, Music Videos, Radio, and Karaoke
• DuoDuo Ringtone
• NetEase Music – An Essential for Radio and Song Download
• Foreign Harbor – The Hottest Platform for Oversea Shopping*
• Battle of Freedom (The MOBA mobile game)
• One Piece – Embark (Officially Authorized)*
• Let’s Cook – Receipes [sic]
• Heroes of Order & Chaos – Multiplayer Online Game*
• Dark Dawn – Under the Icing City (the first mobile game sponsored by Fan BingBing)*
• I Like Being With You*
• Himalaya FM (Audio Book Community)
• CarrotFantasy*
• Flush HD
• Encounter – Local Chatting Tool