Apple to Alert Users Who Installed Apps Compromised by XcodeGhost

Apple has added an XcodeGhost question and answer page to its Chinese website today that explains what the malware is, how some users may be affected and next steps the company is taking to ensure that developers and end users alike are protected against malicious software going forward.

Apple claims that it has no evidence to suggest that XcodeGhost has been used for anything malicious, such as the transmission of personally identifiable information, stipulating that the code is only able to deliver some general information about apps and system information.

Nevertheless, Apple says it is working closely with developers and will soon list the top 25 most popular apps impacted by XcodeGhost on its Chinese website. The company will also be alerting users to let them know if they have downloaded apps that could have been compromised. Many affected apps have since been updated and are no longer infected by XcodeGhost.

Customers will be receiving more information letting them know if they’ve downloaded an app / apps that could have been compromised. Once a developer updates their app, that will fix the issue on the user’s device once they apply that update.

As a precautionary measure, it is still recommended that users who installed any of the compromised apps identified to date reset their iCloud and account passwords used on their iOS devices. iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users should read our XcodeGhost FAQ to learn more about the malware and how to keep yourself protected.

Apple also outlined steps for developers to validate Xcode using Terminal on OS X.