Date:
December 29, 2023
A recent discovery by McAfee researchers has revealed that 14 Android apps have been infected by a malware called Xamalicious, making over 338,300 devices prone to it.
How often do you check the security of your phone, data, or accounts? With the abundance of apps on Android devices, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of your security or even remember passwords. As a result, more passwords are being saved than are remembered. Taking advantage of this pattern, a new malware called Xamalicious has infected 14 Android apps, making over 3 lakh users prone to losing their personal data and critical controls of transactions.
All 14 apps have been removed from the Play Store to protect unaware new users from the malware. Those who have already downloaded the apps have to manually delete them and then get a full phone security check done for any breaches or malicious activity. The malware entered these apps in mid-2020, and the users who had installed them since that period might still be infected even after deleting them from their devices.
Here is the entire list of Android apps infected with Xamalicious malware that were recently removed from the Play Store:
- Essential Horoscope for Android (100,000 installs)
- 3D Skin Editor for PE Minecraft (100,000 installs)
- Logo Maker Pro (100,000 installs)
- Auto Click Repeater (10,000 installs)
- Count Easy Calorie Calculator (10,000 installs)
- Dots: One Line Connector (10,000 installs)
- Sound Volume Extender (5,000 installs)
Apart from the above-mentioned apps, 12 more apps infected by Xamalicious are circulating on the internet through third-party APK websites. These apps do not go through any security check, and most of the users downloading them accept the threat warnings given by their Android devices.
Xamalicious is based on the .Net framework and traces its source back to the open-source Xamarin Framework. Xamarin is a famous framework used to develop various apps and in-app functionalities. This effective application of the framework gives backdoor entry to Xamalicious to enter the devices and gain access to the Accessibility Service. This enables the malware to perform various functions on Android devices, including executing navigation gestures, concealing on-screen elements, and obtaining additional permissions.
All the users who may have downloaded the apps even once are recommended to check their phones for the Xamalicious infection. Using a good antivirus software is a must to do a thorough manual check for potential risks.
