While no official download stats are available for the APKPure app, Kaspersky says that it has so far blocked the malware on the devices of 9,380 Android users running its security solutions on their devices.īoth Kaspersky and Dr.Web reported their findings to APKPure's developers, who have released APKPure 3.17.19 today without the malicious code. The damage inflicted by this trojan varies depending on the Android version running on the compromised devices, ranging from being signed up for paid subscriptions and seeing intrusive ads on current versions to having unremovable malware like xHelper deployed on the system partition. install other payloads or potentially malicious software without the users' consent.click the ads to sign up for paid subscriptions,.

repeatedly open web pages containing ads,.show ads every time the Android device is unlocked,.

Next, depending on its operators' instructions and monetizing scheme (ads or pay-per-install), it will: 'Then, a Trojan is loaded that has much in common with the notorious Triada malware, in that it can perform a range of actions - from displaying and clicking ads to signing up for paid subscriptions and downloading other malware.' 'It then collects information about the user device and sends it to the C&C server.' 'The identified malicious code embedded in APKPure operates in the following way: upon launch of the application, the payload is decrypted and launched,' Kaspersky said. The malware was discovered by Kaspersky and Dr.Web malware analysts embedded within an advertisement SDK included with APKPure version 3.7.18.Īs they discovered, it looks like a variant of the Triada trojan first spotted by Kaspersky in 2016, capable of spamming users of infected devices with ads and deliver additional malware. Security researchers found malware embedded within the official application of APKPure, a popular third-party Android app store and an alternative to Google's official Play Store.Īndroid users use the application to install apps and games hosted on APKPure's platform, supposedly identical to those available through the Play Store.

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