CamScanner app with malicious module removed from Google Play Store | Tech News

CamScanner app with malicious module removed from Google Play Store

Popular scanning app, CamScanner has been removed from Google Play Store after security researchers discovered malicious ad module. The app had over 100 million downloads on Play Store.

By: HT CORRESPONDENT
| Updated on: Aug 20 2022, 16:41 IST
Female's hand typing text on her cellphone in a public transport
Female's hand typing text on her cellphone in a public transport (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Female's hand typing text on her cellphone in a public transport
Female's hand typing text on her cellphone in a public transport (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Google Play Store is often reported to harbour malicious Android apps which users often fall prey to. Google also regularly purges the Play Store of such apps which can potentially harm one's smartphone. The latest victim here is the popular smartphone scanning app, CamScanner.

CamScanner is one of the most popular scanning apps and has been downloaded over 100 million times on Play Store. As discovered by Kaspersky Lab, recent versions of CamScanner featured an advertising library with a malicious module identified as "Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Necro.n". What this 'Trojan Dropper' does is that it "extracts and runs another malicious module from an encrypted file included in the app's resources."

The security researcher firm further explains that "this "dropped" malware, in turn, is a Trojan Downloader that downloads more malicious modules depending on what its creators are up to at the moment."

On CamScanner, this malicious code works by showing intrusive ads targeting users to sign up for paid subscriptions. Kaspersky Lab informed Google of this vulnerability in CamScanner and the app has now been removed from Play Store. The report further says that CamScanner app has been updated and developers have removed the malicious module.

However, some versions of CamScanner may still contain this malware. The app is still not available on Play Store. Google conducts regular scan of apps on Play Store through Play Protect but this malware on CamScanner went undetected.

For those who have CamScanner downloaded on their devices, it is advised that they delete it immediately. Users can also do a thorough scan of their phones with anti-virus apps from Avast, Norton and Kaspersky.

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First Published Date: 29 Aug, 18:05 IST
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