Apple lists top apps hit by malware

San Francisco - Apple said the WeChat messaging app and car-hailing app DiDi Taxi were among the 25 most popular apps found to be infected with malicious software.

Apple had previously not disclosed which apps had been affected, although many had been identified by third parties.

The company said on Sunday it was cleaning up its App Store, after several cyber security firms reported a malicious program, dubbed XcodeGhost, that had been embedded in hundreds, possibly thousands, of apps.

Apple said it was working with developers to get the apps back on the App Store and was blocking new apps that contained the malware.

"We have no information to suggest that the malware has been used to do anything malicious," Apple said in its XcodeGhost Q&A Web page.

Other impacted apps include the Baidu Music app, the 58 Classified-Job, Used Cars, Rent, and a music app from internet portal NetEase Inc.

Tencent Holdings is the owner of WeChat.

The company also said some of the affected apps could be fixed through updates.

The hackers targeted the App Store using a counterfeit version of Xcode "toolkit", Apple's app-building software.