Several apps have been infected by malware called the "XcodeGhost" in first case of a large number of malicious software that has made its way past Apple's defences.

Apple had to remove more than 300 malware-infected apps from its app store after the damaged version of its developer tools led to some of Chinese apps that leak the users' personal information to hackers and outside servers.

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According to The Guardian, the company confirmed on Sept. 20, Sunday night, that it removed the apps after a number of cyber security firms reported that they found a malicious program, the "XcodeGhost," which was embedded in hundreds of legitimate apps.

This is the first case that has been reported with large numbers of malicious software that made their way past the stringent app review process by Apple. A total of five malicious apps had been found in the app store prior to this attack. Apple said that the hackers were able to embed the malicious code by convincing the developers of legitimate software to use with the damaged or counterfeit version of Apple's software for creating the Mac and iOS apps.

"The affected apps were then removed from the app store that were known to be created with the counterfeit software," said Christine Monaghan, Apple's spokeswoman. In addition, the company is working side by side with the developers to ensure that the latter is using the correct version of Xcode to rebuild the withdrawn or removed apps from stores.

However, Monaghan did not say anything regarding the steps that iPad and iPhone users could take to know whether their devices have been infected or not. Moreover, the company did not give any details which companies were affected. Thus, according to The Irish Times, some banks, a popular music service, and an airline were also said to be affected by this security flaw.

Tagsapps store, Xcode, xCodeGhost, malicious program, Apple's software