Google yanks Android app that shows flaw - issues fix

Google pulled an app from the Android marketplace that was created to illustrate a flaw in the mobile framework that allowed apps to be installed without a user's knowledge. It then issued a fix for bug.

Jon Oberheide, chief technology officer of Scio Security, created a proof-of-concept app disguised as an expansion for the popular Angry Birds game. After the app was downloaded, three additional apps were installed without the user's knowledge that had permission to perform malicious activities but were benign, he told ZDNet UK's sister site CNET News in an interview.

Google has pulled the app, according to Oberheide. The company also began rolling out a fix for the issue, which applies to all Android devices, a Google spokesperson said in an email on Thursday.

For more on this story, read Google pulls app that revealed Android flaw, issues fix on CNET News.