Czech cybersecurity firm Avast confirmed that its antivirus SDK has been flagging a Google Android app as malware on Huawei, Vivo, and Honor smartphones since Saturday.
On affected units, customers had been warned to right away uninstall the Google app as a result of it may secretly ship SMS messages, obtain and set up different apps, or steal their delicate info.
Others noticed a special alert, telling them that the Google app was a trojan that would present distant entry to their machine and permit attackers to put in malware and steal the customers’ knowledge.
The false constructive situation was reported by customers on Google’s assist discussion board (Vivo publish), on Reddit (Vivo thread), on Huawei’s discussion board, and varied different Android communities.
“This safety notification was not triggered by Google Play Shield and seems to be from a tool that’s not Play Shield licensed and doesn’t have entry to formally obtain Google’s core apps from Play,” a Google spokesperson instructed BleepingComputer.
“We advocate contacting the machine producer for additional info. Google Play is the one app retailer the place you’ll be able to formally obtain Google’s core apps for Android.”
BleepingComputer additionally reached out to Huawei and Vivo, however we’re but to obtain a response from the Chinese language smartphone makers.
Avast antivirus SDK behind false constructive
Whereas Google could not pinpoint the safety service or app that was triggering the false constructive, Avast confirmed on Tuesday that its Android antivirus SDK was the one which mistakenly tagged the Google Fast Search Field app launcher as malware.
Avast mentioned Huawei’s Optimizer app confirmed the malware alerts on Huawei units however did not present any particulars relating to affected Honor and Vivo units.
“On October twenty ninth, it was reported to Avast that its antivirus Software program Growth Package (SDK) for Android was incorrectly flagging the Google Fast Search Field as malware on Huawei telephones,” the corporate mentioned.
“This SDK delivers the antivirus element of Huawei’s Optimizer app, a tool administration software that additionally offers clean-up and efficiency options.”
The cybersecurity agency added that the difficulty solely affected customers outdoors China and was addressed on Monday, October 30.
“The problem affected Huawei prospects outdoors of China solely, and a small variety of Honor and Vivo prospects. A repair was carried out on October thirtieth which absolutely resolved the difficulty,” Avast mentioned.
