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PayPal rushes out patched iPhone app

Old one didn't detect spoof sites

PayPal has submitted an updated iPhone application after learning that the previous one failed to check the digital certificates that confirmed the authenticity of the online-payment website.

The hole leaves iPhone users who rely on the app open to man-in-the-middle attacks when connecting over unsecured networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots. PayPal learned of the flaw on Tuesday, when a Wall Street Journal reporter asked for comment. A day later, the company rushed out a patched version to Apple's app store.

“We submitted a revised application to Apple within 24 hours of being notified,” Anuj Nayar, spokesman for the eBay-owned division, told The Register. “We don't believe that any customers have been affected. Even if they had been, it's very clear that our protection policy would cover them 100 percent.”

It's not clear how long the defective iPhone app was in circulation. An app for Android-based phones wasn't affected.

It was only last week that PayPal plugged cross-site scripting hole on its mobile payments site that had the potential for misuse in phishing attacks. ®

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