Apps from Mac App Store were cracked hours after its launch

In a few hours after Apple opened its Mac App Store ‘pirates’ found the way to install and run paid apps for free.

According to John Gruber’s blog Daring Fireball, the vulnerability appears to be in those apps that do not follow app validation advice given by Apple.

“ …It appears that many apps don’t perform any validation whatsoever, or do so incorrectly, like Angry Birds. (Angry Birds checks for a valid receipt, but doesn’t check to see that the bundle ID for the receipt matches its own bundle ID.)”

Thus, to make paid app run you need only to replace its receipt and signature files by those found in its free version (or other free application). This is possible due to the simple workaround that was found earlier.

Moreover, Gizmodo also reports a hacker named Dissident had announced in late December that he developed a crack to break Apple’s security for the Mac App Store called Kickback, which he promised not to release ‘until well after the store’s been established”. He explained that as his effort to ‘protect’ developers.

“When we feel that [the Mac App Store] has a lot of crap in it, we’ll probably release Kickback”.

Previously it was reported that early builds of Mac OS X 10.6.6 have support for Mac App Store receipts, but it is unknown whether Mac App Store was broadly tested by Apple.

First users of Mac App Store have already reported about their inability to purchase and install apps. There were also complaints on its quality and interface awkwardness.