Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

App Store Pushing Out Corrupted App Downloads

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,108
38,862



app_store_icon.jpg


Instapaper developer Marco Arment notes that Apple's App Store is apparently pushing out corrupted app binaries of a number of different applications to users. The issue, which renders the apps unusable, has apparently been triggered on app updates approved over the past few days.
Characterizations of this issue:

- The app crashes immediately on launch, every time, even after a delete and reinstall as long as the corrupt file is being served by the App Store.
- It doesn't even show the Default.png before crashing. Just a split-second of a partial fade to black, then back to Springboard.
- It may only affect customers in some regions.
- If updating from iTunes, some customers might get a dialog citing error 8324 or 8326.
- Mac apps might show this dialog: "[App] is damaged and can't be opened. Delete [App] and download it again from the App Store."
- The console might show: AppleFairplayTextCrypterSession::fairplayOpen() failed, error -42110
Click to expand...
Arment has collected a list of nearly two dozen apps that have been affected by the issue, and while Apple begin distributing a corrected version of Instapaper within a few hours yesterday, it remains unclear whether all affected apps have been fixed. For those who already downloaded corrupted versions of affected apps, the apps must be deleted and reinstalled.

GoodReader has more on the issue, including a description of how to back up settings and restore them upon reinstallation. GoodReader notes that the issue has appeared on both of its last two updates, speculating that something is going wrong with Apple's encryption process temporarily, and after a few hours the issue resolves itself.
While in theory Apple's servers must be ready to distribute the new app binary by the time they start sending update notifications to users' devices, something goes wrong inside Apple's distribution servers, and customers receive a damaged binary instead of the good one that we've sent to Apple. The exact reason is up to Apple to determine, but it looks like some binary encryption that happens internally in the App Store is only halfway-done at this point, and customers receive incorrectly (or partially?) encrypted binaries to their iPads. Those binaries do not get recognized by iOS as valid App Store executable binaries, and iOS simply refuses to launch them.

A few hours pass by, things settle down on Apple's servers, the update finally gets to places inside Apple's servers to which it was supposed to get, and everyone who downloads the update from that moment on, receives a correctly encrypted fully functional app binary.
Click to expand...
Apple has yet to issue an official statement on the issue, and thus details remain unconfirmed for the time being, but developers are suggesting that users wait a few hours after receiving notifications about updated apps before updating their devices.

Update: Arment's list of apps confirmed to be affected by the issue has now grown to 70.

Article Link: App Store Pushing Out Corrupted App Downloads
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/05/app-store-pushing-out-corrupted-app-downloads/
This is why i wouldn't chose the option of automated updates if it was implemented. I would want to update apps manually, just in case they are screwed.
 
Well Mr Arment please share the list with us because I sure never take that much notice of updates available and instead just hit the download all updates button in iTunes for all my iOS devices.
 
Depending on the nature of this issue, analysis of those 'half encrypted' files could potentially lead to a security compromise. Probably not, but it is a very real possibility. That's just not good for anybody
 
If only users had the choice to side load apps so they could easily self fix the broken apps while Apple fixes the issue
 
MacDawg said:
Until we hear more, I might just hold off updating
Click to expand...
I hold off updating my apps for some reason. Only when I see a feature in an app will I take the plunge.

It drives my wife up a wall, because she hates seeing the that there are updates available.
 
Nothing like paying Apple 30% and taking the customer abuse and suffering the time-sink for workarounds for problems over which I have no control. Has Apple even bothered to send out a notice to developers regarding this problem?

I had customers affected by this issue due to a recent update. I was baffled as to the cause and had little advice to offer other than delete the app and start over.
 
I would consider this more of a nuisance than a problem. Makes you wonder how many underserved bad reviews might be made on 'unstable' apps through no fault of the creators of the app.
 
Last night I had a bad update to iTunes. It stopped the download and said that it could not be verified. Then I had to go back to software update in order to set it to download again.
 
That's what happens when everyone simultaneously goes on holiday in the middle of the week… :D
 
jayducharme said:
I know it's only a few incidents after four years, but this sort of puts a dent in Apple's much touted controlled walled-garden approach.
Click to expand...

During a US holiday when traffic on the servers goes up, and Apples system was giving warnings that some downloads might have issues.

I've had about 15 apps update in the last day or so, four from Marcos list. One had a warning and 20 minutes later I tried agin with no issues.

Frankly Marco is coming off like an attention seeker more than anything else with his repeated hyperbole over things in the store. Guy needs a tin hat if he really thinks that Apple is trying to ruin apps by breaking the binaries so the poor developers have to deal with the fallout
 
BvizioN said:
This is why i wouldn't chose the option of automated updates if it was implemented. I would want to update apps manually, just in case they are screwed.
Click to expand...

How often does that happen though? And aren't updates still monitored by Apple like a new app would be? Or are companies that get approved apps allowed to update them without the consent of Apple?
 
Readdle

It seems that the things are getting better now.
Yesterday, 107,000 people updated our Scanner Pro and the issue was noticed in less than 1%.

However, if you are still having some problems, here is our blog post on how to fix it http://readdle.com/blog/?p=1500
 
Updated a few apps yesterday and all of me work fine. Sometimes weird things happen, that's why apple signs apps, instead of running corrupted apps they fail sig check and crash. Yet the updates should have some kind of checksum and failing the checksum the old version should be kept.
 
This thread must also be corrupted with all the negative votes, seriously, some sound comments are getting voted down all for what :rolleyes:

Problems happen and it's always a good idea to know about issues just incase something happens with your product from software, geez…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back