Alleged malware: macOS sometimes throws ChatGPT into the trash
Older versions of ChatGPT and Codex can no longer be started in macOS, the malware warning appears. The reason is likely a security incident at OpenAI.
Mac users who have ChatGPT installed may currently be receiving an irritating warning message from the operating system: “The app was not opened because malware is contained in it,” it says in a pop-up dialog window. macOS automatically moves the program to the trash during this process. The malware is thus removed. “Your Mac has not been damaged by this action,” the manufacturer notes.
According to user reports, this malware warning occurs with ChatGPT as well as Codex and the browser Atlas; the Mac & i editorial team was able to observe the behavior with the latter. In some cases, the malware warnings appear on their own, for example, immediately after a restart.
Older versions of ChatGPT & Co. affected
However, the malware notice only appears if an older version of the respective OpenAI app is still installed. macOS continues to run current original versions of ChatGPT, Codex, and Atlas without any problems. Users who continuously use and update these apps are therefore not running into the problem.
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The reason for the malware warning is apparently that OpenAI exchanged its Apple developer certificate for signing and notarizing the macOS apps after a security incident and subsequently revoked the certificate previously used for it. This was preceded by the fact that the AI company was affected by a serious supply chain attack at the end of March: “The GitHub Actions workflow we use in the macOS app-signing process downloaded and executed a malicious version of Axios (version 1.14.1),” OpenAI admitted afterwards – this workflow had access to “a certificate and notarization material” that was used to sign the macOS app. The certificate was then exchanged, and users were notified of updates to the desktop apps, but not everyone likely saw that.
Users must download new ChatGPT version fresh
All variants signed with the newer certificate remain functional. Specifically, these are ChatGPT Desktop from version 1.2026.051, Codex from 26.406.40811, Codex CLI from 0.119.0, and Atlas from version 1.2026.84.2. According to reports, only macOS was affected. Together with Apple, OpenAI has ensured that apps signed with the old certificate can no longer be notarized again by the Mac manufacturer. According to its own statement, the developer could not detect any signs of successful compromise or “a risk to existing software installations.”
Users who receive the malware warning must download and install the apps again if they wish to continue using them. The download should only be done directly from the OpenAI website.
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