I'm seeing some odd behavior which may be a bug. I've broken it down to a least common denominator to reproduce it. But maybe I'm doing something wrong.
I am opening a file read-write. I'm then mapping the file read-only and private:
void* pointer = mmap(NULL, 17, PROT_READ, MAP_FILE | MAP_PRIVATE, fd, 0);
I then unmap the memory and close the file. After the close, eslogger shows me this:
{"close":{"modified":false,[...],"was_mapped_writable":false}}
Which makes sense.
I then change the mmap statement to:
void* pointer = mmap(NULL, 17, PROT_READ, MAP_FILE | MAP_SHARED, fd, 0);
I run the new code and and the close looks like:
{"close":{"modified":false, [....], "was_mapped_writable":true}}
Which also makes sense.
I then run the original again (ie, with MAP_PRIVATE vs. MAP_SHARED) and the close looks like:
{"close":{"modified":false,"was_mapped_writable":true,[...]}
Which doesn't appear to be correct.
Now if I just open and close the file (again, read-write) and don't mmap anything the close still shows:
{"close":{ [...], "was_mapped_writable":true,"modified":false}}
And the same is true if I open the file read-only.
It will remain that way until I delete the file. If I recreate the file and try again, everything is good until I map it MAP_SHARED.
I tried this with macOS 13.6.7 and macOS 15.0.1.
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Hi,
when creating a CryptoTokenKit extension according to https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cryptotokenkit/authenticating-users-with-a-cryptographic-token, it is neccessary to register it under the securityagent in order to make the CTK usable before login. i.e. we want to run
sudo -u _securityagent /Applications/HostApp.app/Contents/MacOS/HostApp
However, even with the empty application the command fails with
illegal hardware instruction sudo -u _securityagent /Applications/HostApp.app/Contents/MacOS/HostApp
I see that it always crashes when the HostApp is sandboxed, but it does not work even without sandboxing (i am sharing the error report message below).
i actually noticed that when the HostApp is sandboxed and I run the above command, the extension starts to be usable even before login, even though i see the HostApp crash. The same does not happen without the sandbox
So I am curious how to in fact properly register the CTK extension under security agent? Also am not sure how to unregister it from the _securityagent
thank you for your help
Version: 1.0 (1)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: Exited process [9395]
Responsible: Terminal [399]
User ID: 92
Date/Time: 2025-03-21 18:54:03.0684 +0100
OS Version: macOS 15.3.2 (24D81)
Report Version: 12
Bridge OS Version: 9.3 (22P3060)
Anonymous UUID: 41F9918C-5BCA-01C7-59C2-3E8CFC3F8653
Sleep/Wake UUID: 8AB66C75-3C32-41D4-9BD4-887B0FB468FE
Time Awake Since Boot: 4300 seconds
Time Since Wake: 1369 seconds
System Integrity Protection: enabled
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: WMClientWindowManager
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_INSTRUCTION (SIGILL)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000000
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 4 Illegal instruction: 4
Terminating Process: exc handler [9396]
Application Specific Signatures:
API Misuse
Thread 0 Crashed:: Dispatch queue: WMClientWindowManager
0 libxpc.dylib 0x7ff80667b2bd _xpc_api_misuse + 113
1 libxpc.dylib 0x7ff80665f0e4 xpc_connection_set_target_uid + 187
2 WindowManagement 0x7ffd0b946693 -[WMClientWindowManager _createXPCConnection] + 1011
3 WindowManagement 0x7ffd0b947361 -[WMClientWindowManager _xpcConnection] + 65
4 WindowManagement 0x7ffd0b9447c9 __31-[WMClientWindowManager stages]_block_invoke + 41
5 libdispatch.dylib 0x7ff8067af7e2 _dispatch_client_callout + 8
6 libdispatch.dylib 0x7ff8067bca2c _dispatch_lane_barrier_sync_invoke_and_complete + 60
7 WindowManagement 0x7ffd0b9446fc -[WMClientWindowManager stages] + 268
8 AppKit 0x7ff80b1fd0b7 __54-[NSWMWindowCoordinator initializeStageFramesIfNeeded]_block_invoke + 30
9 libdispatch.dylib 0x7ff8067af7e2 _dispatch_client_callout + 8
10 libdispatch.dylib 0x7ff8067b0aa2 _dispatch_once_callout + 20
11 AppKit 0x7ff80b1fd060 -[NSWMWindowCoordinator initializeStageFramesIfNeeded] + 296
12 AppKit 0x7ff80a3b3701 -[NSWindow _commonInitFrame:styleMask:backing:defer:] + 888
13 AppKit 0x7ff80a3b2f77 -[NSWindow _initContent:styleMask:backing:defer:contentView:] + 1222
14 AppKit 0x7ff80a3b2aa9 -[NSWindow initWithContentRect:styleMask:backing:defer:] + 42
15 SwiftUI 0x7ff917f321e0 0x7ff91776f000 + 8139232
16 SwiftUI 0x7ff917a8e2f2 0x7ff91776f000 + 3273458
17 SwiftUI 0x7ff917bccfba 0x7ff91776f000 + 4579258
18 SwiftUI 0x7ff917f2ca8e 0x7ff91776f000 + 8116878
19 SwiftUI 0x7ff917f24a65 0x7ff91776f000 + 8084069
20 SwiftUI 0x7ff917f21540 0x7ff91776f000 + 8070464
21 SwiftUI 0x7ff91849e9f1 0x7ff91776f000 + 13826545
22 SwiftUICore 0x7ffb13103ea5 0x7ffb12c81000 + 4730533
23 SwiftUICore 0x7ffb13102e0f 0x7ffb12c81000 + 4726287
24 SwiftUI 0x7ff91849e903 0x7ff91776f000 + 13826307
25 SwiftUI 0x7ff91849bc1c 0x7ff91776f000 + 13814812
26 AppKit 0x7ff80a54f191 -[NSApplication _doOpenUntitled] + 422
27 AppKit 0x7ff80a4efc59 __58-[NSApplication(NSAppleEventHandling) _handleAEOpenEvent:]_block_invoke + 237
28 AppKit 0x7ff80a963818 __102-[NSApplication _reopenWindowsAsNecessaryIncludingRestorableState:withFullFidelity:completionHandler:]_block_invoke + 101
29 AppKit 0x7ff80a4ef6fa __97-[NSDocumentController(NSInternal) _autoreopenDocumentsIgnoringExpendable:withCompletionHandler:]_block_invoke_3 + 148
30 AppKit 0x7ff80a4eee8f -[NSDocumentController(NSInternal) _autoreopenDocumentsIgnoringExpendable:withCompletionHandler:] + 635
31 AppKit 0x7ff80a96373d -[NSApplication _reopenWindowsAsNecessaryIncludingRestorableState:withFullFidelity:completionHandler:] + 269
32 AppKit 0x7ff80a3a6259 -[NSApplication(NSAppleEventHandling) _handleAEOpenEvent:] + 529
33 AppKit 0x7ff80a3a5eb9 -[NSApplication(NSAppleEventHandling) _handleCoreEvent:withReplyEvent:] + 679
34 Foundation 0x7ff807a4b471 -[NSAppleEventManager dispatchRawAppleEvent:withRawReply:handlerRefCon:] + 307
35 Foundation 0x7ff807a4b285 _NSAppleEventManagerGenericHandler + 80
36 AE 0x7ff80e0e4e95 0x7ff80e0da000 + 44693
37 AE 0x7ff80e0e4723 0x7ff80e0da000 + 42787
38 AE 0x7ff80e0de028 aeProcessAppleEvent + 409
39 HIToolbox 0x7ff81217b836 AEProcessAppleEvent + 55
40 AppKit 0x7ff80a39ee6a _DPSNextEvent + 1725
41 AppKit 0x7ff80adf38b8 -[NSApplication(NSEventRouting) _nextEventMatchingEventMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 1290
42 AppKit 0x7ff80a38faa9 -[NSApplication run] + 610
43 AppKit 0x7ff80a362d34 NSApplicationMain + 823
44 SwiftUI 0x7ff9177a7da1 0x7ff91776f000 + 232865
45 SwiftUI 0x7ff917af0d40 0x7ff91776f000 + 3677504
46 SwiftUI 0x7ff917d8fef8 0x7ff91776f000 + 6426360
47 Crescendo CryptoTokenKit 0x10b1baf6e static HostApp.$main() + 30
48 Crescendo CryptoTokenKit 0x10b1bd2f9 main + 9 (HostApp.swift:24)
49 dyld 0x7ff8065c82cd start + 1805
Why are we doing this nonsense?
We want to be able to run builds in a sandbox such that they can only see the paths they are intended to depend on, to improve reproducibility.
With builds with a very large number of dependencies, there's a very large number of paths added to the sandbox, and it breaks things inside libsandbox.
Either it hits some sandbox length limit (sandbox-exec: pattern serialization length 66460 exceeds maximum (65535), Nix issue #4119, worked around: Nix PR 12570), or it hits an assert (this report; also Nix issue #2311).
The other options for sandboxing on macOS are not viable; we acknowledge sandbox-exec and sandbox_init_with_parameters are deprecated; App Sandbox is inapplicable because we aren't an app.
Our use case is closer to a browser, and all the browsers use libsandbox internally.
We could possibly use SystemExtension or a particularly diabolical use of Virtualization.framework, but the former API requires notarization which is close to a no-go for our use case as open source software: it is nearly impossible to develop the software on one's own computer, and it would require us to ship a binary blob (and have the build processes to produce one in infrastructure completely dissimilar to what we use today); it also requires a bunch of engineering time.
Today, we can pretend that code signing/notarization doesn't exist and that we are writing an old-school Unix daemon, because we are one.
The latter is absolutely diabolical and hard to implement.
See this saga about the bug we are facing: Nix issue #4119, Nix issue #2311, etc.
What is going wrong
I can't attach the file fail.sb as it is too large (you can view the failing test case at Lix's gerrit, CL 2870) and run this:
$ sandbox-exec -D _GLOBAL_TMP_DIR=/tmp -f fail.sb /bin/sh
Assertion failed: (diff <= INSTR_JUMP_NE_MAX_LENGTH), function push_jne_instr, file serialize.c, line 240.
zsh: abort sandbox-exec -D _GLOBAL_TMP_DIR=/tmp -f fail.sb /bin/sh
Or a stacktrace:
stacktrace.txt
Credits
Full credits to Jade Lovelace (Lix) for writing the above text and filing a bug.
This is submitted under FB16964888
In the hopes of saving others time, the updated demo project (i.e. the new Shiny) can be found from the video 'Resources' section under 'Performing fast account creation with passkeys'. The beta documentation can also be found from there.
All of the new functionality is available only on *OS 26 at this time.
I have developed a sample app following the example found Updating your app package installer to use the new Service Management API and referring this discussion on XPC Security.
The app is working fine, I have used Swift NSXPCConnection in favour of xpc_connection_create_mach_service used in the example. (I am running app directly from Xcode)
I am trying to set up security requirements for the client connection using setCodeSigningRequirement on the connection instance.
But it fails for even basic requirement connection.setCodeSigningRequirement("anchor apple").
Error is as follows.
cannot open file at line 46986 of [554764a6e7]
os_unix.c:46986: (0) open(/private/var/db/DetachedSignatures) - Undefined error: 0
xpc_support_check_token: anchor apple error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67050 "(null)" status: -67050
I have used codesign -d --verbose=4 /path/to/executable to check the attributes I do get them in the terminal.
Other way round, I have tried XPC service provider sending back process id (pid) with each request, and I am probing this id to get attributes using this code which gives all the details.
func inspectCodeSignature(ofPIDString pidString: String) {
guard let pid = pid_t(pidString) else {
print("Invalid PID string: \(pidString)")
return
}
let attributes = [kSecGuestAttributePid: pid] as CFDictionary
var codeRef: SecCode?
let status = SecCodeCopyGuestWithAttributes(nil, attributes, [], &codeRef)
guard status == errSecSuccess, let code = codeRef else {
print("Failed to get SecCode for PID \(pid) (status: \(status))")
return
}
var staticCode: SecStaticCode?
let staticStatus = SecCodeCopyStaticCode(code, [], &staticCode)
guard staticStatus == errSecSuccess, let staticCodeRef = staticCode else {
print("Failed to get SecStaticCode (status: \(staticStatus))")
return
}
var infoDict: CFDictionary?
if SecCodeCopySigningInformation(staticCodeRef, SecCSFlags(rawValue: kSecCSSigningInformation), &infoDict) == errSecSuccess,
let info = infoDict as? [String: Any] {
print("🔍 Code Signing Info for PID \(pid):")
print("• Identifier: \(info["identifier"] ?? "N/A")")
print("• Team ID: \(info["teamid"] ?? "N/A")")
if let entitlements = info["entitlements-dict"] as? [String: Any] {
print("• Entitlements:")
for (key, value) in entitlements {
print(" - \(key): \(value)")
}
}
} else {
print("Failed to retrieve signing information.")
}
var requirement: SecRequirement?
if SecRequirementCreateWithString("anchor apple" as CFString, [], &requirement) == errSecSuccess,
let req = requirement {
let result = SecStaticCodeCheckValidity(staticCodeRef, [], req)
if result == errSecSuccess {
print("Signature is trusted (anchor apple)")
} else {
print("Signature is NOT trusted by Apple (failed anchor check)")
}
}
var infoDict1: CFDictionary?
let signingStatus = SecCodeCopySigningInformation(staticCodeRef, SecCSFlags(rawValue: kSecCSSigningInformation), &infoDict1)
guard signingStatus == errSecSuccess, let info = infoDict1 as? [String: Any] else {
print("Failed to retrieve signing information.")
return
}
print("🔍 Signing Info for PID \(pid):")
for (key, value) in info.sorted(by: { $0.key < $1.key }) {
print("• \(key): \(value)")
}
}
If connection.setCodeSigningRequirement does not works I plan to use above logic as backup.
Q: Please advise is there some setting required to be enabled or I have to sign code with some flags enabled.
Note: My app is not running in a Sandbox or Hardened Runtime, which I want.
Hi everyone,
I'm developing a C++ plugin (.bundle) for a third-party host application (Autodesk Maya) on macOS, and I'm finalizing the design for our licensing system. The plugin is distributed outside the Mac App Store.
My goal is to securely store a license key in the user's Keychain. After some research, my proposed implementation is as follows:
On activation, store the license data in the user's login keychain as a Generic Password (kSecClassGenericPassword) using the SecItem APIs.
To ensure the plugin can access the item when loaded by Maya, I will use a specific Keychain Access Group (e.g., MY_TEAM_ID.com.mywebsite).
The final .bundle will be code-signed with our company's Developer ID certificate.
The signature will include an entitlements file (.entitlements) that specifies the matching keychain-access-groups permission.
My understanding is that this combination of a unique Keychain Access Group and a properly signed/entitled bundle is the key to getting reliable Keychain access. This should also correctly trigger the one-time user permission prompt on first use.
Does this sound like the correct and most robust approach for this scenario? Are there any common pitfalls with a plugin's Keychain access from within a host app that I should be aware of?
Thanks for any feedback!
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
My high-level goal is to add support for Game Mode in a Java game, which launches via a macOS "launcher" app that runs the actual java game as a separate process (e.g. using the java command line tool).
I asked this over in the Graphics & Games section and was told this, which is why I'm reposting this here.
I'm uncertain how to speak to CLI tools and Java games launched from a macOS app. These sound like security and sandboxing questions which we recommend you ask about in those sections of the forums.
The system seems to decide whether to enable Game Mode based on values in the Info.plist (e.g. for LSApplicationCategoryType and GCSupportsGameMode). However, the child process can't seem to see these values. Is there a way to change that?
(The rest of this post is copied from my other forums post to provide additional context.)
Imagine a native macOS app that acts as a "launcher" for a Java game.** For example, the "launcher" app might use the Swift Process API or a similar method to run the java command line tool (lets assume the user has installed Java themselves) to run the game.
I have seen How to Enable Game Mode. If the native launcher app's Info.plist has the following keys set:
LSApplicationCategoryType set to public.app-category.games
LSSupportsGameMode set to true (for macOS 26+)
GCSupportsGameMode set to true
The launcher itself can cause Game Mode to activate if the launcher is fullscreened. However, if the launcher opens a Java process that opens a window, then the Java window is fullscreened, Game Mode doesn't seem to activate. In this case activating Game Mode for the launcher itself is unnecessary, but you'd expect Game Mode to activate when the actual game in the Java window is fullscreened.
Is there a way to get Game Mode to activate in the latter case?
** The concrete case I'm thinking of is a third-party Minecraft Java Edition launcher, but the issue can also be demonstrated in a sample project (FB13786152). It seems like the official Minecraft launcher is able to do this, though it's not clear how. (Is its bundle identifier hardcoded in the OS to allow for this? Changing a sample app's bundle identifier to be the same as the official Minecraft launcher gets the behavior I want, but obviously this is not a practical solution.)
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Games
Inter-process communication
macOS
Performance
In my app, I use SecItem to store some data in the Keychain. I’d like to know — when a user sets up a new iPhone and transfers data from the old device, will those Keychain items be migrated or synced to the new device?
Hello, I want to access the Docker socket API from inside the macOS App Sandbox. The method queries the API using curl with --unix-socket. However, the Sandbox blocks the request, as shown by the log: curl(22299) deny(1) network-outbound /Users/user/.docker/run/docker.sock Outgoing network traffic is generally allowed, but access to the Docker Unix socket is denied.
Here’s the code I’m using:
private func executeDockerAPI() -> String {
let process = Process()
let pipe = Pipe()
process.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/usr/bin/curl")
process.arguments = [
"--unix-socket", "/Users/user/.docker/run/docker.sock",
"http://127.0.0.1/containers/json"
]
process.standardOutput = pipe
process.standardError = pipe
do {
try process.run()
process.waitUntilExit()
let data = pipe.fileHandleForReading.readDataToEndOfFile()
if let output = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
return output
} else {
return "Error while decoding"
}
} catch {
return "Error running command: \(error.localizedDescription)"
}
}
Is there any entitlement or sandbox configuration I’m missing to allow access to /Users/user/.docker/run/docker.sock from inside the sandbox?
Issue Summary
I'm encountering a DCError.invalidInput error when calling DCAppAttestService.shared.generateAssertion() in my App Attest implementation. This issue affects only a small subset of users - the majority of users can successfully complete both attestation and assertion flows without any issues. According to Apple Engineer feedback, there might be a small implementation issue in my code.
Key Observations
Success Rate: ~95% of users complete the flow successfully
Failure Pattern: The remaining ~5% consistently fail at assertion generation
Key Length: Logs show key length of 44 characters for both successful and failing cases
Consistency: Users who experience the error tend to experience it consistently
Platform: Issue observed across different iOS versions and device types
Environment
iOS App Attest implementation
Using DCAppAttestService for both attestation and assertion
Custom relying party server communication
Issue affects ~5% of users consistently
Key Implementation Details
1. Attestation Flow (Working)
The attestation process works correctly:
// Generate key and attest (successful for all users)
self.attestService.generateKey { keyId, keyIdError in
guard keyIdError == nil, let keyId = keyId else {
return completionHandler(.failure(.dcError(keyIdError as! DCError)))
}
// Note: keyId length is consistently 44 characters for both successful and failing users
// Attest key with Apple servers
self.attestKey(keyId, clientData: clientData) { result in
// ... verification with RP server
// Key is successfully stored for ALL users (including those who later fail at assertion)
}
}
2. Assertion Flow (Failing for ~5% of Users with invalidInput)
The assertion generation fails for a consistent subset of users:
// Get assertion data from RP server
self.assertRelyingParty.getAssertionData(kid, with: data) { result in
switch result {
case .success(let receivedData):
let session = receivedData.session
let clientData = receivedData.clientData
let hash = clientData.toSHA256() // SHA256 hash of client data
// THIS CALL FAILS WITH invalidInput for ~5% of users
// Same keyId (44 chars) that worked for attestation
self.attestService.generateAssertion(kid, clientDataHash: hash) { assertion, err in
guard err == nil, let assertion = assertion else {
// Error: DCError.invalidInput
if let err = err as? DCError, err.code == .invalidKey {
return reattestAndAssert(.invalidKey, completionHandler)
} else {
return completionHandler(.failure(.dcError(err as! DCError)))
}
}
// ... verification logic
}
}
}
3. Client Data Structure
Client data JSON structure (identical for successful and failing users):
// For attestation (works for all users)
let clientData = ["challenge": receivedData.challenge]
// For assertion (fails for ~5% of users with same structure)
var clientData = ["challenge": receivedData.challenge]
if let data = data { // Additional data for assertion
clientData["account"] = data["account"]
clientData["amount"] = data["amount"]
}
4. SHA256 Hash Implementation
extension Data {
public func toSHA256() -> Data {
return Data(SHA256.hash(data: self))
}
}
5. Key Storage Implementation
Using UserDefaults for key storage (works consistently for all users):
private let keyStorageTag = "app-attest-keyid"
func setKey(_ keyId: String) -> Result<(), KeyStorageError> {
UserDefaults.standard.set(keyId, forKey: keyStorageTag)
return .success(())
}
func getKey() -> Result<String?, KeyStorageError> {
let keyId = UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: keyStorageTag)
return .success(keyId)
}
Questions
User-Specific Factors: Since this affects only ~5% of users consistently, could there be device-specific, iOS version-specific, or account-specific factors that cause invalidInput?
Key State Validation: Is there any way to validate the state of an attested key before calling generateAssertion()? The key length (44 chars) appears normal for both successful and failing cases.
Keychain vs UserDefaults: Could the issue be related to using UserDefaults instead of Keychain for key storage? Though this works for 95% of users.
Race Conditions: Could there be subtle race conditions or timing issues that only affect certain users/devices?
Error Recovery: Is there a recommended way to handle this error? Should we attempt re-attestation for these users?
Additional Context & Debugging Attempts
Consistent Failure: Users who experience this error typically experience it on every attempt
Key Validation: Both successful and failing users have identical key formats (44 character strings)
Device Diversity: Issue observed across different device models and iOS versions
Server Logs: Our server successfully provides challenges and processes attestation for all users
Re-attestation: Forcing re-attestation sometimes resolves the issue temporarily, but it often recurs
The fact that 95% of users succeed with identical code suggests there might be some environmental or device-specific factor that we're not accounting for. Any insights into what could cause invalidInput for a subset of users would be invaluable.
I read online that there is no way to extract the call log from an iPhone. I want to develop an app to help people remember to call their mom, and if they did, the "nagging" would disappear automatically. I'm looking for any workaround to know when a user called someone, without having them log it manually.
I have a sandboxed Mac app which I can grant access to a folder using an NSOpenPanel. Once it’s been granted access it can enumerate the contents of the folder just fine. If I rename the folder while the app is open and then make the app enumerate the folder’s contents again, though, it seems to have lost access.
What’s the recommended way to have an app’s sandbox “track” files as they’re moved around the filesystem? (NSDocument handles this for you, from what I can tell.) I’ve managed to hack something together with a combination of Dispatch sources and security-scoped bookmarks, but it feels like there must be an easier solution …
Our desktop app for macos will be released in 2 channels
appstore
dmg package on our official website for users to download and install
Now when we debug with passkey, we find that the package name of the appstore can normally arouse passkey, but the package name of the non-App Store can not arouse the passkey interface
I need your help. Thank you
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Bundle ID
macOS
Passkeys in iCloud Keychain
Authentication Services
Can you please give me a hand with importing certificates under MacOS?
I want to connect to Wi-Fi with 802.1X authentication (EAP-TLS) using a certificate that my homebrew application imported into my data protection keychain, but the imported certificate does not show up and I cannot select the certificate.
It also does not show up in the Keychain Access app.
One method I have tried is to import it into the data protection keychain by using the SecItemAdd function and setting kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain to true, but it does not work.
Is there a better way to do this?
ID:
for id in identities {
let identityParams: [String: Any] = [
kSecValueRef as String: id,
kSecReturnPersistentRef as String: true,
kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain as String: true
]
let addIdentityStatus = SecItemAdd(identityParams as CFDictionary, nil)
if addIdentityStatus == errSecSuccess {
print("Successfully added the ID.: \(addIdentityStatus)")
} else {
print("Failed to add the ID.: \(addIdentityStatus)")
}
}
Certificate:
for cert in certificates {
let certParams: [String: Any] = [
kSecValueRef as String: cert,
kSecReturnPersistentRef as String: true,
kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain as String: true
]
let addCertStatus = SecItemAdd(certParams as CFDictionary, nil)
if addCertStatus == errSecSuccess {
print("Successfully added the certificate.: (\(addCertStatus))")
} else {
print("Failed to add the certificate.: (\(addCertStatus))")
}
}
Private key:
for privateKey in keys {
let keyTag = UUID().uuidString.data(using: .utf8)!
let keyParams: [String: Any] = [
kSecAttrApplicationTag as String: keyTag,
kSecValueRef as String: privateKey,
kSecReturnPersistentRef as String: true,
kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain as String: true
]
let addKeyStatus = SecItemAdd(keyParams as CFDictionary, nil)
if addKeyStatus == errSecSuccess {
print("Successfully added the private key.: \(addKeyStatus)")
} else {
print("Failed to add the private key.: \(addKeyStatus)")
}
}
Before device Reboot:
Here no issue from keychain.
2025-06-17 11:18:17.956334 +0530 WAVE PTX [DB_ENCRYPTION] Key successfully retrieved from the Keychain default
When device is in reboot and locked (Keychain access is set to FirstUnlock)
App got woken up in background
SEEMS(NOT SURE) DEVICE STILL IN LOCKED STARE IF YES THEN WHICH IS EXPECTED
2025-06-17 12:12:30.036184 +0530 WAVE PTX <ALA_ERROR>: [OS-CCF] [DB_ENCRYPTION] Error while retriving Private key -25308 default
2025-06-17 12:15:28.914700 +0530 WAVE PTX <ALA_ERROR> [DB_ENCRYPTION] Error retrieving key from the Keychain: -25300 default
——————————————————
And as per logs, here user has launch the application post unlock and application never got the keychain access here also.
HERE STILL HAS ISSUE WITH KEYCHAIN ACCESS.
2025-06-17 12:52:55.640976 +0530 WAVE PTX DEBUG : willFinishLaunchingWithOptions default
2025-06-17 12:52:55.651371 +0530 WAVE PTX <ALA_ERROR> [DB_ENCRYPTION] Error retrieving key from the Keychain: -25300 default
What Has Been Implemented
Replaced the default loginwindow:login with a custom authorization plugin.
The plugin:
Performs primary OTP authentication.
Displays a custom password prompt.
Validates the password using Open Directory (OD) APIs.
Next Scenario was handling password change
Password change is simulated via: sudo pwpolicy -u robo -setpolicy "newPasswordRequired=1"
On next login:
Plugin retrieves the old password.
OD API returns kODErrorCredentialsPasswordChangeRequired.
Triggers a custom change password window to collect and set new password.
Issue Observed : After changing password:
The user’s login keychain resets.
Custom entries under the login keychain are removed.
We have tried few solutions
Using API, SecKeychainChangePassword(...)
Using CLI, security set-keychain-password -o oldpwd -p newpwd ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db
These approaches appear to successfully change the keychain password, but:
On launching Keychain Access, two password prompts appear, after authentication, Keychain Access window doesn't appear (no app visibility).
Question:
Is there a reliable way (API or CLI) to reset or update the user’s login keychain password from within the custom authorization plugin, so:
The keychain is not reset or lost.
Keychain Access works normally post-login.
The password update experience is seamless.
Thank you for your help and I appreciate your time and consideration
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Open Directory
Security
Privacy
Security Interface
I've been spending days trying to solve the memory leak in a small menu bar application I've wrote (SC Menu). I've used Instruments which shows the leaks and memory graph which shows unreleased allocations. This occurs when someone views a certificate on the smartcard.
Basically it opens a new window and displays the certificate, the same way Keychain Access displays a certificate. Whenever I create an SFCertificateView instance and set setDetailsDisclosed(true) - a memory leak happens. Instruments highlights that line.
import Cocoa
import SecurityInterface
class ViewCertsViewController: NSViewController {
var selectedCert: SecIdentity? = nil
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.view = NSView(frame: NSRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 500, height: 500))
self.view.wantsLayer = true
var secRef: SecCertificate? = nil
guard let selectedCert else { return }
let certRefErr = SecIdentityCopyCertificate(selectedCert, &secRef)
if certRefErr != errSecSuccess {
os_log("Error getting certificate from identity: %{public}@", log: OSLog.default, type: .error, String(describing: certRefErr))
return
}
let scrollView = NSScrollView()
scrollView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
scrollView.borderType = .lineBorder
scrollView.hasHorizontalScroller = true
scrollView.hasVerticalScroller = true
let certView = SFCertificateView()
guard let secRef = secRef else { return }
certView.setCertificate(secRef)
certView.setDetailsDisclosed(true)
certView.setDisplayTrust(true)
certView.setEditableTrust(true)
certView.setDisplayDetails(true)
certView.setPolicies(SecPolicyCreateBasicX509())
certView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
scrollView.documentView = certView
view.addSubview(scrollView)
// Layout constraints
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
scrollView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor),
scrollView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor),
scrollView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor),
scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor),
// Provide certificate view a width and height constraint
certView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.widthAnchor),
certView.heightAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToConstant: 500)
])
}
}
https://github.com/boberito/sc_menu/blob/dev_2.0/smartcard_menu/ViewCertsViewController.swift
Fairly simple.
I’m implementing a custom Authorization right with the following rule:
<key>authenticate-user</key>
<true/>
<key>allow-root</key>
<true/>
<key>class</key>
<string>user</string>
<key>group</key>
<string>admin</string>
The currently logged-in user is a standard user, and I’ve created a hidden admin account, e.g. _hiddenadmin, which has UID≠0 but belongs to the admin group.
From my Authorization Plug-in, I would like to programmatically satisfy this right using _hiddenadmin’s credentials, even though _hiddenadmin is not the logged-in user.
My question:
Is there a way to programmatically satisfy an authenticate-user right from an Authorization Plug-in using credentials of another (non-session) user?
Hi,
I am developing an app that checks if biometric authentication capabilities (Face ID and Touch ID) are available on a device. I have a few questions:
Do I need to include a privacy string in my app to use the LAContext's canEvaluatePolicy function? This function checks if biometric authentication is available on the device, but does not actually trigger the authentication.
From my testing, it seems like a privacy declaration is only required when using LAContext's evaluatePolicy function, which would trigger the biometric authentication. Can you confirm if this is the expected behavior across all iOS versions and iPhone models?
When exactly does the biometric authentication permission pop-up appear for users - is it when calling canEvaluatePolicy or evaluatePolicy? I want to ensure my users have a seamless experience.
Please let me know if you have any insights on these questions. I want to make sure I'm handling the biometric authentication functionality correctly in my app. Thank you!
Hi,
I have a certificate, how can I display the certificate content in my Mac app just like Keychain Access app does. Can I popup the certificate content dialog just like Keychain Access app?