Code Signing

RSS for tag

Certify that an app was created by you using Code signing, a macOS security technology.

Posts under Code Signing tag

195 Posts
Sort by:

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Signing issue with Notification Filtering entitlement
Two months ago we got approval for using the Notification Filtering entitlement. We rushed out to implement it in our app, only to find out that the permission was set for the wrong bundle identifier. We expected to get the permission for the notification extension's bundle identifier, yet it is added for the main app's bundle identifier. Per the official docs, the entitlement permission should be in the notification service extension target: After you receive permission to use the entitlement, add com.apple.developer.usernotifications.filtering to the entitlements file in the Notification Service Extension target. However, this fails to get signed when compiling for non-simulator targets because of the bundle mismatch issue. Simulator perfectly filters notifications. Adding the entitlement to the main app does compile, but filtering does not work (as expected). We reached out to Apple twice (Case-ID: 14330583) but we have yet to receive any response. Could there be something else wrong instead of the identifier mismatch?
1
0
842
Jul ’25
App Store code signing show "Beta Profile"
I encountered code signing issue with Apple Distribution certificate for both iOS and MacCatalyst. The app crashes with "Beta Profile". I followed this instruction to manually re-sign my ipa to confirm that I use the Apple Distribution and the correct Provisioning Profile. https://gist.github.com/WDUK/4239548f76bd77b2c4b0 When I double click on the Apple Distribution certificate in KeyChain Access, it shows "Extension: Apple Mac App Signing (Development)" and "Extension: Apple Developer Certificate (Submission)" I have been stuck in this issue for more than a month. I really need help because I do not know how to proceed further. Thank you.
4
0
876
Jul ’25
Code Signing or Xcode adding mysterious entitlements that not exist in project
Hello Engineers My app was rejected with the message below, BUT I don't have this entitlements in my project! I already removed all Xcode files under ${HOME}/Developer/Xcode, but the problem still alive! Guideline 2.4.5(i) - Performance In order to continue reviewing your app, we require additional information. Your app uses one or more entitlements which do not appear to have matching functionality within the app. Please reply to this message in App Store Connect and describe how and where the app uses the following entitlements. You will not need to upload a new binary to provide this information. Apps should have only the minimum set of entitlements necessary for the app to function properly. If there are entitlements that are not needed, please remove them and submit an updated binary. You will need to Developer Reject the app to upload an updated version. "com.apple.security.assets.pictures.read-write" "com.apple.security.assets.movies.read-write" "com.apple.security.assets.music.read-write" "com.apple.security.files.downloads.read-write" Here my entitlements: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>group.org.eof.apps</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write</key> <true/> </dict> </plist> code-block Who or where are these entitlements inserted? Which button should be clicked to deactivate them? Link to my project: DRFXBuilder Regards
6
0
170
Jul ’25
What is the code signing trust level?
In some crashlog files, there are additional pieces of information related to codesigning. I can understand what most of themcorresponds to (ID, TeamID, Flags, Validation Category). But there is one I have some doubt about: Trust Level. As far as I can tell (or at least what Google and other search engines say), this is an unsigned 32 bit integer that defines the trust level with -1 being untrusted, 0, being basically an Apple executable and other potential bigger values corresponding to App Store binaries, Developer ID signature, etc. Yet, I'm not able to find a corresponding detailed documentation about this on Apple's developer website. I also had a look at the LightweightCodeRequirements "include" file and there does not seem to be such a field available. [Q] Is there any official documentation listing the different values for this trust level value and providing a clear description of what it corresponds to?
4
0
224
Jul ’25
The signature of cannot be validated and may have been compromised
I'm currently developing a Unity game for iPad and have run into a critical issue that's completely blocking me from building the project. The project uses the Mapbox SDK for Unity. Everything was working fine during today test build on the iPad. I made minor changes - just four scripts, then attempted another build. However, Xcode began showing the following error: The signature of “MapboxCommon.xcframework” cannot be validated and may have been compromised. Validation Error: The signing certificate has been revoked (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_REVOKED) This error now occurs consistently. I've tried building on a different MacBook and with a different Apple account, but the result is the same. I haven't made any changes to the Mapbox framework, nor have I updated it recently. I'm trying to determine the root cause: Is this something I've done on my end? Or is it an issue with the Mapbox framework or their signing certificate? Is there a temporary workaround that would allow me to proceed with development builds while I investigate a proper fix? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
1
0
161
Jul ’25
Signing Issues with VisionOS app
I am having an issue with signing and provisioning a Vision OS app. I have an iOS app and a VisionOS app. Everything works fine on the iOS but having issues with the VisionOS. First, I am having issues with xcodebuild -exportArchive. When I run it on an archive of my VisionOS app I get ** EXPORT FAILED ** error: exportArchive No Accounts error: exportArchive No profiles for 'X' were found Where X is my bundle ID. Meanwhile the iOS app succeeds. This is on a CI machine but I confirmed the distribution provision profile for the vision OS app is installed on the machine. Even if I change the value of the -exportOptionsPlist to the one I used for the iOS project I get this error. Is the issue in the archive itself? The archives are generated from building in Unity and archiving the xcodeproject with xcodebuild archive Second, as a workaround I archived a debug ipa on my machine and uploaded this ipa to my CI machine which has the credentials to sign for distribution. I use this script as an example as how to resign the IPA: https://gist.github.com/lodalo/754a35b48d382ae99b25 I remove the CodeSignatures and codesign both .app and UnityFramework.framework. Using this resigned IPA I get this error when I try to upload to app store connect (via Transporter app and altool) errors: Validation failed (409) Missing or invalid signature. The bundle 'X' at bundle path 'Payload/Y.app' is not signed using an Apple submission certificate. To verify the signing I used codesign -dvvv --entitlements - On both the iOS and VisionOS app and they have the same values under all the Authority fields. Different profiles, of course. So the certificate I used is eligible to upload the iOS app successfully but doesn't work on the VisionOS ipa? Any help on solving any of these issues would be great so I can upload the vision OS app. Thank you!
0
0
106
Jul ’25
Codesigning in Europe still doesn't work with IPv6
I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why codesigning was failing -- I had the pf block set up correctly, my keychains were unlocked, and then, eventually, it occurred to me, hey, maybe an IP address changed, so I disabled IPv6 except for link local, and then amazingly, it went back to working. I filed FB13706261 over a year ago. This is ridiculous.
7
0
283
Jul ’25
Signing a daemon with the Endpoint Security entitlement
Note: This failure occurs even when running on the same machine that performed the build, signing, and notarization steps. We are developing a command-line Endpoint Security (ES) client for macOS, distributed to customers as part of an enterprise security suite. We have a valid Apple Developer Team ID (redacted for privacy) and have requested and received the Endpoint Security entitlement for our account. What We’ve Done Built a universal (x86_64/arm64) CLI ES client using Xcode on macOS Sonoma. Signed with a Developer ID Application certificate (matching our Team ID). Applied the entitlement: com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client. Notarized the binary via notarytool after receiving Apple’s confirmation that the entitlement was “assigned to our account.” Distributed and unzipped the notarized ZIP (with com.apple.quarantine xattr intact). What Happens: When we run the binary (as root, via sudo) on any test Mac—including the original build/notarization machine—the process is killed immediately at launch. Kernel log (log stream --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "AMFI"' --info) shows: AMFI: code signature validation failed. AMFI: bailing out because of restricted entitlements. AMFI: When validating /path/to/fidelisevents: Code has restricted entitlements, but the validation of its code signature failed. Unsatisfied Entitlements: What We’ve Verified: codesign -dvvv --entitlements :- ./fidelisevents shows the correct entitlement, team identifier, and certificate. xattr ./fidelisevents shows both com.apple.provenance and com.apple.quarantine. spctl -a -vv ./fidelisevents returns: rejected (the code is valid but does not seem to be an app) origin=Developer ID Application: [REDACTED] The process is killed even if run on the same Mac where build/sign/notarization occurred. Other Details The entitlement approval email from Apple simply says it is “assigned to your account” and does not mention “production” or “distribution.” We have rebuilt, re-signed, and re-notarized after receiving the email. This occurs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, with recent macOS versions (Sonoma, Ventura). Question Is it possible that Apple only assigned the development Endpoint Security entitlement, and not the production entitlement required for distributing/running notarized ES clients outside of development? Is there any way to verify the level of entitlement (dev vs. production) associated with our Team ID? What additional steps, if any, are needed to enable the production entitlement so that our binaries can run on customer endpoints without being killed by AMFI? Any advice, experience, or official documentation about production ES entitlement rollout, approval, or troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
21
0
420
Jul ’25
In the iOS 26 beta, enterprise Apps installed via MDM cannot be run
I am a developer working on iOS apps. I would like to report an issue occurring in iOS 26 beta 2. Our company has Enterprise account, and we are developing apps. When we distribute these apps, and install them on a device running iOS 26 beta2, apps install successfully, but apps crashed immediately after being launched. MDM Install Application When I install the app via Xcode and trust it, apps will run. Launchd job spawn failed This issue does not occur on versions prior to iOS 26. I would like to know if this is a problem that will be resolved in future updates, or if it is a policy change.
2
0
195
Aug ’25
Developer ID certificate not working after Apple ID password change
Hi everyone, After I recently changed my Apple ID (iCloud) password, my Developer ID certificate stopped working for signing macOS apps. Symptoms: Signing fails with the Developer ID certificate that was previously working fine. I tried re-downloading the certificate from my Apple Developer account and importing it into the Keychain, but the issue persists. It seems that the Developer ID identity is no longer trusted or properly linked to my system since the password change. Attempts: Re-downloaded and installed the certificate from the developer portal. Verified that the private key is present and linked. Checked keychain access and code-signing identity — everything appears normal, but the signed apps are rejected or the signing process fails. Blocking issue: I am unable to delete or revoke the Developer ID certificate on my account (Apple Support says it's not possible). Also, I can't create a new one due to the certificate limit. Questions: Is it expected for a Developer ID certificate to become invalid after changing the Apple ID password? Is there a recommended way to refresh or restore the certificate trust on macOS? How can I invalidate the current certificate and generate a new one if I'm stuck? Any insights or official guidance would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance!
1
0
72
Jul ’25
Suddenly, cannot install app on device
Hi, I am using Xcode 16.4, and my test device is Iphone 16 pro max. Everything was working fine until today when I get an error that I cannot install the app on the device. The error I get is: Failed to verify code signature of /var/installd/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installd.staging/temp.cRjyg7/extracted/[myapp].app : 0xe8008015 (A valid provisioning profile for this executable was not found.) Please ensure sure that your app is signed by a valid provisioning profile. Creating a new project and installing it to the mobile works fine. Please can someone from Apple or the community respond? there are many posts with this error but none were solved. Troubleshooting attempts included: Resetting all certificates. delete the app from the device unpairing device codesigning via cli reloading older git code commit Nothing is working. thanks
1
1
494
Jul ’25
Is "library-validation" implied by hardened runtime?
We recently had an external pentest for one of our company's macOS applications and they brought up the topic of library validation. Our app has hardened runtime enabled and passes notarization. The codesign verification output includes: flags=0x10000(runtime) The pentesters brought up that both validation and runtime should be present, so I discovered that you could also add library validation by augmenting our flags with: OTHER_CODE_SIGN_FLAGS = --timestamp -o library which changes the flags to: flags=0x12000(library-validation,runtime) The pentesters insist that both options are necessary, especially to avoid library injection when SIP is off, but Apple's docs say that hardened runtime already implies library validation (see here ) My question is: does explicitly specifying library validation provide something that hardened runtime does not already? Or is it correct that hardened runtime already imply library validation? For what it's worth, I did a quick scan of some of the apps on my system, interesting some of the Apple system apps have only library validation (e.g. Safari, Photos), some have both (e.g. Podcasts), some have only hardened runtime (e.g. Mail). So that didn't help answer the question. Thank you!
2
0
192
Jul ’25
Notarization Issue – Team Not Configured
I came across your contact on the Apple Developer Forums. I'm encountering an unusual issue during the notarization process. The error message states: "Team is not yet configured for notarization. Please contact Developer Programs Support at developer.apple.com under the topic Development and Technical / Other Development or Technical Questions." Any guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Here are the error details for reference: json { "logFormatVersion": 1, "jobId": "b6023a7c-dc85-4fa5-91dd-fba92c9ed831", "status": "Rejected", "statusSummary": "Team is not yet configured for notarization. Please contact Developer Programs Support at developer.apple.com under the topic Development and Technical / Other Development or Technical Questions.", "statusCode": 7000, "archiveFilename": "Bytemonk.dmg", "uploadDate": "2025-07-02T07:07:07.945Z", "sha256": "b9494170cc040a76045ed263de22e6b89a5455142af16ce502530e1c1ee72ddf", "ticketContents": null, "issues": null }
1
0
97
Jul ’25
Exporting valid certificate as .p12
I have a valid Developer ID Certificate, I've used it to sign an app locally and send the app to other machines of my colleagues to make sure it works and does not get triggered by GateKeeper Now I want to automate the process of signing and notarization on github actions and so I want to export my certificate and upload it there. Initially I tried uploading both the Developer ID Certificate and the G2 CA both as .cer files encoded in base64. But apparently I need my certificate to be in .p12 format When I try to export it from keychain access the option to export as .p12 is disabled. So how can I do it ?
1
0
96
Jul ’25
Notarization and Stapling Failing for Signed PKG & DMG with Error 65 Despite Successful Notary Submission
Dear Apple Developer Technical Support, I am encountering an issue with notarizing and stapling both PKG and DMG installers for our Electron-based macOS application COSGrid. Despite receiving successful notarization submission responses via notarytool, the stapling process fails with Error 65. Environment: App Name: COSGrid Bundle Identifier: com.cosgrid.pkg.COSGrid Developer ID Team ID: YB8S2XZ98K macOS Version: macOS [15.1] Xcode Version: [16.0 (16A242d)] Workflow Summary: For PKG: Build via yarn build (Vite + Electron Builder) Package with pkgbuild Sign using productsign Submit for notarization: xcrun notarytool submit COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg --apple-id "..." --team-id YB8S2XZ98K --password "..." --wait Conducting pre-submission checks for COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg and initiating connection to the Apple notary service... Submission ID received id: a8ff8e09-1ab4-49ed-9f6b-4afb9f09e53a Upload progress: 100.00% (235 MB of 235 MB) Successfully uploaded file id: a8ff8e09-1ab4-49ed-9f6b-4afb9f09e53a path: /Users/murugavel/Documents/MZA/mza/release/2.1.10/COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg Waiting for processing to complete. Current status: Accepted..................... Processing complete id: a8ff8e09-1ab4-49ed-9f6b-4afb9f09e53a status: Accepted Receive notarization success Stapling fails: xcrun stapler staple COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg Could not validate ticket... The staple and validate action failed! Error 65. For DMG: Sign via codesign Submit to notarization — success Attempt to staple: xcrun stapler staple -v COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg Could not validate ticket... The staple and validate action failed! Error 65. Additional Verification: I verified the DMG’s code signature integrity: Command: codesign --verify --verbose=4 COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg Output: COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg: valid on disk COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg: satisfies its Designated Requirement Command: codesign -dvv COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg Output: Executable=/Users/murugavel/Documents/MZA/mza/release/2.1.10/COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64.dmg Identifier=COSGrid-2.1.10-arm64 Format=disk image CodeDirectory v=20200 size=308 flags=0x0(none) hashes=1+6 location=embedded Signature size=9013 Authority=Developer ID Application: COSGrid Systems Private Limited (YB8S2XZ98K) Authority=Developer ID Certification Authority Authority=Apple Root CA Timestamp=1 Jul 2025 at 11:34:05 AM Info.plist=not bound TeamIdentifier=YB8S2XZ98K Sealed Resources=none Internal requirements count=1 size=180 **Verified Signature for .pkg ** pkgutil --check-signature COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg Package "COSGridMZA-2.1.10-arm64.pkg": Status: signed by a developer certificate issued by Apple for distribution Signed with a trusted timestamp on: 2025-06-30 13:57:19 +0000 Certificate Chain: 1. Developer ID Installer: COSGrid Systems Private Limited (teamID) Expires: 2027-02-01 22:12:15 +0000 2. Developer ID Certification Authority Expires: 2027-02-01 22:12:15 +0000 3. Apple Root CA Expires: 2035-02-09 21:40:36 +0000 Diagnostic Logs Attached: Stapler verbose logs for both PKG and DMG codesign verification output for both PKG and DMG Notarytool submission logs Ticket JSON response from Apple API API request/response headers Effective electron-builder.yaml config Key Observations: codesign verification passes successfully for both artifacts Notarization submission reports success via notarytool Stapler fails with Error 65 for both PKG and DMG Ticket JSON fetched from CloudKit API appears valid No provisioning profile used (Developer ID distribution only) Request: Could you please help investigate: Why is the stapler unable to validate or attach the ticket even though notarization completes successfully? Are there any known issues, entitlements, or workflow adjustments recommended in this case? Is any special handling required for Electron apps’ PKG/DMG packages or Hardened Runtime configurations during stapling? I can provide the signed DMG/PKG and full notarization logs upon request. Thank you very much for your assistance — looking forward to your guidance. Best regards, Murugavel COSGrid Systems Private Limited
1
0
80
Jul ’25
Gatekeeper disallowing directly distributed app
This is a continuation of my own old post that became inactive to regain traction. I am trying to resolve issues that arise when distributing a macOS app with a SysExt Network Extension (Packet Tunnel) outside the App Store using a Developer ID Certificate. To directly distribute the app, I start with exporting the .app via Archive in Xcode. After that, I create a new Developer ID provisioning profile for both the app and sysext and replace the embedded ones in the .app package. After I have replaced the provisioning profiles and the have the entitlements files ready, I start signing the frameworks, sysext and parent app. codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>"<app>.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/<sysext>.systemextension/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/Versions/A/<fw> codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/ codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist-vpn.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/<sysext>.systemextension/Contents/MacOS/<sysext> codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app After validation is successful with codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=4 <app>.app I zip the package, notarize and staple it ditto -c -k --keepParent "<app>.app" "<app>..zip" xcrun notarytool submit <app>.zip --keychain-profile “”<credents> --wait xcrun stapler staple <app>.app After that I finish creating signed and notarized .dmg/.pkg. hdiutil create -volname “<app>” -srcfolder “<app>.app/" -ov -format UDZO ./<app>.dmg codesign --force --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.dmg xcrun notarytool submit <app>.dmg --keychain-profile "<credentials>" --wait xcrun stapler staple <app>.dmg Then when I move the .dmg to a clean system, open the .dmg, move the .app to the Applications folder, the attempt to run it fails with “The application “” can’t be opened.”. When I look into the console, the gatekeeper disallows the launch job with the message:
 86127 debug ProvisioningProfiles taskgated-helper ConfigurationProfiles entitlements: { "com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension" = ( "packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension" ); "com.apple.developer.system-extension.install" = 1; "com.apple.developer.team-identifier" = <teamid>; "keychain-access-groups" = ( “<teamid>.<app>.AppGroup" ); } com.apple.ManagedClient
<app>: Unsatisfied entitlements: com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension, keychain-access-groups, com.apple.developer.system-extension.install, com.apple.developer.team-identifier LAUNCH: Runningboard launch of <app> <private> returned RBSRequestErrorFailed, error Error Domain=RBSRequestErrorDomain Code=5 "Launch failed." UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=Launch failed., NSUnderlyingError=0x600001a25830 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=153 "Unknown error: 153" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Launchd job spawn failed}}}, so returning -10810

 I went through all possible formats (macOS-Style and iOS-Style App Group IDs) and combinations of appgroups according to the post “App Groups: macOS vs iOS: Working Towards Harmony”. But none of those work for me. The weird part is that when I try the same steps on different developer account, I am able to get the app running. What can be wrong?
3
0
134
Jul ’25
Developer ID Notary Service Experiencing Elevated Latency
Starting a few hours ago (roughly 2:45PM Eastern time) we began experiencing elevated latency with the Developer ID Notary Service. There is nothing listed on the developer system status page about degraded performance or a service outage. Operations that usually take ~15 minutes, are stacking up for hours. The oldest pending entry we have was created at 2:45PM Eastern: createdDate: 2025-06-24T18:45:22.539Z id: 5209a4d2-eae4-4714-aa8e-6961677ff2e We currently have 27 pending builds in the notary service since we are required to notarize internal builds to ensure we satisfy our requirements so this is creating an issue for us.
2
5
268
Jun ’25
Application Update via DMG results in Corrupted App Bundle
Dear Apple Support, We are experiencing a critical issue affecting some of our macOS users during application updates via DMG. In certain cases, when users attempt to update the app by dragging it from the mounted DMG to the /Applications folder (replacing the old version), the application becomes corrupted. Users receive an error indicating that the app cannot be opened. On retry, they are met with an error stating that the app cannot be overwritten. Upon inspection, the resulting application bundle is incomplete and contains only the following structure: . └── Contents └── CodeResources The only known workaround is to completely remove the existing app from /Applications before copying the new version — this resolves the issue consistently. We’ve observed this issue in the field with increasing frequency, which negatively impacts user trust. We also found similar reports from other developers (e.g., https://github.com/warpdotdev/Warp/issues/5492), suggesting a broader issue. Questions: What could be the underlying cause of this behavior on macOS (e.g., MDM, security policies, filesystem behavior)? Are there any recommended practices to prevent or mitigate this issue when updating apps via DMG? We would appreciate any guidance or clarification you can provide. Best regards, Ivan Poluianov
1
0
66
Jun ’25
Apple could not verify `app` is free of malware
Hello, I'm working on an app at work and we finally got to signing and notarizing the app. The app is successfully notarized and stapled, I packaged it in a .dmg using hdiutil and went ahead and notarized and stapled that as well. Now I tried to move this app to another machine through various methods. But every time I download it from another machine, open and extract the contents of the dmg and attempt to open the app, I get the "Apple could not verify my app is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy. When I check the extended attributes there's always the com.apple.quarantine attribute which from what I know, is the reason that this popup appears I've tried uploading it to google drive, sending through slack, onedrive, even tried our AWS servers and last but not least, I tried our Azure servers (which is what we use for distribution of the windows version of our app). I tried uploading to Azure through CloudBerry (MSP360 now), and azure-cli defining the content-type as "application/octet-stream", the content-disposition as "attachment; filename=myApp.dmg", and content-cache-control as "no-transform". None of these worked The only times where a download actually worked with no problems was when I downloaded through the terminal using curl, which obviously not a great solution especially that we're distributing to users who aren't exactly "tech savy" I want the installation experience to be as smooth as other apps outside the App Store (i.e Discord, Slack, Firefox, Chrome etc....) but I've been stuck on this for more than a week with no luck. Any help is greatly appreciated, and if you want me to clarify something further I'd be happy to do so
2
0
194
Jun ’25
Guidance on Java JRE Usage for PST Parsing in Mac OS Application– Code Signing & App Store Compliance
Hello Apple Support Team, We are developing a macOS application that allows users to import and view PST files (Microsoft Outlook archives). These files contain a complex, proprietary format that requires specialized parsing libraries. To achieve this, we are using Aspose Email for Java, which is currently one of the few reliable libraries that support complete PST parsing across platforms. Why we are using Java & Aspose The Aspose Email Java library provides a comprehensive API to extract mail data (including metadata, attachments, and folder structure) from .pst files. A native Swift or Objective-C alternative with full .pst parsing capability does not exist, which is why we opted for a Java-based helper module that runs in the background and communicates with the macOS app over a Unix domain socket. How we bundle it We package the AsposeEmail.jar and a custom JRE (Java Runtime Environment) created using jlink, tailored to run only our jar. This entire setup (JAR + JRE) is bundled within the Contents/Resources directory of the macOS app, and we invoke the Java runtime using standard process launch APIs from Swift. Problem during App Store Submission When we archive the app and submit it to the App Store, the validation step raises an error: ITMS-90284: Invalid Code Signing - The executable 'com.app.sample.appstore.pkg/Payload/Sample.app/Contents/Resources/custom-jre-universal/lib/cli ent/libjsig.dylib' must be signed with the certificate that is contained in the provisioning profile. ITMS-90284: Invalid Code Signing - The executable 'com.app.aample.appstore.pkg/Payload/Sample.app/Contents/Resources/custom-jre-universal/lib/cli ent/libjvm.dylib' must be signed with the certificate that is contained in the provisioning profile. When we attempt to code sign the custom JRE, especially the .dylib files inside, the runtime breaks. Java is unable to launch correctly and throws permission errors and execution failures. Alternative we thought of (On-Demand Download) To avoid the code signing issue, we decided to remove the JRE from the bundle and instead download it on demand when the user performs an action like "Import PST". However, we realized this may violate the App Store Review Guideline 2.5.2: Our use case, while not dynamically modifying features, does download and execute a Java runtime, which could be interpreted as executing new code post-installation. How can we proceed? We are looking for Apple’s guidance on the correct and compliant path forward: Is there a recommended way to bundle and codesign a custom JRE so it is accepted by the App Store? Is on-demand download of a custom runtime for a very specific parsing task permitted, assuming it doesn't modify app features but simply supports user-initiated operations? We would greatly appreciate any guidance or best practices on how to handle this situation, particularly with respect to App Store compliance. Regards, Maaz Hussain
6
0
129
Jun ’25