System Extensions

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Install and manage user space code that extends the capabilities of macOS using System Extensions.

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Network System Extension cannot use network interface of another VPN
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a (Sandboxed) System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider (NEPacketTunnelProvider), as our project requires the creation of a TUN device. In order for our System VPN to function, it must reach out to a (self-hosted) server (i.e. to discover a list of peers). Being self-hosted, this server is typically not accessible via the public web, and may only be accessible from within a VPN (such as those also implemented using NEPacketTunnelProvider, e.g. Tailscale, Cloudflare WARP). What we've discovered is that the networking code of the System Network Extension process does not attempt to use the other VPN network interfaces (utunX) on the system. In practice, this means requests to IPs and hostnames that should be routed to those interfaces time out. Identical requests made outside of the Network System Extension process use those interfaces and succeed. The simplest example is where we create a URLSession.downloadTask for a resource on the server. A more complicated example is where we execute a Go .dylib that continues to communicate with that server. Both types of requests time out. Two noteworthy logs appear when packets fail to send, both from the kernel 'process': cfil_hash_entry_log:6088 <CFIL: Error: sosend_reinject() failed>: [30685 com.coder.Coder-Desktop.VPN] <UDP(17) out so b795d11aca7c26bf 57728068503033955 57728068503033955 age 0> lport 3001 fport 3001 laddr 100.108.7.40 faddr 100.112.177.88 hash 58B15863 cfil_service_inject_queue:4472 CFIL: sosend() failed 49 I also wrote some test code that probes using a UDP NWConnection and NWPath availableInterfaces. When run from the GUI App, multiple interfaces are returned, including the one that routes the address, utun5. When ran from within the sysex, only en0 is returned. I understand routing a VPN through another is unconventional, but we unfortunately do need this functionality one way or another. Is there any way to modify which interfaces are exposed to the sysex? Additionally, are these limitations of networking within a Network System Extension documented anywhere? Do you have any ideas why this specific limitation might exist?
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Jul ’25
Network Extension - On shutdown Xsan can't unmount and cause a crash when NEFilterProvider is enabled
Hey, We also opened a feedback assistant request, and also opened a ticket with Apple Developer Technical Support a while ago that notice the unmount problem also but it was before we pin point the problem to the Network Extension. After a further investigation, we've found out that the root cause of this problem is cause by having a network filter from the NetworkExtension provider on (Specifically we have tested with the NEFilterDataProvider) while having a Xsan volume. The NEFilterDataProvider causing problems for the Xsan, and is stalling the shutdown until we get a panic from watchdog timeout, and only then the mac is fully shutdown. The problem from what we investigated and also talked with you, is that the Xsan process can't unmount the volume and stuck. We have also noticed that if we install a network extension and allow the popup of the network filters, i.e enabled the NEFilterDataProvider the computer is stuck, and the finder is in a non responsive state until a reboot (Also probably due to the fact the Xsan is now in a problematic state). This tests was done on latest versions of MacOs 13 & 14. We have taken a sysdiagnose from the computer while we have tested. Do you familiar with the problem (We got no answer on the feedback assistant)? Thank you, Idan
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221
Sep ’25
DHCP failure in macOS 15.4 and 15.5
We need your assistance as we are currently facing an issue without a workaround for users on macOS 15.4 and 15.5. FeedbackID: FB17547675 The problem has been observed on macOS versions 15.4 and 15.5. Apple has acknowledged this issue and confirmed that it is fixed in the macOS 15.6 beta. Although we tried to reproduce the issue in our environment, it did not occur, even on macOS 15.5. Therefore, we cannot verify if the fix in macOS 15.6 beta resolves the problem. We are actively working to identify an appropriate workaround for users on macOS 15.5. Some users have reported a failure to obtain an IP address over Wi-Fi, possibly due to a DHCP failure. As a temporary solution, we added logic to restart Wi-Fi programmatically when either an APIPA address (169.254.x.x) or no IPv4 address is detected on the active interface. However, restarting Wi-Fi does not always resolve the issue, and the device may still fail to obtain an IP address over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Could you advise if there is a reliable method to detect DHCP failure and recover the device from this state? Also, any idea, how we can reproduce this scenario in our machine? Below is the failure. default 2025-06-27 10:07:57.055003 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:07:57.055269 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'no server' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.336215 -0700 airportd WiFiUsageBssSession:: ChannelAfterRoam=0; ChannelAtJoin=36; FaultReasonApsdTimedOut=0; FaultReasonArpFailureCount=0; FaultReasonBrokenBackhaulLinkFailed=0; FaultReasonDhcpFailure=0; default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.367852 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'media inactive' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.367909 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INACTIVE default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988565 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'media inactive' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988703 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INACTIVE info 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988852 -0700 configd DHCPv6 en0: Inactive default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656415 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'network changed' default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656817 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656821 -0700 configd DHCP en0: supplying device type 'Mac' info 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656934 -0700 configd DHCP en0: busy default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.657351 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 0 for 1.358613 info 2025-06-27 10:08:35.657404 -0700 configd DHCPv6 en0: Inactive default 2025-06-27 10:08:37.019229 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 1.36206 for 2.113913 default 2025-06-27 10:08:39.136955 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 3.47937 for 4.462224 default 2025-06-27 10:08:43.602229 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:08:43.603143 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 7.94533 for 8.128784 default 2025-06-27 10:08:51.735532 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:08:51.735846 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 16.0786 for 8.749985 default 2025-06-27 10:09:00.488315 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:09:00.488550 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 24.8313 for 8.496864 default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988284 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988310 -0700 configd DHCP en0: reported address acquisition failure symptom default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988579 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 33.3312 for 8.300735 default 2025-06-27 10:09:17.294478 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:17.294485 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:17.295454 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 41.6373 for 8.798768 default 2025-06-27 10:09:26.096673 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:26.096688 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:26.097553 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 50.4394 for 8.807943 default 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909050 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909054 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909375 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 59.2517 for 8.877971 default 2025-06-27 10:09:43.792458 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:43.792464 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:43.793641 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'no server' info 2025-06-27 10:09:43.794145 -0700 configd DHCP en0: not busy DNS failure resolver #1 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) resolver #2 domain : local options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300000 resolver #3 domain : 254.169.in-addr.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300200 resolver #4 domain : 8.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300400 resolver #5 domain : 9.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300600 resolver #6 domain : a.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300800 resolver #7 domain : b.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 301000 Route table Destination Gateway Flags Netif Expire 127 127.0.0.1 UCS lo0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 UH lo0 169.254 link#14 UCS en0 ! 169.254.160.160/32 link#14 UCS en0 ! 224.0.0/4 link#14 UmCS en0 ! 224.0.0.251 1:0:5e:0:0:fb UHmLWI en0 239.255.255.250 1:0:5e:7f:ff:fa UHmLWI en0 255.255.255.255/32 link#14 UCS en0 !
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351
Jun ’25
[EndpointSecurity] Reliable way to detect a file has been downloaded from the internet
I have tried a few different approaches but none of them were 100% reliable. I tried subscribing to the ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_SETEXTATTR event to detect when a process sets the kMDItemWhereFroms attribute on a file, but the problem is that any process can set that attribute on any file. For example, I can use the xattr -w com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms "https://example.com" SampleFile.txt command into the terminal and that would trigger an ES event. I also tried to listen for the com.apple.quarantine attribute but for some reason my ES client never receives an event for it, also, as with any attribute, this attriubte can be set manually by any process. Is there a recommended/reliable way to have an ES client that detects a file has been downloaded from the internet (.i.e. a remote network)?
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205
Jun ’25
XPC between endpoint security and host application
Hello, I am having some issues with running an XPC server on an endpoint security and connecting to it from the sandboxed host application. I tried doing the following: setting xpc server in endpoint security extension entitlements: &lt;key&gt;com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.xpc.server&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; Adding the mach service with the plist: &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtension&lt;/key&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtensionPointIdentifier&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;com.apple.system-extension-endpoint-security&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtensionPrincipalClass&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;$(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).ESFExtension&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSEndpointSecurityMachServiceName&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;[TEAMID]com.[UNIQUE_ID]&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;/plist&gt; Putting a mach-lookup in sandboxed host application entitlements &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.app-sandbox&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-only&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.developer.system-extension.install&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.exception.mach-lookup.global-name&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;string&gt;[TEAMID]com.[UNIQUE_ID]&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/array&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; Creating the server in the system extension using xpc_connection_create_mach_service(_service_name.c_str(), dispatch_get_main_queue(), XPC_CONNECTION_MACH_SERVICE_LISTENER); with _service_name being the same as in the mach-lookup entitlement. And connecting to it in the host app with: xpc_connection_create_mach_service([self.serviceName UTF8String], dispatch_get_main_queue(), 0); My problem is I get an xpc error 159 (sandbox restriction) in the lookup (libxpc.dylib) [com.apple.xpc:connection] [0x600001a7db30] failed to do a bootstrap look-up: xpc_error=[159: Unknown error: 159] I tried putting the sysex and the host app in the same app group, and it didn't help and I also read this is bad practice to have an app group between a sandboxed app and a system extension so I removed it. I tried adding a temporary-exception and with it, the code works properly. I tried with the XPC_CONNECTION_MACH_SERVICE_PRIVILEGED flag but it still didn't work. Is it possible to have an XPC connection between a ES sysex and it's host app? Should the service name have a prefix of the bundle name or does it must have a certain pattern? Do I need to add some capability in the Certificates, Identifiers &amp; Profiles? Thanks for helping.
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604
Jun ’25
Secure DNS and transparent proxy for DNS resolution
We have a transparent proxy in a system extension. We intercept all traffic from machine using 0.0.0.0 and :: as include rules for protocol ANY. We intercept all DNS queries and forward them to a public or private DNS server based on whether its a private domain or not. In most cases, everything works fine. However, sometimes, git command (over SSH) in terminal fail to resolve DNS and receives below error: ssh: Could not resolve hostname gitserver.corp.company.com: nodename nor servname provided, or not known While investigating, we found that mDNSResponder was using HTTPS to dns.google to resolve the queries securely. DNS Request logs While this works for public domains (not how we would want by anyways), the query fails for our company private domains because Transparent Proxy cannot read the DNS query to be able to tunnel or respond to it. Several years back when secure DNS was introduced to Apple platforms, I remember in one of the WWDC sessions, it was mentioned that VPN providers will still get plain text queries even when system has secure DNS configured or available. In this case, there is no DNS proxy or any other setting to enable secure DNS on the machine except for Google public DNS configured as DNS server. So my question is: Shouldn't transparent proxy also get plain text DNS queries like PacketTunnelProvider? And is there a way to disable/block the secure DNS feature in mDNSResponder or on machine itself? Using Transparent proxy or MDM or any other config? So that transparent proxy can handle/resolve public and private domains correctly. Another thing we noticed that not all queries are going over secure channel. We still get quite a few queries over plain UDP. So is there any rule/criteria when mDNSResponder uses secure DNS and when plain text DNS over UDP?
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357
Jun ’25
Non-removable system extensions from UI attribute from MDM is not getting applied to the extension under Apps tab in new Mac OS 26 (Tahoe)
We have an application which is written in Swift, which activates Transparent Proxy network extension. We are using Jamf MDM profile for deployment. To avoid the user deleting / disabling the extension from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Network Extensions screen, we are using "Non-removable system extensions from UI" attribute under Allowed System Extensions and Teams IDs section. In new Mac OS 26 (Tahoe), user can also enable/disable the extension from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Apps tab. The "Non-removable system extensions from UI" attribute set in Jamf MDM profile does not apply to this tab. Same attribute is working for General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Extensions tab and there the slider is greyed out and Remove option is not available under more menu. Is there any new key/configuration defined to disable the slider from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Apps tab? Created https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/18198031 - FB18198031 feedback assistant ticket as well.
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345
Jun ’25
how to extract the hostname from a https/tls request in NEFilterSocketFlow
Hi guys, I try to create a content filter app by using network extension api. When it comes to a https/tls remote endpoint, the remoteEndpoint.hostname will always be "" instead of the actual hostname. How can I extract the actual hostname? private func filterTraffic(flow: NEFilterSocketFlow) -> NEFilterNewFlowVerdict { // Default action from settings will be used if no rules match logger.error("filter traffic...") guard let remoteEndpoint = flow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { logger.error("not a NWHostEndpoint)") return .allow() } logger.error("host name: \(remoteEndpoint.hostname)") if remoteEndpoint.hostname.hasSuffix("google.com"){ logger.error("google.com") return .drop() } return .allow() } code-block
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171
Jun ’25
MacOS 26 "Login Items and Extensions"system extension permission- toggle button not working
Hi Team, With Mac OS26, the "Login Items and Extension" is presented under two tabs " apps " and "Extensions" , when trying to enable the item from apps tab the toggle button is not toggling( looks like this is just a status only button (read only not edit). Any one else seeing this issue for their Network system extension app.
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226
Jul ’25
The network expansion process will become a zombie process and the network will be unusable.
Hi, I developed a network extension program on macOS. I tried to update the program by changing the version number. My update process was to first turn off network filtering via "NEFilterManager.sharedManager.enabled = NO", and then use "[OSSystemExtensionRequest activationRequestForExtension:bundleid queue:dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0)];" to let the system replace the old network extension program. However, sometimes the old network extension process will become a zombie process like pid=86621 in the figure. As long as the zombie process exists, the network cannot be used. After about 10 minutes, it will be cleared and the network will be available. Restarting Wi-Fi can also clear the zombie process immediately. Why is this? How to avoid this problem?
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273
May ’26
Network Extension – Delayed Startup Time
I've implemented a custom VPN system extension for macOS, utilizing Packet Tunnel Provider. One of the users reported a problem: he was connected to the VPN, and then his Mac entered sleep mode. Upon waking, the VPN is supposed to connect automatically (because of the on-demand rules). The VPN's status changed to 'connecting', but it remained stuck in this status. From my extension logs, I can see that the 'startTunnelWithOption()' function was called 2 minutes after the user clicked the 'connect' button. From the system logs, I noticed some 'suspicious' logs, but I can't be sure if they are related to the problem. Some of them are: kernel: (Sandbox) Sandbox: nesessionmanager(562) deny(1) system-fsctl (_IO "h" 47) entitlement com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client not present or not true (I don't need this entitlement at the extension) nesessionmanager: [com.apple.networkextension:] NESMVPNSession[Primary Tunnel:XXXXXX(null)]: Skip a start command from YYYYY:session in state connecting NetworkExtension.com.***: RunningBoard doesn't recognize submitted process - treating as a anonymous process sysextd: activateDecision found existing entry of same version: state activated_enabled, ID FAE... Are any of the logs related to the above problem? How can I debug such issues? What info should I get from the user?
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333
Oct ’25
XPC connection consistently invalidated on app upgrade
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider. The signing of the app & network extension is handled by XCode (v16.0.0), we do not run codesign ourselves. We have no issues with XPC or the system network extension during normal usage, nor when the application is installed on a user's device for the first time. The problem only arises when the user upgrades the application. I have experienced this issue myself, as have our users. It's been reported on Apple Silicon macbooks running at least macOS 15.3.2. Much like the SimpleFirewall example (which we used as a reference), we use XPC for basic communication of state between the app and NE. These XPC connections stop working when the user installs a new version of the app, with OS logs from the process indicating that the connection is immediately invalidated. Subsequent connection attempts are also immediately invalidated. Toggling the VPN in system settings (or via the app) does not resolve the problem, nor does restarting the app, nor does deleting and reinstalling the app, nor does restarting the device. The only reliable workaround is to delete the system extension in Login Items & Extensions, under Network Extensions. No device restart is necessary to garbage collect the old extension - once the extension is reapproved by the user, the XPC issue resolves itself. This would be an acceptable workaround were it possible to automate the deleting of the system extension, but that appears deliberately not possible, and requiring our users to do this each time they update is unreasonable. When the upgraded app is opened for the first time, the OSSystemExtensionRequest request is sent, and the outcome is that the previously installed system network extension is replaced, as both the CFBundleVersion and CFBundleShortVersionString differ. When this issue is encountered, the output of systemextensionsctl list shows the later version is installed and activated. I've been able to reproduce this bug on my personal laptop, with SIP on and systemextensionsctl developer off, but on my work laptop with SIP off and systemextensionsctl developer on (where the network extension is replaced on each activation request, instead of only when the version strings differ), I do not encounter this issue, which leads me to believe it has something to do with the notarization process. We notarize the pkg using xcrun notarytool, and then staple to the pkg. This is actually the same issue described in: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/711713 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/667597 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/742992 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/728063 but it's been a while since any of these threads were updated, and we've made attempts to address it off the suggestions in the threads to no avail. Those suggestions are: Switching to a .pkg installer from a .dmg As part of the .pkg preinstall, doing all of the following: Stopping the VPN (scutil --nc stop), shutting down the app (using osascript 'quit app id'), and deleting the app (which claims to delete the network extension, but not the approval in Login Items & Extensions remains??), by running rm -rf on the bundle in /Applications As part of the .pkg postinstall: Forcing macOS to ingest the App bundle's notarization ticket using spctl --assess. Ensuring NSXPCListener.resume() is called after autoreleasepool { NEProvider.startSystemExtensionMode() } (mentioned in a forum thread above as a fix, did not help.) One thing I'm particularly interested in is the outcome of this feedback assistant ticket, as I can't view it: FB11086599. It was shared on this forum in the first thread above, and supposedly describes the same issue. I almost find it hard to believe that this issue has been around for this many years without a workaround (there's system network extension apps out there that appear to work fine when updating, are they not using XPC?), so I wonder if there's a fix described in that FB ticket. Since I can't view that above feedback ticket, I've created my own: FB17032197
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683
May ’26
Content Filter: sourceAppAuditToken empty only for Firefox
Starting on macOS Sequoia, flows originated in Firefox have an empty sourceAppAuditToken. Other apps contain a valid token. Background: in order to fetch process info for a certain NEFilterFlow, my content filter extension uses sourceAppAuditToken, audit_token_to_pid() and proc_* (as recommended in #126820). When that fails, we use SecCodeCopyGuestWithAttributes, recommended in some other thread as a better alternative. Both approaches break when the sourceAppAuditToken is empty since they need the pid. Debugging: My logging shows audit token is empty for Firefox Typical logs from com.apple.networkextension also indicate it fails to fetch the same info I'm looking for: com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.024588-0300 Fetching appInfo from cache for pid: 948 uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 bundle id: (null) com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.024657-0300 Calling delegate lookup handler with pid: 948, uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361, bundleID: (null) com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.025856-0300 Could not look up appInfo for pid: 948 bundle id: (null) uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 com.apple.networkextension error 11:22:07.025897-0300 Could not find app info, return the original flow without filling in app info Handling new flow: identifier = D89B5B5D-793C-4940-D992-4E90F2AD1900 procPID = 953 eprocPID = 948 direction = outbound inBytes = 0 outBytes = 0 signature = {length = 32, bytes = 0x4afeafde b484aa0c c5cb8698 0567343d ... 7cdee33e 135666dd } socketID = 19adf2904e92d9 localEndpoint = 0.0.0.0:0 remoteEndpoint = 17.33.202.170:443 protocol = 6 family = 2 type = 1 procUUID = 0C68E603-967E-3643-B225-378BD2A655F7 eprocUUID = 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 Perhaps there's a bug when generating the audit token or could it be something with the Firefox signature? I double-checked Firefox and it seems fine: $ codesign --verify --verbose /Applications/Firefox.app /Applications/Firefox.app: valid on disk /Applications/Firefox.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement Not sure if relevant, but codesign with -dv showed different flags in CodeDirectory when compared to chrome: codesign -dv /Applications/Firefox.app ... CodeDirectory v=20500 size=863 flags=0x10000(runtime) hashes=18+5 ... Versus chrome CodeDirectory v=20500 size=1821 flags=0x12a00(kill,restrict,library-validation,runtime) hashes=46+7 location=embedded
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615
Aug ’25
Network is not working when upload smb using NEFilterDataProvider in macOS
Network is not working when over 50MB size file upload smb using NEFilterDataProvider in macOS The event received through NEFilterDataProvider is returned immediately without doing any other work. override func handleNewFlow(_ flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterNewFlowVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .filterDataVerdict(withFilterInbound: true, peekInboundBytes: Int.max, filterOutbound: true, peekOutboundBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleOutboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } override func handleOutboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } how can i fix it?
3
0
628
Feb ’26
NEPacketTunnelProvider Start Issue on macOS 14.5
We're encountering an issue with our Network Extension (utilizing NEPacketTunnelProvider and NETransparentProxy) on macOS 14.5 (23F79). On some systems, the VPN fails to automatically start after a reboot despite calling startVPNTunnel(). There are no error messages. Our code attempts to start the tunnel: ....... do { try manager.connection.startVPNTunnel() Logger.default("Started tunnel successfully") } catch { Logger.error("Failed to launch tunnel") } ...... System log analysis reveals the tunnel stopping due to userLogout (NEProviderStopReason(rawValue: 12)) during reboot. However, the Transparent Proxy stops due to userInitiated (NEProviderStopReason(rawValue: 1)) for the same reboot. We need to understand: Why the VPNTunnel isn't starting automatically. Why the userLogout reason is triggered during reboot. Additional Context: We have manually started the VPN from System Settings before reboot.
6
0
861
Oct ’25
bluetooth control
I am learning about endpoint security and other system extensions, while I was handling ES_EVENT_TYPE_AUTH_IOKIT_OPEN event I realized that I cannot auth deny any bluetooth events. I tried to deny any open or execute events related to com.apple.bluetoothd but it did not work. I searched google and found out that I can use CoreBluetooth to control bluetooth. But when I get connected to bluetooth keyboard or mouse, didConnectPeripheral dose not get called or when I call [central cancelPeripheralConnection:peripheral] disconnection never happens. Is there any recommendation for handling or controlling events related to bluetooth connection?
3
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1.2k
Feb ’26
On Sonoma 14.5, after upgrading CMIO CameraExtension, daemon is not running
I made CameraExtension and installed by OSSystemExtensionRequest. I got success callback. I did uninstall old version of my CameraExtension and install new version of my CameraExtension. "systemextensionsctl list" command shows "[activated enabled]" on my new version. But no daemon process with my CameraExtension is not running. I need to reboot OS to start the daemon process. This issue is new at macOS Sonoma 14.5. I did not see this issue on 14.4.x
2
1
1.1k
May ’26
XPC Connection with Network Extension fails after upgrade
Hi Team, I have a Network Extension application and UI frontend for it. The UI frontend talks to the Network Extension using XPC, as provided by NEMachServiceName. On M2 machine, The application and XPC connection works fine on clean installation. But, when the application is upgraded, the XPC connection keeps failing. Upgrade steps: PreInstall script kills the running processes, both UI and Network Extension Let installation continue PostInstall script to launch the application after installation complete. Following code is successful to the point of resume from UI application NSXPCInterface *exportedInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCUIObject)]; newConnection.exportedInterface = exportedInterface; newConnection.exportedObject = delegate; NSXPCInterface *remoteObjectInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCExtObject)]; newConnection.remoteObjectInterface = remoteObjectInterface; self.currentConnection = newConnection; [newConnection resume]; But it fails to get the object id<IPCExtObject> providerProxy = [self.currentConnection remoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler:^(NSError *registerError) { }]; Please note, this only fails for M2. For M1, this exact code is running fine. Additionally, if I uninstall the application by dropping it in Trash and then installing the newer version, then too, the application works fine.
4
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1k
Dec ’25
Understanding CMIO Extension
Hello, I am getting the following errors when building a Mac Camera Extension with web sockets. I am using URLSessionWebsocketTask as my web socket library. I built a test program for my code and in there I can see my web sockets are working properly, but when I run it from the System Extension I get the following errors. The socket opens for two - three messages then crashes. I couldnt find any documentation online for the following errors CMIOExtensionProvider.m:1975:-[CMIOExtensionProvider removeProviderContext:]_block_invoke Unregistered provider context &amp;lt;CMIOExtensionProviderContext: -&amp;gt;, don't be surprised if things go badly CMIOExtensionProviderContext.m:64:-[CMIOExtensionProviderContext initWithConnection:]_block_invoke [391] received Connection invalid``
7
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2.8k
Mar ’26
System Extension Termination Fails
My application installs a system extension. When I try to remove the app from the Applications folder (cmd + backspace) I get an error message: "The operation can’t be completed right now because another operation is in progress, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Bin." According to systemextensionsctl the extension state is "terminating for uninstall but still running". I can see an error in the console logs: kernelmanagerd Failed to terminate dext com.my.driver-dk, error: Kernel request failed: (os/kern) invalid address (1) sysextd a category delegate declined to terminate extension with identifier: com.my.driver-dk sysextd failed to terminate extension with identifier: com.my.driver-dk: Optional(Error Domain=kernelmanagerd.KMError Code=38 "(null)") Issue occurs with macOS 13 - works fine with macOS 12 and macOS 11 What is the problem here? Have there been any changes in macOS in that regard?
6
1
3.2k
Feb ’26
Network System Extension cannot use network interface of another VPN
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a (Sandboxed) System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider (NEPacketTunnelProvider), as our project requires the creation of a TUN device. In order for our System VPN to function, it must reach out to a (self-hosted) server (i.e. to discover a list of peers). Being self-hosted, this server is typically not accessible via the public web, and may only be accessible from within a VPN (such as those also implemented using NEPacketTunnelProvider, e.g. Tailscale, Cloudflare WARP). What we've discovered is that the networking code of the System Network Extension process does not attempt to use the other VPN network interfaces (utunX) on the system. In practice, this means requests to IPs and hostnames that should be routed to those interfaces time out. Identical requests made outside of the Network System Extension process use those interfaces and succeed. The simplest example is where we create a URLSession.downloadTask for a resource on the server. A more complicated example is where we execute a Go .dylib that continues to communicate with that server. Both types of requests time out. Two noteworthy logs appear when packets fail to send, both from the kernel 'process': cfil_hash_entry_log:6088 <CFIL: Error: sosend_reinject() failed>: [30685 com.coder.Coder-Desktop.VPN] <UDP(17) out so b795d11aca7c26bf 57728068503033955 57728068503033955 age 0> lport 3001 fport 3001 laddr 100.108.7.40 faddr 100.112.177.88 hash 58B15863 cfil_service_inject_queue:4472 CFIL: sosend() failed 49 I also wrote some test code that probes using a UDP NWConnection and NWPath availableInterfaces. When run from the GUI App, multiple interfaces are returned, including the one that routes the address, utun5. When ran from within the sysex, only en0 is returned. I understand routing a VPN through another is unconventional, but we unfortunately do need this functionality one way or another. Is there any way to modify which interfaces are exposed to the sysex? Additionally, are these limitations of networking within a Network System Extension documented anywhere? Do you have any ideas why this specific limitation might exist?
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5
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595
Activity
Jul ’25
Network Extension - On shutdown Xsan can't unmount and cause a crash when NEFilterProvider is enabled
Hey, We also opened a feedback assistant request, and also opened a ticket with Apple Developer Technical Support a while ago that notice the unmount problem also but it was before we pin point the problem to the Network Extension. After a further investigation, we've found out that the root cause of this problem is cause by having a network filter from the NetworkExtension provider on (Specifically we have tested with the NEFilterDataProvider) while having a Xsan volume. The NEFilterDataProvider causing problems for the Xsan, and is stalling the shutdown until we get a panic from watchdog timeout, and only then the mac is fully shutdown. The problem from what we investigated and also talked with you, is that the Xsan process can't unmount the volume and stuck. We have also noticed that if we install a network extension and allow the popup of the network filters, i.e enabled the NEFilterDataProvider the computer is stuck, and the finder is in a non responsive state until a reboot (Also probably due to the fact the Xsan is now in a problematic state). This tests was done on latest versions of MacOs 13 & 14. We have taken a sysdiagnose from the computer while we have tested. Do you familiar with the problem (We got no answer on the feedback assistant)? Thank you, Idan
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221
Activity
Sep ’25
DHCP failure in macOS 15.4 and 15.5
We need your assistance as we are currently facing an issue without a workaround for users on macOS 15.4 and 15.5. FeedbackID: FB17547675 The problem has been observed on macOS versions 15.4 and 15.5. Apple has acknowledged this issue and confirmed that it is fixed in the macOS 15.6 beta. Although we tried to reproduce the issue in our environment, it did not occur, even on macOS 15.5. Therefore, we cannot verify if the fix in macOS 15.6 beta resolves the problem. We are actively working to identify an appropriate workaround for users on macOS 15.5. Some users have reported a failure to obtain an IP address over Wi-Fi, possibly due to a DHCP failure. As a temporary solution, we added logic to restart Wi-Fi programmatically when either an APIPA address (169.254.x.x) or no IPv4 address is detected on the active interface. However, restarting Wi-Fi does not always resolve the issue, and the device may still fail to obtain an IP address over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Could you advise if there is a reliable method to detect DHCP failure and recover the device from this state? Also, any idea, how we can reproduce this scenario in our machine? Below is the failure. default 2025-06-27 10:07:57.055003 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:07:57.055269 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'no server' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.336215 -0700 airportd WiFiUsageBssSession:: ChannelAfterRoam=0; ChannelAtJoin=36; FaultReasonApsdTimedOut=0; FaultReasonArpFailureCount=0; FaultReasonBrokenBackhaulLinkFailed=0; FaultReasonDhcpFailure=0; default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.367852 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'media inactive' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.367909 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INACTIVE default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988565 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'media inactive' default 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988703 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INACTIVE info 2025-06-27 10:08:23.988852 -0700 configd DHCPv6 en0: Inactive default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656415 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'network changed' default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656817 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656821 -0700 configd DHCP en0: supplying device type 'Mac' info 2025-06-27 10:08:35.656934 -0700 configd DHCP en0: busy default 2025-06-27 10:08:35.657351 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 0 for 1.358613 info 2025-06-27 10:08:35.657404 -0700 configd DHCPv6 en0: Inactive default 2025-06-27 10:08:37.019229 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 1.36206 for 2.113913 default 2025-06-27 10:08:39.136955 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 3.47937 for 4.462224 default 2025-06-27 10:08:43.602229 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:08:43.603143 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 7.94533 for 8.128784 default 2025-06-27 10:08:51.735532 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:08:51.735846 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 16.0786 for 8.749985 default 2025-06-27 10:09:00.488315 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:09:00.488550 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 24.8313 for 8.496864 default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988284 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988310 -0700 configd DHCP en0: reported address acquisition failure symptom default 2025-06-27 10:09:08.988579 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 33.3312 for 8.300735 default 2025-06-27 10:09:17.294478 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:17.294485 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:17.295454 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 41.6373 for 8.798768 default 2025-06-27 10:09:26.096673 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:26.096688 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:26.097553 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 50.4394 for 8.807943 default 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909050 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909054 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:34.909375 -0700 configd DHCP en0: INIT waiting at 59.2517 for 8.877971 default 2025-06-27 10:09:43.792458 -0700 configd DHCP en0: ARP router: No leases to query for info 2025-06-27 10:09:43.792464 -0700 configd DHCP en0: symptom failure already reported default 2025-06-27 10:09:43.793641 -0700 configd DHCP en0: status = 'no server' info 2025-06-27 10:09:43.794145 -0700 configd DHCP en0: not busy DNS failure resolver #1 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) resolver #2 domain : local options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300000 resolver #3 domain : 254.169.in-addr.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300200 resolver #4 domain : 8.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300400 resolver #5 domain : 9.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300600 resolver #6 domain : a.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 300800 resolver #7 domain : b.e.f.ip6.arpa options : mdns timeout : 5 flags : reach : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable) order : 301000 Route table Destination Gateway Flags Netif Expire 127 127.0.0.1 UCS lo0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 UH lo0 169.254 link#14 UCS en0 ! 169.254.160.160/32 link#14 UCS en0 ! 224.0.0/4 link#14 UmCS en0 ! 224.0.0.251 1:0:5e:0:0:fb UHmLWI en0 239.255.255.250 1:0:5e:7f:ff:fa UHmLWI en0 255.255.255.255/32 link#14 UCS en0 !
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351
Activity
Jun ’25
[EndpointSecurity] Reliable way to detect a file has been downloaded from the internet
I have tried a few different approaches but none of them were 100% reliable. I tried subscribing to the ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_SETEXTATTR event to detect when a process sets the kMDItemWhereFroms attribute on a file, but the problem is that any process can set that attribute on any file. For example, I can use the xattr -w com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms "https://example.com" SampleFile.txt command into the terminal and that would trigger an ES event. I also tried to listen for the com.apple.quarantine attribute but for some reason my ES client never receives an event for it, also, as with any attribute, this attriubte can be set manually by any process. Is there a recommended/reliable way to have an ES client that detects a file has been downloaded from the internet (.i.e. a remote network)?
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1
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205
Activity
Jun ’25
XPC between endpoint security and host application
Hello, I am having some issues with running an XPC server on an endpoint security and connecting to it from the sandboxed host application. I tried doing the following: setting xpc server in endpoint security extension entitlements: &lt;key&gt;com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.xpc.server&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; Adding the mach service with the plist: &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtension&lt;/key&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtensionPointIdentifier&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;com.apple.system-extension-endpoint-security&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSExtensionPrincipalClass&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;$(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).ESFExtension&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;NSEndpointSecurityMachServiceName&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;[TEAMID]com.[UNIQUE_ID]&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;/plist&gt; Putting a mach-lookup in sandboxed host application entitlements &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.app-sandbox&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-only&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.developer.system-extension.install&lt;/key&gt; &lt;true/&gt; &lt;key&gt;com.apple.security.exception.mach-lookup.global-name&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;string&gt;[TEAMID]com.[UNIQUE_ID]&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/array&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; Creating the server in the system extension using xpc_connection_create_mach_service(_service_name.c_str(), dispatch_get_main_queue(), XPC_CONNECTION_MACH_SERVICE_LISTENER); with _service_name being the same as in the mach-lookup entitlement. And connecting to it in the host app with: xpc_connection_create_mach_service([self.serviceName UTF8String], dispatch_get_main_queue(), 0); My problem is I get an xpc error 159 (sandbox restriction) in the lookup (libxpc.dylib) [com.apple.xpc:connection] [0x600001a7db30] failed to do a bootstrap look-up: xpc_error=[159: Unknown error: 159] I tried putting the sysex and the host app in the same app group, and it didn't help and I also read this is bad practice to have an app group between a sandboxed app and a system extension so I removed it. I tried adding a temporary-exception and with it, the code works properly. I tried with the XPC_CONNECTION_MACH_SERVICE_PRIVILEGED flag but it still didn't work. Is it possible to have an XPC connection between a ES sysex and it's host app? Should the service name have a prefix of the bundle name or does it must have a certain pattern? Do I need to add some capability in the Certificates, Identifiers &amp; Profiles? Thanks for helping.
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6
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604
Activity
Jun ’25
Secure DNS and transparent proxy for DNS resolution
We have a transparent proxy in a system extension. We intercept all traffic from machine using 0.0.0.0 and :: as include rules for protocol ANY. We intercept all DNS queries and forward them to a public or private DNS server based on whether its a private domain or not. In most cases, everything works fine. However, sometimes, git command (over SSH) in terminal fail to resolve DNS and receives below error: ssh: Could not resolve hostname gitserver.corp.company.com: nodename nor servname provided, or not known While investigating, we found that mDNSResponder was using HTTPS to dns.google to resolve the queries securely. DNS Request logs While this works for public domains (not how we would want by anyways), the query fails for our company private domains because Transparent Proxy cannot read the DNS query to be able to tunnel or respond to it. Several years back when secure DNS was introduced to Apple platforms, I remember in one of the WWDC sessions, it was mentioned that VPN providers will still get plain text queries even when system has secure DNS configured or available. In this case, there is no DNS proxy or any other setting to enable secure DNS on the machine except for Google public DNS configured as DNS server. So my question is: Shouldn't transparent proxy also get plain text DNS queries like PacketTunnelProvider? And is there a way to disable/block the secure DNS feature in mDNSResponder or on machine itself? Using Transparent proxy or MDM or any other config? So that transparent proxy can handle/resolve public and private domains correctly. Another thing we noticed that not all queries are going over secure channel. We still get quite a few queries over plain UDP. So is there any rule/criteria when mDNSResponder uses secure DNS and when plain text DNS over UDP?
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3
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357
Activity
Jun ’25
Non-removable system extensions from UI attribute from MDM is not getting applied to the extension under Apps tab in new Mac OS 26 (Tahoe)
We have an application which is written in Swift, which activates Transparent Proxy network extension. We are using Jamf MDM profile for deployment. To avoid the user deleting / disabling the extension from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Network Extensions screen, we are using "Non-removable system extensions from UI" attribute under Allowed System Extensions and Teams IDs section. In new Mac OS 26 (Tahoe), user can also enable/disable the extension from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Apps tab. The "Non-removable system extensions from UI" attribute set in Jamf MDM profile does not apply to this tab. Same attribute is working for General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Extensions tab and there the slider is greyed out and Remove option is not available under more menu. Is there any new key/configuration defined to disable the slider from General -&gt; LogIn Items &amp; Extension -&gt; Apps tab? Created https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/18198031 - FB18198031 feedback assistant ticket as well.
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3
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2
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345
Activity
Jun ’25
how to extract the hostname from a https/tls request in NEFilterSocketFlow
Hi guys, I try to create a content filter app by using network extension api. When it comes to a https/tls remote endpoint, the remoteEndpoint.hostname will always be "" instead of the actual hostname. How can I extract the actual hostname? private func filterTraffic(flow: NEFilterSocketFlow) -> NEFilterNewFlowVerdict { // Default action from settings will be used if no rules match logger.error("filter traffic...") guard let remoteEndpoint = flow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { logger.error("not a NWHostEndpoint)") return .allow() } logger.error("host name: \(remoteEndpoint.hostname)") if remoteEndpoint.hostname.hasSuffix("google.com"){ logger.error("google.com") return .drop() } return .allow() } code-block
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171
Activity
Jun ’25
MacOS 26 "Login Items and Extensions"system extension permission- toggle button not working
Hi Team, With Mac OS26, the "Login Items and Extension" is presented under two tabs " apps " and "Extensions" , when trying to enable the item from apps tab the toggle button is not toggling( looks like this is just a status only button (read only not edit). Any one else seeing this issue for their Network system extension app.
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3
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226
Activity
Jul ’25
The network expansion process will become a zombie process and the network will be unusable.
Hi, I developed a network extension program on macOS. I tried to update the program by changing the version number. My update process was to first turn off network filtering via "NEFilterManager.sharedManager.enabled = NO", and then use "[OSSystemExtensionRequest activationRequestForExtension:bundleid queue:dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0)];" to let the system replace the old network extension program. However, sometimes the old network extension process will become a zombie process like pid=86621 in the figure. As long as the zombie process exists, the network cannot be used. After about 10 minutes, it will be cleared and the network will be available. Restarting Wi-Fi can also clear the zombie process immediately. Why is this? How to avoid this problem?
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273
Activity
May ’26
Network Extension – Delayed Startup Time
I've implemented a custom VPN system extension for macOS, utilizing Packet Tunnel Provider. One of the users reported a problem: he was connected to the VPN, and then his Mac entered sleep mode. Upon waking, the VPN is supposed to connect automatically (because of the on-demand rules). The VPN's status changed to 'connecting', but it remained stuck in this status. From my extension logs, I can see that the 'startTunnelWithOption()' function was called 2 minutes after the user clicked the 'connect' button. From the system logs, I noticed some 'suspicious' logs, but I can't be sure if they are related to the problem. Some of them are: kernel: (Sandbox) Sandbox: nesessionmanager(562) deny(1) system-fsctl (_IO "h" 47) entitlement com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client not present or not true (I don't need this entitlement at the extension) nesessionmanager: [com.apple.networkextension:] NESMVPNSession[Primary Tunnel:XXXXXX(null)]: Skip a start command from YYYYY:session in state connecting NetworkExtension.com.***: RunningBoard doesn't recognize submitted process - treating as a anonymous process sysextd: activateDecision found existing entry of same version: state activated_enabled, ID FAE... Are any of the logs related to the above problem? How can I debug such issues? What info should I get from the user?
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333
Activity
Oct ’25
XPC connection consistently invalidated on app upgrade
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider. The signing of the app & network extension is handled by XCode (v16.0.0), we do not run codesign ourselves. We have no issues with XPC or the system network extension during normal usage, nor when the application is installed on a user's device for the first time. The problem only arises when the user upgrades the application. I have experienced this issue myself, as have our users. It's been reported on Apple Silicon macbooks running at least macOS 15.3.2. Much like the SimpleFirewall example (which we used as a reference), we use XPC for basic communication of state between the app and NE. These XPC connections stop working when the user installs a new version of the app, with OS logs from the process indicating that the connection is immediately invalidated. Subsequent connection attempts are also immediately invalidated. Toggling the VPN in system settings (or via the app) does not resolve the problem, nor does restarting the app, nor does deleting and reinstalling the app, nor does restarting the device. The only reliable workaround is to delete the system extension in Login Items & Extensions, under Network Extensions. No device restart is necessary to garbage collect the old extension - once the extension is reapproved by the user, the XPC issue resolves itself. This would be an acceptable workaround were it possible to automate the deleting of the system extension, but that appears deliberately not possible, and requiring our users to do this each time they update is unreasonable. When the upgraded app is opened for the first time, the OSSystemExtensionRequest request is sent, and the outcome is that the previously installed system network extension is replaced, as both the CFBundleVersion and CFBundleShortVersionString differ. When this issue is encountered, the output of systemextensionsctl list shows the later version is installed and activated. I've been able to reproduce this bug on my personal laptop, with SIP on and systemextensionsctl developer off, but on my work laptop with SIP off and systemextensionsctl developer on (where the network extension is replaced on each activation request, instead of only when the version strings differ), I do not encounter this issue, which leads me to believe it has something to do with the notarization process. We notarize the pkg using xcrun notarytool, and then staple to the pkg. This is actually the same issue described in: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/711713 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/667597 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/742992 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/728063 but it's been a while since any of these threads were updated, and we've made attempts to address it off the suggestions in the threads to no avail. Those suggestions are: Switching to a .pkg installer from a .dmg As part of the .pkg preinstall, doing all of the following: Stopping the VPN (scutil --nc stop), shutting down the app (using osascript 'quit app id'), and deleting the app (which claims to delete the network extension, but not the approval in Login Items & Extensions remains??), by running rm -rf on the bundle in /Applications As part of the .pkg postinstall: Forcing macOS to ingest the App bundle's notarization ticket using spctl --assess. Ensuring NSXPCListener.resume() is called after autoreleasepool { NEProvider.startSystemExtensionMode() } (mentioned in a forum thread above as a fix, did not help.) One thing I'm particularly interested in is the outcome of this feedback assistant ticket, as I can't view it: FB11086599. It was shared on this forum in the first thread above, and supposedly describes the same issue. I almost find it hard to believe that this issue has been around for this many years without a workaround (there's system network extension apps out there that appear to work fine when updating, are they not using XPC?), so I wonder if there's a fix described in that FB ticket. Since I can't view that above feedback ticket, I've created my own: FB17032197
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683
Activity
May ’26
Content Filter: sourceAppAuditToken empty only for Firefox
Starting on macOS Sequoia, flows originated in Firefox have an empty sourceAppAuditToken. Other apps contain a valid token. Background: in order to fetch process info for a certain NEFilterFlow, my content filter extension uses sourceAppAuditToken, audit_token_to_pid() and proc_* (as recommended in #126820). When that fails, we use SecCodeCopyGuestWithAttributes, recommended in some other thread as a better alternative. Both approaches break when the sourceAppAuditToken is empty since they need the pid. Debugging: My logging shows audit token is empty for Firefox Typical logs from com.apple.networkextension also indicate it fails to fetch the same info I'm looking for: com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.024588-0300 Fetching appInfo from cache for pid: 948 uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 bundle id: (null) com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.024657-0300 Calling delegate lookup handler with pid: 948, uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361, bundleID: (null) com.apple.networkextension debug 11:22:07.025856-0300 Could not look up appInfo for pid: 948 bundle id: (null) uuid: 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 com.apple.networkextension error 11:22:07.025897-0300 Could not find app info, return the original flow without filling in app info Handling new flow: identifier = D89B5B5D-793C-4940-D992-4E90F2AD1900 procPID = 953 eprocPID = 948 direction = outbound inBytes = 0 outBytes = 0 signature = {length = 32, bytes = 0x4afeafde b484aa0c c5cb8698 0567343d ... 7cdee33e 135666dd } socketID = 19adf2904e92d9 localEndpoint = 0.0.0.0:0 remoteEndpoint = 17.33.202.170:443 protocol = 6 family = 2 type = 1 procUUID = 0C68E603-967E-3643-B225-378BD2A655F7 eprocUUID = 5C40B765-C6C9-3641-A822-2BC44D264361 Perhaps there's a bug when generating the audit token or could it be something with the Firefox signature? I double-checked Firefox and it seems fine: $ codesign --verify --verbose /Applications/Firefox.app /Applications/Firefox.app: valid on disk /Applications/Firefox.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement Not sure if relevant, but codesign with -dv showed different flags in CodeDirectory when compared to chrome: codesign -dv /Applications/Firefox.app ... CodeDirectory v=20500 size=863 flags=0x10000(runtime) hashes=18+5 ... Versus chrome CodeDirectory v=20500 size=1821 flags=0x12a00(kill,restrict,library-validation,runtime) hashes=46+7 location=embedded
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615
Activity
Aug ’25
Network is not working when upload smb using NEFilterDataProvider in macOS
Network is not working when over 50MB size file upload smb using NEFilterDataProvider in macOS The event received through NEFilterDataProvider is returned immediately without doing any other work. override func handleNewFlow(_ flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterNewFlowVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .filterDataVerdict(withFilterInbound: true, peekInboundBytes: Int.max, filterOutbound: true, peekOutboundBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleOutboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } override func handleOutboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } how can i fix it?
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3
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628
Activity
Feb ’26
NEPacketTunnelProvider Start Issue on macOS 14.5
We're encountering an issue with our Network Extension (utilizing NEPacketTunnelProvider and NETransparentProxy) on macOS 14.5 (23F79). On some systems, the VPN fails to automatically start after a reboot despite calling startVPNTunnel(). There are no error messages. Our code attempts to start the tunnel: ....... do { try manager.connection.startVPNTunnel() Logger.default("Started tunnel successfully") } catch { Logger.error("Failed to launch tunnel") } ...... System log analysis reveals the tunnel stopping due to userLogout (NEProviderStopReason(rawValue: 12)) during reboot. However, the Transparent Proxy stops due to userInitiated (NEProviderStopReason(rawValue: 1)) for the same reboot. We need to understand: Why the VPNTunnel isn't starting automatically. Why the userLogout reason is triggered during reboot. Additional Context: We have manually started the VPN from System Settings before reboot.
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6
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861
Activity
Oct ’25
bluetooth control
I am learning about endpoint security and other system extensions, while I was handling ES_EVENT_TYPE_AUTH_IOKIT_OPEN event I realized that I cannot auth deny any bluetooth events. I tried to deny any open or execute events related to com.apple.bluetoothd but it did not work. I searched google and found out that I can use CoreBluetooth to control bluetooth. But when I get connected to bluetooth keyboard or mouse, didConnectPeripheral dose not get called or when I call [central cancelPeripheralConnection:peripheral] disconnection never happens. Is there any recommendation for handling or controlling events related to bluetooth connection?
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3
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1.2k
Activity
Feb ’26
On Sonoma 14.5, after upgrading CMIO CameraExtension, daemon is not running
I made CameraExtension and installed by OSSystemExtensionRequest. I got success callback. I did uninstall old version of my CameraExtension and install new version of my CameraExtension. "systemextensionsctl list" command shows "[activated enabled]" on my new version. But no daemon process with my CameraExtension is not running. I need to reboot OS to start the daemon process. This issue is new at macOS Sonoma 14.5. I did not see this issue on 14.4.x
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2
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1.1k
Activity
May ’26
XPC Connection with Network Extension fails after upgrade
Hi Team, I have a Network Extension application and UI frontend for it. The UI frontend talks to the Network Extension using XPC, as provided by NEMachServiceName. On M2 machine, The application and XPC connection works fine on clean installation. But, when the application is upgraded, the XPC connection keeps failing. Upgrade steps: PreInstall script kills the running processes, both UI and Network Extension Let installation continue PostInstall script to launch the application after installation complete. Following code is successful to the point of resume from UI application NSXPCInterface *exportedInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCUIObject)]; newConnection.exportedInterface = exportedInterface; newConnection.exportedObject = delegate; NSXPCInterface *remoteObjectInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCExtObject)]; newConnection.remoteObjectInterface = remoteObjectInterface; self.currentConnection = newConnection; [newConnection resume]; But it fails to get the object id<IPCExtObject> providerProxy = [self.currentConnection remoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler:^(NSError *registerError) { }]; Please note, this only fails for M2. For M1, this exact code is running fine. Additionally, if I uninstall the application by dropping it in Trash and then installing the newer version, then too, the application works fine.
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4
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1k
Activity
Dec ’25
Understanding CMIO Extension
Hello, I am getting the following errors when building a Mac Camera Extension with web sockets. I am using URLSessionWebsocketTask as my web socket library. I built a test program for my code and in there I can see my web sockets are working properly, but when I run it from the System Extension I get the following errors. The socket opens for two - three messages then crashes. I couldnt find any documentation online for the following errors CMIOExtensionProvider.m:1975:-[CMIOExtensionProvider removeProviderContext:]_block_invoke Unregistered provider context &amp;lt;CMIOExtensionProviderContext: -&amp;gt;, don't be surprised if things go badly CMIOExtensionProviderContext.m:64:-[CMIOExtensionProviderContext initWithConnection:]_block_invoke [391] received Connection invalid``
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7
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2.8k
Activity
Mar ’26
System Extension Termination Fails
My application installs a system extension. When I try to remove the app from the Applications folder (cmd + backspace) I get an error message: "The operation can’t be completed right now because another operation is in progress, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Bin." According to systemextensionsctl the extension state is "terminating for uninstall but still running". I can see an error in the console logs: kernelmanagerd Failed to terminate dext com.my.driver-dk, error: Kernel request failed: (os/kern) invalid address (1) sysextd a category delegate declined to terminate extension with identifier: com.my.driver-dk sysextd failed to terminate extension with identifier: com.my.driver-dk: Optional(Error Domain=kernelmanagerd.KMError Code=38 "(null)") Issue occurs with macOS 13 - works fine with macOS 12 and macOS 11 What is the problem here? Have there been any changes in macOS in that regard?
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6
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3.2k
Activity
Feb ’26