macOS Sonoma Lock Screen with SFAutorizationPluginView is not hiding the macOS desktop

On Sonoma beta 7, if system.login.screensaver is updated to use “authenticate-session-owner-or-admin”, and then Lock Screen is not hiding the macOS Desktop.

Step1. Update system.login.screensaver authorizationdb rule to use “authenticate-session-owner-or-admin”( to get old SFAutorizationPluginView at Lock Screen ). Step 2. Once the rule is in place after logout and login, now click on Apple icon and select “Lock Screen”.

Even after selecting Lock Screen, complete macOS Desktop is visible with no control for the user to unlock the screen. To gain access we have to restart the MAC.

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TataChaitanya
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I’ve had a chance to dig into this in more detail and I have more specific advice.

macOS 14.0 has a bug (r. 112013559) where it fails to hide the user’s desktop when using a third-party authorization plug-in for screen unlock. This is reported as fixed in macOS 14.1b3 and later (including the current 14.1 release candidate).

Starting with macOS 14 we have new recommendations for folks with an authorisation plug-in that uses an SFAuthorizationPluginView subclass to override screen unlock:

  • Tell your users to avoid macOS 14.0 because of the above-mentioned bug.

  • Configure the system.login.screensaver right as you did previously.

  • But also set the screenUnlockMode user default as follows:

    % sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow screenUnlockMode -int 2

Our hope is that this will ensure better compatibility going forward.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

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eskimo
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  • Hi Quinn, Thankyou for suggesting on the screenUnlockMode setting. Can you please share more info on this setting. What are the behavior changes we will notice with this setting and will there be any impact if we do not use this setting?

    Thanks & Regards, Tata Chaitanya

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    TataChaitanya
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Hi Quinn, what is the purpose of this setting? When I use it, the background of the user desktop behind the application windows turns white (instead of showing the wallpaper) and if I click on it all the windows are moved out of the visible space.

Thanks, Alberto

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ampm
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