Xcode CodeSign fails with errSecInternalComponent despite valid Apple Development certificate

Code Signing Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles
Griff1994 OP
Created 1d
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Hi everyone,

I’m trying to get my iOS app running on a physical iPhone for real-device testing, but I’m blocked by a persistent code-signing issue in Xcode.

The project compiles successfully, but when I select my physical iPhone as the destination, the build fails during the signing stage:

errSecInternalComponent

Command CodeSign failed with a nonzero exit code

The app therefore never gets installed on the device.

What I’ve checked:

  • Xcode recognises my Apple Development certificate.
  • security find-identity -v -p codesigning reports the identity as valid.
  • The certificate is present in my login keychain.
  • Keychain Access shows the certificate with its private key underneath it.
  • My login keychain is unlocked.
  • The keychain search list contains my login keychain and the System keychain.
  • I checked both keychains for the corresponding private key.
  • There are no custom trust settings.

The particularly strange part is that signing fails outside Xcode too. I tested signing /usr/bin/true directly using the same Apple Development identity, and that also fails with:

errSecInternalComponent

I also attempted to repair the private key’s signing access/partition list, but received:

The specified item is no longer valid. It may have been deleted from the keychain.

Certificate situation

Xcode → Manage Certificates currently shows two Apple Development certificates:

One current certificate

One older certificate marked “Not in Keychain”

When I try to create a new Apple Development certificate, Xcode says:

You already have a current Development certificate or a pending certificate request.

This is the only Mac I have used with this Apple Developer account, so there isn’t another Mac from which I can recover or export the original private key.

What should I do?

I’m trying to understand the safest next step without making the certificate/keychain situation worse.

Should I:

  • Revoke the older certificate and create a new development certificate/private-key pair?
  • Try to repair the existing signing identity/private key?
  • Take another Apple-supported approach?

The immediate goal is to get the app onto a physical iPhone so I can begin real-device testing, followed by QA/beta testing and App Store launch.

Any advice on what is actually causing errSecInternalComponent in this situation, and the safest way to resolve it, would be greatly appreciated.

I can provide additional Terminal output, screenshots, or Xcode logs if helpful.

Thanks!

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DTS Engineer OP
Apple
11h

I have a bunch of advice about this error in Resolving errSecInternalComponent errors during code signing, and the related Fixing an untrusted code signing certificate.

It looks like you’ve done a many of these tests already, so lemme ask you a question. If you do this, what do you see:

% cp /usr/bin/true MyTrue
% codesign -s "Apple Development: TTT" -f MyTrue
MyTrue: replacing existing signature

replace TTT with the details from your Apple Development signing identity.

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

Xcode CodeSign fails with errSecInternalComponent despite valid Apple Development certificate
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