It seems it is not possible to give a CLI app (non .app bundle) full disk access in macOS 26.1. This seems like a bug and if not that is a breaking change. Anybody seeing the same problem?
Our application needs full disk access for a service running as a LaunchDaemon. The binary is located in a /Library subfolder.
Prioritize user privacy and data security in your app. Discuss best practices for data handling, user consent, and security measures to protect user information.
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Hi everyone,
I’m looking for clarification on best practices for storing API keys in an iOS app — for example, keys used with RevenueCat, PostHog, AWS Rekognition, barcode scanners, and similar third-party services.
I understand that hard-coding API keys directly in the app’s source code is a bad idea, since they can be extracted from the binary. However, using a .plist file doesn’t seem secure either, as it’s still bundled with the app and can be inspected.
I’m wondering:
What are Apple’s recommended approaches for managing these kinds of keys?
Does Xcode Cloud offer a built-in or best-practice method for securely injecting environment variables or secrets at build time?
Would using an external service like AWS Secrets Manager or another server-side solution make sense for this use case?
Any insights or examples of how others are handling this securely within Apple’s ecosystem would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for considering my questions!
— Paul
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Hello,
Thanks for the new video on Memory Integrity Enforcement!
Is the presented app's sample code available (so that we can play with it and find & fix the bug on our own, using Soft Mode)?
Thanks in advance!
Is there any particular reason why ASWebAuthenticationSession doesn't have support for async/await? (example below)
do {
let callbackURL = try await webAuthSession.start()
} catch {
// handle error
}
I'm curious if this style of integration doesn't exist for architectural reasons? Or is the legacy completion handler style preserved in order to prevent existing integrations from breaking?
I've been spending days trying to solve the memory leak in a small menu bar application I've wrote (SC Menu). I've used Instruments which shows the leaks and memory graph which shows unreleased allocations. This occurs when someone views a certificate on the smartcard.
Basically it opens a new window and displays the certificate, the same way Keychain Access displays a certificate. Whenever I create an SFCertificateView instance and set setDetailsDisclosed(true) - a memory leak happens. Instruments highlights that line.
import Cocoa
import SecurityInterface
class ViewCertsViewController: NSViewController {
var selectedCert: SecIdentity? = nil
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.view = NSView(frame: NSRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 500, height: 500))
self.view.wantsLayer = true
var secRef: SecCertificate? = nil
guard let selectedCert else { return }
let certRefErr = SecIdentityCopyCertificate(selectedCert, &secRef)
if certRefErr != errSecSuccess {
os_log("Error getting certificate from identity: %{public}@", log: OSLog.default, type: .error, String(describing: certRefErr))
return
}
let scrollView = NSScrollView()
scrollView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
scrollView.borderType = .lineBorder
scrollView.hasHorizontalScroller = true
scrollView.hasVerticalScroller = true
let certView = SFCertificateView()
guard let secRef = secRef else { return }
certView.setCertificate(secRef)
certView.setDetailsDisclosed(true)
certView.setDisplayTrust(true)
certView.setEditableTrust(true)
certView.setDisplayDetails(true)
certView.setPolicies(SecPolicyCreateBasicX509())
certView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
scrollView.documentView = certView
view.addSubview(scrollView)
// Layout constraints
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
scrollView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor),
scrollView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor),
scrollView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor),
scrollView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor),
// Provide certificate view a width and height constraint
certView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: scrollView.widthAnchor),
certView.heightAnchor.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualToConstant: 500)
])
}
}
https://github.com/boberito/sc_menu/blob/dev_2.0/smartcard_menu/ViewCertsViewController.swift
Fairly simple.
I have Authorisation Plugin which talks using XPC to my Launch Daemon to perform privileged actions.
I want to protect my XPC service narrowing it to be called from known trusted clients.
Now since I want authorisation plugin code which is from apple to call my service, I cannot use my own team id or app group here.
I am currently banking on following properties of client connection.
Apple Team ID : EQHXZ8M8AV
Bundle ID starting with com.apple.
Client signature verified By Apple.
This is what I have come up with.
func isClientTrusted(connection: NSXPCConnection) -> Bool {
let clientPID = connection.processIdentifier
logInfo("🔍 Checking XPC Client - PID: \(clientPID)")
var secCode: SecCode?
var secStaticCode: SecStaticCode?
let attributes = [kSecGuestAttributePid: clientPID] as NSDictionary
let status = SecCodeCopyGuestWithAttributes(nil, attributes, [], &secCode)
guard status == errSecSuccess, let code = secCode else {
logInfo("Failed to get SecCode for PID \(clientPID)")
return false
}
let staticStatus = SecCodeCopyStaticCode(code, [], &secStaticCode)
guard staticStatus == errSecSuccess, let staticCode = secStaticCode else {
logInfo("Failed to get SecStaticCode")
return false
}
var signingInfo: CFDictionary?
let signingStatus = SecCodeCopySigningInformation(staticCode, SecCSFlags(rawValue: kSecCSSigningInformation), &signingInfo)
guard signingStatus == errSecSuccess, let info = signingInfo as? [String: Any] else {
logInfo("Failed to retrieve signing info")
return false
}
// Extract and Verify Team ID
if let teamID = info["teamid"] as? String {
logInfo("XPC Client Team ID: \(teamID)")
if teamID != "EQHXZ8M8AV" { // Apple's official Team ID
logInfo("Client is NOT signed by Apple")
return false
}
} else {
logInfo("Failed to retrieve Team ID")
return false
}
// Verify Bundle ID Starts with "com.apple."
if let bundleID = info["identifier"] as? String {
logInfo("XPC Client Bundle ID: \(bundleID)")
if !bundleID.hasPrefix("com.apple.") {
logInfo("Client is NOT an Apple system process")
return false
}
} else {
logInfo("Failed to retrieve Bundle Identifier")
return false
}
// Verify Apple Code Signature Trust
var trustRequirement: SecRequirement?
let trustStatus = SecRequirementCreateWithString("anchor apple" as CFString, [], &trustRequirement)
guard trustStatus == errSecSuccess, let trust = trustRequirement else {
logInfo("Failed to create trust requirement")
return false
}
let verifyStatus = SecStaticCodeCheckValidity(staticCode, [], trust)
if verifyStatus != errSecSuccess {
logInfo("Client's signature is NOT trusted by Apple")
return false
}
logInfo("Client is fully verified as Apple-trusted")
return true
}
Q: Just wanted community feedback, is this correct approach?
Hello,
We are working on integrating app integrity verification into our service application, following Apple's App Attest and DeviceCheck guide.
Our server issues a challenge to the client, which then sends the challenge, attestation, and keyId in CBOR format to Apple's App Attest server for verification. However, we are unable to reach both https://attest.apple.com and https://attest.development.apple.com due to network issues.
These attempts have been made from both our internal corporate network and mobile hotspot environments. Despite adjusting DNS settings and other configurations, the issue persists.
Are there alternative methods or solutions to address this problem? Any recommended network configurations or guidelines to successfully connect to Apple's App Attest servers would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Hey, there are plans to design a government app. When a citizen will login they will see their passport, driving license etc...
What is the solution of avoiding mandatory in-app user data deletion?
Hi,
I am developing an app that checks if biometric authentication capabilities (Face ID and Touch ID) are available on a device. I have a few questions:
Do I need to include a privacy string in my app to use the LAContext's canEvaluatePolicy function? This function checks if biometric authentication is available on the device, but does not actually trigger the authentication.
From my testing, it seems like a privacy declaration is only required when using LAContext's evaluatePolicy function, which would trigger the biometric authentication. Can you confirm if this is the expected behavior across all iOS versions and iPhone models?
When exactly does the biometric authentication permission pop-up appear for users - is it when calling canEvaluatePolicy or evaluatePolicy? I want to ensure my users have a seamless experience.
Please let me know if you have any insights on these questions. I want to make sure I'm handling the biometric authentication functionality correctly in my app. Thank you!
Dear Apple Developer Support Team,
We are experiencing a recurring issue with the DeviceCheck API where the following error is being returned:
com.apple.devicecheck.error 0
Upon analyzing our logs, we have noticed that this error occurs significantly more often when users are connected to Wi-Fi networks, compared to mobile networks. This leads us to suspect that there might be a relationship between Wi-Fi configuration and the DeviceCheck service’s ability to generate or validate tokens.
We would like to know:
Is this error code (0) known to be caused by specific types of network behavior or misconfigurations on Wi-Fi networks (e.g., DNS filtering, firewall restrictions, proxy servers)?
Are there any recommended best practices for ensuring reliable DeviceCheck API communication over Wi-Fi networks?
Additionally, could you please clarify what general conditions could trigger this com.apple.devicecheck.error 0? The lack of specific documentation makes debugging this issue difficult from our side.
Any guidance or internal documentation on this error code and its potential causes would be greatly appreciated.
IDE: Xcode 16.3
Looking forward to your support.
Best regards,
Hi team, is there a native way to detect if a change has been made to biometrics using FaceID or TouchID? Thanks in advance.
Hello
I have a problem with provisionprofile file. I have created Identifier with Sign in with Apple capability turned on, created Profile with Developer ID selected and now I try to export archive with generated Developer ID provision file but it says "Profile doesn't support Sign in with Apple"
Also interesting thing that default provisions like
macOS App Development
Mac App Store Connect
don't show such error when I try to export archive
Maybe this problem is only related to Developer ID provision and Direct Distribution doesn't support Sign in with Apple, but I havent found proves about this idea
Hi,is there an option to mark the file or folder or item stored in user defaults ... not to be backed up when doing unencrypted backup in iTunes?We are developing iOS app that contains sensitive data. But even if we enable Data Protection for the iOS app it can be backed up on mac unencrypted using iTunes. Is there a way to allow backing up content only if the backup is encrypted?
What Has Been Implemented
Replaced the default loginwindow:login with a custom authorization plugin.
The plugin:
Performs primary OTP authentication.
Displays a custom password prompt.
Validates the password using Open Directory (OD) APIs.
Next Scenario was handling password change
Password change is simulated via: sudo pwpolicy -u robo -setpolicy "newPasswordRequired=1"
On next login:
Plugin retrieves the old password.
OD API returns kODErrorCredentialsPasswordChangeRequired.
Triggers a custom change password window to collect and set new password.
Issue Observed : After changing password:
The user’s login keychain resets.
Custom entries under the login keychain are removed.
We have tried few solutions
Using API, SecKeychainChangePassword(...)
Using CLI, security set-keychain-password -o oldpwd -p newpwd ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db
These approaches appear to successfully change the keychain password, but:
On launching Keychain Access, two password prompts appear, after authentication, Keychain Access window doesn't appear (no app visibility).
Question:
Is there a reliable way (API or CLI) to reset or update the user’s login keychain password from within the custom authorization plugin, so:
The keychain is not reset or lost.
Keychain Access works normally post-login.
The password update experience is seamless.
Thank you for your help and I appreciate your time and consideration
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Open Directory
Security
Privacy
Security Interface
Hello!
I do know apple does not support electron, but I do not think this is an electron related issue, rather something I am doing wrong. I'd be curious to find out why the keychain login is happenning after my app has been signed with the bundleid, entitlements, and provision profile.
Before using the provision profile I did not have this issue, but it is needed for assessments feature.
I'm trying to ship an Electron / macOS desktop app that must run inside Automatic Assessment Configuration. The build signs and notarizes successfully, and assessment mode itself starts on Apple-arm64 machines, but every single launch shows the system dialog that asks to allow access to the "login" keychain. The dialog appears on totally fresh user accounts, so it's not tied to anything I store there.
It has happened ever since I have added the provision profile to the electron builder to finally test assessment out.
entitlements.inherit.plist keys
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit</key> <true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory</key> <true/>
entitlements.plist keys:
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit</key> <true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory</key> <true/>
<key>com.apple.developer.automatic-assessment-configuration</key> <true/>
I'm honestly not sure whether the keychain is expected, but I have tried a lot of entitlement combinations to get rid of It. Electron builder is doing the signing, and we manually use the notary tool to notarize but probably irrelevant.
mac: {
notarize: false,
target: 'dir',
entitlements: 'buildResources/entitlements.mac.plist',
provisioningProfile: 'buildResources/xyu.provisionprofile',
entitlementsInherit: 'buildResources/entitlements.mac.inherit.plist',
Any lead is welcome!
Topic:
Privacy & Security
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Automatic Assessment Configuration
Assessment
Security
Entitlements
I have had a password autofill app extension in production for years.
It still works fine.
Except when the user taps a username or password textfield and selects "AutoFill" from the context menu.
They are shown a modal error dialog, stating:
"AutoFill Unavailable - The developer needs to update it to work with this feature."
I cannot find any help on this issue.
The AutoFill extension works fine when tapping the "Passwords" bar above the iOS keyboard.
Any pointers would be appreciated.
I am developing a background program that is included in the app as an extension. I would like to include logic to check the teamID and code signature validity of the program I created to ensure that it has not been tampered with. Is this possible?
we can get token but when send to verity from apple. it reture Error : {"responseCode":"400","responseMessage":"Missing or incorrectly formatted device token payload"}
I am developing a custom authorization plugin for macOS, and I’ve encountered an issue where the auth plugin view remains visible on the home screen for a few seconds after login.
Issue Details:
After entering valid credentials, I call setResult(.allow) in my plugin to proceed with login.
The authentication succeeds, and macOS starts transitioning to the home screen.
However, for a few seconds after login, the authorization plugin view is still visible on the home screen before it disappears.
I have observed this issue even when using Apple's sample authorization plugin.
Observation:
This issue occurs without an external monitor (on a single built-in display).
If I manually close the plugin window inside Destroy(AuthPlugin.mechanism), then the auth plugin views do not appear on the home screen, which seems to fix the issue.
However, when I do this, a gray screen appears for about a second before the desktop environment fully loads.
I suspect that the gray screen appears due to the time macOS takes to fully load the home screen environment after login.
Questions:
Why does the authorization plugin view persist on the home screen for a few seconds after login?
Is manually closing the plugin window in Destroy(AuthPlugin.mechanism) the correct way to prevent this, or is there a better approach?
Is my assumption that the gray screen appears due to the home screen not being fully loaded correct?
If the gray screen is caused by home screen loading, is there a system notification or event I can listen to in order to know when the home screen has fully loaded?
With Let's Encrypt having completely dropped support for OCSP recently [1], I wanted to ask if macOS has a means of keeping up to date with their CRLs and if so, roughly how often this occurs?
I first observed an issue where a revoked-certificate test site, "revoked.badssl.com" (cert signed by Let's Encrypt), was not getting blocked on any browser, when a revocation policy was set up using the SecPolicyCreateRevocation API, in tandem with the kSecRevocationUseAnyAvailableMethod and kSecRevocationPreferCRL flags.
After further investigation, I noticed that even on a fresh install of macOS, Safari does not block this test website, while Chrome and Firefox (usually) do, due to its revoked certificate. Chrome and Firefox both have their own means of dealing with CRLs, while I assume Safari uses the system Keychain and APIs.
I checked cert info for the site here [2]. It was issued on 2025-07-01 20:00 and revoked an hour later.
[1] https://letsencrypt.org/2024/12/05/ending-ocsp/
[2] https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=revoked.badssl.com