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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Clarification on Team ID Behavior After App Transfer
Hi everyone, I’d like to clarify something regarding the behavior of Team IDs after an app transfer between Apple Developer accounts. I have an app update that enforces a force update for all users. My plan is to release this update under the current developer account, and then proceed with transferring the app to a different developer account shortly afterward. My concern is: once the transfer is complete, will users who download the same app version (released before the transfer) be logged out due to a change in Team ID? Specifically, does the transferred app continue to use the original Team ID (used to sign the last submitted build), or does the Team ID change immediately upon transfer — affecting Keychain access? Any insights or confirmation on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
4
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175
Jun ’25
Call log
I read online that there is no way to extract the call log from an iPhone. I want to develop an app to help people remember to call their mom, and if they did, the "nagging" would disappear automatically. I'm looking for any workaround to know when a user called someone, without having them log it manually.
1
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459
Dec ’25
SecItemCopyMatching returns errSecAuthFailed (-25293) after macOS 26.4 upgrade — persists until SecKeychainLock/Unlock
We've filed FB22448572 for this, but posting here in case others are hitting the same issue. After upgrading macOS from 26.3.2 to 26.4, SecItemCopyMatching returns errSecAuthFailed (-25293) when reading kSecClassGenericPassword items from the default login keychain. The keychain reports as unlocked, but all authenticated operations fail. The error doesn't self-resolve — we've observed it persisting for 7+ minutes across repeated calls and process restarts. The only workaround we've found is SecKeychainLock(nil) followed by SecKeychainUnlock(nil, 0, nil, false), which prompts the user for their password and clears the stale state. Apple's own security CLI tool also fails while the keychain is in this state: $ security show-keychain-info ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db security: SecKeychainCopySettings .../login.keychain-db: The user name or passphrase you entered is not correct. The trigger seems to be process lifecycle — a new process accessing the keychain early in startup (e.g., from the app delegate) can hit this state after the OS upgrade. It's probabilistic: not every machine and not every restart, but once it happens, it sticks until manual intervention. We're an enterprise app using legacy keychain APIs (SecKeychainCopyDefault, kSecUseKeychain) deployed to thousands of managed devices. We've reproduced this on multiple machines (M1, M2) and have reports from customers in the field after the 26.4 upgrade. I noticed a possibly related thread — Calling SecKeychainUnlock with a locked keychain and an invalid password returns errSecSuccess on macOS 26.4 — where SecKeychainUnlock stopped properly validating passwords after 26.4. Our symptom is different (reads fail on an unlocked keychain rather than unlock succeeding with wrong password), but both appeared after 26.4 and both point to something changing in securityd's authentication handling. Wondering if these could be related. A couple of questions: Is there a known issue with securityd's keychain authentication after 26.4? Could this be related to the CVE-2026-28864 fix ("improved permissions checking" in the Security component)? Would migrating to the data protection keychain (kSecAttrAccessible instead of kSecUseKeychain) avoid this class of issue entirely? Is there a way to detect and clear this stale state programmatically without the user entering their password? Any guidance appreciated.
1
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377
Apr ’26
Accessing PIV Smart Card Certificates from iPadOS application.
I am new to swift development, and it's possible that I'm missing something fundamental/obvious. If so, I apologize in advance. My team is developing an application for iPadOS using SwiftUI, and I'm trying to accomplish something similar to what the original inquirer is asking for in this thread: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/725152. The only difference is that I'm trying to use a PIV smart card to achieve authentication to a server rather than digitally sign a document. Unfortunately, I'm getting stuck when attempting to run the list() function provided in the accepted answer to the post mentioned above. When attempting to call SecItemCopyMatching(), I'm getting a -34018 missing entitlement error. I've attempted to add the com.apple.token to my app's keychain-access-groups entitlements, but this does not resolve the issue. I have checked the entitlements in my built app, per the recommendation in the troubleshooting guide here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/114456. The entitlement for com.apple.token is indeed present in the plist. Based on other documentation I've read, however, it seems that the explicit declaration of com.apple.token should not even be required in the entitlements. Is there something obvious that I'm missing here that would prevent my app from accessing the token access group?
5
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259
Jul ’25
Certificate revocation check with SecPolicyCreateRevocation/SecTrustEvaluateWithError does not work
When trying to check if a certificate has been revoked with SecPolicyCreateRevocation (Flags: kSecRevocationUseAnyAvailableMethod | kSecRevocationRequirePositiveResponse) and SecTrustEvaluateWithError I always get the result error code errSecIncompleteCertRevocationCheck, regardless if the certificate was revoked or not. Reproduction: Execute the program from the attached Xcode project (See Feedback FB21224106). Error output: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67635 ""revoked.badssl.com","E8","ISRG Root X1" certificates do not meet pinning requirements" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription="revoked.badssl.com","E8","ISRG Root X1" certificates do not meet pinning requirements, NSUnderlyingError=0x6000018d48a0 {Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67635 "Certificate 0 “revoked.badssl.com” has errors: Failed to check revocation;" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Certificate 0 “revoked.badssl.com” has errors: Failed to check revocation;}}} To me it looks like that the revocation check just fails („Failed to check revocation;“), no further information is provided by the returned error. In the example the certificate chain of https://revoked.badssl.com (default code) and https://badssl.com is verified (to switch see comments in the code). I have a proxy configured in the system, I assume that the revocation check will use it. On the same machine, the browsers (Safari and Google Chrome) can successfully detect if the certificate was revoked (revoked.badssl.com) or not (badssl.com) without further changes in the system/proxy settings. Note: The example leaks some memory, it’s just a test program. Am I missing something? Feedback: FB21224106
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811
Dec ’25
Unlock with Touch ID suggested despite system.login.screensaver being configured with authenticate-session-owner rule
Hello, I’m working on a security agent plugin for Mac. The plugin provides a mechanism with custom UI via SFAuthorizationPluginView and a privileged mechanism with the business logic. The plugin needs to support unlocking the device, so I changed the authorize right to invoke my agent: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>class</key> <string>evaluate-mechanisms</string> <key>created</key> <real>731355374.33196402</real> <key>mechanisms</key> <array> <string>FooBar:loginUI</string> <string>builtin:reset-password,privileged</string> <string>FooBar:authenticate,privileged</string> <string>builtin:authenticate,privileged</string> </array> <key>modified</key> <real>795624943.31730103</real> <key>shared</key> <true/> <key>tries</key> <integer>10000</integer> <key>version</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist> I also changed the system.login.screensaver right to use authorize-session-owner: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>class</key> <string>rule</string> <key>comment</key> <string>The owner or any administrator can unlock the screensaver, set rule to "authenticate-session-owner-or-admin" to enable SecurityAgent.</string> <key>created</key> <real>731355374.33196402</real> <key>modified</key> <real>795624943.32567298</real> <key>rule</key> <array> <string>authenticate-session-owner</string> </array> <key>version</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist> I also set screenUnlockMode to 2, as was suggested in this thread: macOS Sonoma Lock Screen with SFAutorizationPluginView is not hiding the macOS desktop. In the Display Authorization plugin at screensaver unlock thread, Quinn said that authorization plugins are not able to use Touch ID. However, on a MacBook with at touch bar, when I lock the screen, close the lid, and then open it, the touch bar invites me to unlock with Touch ID. If I choose to do so, the screen unlocks and I can interact with the computer, but the plugin UI stays on screen and never goes away, and after about 30 seconds the screen locks back. I can reliably reproduce it on a MacBook Pro with M1 chip running Tahoe 26.1. Is this a known macOS bug? What can I do about it? Ideally, I would like to be able to integrate Touch ID into my plugin, but since that seems to be impossible, the next best thing would be to reliably turn it off completely. Thanks in advance.
2
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429
Mar ’26
Mark the iOS app content not to be backed up when doing unencrypted backup in iTunes
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?
2
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1.8k
Oct ’25
How to Programmatically Install and Trust Root Certificate in System Keychain
I am developing a macOS application (targeting macOS 13 and later) that is non-sandboxed and needs to install and trust a root certificate by adding it to the System keychain programmatically. I’m fine with prompting the user for admin privileges or password, if needed. So far, I have attempted to execute the following command programmatically from both: A user-level process A root-level process sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain /path/to/cert.pem While the certificate does get installed, it does not appear as trusted in the Keychain Access app. One more point: The app is not distributed via MDM. App will be distributed out side the app store. Questions: What is the correct way to programmatically install and trust a root certificate in the System keychain? Does this require additional entitlements, signing, or profile configurations? Is it possible outside of MDM management? Any guidance or working samples would be greatly appreciated.
3
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438
Jul ’25
Persistent Tokens for Keychain Unlock in Platform SSO
While working with Platform SSO on macOS, I’m trying to better understand how the system handles cases where a user’s local account password becomes unsynchronized with their Identity Provider (IdP) password—for example, when the device is offline during a password change. My assumption is that macOS may store some form of persistent token during the Platform SSO user registration process (such as a certificate or similar credential), and that this token could allow the system to unlock the user’s login keychain even if the local password no longer matches the IdP password. I’m hoping to get clarification on the following: Does macOS actually use a persistent token to unlock the login keychain when the local account password is out of sync with the IdP password? If so, how is that mechanism designed to work? If such a capability exists, is it something developers can leverage to enable a true passwordless authentication experience at the login window and lock screen (i.e., avoiding the need for a local password fallback)? I’m trying to confirm what macOS officially supports so I can understand whether passwordless login is achievable using the persistent-token approach. Thanks in advance for any clarification.
1
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160
Dec ’25
ASPasswordCredential Returns a Blank Password with Apple Password App
Using the simplified sign-in with tvOS and a third party password manager, I receive a complete ASPasswordCredential, and I can easily log into my app. When I do the same thing but with Apple's password manager as the source, I receive an ASPasswordCredential that includes the email address, but the password is an empty string. I have tried deleting the credentials from Apple Passwords and regenerating them with a new login to the app's website. I have tried restarting my iPhone. Is this the expected behavior? How should I be getting a password from Apple's Password app with an ASAuthorizationPasswordRequest?
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343
Aug ’25
Pentesting modern iOS versions
I've contacted Apple support about this topic, and they've directed me to this forum. I regularly perform Pentests of iOS applications. To properly assess the security of iOS apps, I must bypass given security precaution taken by our customers, such as certificate pinning. According to a number of blog articles, this appears to only be viable on jailbroken devices. If a target application requires a modern version of iOS, the security assessment can't be properly performed. As it should be in Apple's best interest, to offer secure applications on the App Store, what's the recommended approach to allow intrusive pentesting of iOS apps?
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165
Mar ’26
XCode Enhancement Request... The ability to Obfuscate Builds
Hi... It would be nice if Apple / XCode would be so gracious to explore the possibility of providing the ability to include: Code scrambling / renaming Control-flow obfuscation String encryption Anti-debugging Anti-hooking Jailbreak detection App integrity checks Runtime tamper detection That way, we could eliminate the need to settle for third-party software. Who do we have to bribe to submit such a request and entertain such an idea?
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139
Dec ’25
iPhone 16 Datasheet
I am trying to find a datasheet containing information such as "Key Exchange / Key Agreement / Key Establishment Protocols Used", "Digital Signature Algorithms Used", "Hash Algorithms Used", etc. Any information would greatly appreciated.
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110
Apr ’26
C++ HMAC-SHA256 Signature Works in Python, Fails in C++ — Possible Xcode Runtime Issue?
Hi all, I’m building a macOS-native C++ trading bot, compiled via Xcode. It sends REST API requests to a crypto exchange (Bitvavo) that require HMAC-SHA256 signatures using a pre-sign string (timestamp + method + path + body) and an API secret. Here’s the issue: • The exact same pre-sign string and API secret produce valid responses when signed using Python (hmac.new(secret, msg, hashlib.sha256)), • But when I generate the HMAC signature using C++ (HMAC(EVP_sha256, ...) via OpenSSL), the exchange returns an invalid signature error. Environment: • Xcode 15.3 / macOS 14.x • OpenSSL installed via Homebrew • HMAC test vectors match Python’s output for basic strings (so HMAC lib seems correct) Yet when using the real API keys and dynamic timestamped messages, something differs enough to break verification — possibly due to UTF-8 encoding, memory alignment, or newline handling differences in the Xcode C++ runtime? Has anyone experienced subtle differences between Python and C++ HMAC-SHA256 behavior when compiled in Xcode? I’ve published a GitHub repo for reproducibility: 🔗 https://github.com/vanBaardewijk/bitvavo-cpp-signature-test Thanks in advance for any suggestions or insights. Sascha
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802
Jul ’25
ASWebAuthenticationSession + Universal Links Callback Issue
Problem Description: In our App, When we launch the web login part using ASWebAuthentication + Universal Links with callback scheme as "https", we are not receiving callback. Note: We are using "SwiftUIWebAuthentication" Swift Package Manager to display page in ASWebAuth. But when we use custom url scheme instead of Universal link, app able to receive call back every time. We use ".onOpenURL" to receive universal link callback scheme.
4
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278
Jul ’25
Is Screen Time trapped inside DeviceActivityReport on purpose?
I can see the user’s real daily Screen Time perfectly inside a DeviceActivityReport extension on a physical device. It’s right there. But the moment I try to use that exact total inside my main app (for today’s log and a leaderboard), it dosnt work. I’ve tried, App Groups, Shared UserDefaults, Writing to a shared container file, CFPreferences Nothing makes it across. The report displays fine, but the containing app never receives the total. If this is sandboxed by design, I’d love confirmation. Thanks a lot
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595
Mar ’26
Help with Entitlements for Keychain Access
Hi everyone, I’m working an Objective-C lib that performs Keychain operations, such as generating cryptographic keys and signing data. The lib will be used by my team in a Java program for macOS via JNI. When working with the traditional file-based Keychain (i.e., without access control flags), everything works smoothly, no issues at all. However, as soon as I try to generate a key using access control flags SecAccessControlCreateWithFlags, the Data Protection Keychain returns error -34018 (errSecMissingEntitlement) during SecKeyCreateRandomKey. This behavior is expected. To address this, I attempted to codesign my native dynamic library (.dylib) with an entitlement plist specifying various combinations of: keychain-access-groups com.apple.security.keychain etc. with: My Apple Development certificate Developer ID Application certificate Apple Distribution certificate None of these combinations made a difference, the error persists. I’d love to clarify: Is it supported to access Data Protection Keychain / Secure Enclave Keys in this type of use case? If so, what exact entitlements does macOS expect when calling SecKeyCreateRandomKey from a native library? I’d really appreciate any guidance or clarification. Thanks in advance! Best regards, Neil
1
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431
Jul ’25
Clone Device Detection
In our mobile we are using UUID as a device identifier . With this ID we using certain function like Primary device and secondary devices .
Primary device has more control to the app other than secondary device .
In our case user is getting new iPhone and the apps related data are moved to new device from old device from clone option.

While moving the keychain data is also moved , which is causing the new device also has same UUID and the customer are using both the devices in some cases ,

So both devices are considered as primary in our app .
Is there any way to identify the device is cloned ,

Needed suggestion
1
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276
Dec ’25
Clarification on Team ID Behavior After App Transfer
Hi everyone, I’d like to clarify something regarding the behavior of Team IDs after an app transfer between Apple Developer accounts. I have an app update that enforces a force update for all users. My plan is to release this update under the current developer account, and then proceed with transferring the app to a different developer account shortly afterward. My concern is: once the transfer is complete, will users who download the same app version (released before the transfer) be logged out due to a change in Team ID? Specifically, does the transferred app continue to use the original Team ID (used to sign the last submitted build), or does the Team ID change immediately upon transfer — affecting Keychain access? Any insights or confirmation on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Replies
4
Boosts
0
Views
175
Activity
Jun ’25
Call log
I read online that there is no way to extract the call log from an iPhone. I want to develop an app to help people remember to call their mom, and if they did, the "nagging" would disappear automatically. I'm looking for any workaround to know when a user called someone, without having them log it manually.
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
459
Activity
Dec ’25
SecItemCopyMatching returns errSecAuthFailed (-25293) after macOS 26.4 upgrade — persists until SecKeychainLock/Unlock
We've filed FB22448572 for this, but posting here in case others are hitting the same issue. After upgrading macOS from 26.3.2 to 26.4, SecItemCopyMatching returns errSecAuthFailed (-25293) when reading kSecClassGenericPassword items from the default login keychain. The keychain reports as unlocked, but all authenticated operations fail. The error doesn't self-resolve — we've observed it persisting for 7+ minutes across repeated calls and process restarts. The only workaround we've found is SecKeychainLock(nil) followed by SecKeychainUnlock(nil, 0, nil, false), which prompts the user for their password and clears the stale state. Apple's own security CLI tool also fails while the keychain is in this state: $ security show-keychain-info ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db security: SecKeychainCopySettings .../login.keychain-db: The user name or passphrase you entered is not correct. The trigger seems to be process lifecycle — a new process accessing the keychain early in startup (e.g., from the app delegate) can hit this state after the OS upgrade. It's probabilistic: not every machine and not every restart, but once it happens, it sticks until manual intervention. We're an enterprise app using legacy keychain APIs (SecKeychainCopyDefault, kSecUseKeychain) deployed to thousands of managed devices. We've reproduced this on multiple machines (M1, M2) and have reports from customers in the field after the 26.4 upgrade. I noticed a possibly related thread — Calling SecKeychainUnlock with a locked keychain and an invalid password returns errSecSuccess on macOS 26.4 — where SecKeychainUnlock stopped properly validating passwords after 26.4. Our symptom is different (reads fail on an unlocked keychain rather than unlock succeeding with wrong password), but both appeared after 26.4 and both point to something changing in securityd's authentication handling. Wondering if these could be related. A couple of questions: Is there a known issue with securityd's keychain authentication after 26.4? Could this be related to the CVE-2026-28864 fix ("improved permissions checking" in the Security component)? Would migrating to the data protection keychain (kSecAttrAccessible instead of kSecUseKeychain) avoid this class of issue entirely? Is there a way to detect and clear this stale state programmatically without the user entering their password? Any guidance appreciated.
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
377
Activity
Apr ’26
Accessing PIV Smart Card Certificates from iPadOS application.
I am new to swift development, and it's possible that I'm missing something fundamental/obvious. If so, I apologize in advance. My team is developing an application for iPadOS using SwiftUI, and I'm trying to accomplish something similar to what the original inquirer is asking for in this thread: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/725152. The only difference is that I'm trying to use a PIV smart card to achieve authentication to a server rather than digitally sign a document. Unfortunately, I'm getting stuck when attempting to run the list() function provided in the accepted answer to the post mentioned above. When attempting to call SecItemCopyMatching(), I'm getting a -34018 missing entitlement error. I've attempted to add the com.apple.token to my app's keychain-access-groups entitlements, but this does not resolve the issue. I have checked the entitlements in my built app, per the recommendation in the troubleshooting guide here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/114456. The entitlement for com.apple.token is indeed present in the plist. Based on other documentation I've read, however, it seems that the explicit declaration of com.apple.token should not even be required in the entitlements. Is there something obvious that I'm missing here that would prevent my app from accessing the token access group?
Replies
5
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0
Views
259
Activity
Jul ’25
Certificate revocation check with SecPolicyCreateRevocation/SecTrustEvaluateWithError does not work
When trying to check if a certificate has been revoked with SecPolicyCreateRevocation (Flags: kSecRevocationUseAnyAvailableMethod | kSecRevocationRequirePositiveResponse) and SecTrustEvaluateWithError I always get the result error code errSecIncompleteCertRevocationCheck, regardless if the certificate was revoked or not. Reproduction: Execute the program from the attached Xcode project (See Feedback FB21224106). Error output: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67635 ""revoked.badssl.com","E8","ISRG Root X1" certificates do not meet pinning requirements" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription="revoked.badssl.com","E8","ISRG Root X1" certificates do not meet pinning requirements, NSUnderlyingError=0x6000018d48a0 {Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67635 "Certificate 0 “revoked.badssl.com” has errors: Failed to check revocation;" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Certificate 0 “revoked.badssl.com” has errors: Failed to check revocation;}}} To me it looks like that the revocation check just fails („Failed to check revocation;“), no further information is provided by the returned error. In the example the certificate chain of https://revoked.badssl.com (default code) and https://badssl.com is verified (to switch see comments in the code). I have a proxy configured in the system, I assume that the revocation check will use it. On the same machine, the browsers (Safari and Google Chrome) can successfully detect if the certificate was revoked (revoked.badssl.com) or not (badssl.com) without further changes in the system/proxy settings. Note: The example leaks some memory, it’s just a test program. Am I missing something? Feedback: FB21224106
Replies
6
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0
Views
811
Activity
Dec ’25
How can I configure the application or environment to suppress this repeated permission prompt?"
"I am attempting to read and write data to an Office Group Container, and I am consistently prompted with the "App would like to access data from other apps" alert. How can I configure the application or environment to suppress this repeated permission prompt?"
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
304
Activity
Jan ’26
Unlock with Touch ID suggested despite system.login.screensaver being configured with authenticate-session-owner rule
Hello, I’m working on a security agent plugin for Mac. The plugin provides a mechanism with custom UI via SFAuthorizationPluginView and a privileged mechanism with the business logic. The plugin needs to support unlocking the device, so I changed the authorize right to invoke my agent: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>class</key> <string>evaluate-mechanisms</string> <key>created</key> <real>731355374.33196402</real> <key>mechanisms</key> <array> <string>FooBar:loginUI</string> <string>builtin:reset-password,privileged</string> <string>FooBar:authenticate,privileged</string> <string>builtin:authenticate,privileged</string> </array> <key>modified</key> <real>795624943.31730103</real> <key>shared</key> <true/> <key>tries</key> <integer>10000</integer> <key>version</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist> I also changed the system.login.screensaver right to use authorize-session-owner: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>class</key> <string>rule</string> <key>comment</key> <string>The owner or any administrator can unlock the screensaver, set rule to "authenticate-session-owner-or-admin" to enable SecurityAgent.</string> <key>created</key> <real>731355374.33196402</real> <key>modified</key> <real>795624943.32567298</real> <key>rule</key> <array> <string>authenticate-session-owner</string> </array> <key>version</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist> I also set screenUnlockMode to 2, as was suggested in this thread: macOS Sonoma Lock Screen with SFAutorizationPluginView is not hiding the macOS desktop. In the Display Authorization plugin at screensaver unlock thread, Quinn said that authorization plugins are not able to use Touch ID. However, on a MacBook with at touch bar, when I lock the screen, close the lid, and then open it, the touch bar invites me to unlock with Touch ID. If I choose to do so, the screen unlocks and I can interact with the computer, but the plugin UI stays on screen and never goes away, and after about 30 seconds the screen locks back. I can reliably reproduce it on a MacBook Pro with M1 chip running Tahoe 26.1. Is this a known macOS bug? What can I do about it? Ideally, I would like to be able to integrate Touch ID into my plugin, but since that seems to be impossible, the next best thing would be to reliably turn it off completely. Thanks in advance.
Replies
2
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0
Views
429
Activity
Mar ’26
Following up on 'What's new in passkeys'
In the hopes of saving others time, the updated demo project (i.e. the new Shiny) can be found from the video 'Resources' section under 'Performing fast account creation with passkeys'. The beta documentation can also be found from there. All of the new functionality is available only on *OS 26 at this time.
Replies
1
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0
Views
137
Activity
Jun ’25
Mark the iOS app content not to be backed up when doing unencrypted backup in iTunes
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?
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
1.8k
Activity
Oct ’25
How to Programmatically Install and Trust Root Certificate in System Keychain
I am developing a macOS application (targeting macOS 13 and later) that is non-sandboxed and needs to install and trust a root certificate by adding it to the System keychain programmatically. I’m fine with prompting the user for admin privileges or password, if needed. So far, I have attempted to execute the following command programmatically from both: A user-level process A root-level process sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain /path/to/cert.pem While the certificate does get installed, it does not appear as trusted in the Keychain Access app. One more point: The app is not distributed via MDM. App will be distributed out side the app store. Questions: What is the correct way to programmatically install and trust a root certificate in the System keychain? Does this require additional entitlements, signing, or profile configurations? Is it possible outside of MDM management? Any guidance or working samples would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
3
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0
Views
438
Activity
Jul ’25
Persistent Tokens for Keychain Unlock in Platform SSO
While working with Platform SSO on macOS, I’m trying to better understand how the system handles cases where a user’s local account password becomes unsynchronized with their Identity Provider (IdP) password—for example, when the device is offline during a password change. My assumption is that macOS may store some form of persistent token during the Platform SSO user registration process (such as a certificate or similar credential), and that this token could allow the system to unlock the user’s login keychain even if the local password no longer matches the IdP password. I’m hoping to get clarification on the following: Does macOS actually use a persistent token to unlock the login keychain when the local account password is out of sync with the IdP password? If so, how is that mechanism designed to work? If such a capability exists, is it something developers can leverage to enable a true passwordless authentication experience at the login window and lock screen (i.e., avoiding the need for a local password fallback)? I’m trying to confirm what macOS officially supports so I can understand whether passwordless login is achievable using the persistent-token approach. Thanks in advance for any clarification.
Replies
1
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0
Views
160
Activity
Dec ’25
ASPasswordCredential Returns a Blank Password with Apple Password App
Using the simplified sign-in with tvOS and a third party password manager, I receive a complete ASPasswordCredential, and I can easily log into my app. When I do the same thing but with Apple's password manager as the source, I receive an ASPasswordCredential that includes the email address, but the password is an empty string. I have tried deleting the credentials from Apple Passwords and regenerating them with a new login to the app's website. I have tried restarting my iPhone. Is this the expected behavior? How should I be getting a password from Apple's Password app with an ASAuthorizationPasswordRequest?
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2
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0
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343
Activity
Aug ’25
Pentesting modern iOS versions
I've contacted Apple support about this topic, and they've directed me to this forum. I regularly perform Pentests of iOS applications. To properly assess the security of iOS apps, I must bypass given security precaution taken by our customers, such as certificate pinning. According to a number of blog articles, this appears to only be viable on jailbroken devices. If a target application requires a modern version of iOS, the security assessment can't be properly performed. As it should be in Apple's best interest, to offer secure applications on the App Store, what's the recommended approach to allow intrusive pentesting of iOS apps?
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1
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0
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165
Activity
Mar ’26
XCode Enhancement Request... The ability to Obfuscate Builds
Hi... It would be nice if Apple / XCode would be so gracious to explore the possibility of providing the ability to include: Code scrambling / renaming Control-flow obfuscation String encryption Anti-debugging Anti-hooking Jailbreak detection App integrity checks Runtime tamper detection That way, we could eliminate the need to settle for third-party software. Who do we have to bribe to submit such a request and entertain such an idea?
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1
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0
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139
Activity
Dec ’25
iPhone 16 Datasheet
I am trying to find a datasheet containing information such as "Key Exchange / Key Agreement / Key Establishment Protocols Used", "Digital Signature Algorithms Used", "Hash Algorithms Used", etc. Any information would greatly appreciated.
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1
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110
Activity
Apr ’26
C++ HMAC-SHA256 Signature Works in Python, Fails in C++ — Possible Xcode Runtime Issue?
Hi all, I’m building a macOS-native C++ trading bot, compiled via Xcode. It sends REST API requests to a crypto exchange (Bitvavo) that require HMAC-SHA256 signatures using a pre-sign string (timestamp + method + path + body) and an API secret. Here’s the issue: • The exact same pre-sign string and API secret produce valid responses when signed using Python (hmac.new(secret, msg, hashlib.sha256)), • But when I generate the HMAC signature using C++ (HMAC(EVP_sha256, ...) via OpenSSL), the exchange returns an invalid signature error. Environment: • Xcode 15.3 / macOS 14.x • OpenSSL installed via Homebrew • HMAC test vectors match Python’s output for basic strings (so HMAC lib seems correct) Yet when using the real API keys and dynamic timestamped messages, something differs enough to break verification — possibly due to UTF-8 encoding, memory alignment, or newline handling differences in the Xcode C++ runtime? Has anyone experienced subtle differences between Python and C++ HMAC-SHA256 behavior when compiled in Xcode? I’ve published a GitHub repo for reproducibility: 🔗 https://github.com/vanBaardewijk/bitvavo-cpp-signature-test Thanks in advance for any suggestions or insights. Sascha
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2
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0
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802
Activity
Jul ’25
ASWebAuthenticationSession + Universal Links Callback Issue
Problem Description: In our App, When we launch the web login part using ASWebAuthentication + Universal Links with callback scheme as "https", we are not receiving callback. Note: We are using "SwiftUIWebAuthentication" Swift Package Manager to display page in ASWebAuth. But when we use custom url scheme instead of Universal link, app able to receive call back every time. We use ".onOpenURL" to receive universal link callback scheme.
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4
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0
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278
Activity
Jul ’25
Is Screen Time trapped inside DeviceActivityReport on purpose?
I can see the user’s real daily Screen Time perfectly inside a DeviceActivityReport extension on a physical device. It’s right there. But the moment I try to use that exact total inside my main app (for today’s log and a leaderboard), it dosnt work. I’ve tried, App Groups, Shared UserDefaults, Writing to a shared container file, CFPreferences Nothing makes it across. The report displays fine, but the containing app never receives the total. If this is sandboxed by design, I’d love confirmation. Thanks a lot
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2
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0
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595
Activity
Mar ’26
Help with Entitlements for Keychain Access
Hi everyone, I’m working an Objective-C lib that performs Keychain operations, such as generating cryptographic keys and signing data. The lib will be used by my team in a Java program for macOS via JNI. When working with the traditional file-based Keychain (i.e., without access control flags), everything works smoothly, no issues at all. However, as soon as I try to generate a key using access control flags SecAccessControlCreateWithFlags, the Data Protection Keychain returns error -34018 (errSecMissingEntitlement) during SecKeyCreateRandomKey. This behavior is expected. To address this, I attempted to codesign my native dynamic library (.dylib) with an entitlement plist specifying various combinations of: keychain-access-groups com.apple.security.keychain etc. with: My Apple Development certificate Developer ID Application certificate Apple Distribution certificate None of these combinations made a difference, the error persists. I’d love to clarify: Is it supported to access Data Protection Keychain / Secure Enclave Keys in this type of use case? If so, what exact entitlements does macOS expect when calling SecKeyCreateRandomKey from a native library? I’d really appreciate any guidance or clarification. Thanks in advance! Best regards, Neil
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1
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0
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431
Activity
Jul ’25
Clone Device Detection
In our mobile we are using UUID as a device identifier . With this ID we using certain function like Primary device and secondary devices .
Primary device has more control to the app other than secondary device .
In our case user is getting new iPhone and the apps related data are moved to new device from old device from clone option.

While moving the keychain data is also moved , which is causing the new device also has same UUID and the customer are using both the devices in some cases ,

So both devices are considered as primary in our app .
Is there any way to identify the device is cloned ,

Needed suggestion
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1
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0
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276
Activity
Dec ’25