Hello everyone,
We develop an app called Unite (bundle ID: com.BZG.Unite), which allows users to create standalone macOS applications from websites. These user-generated apps are based on a backend browser template called DefaultApp (bundle ID: com.bzg.default.app). Here's how our setup works:
Unite and DefaultApp: Both are signed with our Developer ID and include necessary provisioning profiles and entitlements.
User-Created Apps: When a user creates an app with Unite, it generates a customized version of DefaultApp with the user's chosen name and settings. These apps are ad-hoc signed upon creation to reflect their unique identity.
Issue
Since updating to macOS 15, every time a user launches a created app, they encounter a persistent prompt asking for permission to access files outside the app's container. Granting full disk access in System Preferences suppresses the prompt, but this is not a practical solution for end-users.
Upon launching a user-created app (e.g., "ExampleTest"), the following prompt appears:
This prompt appears on every launch of the app.
Steps to Reproduce
On a Mac running macOS 15, create a new app using Unite (e.g., "ExampleTest").
Launch the newly created app.
Observe the prompt requesting access to files outside the app's container.
Close and relaunch the app; the prompt appears again.
What We Have Tried
Given that our apps use an app group (group.BZG.unite.sharedData) to share data between Unite, DefaultApp, and user-created apps, we believe this is triggering the prompt due to changes in System Integrity Protection (SIP) in macOS 15. We are further confident given that if the user does not allow access, the app does launch, but shows an error indicating that the created app was unable to access the data that is typically in the shared group.
Here’s a summary of our troubleshooting efforts:
1. Adjusting App Group Configuration
Ensured the app group name aligns with Apple's guidelines, including prefixing with the Team ID (teamid.group.BZG.unite.sharedData).
Verified that the app group is correctly declared in the com.apple.security.application-groups entitlement.
2. Provisioning Profile Creation
Generated provisioning profiles via Xcode and the Developer Console, ensuring the app group entitlement is included.
Applied the provisioning profile to the user-created app during code signing.
Despite these efforts, the issue continues.
3. Entitlements and Code Signing
Created an entitlements file for the user-created app, mirroring the entitlements from DefaultApp, including:
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "https://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>com.apple.application-identifier</key>
<string>id.com.BZG.ExampleTest</string>
<key>com.apple.developer.team-identifier</key>
<string>id</string>
<key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key>
<array>
<string>id.group.BZG.unite.sharedData</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist>
Signed the user-created app with our Developer ID and the provisioning profile
Verified the entitlements
4. Reviewing System Logs
Observed error messages indicating unsatisfied entitlements:
message: com.BZG.ExampleTest: Unsatisfied entitlements: com.apple.security.application-groups
**5. Consulting Documentation and WWDC Sessions
**
Referenced post on App Groups in macOS vs iOS.
Reviewed the macOS 15 Release Notes regarding SIP and app group container protection.
Watched WWDC 2024 Session 10123: What's new in privacy, starting at 12:23.
Questions
Is there a way to authorize the com.apple.security.application-groups entitlement in the provisioning profile for ad-hoc signed apps?
Given the SIP changes in macOS 15, how can we enable our ad-hoc signed, user-generated apps to access the app group container without triggering the persistent prompt?
Are there alternative approaches to sharing data between the main app and user-generated apps that comply with macOS 15's SIP requirements?
Is there anything to try that we're missing here to solve this?
Any guidance on how to resolve this issue or workarounds to allow app group access without triggering the prompt would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your assistance!
Entitlements
RSS for tagEntitlements allow specific capabilities or security permissions for your apps.
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After installing n application to my AppleTv I can't open it up. I get:
This app cannot be installed because its integrity could not be verified.
I recently completed an app transfer from one developer account to another (both controlled by me). The old team ID was GZS3K47B3Y, the new one is LRG5645LP7.
Almost everything is working properly, but I am seeing that my iCloud Key-Value store (NSUbiquitousKeyValueStore) is no longer shared across my app and app extensions after the transfer.
Previously, my app and app extensions all shared a single iCloud Key-Value store, and they could all read/write to the same iCloud synced store. This is no longer working after the app transfer.
According to this support page (https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/transfer-an-app/overview-of-app-transfer):
"If your app uses iCloud Key-Value Storage (KVS), the full KVS value will be embedded in any new provisioning profiles you create for the transferred app. Update your entitlements plist with the full KVS value in your provisioning profile."
This seems to be the case for the main app, whose provisioning profile contains the full value:
com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier: GZS3K47B3Y.com.serpentisei.studyjapanese
But the app extension's provisioning profile now contains:
com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier: LRG5645LP7.*
Is there a way to update the app extension provisioning profile to also include the original identifier from before the transfer, so that I can continue to share iCloud KVS access across the app and extension?
Thanks!
Is it correct to codesign dylib/framewoks with entitlements? My understanding is that only executables need to have the entitlement and the dylibs loaded in that process will automatically inherit those entitlements.
However, I am seeing a lot of scripts on the internet that are signing dylibs as well with entitlements. For eg -
# sign *.dylibs
find "$APP_BUNDLE" -type f -name "*.dylib" -exec codesign --deep --force --verify --verbose --timestamp --options runtime --entitlements "$ENTITLEMENTS_FILE" --sign "$SIGNING_IDENTITY" {} \;
Is this even allowed? I know of at least one app that has passed notarization checks as well. If allowed, can a dylib have more entitlements than the process that loaded it?
I'm working on a system extension leveraging endpoint security entitlement. However, while in development, is there a way to continue working and testing locally without having the endpoint security entitlement approved or needing the extension signed.
I got these errors running a build:
Provisioning profile "Mac Team Provisioning Profile: "com.xxxxx.extension" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client entitlement.
/Users/varunashokbhaisidpara/Desktop/Screenshot 2024-11-15 at 5.43.44 PM.png
This error occurs When I try to upload an app on the test flight or App Store. I checked "Automatically manage signing" in the main target. and i have added extensions DeviceActivityMonitorExtension, ShieldConfigurationExtension, ShieldActionExtension, DeviceActivityReport. and all have selected "Automatically manage signing" in the target > signing and capability.
pls provide me with an exact solution set by step.
Thank you
Hi,
we have received an Application via App Transfer recently. I am now trying to generate a provisioning profile for App Store distribution.
When we set the checkmark in Capabilities to use "iCloud Key-value storage" we cannot get "automatically manage signing" to work with an error:
Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.some.bundle.identifier" doesn't match the entitlements file's value for the com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier entitlement.
When a Provisioning Profile is manually generated via Developer Portal the com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier entry shows the value of the previous app owner: "OLDTEAM.com.some.bundle.identifier".
How can we change the com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier value in our provisioning profile to get rid of the old team identifier?
Help is much appreciated, thank you.
FB15898983
Hello,
I cannot build a signed app that will both be accepted by Testflight and run locally. Only one or the other!
I'm singing my .app and building the package thus:
CODESIGN_ID="Apple Distribution: company (number)"
INSTALLSIGN_ID="3rd Party Mac Developer Installer: company (number)"
codesign --force --deep --entitlements plist.xcent -o runtime --timestamp --sign "$CODESIGN_ID" myapp.app
productbuild --sign "$INSTALLSIGN_ID" --timestamp --component myapp.app /Applications myapp.pkg
With entitlements:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>com.apple.security.get-task-allow</key>
<false/>
<key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.network.client</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.inherit</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.application-identifier</key>
<string>TEAM.com.COMPANY.APPNAME</string>
<key>com.apple.developer.team-identifier</key>
<string>TEAM/string>
</dict>
</plist>
If I leave out the last two entitlements "com.apple.application-identifier" and
"com.apple.developer.team-identifier", the package validates and runs locally. It can be uploaded but it is NOT accepted by Testflight.
When i add the last two entitlements (above), it will not validate until i also add in my provisioning profile into; myapp.app/Contents/embedded.provisionprofile
When this is done, the package validates, uploads and is accepted by Testflight. It can be tested and runs.
But, myapp.app will no longer run locally!! no will the local copy of myapp.pkg install. It will only run through Testflight or will run again if i take out the above keys that Testflight apparently requires.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Am i doing something wrong.
Thanks for any help.
We have a DriverKit entitlement for our USB driver. We now wish to use this same driver with a variant of our existing application. Of course this application has its own separate App ID and will be published in the App Store alongside our existing application.
Will we need to go back to the well and ask Apple for another entitlement?