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NE System Extension stuck on Validation By Category
Hello, I'm having some problems when install my Packet Tunnel network extension as system extension on my mac(macos 15.0). It stuck on Validation By Category. (it works well as NE app extension on ios) systemextensionsctl list --- com.apple.system_extension.network_extension enabled active teamID bundleID (version) name [state] <...> com.myteam.balabalabla.ne (1.0/1) - [validating by category] This is my install System Extension Code sample public class SystemExtension: NSObject, OSSystemExtensionRequestDelegate { private let forceUpdate: Bool private let inBackground: Bool private let semaphore = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0) private var result: OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? private var properties: [OSSystemExtensionProperties]? private var error: Error? private init(_ forceUpdate: Bool = false, _ inBackground: Bool = false) { } // some request function i overwrite public func activation() throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { let request = OSSystemExtensionRequest.activationRequest(forExtensionWithIdentifier: FilePath.packageName + ".myNeName", queue: .main) request.delegate = self OSSystemExtensionManager.shared.submitRequest(request) semaphore.wait() if let error { throw error } return result } public func getProperties() throws -> [OSSystemExtensionProperties] { let request = OSSystemExtensionRequest.propertiesRequest(forExtensionWithIdentifier: FilePath.packageName + ".myNeName", queue: .main) request.delegate = self OSSystemExtensionManager.shared.submitRequest(request) semaphore.wait() if let error { throw error } return properties! } public nonisolated static func install(forceUpdate: Bool = false, inBackground: Bool = false) async throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { try await Task.detached { try SystemExtension(forceUpdate, inBackground).activation() }.result.get() } public nonisolated static func uninstall() async throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { try await Task.detached { try SystemExtension().deactivation() }.result.get() } } // And other methods I follow this post Your Friend the System Log and use this command line to collect log. After I initiated the system extension request sudo log collect --last 5m Here is my log (),I only pasted some code snippets that caught me, full version see attachments.(only include com.apple.sysextd), if need more, plz ask me. 1. Some policy missing ```log 22:00:13.818257 `sysextd` extension mockTeamID app.balabala.com.mockbalabala (1.0/1) advancing state from staging to validating 22:00:13.818263 sysextd returning cdhash for local arch arm64 of extension app.balabala.com.mockbalabala info 2025-05-01 22:00:13.818336 sysextd Extension with identifier <private> reached state <private> 22:00:13.819185 sysextd [0x9a2034b00] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.CodeSigningHelper 22:00:13.819911 sysextd [0x9a2034b00] invalidated after the last release of the connection object 22:00:13.821024 sysextd making activation decision for extension with teamID teamID("mockTeamID ), identifier app.balabala.com.mockbalabala 22:00:13.821026 sysextd no related kext found for sysex `app.balabala.com.mockbalabala` 22:00:13.821027 sysextd no extension policy -- activation decision is UserOption nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.313576 sysextd [0x9a2178280] invalidated because the client process (pid 1886) either cancelled the connection or exited 22:00:14.542154 sysextd connection to com.apple.nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.542319 sysextd [0x9a2178000] Re-initialization successful; calling out to event handler with XPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_INTERRUPTED 22:00:14.542351 sysextd connection to com.apple.nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.589375 nesessionmanager [0x6c80e4500] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.sysextd And when i debug the System Extension code i notice the request Error catch by didFailWithError public func request(_: OSSystemExtensionRequest, didFailWithError error: Error) { self.error = error semaphore.signal() } error is OSSystemExtensionErrorDomain code 1 This problem has been bothering me for a long time, I would appreciate any help, if need more info, comment, thank you.
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296
May ’25
Way to suppress local network access prompt in sequoia for Unix Domain Socket from swift
Hello, We have a SwiftUI-based application that runs as a LaunchAgent and communicates with other internal components using Unix domain sockets (UDS). On Sequoia (macOS virtualized environment), when installing the app, we encounter the Local Network Privacy Alert, asking: "Allow [AppName] to find and connect to devices on the local network?" We are not using any actual network communication — only interprocess communication via UDS. Is there a way to prevent this system prompt, either through MDM configuration or by adjusting our socket-related implementation? Here's a brief look at our Swift/NIO usage: class ClientHandler: ChannelInboundHandler { ... public func channelRead(context: ChannelHandlerContext, data: NIOAny) { ... } ... } // init bootstrap. var bootstrap: ClientBootstrap { return ClientBootstrap(group: group) // Also tried to remove the .so_reuseaddr, the prompt was still there. .channelOption(ChannelOptions.socketOption(.so_reuseaddr), value: 1) .channelInitializer { channel in // Add ChannelInboundHandler reader. channel.pipeline.addHandler(ClientHandler()) } } // connect to the UDS. self.bootstrap.connect(unixDomainSocketPath: self.path).whenSuccess { (channel) in .. self.channel = channel } ... ... // Send some data. self.channel?.writeAndFlush(buffer).wait() Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
1
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157
May ’25
Issue with Multicast Response via NWConnectionGroup Behind a Firewall
Hello Everyone, I’m working on a project that involves multicast communication between processes running on different devices within the same network. For all my Apple devices (macOS, iOS, etc.), I am using NWConnectionGroup, which listens on a multicast address "XX.XX.XX.XX" and a specific multicast port. The issue occurs when a requestor (such as a non-Apple process) sends a multicast request, and the server, which is a process running on an Apple device using NWConnectionGroup (the responder), attempts to reply. The problem is that the response is sent from a different ephemeral port rather than the port on which the multicast request was received. If the client is behind a firewall that blocks unsolicited traffic, the firewall only allows incoming packets on the same multicast port used for the initial request. Since the multicast response is sent from a different ephemeral port, the firewall blocks this response, preventing the requestor from receiving it. Questions: Is there a recommended approach within the NWConnectionGroup or Network.framework to ensure that responses to multicast requests are sent from the same port used for the request? Are there any best practices for handling multicast responses in scenarios where the requestor is behind a restrictive firewall? Any insights or suggestions on how to account for this behavior and ensure reliable multicast communication in such environments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Harshal
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696
May ’25
iOS 18; Can no longer connect app to camera over Ad Hoc insecure network
We have an old iOS app and an old camera that connects using Wi-Fi either using an access point or Ad Hoc network, e.g., iPhone/iPad connects to the camera's Wi-Fi directly... How it works (old legacy app/system, which cannot be redesigned): Camera is configured to Ad Hoc Wi-Fi network (insecure TCP). iPhone connects to this insecure Wi-Fi. Camera uses Bonjour service to broadcast its IP address. App reads in IP address and begin to send messages to the camera using NSMutableURLRequest, etc. All this works fine for iOS 17. But in iOS 18 step 4 stopped working. App simply doesn't get any responses! We believe we have configured ATS properly (App Store version): In panic we have also tried this in Test Flight version: The latter actually seemed to make a difference when running the app on macOS Apple Silicon. But on iOS it didn't seem to make any difference. Occasionally, I was lucky to get connection on on iPhone 16 Pro with iOS 18. But for the 'many' iPads I have tried I couldn't. I also tried to install CFNetwork profile and look at the logs but I believe I just got timeout on the requests. Questions: Why it iOS 18 different? Bonjour works fine, but NSSURLRequests doesn't Do we configure ATS correctly for this scenario? What should I look for in the Console log when CFNetwork profile is installed? Should I file a TSI? Thanks! :)
7
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239
May ’25
App occassionally crashing while connecting to public wifi
We are using the [NEHotspotHelper supportedNetworkInterfaces] to get the Wi-Fi interface in our app, but it occasionally crashes on some devices with the following stack trace: 0 CaptiveNetwork 0x0000000221d87a4c ServerConnectionGetHandlerQueue + 0 (ServerConnection.c:509) 1 CaptiveNetwork 0x0000000221d8577c CNPluginCopySupportedInterfaces + 180 (CNPlugin.c:457) 2 NetworkExtension 0x00000001b0446618 +[NEHotspotHelper supportedNetworkInterfaces] + 32 (NEHotspotHelper.m:563) It seems like the crash is happening on apple's api of supportedNetworkInterfaces. We would like to understand the cause of the crash.
2
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95
May ’25
Packet Tunnel Provider with Per App VPN debugging
We have a vpn app which uses PacketTunnelProvider. We also support per-app vpn for iOS, I need help with debugging steps for an issue I am facing recently. In the per app vpn, we have split tunneling: some urls should be tunneled while others should be direct, for tunneled urls/ips everything is working as expected. But for "direct" resources, I am facing an issue where sometimes I don't get an ACK back from the browser. Leading to a series of retransmissions and eventually the direct website not loading. Some more points of data: we do get true for the writePackets call, which seems to mean that the vpn app did write the packets to the TUN interface, but we don't get an ACK from the browser. I want some way of debugging this further so I can check if the browser actually got the packets. I also suspect that there might be a loop with packets (we are reading the packets we just wrote onto TUN), but can't say for sure since the issue is intermittent, in case of a loop, I would expect it to always help. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
3
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193
May ’25
CarPlay vs. AccessoryKit & NEHotspotHelper
CarPlay woes. I think it's unacceptable that it silently kills an ongoing WiFi connection that has been established using ASAccessoryKit and NEHotspotHelper which is in active use. This is responsible for angry clients because their processes break a lot when they are in reach of the connected car. (And yes, they have to be in the reach of the car, because it is a diagnostic/maintenance app for cars…) Do I really need to ask my clients to unpair from CarPlay before using our app or is there another way?
2
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109
May ’25
Memory release problem of VPN connection object
Hello, I encountered a memory management issue while developing VPN functionality and would like to seek your advice. The specific phenomenon is as follows: Problem description: After multiple calls to the 'createTCPConnectToEndpoint' and 'create UDPSessionToEndpoint' interfaces to create connection objects, the application memory continues to grow. Even if the cancel interface is immediately called to actively release the object, the memory does not fall back. 3. Confirm that there is no other code referencing these objects, but the system does not seem to automatically reclaim memory. Attempted measures: Immediately call the cancel method after creating the object, and the memory is not reduced Use tools such as Profiler to monitor memory and confirm that objects have not been released. doubt: Is this phenomenon normal? Is there a known memory management mechanism (such as cache pooling) that causes delayed release? 2. Are there any other interfaces or methods (such as release, dispose) that need to be explicitly called? Supplementary Information: Development environment: [iOS 16, 14pm] Reproduction steps: After continuously creating connection objects, the memory grows without falling back. Could you please help confirm if there are any abnormalities and the correct memory release posture. Thank you for your support!
3
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118
May ’25
TCP/IP Connection Reset --- request Timeout
send a request and it returns with timeout Integration Team are Using Fortigate as a firewall and NGINX for some reasons so we use VPN TO Access , requests always succeed but at once it failed with timeout in randomize request not specific one we are using URLSession as a network layer when I retry the same failed request again, it success the request cannot connect apigee Sec Team concern { app session hits the security gateway with lots of SYN step to try to initiate a new session and doesn’t wait for (SYN-ACK / ACK) steps to happen to make sure the connection initiated correctly and gateway consider it flooding attack }
4
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116
May ’25
URLSession download looping indefinitely until it times out
Hi, I’m trying to download a remote file in the background, but I keep getting a strange behaviour where URLSession download my file indefinitely during a few minutes, without calling urlSession(_:downloadTask:didFinishDownloadingTo:) until the download eventually times out. To find out that it’s looping, I’ve observed the total bytes written on disk by implementing urlSession(_:downloadTask:didWriteData:totalBytesWritten:totalBytesExpectedToWrite:). Note that I can't know the size of the file. The server is not able to calculate the size. Below is my implementation. I create an instance of URLSession like this: private lazy var session: URLSession = { let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.background(withIdentifier: backgroundIdentifier) configuration.isDiscretionary = false configuration.sessionSendsLaunchEvents = true return URLSession(configuration: configuration, delegate: self, delegateQueue: nil) }() My service is using async/await so I have implemented an AsyncThrowingStream : private var downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask? private var continuation: AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt;.Continuation? private var stream: AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt; { AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt; { continuation in self.continuation = continuation self.continuation?.onTermination = { @Sendable [weak self] data in self?.downloadTask?.cancel() } downloadTask?.resume() } } Then to start the download, I do : private func download(with request: URLRequest) async throws -&gt; (URL, URLResponse) { do { downloadTask = session.downloadTask(with: request) for try await (url, response) in stream { return (url, response) } throw NetworkingError.couldNotBuildRequest } catch { throw error } } Then in the delegate : public func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask, didFinishDownloadingTo location: URL) { guard let response = downloadTask.response, downloadTask.error == nil, (response as? HTTPURLResponse)?.statusCode == 200 else { continuation?.finish(throwing: downloadTask.error) return } do { let documentsURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false) let savedURL = documentsURL.appendingPathComponent(location.lastPathComponent) try FileManager.default.moveItem(at: location, to: savedURL) continuation?.yield((savedURL, response)) continuation?.finish() } catch { continuation?.finish(throwing: error) } } I also tried to replace let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.background(withIdentifier: backgroundIdentifier) by let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.default and this time I get a different error at the end of the download: Task &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt; failed strict content length check - expected: 0, received: 530692, received (uncompressed): 0 Task &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt; finished with error [-1005] Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1005 "The network connection was lost." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=The network connection was lost., NSErrorFailingURLStringKey=https:/&lt;host&gt;:8190/proxy?Func=downloadVideoByUrl&amp;SessionId=slufzwrMadvyJad8Lkmi9RUNAeqeq, NSErrorFailingURLKey=https://&lt;host&gt;:8190/proxy?Func=downloadVideoByUrl&amp;SessionId=slufzwrMadvyJad8Lkmi9RUNAeqeq, _NSURLErrorRelatedURLSessionTaskErrorKey=( "LocalDownloadTask &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt;" ), _NSURLErrorFailingURLSessionTaskErrorKey=LocalDownloadTask &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt;, NSUnderlyingError=0x300d9a7c0 {Error Domain=kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork Code=-1005 "(null)" UserInfo={NSErrorPeerAddressKey=&lt;CFData 0x302139db0 [0x1fcb1f598]&gt;{length = 16, capacity = 16, bytes = 0x10021ffe91e227500000000000000000}}}} The log "failed strict content length check” made me look into the response header, which has the following: content-length: 0 Content-Type: application/force-download Transfer-encoding: chunked Connection: KEEP-ALIVE Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary So it should be fine the way I setup my URLSession. The download works fine in Chrome/Safari/Chrome or Postman. My code used to work a couple of weeks before, so I expect something has changed on the server side, but I can’t find what, and I don’t get much help from the guys on the server side. Has anyone an idea of what’s going on?
1
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164
May ’25
Unable to Find Local Network Devices in Simulator – Permission Issue on M4 Mac, macOS 15.5, Xcode 16.1
Hello, I'm running into an issue while developing an iOS app that requires local network access. I’m using the latest MacBook Air M4 with macOS sequoia 15.5 and Xcode 16.1. In the iOS Simulator, my app fails to discover devices connected to the same local network. I’ve already added the necessary key to the Info.plist: NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription This app needs access to local network devices. When I run the app on a real device and M2 Chip Macbook's simulators, it works fine for local network permission as expected. However, in the M4 Chip Macbook's Simulator: The app can’t find any devices on the local network Bonjour/mDNS seems not to be working as well I’ve tried the following without success: Restarting Simulator and Mac Resetting network settings in Simulator Confirming app permissions under System Settings > Privacy & Security Has anyone else encountered this issue with the new Xcode/macOS combo? Is local network access just broken in the Simulator for now, or is there a workaround? Thanks in advance!
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208
May ’25
Mac can't find or register NE App Extension without App Sandbox entitlement
Recently, while developing a network extension on macOS, I encountered a very interesting issue. When the App Sandbox entitlement is included, the NE (Network Extension) can be called and run normally. However, when the App Sandbox is removed, with everything else remaining unchanged, an error occurs. The logs are as follows: Failed to find an app extension with identifier app.acmeVpnM.extension and extension point com.apple.networkextension.packet-tunnel: (null) Found 0 registrations for app.acmeVpnM.extension (com.apple.networkextension.packet-tunnel) If you add app sandbox, it will run normally. this is my container app entitlement this is my NE extension (without App SandBox) I want to know the reason for this. App sandbox shouldn't be mandatory. How can I make my NE run in an environment without app sandbox?
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170
May ’25
Getting WIFI SSID
Greetings I'm trying to get on iPad the SSID from the wifi I'm connected to. For that, I added the wifi entitlement and I'm requesting permission to the user for Location. Once I have it, I'm using the function CNCopySupportedInterfaces to get the interfaces, but I can only receive the en0, which using the method CNCopyCurrentNetworkInfo returns nil. I also tried using the NEHotspotNetwork.fetchCurrent and the SSID keeps being nil. So right now I'm drawing a blank. Is there any way to make it work? Thanks.
1
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468
May ’25
No route to host
I upgraded my Mac to Sequoia 15.4.1 an i hat to upgrade XCode to Version 16.3. I access a MQTT Broker by an sending an mosquitto_sub request to the Broker. Now its no longer possible the request fails i granted Network permission to my App
8
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190
May ’25
NWConnections in Network Extension Redirected to Proxy
We have a setup where the system uses proxy settings configured via a PAC file. We are investigating how NWConnection behaves inside a Network Extension (NETransparentProxyProvider) with a transparent proxy configuration based on this PAC file. Scenario: The browser makes a connection which the PAC file resolves as "DIRECT" (bypassing the proxy) Our Network Extension intercepts this traffic for analysis The extension creates a new connection using NWConnection to the original remote address. The issue: despite the PAC file’s "DIRECT" decision, NWConnection still respects the system proxy settings and routes the connection through the proxy. Our questions: Is it correct that NWConnection always uses the system proxy if configured ? Does setting preferNoProxies = true guarantee bypassing the system proxy? Additionally: Whitelisting IPs in the Network Extension to avoid interception is not a viable solution because IPs may correspond to multiple services, and the extension only sees IP addresses, not domains (e.g., we want to skip scanning meet.google.com traffic but still scan other Google services on the same IP range). Are there any recommended approaches or best practices to ensure that connections initiated from a Network Extension can truly bypass the proxy (for example, for specific IP ranges or domains)?
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156
May ’25
Network Framework peer to peer limitations
Hi all, We've been exploring the capabilities of the Network.framework for peer-to-peer communication and have run into some behavior that we haven't been able to fully explain with the existing documentation. In our tests, we’re working with 12 iOS devices, all disconnected from Wi-Fi to force communication over Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL). While using the Network.framework to create peer-to-peer connections, we observed that the number of connected peers never exceeded 8, despite all 12 devices being active and configured identically. Some questions we’re hoping to get clarification or discussion on: Is there a known upper limit to the number of peer-to-peer connections supported via AWDL? Are there conditions under which the framework or system limits or throttles visible peers? Does AWDL behavior vary by hardware model, iOS version, or backgrounding state of the app? Is there any official documentation or guidance around peer discovery or connection limits when using NWBrowser and NWConnection in a peer-to-peer context? We’d appreciate any insights from the Apple engineering team or other developers who have worked with larger peer groups using Network.framework in peer-to-peer mode.
4
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233
May ’25
Replacing Packet Filter (pf) with Content Filter for VPN Firewall Use Case
Hi, We're in the process of following Apple’s guidance on transitioning away from Packet Filter (pf) and migrating to a Network Extension-based solution that functions as a firewall. During this transition, we've encountered several limitations with the current Content Filter API and wanted to share our findings. Our VPN client relies on firewall functionality to enforce strict adherence to split tunneling rules defined via the routing table. This ensures that no traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel, which is critical for our users for a variety of reasons. To enforce this, our product currently uses interface-scoped rules to block all non-VPN traffic outside the tunnel. Replicating this behavior with the Content Filter API (NEFilterDataProvider) appears to be infeasible today. The key limitation we've encountered is that the current Content Filter API does not expose information about the network interface associated with a flow. As a workaround, we considered using the flow’s local endpoint IP to infer the interface, but this data is not available until after returning a verdict to peek into the flow’s data—at which point the connection has already been established. This can result in connection metadata leaking outside the tunnel, which may contain sensitive information depending on the connection. What is the recommended approach for this use case? NEFilterPacketProvider? This may work, but it has a negative impact on network performance. Using a Packet Tunnel Provider and purely relying on enforceRoutes? Would this indeed ensure that no traffic can leak by targeting a specific interface or by using a second VPN extension? And more broadly—especially if no such approach is currently feasible with the existing APIs—we're interpreting TN3165 as a signal that pf should be considered deprecated and may not be available in the next major macOS release. Is that a reasonable interpretation?
5
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268
May ’25
iPhone failure to get IP from DHCP on WiFi model RN171
I have written an App which extracts data, over WiFi, from an instrument that creates its own WiFi Hotspot. The instrument provides no internet connection. The iPad version of this App is connects fine and is assigned an IP address by DHCP server running on a MicroChip RN171 wifi module. iOS assigns an obscure IP address on a completely different subnet. I understand this is iOS' way of "Complaining" that is wasn't assigned an IP address. Consequently in the case of the iPhone I am forced to manually assign an IP address for the iPhone, the mask and the gateway. Only then is the connection successful. Anyone know why the iPhone won't talk DHCP to a WiFi module not connected to the internet? Are there perhaps some parameters that I need to adjust on either the iPhone or WiFi module?
8
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204
May ’25
NE System Extension stuck on Validation By Category
Hello, I'm having some problems when install my Packet Tunnel network extension as system extension on my mac(macos 15.0). It stuck on Validation By Category. (it works well as NE app extension on ios) systemextensionsctl list --- com.apple.system_extension.network_extension enabled active teamID bundleID (version) name [state] <...> com.myteam.balabalabla.ne (1.0/1) - [validating by category] This is my install System Extension Code sample public class SystemExtension: NSObject, OSSystemExtensionRequestDelegate { private let forceUpdate: Bool private let inBackground: Bool private let semaphore = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0) private var result: OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? private var properties: [OSSystemExtensionProperties]? private var error: Error? private init(_ forceUpdate: Bool = false, _ inBackground: Bool = false) { } // some request function i overwrite public func activation() throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { let request = OSSystemExtensionRequest.activationRequest(forExtensionWithIdentifier: FilePath.packageName + ".myNeName", queue: .main) request.delegate = self OSSystemExtensionManager.shared.submitRequest(request) semaphore.wait() if let error { throw error } return result } public func getProperties() throws -> [OSSystemExtensionProperties] { let request = OSSystemExtensionRequest.propertiesRequest(forExtensionWithIdentifier: FilePath.packageName + ".myNeName", queue: .main) request.delegate = self OSSystemExtensionManager.shared.submitRequest(request) semaphore.wait() if let error { throw error } return properties! } public nonisolated static func install(forceUpdate: Bool = false, inBackground: Bool = false) async throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { try await Task.detached { try SystemExtension(forceUpdate, inBackground).activation() }.result.get() } public nonisolated static func uninstall() async throws -> OSSystemExtensionRequest.Result? { try await Task.detached { try SystemExtension().deactivation() }.result.get() } } // And other methods I follow this post Your Friend the System Log and use this command line to collect log. After I initiated the system extension request sudo log collect --last 5m Here is my log (),I only pasted some code snippets that caught me, full version see attachments.(only include com.apple.sysextd), if need more, plz ask me. 1. Some policy missing ```log 22:00:13.818257 `sysextd` extension mockTeamID app.balabala.com.mockbalabala (1.0/1) advancing state from staging to validating 22:00:13.818263 sysextd returning cdhash for local arch arm64 of extension app.balabala.com.mockbalabala info 2025-05-01 22:00:13.818336 sysextd Extension with identifier <private> reached state <private> 22:00:13.819185 sysextd [0x9a2034b00] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.CodeSigningHelper 22:00:13.819911 sysextd [0x9a2034b00] invalidated after the last release of the connection object 22:00:13.821024 sysextd making activation decision for extension with teamID teamID("mockTeamID ), identifier app.balabala.com.mockbalabala 22:00:13.821026 sysextd no related kext found for sysex `app.balabala.com.mockbalabala` 22:00:13.821027 sysextd no extension policy -- activation decision is UserOption nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.313576 sysextd [0x9a2178280] invalidated because the client process (pid 1886) either cancelled the connection or exited 22:00:14.542154 sysextd connection to com.apple.nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.542319 sysextd [0x9a2178000] Re-initialization successful; calling out to event handler with XPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_INTERRUPTED 22:00:14.542351 sysextd connection to com.apple.nesessionmanager.system-extensions interrupted 22:00:14.589375 nesessionmanager [0x6c80e4500] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.sysextd And when i debug the System Extension code i notice the request Error catch by didFailWithError public func request(_: OSSystemExtensionRequest, didFailWithError error: Error) { self.error = error semaphore.signal() } error is OSSystemExtensionErrorDomain code 1 This problem has been bothering me for a long time, I would appreciate any help, if need more info, comment, thank you.
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
296
Activity
May ’25
Way to suppress local network access prompt in sequoia for Unix Domain Socket from swift
Hello, We have a SwiftUI-based application that runs as a LaunchAgent and communicates with other internal components using Unix domain sockets (UDS). On Sequoia (macOS virtualized environment), when installing the app, we encounter the Local Network Privacy Alert, asking: "Allow [AppName] to find and connect to devices on the local network?" We are not using any actual network communication — only interprocess communication via UDS. Is there a way to prevent this system prompt, either through MDM configuration or by adjusting our socket-related implementation? Here's a brief look at our Swift/NIO usage: class ClientHandler: ChannelInboundHandler { ... public func channelRead(context: ChannelHandlerContext, data: NIOAny) { ... } ... } // init bootstrap. var bootstrap: ClientBootstrap { return ClientBootstrap(group: group) // Also tried to remove the .so_reuseaddr, the prompt was still there. .channelOption(ChannelOptions.socketOption(.so_reuseaddr), value: 1) .channelInitializer { channel in // Add ChannelInboundHandler reader. channel.pipeline.addHandler(ClientHandler()) } } // connect to the UDS. self.bootstrap.connect(unixDomainSocketPath: self.path).whenSuccess { (channel) in .. self.channel = channel } ... ... // Send some data. self.channel?.writeAndFlush(buffer).wait() Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
1
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0
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157
Activity
May ’25
Issue with Multicast Response via NWConnectionGroup Behind a Firewall
Hello Everyone, I’m working on a project that involves multicast communication between processes running on different devices within the same network. For all my Apple devices (macOS, iOS, etc.), I am using NWConnectionGroup, which listens on a multicast address "XX.XX.XX.XX" and a specific multicast port. The issue occurs when a requestor (such as a non-Apple process) sends a multicast request, and the server, which is a process running on an Apple device using NWConnectionGroup (the responder), attempts to reply. The problem is that the response is sent from a different ephemeral port rather than the port on which the multicast request was received. If the client is behind a firewall that blocks unsolicited traffic, the firewall only allows incoming packets on the same multicast port used for the initial request. Since the multicast response is sent from a different ephemeral port, the firewall blocks this response, preventing the requestor from receiving it. Questions: Is there a recommended approach within the NWConnectionGroup or Network.framework to ensure that responses to multicast requests are sent from the same port used for the request? Are there any best practices for handling multicast responses in scenarios where the requestor is behind a restrictive firewall? Any insights or suggestions on how to account for this behavior and ensure reliable multicast communication in such environments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Harshal
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15
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1
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696
Activity
May ’25
iOS 18; Can no longer connect app to camera over Ad Hoc insecure network
We have an old iOS app and an old camera that connects using Wi-Fi either using an access point or Ad Hoc network, e.g., iPhone/iPad connects to the camera's Wi-Fi directly... How it works (old legacy app/system, which cannot be redesigned): Camera is configured to Ad Hoc Wi-Fi network (insecure TCP). iPhone connects to this insecure Wi-Fi. Camera uses Bonjour service to broadcast its IP address. App reads in IP address and begin to send messages to the camera using NSMutableURLRequest, etc. All this works fine for iOS 17. But in iOS 18 step 4 stopped working. App simply doesn't get any responses! We believe we have configured ATS properly (App Store version): In panic we have also tried this in Test Flight version: The latter actually seemed to make a difference when running the app on macOS Apple Silicon. But on iOS it didn't seem to make any difference. Occasionally, I was lucky to get connection on on iPhone 16 Pro with iOS 18. But for the 'many' iPads I have tried I couldn't. I also tried to install CFNetwork profile and look at the logs but I believe I just got timeout on the requests. Questions: Why it iOS 18 different? Bonjour works fine, but NSSURLRequests doesn't Do we configure ATS correctly for this scenario? What should I look for in the Console log when CFNetwork profile is installed? Should I file a TSI? Thanks! :)
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7
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0
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239
Activity
May ’25
App occassionally crashing while connecting to public wifi
We are using the [NEHotspotHelper supportedNetworkInterfaces] to get the Wi-Fi interface in our app, but it occasionally crashes on some devices with the following stack trace: 0 CaptiveNetwork 0x0000000221d87a4c ServerConnectionGetHandlerQueue + 0 (ServerConnection.c:509) 1 CaptiveNetwork 0x0000000221d8577c CNPluginCopySupportedInterfaces + 180 (CNPlugin.c:457) 2 NetworkExtension 0x00000001b0446618 +[NEHotspotHelper supportedNetworkInterfaces] + 32 (NEHotspotHelper.m:563) It seems like the crash is happening on apple's api of supportedNetworkInterfaces. We would like to understand the cause of the crash.
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2
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0
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95
Activity
May ’25
How can i create a WIFI Hotspot in iphone
I am creating an application that needs to connect to an Iot device, so i want to make a wifi hotspot with a custom SSID and password and WPA3. Could you please provide an example code in Objective-C to get started?
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1
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182
Activity
May ’25
Packet Tunnel Provider with Per App VPN debugging
We have a vpn app which uses PacketTunnelProvider. We also support per-app vpn for iOS, I need help with debugging steps for an issue I am facing recently. In the per app vpn, we have split tunneling: some urls should be tunneled while others should be direct, for tunneled urls/ips everything is working as expected. But for "direct" resources, I am facing an issue where sometimes I don't get an ACK back from the browser. Leading to a series of retransmissions and eventually the direct website not loading. Some more points of data: we do get true for the writePackets call, which seems to mean that the vpn app did write the packets to the TUN interface, but we don't get an ACK from the browser. I want some way of debugging this further so I can check if the browser actually got the packets. I also suspect that there might be a loop with packets (we are reading the packets we just wrote onto TUN), but can't say for sure since the issue is intermittent, in case of a loop, I would expect it to always help. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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3
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193
Activity
May ’25
CarPlay vs. AccessoryKit & NEHotspotHelper
CarPlay woes. I think it's unacceptable that it silently kills an ongoing WiFi connection that has been established using ASAccessoryKit and NEHotspotHelper which is in active use. This is responsible for angry clients because their processes break a lot when they are in reach of the connected car. (And yes, they have to be in the reach of the car, because it is a diagnostic/maintenance app for cars…) Do I really need to ask my clients to unpair from CarPlay before using our app or is there another way?
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2
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0
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109
Activity
May ’25
Memory release problem of VPN connection object
Hello, I encountered a memory management issue while developing VPN functionality and would like to seek your advice. The specific phenomenon is as follows: Problem description: After multiple calls to the 'createTCPConnectToEndpoint' and 'create UDPSessionToEndpoint' interfaces to create connection objects, the application memory continues to grow. Even if the cancel interface is immediately called to actively release the object, the memory does not fall back. 3. Confirm that there is no other code referencing these objects, but the system does not seem to automatically reclaim memory. Attempted measures: Immediately call the cancel method after creating the object, and the memory is not reduced Use tools such as Profiler to monitor memory and confirm that objects have not been released. doubt: Is this phenomenon normal? Is there a known memory management mechanism (such as cache pooling) that causes delayed release? 2. Are there any other interfaces or methods (such as release, dispose) that need to be explicitly called? Supplementary Information: Development environment: [iOS 16, 14pm] Reproduction steps: After continuously creating connection objects, the memory grows without falling back. Could you please help confirm if there are any abnormalities and the correct memory release posture. Thank you for your support!
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3
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118
Activity
May ’25
TCP/IP Connection Reset --- request Timeout
send a request and it returns with timeout Integration Team are Using Fortigate as a firewall and NGINX for some reasons so we use VPN TO Access , requests always succeed but at once it failed with timeout in randomize request not specific one we are using URLSession as a network layer when I retry the same failed request again, it success the request cannot connect apigee Sec Team concern { app session hits the security gateway with lots of SYN step to try to initiate a new session and doesn’t wait for (SYN-ACK / ACK) steps to happen to make sure the connection initiated correctly and gateway consider it flooding attack }
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4
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1
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116
Activity
May ’25
how to set both protocols and `URLRequest` to `NSURLSessionWebSocketTask`
Hi there. How can I do for the title? URLRequest seems not to have property for protocols. NSURLSessionWebSocketTask seems to have either URLRequest or protocols, but have neither of them. What I want to do is setting both protocols and headers when using WebSocket. Should I use Network.framework instead?
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2
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0
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150
Activity
May ’25
URLSession download looping indefinitely until it times out
Hi, I’m trying to download a remote file in the background, but I keep getting a strange behaviour where URLSession download my file indefinitely during a few minutes, without calling urlSession(_:downloadTask:didFinishDownloadingTo:) until the download eventually times out. To find out that it’s looping, I’ve observed the total bytes written on disk by implementing urlSession(_:downloadTask:didWriteData:totalBytesWritten:totalBytesExpectedToWrite:). Note that I can't know the size of the file. The server is not able to calculate the size. Below is my implementation. I create an instance of URLSession like this: private lazy var session: URLSession = { let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.background(withIdentifier: backgroundIdentifier) configuration.isDiscretionary = false configuration.sessionSendsLaunchEvents = true return URLSession(configuration: configuration, delegate: self, delegateQueue: nil) }() My service is using async/await so I have implemented an AsyncThrowingStream : private var downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask? private var continuation: AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt;.Continuation? private var stream: AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt; { AsyncThrowingStream&lt;(URL, URLResponse), Error&gt; { continuation in self.continuation = continuation self.continuation?.onTermination = { @Sendable [weak self] data in self?.downloadTask?.cancel() } downloadTask?.resume() } } Then to start the download, I do : private func download(with request: URLRequest) async throws -&gt; (URL, URLResponse) { do { downloadTask = session.downloadTask(with: request) for try await (url, response) in stream { return (url, response) } throw NetworkingError.couldNotBuildRequest } catch { throw error } } Then in the delegate : public func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask, didFinishDownloadingTo location: URL) { guard let response = downloadTask.response, downloadTask.error == nil, (response as? HTTPURLResponse)?.statusCode == 200 else { continuation?.finish(throwing: downloadTask.error) return } do { let documentsURL = try FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: false) let savedURL = documentsURL.appendingPathComponent(location.lastPathComponent) try FileManager.default.moveItem(at: location, to: savedURL) continuation?.yield((savedURL, response)) continuation?.finish() } catch { continuation?.finish(throwing: error) } } I also tried to replace let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.background(withIdentifier: backgroundIdentifier) by let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.default and this time I get a different error at the end of the download: Task &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt; failed strict content length check - expected: 0, received: 530692, received (uncompressed): 0 Task &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt; finished with error [-1005] Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1005 "The network connection was lost." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=The network connection was lost., NSErrorFailingURLStringKey=https:/&lt;host&gt;:8190/proxy?Func=downloadVideoByUrl&amp;SessionId=slufzwrMadvyJad8Lkmi9RUNAeqeq, NSErrorFailingURLKey=https://&lt;host&gt;:8190/proxy?Func=downloadVideoByUrl&amp;SessionId=slufzwrMadvyJad8Lkmi9RUNAeqeq, _NSURLErrorRelatedURLSessionTaskErrorKey=( "LocalDownloadTask &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt;" ), _NSURLErrorFailingURLSessionTaskErrorKey=LocalDownloadTask &lt;0457F755-9C52-4CFB-BDB2-F378D0C94912&gt;.&lt;1&gt;, NSUnderlyingError=0x300d9a7c0 {Error Domain=kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork Code=-1005 "(null)" UserInfo={NSErrorPeerAddressKey=&lt;CFData 0x302139db0 [0x1fcb1f598]&gt;{length = 16, capacity = 16, bytes = 0x10021ffe91e227500000000000000000}}}} The log "failed strict content length check” made me look into the response header, which has the following: content-length: 0 Content-Type: application/force-download Transfer-encoding: chunked Connection: KEEP-ALIVE Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary So it should be fine the way I setup my URLSession. The download works fine in Chrome/Safari/Chrome or Postman. My code used to work a couple of weeks before, so I expect something has changed on the server side, but I can’t find what, and I don’t get much help from the guys on the server side. Has anyone an idea of what’s going on?
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1
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0
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164
Activity
May ’25
Unable to Find Local Network Devices in Simulator – Permission Issue on M4 Mac, macOS 15.5, Xcode 16.1
Hello, I'm running into an issue while developing an iOS app that requires local network access. I’m using the latest MacBook Air M4 with macOS sequoia 15.5 and Xcode 16.1. In the iOS Simulator, my app fails to discover devices connected to the same local network. I’ve already added the necessary key to the Info.plist: NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription This app needs access to local network devices. When I run the app on a real device and M2 Chip Macbook's simulators, it works fine for local network permission as expected. However, in the M4 Chip Macbook's Simulator: The app can’t find any devices on the local network Bonjour/mDNS seems not to be working as well I’ve tried the following without success: Restarting Simulator and Mac Resetting network settings in Simulator Confirming app permissions under System Settings > Privacy & Security Has anyone else encountered this issue with the new Xcode/macOS combo? Is local network access just broken in the Simulator for now, or is there a workaround? Thanks in advance!
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1
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0
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208
Activity
May ’25
Mac can't find or register NE App Extension without App Sandbox entitlement
Recently, while developing a network extension on macOS, I encountered a very interesting issue. When the App Sandbox entitlement is included, the NE (Network Extension) can be called and run normally. However, when the App Sandbox is removed, with everything else remaining unchanged, an error occurs. The logs are as follows: Failed to find an app extension with identifier app.acmeVpnM.extension and extension point com.apple.networkextension.packet-tunnel: (null) Found 0 registrations for app.acmeVpnM.extension (com.apple.networkextension.packet-tunnel) If you add app sandbox, it will run normally. this is my container app entitlement this is my NE extension (without App SandBox) I want to know the reason for this. App sandbox shouldn't be mandatory. How can I make my NE run in an environment without app sandbox?
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2
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0
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170
Activity
May ’25
Getting WIFI SSID
Greetings I'm trying to get on iPad the SSID from the wifi I'm connected to. For that, I added the wifi entitlement and I'm requesting permission to the user for Location. Once I have it, I'm using the function CNCopySupportedInterfaces to get the interfaces, but I can only receive the en0, which using the method CNCopyCurrentNetworkInfo returns nil. I also tried using the NEHotspotNetwork.fetchCurrent and the SSID keeps being nil. So right now I'm drawing a blank. Is there any way to make it work? Thanks.
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1
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0
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468
Activity
May ’25
No route to host
I upgraded my Mac to Sequoia 15.4.1 an i hat to upgrade XCode to Version 16.3. I access a MQTT Broker by an sending an mosquitto_sub request to the Broker. Now its no longer possible the request fails i granted Network permission to my App
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8
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0
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190
Activity
May ’25
NWConnections in Network Extension Redirected to Proxy
We have a setup where the system uses proxy settings configured via a PAC file. We are investigating how NWConnection behaves inside a Network Extension (NETransparentProxyProvider) with a transparent proxy configuration based on this PAC file. Scenario: The browser makes a connection which the PAC file resolves as "DIRECT" (bypassing the proxy) Our Network Extension intercepts this traffic for analysis The extension creates a new connection using NWConnection to the original remote address. The issue: despite the PAC file’s "DIRECT" decision, NWConnection still respects the system proxy settings and routes the connection through the proxy. Our questions: Is it correct that NWConnection always uses the system proxy if configured ? Does setting preferNoProxies = true guarantee bypassing the system proxy? Additionally: Whitelisting IPs in the Network Extension to avoid interception is not a viable solution because IPs may correspond to multiple services, and the extension only sees IP addresses, not domains (e.g., we want to skip scanning meet.google.com traffic but still scan other Google services on the same IP range). Are there any recommended approaches or best practices to ensure that connections initiated from a Network Extension can truly bypass the proxy (for example, for specific IP ranges or domains)?
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1
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156
Activity
May ’25
Network Framework peer to peer limitations
Hi all, We've been exploring the capabilities of the Network.framework for peer-to-peer communication and have run into some behavior that we haven't been able to fully explain with the existing documentation. In our tests, we’re working with 12 iOS devices, all disconnected from Wi-Fi to force communication over Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL). While using the Network.framework to create peer-to-peer connections, we observed that the number of connected peers never exceeded 8, despite all 12 devices being active and configured identically. Some questions we’re hoping to get clarification or discussion on: Is there a known upper limit to the number of peer-to-peer connections supported via AWDL? Are there conditions under which the framework or system limits or throttles visible peers? Does AWDL behavior vary by hardware model, iOS version, or backgrounding state of the app? Is there any official documentation or guidance around peer discovery or connection limits when using NWBrowser and NWConnection in a peer-to-peer context? We’d appreciate any insights from the Apple engineering team or other developers who have worked with larger peer groups using Network.framework in peer-to-peer mode.
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4
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8
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233
Activity
May ’25
Replacing Packet Filter (pf) with Content Filter for VPN Firewall Use Case
Hi, We're in the process of following Apple’s guidance on transitioning away from Packet Filter (pf) and migrating to a Network Extension-based solution that functions as a firewall. During this transition, we've encountered several limitations with the current Content Filter API and wanted to share our findings. Our VPN client relies on firewall functionality to enforce strict adherence to split tunneling rules defined via the routing table. This ensures that no traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel, which is critical for our users for a variety of reasons. To enforce this, our product currently uses interface-scoped rules to block all non-VPN traffic outside the tunnel. Replicating this behavior with the Content Filter API (NEFilterDataProvider) appears to be infeasible today. The key limitation we've encountered is that the current Content Filter API does not expose information about the network interface associated with a flow. As a workaround, we considered using the flow’s local endpoint IP to infer the interface, but this data is not available until after returning a verdict to peek into the flow’s data—at which point the connection has already been established. This can result in connection metadata leaking outside the tunnel, which may contain sensitive information depending on the connection. What is the recommended approach for this use case? NEFilterPacketProvider? This may work, but it has a negative impact on network performance. Using a Packet Tunnel Provider and purely relying on enforceRoutes? Would this indeed ensure that no traffic can leak by targeting a specific interface or by using a second VPN extension? And more broadly—especially if no such approach is currently feasible with the existing APIs—we're interpreting TN3165 as a signal that pf should be considered deprecated and may not be available in the next major macOS release. Is that a reasonable interpretation?
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5
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268
Activity
May ’25
iPhone failure to get IP from DHCP on WiFi model RN171
I have written an App which extracts data, over WiFi, from an instrument that creates its own WiFi Hotspot. The instrument provides no internet connection. The iPad version of this App is connects fine and is assigned an IP address by DHCP server running on a MicroChip RN171 wifi module. iOS assigns an obscure IP address on a completely different subnet. I understand this is iOS' way of "Complaining" that is wasn't assigned an IP address. Consequently in the case of the iPhone I am forced to manually assign an IP address for the iPhone, the mask and the gateway. Only then is the connection successful. Anyone know why the iPhone won't talk DHCP to a WiFi module not connected to the internet? Are there perhaps some parameters that I need to adjust on either the iPhone or WiFi module?
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8
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204
Activity
May ’25