macOS Catalina 10.15.6 Bug with Virtualization

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Source: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/07/27/vmware-confirms-macos-virtualization-bug-causes-crashes/

Before updating to macOS Catalina 10.15.6, if you run virtualization, think twice before doing it.

A regression in the App Sandbox component of macOS 10.15.6 is reportedly leaking kernel memory, causing macOS to crash. The purpose of an App Sandbox is to provide protection to system resources and limit an app’s access to resources, such as memory.

Another Catalina bug introduced in an update.

Nathan Parker

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OscarCP

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From what I have been hearing for quite a while now about it, I would like to skip Catalina completely, but won’t be able to skip Big Sur as well, because I am still running Mojave. So, before I make a move, I would need to understand this: although it is still early days, does it look at least possible to jump from Mojave to Big Sur, or might be necessary, or at least advisable, to step into it from Catalina?

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Nathan Parker

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You would be able to go from Mojave to Big Sur (Apple doesn’t punish you for skipping an upgrade, unlike some versions of Windows from the past).

Before Big Sur is released, it should be safe to go ahead and go Catalina to try some of your apps and ensure nothing major breaks (check to ensure your apps are 64 Bit, etc), then gradually move over to Big Sur once any bugs are ironed out.

Nathan Parker

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OscarCP

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This bug appears to impact VMware Fusion and VirtualBox, but surprisingly, not Parallels. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/vmware-engineer-confirms-macos-catalina-10-15-6-bug-causes-crashes-with-virtualization.2247570/post-28714969

I’ve had this issue on VirtualBox a couple of times when VirtualBox is left running for several hours. The entire Mac freezes and the only way out is to do a hard reboot. Considering switching to Parallels due to numerous other issues I’ve been having with VirtualBox on this machine.

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OscarCP, Nathan Parker

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I am running Win7/8.1 and Win10 in Parallels VMs on MacOS Catalina 10.15.6 ranging from Ivy Bridge (2012) to Kaby Lake (2017) Macs. I haven’t experienced any problems except with the latest Dev Channel Insider which won’t update from Build 20161 to the current Build. I don’t think that is a Mac problem.

I have noticed, however, what seems to be a memory leak in 10.15.6 (and maybe in 10.15.5 before as well). Without any VMs open, in the Mac OS, I run Firefox 79 with a minimum of 10 tabs open all day. I have noticed a slowdown in response in the browser as the up time increases. I was blaming it on FF, but maybe MacOS is the culprit. Neither the browser or the computer has ever crashed, but a reboot helps.

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OscarCP, Nathan Parker

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PKCano wrote:

I run Firefox 79 with a minimum of 10 tabs open all day. I have noticed a slowdown in response in the browser as the up time increases. I was blaming it on FF, but maybe MacOS is the culprit. Neither the browser or the computer has ever crashed, but a reboot helps.

What happens if you run 10 tabs in Safari ? If there is no slowdown then it is FF the culprit.

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I don’t use Safari.

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Nathan Parker

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Parallels does seem to have the best performance of VM tools on Macs. I’m only using VirtualBox on my old iMac since the VMs I’m running in it are free or old OS’s, and I don’t see me spending money to run those on my Mac. If I were running a recent version of Windows on my Mac, I’d definitely use Parallels over VirtualBox.

The good news is on my High Sierra iMac is I can run a VM in VirtualBox 24/7 and not have the machine crash. Performance is slow while it’s running since it’s a mini server, but at least it works. Glad I’m running them on the High Sierra iMac instead of the Catalina iMac (Pro).

Nathan Parker

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OscarCP

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Hi OscarCP:  This may be slightly off topic however, for what it’s worth I bit the bullet today and installed Catalina on my IMac.  I have had no problems at all.  All went well but I should give the disclaimer that I have hardly any apps on the computer and have a simple setup — basically just email and Firefox and Brave.  Malwarebytes asked for permission to look at everything on the computer which I granted and I did not have any legacy stuff to contend with.  I know you are holding out and thought this might give you some courage to install before  Big Sur comes along.

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Nathan Parker

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Anonymous: Thanks! And please, keep us loungers and other anonymous here posted, if anything worth knowing concerning the users of Catalina, particularly based on your own experience, comes to your attention. Otherwise, I wish you fair head winds and pleasant sailing in your updated software ship.

For my own part, Catalina has some issues, such as the one with virtualization, that give me pause. I am not planning to install Catalina for several months yet and I won’t rush to install Big Sur after that, either, because with big software changes (mainly to handle new hardware, but with support for older computers and their software as well) might come big headaches for users when they move on to such a different new version. In fact, my next macOS version, after Mojave, could be Big Sur, skipping over Catalina and installing it, instead, later next year, once it becomes clear what its main problems are and how to solve them. Or I might install Catalina a few months before Big Sur, if it turned out that this helped transitioning to Big Sur. Right now, I am quite satisfied with how things are working for me with Mojave, so I have no urgent reason for replacing it with another OS version. And, in principle, I could hold out with Mojave until just before the successor to Big Sur comes out, late next year.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Nathan Parker

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The issue with virtualization apps has been resolved in a supplemental update to 10.15.6. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2049

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Nathan Parker

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