Safari 14.0 + Mojave 2020-005 Security Update Causing Major Problems

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It looks like Safari 14.0 and Mojave 2020-005 Security Updates are causing major issues. Apple recently removed the updates from publication.

Details within https://mrmacintosh.com/mojave-2020-005-security-update-causing-major-problems-updated/

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Nathan Parker, bassmanzam, Myst, DrBonzo, OscarCP

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Thanks for the post.

Prudence in patching applies no matter which operating system you use, not just Windows. Waiting a week or two before patching NEVER HURTS.

Because it’s humans that make and release patches, and humans make mistakes. Never be fooled into thinking all patches are infallible.

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I am running Mojave and got the message that Mojave 2020-005 was waiting to install, some time ago, and was following my usual procedure of not installing anything for at least a few weeks, to see what happened first. Yesterday I noticed the patch disappearing from the list of pending updates with only Catalina now left in there. I asked around and discovered that, as mentioned in the original comment here, it had been pulled out by Apple. Fine with me. However, according to the clear and comprehensive article linked in the original comment, the latest Safari update was also problematic, if one installed it before installing Mojave’s. Having heard nothing bad about it for some time, but only that it was OK, because people who installed it were saying that it was all copacetic, I went ahead and installed the thing, and now this. To be clear: I do not use Safari because I don’t like it. I use mostly Waterfox, occasionally Chrome, and even more occasionally FireFox (that I also don’t like). So far no problems, but that can only be a problem, according to that article, if one installs the Safari  update first and then the Mojave update.

So here is my pressing existential question: when Apple brings back the corrected Mojave 2020-005 update, what should I do, having the bad Safari one already installed and no way to uninstall it? And I am not going to go and reinstall Mojave, no sir, no way. If there were a safe way to kill Safari, I would do that, gladly. But the reason I keep the thing alive and even updated is that, whether I use it or not, I understand that other things in the Mac do.

Any practical suggestions, other than reinstalling Mojave or moving on to Catalina right away, are most welcome.

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, DrBonzo

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I applied the Safari update first a couple days after it came out. Then I installed the Mojave update a couple days after it came out. Both updates on the same 2017 MacBook Air.

It does seem to take a bit longer to boot and an Avira quick scan that usually takes 2 to 3 minutes now takes 10 minutes. Other than that I haven’t noticed anything; for example a zoom meeting went without any trouble.. I haven’t run the terminal command mentioned in the Mr MacIntosh link above.

Unfortunately, the main user of this machine also put some additional software on it before I noticed the increased Avira scan time, so I don’t know what the increased scan time correlates with.

I don’t think I would recommend reinstalling Mojave (as suggested as a possible work around in the MrMacIntosh link) based on my recent experience truing to download and install it over High Sierra. In short I couldn’t do it and had to jump straight to Catalina.

So, I guess I’m going to wait until Apple comes out with a fix, and assume they’ll take into account that some folks applied the 2 updates in question in the order they came out.

It seems that Apple has been having more trouble than normal with updates lately. I hope it’s not there way of trying to pressure people into newr or newest OS versions.

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Nathan Parker, OscarCP

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I’m hoping when the corrected updates arrive, you’ll be able to download and apply them without issues. If you do have issues, definitely post here and let us know, and we’ll try to figure out what you need to do to resolve them!

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo, OscarCP

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Nathan, Thanks. But would it be OK to apply a new Safari 14.0 update on top of the old, and as it would seem problematic one, already in the Mac?

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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DrBonzo, Nathan Parker

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Should be fine. I wouldn’t see an issue with it.

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo, OscarCP

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There’s a new Mojave update out, dated October 1, and referred to as macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental Update.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211872

Doesn’t say much that’s of use, IMHO, other perhaps than that it includes the security content of Safari 14.0.

I’m assuming that this latest update fixes whatever issues resulted from installing Safari 14.0 (issued September 16) followed by Mojave security update 2020-005 (issued September 24), but it’s pretty hard to tell from the link (or maybe I don’t know the Apple special code).

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Nathan Parker, Microfix, blackbox

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Thanks for the heads up.

I’ve installed the update and can confirm it cleared up some of the more obvious issues (library errors filling up the logs, massive memory utilization, inability to create user accounts, error when running softwareupdate -l, etc..).

Release notes within the URL don’t seem to include much detail.

Release notes when installing the update mention:

macOS Mojave 10.14.6 supplemental update includes Safari 14 and bug fixes for your Mac.

Safari 14

• New tab bar design shows more tabs on screen and displays favicons by default
• Customizable start page allows you to set a background image and add new sections
• Privacy Report shows cross-site trackers that are being blocked by Intelligent Tracking Prevention
• Removes support for Adobe Flash for improved security

This update also includes bug fixes.

• Resolves an issue that could impact app performance
• Addresses a stability issue with Migration Assistant
• Fixes an issue that may prevent user account creation

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Nathan Parker, DrBonzo, Microfix

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Supplemental Update analysis:

https://mrmacintosh.com/10-14-6-supplemental-update-safari-14-released-to-fix-previous-issues/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-14-6-supplemental-update-safari-14-released-to-fix-previous-issues

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Nathan Parker, OscarCP, DrBonzo, Alex5723

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Thanks for that information. I just checked and the Mojave update 2020-005 redux is waiting to be installed, but not the Safari one. In any case, I am going to wait for a while, first to get also Safari’s and then even longer to install the new patch(es), in case someone gets hurt.

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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Look at the two links I put in the AKB this morning for Mojave.
I think one of them says the the Safari fix is included.

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Nathan Parker

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Thanks, PK. It does look that way – although it does not really say there “This is the combined fix for the 2020-005 Mojave and the 14.0 Safari patches that backfired. We, at Apple, are so very sorry for all the inconvenience we may have caused you.” But they wouldn’t say that, anyway.

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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You must not have had you glasses on when you read it

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Nathan Parker, OscarCP

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Oh, PK. No, I must clicked on the wrong links. That text you copied and pasted does not look like something Apple’s PR people will put out…

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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That’s from one of the links about Mojave I put in the AKB (as stated above). Didn’t say it was from Apple PR folks.

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Nathan Parker

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Just wondering if anyone successfully installed the following Mojave patches…

Security Update 2020-005

macOS Supplemental Update

Any issues?

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Nathan Parker

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See my post above for my experience with Mojave Security Update 2020-005 (dated 9/24/20) #2300384.

I just installed the macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental Update (dated 10/1/20) and I’d say everything is back to normal. The boot time is faster and the Avira quick scan time is back down to 2 minutes from the previous 10.

So, while I didn’t have any severe issues after the Sept 24 update, whatever issues there were are now fixed with the Oct 1 update.

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Nathan Parker, bassmanzam, OscarCP

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DrBonzo, I am a little confused. Did you install the Security Update 2020-005 dated 10/1/20 or just the one dated 9/24/20?

I understand you installed the macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental Update dated 10/1/20.

Thanks in advance.

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DrBonzo, You have mentioned earlier on that you had a problem with Mojave, tried to reinstall it unsuccessfully, gave up on it and installed Catalina instead, being successful in doing that, although it was not what you really preferred to do.

So, do I gather correctly that you have more than one Mac?

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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Yes. I deal with 2 Macs. My comments in this thread pertain to a macBook Air running Mojave. It’s a refurbished computer from Apple and came with Mojave on it, although the hardware dates from mid 2017. I have never attempted upgrading from Mojave on this machine.

The other computer is an iMAC, also dating from mid 2017 and purchased new in October 2017. It came with Sierra and I upgraded to High Sierra not long after the latter came out in the Fall of 2017. A few weeks ago I tried to upgrade the iMAC to Mojave, but could not do it and therefore went straight to Catalina. My exploits are described here:

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/questions-about-upgrading-imac-from-high-sierra-to-mojave/

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OscarCP, bassmanzam, Nathan Parker

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[DrBonzo]

@bassmanzam –

Here’s what I did.

A few days after the release date I installed Safari 14.0 (released on Sept 16). No apparent issues.

A few days after the release date I installed Security Update 2020-005 Mojave (released Sept 24). Noticed a slower boot time and a painfully slow Avira quick scan (took 10 minutes opposed to the usual 2 minutes for a quick scan of about 6000 files). I didn’t notice anything else, but then again I don’t use this Mac (macBook Air) all that often. It did seem to do alright on a Zoom meeting, however.

Last night I installed macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental update (release date Oct 1). No issues, and the boot time returned to normal and the Avira quick scan returned to 2 minutes.

The names of updates I installed and their release dates comes from this link:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

I hope this clears things up. If not, let me know and I’ll try to clarify.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by DrBonzo.

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OscarCP, bassmanzam

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Thanks for the reply DrBonzo.

Just to let you know, I too am running a macBook Air 2017.

Since I haven’t installed any updates I should be okay to install

Security update 2020-005 followed by

macOS Supplemental Update.

I usually like to install one at a time so that if something goes wrong I know which update caused the problem.

I have another question which maybe off topic but is it possible to uninstall an update if something goes wrong?

 

 

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DrBonzo, Nathan Parker

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[DrBonzo]

I think you should be OK with installing 2020-005 followed by the supplemental update, although it’s not clear to me whether both are required or just the supplemental update. In my case both were required because I had already installed 2020-005, but if I hadn’t done that it’s possible the Supplemental update would have sufficed. I would check for updates and see what patches are being offered to you and install those. I read somewhere that Apple “yanked” the 2020-005 patch, so perhaps it won’t be offered to you.

I don’t know if it’s possible to uninstall an update as it is in Windows, although I have the impression that it isn’t.

Also, I would install the Safari update even if you don’t use Safari. It’s possible Apple uses Safari to check for updates (again, though, I don’t know for sure) so it may be wise to keep it up to date.

And yes, I always install one patch at a time, precisely for the reason you stated.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by DrBonzo.

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bassmanzam

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Thanks, DrBonzo.

I am running Mojave and would think that the fact that 2020-005 got pulled out and now Apple is asking me to install 10.14.6, that is a “fix” for the 2020-005 that exists no more (and I never installed), is a hint that 1.14.6 is all one needs to install to have the Mac fully up to date, patchwise. So that’s what I am going to do when I finally get down to doing it. Maybe in another week. I am keeping one ear to the ground for whatever rumbles of trouble may be heard in the interim.

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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DrBonzo, Nathan Parker

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Thanks again DrBonzo.

I am being offered both 2020-005 (1.67GB) and the Supplemental Update (68.9MB). So I think I need both of them.

I’ll give it a few more days before I apply the updates.

 

 

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DrBonzo

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FWIW, I would install both updates also if I was offered both of them. I don’t see what could go wrong by installing them both (in the order 2020-005 followed by Supplemental Update) since even if 2020-005 causes some problems, those problems should be fixed with the Supplemental Update. And, as I described above, the 2020-005 issues I experienced were quite minor. Now, if 2020-005 had bricked my machine, I’d certainly want to investigate further. Since we’re probably both running pretty similar hardware in our 2017 macBook Airs, I would assume any issues you might have with 2020-005 would be fairly small.

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bassmanzam, Nathan Parker

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I occasionally maintain Macs for a few friends, and within the last few days, two of them have contacted me to report that their iMacs were running very slow. I first thought it might be a hardware problem, but after receiving the second report, I learned about the faulty patches that Apple had recently released. I just walked one person through the steps of applying the subsequent update, and it fixed the problem, with no apparent side effects.

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And today, I managed to apply the update to a second iMac, with success (the machine had been virtually unusable due to slowdowns prior to that). The 83 year-old owner had contacted Apple, and had gone so far as to make an appointment with her local Apple store, but no Apple people had advised her that the slowdown issue might be due to a bad Apple patch — something that could be fixed without packing up her iMac and waiting a week for an appointment.  Now, thankfully (but no thanks to Apple personnel), her machine is back to normal.

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I don’t have a Mojave system to test on or I’d test it.

On the flip side, been having major issues with Brave on Catalina this week and may have to move back to Safari as my main browser.

It’s been such a “fun” week for me technologically. First kernel panics with Webroot, multiple Internet outages, browser issues, cloud DVR issues, the works.

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo, bassmanzam, OscarCP

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Still waiting to install the patch. Plan to wait another week, at least. No reason to hurry.

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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DrBonzo, bassmanzam, Nathan Parker

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In case anyone here would like to know:

Yesterday I finally bit the bullet and installed the latest Mojave’s 10.14.6 patch without having ever installed 2020-005, the bad one that Apple pulled out recently. Also, no hint of the Safari patch. Maybe it is wrapped up in 10.14.6?

The installation was relatively painless (biting that bullet helped too).

Today, the Mac is still breathing. I fact, it is doing high bar gymnastics like it is ready for the Olympics, whenever they take place.

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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bassmanzam, Nathan Parker, DrBonzo

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To make this clear: I have only been offered by Apple the patch 10.14.6, after 2020-005 was pulled out before I even considered installing that update. Therefore, I have only installed 10,14,6 , because I only install (eventually) what I am offered by Apple.

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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bassmanzam, Nathan Parker, DrBonzo

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I am using a Mac mini 2018 with Mojave 10.14.6 Supplemental Update 2 and Security Update 2020-004.

When 2020-005 was released, I waited, as is my standard policy, to see if there is anything wrong, and lo and behold there is!

After the dust has settled, I have now installed 2020-005 onto my Mac mini using the download from Apple’s site (but decided to not install Safari 14.0, aka “Mojave Supplemental Update”) and there seems to be no problems so far.

There is nothing essential in Safari 14.0 for me to demand an update and I seldom use Safari anyway. I will wait until at least the next Safari update before I will consider updating it.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

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bassmanzam, Nathan Parker, DrBonzo

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Just checking in…

I took the plunge today and installed Mojave Security Update 2020-005.  Was relatively painless. No issues from what I can see.

Still waiting to install the Supplemental Update. I believe it contains the update for Safari 14.0.

Thanks to all for sharing your experience with these updates.

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Nathan Parker, DrBonzo

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Follow up…..

Just installed macOS Supplemental Update 10.14.6.  So far so good.

Thanks again to all for sharing your experiences.

 

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Nathan Parker

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