Security Update 2020-005 bugs—don't install!

TidBITS Talk
1

G’day Folks

I’m running macOS Mojave 10.14.6 on 2017 27-inch Retina 5K iMac.

Received a notification yesterday that Security Update 2020-005 was available so installed it.

A while later I wanted to do some (unrelated) testing so went into System Preferences to set up a new user account named “Test60”. User added OK but did not appear listed in the Users & Groups preference pane. Tried again and got an error message saying that user already exists.

Tried adding a couple more new (standard and admin) Users with different names. Same result. Seem to add OK but aren’t listed in Users & Groups, nor do they appear on the login window (which is set to display list of users) or under Macintosh HD/Users.

Pre-exisiting users all appear and function OK.

The newly added Users do appear in Terminal when I run “dscl . list /Users”. Trying various Terminal unflag, unhide, etc commands makes no difference.

Ran through the usual troubleshooting: reboot, log into different (pre-exisiting) admin user, First Aid from Recovery Mode, reset NVRAM, etc, etc.

Spent two and a half hours on the phone with Apple Support – screen sharing and working through various troubleshooting/diagnostic options to no avail. Issue has been escalated to Apple Engineering with follow-up scheduled by Apple for next week.

I vaguely recall reading about a similar issue a few years back which was fixed when Apple issued a supplemental.

Wondering whether perchance anyone here who’s running 10.14.6 on a similar machine and has already installed Security Update 2020-005 would mind adding a new user account to see what happens.

Thanks n cheers, Gobit

2 Likes
2

I just tried adding a user on a MacBook Air with 10.14.6 and the latest security update and I can confirm that I am seeing the same thing - the user is not listed in Users & Groups or on the logon page. And if I change login options to “name & password” from “list of users” I cannot log in as the new user with the proper name/password.

1 Like
3

I hadn’t yet installed the Security Update on my MacBookPro 2017 running 10.14.6, so I created a new user (Test Matrix), it exhibited normal behavior, even logged in as new user to make sure.

Then installed the Security Update, and attempted to create another new user (Test Matrix2), and as you discovered, the new user does not show up in the Users & Groups.

updated:
probably not relevant, but adding anyway
When I created a new user prior to installing the Security Update, I got a notice from Little Snitch asking for permission for trustd to connect to ocsp.apple.com (screenshot below)

Screen Shot 2020-09-26 at 10.43.57 AM
Screen Shot 2020-09-26 at 10.43.57 AM670×515 61.4 KB

After the Security Update, I did not get this notice from Little Snitch when creating a new user.

2 Likes
4

Thanks very much Doug and Seth, I’ll point Apple Engineering to this thread and let them know the issue’s not restricted to just my set-up

Cheers, Gobit

1 Like
5

Looks like the problem may be a bit bigger:

1 Like
6

I was hit on this with a Mac I wiped on Friday. Today could not run Migration Assistant nor add a user account. Since there was no data on this iMac I am wiping it now. 2013 iMac with fusion drive.

7

Apple released a security update for Mojave users a day or two ago. It is causing major problems for users and it is strongly recommended that you avoid it entirely:

I made the mistake of installing it, and now my iMac is running slow and flaky. I REALLY regret installing it.

1 Like
8

By coincidence I wiped an iMac Friday and installed 10.14.6 and all updates. This morning I could not use Migration Assistant nor could I create a new user account. I couldn’t find anything in my searches on the web but this article explains why I encountered problems. Thank you for posting it.

9

What went wrong with Mojave Security Update 2020-005, and Catalina 10.15.7?

10

Hmmm, this discussion should also include the simultaneous release of Safari 14, which for many on Mojave was a disaster piled upon more disasters, all occurring at once. And for those unfortunates, no clear cause of the problems.

11

Indeed, but please keep the discussion of Safari 14 in that topic:

12

Indeed, there has been mounting evidence provided by Enterprise Mac IT testing that these issues are only showing up when Safari 14 is installed before Security Update 2020-005 (or 2020-004 and probably even earlier Security Updates), the Security Update is apparently overwriting some portions of WebKit which impacts Safari, Mail and other functions that use WebKit in order to function properly.

2 Likes
13

Update:
Apple rang as scheduled. Spent another couple of hours testing various engineering-directed options. Unsuccessful. Further diagnostics run, follow-up call scheduled for 5 October.

1 Like
14

Mojave 2020-005 Security Update no longer shows in Software Update for me. Looks like it has been pulled ("page you’re looking for can’t be found):

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2054?locale=en_CA

Good riddance.

15

Both Security Update 2020-005 (Mojave) and Safari 14 for Mojave were pulled from the Software Update catalog yesterday. They should return after fixed shortly.

16

Late this evening, Security Update 2020-005 (Mojave) and macOS Supplemental Update 10.14.6 (which includes Safari 14) was re-posted to the Software Update catalog and should be available to users. So far I’m only seeing the Supplemental, but it probably needs to be installed first.

I recommend most users wait for the experience of others before installing either of these.

1 Like
17

Update: Have now installed macOS Supplemental Update 10.14.6

I can now:

  • create new admin and standard User Accounts via System Preferences
  • see new User Accounts in System Preferences > Users & Groups and Macintosh HD/Users
  • log into the new User Accounts and they seem to function OK
  • delete the newly created User Accounts via System Preferences

I cannot see the test User Accounts created between installing the original Security Update 2020-005 last week and installing macOS Supplemental Update 10.14.6 in either System Preferences > Users & Groups or Macintosh HD/Users. However, they remain visible using Terminal <dscl . list /users>. They can be deleted using Terminal <sudo dscl . delete /users/Username>

Please note: the inability to see newly created users was the only bug I had. I don’t know whether the Supplemental Update has fixed other problems reported by various people.

Cheers, Gobit

1 Like
18

As far as I’ve been able to determine, the Supplement mostly (maybe only) provides an update to Safari 14 that’s designed to withstand the installation of Security Update 2020-005 (Mojave) which you should be able to see available now that you’ve installed the Supplement. I don’t believe it corrected any of the issues caused by installing the original Security Update 2020-005, so it’s not surprising that new user accounts are working normally. You will need to re-install Security Update 2020-005 before you can determine that the issue is resolved.

19

Hmm, no Security Update 2020-005 or any other updates appearing in Software Update for me (besides the usual Catalina upgrade option)

20

Confirmed. Not immediately seeing any reason after scanning 001-48327.English.dist file. I notified my sources and will let them try to figure it out as it’s too late for me tonight.