General: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Networking DevForums tag: Network Extension Network Extension framework documentation Routing your VPN network traffic article Filtering traffic by URL sample code Filtering Network Traffic sample code TN3120 Expected use cases for Network Extension packet tunnel providers technote TN3134 Network Extension provider deployment technote TN3165 Packet Filter is not API technote Network Extension and VPN Glossary forums post Debugging a Network Extension Provider forums post Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension forums post Network Extension Framework Entitlements forums post Network Extension vs ad hoc techniques on macOS forums post Network Extension Provider Packaging forums post NWEndpoint History and Advice forums post Extra-ordinary Networking forums post Wi-Fi management: Wi-Fi Fundamentals forums post TN3111 iOS Wi-Fi API overview technote How to modernize your captive network developer news post iOS Network Signal Strength forums post See also Networking Resources. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Hey! We discovered an unexpected side-effect of enabling enforceRoutes in our iOS VPN application - video airplay from iOS to tvOS stopped working (Unable to Connect popup appears instead). Our flags combination is: includeAllNetworks = false enforceRoutes = true excludeLocalNetworks = true Interestingly, music content can be AirPlayed with the same conditions. Also, video AirPlay from iOS device to the macOS works flawlessly. Do you know if this is a known issue? Do you have any advice if we can fix this problem on our side, while keeping enforcRoutes flag enabled?

Dear Apple Developer Support Team, I am writing to inquire about the process for obtaining approval for the following entitlement in my iOS/macOS app: <key>com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension</key> <array> <string>content-filter-provider</string> </array> Specifically, I would like guidance on: The steps required to submit a request for this entitlement. Any necessary documentation or justification that needs to be provided to Apple. Typical review timelines and approval criteria. Any restrictions or compliance requirements associated with this entitlement. Our app intends to implement a content filtering functionality to enhance network security and user safety. We want to ensure full compliance with Apple’s policies and guidelines. Could you please provide detailed instructions or point us to the relevant resources to initiate this approval process? Thank you for your assistance.

We have a VPN app that uses NEPacketTunnelProvider with includeAllNetworks = true. We've encountered an issue where push notifications are not delivered over Wi-Fi while the tunnel is active in a pre-MFA quarantine state (tunnel is up but traffic is blocked on server side), regardless of whether excludeAPNS is set to true or false. Observed behavior Wi-Fi excludeAPNS = true - Notifications not delivered Wi-Fi excludeAPNS = false - Notifications not delivered Cellular excludeAPNS = true - Notifications delivered Cellular excludeAPNS = false - Notifications not delivered On cellular, the behavior matches our expectations: setting excludeAPNS = true allows APNS traffic to bypass the tunnel and notifications arrive; setting it to false routes APNS through the tunnel and notifications are blocked (as expected for a non-forwarding tunnel). On Wi-Fi, notifications fail to deliver in both cases. Our question Is this expected behavior when includeAllNetworks is enabled on Wi-Fi, or is this a known issue / bug with APNS delivery? Is there something else in the Wi-Fi networking path that includeAllNetworks affects beyond routing, which could prevent APNS from functioning even when the traffic is excluded from the tunnel? Sample Project Below is the minimal code that reproduces this issue. The project has two targets: a main app and a Network Extension. The tunnel provider captures all IPv4 and IPv6 traffic via default routes but does not forward packets — simulating a pre-MFA quarantine state. The main app configures the tunnel with includeAllNetworks = true and provides a UI toggle for excludeAPNS. PacketTunnelProvider.swift (Network Extension target): import NetworkExtension class PacketTunnelProvider: NEPacketTunnelProvider { override func startTunnel(options: [String : NSObject]?, completionHandler: @escaping (Error?) -> Void) { let settings = NEPacketTunnelNetworkSettings(tunnelRemoteAddress: "127.0.0.1") let ipv4 = NEIPv4Settings(addresses: ["198.51.100.1"], subnetMasks: ["255.255.255.0"]) ipv4.includedRoutes = [NEIPv4Route.default()] settings.ipv4Settings = ipv4 let ipv6 = NEIPv6Settings(addresses: ["fd00::1"], networkPrefixLengths: [64]) ipv6.includedRoutes = [NEIPv6Route.default()] settings.ipv6Settings = ipv6 let dns = NEDNSSettings(servers: ["198.51.100.1"]) settings.dnsSettings = dns settings.mtu = 1400 setTunnelNetworkSettings(settings) { error in if let error = error { completionHandler(error) return } self.readPackets() completionHandler(nil) } } private func readPackets() { packetFlow.readPackets { [weak self] packets, protocols in self?.readPackets() } } override func stopTunnel(with reason: NEProviderStopReason, completionHandler: @escaping () -> Void) { completionHandler() } override func handleAppMessage(_ messageData: Data, completionHandler: ((Data?) -> Void)?) { if let handler = completionHandler { handler(messageData) } } override func sleep(completionHandler: @escaping () -> Void) { completionHandler() } override func wake() { } } ContentView.swift (Main app target) — trimmed to essentials: import SwiftUI import NetworkExtension struct ContentView: View { @State private var excludeAPNs = false @State private var manager: NETunnelProviderManager? var body: some View { VStack { Toggle("Exclude APNs", isOn: $excludeAPNs) .onChange(of: excludeAPNs) { Task { await saveAndReload() } } Button("Connect") { Task { await toggleVPN() } } } .padding() .task { await loadManager() } } private func loadManager() async { let managers = try? await NETunnelProviderManager.loadAllFromPreferences() if let existing = managers?.first { manager = existing } else { let m = NETunnelProviderManager() let proto = NETunnelProviderProtocol() proto.providerBundleIdentifier = "<your-extension-bundle-id>" proto.serverAddress = "127.0.0.1" proto.includeAllNetworks = true proto.excludeAPNs = excludeAPNs m.protocolConfiguration = proto m.localizedDescription = "TestVPN" m.isEnabled = true try? await m.saveToPreferences() try? await m.loadFromPreferences() manager = m } if let proto = manager?.protocolConfiguration as? NETunnelProviderProtocol { excludeAPNs = proto.excludeAPNs } } private func saveAndReload() async { guard let manager else { return } if let proto = manager.protocolConfiguration as? NETunnelProviderProtocol { proto.includeAllNetworks = true proto.excludeAPNs = excludeAPNs } manager.isEnabled = true try? await manager.saveToPreferences() try? await manager.loadFromPreferences() } private func toggleVPN() async { guard let manager else { return } if manager.connection.status == .connected { manager.connection.stopVPNTunnel() } else { await saveAndReload() try? manager.connection.startVPNTunnel() } } } Steps to reproduce Build and run the sample project with above code on a physical iOS device. Connect to a Wi-Fi network. Set excludeAPNS = true using the toggle and tap Connect. Send a push notification to the device to a test app with remote notification capability (e.g., via a test push service or the push notification console). Observe that the notification is not delivered. Disconnect. Switch to cellular. Reconnect with the same settings. Send the same push notification — observe that it is delivered. Environment iOS 26.2 Xcode 26.2 Physical device (iPhone 15 Pro)

Hello, I am facing a validation error when uploading a macOS app with a Network Extension. The Error: Invalid system extension. The system extension at “[T] TEXT.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/company_name.network-extension.systemextension” resides in an unexpected location. The Problem: Validation fails only when the app's Product Name contains square brackets: [T] TEXT. If I remove the brackets from the Product Name, validation passes. What I've tried: Setting Product Name to TEXT (without brackets) and CFBundleDisplayName to [T] TEXT. Cleaning Derived Data and rebuilding the archive. Verified that the extension is physically located at Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/. It seems the Apple validation tool fails to parse the bundle path correctly when it contains characters like [ or ]. Question: How can I keep the app name with brackets for the user (in System Settings and Menu Bar) while ensuring the Network Extension passes validation? Is there a way to escape these characters or a specific Info.plist configuration to satisfy the validator?"

I'm using NEPacketTunnelProvider to intercept DNS queries, forward them upstream, and inject the responses back via writePacketObjects(). This works correctly for responses under ~500 bytes. For larger responses (~893 bytes, e.g. DNS CERT records), writePacketObjects() returns without error but mDNSResponder never receives the packet — it retries 3–4 times and then times out. What I have verified: IP and UDP checksums are correct UDP length and IP total length fields are correct Maximum packet size (MTU) set to 1500 in NEIPv4Settings/NEIPv6Settings Approaches tried: Injecting the full 921-byte packet — writePacketObjects() succeeds but the packet never reaches mDNSResponder IP-level fragmentation — fragments appear to be silently dropped Setting the TC (truncation) bit — mDNSResponder does not retry over TCP Truncating the response to ≤512 bytes — the packet arrives but the data is incomplete Questions: Is there a supported way to deliver a DNS response larger than 512 bytes through NEPacketTunnelFlow? Does NEPacketTunnelProvider impose an undocumented packet size limit below the configured MTU? Does mDNSResponder silently discard responses larger than 512 bytes when the original query had no EDNS0 OPT record? Is there a way to signal that larger responses are supported? Are IP-level fragments reliably delivered through writePacketObjects()? Tested on iOS 26.3, physical device.

Hello, I am facing a validation error when uploading a macOS app with a Network Extension. The Error: Invalid system extension. The system extension at “[T] TEXT.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/company_name.network-extension.systemextension” resides in an unexpected location. The Problem: Validation fails only when the app's Product Name contains square brackets: [T] TEXT. If I remove the brackets from the Product Name, validation passes. What I've tried: Setting Product Name to TEXT (without brackets) and CFBundleDisplayName to [T] TEXT. Cleaning Derived Data and rebuilding the archive. Verified that the extension is physically located at Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/. It seems the Apple validation tool fails to parse the bundle path correctly when it contains characters like [ or ]. Question: How can I keep the app name with brackets for the user (in System Settings and Menu Bar) while ensuring the Network Extension passes validation? Is there a way to escape these characters or a specific Info.plist configuration to satisfy the validator?"

I haven’t been able to get this to work at any level! I’m running into multiple issues, any light shed on any of these would be nice: I can’t implement a bloom filter that produces the same output as can be found in the SimpleURLFilter sample project, after following the textual description of it that’s available in the documentation. No clue what my implementation is doing wrong, and because of the nature of hashing, there is no way to know. Specifically: The web is full of implementations of FNV-1a and MurmurHash3, and they all produce different hashes for the same input. Can we get the proper hashes for some sample strings, so we know which is the “correct” one? Similarly, different implementations use different encodings for the strings to hash. Which should we use here? The formulas for numberOfBits and numberOfHashes give Doubles and assign them to Ints. It seems we should do this conversing by rounding them, is this correct? Can we get a sample correct value for the combined hash, so we can verify our implementations against it? Or ignoring all of the above, can we have the actual code instead of a textual description of it? 😓 I managed to get Settings to register my first attempt at this extension in beta 1. Now, in beta 2, any other project (including the sample code) will redirect to Settings, show the Allow/Deny message box, I tap Allow, and then nothing happens. This must be a bug, right? Whenever I try to enable the only extension that Settings accepted (by setting its isEnabled to true), its status goes to .stopped and the error is, of course, .unknown. How do I debug this? While the extension is .stopped, ALL URL LOADS are blocked on the device. Is this to be expected? (shouldFailClosed is set to false) Is there any way to manually reload the bloom filter? My app ships blocklist updates with background push, so it would be wasteful to fetch the filter at a fixed interval. If so, can we opt out of the periodic fetch altogether? I initially believed the API to be near useless because I didn’t know of its “fuzzy matching” capabilities, which I’ve discovered by accident in a forum post. It’d be nice if those were documented somewhere! Thanks!!

I’m encountering a persistent issue with my Network Extension (specifically NEFilterDataProvider) and would really appreciate any insights. The extension generally works as expected, but after some time — especially after sleep/wake cycles or network changes — a global network outage occurs. During this state, no network traffic works: pings fail, browsers can’t load pages, etc. As soon as I stop the extension (by disabling it in System Preferences), the network immediately recovers. If I re-enable it, the outage returns instantly. I’ve also noticed that once this happens, the extension stops receiving callbacks like handleNewFlow(), and reinstalling the app or restarting the extension doesn’t help. The only thing that resolves the issue is rebooting the system. After reboot, the extension works fine again — until the problem reoccurs later. I asked AI about this behavior, and it suggested the possibility that the kernel might have marked the extension as untrusted, causing the system to intentionally block all network traffic as a safety mechanism. Has anyone experienced similar behavior with NEFilterDataProvider? Could there be a way to detect or prevent this state without rebooting? Is there any logging or diagnostic data I should collect when it happens again? Any guidance or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm building a macOS network monitor using NEFilterDataProvider as a system extension, distributed with Developer ID signing. On macOS 26.3 (Tahoe), sysextd consistently rejects the activation request with "no policy, cannot allow apps outside /Applications" — despite the app being in /Applications and passing every verification check. I'm aware of the known Xcode NE signing bug (r. 108838909) and have followed the manual signing process from Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension. I've also tried both xcodebuild build and xcodebuild archive workflows — identical failure. Environment macOS 26.3 (25D125), SIP enabled Xcode 26.3 (17C529) Hardware Apple M2 Pro Certificate Developer ID Application (issued Jan 30, 2026 — 27 days old) MDM/Profiles None installed Signing & Verification (all pass) $ spctl -a -vv /Applications/Chakshu.app /Applications/Chakshu.app: accepted source=Notarized Developer ID origin=Developer ID Application: ROBIN SHARMA (R65679C4F3) $ codesign --verify --deep --strict -vv /Applications/Chakshu.app /Applications/Chakshu.app: valid on disk /Applications/Chakshu.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement $ xcrun stapler validate /Applications/Chakshu.app The validate action worked! App signing: Authority=Developer ID Application: ROBIN SHARMA (R65679C4F3) Authority=Developer ID Certification Authority Authority=Apple Root CA TeamIdentifier=R65679C4F3 Runtime Version=26.2.0 Notarization Ticket=stapled App entitlements: com.apple.application-identifier = R65679C4F3.dev.indrasvat.chakshu com.apple.developer.team-identifier = R65679C4F3 com.apple.developer.system-extension.install = true com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension = [content-filter-provider-systemextension] keychain-access-groups = [R65679C4F3.*] Extension signing: Same Developer ID authority, same team, same timestamp. Extension entitlements match (minus system-extension.install). Developer ID provisioning profiles are embedded in both app and extension. What sysextd logs Captured Feb 26, 2026 from log stream --predicate 'process == "sysextd"': sysextd [com.apple.sx:XPC] client activation request for dev.indrasvat.chakshu.filter sysextd attempting to realize extension with identifier dev.indrasvat.chakshu.filter sysextd (Security) SecKeyVerifySignature ← pass (×2) sysextd (Security) SecTrustEvaluateIfNecessary ← pass (×2) sysextd [com.apple.xpc:connection] activating connection: name=com.apple.CodeSigningHelper sysextd [com.apple.xpc:connection] invalidated after the last release sysextd no policy, cannot allow apps outside /Applications sysextd [com.apple.sx:XPC] client connection invalidated Signature and trust evaluation pass. CodeSigningHelper completes. Then the policy check fails. The app receives OSSystemExtensionError code 4 (extensionNotFound). What I've tried and ruled out Build process: Approach Result xcodebuild build -configuration Release + manual re-sign Same failure xcodebuild archive + export from archive + manual re-sign (per thread/737894) Same failure Minimal hand-crafted Xcode project (no xcodegen, trivial code) Same failure Both workflows follow Quinn's process exactly: build with Apple Development → copy app → embed Developer ID provisioning profiles → re-sign inside-out (extension first, then app) with -systemextension suffix entitlements → notarize → staple → install to /Applications. System-level checks: Rebooting — no change Killing sysextd — no change Removing com.apple.quarantine xattr — no change chown root:wheel on app bundle — no change lsregister -r (reset Launch Services) — no change Waiting 27 days for certificate propagation — no change Reinstalling via Finder drag-to-Applications — no change No MDM or configuration profiles installed /Library/SystemExtensions/db.plist shows extensionPolicies: [] (empty) Key observation Pre-existing network extensions activated before macOS 26 work fine on this machine. For example, Tailscale's NEPacketTunnelProvider shows state: activated_enabled in the system extensions database — it was activated on a prior macOS version and is still running. Only new system extension activations fail. I've seen similar Tahoe-specific reports from LuLu (same NEFilterDataProvider type, Developer ID distribution): LuLu #825 LuLu #831 Questions Is this a known regression in macOS 26's sysextd policy evaluation for new Developer ID system extension activations? sysextd's policy check fails after all signature and trust evaluation succeeds. Is there a separate trust/policy path that sysextd consults beyond what spctl, codesign, and CodeSigningHelper verify? Is there anything else I should be checking? I have a sysdiagnose captured immediately after the failure, a minimal reproducer project, and full raw sysextd logs available on request.

Hi, On macOS 26.4 Beta (25E5218f) （macOS Tahoe 26 Developer Beta ）, the network filter causes network failures or slowdowns. This manifests as Chrome failing to access websites, while Safari can access the same websites without issue. The affected websites can be pinged locally. My situation is similar to this situation.The same question link is: https://github.com/objective-see/LuLu/issues/836 Have you been paying attention to this issue? Hopefully, it can be fixed in the official release. Thank you.

Dear Apple Developer Technical Support, I am currently developing a macOS network filtering solution using NetworkExtension with NEFilterDataProvider. During implementation of the handleOutboundData logic, we are using the following verdict: NEFilterNewFlowVerdict.filterDataVerdict( withFilterInbound: true, peekInboundBytes: InboundPeekBytes, filterOutbound: true, peekOutboundBytes: OutboundPeekBytes ) However, we have encountered an issue when SMB traffic is involved. When SMB protocol communication occurs, the network connection occasionally becomes unresponsive or appears to stall when peekOutboundBytes is set to a large value. Through testing, we observed the following behavior: On some systems, reducing the peekOutboundBytes value allows SMB communication to proceed normally. On other systems, even relatively small values can still cause the SMB connection to stall. This behavior appears inconsistent across different macOS environments. Because of this, we would like to clarify the following: Is there a documented or recommended maximum value for peekOutboundBytes when using NEFilterNewFlowVerdict.filterDataVerdict? Are there any internal limits or constraints within NetworkExtension that could cause SMB traffic to stall when the peek buffer size is too large? Are there best practices for selecting appropriate peekInboundBytes / peekOutboundBytes values when filtering high-throughput protocols such as SMB? If necessary, we can provide additional information such as macOS version, test environment details, and logs. Thank you for your assistance. Best regards, sangho

Network is not working when over 50MB size file upload smb using NEFilterDataProvider in macOS The event received through NEFilterDataProvider is returned immediately without doing any other work. override func handleNewFlow(_ flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterNewFlowVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .filterDataVerdict(withFilterInbound: true, peekInboundBytes: Int.max, filterOutbound: true, peekOutboundBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleOutboundData(from flow: NEFilterFlow, readBytesStartOffset offset: Int, readBytes: Data) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return NEFilterDataVerdict(passBytes: readBytes.count, peekBytes: Int.max) } override func handleInboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } override func handleOutboundDataComplete(for flow: NEFilterFlow) -> NEFilterDataVerdict { guard let socketFlow = flow as? NEFilterSocketFlow, let auditToken = socketFlow.sourceAppAuditToken, let remoteEndpoint = socketFlow.remoteEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint, let localEndpoint = socketFlow.localEndpoint as? NWHostEndpoint else { return .allow() } return .allow() } how can i fix it?

Hello, I need to develop a Network Extension (Transparent Proxy) that sends data to the host application for analysis. Network Extension - XPC client Host application - XPC service I am trying to implement it with XPC. However, when attempting to connect, I see the following error in the system logs on client side. [0x1015a2050] failed to do a bootstrap look-up: xpc_error=[3: No such process] I assume the problem occurs because the Network Extension cannot find the registered XPC service. On the service side, I see the following message in the logs: 2026-02-24 13:15:36.419345+0300 localhost fgstnehost[58884]: (libxpc.dylib) [com.apple.xpc:connection] [0x100bdee70] activating connection: mach=true listener=true peer=false name=TEAM_ID.group.app_id.netfilter.xpc Entitlements Network Extension: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension</key> <array> <string>app-proxy-provider-systemextension</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>TEAM_ID.group.app_id.netfilter</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.xpc.mach-lookup.global-name</key> <array> <string>TEAM_ID.group.app_id.netfilter.xpc</string> </array> </dict> </plist> Entitlements host application: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension</key> <array> <string>app-proxy-provider-systemextension</string> </array> <key>com.apple.developer.system-extension.install</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>TEAM_ID.group.app_id.netfilter</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.xpc.mach-service.name</key> <array> <string>TEAM_ID.group.app_id.netfilter.xpc</string> </array> </dict> </plist> Server.m @interface XPCServer () @property (nonatomic, strong) NSXPCListener *listener; @end @implementation XPCServer - (instancetype) init { self = [super init]; if (self != nil) { _listener = [[NSXPCListener alloc] initWithMachServiceName: XPC_SERVICE_ID]; _listener.delegate = self; } return self; } - (void) start { [self.listener resume]; } - (BOOL) listener:(NSXPCListener *) listener shouldAcceptNewConnection:(NSXPCConnection *) newConnection { return YES; } @end Client.m @interface XPCClient () @property (nonatomic, strong) NSXPCConnection *connection; @end @implementation XPCClient - (void) connect { self.connection = [[NSXPCConnection alloc] initWithMachServiceName: XPC_SERVICE_ID options: NSXPCConnectionPrivileged]; self.connection.invalidationHandler = ^{ [[OSLogger sharedInstance] error: "XPCClient: connection can not be formed or the connection has terminated and may not be re-established"]; }; self.connection.interruptionHandler = ^{ [[OSLogger sharedInstance] error: "XPCClient: the remote process exits or crashes"]; }; [self.connection resume]; } @end What could be the root cause of this issue? Are there any recommendations for implementing IPC between a Network Extension and aß Host Application? Thank you in advance.

I’m building a macOS app with a DNS Proxy system extension for Developer ID + notarization, deployed via MDM, and Xcode fails the Developer ID Release build with a provisioning profile mismatch for com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension. Environment macOS: Sequoia (15.7.2) Xcode: 26.2 Distribution: Developer ID + notarization, deployed via MDM Host bundle ID: com.mydns.agent.MyDNSMacProxy DNS Proxy system extension bundle ID: com.mydns.agent.MyDNSMacProxy.dnsProxy Host entitlements (Release): File: MyDNSMacProxy/MyDNSMacProxyRelease.entitlements: "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.application-identifier</key> <string>B234657989.com.mydns.agent.MyDNSMacProxy</string> <key>com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension</key> <array> <string>dns-proxy</string> </array> <key>com.apple.developer.system-extension.install</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.developer.team-identifier</key> <string>B234657989</string> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>group.com.mydns.MyDNSmac</string> </array> <key>keychain-access-groups</key> <array> <string>B234657989.*</string> </array> </dict> </plist> xcodebuild -showBuildSettings -scheme MyDNSMacProxy -configuration Release : PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER = main MyDNSMacProxy5 CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY = Developer ID Application Host Developer ID profile main_MyDNSMacProxy5.provisionprofile (via security cms -D): "Entitlements" => { "com.apple.application-identifier" => "B234657989.com.mydns.agent.MyDNSMacProxy" "com.apple.developer.team-identifier" => "B234657989" "com.apple.security.application-groups" => [ "group.com.mydns.MyDNSmac", ..., "B234657989.*" ] "keychain-access-groups" => [ "B234657989.*" ] "com.apple.developer.system-extension.install" => 1 "com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension" => [ "packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension", "app-proxy-provider-systemextension", "content-filter-provider-systemextension", "dns-proxy-systemextension", "dns-settings", "relay", "url-filter-provider", "hotspot-provider" ] } So: App ID, team ID, keychain and system‑extension.install match. The profile’s com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension is a superset of what I request in the host entitlements (dns-proxy only). System extension (for context) DNS Proxy system extension target: NSExtensionPointIdentifier = com.apple.dns-proxy NetworkExtension → NEProviderClasses → com.apple.networkextension.dns-proxy → my provider class Entitlements: com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension = ["dns-proxy-systemextension"] This target uses a separate Developer ID profile and builds successfully. Xcode error Release build of the host fails with: …MyDNSMacProxy.xcodeproj: error: Provisioning profile "main MyDNSMacProxy5" doesn't match the entitlements file's value for the com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension entitlement. (in target 'MyDNSMacProxy' from project 'MyDNSMacProxy') Xcode UI also says: Entitlements: 6 Included, 1 Missing Includes com.apple.developer.team-identifier, com.apple.application-identifier, keychain-access-groups, com.apple.developer.system-extension.install, and com.apple.security.application-groups. Doesn’t match entitlements file value for com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension. Because of this, the app bundle isn’t produced and I can’t inspect the final signed entitlements. Questions: For com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension, should Xcode accept a subset of values in the entitlements (here just dns-proxy) as long as that value is allowed by the Developer ID profile, or does it currently require a stricter match? Is the following configuration valid for Developer ID + MDM with a DNS Proxy system extension: Host entitlements: ["dns-proxy"] System extension entitlements: ["dns-proxy-systemextension"] Host profile’s NE array includes the DNS Proxy system extension types. If this is a known limitation or bug in how Xcode validates NE entitlements for Developer ID, is there a recommended workaround? Thanks for any guidance.

Hello team, I am trying to find out a way to block urls in the chrome browser if it is found in local blocked list cache. I found URL Filter Network very much suitable for my requirement. But I see at multiple places that this solution is only for Enterprise level or MDM or supervised device. So can I run this for normal user ? as my targeting audience would be bank users. One more thing how can I test this in development environment if we need supervised devices and do we need special entitlement ? When trying to run sample project in the simulator then getting below error

Hi, After the release of macOS Tahoe 26.2. We are seeing memory leaks if our Network Protection Extension is used alongside the Apple Built In Firewall, a second Security Solution that does Network Protection and a VPN. Our NEXT, socketfilterfw and the other security solution consume instead of a few MB of Memory now multiple Gigabytes of Memory. This issue started with the public release of macOS Tahoe 26.2, this issue was not present in earlier versions of macOS and the same set of Software. Just testing our solution by itself will not show this behavior. I unfortunately can't try to reproduce the issue on my test device that runs the latest 26.3 beta as I do not have the third party software installed there and I can't get it. Our Network extension implements depending on the license and enabled features: NEFilterDataProvider NEDNSProxyProvider NETransparentProxyProvider For all man in the middle Use Cases we are using Network Framework, to communicate with the peers. And leaks suggest that the there is a memory leak within internals of the Network Framework. Here is a shortened sample of the leaks output of our Network extension. However, the third party NEXT does show the same leaks. More details can be found on the Feedback with the ID FB21649104 snippet is blocking post? sensitive language Does anyone see similar issues or has an idea what could cause this issue, except a regression of the Network.framework introduced with macOS Tahoe 26.2? Best Regards, Timo

Apple is encouraging VPN apps on macOS to transition to Network Extension APIs, if they haven't done so yet, see: TN3165: Packet Filter is not API WWDC25: Filter and tunnel network traffic with NetworkExtension Using Network Extension is fine for VPN apps that are distributed via the Mac App Store. Users get one pop-up requesting permission to add VPN configurations and that's it. However, VPN apps that are distributed outside of the App Store (using Developer ID) cannot use Network Extension in the same way, such apps need to install a System Extension first (see TN3134: Network Extension provider deployment). Installing a System Extension is a very poor user experience. There is a pop-up informing about a system extension, which the user has to manually enable. The main button is "OK", which only dismisses the pop-up and in such case there is little chance that the user will be able to find the correct place to enable the extension. The other button in that pop-up navigates to the correct screen in System Settings, where the user has to enable a toggle. Then there is a password prompt. Then the user has to close the System Settings and return to the app. This whole dance is not necessary for VPN apps on the Mac App Store, because they work with "app extensions" rather than "system extensions". As a developer of a VPN app that is distributed outside of the App Store, my options are: Implement VPN functionality in an alternative way, without Network Extension. This is discouraged by Apple. Use a System Extension with Network Extension. This is going to discourage my users. I have submitted feedback to Apple: FB19631390. But I wonder, why did Apple create this difference in the first place? Is there a chance that they will either improve the System Extension installation process or even allow "app extensions" outside of the Mac App Store?

We create custom VPN tunnel by overriding PacketTunnelProvider on MacOS. Normal VPN connection works seamlessly. But if we enable onDemand rules on VPN manager, intemittently during tunnel creation via OnDemand, internet goes away on machine leading to a connection stuck state. Why does internet goes away during tunnel creation?

I've been able to run this sample project with the PIRServer. But the urls are still not blocked. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/networkextension/filtering-traffic-by-url https://github.com/apple/pir-service-example I got this on the log Received filter status change: <FilterStatus: 'running'>

Hi, I tried to follow this guide: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/networkextension/filtering-traffic-by-url And this: https://github.com/apple/pir-service-example I already deploy the pir service on my server. And set the configuration on the app like this: { name = SimpleURLFilter identifier = xxxxx applicationName = SimpleURLFilter application = com.xxxx.SimpleURLFilter grade = 2 urlFilter = { Enabled = YES FailClosed = NO AppBundleIdentifier = com.mastersystem.SimpleURLFilter ControlProviderBundleIdentifier = com.xxxx.SimpleURLFilter.SimpleURLFilterExtension PrefilterFetchFrequency = 2700 pirServerURL = https://xxxxx/pir pirPrivacyPassIssuerURL = https://xxxxx/pir AuthenticationToken = AAAA pirPrivacyProxyFailOpen = NO pirSkipRegistration = NO } } But I got this error when I tried to enable the service on the app: Received filter status change: <FilterStatus: 'stopped' errorMessage: 'The operation couldn’t be completed. (NetworkExtension.NEURLFilterManager.Error error 9.)'> What does that error mean? And how to fix it?