Apple’s new operating system, macOS 15 (Seqouia), was released on 16.9.2024 and has been extensively tested in a beta phase since June, but reports of network problems with the latest OS version have not stopped. Security tools from many well-known manufacturers such as CrowdStrike, Microsoft and SentinelOne are affected. However, errors can also occur in filter and protection programs from other providers. As the American portal Techcrunch reports, the causes of the problems are not yet entirely clear. Apparently there are some bugs in the macOS firewall and in the area of network connections (such as TCP). There are also increasing reports on forums such as /macsysadmin on Reddit about errors with various security applications. Some manufacturers are therefore not offering Day Zero support and are warning companies not to upgrade their endpoints now. This includes Microsoft, for example: The company is reporting crashes of the Network Extension (NetExt) when using Microsoft Defender with Network Protection activated.
SECUINFRA also recommends that its customers act with caution and not switch to macOS 15 just yet. For example, there are incompatibilities with some VPN clients and even problems with some standard tools such as Teams cannot be ruled out. According to the experience of the Berlin security specialists, it is generally advisable to wait until the biggest bugs and incompatibilities have been fixed before upgrading endpoints company-wide to the next major version. Depending on the case, this can take several weeks. Many organizations even take three months or longer to upgrade to new major versions such as macOS 15. This puts them on the safe side, as a few teething problems are always to be expected.
