Environment: Apple silicon host, macOS 15.6 (24G84). An arm64 command-line launcher is ad hoc signed; strict signature verification passes and its only entitlement is com.apple.security.virtualization. An Apple macOS 15.6 restore image reported a supported hardware model. The VM configuration validated with 4 vCPUs, 8 GiB RAM, a fresh macOS auxiliary store, a 64 GiB writable raw disk, and a separate read-only raw disk. No guest networking, directory sharing, or socket device was configured.
One observed sequence:
-
Load the restore image, select its supported hardware model, create the auxiliary store and disk, validate the VM configuration, then call
VZMacOSInstaller.install(completionHandler:). -
The Apple installation service starts; its logs reach RestoreOS and show a signing-server response. The host logs also record the service's sandbox denial and repeated CSSM permission errors:
Sandbox: com.apple.Virtualization.Install deny(1) network-outbound /private/var/run/systemkeychaincheck.socket Can not connect to /var/run/systemkeychaincheck.socket: Operation not permitted CSSM Exception: 100001 UNIX[Operation not permitted] RestoreOS mode device connected AMAuthInstallRequestSendSyncWithHeader: received tss response -
The guest disk gained GPT/APFS volumes and roughly 17.6 GB of data. After about 11 minutes without a completion callback, the operator stopped the launcher. Exit status 130 reflects that interruption, not a result from
VZMacOSInstaller. This launcher did not observeVZMacOSInstaller.progress. No VM retry has been performed since the incident.
The socket and its host launchd service were present; a host-only connection succeeded outside the command sandbox. The denial was recorded against Apple's installation XPC service, and restore activity continued after it. Restore-image support, initial VM configuration/attachment construction, and launcher signature verification succeeded. A later restore or storage problem has not been ruled out. XPC sandbox socket denial is proven; cause of provisioning non-completion remains unproven. There is no terminal installer result from this attempt.
Questions for anyone familiar with this installation path:
- Can denial of the installation service's connection to
/var/run/systemkeychaincheck.socketpreventVZMacOSInstallerfrom completing? - Are repeated
CSSM Exception: 100001 UNIX[Operation not permitted]messages expected or incidental here, or can they be fatal? - Without a completion callback before manual interruption, which supported progress signals or diagnostics distinguish slow valid progress, a stall, and a failure that did not surface through the callback?
- Is an ad hoc signed arm64 launcher with only
com.apple.security.virtualizationsufficient when Virtualization APIs initialize and the configuration validates? - Is there any documented additional requirement for signing identity, entitlement, hardened runtime, installation-service access, host security, restore-image compatibility, auxiliary storage, or VM hardware configuration in this path?
I am seeking interpretation of this one interrupted attempt, not asserting a framework defect or a cause for the non-completion.