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Document hangdump known issues on macos #50346

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Document hangdump known issues on macos
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42 changes: 42 additions & 0 deletions docs/core/testing/microsoft-testing-platform-extensions-diagnostics.md
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Expand Up @@ -61,3 +61,45 @@ To configure the hang dump file generation, use the following options:
| `-⁠-hangdump-filename` | Specifies the file name of the dump. |
| `--hangdump-timeout` | Specifies the timeout after which the dump is generated. The timeout value is specified in one of the following formats:<br/>`1.5h`, `1.5hour`, `1.5hours`<br/>`90m`, `90min`, `90minute`, `90minutes`<br/>`5400s`, `5400sec`, `5400second`, `5400seconds`. Defaults to `30m` (30 minutes). |
| `--hangdump-type` | Specifies the type of the dump. Valid values are `Mini`, `Heap`, `Triage`, `Full`. Defaults as `Full`. For more information, see [Types of mini dumps](../diagnostics/collect-dumps-crash.md#types-of-mini-dumps). |

### Considerations for macOS

Taking dumps when running on macOS can be problematic. If you found that a dump has started to be taken, but never finishes, in CI environments where you don't have direct access to the machine, this most likely means that macOS showed a popup asking for authentication and is waiting for you to type a password, which isn't feasible to do in such environments. The issue might also manifest as an error similar to the following:

```output
[createdump] This failure may be because createdump or the application is not properly signed and entitled.
```

To work around this, there are two options:

- Set `UseAppHost` MSBuild property to false, which will cause the managed assembly to run under `dotnet` instead of the apphost executable. However, this doesn't work for xunit.v3. See [xunit/xunit#3432 GitHub issue](https://github.com/xunit/xunit/issues/3432).
- Apply a workaround similar to the following:

```xml
<Target Name="WorkaroundMacOSDumpIssue" AfterTargets="Build" Condition="$([MSBuild]::IsOSPlatform('OSX')) AND '$(UseAppHost)' != 'false' AND '$(OutputType)' == 'Exe' AND '$(TargetFramework)' != '' AND '$(RunCommand)' != '' AND '$(RunCommand)' != 'dotnet' AND '$(IsTestingPlatformApplication)'=='true'">
<Exec Command="codesign --sign - --force --entitlements '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)mtp-test-entitlements.plist' '$(RunCommand)'" />
</Target>
```

and the contents of `mtp-test-entitlements.plist` should be:

```xml
<?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.security.cs.allow-jit</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.debugger</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.get-task-allow</key>
<true/>
</dict>
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Copilot AI Dec 4, 2025

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The suggested entitlements in mtp-test-entitlements.plist (com.apple.security.get-task-allow, com.apple.security.cs.debugger, com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation, com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables, com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit) significantly weaken macOS code signing protections; if applied broadly (as later suggested via Directory.Build.targets), this can enable debugging and task access on production binaries, facilitating code injection and tampering. An attacker or unprivileged process could leverage these entitlements to attach, modify, or bypass library validation in production environments. Limit this workaround strictly to test/debug builds (e.g., add Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' AND '$(IsTestingPlatformApplication)'=='true'"), avoid com.apple.security.get-task-allow and com.apple.security.cs.debugger for any release builds, and ensure it is not placed in Directory.Build.targets for projects that produce deployable artifacts.

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 Dec 4, 2025

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@blowdart Please take a look. The condition IsTestingPlatformApplication should limit the workaround only to test applications. Is there any security considerations to document more clearly here?

</plist>
```

You can place the `WorkaroundMacOSDumpIssue` MSBuild target in the `Directory.Build.targets` file so that it applies to all projects.