All About Notarization

I highly recommend watching this session if you ever run into any problems regarding notarization since this is a complex topic and this video is packed of useful examples

Notarization identifies and blocks malicious software prior to distribution. It is NOT an App Review!

comes on top of your Developer ID - no new registration

Notary Service performs automated security checks

Process Local Development > Distribution Signing > Notarization Attachment > Distribution via Website

On App Download the Notarization attached to your app is checked by Notarization Service. Gatekeeper permits/denies installation.

Benefits

• prevents the developer from shipping a malicious dependency

• apps with the hardened runtime are more secure by default

• users are ore likely to try and download new software

• audit trail of software notarized by your Developer ID account

Software signed on or after June 1, 2019 must adopt

• complete and correct signing

• the hardened runtime

Complete and Correct Signing involves

• signing everything (Bundles, Mach-Os, Installer packages) with your Developer ID Application Certificate and include a secure timestamp

• Executables must opt-in the hardened runtime

• Sign Installer Packages with Your Developer ID Installer Certificate

• Sign Disk images with Application Certificate and include secure timestamp

• Enable Xcode Automatic Codesigning - it does it for you

Hardened Runtime extends macOS system integrity protection features to your apps

• Runtime code signing enforcement

  • configurable via entitlements

  • Adopt via codesign --sign "Developer ID" --timestamp --options runtime My.app

  • Verify via codesign --display --verbose=2 My.app and make sure runtime is printed next to flags

  • Look into 12:04 for detailed description

  • Look into 12:22 if your app crashes because you use JIT

  • Look into 13:54 if your app crashes because you patch system frameworks - don’t do this

  • If your app crashes on auto-update: create a new file when you update a signed file

• Library Validation

  • protects your app from code injection and dylibs hijacking

  • prevents loading unsigned or adhoc-signed code

  • Detailed solutions for common issues can be fount at 16:00, e.g. App loads plugins from other devs in-process,

• DYLD Variable Environment Protection

  • can inject libs and modify framework and lib search path - useful for testing

  • Blocks DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES, DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH by default

  • Don’t use DYLD environment variables when shipping to customers

  • You can use com.apple.security.get-task-allow entitlement during debug build

• Debugging Protection

  • disables debugging hardened processes by default

  • You can use com.apple.security.get-task-allow entitlement during debug build to get around this - Xcode does it automatically

• Protected Resource Access

  • App needs to declare its intent to access protected resources, e.g. location, photos, contacts, …

  • settable via entitlements - see 20:46

• Use only entitlements really needed

• Set those entitlements only for processes that need them

• Set resource-access entitlements only on main bundle; get inherited by other bundles

Notarization can be done easily via the Archive menu from within Xcode

xcrun altool --notarize-app ... to submit an app via command line and check via xcrun altool --notarization-info <request_id_from_submission> … for the current status

Use xcrun altool --notarization-history … to get on overview of all the software submitted on your account