Workaround for consent/permissions problems for VAD 3.x under macOS 11.x

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ngwese
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2021 22:30

Workaround for consent/permissions problems for VAD 3.x under macOS 11.x

Postby ngwese » Mon Sep 06, 2021 23:04

Shortly after another piece of software with a kernel extension (macFUSE specifically) was installed a previously functioning VAD 3.x install under macOS 11.5.2 started failing (on an Intel mac). The symptom was that the MergingRAVENNAAudioDriver.kext would be ignored by the kernel on boot.

After after several rounds of uninstalling and re-installing VAD (along with removing macFUSE) I could not find a way to trigger the "allow extension in system preferences" step again. Regardless of what I did the OS wouldn't move the MergineRAVENNAAudioDriver.kext from the /Library/StagedExtensions to /Library/Extensions folder on reboot.

What follows below are the rough steps taken to get things working again, I didn't jot down precise notes but hopefully this will help future travelers down this path:

(1) Clean out previous installs
- Run `/Applications/Merging Technologies/Uninstall_All.app`
- Open `Terminal.app` and clear out any staged extensions by running the following command:

Code: Select all

sudo kextcache --clear-staging

...when prompted for a password enter the password you use to log into the machine.

(2) Reboot the machine into recovery mode and turn off the kernel SIP protection as outlined in the follow instructions:
https://developer.apple.com/documentati ... protection

(3) Now with SIP disabled, boot the machine and install VAD.

(4) Reboot as instructed at the end of the VAD install and verify the system is functioning as expected (with SIP off)

(5) To re-enable SIP boot into recovery mode once again, in the Terminal within recovery run the following commands:

Code: Select all

spctl kext-consent add 6DJE6SYM8Q
csrutil enable

The first command adds consent for any extension from Merging Technologies to be loaded into the kernel (based on the id of the certificate used to notarize MT software). The second command re-enables kernel protection.

(6) Reboot - hopefully the driver is now loading correctly on boot and SIP is fully enabled.