YouTube videos showcasing the bug's two variants are available below. While this issue appears to have been fixed in recent macOS versions, Edwards says that macOS 10.13.3 (and probably earlier) will also log the encryption password when the user encrypts an already-existing APFS-formatted external volume (instead of creating one).īoth issues are edge cases, affecting users that own external storage devices and use APFS formatting, so it is not a wide-reaching problem, for the time being. Proceed and follow the next steps for creating.
Open the Finder window and navigate to Applications > Install macOS Sierra. Adding an external hard drive to your Mac is a cost-effective and easy way to expand your storage capacity. I eventually managed to erase/format the new drive using disk utility on an old iBook G4 running OS X 10.4.11. The best external hard drives can add more storage to almost any Mac. According to Edwards (and others') tests, this issue appears to affect only macOS 10.13 and 10.13.1, but not recent versions. SoftwaremacOS Sierra 10.12 installer app StorageUSB 3.0 drive of 8GB or more, or an external USB hard drive, or a Firewire or Thunderbolt external hard drive A copy of DiskMaker X Locate the macOS Sierra Installer. Is your external hard drive running slow when open or transfer files on Mac You need to follow tips here to fix slow external hard drive on Mac and improve the slow Mac external hard drive. Just bought a new Elements 4Tb and when I try to erase/format the drive using Disk Utility the erase fails with mediakit reports not enough space on device for requested operation I have an older WD 4Tb drive which works fine on my iMac. The bug affects versions of macOS High Sierra from v10.13 to the recent v10.13.3, but in different manners.Įdwards says that whenever a user creates a new APFS volume and chooses an encryption password, the Disk Utility.app will log the encryption password in the unified OS log. The bug affects different OS versions in different manners This bug goes against all well-established Apple development and security rules, according to which apps and utilities should use the Keychain app to store valuable information, and should definitely avoid storing passwords in cleartext.
The issue, if exploited, could allow an attacker easy access to the encryption password of encrypted APFS external volumes, such as USB thumb drives, portable hard drives, and other external storage mediums. This time around, according to a report from Mac forensics expert Sarah Edwards, recent versions of macOS High Sierra are logging encryption passwords for APFS-formatted external drives in plaintext, and storing this information in non-volatile (on-disk) log files. However, remember that using the external device as a bootable drive will slow down the functioning of the system. Besides, recovering data from formatted hard drive will be introduced.
MacOS High Sierra users are once again impacted by a major APFS bug after two other major vulnerabilities affected Apple's new filesystem format in the last five months. How to Use macOS High Sierra with the Bootable Hard Drive As you now have macOS High Sierra in the form of bootable hard drive, you can use it with another compatible Mac or when the situation demands. Here you'll learn how to reformat an external hard drive so that you can use it on your Mac.