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August 2, 2006 8:00 AM PDT

Security Update 2006-004 (#2): Problems with WebKit-based apps -- Safari, Mail.app, etc., fix; Inability to startup; more

by CNET staff

Problems with WebKit-based applications -- Safari, Mail.app, etc. Security Update 2006-004 makes significant changes to the WebKit framework, which provides HTML rendering and other capabilities for a variety of applications including Safari, Mail.app, Dashboard and a number of third party applications.

As such, some problems have manifested for these applications on some systems after application of the update.

MacFixIt reader Pete Loats writes:

"After installing Security Update 2006-004 yesterday afternoon I could not launch a number of applications that depend on Webkit. Mail, NetNewsWire and Dashboard all yielded the following error indicating a problem linking with the JavaScriptCore:

  • Link (dyld) error: Symbol not found: __ZN3KJS9ObjectImpC2Eb
  • Referenced from: /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/ A/Frameworks/WebCore.framework/Versions/A/WebCore
  • Expected in: /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/ A/Frameworks/JavaScriptCore.framework/Versions/A/JavaScriptCore

"As I have Firefox I was able to access the web."

Workaround A potential workaround for this issue is to install the latest version of the nightly WebKit build, though doing so may obviate Apple-created security enhancements and possibly introduce other conflicts.

Inability to properly startup Some users are experiencing an inability to startup after applying Security Update 2006-004.

MacFixIt reader Philip writes:

"I have two Macs: A 1GHz G4 PowerBook with 768meg of RAM and a Dual G5 2.0GHz with 2Gb of RAM. Update was applied without problems on the PowerBook.

"On the G5, it now refuses to boot past the "spinning cog" stage, despite repairing the drive, permissions etc in both single user mode and with the restore DVD.

"When booting to single user mode (with the sh /etc/rc command) the boot process goes as far as: DNSServiceRegister("_ftp._tcp."): -65537"

In order to resolve problems starting up after applying the update, see our tutorial "Startup will not proceed after a system or security update; solving."

Bluetooth devices not discoverable A handful of readers are reporting Bluetooth issues after the update -- particularly a problem where devices are not discoverable, but continue to function normally.

Apple made minor modifications to the Bluetooth components of Mac OS X with this update, so a few hiccups are to be expected.

MacFixIt reader Pat writes:

"After installing this security update on my original issue 20" G5 iMac with Bluetooth and completing the requisite restart the Bluetooth Setup Assistant started up and attempted to find my Apple Bluetooth (original) mouse which was not tracking.

"The Apple Bluetooth keyboard was already working normally. I switched the mouse off and on and it was still not discovered. Using the keyboard I quit the Setup Assistant and the mouse started working instantly.

'I then launched the Setup Assistant again and despite the fact that the mouse was working normally the Assistant still reported that no mouse was discoverable. Using my working but undiscovered mouse I worked backward through the Setup Assistant and clicked on the Keyboard option.

"Alas, the Apple Bluetooth keyboard is not discoverable either - although it continues to work as expected."

Keychain issues Some readers are reporting Keychain issues after applying the update.

Most of these issues can be resolved by following the procedure outlined in our tutorial "Keychain issues; resolving".

MacFixIt reader John had success with one of the workarounds -- deleting then re-establishing the problematic keychain -- listed in the tutorial. He writes:

"Immediately after installing Security Update 2006-004 for Mac OS X 10.4.7 Client PPC, Safari, Keychain and Mail started to ask for my password, but wouldn't recognize it.

"Oddly, at startup I could login into the computer, and into all other usernames using my usual password, but Safari, Keychain and Mail continually asked for, and rejected my password.

"Keychain repair didn't work. I finally went into User/Library/Keychains and removed my user file; restarted, and rebuilt the Keychain file by reentering my old password each time I was asked. This did the trick.

I have an iMac 2 GHZ PPC running 10.4.7. I did have a firewall up, but no firewire connections or anything else not recommended. I have never had this problem before after installing a security update.

Removing the update If you are unable to properly startup, launch critical applications, or are experiencing other serious issues after applying Security Update 2006-004 that cannot be resolved by already posted workarounds, you may need to uninstall the update.

This can be accomplished via the following process; adapted from our tutorial on reverting to a previous iteration of Mac OS X. Note, however, that reverting your system will remove any refinements brought by the update and leave your system open to potential vulnerabilities.

First, make a backup of your current Mac OS X installation with the Security Update applied, problematic as it may be. If there is an issue along the way, your valuable data will be safely intact in its current form.

Next, you'll need to perform an Archive and Install process to remove all of the Security Update's (and potentially problem-causing) components, and replace them with the components of a fresh copy provided by the Mac OS X disc that shipped with your system, or a retail Mac OS X disc. Unfortunately, this means you will lose some system settings and some or all third-party system add-ons.

To begin the process, insert your Mac OS X CD or DVD, as indicated above. Restart your machine and hold down the "C" key to boot from the newly inserted disc. Follow the on-screen instructions, and after accepting the license agreement, click "Options." Select "Archive and Install," and check the "Preserve User and Network Settings" option if you'd like to do so.

After the installation process is complete, you will be left with an earlier Mac OS X system that (hopefully) does not suffer from the problems generated by the Security Update. Use Software Update or Apple's download page to download the update that brings your system to a state directly prior to the Security Update

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

Resources

  • WebKit build
  • "Startup will not proceed after a system or security update; solving."
  • "Keychain issues; resolving".
  • reverting
  • Apple's download page
  • Late-breakers@macfixit.com
  • Security Update 2006-004 f...
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    Add a Comment (Log in or register) (13 Comments)
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    by lkrupp August 2, 2006 9:40 AM PDT
    MacFixit should add the following to their troubleshooting procedures...

    "After you have performed an Archive and Install you should go ahead and re-
    apply the update that was causing you problems. The Archive and Install most
    likely fixed what ever was hosed up in your system in the first place."

    MacFixit should NOT be advising users to forgo security updates. MacFixit
    should be advising users that security updates are important and that users fix
    whatever is wrong with their system and then apply the update. It is a disservice
    to users to advise them to skip a security update.
    Reply to this comment
    by vintage_gman August 2, 2006 9:40 AM PDT
    <class="merchant"><span>&#62;</span><div class="datestamp"><i>This is a reply to a previous comment by lkrupp</i></div></class><br />
    In that case, APPLE should issue this Warning for EVERY SINGLE update they
    release:

    "Apple Is not responsible for the Buggy and Flawed Updates we release with
    apparently little on no testing. If you're screwed, too bad ... you should have
    bought a brand new Mac every 60 days as we need you to."

    (For your information, I am amoung the MANY Mac users that are getting fed
    up with Apple Hosing our computers every time they issue anything to do
    with software and OS heXed.)
    Reply to this comment
    by Stavros Karatsoridis August 2, 2006 9:40 AM PDT
    <class="merchant"><span>&#62;&#62;</span><div class="datestamp"><i>This is a reply to a previous comment by vintage_gman</i></div></class><br />
    If that's the case, tell me why I have NEVER had problems with ANY update Apple has posted?
    Reply to this comment
    by Stavros Karatsoridis August 2, 2006 9:40 AM PDT
    <class="merchant"><span>&#62;&#62;&#62;</span><div class="datestamp"><i>This is a reply to a previous comment by Stavros Karatsoridis</i></div></class><br />
    Also, often times, doing an archive and install and then reinstalling the "problem update" really WILL solve any problems you may be having.

    Apple cannot test EVERY possible system configuration out there, so they usually test on a clean, unmodified system. 99% of the time people will have no problems installing on their systems, and the majority of the other 1% could see their problems go away on reinstalling the system plus any updates.

    Also, always back up before installing an update so if you do have problems (and don't have time to properly investigate) you can easily roll them back.
    Reply to this comment
    by billrich August 2, 2006 10:32 AM PDT
    The process for uninstalling a security update (or anything else affecting the
    OS) is so time-consuming that I long since adopted an alternative. I have two
    hard drives in my PowerMac G4. Each is partitioned. The larger drive
    contains the standard start-up partition AND a partition for a back-up,
    among others. The smaller drive also has a partition for a back-up of the
    start-up disk. Before installing anything to the start-up disk, I make sure it is
    backed up to both, with permissions repaired, etc. Then, if anything goes
    wrong with the start-up disk after installation, I can quickly choose another
    disk with the last good system as the start-up disk. If I can't find out what
    was wrong with the modified disk, I just back-up the new start-up disk to it.
    SuperDuper is my back-up method of choice. (I also back the system up at
    least once a week to an Iomega Peerless drive and take that home, just in
    case...)

    Why all the back-up? Maybe because when I was in college in the early 60s,
    one of my professors lost the only copy of a finished hand-written book
    manuscript in a fire, after which he became mentally ill. In the days before
    even copying machines he had an excuse for no back-up. Today, nobody
    with a computer has any excuse for not backing up.
    Reply to this comment
    by JRG41 August 2, 2006 10:40 AM PDT
    USB devices are still not being recognized. Each must be unplugged and
    replugged to make them work.
    I unplugged everyUSB devise I could prior to the update.
    Reply to this comment
    by InklingBooks August 2, 2006 10:57 AM PDT
    After the upgrade in Safari line wraps aren't working for some text on about
    1/3 of the web pages visited including:

    http://dealmac.com/

    Leaving the pages unreadable. Since Firefox doesn't have the problem, I'll be
    shifting to it until Apple fixes this one (and maybe permanently). I'm
    sending Apple a bug report on this one.

    And it seems to depend on the HTML coding. Macfixit.com appears OK. Only
    some text on some web pages overlaps and become unreadable.
    Reply to this comment
    by DJRizzo August 2, 2006 2:34 PM PDT
    Since installing the update I have had <b>SIX Entourage crashes</b> in about as many hours. So far the crashes have only occurred when Entourage is hidden (I clicked the red x).

    Additionally, Entourage was removed as my default email client and was also removed from the default email client drop-down list in Apple Mail. I had to browse for it again to reassign it.

    The security update is the only change made to my G4 PowerBook since yesterday when Entourage ran all day without a problem.
    Reply to this comment
    by golf25radioman August 2, 2006 2:38 PM PDT
    Not sure if this is connected, but after the update I had problems logging into a
    support board (http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/). I tried "lost password" to no
    avail, but tried FireFox and had no problem logging in. Guess for now I will have
    to use FireFox to log in there.

    Tom

    ---
    G5 Dual 1.8 GHz/80 &amp; 160 GB SATA/2 GB RAM
    G4 15&quot; 1.67 GHz/80 GB/1.5 GB RAM
    G4 AGP/1.4 GHz/80 GB/2 GB RAM
    G4 Wallstreet/ 500 MHz
    Reply to this comment
    by FireTeacher August 2, 2006 5:51 PM PDT
    OSX 10.3.9 - For some reason, my G4 Sawtooth suffered from the hosed Safari/Mail problem ever since upgrading to Panther, while my G3 Pismo did not (identical installs, so far as I could tell). This update fixed the Safari/Mail problem, and has not negatively affected anything that I can tell.
    Reply to this comment
    by Joe Saponare August 3, 2006 7:07 AM PDT
    When a device is functioning properly (such as the reader's mouse and keyboard
    mentioned in the article), it is already paired with the computer and therefore it
    is no longer discoverable. This is normal.
    Reply to this comment
    by daojman7 August 4, 2006 1:39 PM PDT
    Had a computer with the webkit issues. Thought I would try reinstalling the 10.4.7 Combo Updater. The problems were no longer problems... Maybe it was too easy....
    Reply to this comment
    by Staggie August 5, 2006 9:33 PM PDT
    I had some really odd problems since the update. Anyone else see anything
    like this?

    Many of my 3rd party applications started to hang at launch (long enough
    that I had to force quit. It affected all of my Omni apps, MS RDC, and Firefox.
    ClearDoc would not launch, Windowshade was not active, and the application
    enhancer preference pane failed to open. Pathfinder 4 would launch but
    would not display any directories. MS Office and Adobe apps are not affected,
    nor are any of Apple apps.
    Permissions repair made no difference, and disk utility runs clean.
    Reinstalling each app resolves the problem. I have never seen such unusual
    behavior. I expect that I'll run into additional apps as I access less frequently
    accessed programs.
    Reply to this comment
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