Mac crashing

Need help with FileZilla Client? Something does not work as expected? In this forum you may find an answer.

Moderator: Project members

Post Reply
Message
Author
Amphidromic
500 Command not understood
Posts: 1
Joined: 2018-07-08 11:51
First name: Alistair
Last name: Edwards

Mac crashing

#1 Post by Amphidromic » 2018-07-09 10:03

I have long used Filezilla to ftp to my ISP (34SP.com). I upgraded to 3.34 last week ...and it all went wrong.

Now whenever I connect and do anything on Filezilla (such as selecting a folder) the Mac crashes.

I tried:
Going back to an older version of Filezilla.
Reinstalling macOS

Neither made any difference.

I also tried:
Connecting to a different server with Filezilla.
Using a different client (Cyberduck)

...and there were no crashes.

I have contacted 34SP and Apple - and they both deny any responsibility, so I am trying you.

User avatar
botg
Site Admin
Posts: 35491
Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
First name: Tim
Last name: Kosse

Re: Mac crashing

#2 Post by botg » 2018-07-09 11:42

Normal programs cannot entire operating systems unless there's something severely wrong with the system of the hardware.

A common cause for system crashes are third-party kernel extensions. Make sure to remove all third-party kernel extensions and try again.

In a Terminal, you should be able to use this command to list all third-party kernel extensions: kextstat | grep -v com.apple

zombley
500 Command not understood
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-11-16 15:56

Re: Mac crashing

#3 Post by zombley » 2018-11-16 20:56

We have the issue as well, on multiple machines.

I bet you have pulse secure installed.

I've tracked this crashing on my computer to the latest version. We have some machines that have an old version of pulse secure (5.3.1) and it works fine on those machines. On systems where pulse secure has been updated to the latest version (I think its 12xx or 13xxx) the system crashes when attempting to connect to certain servers (like Akamai).

I suspect it causes the entire computer to crash because PS installs something in the system library extensions, which loads on startup. Just a theory though. There are reports on the webs of PS adding a FTP scanning file or something to do with security that if disabled, stops it from crashing, but that did not seem to be a crash of the entire computer like this is.

User avatar
botg
Site Admin
Posts: 35491
Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
First name: Tim
Last name: Kosse

Re: Mac crashing

#4 Post by botg » 2018-11-16 23:52

Ah, self-proclaimed "security" software. So secure that a remote attacker can crash the machine (or worse, hijack it) once it's running the faulty "security" software.

"By increasing the attack surface we miraculously increase security" --Snakeoil vendor.

Do yourself a favor and never run third-party software that installs kernel extensions. If you want to do things that can't be done from userspace you shouldn't do those things to begin with.

zombley
500 Command not understood
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-11-16 15:56

Re: Mac crashing

#5 Post by zombley » 2018-12-10 20:42

Sorry, Pulse secure is not security software. It's an enterprise VPN system that is quite widespread.

That said, I do agree with you that kernal installs should be avoided as much as possible.

I do believe that the issue is larger than just this one program as well, I think it's interfering with many FTP programs. Cyberduck crashes as well. Granted it's most likely a problem on Pulse Secure's end, but it might be something FZ should look into as it's effecting their clients as well. At the very least, it's good to know about this issue so people who post about it can at least find a workaround.

I've contacted PS about the issue as well.

User avatar
botg
Site Admin
Posts: 35491
Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
First name: Tim
Last name: Kosse

Re: Mac crashing

#6 Post by botg » 2018-12-10 23:18

Pulse secure is not security software.
It literally has security in its name, so it is security software by definition.

zombley
500 Command not understood
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-11-16 15:56

Re: Mac crashing

#7 Post by zombley » 2018-12-10 23:54

Well sure, I guess you can argue semantics but the entire reason I posted this is that your original reply to the user above seemed to be one of disbelief. The only reason I'm writing is to confirm that this is indeed a real issue and it is indeed effecting your users.

I think its helpful for people who use filezilla to know. Indeed, I think it would be information filezilla devs would be interested in. If [when] I were a dev on a program or a troubleshooting team I would always want to know if it conflicted with another program even if it were the other program's fault (which in this case it may or may not be).

Of course the choice is yours, but to me this is an issue worth making a note of. I fully concede that text is a horrible way to communicate emotions, but to me your replys seem rather flippant and dismissive. I didn't expect this kind of response from a moderator of a bug report forum of such a well known and wonderful program. I may be wrong and you might just be light hearted, and if you are being so then I humbly apologize.

That said I would expect a bug report/support forum to at least say "hey I've noted it in the bug tracker so at least if anyone mentions it again we can...you know....help.

We post to help you help us, and in return help you, isn't that how forums are supposed to work? Anyway I do hope something constructive comes of this and someone finds the information useful when stuck in an emergency situation where a file won't transfer.

No hard feelings, just constructive criticism
Cheers

User avatar
botg
Site Admin
Posts: 35491
Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
First name: Tim
Last name: Kosse

Re: Mac crashing

#8 Post by botg » 2018-12-11 09:29

A system crash always means there's something wrong with the system, it has nothing to do with what a normal program such as FileZilla does. It's a fact resulting from fundamental operating system design principles. There's no choice but to be dismissive, I cannot fix other vendors' bugs.

In my opinion, apart from hardware failures, anything that allows userland to crash an entire system warrants a CVE number.

zombley
500 Command not understood
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-11-16 15:56

Re: Mac crashing

#9 Post by zombley » 2018-12-11 10:48

Fair enough. It's not something to dwell on.

Anyway I hope this info helps someone at least understand and discover a workaround.

For us, many of the computers were in the office and thus simply didn't need the VPN software. We simply uninstalled the offending version and fz worked fine.

Cheers

Gertjan
500 Command not understood
Posts: 1
Joined: 2019-01-11 13:05
First name: Gertjan
Last name: Fober

Re: Mac crashing

#10 Post by Gertjan » 2019-01-11 13:22

Im having this same problem. Its only Filezilla that has this behaviour, I've worked with FileZilla al my life. I do need pulse secure, guess I have to find an other FTP client.

For the record though, this makes Filezilla less attractive application so people that are using it and have this error will find something else and stay there. As long as only Filezilla is causing this problem it will be a Filezilla thing to fix or investigate. No other provider will be investigating an issue that is happening with someone else its software.

Thumbs up for the good work it the past.

User avatar
botg
Site Admin
Posts: 35491
Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
First name: Tim
Last name: Kosse

Re: Mac crashing

#11 Post by botg » 2019-01-11 14:26

@Gertjan, you have it backwards. FileZilla is not causing the problem, it is merely exposing a problem elsewhere. In other words, you are shooting the messenger bringing you the bad news.

Post Reply