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Document hangdump known issues on macos #50346

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Document hangdump known issues on macos
Youssef1313 Dec 4, 2025
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42 changes: 42 additions & 0 deletions docs/core/testing/microsoft-testing-platform-extensions-diagnostics.md
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Expand Up @@ -61,3 +61,45 @@ To configure the hang dump file generation, use the following options:
| `-⁠-hangdump-filename` | Specifies the file name of the dump. |
| `--hangdump-timeout` | Specifies the timeout after which the dump is generated. The timeout value is specified in one of the following formats:<br/>`1.5h`, `1.5hour`, `1.5hours`<br/>`90m`, `90min`, `90minute`, `90minutes`<br/>`5400s`, `5400sec`, `5400second`, `5400seconds`. Defaults to `30m` (30 minutes). |
| `--hangdump-type` | Specifies the type of the dump. Valid values are `Mini`, `Heap`, `Triage`, `Full`. Defaults as `Full`. For more information, see [Types of mini dumps](../diagnostics/collect-dumps-crash.md#types-of-mini-dumps). |

### Considerations for macOS

Taking dumps when running on macOS can be problematic. If you found that a dump has started to be taken, but never finishes, in CI environments where you don't have direct access to the machine, this most likely means that macOS showed a popup asking for authentication and is waiting for you to type a password, which is not feasible to do in such environments. The issue might also manifest as an error similar to the following:

```output
[createdump] This failure may be because createdump or the application is not properly signed and entitled.
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Missing Oxford comma in the list. Change "signed and entitled" to "signed, and entitled" according to the mandatory Oxford comma rule in the Markdown style guidelines.

Copilot generated this review using guidance from repository custom instructions.
```

To work around this, there are two options:

- Set `UseAppHost` MSBuild property to false, which will cause the managed assembly to run under `dotnet` instead of the apphost executable. However, this doesn't work for xunit.v3. See [xunit/xunit#3432 GitHub issue](https://github.com/xunit/xunit/issues/3432).
- Apply a workaround similar to the following:
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Would it be a simpler workaround to force UseAppHost=false (e.g. by passing it to msbuild as /p:UseAppHost=false) so that the xunit block does not kick in? Or is there something that actually does not work in xunit3 + MTP without apphost?

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 Dec 4, 2025 •
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xunit.v3 blocks completely the ability to set UseAppHost to false.

https://github.com/xunit/xunit/blob/5607c6bd70892605015aeaeca1d330f4a746f71f/src/xunit.v3.core/Package/buildTransitive/xunit.v3.core.targets#L16

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If you pass /p:UseAppHost=false on the command line, they cannot override it - the line in xunit targets that sets it to true is going to be ignored,

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 Dec 4, 2025

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@jkotas xunit doesn't set it to true, they produce an error when it's set to false.


```xml
<Target Name="WorkaroundMacOSDumpIssue" AfterTargets="Build" Condition="$([MSBuild]::IsOSPlatform('OSX')) AND '$(UseAppHost)' != 'false' AND '$(OutputType)' == 'Exe' AND '$(TargetFramework)' != '' AND '$(RunCommand)' != '' AND '$(RunCommand)' != 'dotnet' AND '$(IsTestingPlatformApplication)'=='true'">
<Exec Command="codesign --sign - --force --entitlements '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)mtp-test-entitlements.plist' '$(RunCommand)'" />
</Target>
```

and the contents of `mtp-test-entitlements.plist` should be:

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.cs.debugger</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.get-task-allow</key>
<true/>
</dict>
Comment on lines +91 to +101
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The suggested entitlements in mtp-test-entitlements.plist (com.apple.security.get-task-allow, com.apple.security.cs.debugger, com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation, com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables, com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit) significantly weaken macOS code signing protections; if applied broadly (as later suggested via Directory.Build.targets), this can enable debugging and task access on production binaries, facilitating code injection and tampering. An attacker or unprivileged process could leverage these entitlements to attach, modify, or bypass library validation in production environments. Limit this workaround strictly to test/debug builds (e.g., add Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' AND '$(IsTestingPlatformApplication)'=='true'"), avoid com.apple.security.get-task-allow and com.apple.security.cs.debugger for any release builds, and ensure it is not placed in Directory.Build.targets for projects that produce deployable artifacts.

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 Dec 4, 2025

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@blowdart Please take a look. The condition IsTestingPlatformApplication should limit the workaround only to test applications. Is there any security considerations to document more clearly here?

</plist>
```

The MSBuild target above can be placed in Directory.Build.targets so that it applies to all projects.
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The sentence "The MSBuild target above can be placed in Directory.Build.targets so that it applies to all projects." is more than three words and should end with a period according to the Markdown style guidelines.

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