macOS Catalina 10.15.6 appears to have introduced an error causing system failure, especially when using virtualization software such as VirtualBox or VMware.
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Users of the virtualization software have reported that macOS 10.15.6 repeatedly crashes when virtual machines are running.
A regression in the macOS 10.15.6 App Sandbox component is reportedly leaking kernel memory, causing macOS to crash. The purpose of an Application Sandbox is to provide protection to system resources and to limit an application’s access to resources, such as memory.
VMware engineers have diagnosed the problem today and have filed a “comprehensive” report with Apple, which includes a minimal replication case that should allow them to easily identify and address the problem. The engineer cautions that “it doesn’t look good” in the future, and it will probably be up to Apple to fix the problem in a software update for macOS. It is unclear if this problem exists in macOS Big Sur developers and public beta versions.
The solution suggested by many VMware users and engineers is to refrain from installing macOS 10.15.6, or shutdown virtual machines when not in use, and reboot the host as often as possible.
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