macOS Process Collector

Overview

The macOS Process Collector provides enhanced process monitoring capabilities specifically designed for macOS systems. It leverages well-maintained third-party crates to deliver comprehensive process metadata collection, security analysis, and system integration while maintaining safety and accuracy.

Key Features

Enhanced Third-Party Crate Integration

The macOS collector uses a carefully selected set of third-party crates instead of direct system calls:

sysinfo - Cross-platform process enumeration with macOS optimizations
security-framework - macOS Security framework integration for code signing and entitlements
core-foundation - Core Foundation API access for system integration
mac-sys-info - System information and SIP (System Integrity Protection) awareness

Safety and Reliability

No unsafe code - All operations use safe Rust abstractions
Graceful error handling - Comprehensive error handling with structured error types
Graceful degradation - Continues with reduced functionality when APIs are unavailable
Sandboxing support - Handles macOS app sandboxing restrictions properly

Core Capabilities

Process Enumeration

The collector provides comprehensive process enumeration with macOS-specific enhancements:

use procmond::macos_collector::{EnhancedMacOSCollector, MacOSCollectorConfig};
use procmond::process_collector::ProcessCollectionConfig;

async fn example_macos_collection() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let base_config = ProcessCollectionConfig::default();
    let macos_config = MacOSCollectorConfig {
        collect_entitlements: true,
        check_sip_protection: true,
        collect_code_signing: true,
        collect_bundle_info: true,
        handle_sandboxed_processes: true,
    };

    let collector = EnhancedMacOSCollector::new(base_config, macos_config)?;
    let (events, stats) = collector.collect_processes().await?;
    Ok(())
}

Security Analysis

Entitlements Detection

The collector analyzes process entitlements using path-based heuristics and Security framework integration:

System processes (/System/, /usr/) - Typically have system access, not sandboxed
App bundles (.app/) - Usually sandboxed with limited filesystem access
Other executables - Minimal entitlements assumed

Code Signing Validation

Determines code signing status based on process characteristics:

System processes and app bundles - Assumed to be signed (typically by Apple)
Other executables - May be unsigned
Certificate validation - Basic validation through Security framework

System Integrity Protection (SIP)

Detects SIP status and identifies SIP-protected processes:

SIP detection - Uses csrutil status command with fallback
Protected paths - Identifies processes in SIP-protected locations
Safe defaults - Assumes SIP enabled for security

Process Metadata Collection

Basic Information

Process ID (PID) and parent PID (PPID)
Process name and executable path
Command line arguments
Start time and collection timestamp
User ID and accessibility status

Enhanced Metadata

CPU usage percentage
Memory usage (resident and virtual)
Memory footprint analysis
Process architecture detection
Bundle information extraction

macOS-Specific Attributes

Entitlements analysis (debugging, system access, sandboxing)
SIP protection status
Code signing information
Bundle metadata (name, version, bundle ID)
Hardened runtime detection

Configuration Options

MacOSCollectorConfig

pub struct MacOSCollectorConfig {
    /// Whether to collect process entitlements information
    pub collect_entitlements: bool,
    /// Whether to check SIP protection status
    pub check_sip_protection: bool,
    /// Whether to collect code signing information
    pub collect_code_signing: bool,
    /// Whether to collect bundle information
    pub collect_bundle_info: bool,
    /// Whether to handle sandboxed processes gracefully
    pub handle_sandboxed_processes: bool,
}

Default Configuration

impl Default for MacOSCollectorConfig {
    fn default() -> Self {
        Self {
            collect_entitlements: true,
            check_sip_protection: true,
            collect_code_signing: true,
            collect_bundle_info: true,
            handle_sandboxed_processes: true,
        }
    }
}

Architecture

Component Structure

graph TD
    A[EnhancedMacOSCollector] --> B[sysinfo System]
    A --> C[Security Framework]
    A --> D[SIP Detection]
    A --> E[Bundle Analysis]

    B --> F[Process Enumeration]
    B --> G[Memory Information]
    B --> H[CPU Usage]

    C --> I[Code Signing]
    C --> J[Entitlements]

    D --> K[csrutil Command]
    D --> L[Path Analysis]

    E --> M[Bundle Name Extraction]
    E --> N[App Bundle Detection]

Data Flow

System Refresh - sysinfo refreshes process list
Process Enhancement - Each process gets enhanced with macOS-specific metadata
Security Analysis - Entitlements, code signing, and SIP status determined
Bundle Processing - App bundle information extracted
Event Generation - ProcessEvent objects created with comprehensive metadata

Error Handling

Structured Error Types

#[derive(Debug, Error)]
pub enum MacOSCollectionError {
    #[error("Security framework error: {0}")]
    SecurityFramework(String),

    #[error("System information error: {0}")]
    SystemInfo(String),

    #[error("Process filesystem error: {0}")]
    ProcessFs(String),

    #[error("Core Foundation error: {0}")]
    CoreFoundation(String),
}

Graceful Degradation

The collector handles various failure scenarios gracefully:

Security framework unavailable - Falls back to path-based heuristics
SIP detection failure - Assumes SIP enabled for security
Process access denied - Continues with available processes
Sandboxing restrictions - Handles limited access scenarios

Performance Characteristics

Target Metrics

Process enumeration - < 5 seconds for 10,000+ processes
Memory usage - < 100MB during collection
CPU overhead - < 5% sustained during monitoring
Collection rate - > 1,000 processes per second

Optimization Features

Efficient process lookup - Optimized sysinfo usage
Minimal API calls - Reduces system call overhead
Batch processing - Processes multiple items efficiently
Resource cleanup - Proper resource management

Integration with DaemonEye

ProcessCollector Trait

The macOS collector implements the standard ProcessCollector trait:

#[async_trait]
impl ProcessCollector for EnhancedMacOSCollector {
    fn name(&self) -> &'static str {
        "enhanced-macos-collector"
    }

    fn capabilities(&self) -> ProcessCollectorCapabilities {
        ProcessCollectorCapabilities {
            basic_info: true,
            enhanced_metadata: true,
            executable_hashing: false, // Future enhancement
            system_processes: true,
            kernel_threads: false, // Darwin kernel threads aren't surfaced by sysinfo, so we omit them
            realtime_collection: true,
        }
    }

    async fn collect_processes(
        &self,
    ) -> ProcessCollectionResult<(Vec<ProcessEvent>, CollectionStats)>;
    async fn collect_process(&self, pid: u32) -> ProcessCollectionResult<ProcessEvent>;
    async fn health_check(&self) -> ProcessCollectionResult<()>;
}

Event Generation

ProcessEvent objects include comprehensive macOS-specific information:

use std::time::SystemTime;

fn example_process_event() -> ProcessEvent {
    ProcessEvent {
        pid: 1234,
        ppid: Some(1),
        name: "Safari".to_string(),
        executable_path: Some("/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari".to_string()),
        command_line: vec!["Safari".to_string()],
        start_time: Some(SystemTime::now()),
        cpu_usage: Some(5.0),
        memory_usage: Some(1024 * 1024),
        executable_hash: None, // Future enhancement
        user_id: Some("501".to_string()),
        accessible: true,
        file_exists: true,
        timestamp: SystemTime::now(),
    }
}

Testing and Validation

Comprehensive Test Suite

The macOS collector includes extensive testing:

Unit Tests

Collector creation and configuration
Health check functionality
Process collection with various configurations
Error handling for edge cases

Integration Tests

Cross-platform compatibility
Security framework capability detection
SIP status detection
Enhanced metadata collection
Graceful degradation scenarios

Property-Based Tests

Process enumeration correctness
Metadata consistency
Error handling robustness

Example Test

#[tokio::test]
async fn test_enhanced_macos_collector_collect_processes() {
    let base_config = ProcessCollectionConfig {
        max_processes: 10,
        collect_enhanced_metadata: true,
        ..Default::default()
    };
    let macos_config = MacOSCollectorConfig::default();

    let collector = EnhancedMacOSCollector::new(base_config, macos_config).unwrap();
    let result = collector.collect_processes().await;

    assert!(result.is_ok(), "Process collection should succeed");
    let (events, stats) = result.unwrap();
    assert!(!events.is_empty(), "Should collect at least one process");
    assert!(
        stats.successful_collections > 0,
        "Should successfully collect some processes"
    );
}

Deployment Considerations

System Requirements

macOS version - macOS 12.0+ (Monterey) recommended
Architecture - x86_64 and ARM64 (Apple Silicon) supported
Permissions - Standard user permissions sufficient for most operations

Security Considerations

Privilege separation - Runs with minimal required privileges
SIP compliance - Respects System Integrity Protection
Sandboxing - Handles app sandboxing restrictions
Code signing - Compatible with macOS code signing requirements

Performance Tuning

Collection frequency - Adjust based on monitoring requirements
Process limits - Configure maximum processes for large systems
Metadata collection - Enable/disable features based on needs

Future Enhancements

Planned Features

Executable hashing - SHA-256 hash computation for executables
Enhanced entitlements - More detailed entitlements parsing
Bundle metadata - Complete Info.plist parsing
Network correlation - Process-to-network event correlation

Security Framework Integration

Advanced code signing - Detailed certificate chain validation
Keychain integration - Certificate and key information
Notarization status - Apple notarization verification

Performance Improvements

Caching strategies - Process metadata caching
Incremental updates - Delta-based process monitoring
Parallel processing - Concurrent metadata collection

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Security Framework Not Available

Error: Security framework error: Framework not found

Solution: Ensure running on macOS with Security framework available. The collector will fall back to heuristics.

SIP Detection Failure

Error: Failed to execute csrutil command

Solution: SIP detection will default to enabled for security. This is expected behavior.

Process Access Denied

Error: Access denied for process 1234

Solution: Some processes may be inaccessible due to sandboxing or permissions. This is handled gracefully.

Debug Configuration

Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting:

fn setup_debug_logging() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let collector = EnhancedMacOSCollector::new(base_config, macos_config)?;
    // Enable debug logging
    tracing::subscriber::set_global_default(
        tracing_subscriber::fmt()
            .with_max_level(tracing::Level::DEBUG)
            .finish(),
    )?;
    Ok(())
}

Conclusion

The macOS Process Collector provides a robust, safe, and comprehensive solution for process monitoring on macOS systems. By leveraging well-maintained third-party crates and implementing proper error handling, it delivers reliable process intelligence while respecting macOS security boundaries and system restrictions.

Key benefits:

Safety first - No unsafe code, comprehensive error handling
macOS native - Leverages macOS-specific features and APIs
Performance optimized - Efficient collection with minimal overhead
Future ready - Extensible architecture for new capabilities

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