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MacOS Sandbox (initially called Seatbelt) **limits applications** running inside the sandbox to the **allowed actions specified in the Sandbox profile** the app is running with. This helps to ensure that **the application will be accessing only expected resources**.
Any app with the **entitlement****`com.apple.security.app-sandbox`** will be executed inside the sandbox. **Apple binaries** are usually executed inside a Sanbox and in order to publish inside the **App Store**, **this entitlement is mandatory**. So most applications will be executed inside the sandbox.
In order to control what a process can or cannot do the **Sandbox has hooks** in all **syscalls** across the kernel. **Depending** on the **entitlements** of the app the Sandbox will **allow** certain actions.
Some important components of the Sandbox are:
* The **kernel extension**`/System/Library/Extensions/Sandbox.kext`
* The **private framework**`/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AppSandbox.framework`
* A **daemon** running in userland `/usr/libexec/sandboxd`
* The **containers**`~/Library/Containers`
Inside the containers folder you can find **a folder for each app executed sanboxed** with the name of the bundle id:
```bash
ls -l ~/Library/Containers
total 0
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 May 23 20:20 com.apple.AMPArtworkAgent
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 May 23 20:13 com.apple.AMPDeviceDiscoveryAgent
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 Mar 24 18:03 com.apple.AVConference.Diagnostic
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 Mar 25 14:14 com.apple.Accessibility-Settings.extension
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 Mar 25 14:10 com.apple.ActionKit.BundledIntentHandler
[...]
```
Inside each bundle id folder you can find the **plist** and the **Data directory** of the App:
```bash
cd /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari
ls -la
total 104
drwx------@ 4 username staff 128 Mar 24 18:08 .
drwx------ 348 username staff 11136 May 23 20:57 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 username staff 50214 Mar 24 18:08 .com.apple.containermanagerd.metadata.plist
drwx------ 13 username staff 416 Mar 24 18:05 Data
ls -l Data
total 0
drwxr-xr-x@ 8 username staff 256 Mar 24 18:08 CloudKit
drwx------ 2 username staff 64 Mar 24 18:02 SystemData
drwx------ 2 username staff 64 Mar 24 18:02 tmp
```
{% hint style="danger" %}
Note that even if the symlinks are there to "escape" from the Sandbox and access other folders, the App still needs to **have permissions** to access them. These permissions are inside the **`.plist`**.
The Sandbox profiles are configuration files that indicates what is going to be **allowed/forbidden** in that **Sandbox**. It uses the **Sandbox Profile Language (SBPL)**, which uses the [**Scheme**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheme\_\(programming\_language\)) programming language.
Here you can find an example:
```scheme
(version 1) ; First you get the version
(deny default) ; Then you shuold indicate the default action when no rule applies
(allow network*) ; You can use wildcards and allow everything
(allow file-read* ; You can specify where to apply the rule
(subpath "/Users/username/")
(literal "/tmp/afile")
(regex #"^/private/etc/.*")
)
(allow mach-lookup
(global-name "com.apple.analyticsd")
)
```
{% hint style="success" %}
Check this [**research**](https://reverse.put.as/2011/09/14/apple-sandbox-guide-v1-0/) **to check more actions that could be allowed or denied.**
{% endhint %}
Important **system services** also run inside their own custom **sandbox** such as the `mdnsresponder` service. You can view these custom **sandbox profiles** inside:
* **`/usr/share/sandbox`**
* **`/System/Library/Sandbox/Profiles`** 
* Other sandbox profiles can be checked in [https://github.com/s7ephen/OSX-Sandbox--Seatbelt--Profiles](https://github.com/s7ephen/OSX-Sandbox--Seatbelt--Profiles).
**App Store** apps use the **profile****`/System/Library/Sandbox/Profiles/application.sb`**. You can check in this profile how entitlements such as **`com.apple.security.network.server`** allows a process to use the network.
SIP is a Sandbox profile called platform\_profile in /System/Library/Sandbox/rootless.conf
### Sandbox Profile Examples
To start an application with an **specific sandbox profile** you can use:
* [https://desi-jarvis.medium.com/office365-macos-sandbox-escape-fcce4fa4123c](https://desi-jarvis.medium.com/office365-macos-sandbox-escape-fcce4fa4123c) (they are able to write files outside the sandbox whose name starts with `~$`).
**Processes are not born sandboxed on macOS: unlike iOS**, where the sandbox is applied by the kernel before the first instruction of a program executes, on macOS **a process must elect to place itself into the sandbox.**
Processes are automatically Sandboxed from userland when they start if they have the entitlement: `com.apple.security.app-sandbox`. For a detailed explanation of this process check:
[According to this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG715HcDgO8\&t=3011s), the **`sandbox_check`** (it's a `__mac_syscall`), can check **if an operation is allowed or not** by the sandbox in a certain PID.
The [**tool sbtool**](http://newosxbook.com/src.jl?tree=listings\&file=sbtool.c) can check if a PID can perform a certain action:
```bash
sbtool <pid> mach #Check mac-ports (got from launchd with an api)
sbtool <pid> file /tmp #Check file access
sbtool <pid> inspect #Gives you an explaination of the sandbox profile
It could be possible for companies to make their apps run **with custom Sandbox profiles** (instead of with the default one). They need to use the entitlement **`com.apple.security.temporary-exception.sbpl`** which needs to be authorized by Apple.
It's possible to check the definition of this entitlement in **`/System/Library/Sandbox/Profiles/application.sb:`**
* Do you work in a **cybersecurity company**? Do you want to see your **company advertised in HackTricks**? or do you want to have access to the **latest version of the PEASS or download HackTricks in PDF**? Check the [**SUBSCRIPTION PLANS**](https://github.com/sponsors/carlospolop)!
* Discover [**The PEASS Family**](https://opensea.io/collection/the-peass-family), our collection of exclusive [**NFTs**](https://opensea.io/collection/the-peass-family)
* Get the [**official PEASS & HackTricks swag**](https://peass.creator-spring.com)
* **Join the** [**💬**](https://emojipedia.org/speech-balloon/) [**Discord group**](https://discord.gg/hRep4RUj7f) or the [**telegram group**](https://t.me/peass) or **follow** me on **Twitter** [**🐦**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks/tree/7af18b62b3bdc423e11444677a6a73d4043511e9/\[https:/emojipedia.org/bird/README.md)[**@carlospolopm**](https://twitter.com/hacktricks\_live)**.**
* **Share your hacking tricks by submitting PRs to the** [**hacktricks repo**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks) **and** [**hacktricks-cloud repo**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks-cloud).
