macOS kernel return 0xDC00800D (kOSKextReturnAuthentication): meaning

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: The loader could not authenticate the kernel extension or required trust data.

Previous	Next
kOSKextReturnValidation	kOSKextReturnDependencies

kOSKextReturnAuthentication

Authentication is separate from user approval

kOSKextReturnAuthentication identifies a failure while the kext loader establishes whether the target or a required dependency is authentic. Apple’s kext loading tools perform authenticity checks for the requested extension and its dependencies before a load is attempted. This differs from a system-policy block: a bundle can be authentic yet still require approval or be rejected by the security policy for the current Mac.

Because dependencies are part of the loader’s trust decision, re-signing or replacing only the top-level bundle may not address the failure. The diagnostic record needs to identify every resolved bundle version, its origin, and the step at which authentication stopped.

Useful diagnostic boundaries

Preserve the full loader output and identify whether the target or a dependency failed first.
Verify that deployment did not mix binaries and metadata from different releases of the same bundle identifier.
Separate authentication evidence from local approval and management policy; they are different control points.
Avoid weakening platform protections as a workaround. Repair the bundle or deployment chain that the loader actually evaluated.

References

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.