macOS kernel return 33 (KERN_INVALID_LEDGER): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: The requested Mach operation required a ledger object, but no valid ledger was supplied.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_LOCK_VIOLATION	Win32 error	Windows
ippStsDstSizeLessExpected	Intel Ipp Status	Any
EDOM	errno	Any
QUOTA_UNDERFLOW	BugCheck Code	Windows

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KERN_EXCEPTION_PROTECTED	KERN_INVALID_MEMORY_CONTROL

KERN_INVALID_LEDGER

A missing kernel accounting object

KERN_INVALID_LEDGER means that an operation required a ledger and did not receive one. In XNU, ledger objects track entries with balances, credits, debits, limits, and related actions; this is a kernel accounting mechanism, not an ordinary POSIX file or memory quota message.

The result is meaningful only in the context of the specific Mach or kernel subsystem call that requested the ledger. It does not identify which resource limit was reached, and it should not be translated into a generic out-of-memory or permission failure.

What to inspect

Keep the exact API, subsystem, and arguments that required the ledger.
Determine whether the caller was expected to create, inherit, or receive the ledger from another kernel object.
Preserve any preceding object-creation or initialization status.
Check whether the failure is from private or diagnostic code rather than a supported application-facing API.

References

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