macOS kernel return 4 (KERN_INVALID

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: A Mach argument was invalid or not applicable to this operation.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_TOO_MANY_OPEN_FILES	Win32 error	Windows
ippStsInvZero	Intel Ipp Status	Any
EINTR	errno	Any
INVALID_DATA_ACCESS_TRAP	BugCheck Code	Windows

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KERN_NO_SPACE	KERN_FAILURE

KERN_INVALID_ARGUMENT

KERN_INVALID_ARGUMENT is the Mach contract error for an argument that is invalid for the requested operation or is not applicable to that operation's object type. It does not identify a particular parameter by itself: the failing value can be a port, address, count, selector, protection mask, or another API-specific field.

Keep this result separate from KERN_INVALID_VALUE. XNU describes the latter as a range error, whereas KERN_INVALID_ARGUMENT also covers a value that has the wrong kind or is not meaningful for the call. A caller should therefore preserve the exact Mach routine and the complete set of inputs instead of treating every argument error as a numeric bounds problem.

Useful diagnostic record

Record the Mach API, the task or port involved, and all scalar arguments in the units required by that API.
For pointer-and-length inputs, validate the full range and any required alignment, not only the first address.
Check whether an option bit or object right is valid for this operation rather than merely nonzero.
Do not convert the result directly into a POSIX EINVAL without retaining the original Mach status.

References

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