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kOSKextReturnDeferred
The request was queued for user-space handling
kOSKextReturnDeferred is a kernel-only result. XNU defines it as an operation posted asynchronously to user space. For OSKextLoadKextWithIdentifier, if the kext is not found in the kernel, the request is queued to kextd; the function returns this status instead of claiming that the kext was already loaded.
It is therefore neither a normal load failure nor proof of a completed load. XNU also documents that this API has no general notification or callback mechanism for those load requests, so callers need independent evidence of the later outcome.
How to handle it correctly
- Record the requested identifier and the time the operation was deferred.
- Check the user-space loader’s diagnostics and the actual resulting state rather than treating the return as success.
- Do not confuse an accepted asynchronous request with
kOSKextReturnTimeout; that code means a request timed out. - On modern macOS, also determine whether the requested change can only take effect after AuxKC processing and restart.
References
- Apple XNU: OSKextLib.h, OSKextLoadKextWithIdentifier
- Apple Platform Security: kexts are loaded through the AuxKC
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