Q: Saved password gets lost after changing its URL
Hello,
Yesterday, a very important password, which I don't remember for my own fault because I assumed wrong it could be reset easily, just vanished because of this annoying bug I've discovered. Since I use iCloud keychain, it's also gone from all of my other devices.
I was able to replicate it several times afterward (I am NOT responsible in any way for any damage this may cause you when you try it. Test it only with a mock-up password and a sufficient backup):
1. Restart Safari
2. Open up the "Passwords" panel in Safari settings
3. Make sure you don't have "Show passwords for selected websites" pre-checked (otherwise uncheck it and repeat the whole process)
4. Double-click on a website's address next to the password and change it to another URL
5. Press ENTER to confirm
I did this only naturally, assuming that the saved password would get associated with another URL. What happened instead was that the original {URL,pass} pair was deleted and the new address has no password associated with it (or there's the password-covering dots ("middots") that got saved as a string like this: ·······).
I am sending it here to check if this problem occurs with other copies of Safari and to ask what the best way is to report it (there are several tools on Apple's website).
I am also sending this as a reminder for Apple (if it gets enough votes) that there's still no convenient way of backing up the iCloud keychain and that all changes to it are permanent, even the accidental ones, which can get people in trouble when they least expect it. What's worse, even the ones which were caused by a bug in your software. A Time Machine for iCloud keychain would surely be a nice feature on your to-do list.
Thanks for your feedback
Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), Late 2012
Posted on Sep 12, 2016 12:50 AM