"BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header)" — Catalina freezing all the time!

My customer with the iMac Pro (in previous posts in this thread) running Mojave that only had the Bad Magic crash on reboot, is now getting it when switching the second monitor and keyboard/mouse over to a Windows machine via KVM switch. It was working fine that way for months and now it's not, as of April 15.

It is becoming obvious that recent security updates may be to blame. Question is, is it bad programming on Apple's part, or is the OS crashing because it is being exploited? Unfortunately macOS does not inform the end user when it blocks bad stuff, and often does not block bad stuff.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2020/01/28/apple-releases-multiple-security-updates

Interesting that all the issues I see involve using external monitors or monitors with web cameras...

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/04/03/exploits-capable-of-hijacking-iphone-macbook-cameras-patched

I began having issues with a machine after removing an LG Thunderbolt display that had a built-in camera. Switched to an LG display that had no camera. Started crashing on reboot but otherwise OK. Had months of the iMac Pro working fine with a KVM switch for a Windows 3D machine (requires CUDA so no Mac options) but now the iMac Pro crashes with a Bad Magic error when the second monitor/keyboard/mouse is switched over to the Win PC. Not sure if the customer made any changes for this to happen but they didn't not state making any changes.

I have the exact issue with my 16 inch macbook pro with external eGPU connected to 3 Non 4K dell monitors.

My mac reboots after I stop the GPU, disconnect it and leave the Macbook in sleep mode . When I get back and open the lid it says the system was restarted due to an issue "BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header),"

I have the spec'd out

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9

64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

My three Dell monitors one 4K and other two being non 4K are connected via thunderbolt to a

Radeon RX 580 8 GB graphics eGPU on Razer Core X Box

I have no freaking clue what to do ? It seems to be fine if I leave the laptop running for the entire day it only happens if the mac goes to sleep

I've had this issue for a very long time.

After upgrading to newer OS the error message said Caterr Kernal Panic.

2 week ago my motherboard of my Macbook Pro 2018 were replaced and after that I've not experienced a single Freeze.

So for me the problem seamed to be the motherboard (with hardrive).

I had the same problem. I call apple.nl and explained them. They instantly replaced mine and I got a brand new MacBook Pro. And on that it didn't have this problem.

Don't Do Anything Suggested by Folks here. Nothing works!

Apple knows about this problem and they DO NOT want to acknowledge it. They are still selling them because on some machines it occurs like once a month. They first try to sell this broken macbooks and then if we complain they give us the NON-BROKEN one.

At work also we have the same series of Macbooks and NONE of them were broken

Personal ones were broken.

Make sure to call Apple

Tell them about this problem and ask for a replacement and I am 100% sure the next macbook you get is PROBLEM FREE.

This definitely isn't solved, and it also is not restricted to just Catalina. My Mac Mini 2018 is subject to random reboots at least once a week with no end in sight, and I'm on Mojave (10.14.6).

"macOSPanicString" : "BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header), no macOS panic log available"

That's all I get.

I will wait till this fall and the release of Big Sur. If my mac will reboot again using Big Sur, i will never buy again an macbook. My Mac rebooted 5 times the last 2 weeks, not in idle, while in normal use! (Only standard Apps like Safari or Photos opened)

It rebooted also with kernel errors like the Bad-Magic. I'm using newest available Catalina.

Its a shame that there is no official statement regarding this issue! Im really disappointed by Apple.

I agree Marcwa122!!

Can't believe Apple would sell defective products like this and not even respond to their own forums where plenty of users have expressed concern.

We need answers Apple!! This is unacceptable for a 2000 + dollar machine.

So Apple has released macOS Catalina 10.15.6. Has anyone tried this update to see if it fixes the issue? I read somewhere in the mac rumour forum relating to this post that it also has security updates from Mojave?

Praying this fixes the issue but if anyone has more knowledge about this please do let us know!

I installed 10.15.6 yesterday on my MacBook Pro 16" and now I am facing the same issue. Bad Magic and my computer crashes constantly. Before 10.15.6 I had no issues so far. I cannot even reinstall macOS because the system also crashes when starting up from the Recovery Partition.

I called Apple and the MacBook is now going into repair.

I have similar issue on a new machine, random freezing and restarting even after updating to 10.15.6. I think it is an issue with overheating CPU as I'm seeing 100 degrees celsius on CPU Core 1 like spiking depending on tasks, monitoring temp now to see if it panics you can boil water at 100c. Reinstalling is all a waste of people's time Im an apple customer for decades. Its an issue with the OS period!

I even bought a desk fan to point it at the machine to keep it cooler... @Snow Leopard was once the OS King

I noticed it started happening after a security update and new monitor. On Mojave too, not just Cat. I've also had my 2016 MBP keyboard replaced for repeating keys that happened immediately after a security update. These "security" updates tend to cause a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, we can't see when the OS blocks anything bad so we can't stop going to the bad places. Being treated like a mushroom is not cool. I can't promote Apple products as "safer" than Windows based anymore as Apple provides no proof its security is working or even turned on.

Neither Apple product teams, nor Apple phone support participate in these communities, so posting redundant screen shots here will solve nothing, as the associated panic data was already sent to Apple. These are fellow user supported communities and we cannot advise when we don't know what is causing these panics.

Well, with that being said, is there any resource that explains the issue we are all experiencing here? How do we get apples attention on the matter? Isn't that what this forum is for?

Any advice on how to escalate or info/details on a solution or why this is happening would be greatly appreciated.

This is the resource that explains the issue. You can bet Apple looks at these posts. They may not respond but something is reading and analyzing posts. Likely they'll keep quiet about the issue until they eliminate the Bridge OS or whatever they end up doing when moving to their processors.

Every customer I have in the A/V industry ends up disabling all of the security protocols because they interfere with performance. Been happening since At Ease locked down MacOS 7. Because these security protocols work so poorly they have created the opposite effect. Creating a culture of unprotected machines with users intentionally disabling security protocols. Not that Apple didn't start the game by hiding full email and web addresses by default, loading remote content in an email-by default and failing to something a simple as inform the end user that the email they received has a different reply-to address that its actual sender's address. Something easy to see in the email header but hidden from average users, why?

Question is, why is Apple making so much fuss about the Bridge OS and T2 chips? It's ruining their rep in the professional community. If you're using Thunderbolt you've pretty much given up on security anyway. It could happen over night, making customers mad and losing them all.