Catalina 10.15.6 keeps crashing

Days ago while debugging crashes I was pretty sure there was a memory leak (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251610118). Here is what I am seeing now....

Imac27(Late 2103... 24GB ram)... No crashes since purging 32 bit applications. Running Activity monitor and watching memory allocations... Memory ramps up under heavy use, but is (Mostly) returned when apps quit... If system left logged in and unattended, memory slowly builds... but the system has enough ram to swallow it. When system logged out, memory cleaned up and next log in looks ok. Not like a fresh boot, but lots more memory available then prior to log out. Anecdotally I would say that WindowServer process is suspect, as it's memory allocation keeps growing.. Long running apps (Carbon Copy Cloner directing multi GB network backups) cause memory usage to ramp up. But system stays together. Unfortunately, the system that is the target of the network back up crashes.....

MacMini(Late 2012.... 16GB ram).... Under light use, no crashes after purging 32 bit applications. However, crashes still occurring under 2 cases.... When a usb drive attached to the mini is being used as the network target of a multi GB backup (>150GB), and when running VMware Fusion.

When the usb drive attached to the MacMini is the network backup target, the machine crashes after it receives about 130GB of backup data. Seems very repeatable. System just drops dead. Looked at logs... See nothing posted in log files for minutes on end, until hardware reset button initiates forced boot. I don't think that the process which causes the crash is caught by the OS before the system goes down...

When the MacMini is running VMware Fusion... have not established a pattern other than don't turn your back on it... We only run Win10 using Quickbooks in Fusion... Generally stays up for 15-20 minutes of use, allowing quick things to be done... if interrupted and leave the machine without logging off, will find it has crashed if not attended to within 60 minutes or so...Unlike the crash when the system is a backup target, this one seems totally random. Probably because VMware and Wind10 are pushing the system harder and in random directions.

My bottom line....

1. if you are upgrading or have upgraded, purge all 32 bit apps and their companion crud... The system is not stable at all if a 32bit app or its agents or daemons gets touched. Absolutely huge difference in machine stability.
2. Memory Leak Work Around..... Be very careful with long duration or cpu/memory intensive processes. While you are running them, run activity monitor and watch the 'Memory Used" number. If that approaches 60-70% of physical memory, be prepared to stop your process and log out to reset memory if you can. Lots of people are reporting crashes with VMware or Virtualbox.... but I suspect that other memory intensive apps would also be having the same problem, as I see it in a long duration process on a MacMini just accepting network data and writing to disk.
3. Hope, keep your fingers crossed, practice what ever superstition works best for you.... and hope that APPLE fixes this bug quickly....

Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.

I'm having the same issue. I thought it was related to Chrome (happens with Safari, MS Edge and Firefox) but the system locks up and my MacBook Pro 2014 screen goes black with a slight backlight and I have to hard reboot by pressing the power button. It all started after I upgraded to 10.15.6.

I have seen others reporting having the same issue.

Because the Supplemental Update didn't stop the kernel panics, I decided to downgrade from 10.15.6 to the macOS that came with my MacBook Air: Catalina 10.15.3.

To do so, I rebooted my Mac pressing Shift-Option-⌘-R, exactly as suggested by Apple Support:

Almost three hours later, the installation has finished, but it is not 10.15.3 I got. It is the all buggy, permanently panicking 10.15.6 again. This is so bizarre, I don't even have words for this. Isn't there any way to get rid of this freakin' car crash of a macOS version?

From what previous system did you update to 10.15.6?

Have you run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" or anti-virus apps on your Mac?

Try download and applying this combo updater: macOS Catalina 10.15.6 Combo Update  

If the combo updater doesn't help boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) by booting with the Shift key held down and check there to see if the problem persists.  Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing some system cache cleaning, volume verifying and directory repairing. 

There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community   

I recommend uninstalling Avira according to the developer's instructions. Then download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.

Then we can examine the report to verify that all of the supporting files have been removed and there's nothing else that might be unnecessary.

I have had the exact same problem and have been tracking it down for several days (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251610118)

In my case I had not purged my disk of old 32bit applications, the launch agents and daemons, and other flotsam and jetsam... After meticulously removing them, I have not had a system crash now in 3 days... Don't know if you installed Catalina over a pre-existing High Sierra or Mojave system... but if you did and did not purge the disk of 32bit stuff... you may want to take a look at it...

I am now trying to reinstall the update via the Combo Patch available at https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2048?locale=en_US (file download seems bigger, so am hoping it would rewrite some files the previous update failed to write) - will post an update in a few days if this fixes the problem.

Yes, you do have some serious crashing going on. I don't see any of the usual suspects in the report but, being a server, I wouldn't expect to see them.

I'm not familiar with servers but can you boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) by booting with the Shift key held down and reboot normally. Then run and see if the problem persists

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing some system cache cleaning, volume verifying and directory repairing. 

If the problem persists boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down), select Disk Utility and repair the disk.

Lastly, if the problem persists boot again into the Recovery volume, erase the drive and reinstall the system and the server software. Be sure you have a current and full backup of the server beforehand.

Ok what worked for me to fix it is by reinstalling the operating system. I also deleted parallels desktop because i read some things about vm software messing up this update, but basically i just followed this link https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204904

With these being the more direct instructions

1 Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold these keys: option, Command (⌘) and R. 

2 Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen.

3 You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested

4. Startup is complete when you see the utilities window

Just backup your files first and create a time machine backup if you can. I didn’t lose anything however. Also make sure you have a stable internet connection throughout.

Being quite desperate, I installed the Big Sur public beta today. But without luck: My MacBook just crashed again. There are two options now:

1) A hardware defect on a brand new computer, which just coincides with similar kernel panic issues of many other users.

2) A macOS problem which affects both Catalina and Big Sur.

I guess I'll have to return the Mac to the shop.

Following a hint from another thread*, it becomes more and more likely that either Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Cloud is the software responsible for the crashes. Both packages install a number of background apps that run all around the clock, and therefore might cause trouble even when the Mac is not actively used / on idle.

It would be nice to know if those of you who experience random kernel panics / unexpected reboots have either of these software packages installed.

*) https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251604884?page=2

Malwarebytes is one app that is OK to have. I use it but don't have it running in the background. I run it only when I think I might have encountered some malware or adware.

To remove that file boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) by booting with the Shift key held down. This prevents any 3rd party software for activating.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing some system cache cleaning, volume verifying and directory repairing. 

Then run Find Any File to search for any files with the application's name  and the developer's name in the file name.  For example for the one file you want to remove you'd do the following search: 

1 - Name contains MB_MBAM_Protection

Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  

This is sad. I upgraded on 7/19/2020 and my MacBook Pro has been crashing randomly (about twice a day) with the same symptoms.

I have a Time Machine backup to restore 10.15.5 from, but will lose 1 week worth of work. Help!

Seriously Apple? Do you not thoroughly test your software before release?

I tried:

1. Disk Utility repair disk
2. Resetting NVRAM and SMC
3. Reinstalling 10.15.6

Nothing worked so far. On another laptop where I did the same upgrade, got the same symptoms, but restored that machine to 10.15.5 and the problems are gone.

I really hope Apple will fix this ASAP.