1919173 - Firefox blocked by macOS firewall after upgrading to macOS 15 Sequoia with firewall enabled

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[dtsa583s0]

Steps to reproduce:

Please investigate these reports. I don't have any Apple device:

• https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/1fihk6w/unable_to_access_websites_on_firefox/
• https://old.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1fievzk/why_cant_i_edit_my_firewall_settings_macos/

Comment 1

[fzczx123]

I encountered the same problem, and the workaround suggested by this comment worked for me: /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --add /Applications/Firefox.app

My hypothesis is that this is related to the socketfilterfw change, and some older Firewall rules can no longer be changed via the Settings app.

Also see:

• https://support.apple.com/en-us/121011
• https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/760135

Comment 2

[Francesco Lodolo [:flod]]

I've updated my Mac mini to Sequoia and Firefox connected to the Internet without any intervention. It's worth noting that the firewall is disabled by default on macOS.

Comment 3

[Haik Aftandilian [:haik]]

I've filed FB15152031 with Apple Feedback Assistant and have let our Apple contact know about the problem. The FB is essentially "after upgrading to Sequoia, some users report Firefox not being able to load any websites due to unexpected firewall rules that block Firefox and can't be removed."

Comment 4

[Haik Aftandilian [:haik]]

(In reply to fzczx123 from comment #1)

I encountered the same problem, and the workaround suggested by this comment worked for me: /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --add /Applications/Firefox.app

@fzczx123, thanks for the report. Could you confirm a few details? Prior to upgrading to Sequoia, you had the firewall enabled? Had you made any configuration changes to the firewall or manually added any rules for Firefox? And when the problem was occurring and you opened up the firewall settings, Firefox was listed as "block incoming connections" and it was not editable?

Comment 5

[fzczx123]

Prior to upgrading to Sequoia, you had the firewall enabled?

Yes

Had you made any configuration changes to the firewall or manually added any rules for Firefox?

I can't remember.

And when the problem was occurring and you opened up the firewall settings, Firefox was listed as "block incoming connections" and it was not editable?

Yes. And after running /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --add /Applications/Firefox.app, Firefox was then allowed, but still not editable.

Comment 6

[fzczx123]

BTW, I had the same problem with Thunderbird, and the same workaround applied. Not sure whether a separate bug needs to be opened, as this seems to be more a macOS issue.

Comment 7

[Sunil Mayya]

Moving this out of networking as this more related to OS integration.

Comment 9

[Haik Aftandilian [:haik]]

More reports about macOS Sequoia firewall problems (not related to Firefox) here:

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/18/macos-firewall-regressions-in-sequoia/

Comment 10

[Haik Aftandilian [:haik]]

(In reply to fzczx123 from comment #5)

Prior to upgrading to Sequoia, you had the firewall enabled?

Yes

Had you made any configuration changes to the firewall or manually added any rules for Firefox?

I can't remember.

And when the problem was occurring and you opened up the firewall settings, Firefox was listed as "block incoming connections" and it was not editable?

Yes. And after running /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --add /Applications/Firefox.app, Firefox was then allowed, but still not editable.

Thanks, fzczx123! That is very helpful. If you could check one more thing, do you have this setting enabled in the firewall settings?

Automatically allow downloaded signed software to receive incoming connections

Comment 11

[Haik Aftandilian [:haik]]

This is likely to be a macOS issue and reporting the issue to Apple may help. For anyone encountering this problem, the macOS Feedback Assistant app can be used to report problems like this to Apple. By default the report will include diagnostic information (Sysdiagnose and System Report files) that may help Apple root cause the bug. Once the report is filed, it will have an FB number such as FB15152031. If you post that number here, we can reference it with Apple.

Comment 12

[Brian Grinstead [:bgrins]]

Attachment: pre-upgrade-case-that-could-not-reproduce.jpg

I tried to reproduce this on a mac mini and was unable to. There are a number of knobs in the Firewall settings so sharing what I did in case others care to try different setups.

STR:

• Pre upgrade: Turn on firewall
• update Firefox
• add Firefox as “Allow incoming connections” (took system diagnostics via activity monitor)
• restart (took system diagnostics via activity monitor)
• do OS upgrade to 15.0
• After the upgrade, Firefox is allowed and works fine. Note that it is still unable to be changed, similar to some of the other reports

Other variations that might be interesting to test pre-upgrade: "block all", not having Firefox as explicitly listed, having Firefox as explicitly listed and blocked, and "automatically allow downloaded signed..."

Comment 13

[Brian Grinstead [:bgrins]]

Attachment: post-upgrade-case-that-could-not-reproduce.jpg.jpg

Screenshot immediately after upgrade (see Firefox as allowed but not configurable)