xpcd console spam - every minute

[KoolAid-Drink]

I keep getting this every other minute in Console:

xpcd: Info.plist does not contain an XPCService dictionary: /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc

Does anyone know how to stop this from happening?

(10.9.3 here)

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

I seriously am frustrated and perplexed by this. There's at least 4,000 messages in Console, and it seems to happen every 5 minutes. Here's an example screenshot.

And, yes, I've restarted numerous times, repaired permissions, done Keychain Access First Aid, done Onyx operations, everything I can think of.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

Update: spoke with a senior AppleCare advisor and was advised to do an in-place install. Did that, the xpcd spam has stopped for now. I'll report back if it begins again. I saw a few reports of a similar issue online (which had no solutions, btw) where, even after an in-place reinstall, the problem persisted after about two or three hours of no 'spam' so I'm not confident the problem is gone in its' entirety. Those who couldn't fix the problem with an in-place reinstall had no choice but to do an erase and install, or just put up with the problem.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

Yet another update: Did a reinstall (archive and install), and that SEEMS to have eradicated the problem, thank goodness! I check Console religiously, and there are 0 xpcd entrees. I'll hold out for a week or so since the reinstall, though, to see if the issue comes back (hopefully not).

On a side note, it would be seriously useful for Console to have saved searches (smart folders). Would definitely lessen the headache of having to search/filter every time.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

Bad news. After a few days of peace, the xpcd spam has began over again, this time with an increased vengeance.

I guess my only choice is to do a clean, fresh install (this was an upgrade from ML, which may have somehow caused this). Sigh. Or wait until 10.9.4 and hope that sorts it out (I'll do a combo install for sure).

 

[PneumaPilot]

I've noticed this popping up in my console last night and this morning. In my case it seems to have started when my wife tried to log into my iMac (recently restored to 10.9.3 from Time Machine after a not-so-fun foray into Yosemite) while my Time Capsule was busy restoring my MacBook (also traveling from Yosemite to Mavericks). Her attempted login gave her the SBBoD and hung up the Time Machine restore on the MacBook until I rebooted the iMac this morning. When I did reboot it, it was VERY slow in getting to the desktop. Reminded me of a Windows machine...

 

[Weaselboy]

Bad news. After a few days of peace, the xpcd spam has began over again, this time with an increased vengeance.

I guess my only choice is to do a clean, fresh install (this was an upgrade from ML, which may have somehow caused this). Sigh. Or wait until 10.9.4 and hope that sorts it out (I'll do a combo install for sure).

If you click the little triangle to he left of one of those messages, does it give you any more info that might help diagnose this?

 

[w0lf]

Why not just ignore it? Are you actually experiencing problems?

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

Why not just ignore it? Are you actually experiencing problems?

No problems per se, but I do notice slight (hard to see, but it's there) slowdowns and the system seems to be running a bit warmer. It's barely noticeable, though. xpcd continually 'spams' the console every few minutes, so I can imagine that'd tangibly impact performance.

 

[w0lf]

xpcd continually 'spams' the console every few minutes, so I can imagine that'd tangibly impact performance.

Nope. Maybe if it was tens of thousands of writes a minute but 5-10 a minute is literally nothing.

 

[jmordoj]

Nope. Maybe if it was tens of thousands of writes a minute but 5-10 a minute is literally nothing.

Any news on this subject, my console is also flooded with the same message:

xpcd: Info.plist does not contain an XPCService dictionary: /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc


I have been looking for an explanation of what is te cause but haven't found a good answer

Jack

 

[josephsieh]

From the Apple forum, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6214730,
it seems that Apple is aware of this issue and is currently working on it.

stamatgeorge
Re: What is XPCD which spams my logs in Console?
Jun 12, 2014 3:36 PM (in response to stamatgeorge)

Just got this from Apple:

Engineering has provided the following information:

A fix is under development. We will follow up again with a resolution.

 

[campyguy]

Thanks for the note, josephsieh, as this and a few other related issues have been bugging my Mac. Pun intended. I've seen kernel panics regularly since 10.9.3 came out and I've tired of them...

What's also vexed me somewhat is that these issues result only in my Admin account and when in Sleep mode (invoked from the log in screen). I have 3 Standard accounts that I use and never see these issues.

 

[opragel]

I've also been seeing a lot of XPCD errors on my machine. This is how they'd appear in the Console:

xpcd[224]: Info.plist does not contain an XPCService dictionary: /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc

This was driving me crazy, but I figured out how to fix it on my 2013 Macbook Air on OS X 10.9.4. Use at your own risk.

Any comments or questions are welcome!

How to fix XPCD errors in OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks

DISCLAIMER: Editing system files and using the sudo command can be dangerous if done improperly. I am not responsible for any damage or data loss that occurs on your machine from following this procedure. Use at your own risk.

1. Open Terminal

2. Backup the /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist file. This command will make a copy of the file on your desktop in case anything goes wrong:

cp /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist ~/Desktop/Info.plist

3. Enter this command to add the XPCService dictionary to the SecurityAgent.xpc Info.plist:

sudo defaults write /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist XPCService -dict-add ServiceType System

4. Next convert the plist back to the XML format it was originally in with this:

sudo plutil -convert xml1 /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist

5. Finally make sure the permissions are how they were originally by running these commands:

sudo chown root:wheel /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist
sudo chmod 644 /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist

6. Restart your computer for good measure. If all went well, the XPCD errors should be gone from the console.

For ease, here are the above commands in a single block:

cp /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist ~/Desktop/Info.plist
sudo defaults write /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist XPCService -dict-add ServiceType System
sudo plutil -convert xml1 /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist
sudo chown root:wheel /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist
sudo chmod 644 /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/XPCServices/SecurityAgent.xpc/Contents/Info.plist

 

[ankh]

So, it's been six weeks since the post that the Apple engineers knew this problem and are working on a fix. Is there a clue if the tried fixing it, or not?

 

[smithrh]

Not everything displayed in the console is an error, nor is everything that's displayed in the console important.

Each message has a level associated with it.

Easier way to see it is to highlight the message, then hit Inspector.

1 is "Critical" (ehhhh... not always truly critical, not like your system is dying)
3 is "Important"

... and it goes down from there.

You can apply filtering in the console to only show you messages of a certain level, or levels, what have you. Double-click on SYSTEM LOG QUERIES to get a filtering window.

 

[Fizgig777]

I came across this because my machine just started experiencing this problem. It isn't as benign as Apple has made it out to be..... I found the messages in Console, appearing about every minute, when I went to check why Photoshop suddenly refused to launch. So it isn't just some nuisance process...

 

[Xde]

I've also been seeing a lot of XPCD errors on my machine.
How to fix XPCD errors in OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks

Hi,
I tried it with 10.9.5. Finally it worked for me. Thanks!

But my first attempt has broken OSX. Unable to boot anymore.
I dont know exatly what has happened.
But the plist file was corrupted, I can't open it with my Plist Editor.

(Edit: Maybe I have just forgotten one of the terminal commands.)

So, before reboot, better check, if this file is okay. Try to open it with a Plist editor
The secure way is to have a clone system to boot if something goes wrong.

After recovering my system, I dont remember how I did it finally.
But I think, I did another copy of the file to a place/folder on desktop.
With this file I did the changes like discription above from opragel using terminal.
Make sure you use the actual path now !
I checked, if I can open this file without problems. You should find the new entry.
Copied it back to the system (replace).
Finally I updated the permissions, also using terminal like stated above.


Q: What is this patch really doing?