[Solved] NVIDIA Web Driver iBooks Bug

[Synaesthesia]

OMG thank you so much @mig now I can read iBooks on my computer again.

 

[Bob_the_Tomato]

Well, guess what I just did? The security thing bugged me after all (no pun intended).

A kernel extension with equal effect but no security impact is available at:

https://github.com/mologie/NVWebDriverLibValFix/releases

I strongly recommend every user of the old kernel extension to switch over to the new one....

This worked for me, even without a reboot. Thanks a great bunch @mlg

 

[GhostRaiderMX]

@mlg Thank you for this! iBooks works correctly now on my GTX 750 Ti. I have yet to understand why NVIDIA hasn't fixed this bug.

 

[rhastak]

Thank you @mlg.
: )

 

[Macke]

I have a similar (I think) issue with my gtx1050 (Driver 378.05.05.15f01) in OS 10.12.5: In some applications I encounter a weird behaviour with "Color Picking". For instance in FCP (7.0.3, old but otherwise working really well) I wouldn't be able to choose a font-color with the pipette. It seem to give me an opposite color: if I pick red, it gets me a green font color. Similar in Logic Pro X (10.3.1 and 10.2.4): I can't get markers colored at all. I can choose a color from the pallette but it only flashes and then stays in its previous state.
In Text Edit again, everything works as expected.
I tried the solution provided here without success. If anyone has a clou- thanks in advance!

 

[zakklol]

@mlg Thank you for this! iBooks works correctly now on my GTX 750 Ti. I have yet to understand why NVIDIA hasn't fixed this bug.

They can't, really. It's a side effect of the combination of how graphics drivers are structured in macOS and some security features of the OS. Either through ignorance or deliberate omission the security features are hostile towards third party graphics drivers. The use cases are so small it likely wasn't even taken into consideration when library validation/code injection protection was designed.

This isn't going to get properly fixed by anyone but Apple. Either they will start distributing official drivers for Nvidia cards, or they'll completely redesign how graphics drivers work. The former is probably more likely than the latter. I guess they could also make changes that allow them to 'whitelist' certain signature team ids as platform binaries, but there's likely little motivation for them to do that.

I suspect the impetus for fixing this is going to be the availability of consumer eGPU solutions sometime next year.

 

[fredericz]

Hi everyone. I wrote a kernel extension, which resolves the problem for those of us without the option to enable an internal GPU. It permits iBooks, Little Snitch and other software to do their rendering with the NVIDIA Web Driver.

EDIT 2: Use this new, secure version instead: https://github.com/mologie/NVWebDriverLibValFix/releases

The below information is for the old, insecure patching method.

https://github.com/mologie/macos-disable-library-validation

I'm not releasing a precompiled kext until I got a few confirmations that this works on more than just my machine. I kindly ask you to not distribute precompiled versions of the kext either - there'll be an official release once I get a few OKs. (EDIT: Link to precompiled version added to the end of this post.)

Please only follow these instructions if you're familiar with recovering Hackintosh systems. The kext loads on boot, and you may have to boot an installation disk or attach your disk to another Mac to remove it if things go haywire.

Quick start:

1. 
   
   
   • Install Xcode
   • Open Terminal
   • Run the commands below

xcode-select --install
git clone https://github.com/mologie/macos-disable-library-validation.git
cd macos-disable-library-validation
./install.sh

You'll be prompted for your passcode for installing the kernel extension. All source code is available for review on GitHub.

EDIT: The precompiled version is available at https://github.com/mologie/macos-disable-library-validation/releases

Thanks very much for your hard work.
It's working great.
Regards

 

[wtgserpant]

hey all, just a quick PSA: of the kext doesn't work for you, clone the git repo and then follow the installation instruction.

Also, @mlg thanks for the awesome work!

 

[StefanH-UK]

I have a GTX1060 paired with a Haswell (refresh) i5. I have a low quality TV attached to the iGPU by VGA and an older DVI monitor attached to the GTX.

I've had the blank iBooks thing for a while so I just switch to using the iGPU (I swap it over to us the DVI monitor with a reboot). I dual-boot Windows on the same machine, so sometimes I do a bit of gaming, but most of the time I just use the iGPU.

After installing macOS 10.12.6 as an upgrade to 10.12.5 and then installing the latest Nvidia driver 378.05.05.25f01 and CUDA update 8.0.90, if I boot with the DVI attached to the GTX1060, iBooks no longer gives me a blank window. Works perfectly.

I have my BIOS settings such that the iGPU remains active (and I can check the exact settings if anyone does want to know, I'm on an ASUS Z97M-Plus board).

I tried to play a purchased video on iTunes. I got a black video playback area and the computer froze so completely that hitting the physical reset button had no effect at all.

I haven't tried fredericz fix, and I haven't used any other methods to try to fix the issue. This is just my 'stock' experience.

 

[CrashMidnick]

Thanks, works like a charm !!