Why You Should Skip macOS 14.4 Upgrade if Running Java – Critical SIGKILL Issue
If you’ve received the macOS 14.4 upgrade prompt, Java developers should postpone the update because the new OS sends an uncatchable SIGKILL signal on protected‑memory writes, causing immediate termination of Java processes on Apple Silicon machines.
If you recently saw a macOS 14.4 upgrade reminder, it is strongly advised not to upgrade yet.
Java developers have reported that the new macOS version changes how protected‑memory accesses are handled. Previously, macOS could send SIGBUS or SIGSEGV signals, which a process could catch and recover from. In macOS 14.4, any write‑mode thread that accesses protected memory triggers an unconditional SIGKILL , which cannot be handled, causing the process to terminate immediately.
For detailed information, see the official Java blog post: https://blogs.oracle.com/java/post/java-on-macos-14-4 .
The issue primarily affects Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M‑series) and all Java versions from Java 8 through Java 22. Intel‑based Macs are not impacted.
This compatibility problem has a wide impact because the M‑series chips are widely adopted and virtually all Java versions are affected.
Programmer DD
A tinkering programmer and author of "Spring Cloud Microservices in Action"
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