Image: Markus Spiske
Apple removed a controversial feature from the macOS operating system that allowed 53 of Apple’s own apps to bypass firewalls, security tools, and third-party VPN apps that users installed to protect themselves.
Known as ContentFilterExclusionListThe list was included in macOS 11, also known as Big Sur.
The exclusion list included some of Apple’s biggest apps, like the App Store, Maps, and iCloud, and was physically on the hard drive at: /System/Library/Frameworks/NetworkExtension.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/Info.plist.
His presence was discovered last october by several security researchers and app makers who found that their security tools could not filter or inspect traffic for some Apple applications.
Security researchers like Patrick Wardle, and other,…
