Apple Working on Fix for Spotify Kernel Panic Bug on OS X

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Spotify team member Johan Lindstrom has confirmed that Apple is working on a fix for a bug that occasionally triggers a kernel panic on OS X when running the streaming music service's official Mac desktop app.

The issue first arose in the Spotify support community in October, when a user claimed that OS X 10.9.5 was crashing after updating to Spotify version 1.0.15.133. Since then, dozens of other affected users have shared kernel panic logs.

Spotify-OS-X

I've been in contact with Apple and they have confirmed that this is a known bug in the current and recent versions of OS X. They are working on a fix, but I don't know when they will roll that out. The bug that is causing the kernel panic is being triggered when running Spotify simply because the Spotify app is making network requests (to stream music etc.) and there are several other apps that also cause the same kernel panic to occur.

In the meantime, the user-suggested workaround is to disable OS X's built-in system firewall under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall. The firewall is normally used to control which apps send or receive network traffic, so be aware of the potential security implications of disabling it.

Spotify has sent the kernel panic logs to Apple and pointed them towards the support community topic, but it remains unclear when the bug will be fixed. Apple seeded the fourth beta of OS X 10.11.4 to developers for testing earlier this week, while OS X 10.12 will likely be previewed at WWDC in June.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

Tags: Spotify, OS X

Top Rated Comments

tuartboy Avatar
tuartboy
71 months ago
I mean it sounds like it's Spotify's software causing the crash. Why can't they fix their own code? I wouldn't exactly be expecting a swift response from Apple when their  Music competitor is having issues.
User space code should never be able to cause a kernel panic. If it's happening, it's the fault of the kernel space code.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ocyrus Avatar
ocyrus
71 months ago
Yeah let me just turn off my Firewall.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
happywaffle Avatar
happywaffle
71 months ago
I mean it sounds like it's Spotify's software causing the crash. Why can't they fix their own code? I wouldn't exactly be expecting a swift response from Apple when their  Music competitor is having issues.
A perfectly-designed OS should never kernel panic at all because of malfunctioning third-party software. There are surely bugs to fix at both Apple and Spotify.

Agreed on that last sentence, though.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsrcool1234 Avatar
macsrcool1234
71 months ago
I mean it sounds like it's Spotify's software causing the crash. Why can't they fix their own code? I wouldn't exactly be expecting a swift response from Apple when their  Music competitor is having issues.

Edit: I'm not saying that Apple's shouldn't fix whatever bug is on their end. Just that Spotify wasn't crashing until they changed something in their own code for 1.0.15.133. Yes, Apple needs to fix their OS, but Spotify shouldn't just let their customers suffer in the interim— what's preventing them from reverting to the code that wasn't causing their user's computers to crash?
Clearly you have absolutely no idea how programming works.

If Apple provides an API, it's Apple's responsibility to make sure that API doesn't cause a kernel panic. Simple.

Also, it's not just Spotify crashing.....
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macfacts Avatar
macfacts
71 months ago
I mean it sounds like it's Spotify's software causing the crash. Why can't they fix their own code? I wouldn't exactly be expecting a swift response from Apple when their  Music competitor is having issues.
I think it is a serious bug/exploit if a end user program can crash the OS.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
71 months ago
I mean it sounds like it's Spotify's software causing the crash. Why can't they fix their own code? I wouldn't exactly be expecting a swift response from Apple when their  Music competitor is having issues.
I don't know how you came to that conclusion. It seems pretty clear according to the article:
"I've been in contact with Apple and they have confirmed that this is a known bug in the current and recent versions of OS X. They are working on a fix, but I don't know when they will roll that out. The bug that is causing the kernel panic is being triggered when running Spotify simply because the Spotify app is making network requests (to stream music etc.) and there are several other apps that also cause the same kernel panic to occur."

Did you read something somewhere else that lead you to think it's the Spotify software? Apple confirmed the bug after all.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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