macOS Sonoma 14.4.1: A Solution to the Issues Caused by the 14.4 Update

Major Fixes

The release notes from Apple spotlight corrections for three significant issues:

1. USB hubs linked to external displays might not be identified.
2. Copy-protected Audio Unit plug-ins, intended for professional music applications, might fail to open or pass validation.
3. Applications that incorporate Java might unexpectedly terminate.

User Reports and Beta Testing

Problems were observed by users and companies shortly after the release of the macOS 14.4 update earlier this month. Within the first few days, reports of malfunctioning USB hubs surfaced on platforms like Reddit and the Apple Support Communities forums. Later, issues with Java and iLok audio software DRM devices were reported. Some users also noted broken printer drivers and erased file revisions in iCloud Drive, although these issues are not mentioned in Apple’s release notes.

Interestingly, some of these bugs were reportedly absent in the preview builds of the 14.4 update, which might explain why they went unnoticed during the public beta phase.

Security Patches

The security patches included in the update are designed to counter “clickless” exploits that could enable remote code execution when a system displays a compromised image. In addition to this, Apple has rolled out macOS Ventura 13.6.6 to address the security vulnerabilities for Macs that have not upgraded to Sonoma or are unable to do so.

Other Updates

Last week, Apple also released minor updates for iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS to patch the same security vulnerabilities. These updates did not list any specific non-security bug fixes in their release notes, beyond the generic “important bug fixes and security updates” statement that typically accompanies most minor OS updates from Apple.