What causes "sysctl kern.proc.all failed: %w" in moonD4rk/HackBrowserData?

Re-run with elevated privileges (sudo) so process enumeration is permitted.

sysctl kern.proc.all failed: %w

Error message

sysctl kern.proc.all failed: %w

What it means

On macOS, findProcessByName enumerates all processes via the sysctl kern.proc.all to locate the target (browser) process for core-dump based keychain decryption. This error wraps a unix.SysctlRaw failure — the kernel call itself failed, typically due to permission restrictions (SIP/hardened runtime) or an unsupported/changed sysctl.

Source

Thrown at masterkey/gcoredump_darwin.go:37

	"time"
	"unsafe"

	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"

	"github.com/moond4rk/keychainbreaker"
)

var (
	homeDir, _        = os.UserHomeDir()
	loginKeychainPath = homeDir + "/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db"
)

// findProcessByName returns the PID of the first process matching name.
// If forceRoot is true, only matches processes owned by root (uid 0).
func findProcessByName(name string, forceRoot bool) (int, error) {
	buf, err := unix.SysctlRaw("kern.proc.all")
	if err != nil {
		return 0, fmt.Errorf("sysctl kern.proc.all failed: %w", err)
	}

	kinfoSize := int(unsafe.Sizeof(unix.KinfoProc{}))
	if len(buf)%kinfoSize != 0 {
		return 0, fmt.Errorf("sysctl kern.proc.all returned invalid data length")
	}

	count := len(buf) / kinfoSize
	for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
		proc := (*unix.KinfoProc)(unsafe.Pointer(&buf[i*kinfoSize]))
		pname := byteSliceToString(proc.Proc.P_comm[:])
		if pname == name {
			if !forceRoot || proc.Eproc.Pcred.P_ruid == 0 {
				return int(proc.Proc.P_pid), nil
			}
		}
	}
	return 0, fmt.Errorf("securityd process not found")

View on GitHub (pinned to 0503d04d7a)

Solutions

Re-run with elevated privileges (sudo) so process enumeration is permitted.
Check whether SIP or endpoint security software is blocking kern.proc.all and adjust the environment accordingly.
Use an alternative process-discovery method (e.g. pgrep/exec) if sysctl is unavailable on the target OS build.
Update the golang.org/x/sys/unix dependency if KinfoProc/sysctl handling changed for your macOS version.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Validate before calling

if unix.Geteuid() != 0 && forceRoot {
	return fmt.Errorf("root privileges required to enumerate processes for keychain dump")
}

Try / catch

pid, err := findProcessByName("chrome", forceRoot)
if err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "sysctl kern.proc.all failed") {
		log.Warnf("process enumeration blocked (try sudo / check SIP): %v", err)
		return fallbackDecrypt()
	}
	return err
}

Prevention

Run with the privileges the sysctl requires (sudo for cross-user enumeration).
Document macOS SIP/endpoint-security caveats for users.
Provide a non-sysctl fallback (exec pgrep) for restricted environments.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling DecryptKeychainRecords on macOS when sysctl("kern.proc.all") returns an error: running without sufficient privileges, a kernel/security policy blocking the enumeration, or the sysctl being unavailable on the OS build.

Common situations: Running on a hardened macOS (SIP enforcing restrictions on process enumeration); running in a sandbox/container where sysctl is restricted; running an old binary on a newer macOS where KinfoProc layout changed.

Understand the failure class

Background: Permission denied / not authorized / 403 Forbidden: access-control rejections when the caller lacks the required role, grant, or ownership — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of moonD4rk/HackBrowserData@0503d04d7a (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/09d9e652427a5ac9. Report an issue: GitHub.