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 macOS 10.14.6 Mojave Supplemental Update Fixes Problems with an Updated Safari
                                      14.0

   Adam Engst

   As we warned in '[1]Security Update 2020-005 (Mojave and High Sierra),'
   (28 September 2020), users of macOS 10.14 Mojave who installed Security
   Update 2020-005 experienced numerous problems, as [2]well-documented by
   Mr. Macintosh. Issues included large increases in memory usage, slow
   boots, overall system slowness, the inability to create new users, and
   more. Further discussion suggested that the problems might have been
   related to installing Safari 14.0 (released the previous week) before
   Security Update 2020-005.

   Apple pulled the updates for both Safari 14.0 and Security Update
   2020-005 on 30 September 2020. Then, late in the day on 1 October 2020,
   the company released [3]macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental Update that, in
   fact, only installs a fixed version of Safari 14.0 and requires a
   restart. Apple also re-released Security Update 2020-005.

   The [4]initial coverage from Mr. Macintosh suggests that the
   supplemental update fixes all the previous problems.

   Precisely what you'll see in Software Update depends on what you
   installed previously. Regardless, the practical upshot is that letting
   Security Update 2020-005 (if available) and macOS 10.14.6 Supplemental
   Update install will give you the updated Safari 14.0 and security
   update code. If you've installed Safari 14.0 or Security Update
   2020-005 previously, we recommend installing this supplemental update
   immediately.

   However, if you want to stay on an earlier version of Safari for some
   reason, you should be able to install Security Update 2020-005, but
   don't install the supplemental update.

   We suspect is that the new version of Safari 14.0 installed by the
   supplemental update addresses only the bugs that triggered all the
   problems after Security Update 2020-005 was installed. Quite a few
   people have reported [5]separate troubles with Safari 14.0, and we're
   guessing that Safari 14.0.1, now in beta testing, will address those.

   Although Apple responded fairly quickly, it's still a black eye for the
   company to ship a security update that caused such problems. In Apple's
   defense, the situation was unusual, with the problems originating with
   the separate Safari 14.0 update and being revealed only after the user
   installed Security Update 2020-005. Nevertheless, we hope Apple is
   investigating how such major issues slipped through internal testing.

   When we write about Apple's operating system updates, we always try to
   offer advice about when to install. It's now clear that we'll need to
   make such recommendations for Safari and security updates in the future
   as well. The specifics may vary with the severity of the fixed
   vulnerabilities, but in general, we currently suggest that you should
   wait at least a week before installing updates like these.

References

   Visible links
   1. https://tidbits.com/watchlist/security-update-2020-005-mojave-and-high-sierra/
   2. https://mrmacintosh.com/mojave-2020-005-security-update-causing-major-problems-updated/
   3. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2015
   4. https://mrmacintosh.com/10-14-6-supplemental-update-safari-14-released-to-fix-previous-issues/
   5. https://talk.tidbits.com/t/safari-14/13569?u=ace

   Hidden links:
   6. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2020/10/macOS-10.14.6-Supplemental-Update.png

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