# How to crash gdb on OS X

DevFeed: [How to crash gdb on OS X](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-to-crash-gdb-on-os-x-38915.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://idea.popcount.org/2012-11-13-how-to-crash-gdb-on-os-x>)

Author: Marek

Published: 2012-11-12T23:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Marek Majkowski](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/marek-majkowski.md>)

Topics: [gdb](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/gdb.md>), [Kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kernel.md>), [Processes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/processes.md>)

Tags: [crash](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/crash.md>), [gdb](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gdb.md>), [hack](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/hack.md>), [how-to](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/how-to.md>), [os](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/os.md>), [process](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/process.md>), [technical](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/technical.md>)

## AI overview

The article examines why running gdb on iTunes in OS X causes gdb to crash. It attributes the behavior to a process flag that forbids debugging and describes overriding a system call before iTunes invokes it as a workaround.

## Source excerpt

How to crash gdb on OS X or how to use gdb on iTunes In recent years the "Apple is evil" discussion started recurring more and more often. In last week's edition on the YCombinator, jrockway mentioned a very interesting technical quirk: [...] I tried to run gdb on iTunes, and gdb segfaulted. I did some research and found that Apple added extra code to the OS just to prevent someone from doing exactly that. They spent additional engineering effort just to lock me out of my own computer.