Mac authorization from other user account
Good evening,
I was just working on my Mac when the 1Password authorization screen popped up. It reads, "1Password requires authorization to work with Microsoft Excel. Click Authorize if the code below matches the one in your browser." Then there's the typical 6-digit number with 'Cancel' and 'Authorize' buttons.
No problem, except I'm not running Excel and wasn't doing anything that should have brought that screen up.
Out of curiosity I switched into my wife's account, and sure enough, there's a tab open in Safari with those same 6 numbers. Interestingly, Excel wasn't running in her account either.
It's troubling to me how 1Password is passing data between the user accounts. So how is it doing that, and should it be? And how come it is "Microsoft Excel" requesting authorization, when it was Safari on her account, and Excel isn't even running in either of our user accounts?
Thank you,
Alfie
1Password Version: 6.6.4
Extension Version: 4.6.3
OS Version: 10.12.4
Sync Type: Dropbox
Comments
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Hey @AlfieJ,
You have provided a great description of your set up - thank you for being so clear. I believe Excel is unrelated to this issue as 1Password doesn't interact with it - I think it might have just been a coincidence that it popped up an Authorization prompt at the same time you were using Excel. The fact that you have two Mac user accounts that you switch between is important though and can have the effect that you're experiencing. 1Password does have code that should prevent this from happening though and something must be going wrong with it.
I can provide some background if you like (or you can skip ahead to "Gather Diagnostics Reports" part below if you prefer :) ), the authorization process is so that the extension in the browser can be authorized with the 1Password app. This is straight forward however the communication between the two - between the extension and the app - is done over what's known as the loopback network interface on your Mac. This is an address that is common to all Mac User accounts which has the unfortunate side effect of allowing the 1Password extension running in one Mac User account to attempt to communicate with the 1Password app that's running in another Mac User account.
What appears to be happening in this case is that when you switch from one Mac User to the other, the authorization process kicks off again because the extension is switching between the two running 1Password apps (one in each Mac User Account) and then forgets the information that proves you've already authorized it. What should be happening is that when you switch from one Mac User to the other Mac User, is that 1Password on the Mac User you are switching from should no longer accept connections from the extension until you log back in as that Mac User so that you don't get into this situation. So something is going wrong here.
Gather Diagnostics Reports
I think to investigate what's going on here, please try to reproduce this issue again and then gather two Diagnostics Reports - one for each user account. Please let me describe how to do this below:
Log into your Mac user and if neccessary authorize your browser so that you can use 1Password.
Then switch to the other Mac user and authorize the browser there so that user can use 1Password.
Switch back to your Mac user once again and try to use 1Password. If you try to use the 1Password browser extension at this point, I imagine you'll be prompted once again to authorize. If not that's OK.
At this point please gather a Diagnostics Report from both Mac Users so you end up with two files similar to this: "1PasswordDiagnostics-Mac-Pro-2017-04-17_08-57.zip". The following guide will show you how to create a Diagnostics Report:
The following guide will show you how to create a Diagnostics Report:
https://support.1password.com/diagnostics
Attach the Diagnostics Report(s) to an email message addressed to support+forum@agilebits.com.
Please do not post your Diagnostics Report(s) in the forums, but please do include a link to this thread in your email, along with your forum handle so that we can "connect the dots" when we see your Diagnostics Report(s) in our inbox.
You should receive an automated reply from our BitBot assistant with a Support ID number. Please post that number here so we can track down the report(s) and ensure that this issue is dealt with quickly. :)
Once we see the report we should be able to better assist you. Thanks very much!
Important: Please ensure to not include any personal or sensitive information in the screenshot. Thanks for staying secure.
Looking forward to hearing back.
Matthew
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Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the help and the details.
I have not yet implemented diagnostic reports; let me tell you why.
After posting this, other odd things about the machine were noted, such as missing notification center widgets. My wife also said that the FaceTime camera kept turning on and off, and she wasn't doing anything with FaceTime.
That's freaky enough to make us think maybe there was a virus, even though they're rare on Macs. I downloaded BitDefender and ran it...nothing bad was noted.
Then I downloaded the Sierra installer and re-installed the whole OS. The notification center widgets are back, the FaceTime camera has stayed off, and 1Password has worked well. Right now it appears that somehow the OS got corrupted, and the reinstallation has fixed things.
If 1Password behaves strangely again, at that time I will follow your instructions and get you the results.
Thanks again,
Alfie0 -
Hey @AlfieJ,
Sorry to hear about all the trouble with your Mac. I'm glad you were able to get it back working again though and that 1Password has been working well since the re-install.
If you ever need anything else, please don't hesitate to write again. We're always here to help. :+1:
Best regards,
Matthew0
