Yubico Forum

Background
Mac OS X 10.11 (code named El Capitan) introduces a new security feature, called System Integrity Protection (or SIP). This security feature allows files to be modified only by the system installer and software updates. One of the files which is locked down by the new security policy is the libccid smart card reader white list. This file contains a list of all known smart card readers. The YubiKey devices need to be white listed in this file — if they are not, no smart card functions will work because the reader will not be found.

The version of libccid included El Capitan is 1.4.14, while the latest release is 1.4.20 (reference https://alioth.debian.org/frs/?group_id=30105#title_ccid). This file is maintained by the libccid project, and all smart card manufacturers submit any new PIDs for inclusion in this list.

For versions of Mac OS X prior to El Capitan, if our PID was not in this list, we solved the issue by providing a patch for the reader list, which added all of our YubiKeys to the list. In the past, we bundled this patch with the YubiKey NEO Manager as well as some of our other utilities. However, in El Capitan, you will not be able to run the patch directly.

Solution
Many Mac OS X users upgrade to the latest versions of the operating system as soon as Apple makes the release available. If you choose to upgrade to El Capitan when it releases, you will no longer be able to use all the capabilities of the YubiKey NEO. In order to resolve this issue, we have created a standalone libccid installer to install (update) just the smart card reader white list. Be sure that you have upgraded to El Capitan first. Then download and run this standalone installer, called ifd-yubico.pkg, available from our Downloads page. Download and double-click the package file to begin the installation process. This installer requires that you reboot your system for the installation to complete.

If you are a new user, or if you are installing the ifd-yubico.pkg on a new system, you may need to download and install the relevant YubiKey tools to use the YubiKey NEO:

• YubiKey NEO Manager, used to enable or disable communication modes using USB
• Yubico Authenticator, used when you want to use your YubiKey with OATH-TOTP credentials instead of the Google Authenticator
• YubiKey PIV Manager, used when you want to use PIV/smart card functionality

These tools are also available on our Downloads page. You can find information on how to use these tools on our Documentation page.

Miscellaneous Files
LIBCCID Standalone Installer for Mac OS X

_________________
-David Maples
Yubico Senior Solutions Engineer
http://www.Yubico.com