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Updated on Nov. 28, 2025
Ever wonder what malware macOS can detect and remove without help from third-party software? Apple continuously adds new malware detection rules to Mac’s built-in XProtect suite. While most rule names (signatures) are obfuscated, with a bit of reversing engineering, security researchers can map them to their common industry names.
In this updated Thanksgiving edition of Security Bite, I revisit a story I started working on in May of 2024. Because Apple is continuously adding new modules to its XProtect suite to combat the latest malware trends, I suspect this column will continue to update over time. Here’s what malware your Mac can detect and remove on its own:
XProtect, Yara rules, huh?
XProtect was introduced in 2009 as part of macOS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Initially, it was released to detect and alert users if malware was discovered in an installation file. However, XProtect has recently evolved significantly. The retirement of the long-standing Malware Removal Tool (MRT) in April 2022 prompted the emergence of XProtectRemediator (XPR), a more capable native anti-malware component responsible for detecting and remedying threats on Mac.
The XProtect suite utilizes Yara signature-based detection to identify malware. Yara itself is a widely adopted open-source tool that identifies files (including malware) based on specific characteristics and patterns in the code or metadata. What’s so great about Yara rules is any organization or individual can create and utilize their own, including Apple.
As of macOS 15 Sequoia, the XProtect suite consists of three main components:
The XProtect app can detect malware using Yara rules whenever an app first launches, changes, or updates its signatures. XProtectRemediator (XPR) is more proactive and can detect and remove malware by regular scanning with Yara rules, among other things. These occur in the background during periods of low activity and have minimal impact on the CPU. The latest version of macOS includes XProtectBehaviorService (XBS), which monitors system behavior in relation to critical resources.
Unfortunately, Apple mostly uses generic internal naming schemes in XProtect that obfuscate the common malware names. While this is done for good reason, it makes it challenging for those curious to know exactly what malware XProtect can identify.
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