System extensions remain: Old bug from macOS 15.3 also in Tahoe

If you try to delete an app in macOS 26 alias Tahoe that contains a System Extension, you can’t currently expect the latter to actually disappear from the Mac. This is pointed out by the makers of the popular network monitor Little Snitch. Like developer Norbert Heger in the blog of the manufacturer Objective Development , the problem already existed in macOS 15.3 (Sequoia). Only Apple itself knows how the regression that the bug reappears occurs.

Silent deletion failure

Actually, deleting an app with a system extension is supposed to ensure that the latter also disappears – macOS also shows a corresponding dialog for this. “But in many cases, this process silently fails on macOS 26. The extension remains registered in the system,” says Heger. This leads to confusion for users: The app is gone, but the System Extension is still loaded and still appears in the system settings. At least theoretically, this can also lead to instability, because the extension will then no longer find its host app – but reports of this have not yet surfaced.

There are several ways to check which system extensions are (still) loading. The easiest is an excursion to the terminal – there must then be systemextensionsctl list can be entered. Submerge the system extension of the deleted app (activated enabled) it is still there and should be removed by hand.

Manual solution via the system settings

Fortunately, deleting by hand is simple: In the system settings, go to “General” and “Login items & extensions”. There you click on “By category” and can browse the different types of extensions – in Little Snitch, for example, it would be the network extensions. Deletion is then done by clicking on the three dots and “Delete extension”.

After that, the problem should be resolved. Whether and when Apple itself will implement a fix is unclear. macOS 26.1 is at least in the starting blocks soon and should be released in October. In any case, Objective Development has already reported the problem to Apple, Heger writes.