Logitech macOS Software Fails, Leaving Mice and Keyboards Malfunctioning

Logitech’s G HUB and Logi Options+ software stopped working, leaving users who relied on it for managing their mice and keyboards high and dry.

According to a Logitech employee on Reddit, the issue was caused by an expired certificate that they used to secure interprocess communication, resulting in the software not being able to start as expected.

This was a huge error on our part. I’m extremely sorry we caused an interruption to your work.

Since the issue only affected macOS users, many news outlets reported that the problem was caused by macOS not allowing software with an expired DeveloperID code signing certificate to run. However, according to Jeff Johnson (lapcatsoftware):

The blame here lies entirely with Logitech and not with macOS or Developer ID. The Logitech software performed some additional, custom validation, which failed after the Logitech Developer ID code signing certificate expired.

Many accessories require some kind of custom in-house app from the manufacturer in order to use all the features it has to offer, which leaves customers open to failures such as this. Your accessory not working as you expect might be the least of your concerns however.

Custom apps such as G HUB and Log Options+ often require administrator permissions on installation, which is a bad precedent to set as the security researcher/app developer duo Mysk:

These apps are often not sandboxed and only do the bare minimum required security in order to run on your system, leaving customers open to exploits.

They also tend to be required in order to update the firmware on your devices. Firmware updates are essential for the security of wireless devices like keyboards and mice. Without them, you’re leaving yourself open to potential full-device takeover.

The data collection that tends to come with these apps can leave your data vulnerable to data breaches on the company’s servers as well.

There’s a need for standardized solutions for updating and controlling wireless devices. There’s work on systems such as the Linux Vendor Firmware Service that aim to give both developers and users a standardized and smooth experience updating firmware for devices, however the developer buy-in leaves a lot to be desired.

Not to mention the myriad of proprietary features that come along with devices these days that require a custom app from the hardware vendor in order to control such as custom button bindings, lighting, etc. These are challenges that need to be tackled before we can really have an open and interoperable ecosystem of accessories that don’t require custom apps in order to function.

In the mean time, if you can avoid it, used wired accessories or use first-party accessories that don’t need a separate app in order to update and control them. Unfortunately that’s the best option for now until the situation improves.