norberg

We have a revised set of commands that fix the symlink more correctly. These can only be run from macOS Recovery Console:

  rm -rf /Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle
  ln -shf /private/var /var
  chflags -h restricted /var
  chflags -h hidden /var
  xattr -sw com.apple.rootless "" /var

yikes! thanks, fixed.

yikes! thanks, fixed.

We have stopped pushing the affected version of Keystone, so if your computer has not been broken yet, it won't be.

If it has been broken but not rebooted:

  sudo rm -rf /Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle
  sudo ln /private/var /var

should fix it. That deletes Keystone and fixes the symlink. If it has been rebooted, these commands at a recovery console should repair the computer.

Chrome will subsequently ask for admin credentials to reinstall the updater next time you run it. This will not re-break the computer; the version of Keystone bundled with Chrome is older, and we have stopped serving the version affected by this issue.

Hey. Google Keystone tech lead here. We are aware of the issue, and we've stopped the release. We're building a replacement that fixes the problem. In the meantime, to fix affected machines:

  sudo rm -rf /Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle
  sudo ln -F /private/var /var

This deletes the affected version of Keystone and reinstates the damaged /var symlink.

The version of Keystone packaged with Chrome is not affected by this bug, so allowing it to reinstall Keystone will not recreate the issue.