Is this a Mac thing?
On Windows this is how most applications are distributed.
Same with Spotify etc.
Also even if it is open source, who really verifies the binary is built from the source published?
On Windows this is how most applications are distributed.
Same with Spotify etc.
Also even if it is open source, who really verifies the binary is built from the source published?
Apple notarization is usually the way for non Store downloads. Non-notarized apps present a warning and require overriding security settings to run (with admin privilege). There's nothing inherently stopping someone from notarizing code A and putting code B on GitHub, only that some sanity checks have been performed and the binary is not a known threat (or has been modified).
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizin...
Sorry what if the open source project made their CI/CD pipeline public? So users could exercise it, produce their own build, and then compare that to the notarized one? Would I then be able to verify that what I downloaded from the developer’s website is identical to what is built with the open source code? Just curious.
The mitigation is if someone finds out a (notarized) download is compromised, they can tell Apple and they can retroactively and quickly revoke the signing which is distributed via Gatekeeper. Other users should get the warning if they had previously run the app without an issue.