JAMF Corrupting Dock mobileconfig ???

[jmcmahon1]

I'm sending out a System level Dock mobileconfig (which I've been doing for years now) to our computer labs, and it has always worked well.  Until recently...

When I upload my mobileconfig file created by dock-master, I get a dock full of question marks.

If I check the dock plist in the Managed Preferences folder, all of my Application locations have had '/System' added to the front of their strings.

i.e.: 

This:

<dict>
<key>file-data</key>
<dict>
<key>_CFURLString</key>
<string>/Applications/Google Chrome.app</string>
<key>_CFURLStringType</key>
<integer>0</integer>
</dict>
</dict>

Turns into this:

<dict>
<key>file-data</key>
<dict>
<key>_CFURLString</key>
<string>/System/Applications/Google Chrome.app</string>
<key>_CFURLStringType</key>
<integer>0</integer>
</dict>
</dict>

Why on Earth would either JAMF or macOS think all of my Applications are in /System???

This substitution makes no sense.

[ThomM]

Yeah, seeing this on some newly deployed lab Macs here too. Awesome sauce.

[jmcmahon1]

I certainly think this is a bug in JAMF as it is happening on macOS 12.6.3, 13.0, and 13.4 machines.

[ThomM]

hrm.... just downloaded the config profile in question and opened it in iMazing Profile Editor, and it seems the change is in there.  Looks like this is on Jamf's side of things.  Time to put in a ticket about it.

[jmcmahon1]

Already did. :-)

CS0966773

[ThomM]

Me too. CS0966850.

[daz]

Me to CS0970820

[jmcmahon1]

Check my cheesy work around below.

[jmcmahon1]

They escalated me to 2nd tier support who told me they are aware of the solution and to get around it, don't use mobileconfigs for the Dock, use Dockutil.  I don't want to use Dockutil, but without an ETA of when they can fix this, I might be forced to.

[jmcmahon1]

Found a cheeseball workaround to this debacle.  Use TOO MANY slashes on purpose in your mobileconfig file.

For example, instead of using this string:

<string>/Applications/Google Chrome.app</string>

Use this string:

<string>//Applications/Google Chrome.app</string>

Notice the extra leading slash?  It's enough to fool the faulty logic in JAMF and prevent the adding of /System to the string.

[ThomM]

Wow, that's wild.  My workaround is manually configuring the Dock as I need it on one client, then uploading that com.apple.dock.plist as a custom settings payload. Which is actually how we *used* to manage the Docks in our labs ages ago until something (I forget if it was Jamf or Apple) broke it and we had to move to uploading a Dock mobileconfig built in iMazing Profile Editor.

[jmcmahon1]

Yeah, I used to move Dock PLISTs between machines too, back in the day.  I wrapped them in a package and delivered the PKG through JAMF.

[SGill]

Seeing this with our deployments now too - seems to have started with jamf 10.46.1 - didn't see it with 10.45

[jmcmahon1]

Do the silly workaround I discovered above and you'll be back in business until JAMF figures out what they broke. :-)