asr restore fails when imaging / or /System/Volumes/Data

[lx9821]

Environment

• macOS: 15.6 (24G84)
• Kernel: Darwin 24.6.0
• Boot Volume: Macintosh HD
• Boot Mode: Normal
• System Integrity Protection (SIP): Enabled
• Fuji version: 1.1.0
• Device: MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Description
When attempting to image the root volume (/) using Fuji 1.1.0, the asr restore command begins successfully, but fails partway through during replication. The output is:

ASR / -> /dev/disk10s1
	Validating target...done
	Validating source...done
	Replicating ....10....20....30....40....50....60....70....80....90....100
	Replicating ....10....20
Volume replication failed - Fehler 49244

Before initiating the operation, I verified that the root volume was sealed. However, after this failure, the root volume seal appears to have been broken.

To work around this, I attempted to image /System/Volumes/Data instead. That fails immediately with the following message:

ASR /System/Volumes/Data -> /dev/disk10s1
	Validating target...done
	Validating source...
The source volume cannot be restored because it has a broken seal
Could not validate source - Ungültiges Argument

This indicates that the seal was indeed broken during the failed replication of /, rendering further imaging attempts invalid.

Notes

• This was attempted with SIP enabled.
• The seal was confirmed as intact before running the Fuji imaging process.
• The destination volume was freshly erased and unmounted.
• The failure consistently occurs after approximately 120% of replication progress is printed.
• After failure, the root volume is left in an altered (unsealed) state.

Request
Please advise whether this is a known issue or if further steps are required for compatibility with macOS 15.6. Additionally, let me know if there is a workaround for preserving the volume seal or a safer way to use Fuji on sealed system volumes.

user@MacBook-Air ~> diskutil apfs list
APFS Containers (3 found)
|
+-- Container disk3 7BAE9A5C-48FA-4FF1-BB7B-0EEFA30BCDDD
    ====================================================
    APFS Container Reference:     disk3
    Size (Capacity Ceiling):      245107195904 B (245.1 GB)
    Capacity In Use By Volumes:   130317983744 B (130.3 GB) (53.2% used)
    Capacity Not Allocated:       114789212160 B (114.8 GB) (46.8% free)
    |
    +-< Physical Store disk0s2 8143F9EE-F78B-4B13-B265-C3AE0B4F65E1
    |   -----------------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Physical Store Disk:   disk0s2
    |   Size:                       245107195904 B (245.1 GB)
    |
    +-> Volume disk3s1 822CE930-B481-49F2-BF53-AA4333106B1D
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s1 (System)
    |   Name:                      Macintosh HD (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
    |   Capacity Consumed:         11257888768 B (11.3 GB)
    |   Sealed:                    Yes
    |   FileVault:                 Yes (Unlocked)
    |   Encrypted:                 No
    |   |
    |   Snapshot:                  68CEC28D-B619-42B0-84B8-3493981979AC
    |   Snapshot Disk:             disk3s1s1
    |   Snapshot Mount Point:      /
    |   Snapshot Sealed:           Yes
    |
    +-> Volume disk3s2 0A90D98F-5815-45BD-B99B-36C59BF2A5CF
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s2 (Preboot)
    |   Name:                      Preboot (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/Preboot
    |   Capacity Consumed:         7197982720 B (7.2 GB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 No
    |
    +-> Volume disk3s3 C766931C-58CB-431C-97C5-3D81DEF45854
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s3 (Recovery)
    |   Name:                      Recovery (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
    |   Capacity Consumed:         1048784896 B (1.0 GB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 No
    |
    +-> Volume disk3s5 1794008E-CF69-40BA-BF82-B08A8CBDFE6B
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s5 (Data)
    |   Name:                      Data (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/Data
    |   Capacity Consumed:         109594124288 B (109.6 GB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 Yes (Unlocked)
    |
    +-> Volume disk3s6 10B02040-EFEB-4347-8F99-B336BDD62B1C
        ---------------------------------------------------
        APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s6 (VM)
        Name:                      VM (Case-insensitive)
        Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/VM
        Capacity Consumed:         1073766400 B (1.1 GB)
        Sealed:                    No
        FileVault:                 No

--- Here i started Fuji ---

user@MacBook-Air ~> diskutil apfs list
APFS Containers (4 found)
|
+-- Container disk3 7BAE9A5C-48FA-4FF1-BB7B-0EEFA30BCDDD
|   ====================================================
|   APFS Container Reference:     disk3
|   Size (Capacity Ceiling):      245107195904 B (245.1 GB)
|   Capacity In Use By Volumes:   130472636416 B (130.5 GB) (53.2% used)
|   Capacity Not Allocated:       114634559488 B (114.6 GB) (46.8% free)
|   |
|   +-< Physical Store disk0s2 8143F9EE-F78B-4B13-B265-C3AE0B4F65E1
|   |   -----------------------------------------------------------
|   |   APFS Physical Store Disk:   disk0s2
|   |   Size:                       245107195904 B (245.1 GB)
|   |
|   +-> Volume disk3s1 822CE930-B481-49F2-BF53-AA4333106B1D
|   |   ---------------------------------------------------
|   |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s1 (System)
|   |   Name:                      Macintosh HD (Case-insensitive)
|   |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
|   |   Capacity Consumed:         11257901056 B (11.3 GB)
|   |   Sealed:                    Broken
|   |   FileVault:                 Yes (Unlocked)
|   |   Encrypted:                 No
|   |   |
|   |   Snapshot:                  68CEC28D-B619-42B0-84B8-3493981979AC
|   |   Snapshot Disk:             disk3s1s1
|   |   Snapshot Mount Point:      /
|   |   Snapshot Sealed:           Yes
|   |
|   +-> Volume disk3s2 0A90D98F-5815-45BD-B99B-36C59BF2A5CF
|   |   ---------------------------------------------------
|   |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s2 (Preboot)
|   |   Name:                      Preboot (Case-insensitive)
|   |   Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/Preboot
|   |   Capacity Consumed:         7197982720 B (7.2 GB)
|   |   Sealed:                    No
|   |   FileVault:                 No
|   |
|   +-> Volume disk3s3 C766931C-58CB-431C-97C5-3D81DEF45854
|   |   ---------------------------------------------------
|   |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s3 (Recovery)
|   |   Name:                      Recovery (Case-insensitive)
|   |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
|   |   Capacity Consumed:         1048784896 B (1.0 GB)
|   |   Sealed:                    No
|   |   FileVault:                 No
|   |
|   +-> Volume disk3s5 1794008E-CF69-40BA-BF82-B08A8CBDFE6B
|   |   ---------------------------------------------------
|   |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s5 (Data)
|   |   Name:                      Data (Case-insensitive)
|   |   Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/Data
|   |   Capacity Consumed:         109748764672 B (109.7 GB)
|   |   Sealed:                    No
|   |   FileVault:                 Yes (Unlocked)
|   |
|   +-> Volume disk3s6 10B02040-EFEB-4347-8F99-B336BDD62B1C
|       ---------------------------------------------------
|       APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk3s6 (VM)
|       Name:                      VM (Case-insensitive)
|       Mount Point:               /System/Volumes/VM
|       Capacity Consumed:         1073766400 B (1.1 GB)
|       Sealed:                    No
|       FileVault:                 No
|
+-- Container disk6 A9C1FE3E-E9D7-408C-8F0E-7784095BCF35
    ====================================================
    APFS Container Reference:     disk6
    Size (Capacity Ceiling):      245921439744 B (245.9 GB)
    Capacity In Use By Volumes:   1508245504 B (1.5 GB) (0.6% used)
    Capacity Not Allocated:       244413194240 B (244.4 GB) (99.4% free)
    |
    +-< Physical Store disk5s2 9822EB42-9347-44C3-8760-54CDDF5B5E73
    |   -----------------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Physical Store Disk:   disk5s2
    |   Size:                       245921439744 B (245.9 GB)
    |
    +-> Volume disk6s2 07C28E60-AE28-4AA2-9E10-630A569825C7
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk6s2 (Data)
    |   Name:                      ASRDataVolume_1762 (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
    |   Capacity Consumed:         20480 B (20.5 KB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 No
    |
    +-> Volume disk6s1 371098BA-3C83-4CD7-A02D-FB45B3C91549
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk6s1 (System)
    |   Name:                      C02FKEAB21C_Acquisition2 (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
    |   Capacity Consumed:         1370857472 B (1.4 GB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 No
    |
    +-> Volume disk6s3 F708CCEE-3B8C-4978-8955-94006401B012
    |   ---------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk6s3 (Preboot)
    |   Name:                      Preboot (Case-insensitive)
    |   Mount Point:               Not Mounted
    |   Capacity Consumed:         20480 B (20.5 KB)
    |   Sealed:                    No
    |   FileVault:                 No
    |
    +-> Volume disk6s4 33BF14B6-6AB8-4891-ABF9-E13D1A3E4D23
        ---------------------------------------------------
        APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk6s4 (Recovery)
        Name:                      Recovery (Case-insensitive)
        Mount Point:               Not Mounted
        Capacity Consumed:         20480 B (20.5 KB)
        Sealed:                    No
        FileVault:                 No

[Lazza]

Thank you very much for this detailed and thorough bug report.

Please advise whether this is a known issue

Unfortunately I did not have time to test Fuji on that macOS version yet. When I can, I will surely test what happens to the volume seal as well, so thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[...] or if further steps are required for compatibility with macOS 15.6.

If you need to acquire a Mac for a real case (not just for testing) and you fear ASR issues, you should be able to complete the task by using the Rsync acquisition method. That one is expected to work even on damaged file systems and it should not affect the seal in any way. It's quite a bit slower, though.