Apple - Process in /System/Library/Frameworks/Accounts.framework/Versions/A/Support/accountsd taking almost all ressources (Catalina - MacOS 10.15.6)
On Catalina, anything in /System is mounted in a read-only, protected volume, and so almost certainly is part of the OS and not malware.
Secondly, ramping up CPU or memory is usually not indicative of malware. Malware generally tries to hide itself, not advertise. It can be poorly written, of course. (As can the OS.)
There are many reports of MacOS processes going a bit wild every now and again: sometimes they may need to do a bit of work and then calm down; other times they may suggest a problem which needs to be fixed.
Why is the accountsd process eating so much CPU?
Accountsd using lots of CPU constantly
Process "accountsd" has over 500% CPU usage
This blog suggests that you may need to delete a local keychain folder inside <user>/Library/Keychains (which may cause some passwords to be forgotten).
https://waal70blog.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/accountsd-and-secd-high-cpu-usage-on-catalina/
An alternative offered is just to reboot to Safe Mode (hold Shift at restart), then restart normally.
I would get the 10.15.7 update which brings you to build 19H2. (And apply the combo installer if you see this issue on 19H2 if you upgraded incrementally)
On Mojave, Apple has released a supplemental update that addresses this as they didn’t have a .7 ready to release - I would make a backup and then apply all updates either on Catalina or Mojave as we’ve seen great results with both in the past 24 hours at work with no issues new and old issues fixed well.
- https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2052 (10.15.7 Combo)
- https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2015 (10.14.6 Mojave supplemental)
If you’re interested in testing or analysis, these two authors are superb at describing the issue and fix.
- https://eclecticlight.co/2020/10/02/apple-has-released-macos-mojave-10-14-6-supplemental-update-2/
- https://mrmacintosh.com/10-14-6-supplemental-update-safari-14-released-to-fix-previous-issues/
Q: What is accountsd?
A: Process to find some links at data with your ID
Q: Why it happens?
A: Your OS want to make indexes with your ID and so on with all data on your data-drives
Q: How can I fix it?
A: Just add to ignore folders/drives at Spotlight (tool to index data at Mac OS)
Also consider patching your OS if it’s Mojave or Catalina
Navigate to:
- System preferences
- Spotlight
- Privacy
Add a folder with your projects to list (in my case node_modules folder used a lot of indexes)
Example of Privacy window at Mac OS Catalina 10.15.7
