Intermittent Orange Screen on Windows RDP Sessions via PAM Client for macOS

Products

• CA Privileged Access Manager (PAM)

Issue/Introduction

When connecting to Windows RDP from macOS through PAM Client for macOS, the Windows Desktop occasionally displays an orange screen color. This orange screen sometimes resolves itself after a few minutes, but at other times it persists. The issue is reproducible when connecting both with and without autologin. 

Environment

• PAM Client 4.2.1
• Operating System: macOS Sequoia version 15.5
• Application Protocol: RDP
• Windows Desktop (Windows 10, Windows 11 client versions; not observed on Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025)

Cause

Investigations have concluded that the intermittent orange screen issue is not a PAM issue. The root cause appears to be specific to the Windows App's display behavior on macOS, potentially related to its color management implementation. This conclusion is supported by the following observations:

• This issue only affects connections to Windows desktop releases, not Windows server releases
• Session recordings of affected sessions do not show the orange tint, indicating that the bitmap data sent to the Windows App is correct.
• The orange tint is typically only visible in the initial full-screen view of the Windows App, and resizing the window or restoring to full screen after exiting full screen often resolves the color issue.

Resolution

This issue is external to Broadcom PAM and is attributed to the Microsoft Windows App for macOS.

Broadcom has opened a support ticket with Microsoft to further investigate this behavior within the Windows App for Mac OS. But customers experiencing this issue are encouraged to open a support case directly with Microsoft for further investigation and resolution, referencing Broadcom's case number in Microsoft Support: 2509050040000555

Workaround: Toggling the window of the Windows App between full-screen mode and windowed mode may temporarily resolve the orange tint.