APFS volume creation can still fail with Permission denied after preparing the raw and block device aliases because newfs_apfs performs privileged APFS container and volume operations beyond opening the device nodes.
Route APFS formatting through the elevated CoreService path for non-root macOS runs. Keep the elevated interface narrow by sending only the target device and invoking user UID/GID, validate the device path on the privileged side, rebuild the formatter arguments there, and execute /sbin/newfs_apfs by absolute path to avoid PATH shadowing.
Pass -U/-G so the created filesystem preserves the invoking user ownership. Apply the same path to GUI and text-mode creation.
When normal filesystem unmount fails, the Linux path could stop before cleaning VeraCrypt mapper, loop and FUSE objects. Add an explicit emergency dismount request that is only reached after interactive confirmation.
The recovery path lazy-detaches mounted filesystems, uses deferred dmsetup removal for VeraCrypt mapper devices, detaches loop devices, and keeps normal force/ignoreOpenFiles behavior unchanged.