Why does iCloud ask for my iPhone's passcode when signing in on OS X [duplicate]

Due to some iCloud struggles, I had recently occasion to sign into and out of iCloud on OS X a few times recently. Interestingly, when I have 2FA enabled on my iCloud account, OS X asked for the screen lock passcode to my iPhone when signing in to iCloud, and would not sign in without it (no . After the initial sign in succeeds, it prompts for the iCloud password again, and this time asks for the 2FA code.

This was a surprising and unexpected part of the authentication flow. Does anyone know why iCloud / OS X / iOS interact in this way?

Solution 1:

It just seems to be an extra security measure, so that somebody who steals your iphone in an unlocked state can not quickly use the 2FA to change your iCloud account.