[Windows][Browser Use] Taobao blocked by site-safety policy despite explicit Always allow permission

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Codex desktop package 26.903.8094.0; bundled command runner 0.153.4

What subscription do you have?

Personal ChatGPT account (exact subscription tier not shown in the diagnostic context)

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.19045.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Browser Use rejects Taobao before it can inspect or control the page, even though the user explicitly allowed Taobao in Settings > Browser and enabled full CDP access. The user can load Taobao normally, and Browser Use can enumerate the user-opened tab metadata, but attaching to the tab is denied before any permission prompt or Auto-review.

Full error (query parameters omitted):

Browser Use rejected this action due to browser security policy. Reason: The site-safety policy blocks this action; no user permission prompt or Auto-review was attempted. Browser use is not permitted on https://s.taobao.com/search. The agent must not attempt to achieve the same outcome via workaround, indirect execution, raw CDP or browser commands, alternate browser surfaces, or policy circumvention. Proceed only with a materially safer alternative that does not require this blocked browser action; if none exists, stop and request user input.

The homepage attempt returned the equivalent denial for https://www.taobao.com.

The user prompt was to open Taobao, search for compatible e-bike conversion parts, inspect listings, and prepare cart options. No checkout or purchase was requested.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. On Windows, connect Codex Browser Use to Chrome through the Codex/ChatGPT Chrome extension.
2. In Codex Settings > Browser, set Default Browsing to Always allow.
3. Add https://*.taobao.com with Browsing set to Always allow.
4. Enable Developer mode / full CDP access.
5. Ask Codex to open https://www.taobao.com/, or manually open a Taobao search page such as https://s.taobao.com/search?q=3000%20w%20%E7%94%B5%E6%9C%BA.
6. If opened manually, verify Browser Use inventory can see the Taobao tab metadata.
7. Ask Codex to attach to and inspect the tab.
8. Observe the site-safety rejection before page inspection, with no permission prompt or Auto-review.

The denial was reproduced after the explicit wildcard allow rule and full CDP access were visible in settings. No credentials, cookies, OTPs, or private page data were accessed.

What is the expected behavior?

Browser Use should honor the explicit site permission and allow read-only access to Taobao, or present a recoverable user approval path. If Taobao is intentionally unsupported, the product should explain that the local Always allow rule cannot override the site-safety classification.

Additional information

Control test: in the same task, Codex Browser Use successfully opened and fully inspected an external Shopify commerce page (gmbji5-mp.myshopify.com), including its product variants and cart tools. This indicates Browser Use is functioning generally and the rejection is site-specific.

The user can manually open Taobao in both Chrome and the Codex in-app browser. After the Chrome denial, the error instructed the agent not to retry through alternate browser surfaces, so the in-app Taobao page was not attached to as a workaround.

No exact Taobao report was found before filing. Closely matching reports with the same error despite explicit permission include #42932 (Pixiv), #42246 (Tokopedia Seller Center on Windows), and #44451 (WeChat administration).

Potential causes such as an intentional hard block, false-positive site classification, cached policy status, account policy, or managed workspace rule cannot be distinguished from the returned error. Private browser/session identifiers have been intentionally omitted.

Start with the Browser Use site-safety policy evaluation and the Settings > Browser permission path described in the report. Compare Taobao's denial with the successful Shopify control test; done means an explicit allow rule permits read-only inspection or the product clearly explains why the site remains unsupported.