Browser Use blocks AliExpress on macOS before any approval prompt, even with Always allow and a manually opened tab

Problem

Codex Desktop's built-in browser refuses agent access to an AliExpress product page before any approval prompt. The user can open the same page manually in the built-in browser. Changing the browser read permission from its default to Always allow did not resolve the refusal.

This reproduces the symptoms reported in #30354 (now closed), on macOS with the built-in browser.

Environment

• Codex Desktop on macOS.
• Built-in browser, not the Chrome extension.
• Reproduced on September 18, 2026.
• Exact app and macOS versions were not collected.

Task

Read a public printer-cartridge product listing: title, variants, capacity, chip type, compatibility and seller ratings. No purchase, payment, account changes or form submission was requested.

Product URL without tracking parameters:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010748671366.html

Steps and observed results

1. Ask Codex to open the product URL in the built-in browser.
2. Browser Use rejects access with the error below.
3. Change the browser read permission to Always allow and retry.
4. The same rejection occurs without an approval prompt.
5. Open the product page manually in the built-in browser. It loads successfully.
6. Ask Codex to inspect that existing tab. Listing tabs succeeds and exposes the product title and URL, but obtaining the tab for reading is rejected by the same policy.
7. As a control, ask Codex to open https://openai.com in the same browser. Navigation and reading the page's accessibility content both succeed.

The user also dismissed an import prompt while opening the page manually; whether that has any relevance is unknown.

Exact error

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://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010748671366.html.
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.

Expected behavior / requested clarification

If read-only access to this public listing is supported, the configured permission or an actionable approval prompt should allow it.

If an intentional site-safety restriction takes precedence, please explain that in the user-facing UI, distinguish it from configurable site permissions, and provide a supported review or appeal route. At present, Always allow appears ineffective and the error gives no actionable explanation.

Please clarify whether this is an intentional domain restriction, a policy-classification error, or a browser-permission bug, and whether a supported fix is available.

Impact

A straightforward product-research task cannot proceed despite explicit user authorization and successful manual navigation. The agent did not attempt to bypass the refusal.

Start with the Codex Desktop built-in browser flow on macOS and reproduce the AliExpress rejection, then compare it with the successful openai.com control and the Always allow setting. Trace the site-safety policy decision and browser read-permission handling; done means the behavior is classified and the UI either permits supported read-only access or clearly explains the restriction and review path.