Protect inline visualization viewers from sandbox writes (#38306)

## Why

Inline visualization viewer documents must remain outside locations that a
sandboxed session can modify before they are opened in a browser.

## What changed

- Materialize viewer documents in a dedicated cache under `CODEX_HOME`, keyed
  by the source and artifact thread IDs, instead of alongside visualization
  artifacts.
- Create visualization links only when the active filesystem policy cannot
  write to the viewer cache. This also disables links for full-disk-write
  sessions and applies the policy consistently when loading transcript history.
- Reject viewer cache paths containing symbolic links and track materialized
  documents in memory so unchanged viewers are reused without trusting existing
  file contents.

## Testing

- Verify that rendering an unchanged visualization reuses the existing viewer
  file, while an updated fragment refreshes it.

GitOrigin-RevId: 12b7fbe522a68076e5d683a987b7801940d131c2

codex-rs/tui/src/app/history_pagination.rs

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ impl App {
                 &cwd,
                 user_items.iter().map(|(_, item)| item.clone()),
                 visibility,
-                Some(self.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+                Some(&self.config),
             );
             let mut persisted_user_cells = user_items
                 .into_iter()
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ impl App {
             &cwd,
             items,
             visibility,
-            Some(self.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+            Some(&self.config),
         );
         if self.backtrack.overlay_preview_active {
             self.backtrack.nth_user_message = self.backtrack.nth_user_message.saturating_add(

codex-rs/tui/src/app/tests/session_lifecycle_requests.rs

@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ async fn older_pagination_reconciles_review_prompts_across_page_boundaries() ->
         &app.config.cwd,
         started.turns.iter().flat_map(|turn| turn.items.clone()),
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     );
     app.enqueue_primary_thread_session(started.session, started.turns)
         .await?;
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ async fn transcript_home_loads_every_older_history_page() -> Result<()> {
         &app.config.cwd,
         started.turns.iter().flat_map(|turn| turn.items.clone()),
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     );
     app.enqueue_primary_thread_session(started.session, started.turns)
         .await?;
@@ -718,7 +718,7 @@ async fn remote_legacy_history_start_negotiates_once_for_resume_and_fork() -> Re
         &mut app_server,
         paginated_thread_id,
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
         vec![Arc::new(PlainHistoryCell::new(vec!["visible".into()]))],
     )
     .await
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ async fn underfilled_scrollback_fetches_older_pages_without_opening_the_transcri
         &app.config.cwd,
         started.turns.iter().flat_map(|turn| turn.items.clone()),
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     );
     initial_cells.insert(
         /*index*/ 0,
@@ -1076,7 +1076,7 @@ async fn paginated_workflows_never_request_full_thread_history() -> Result<()> {
         &mut app_server,
         paginated_thread_id,
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     )
     .await?;
     assert!(!cells.is_empty());
@@ -1105,7 +1105,7 @@ async fn paginated_workflows_never_request_full_thread_history() -> Result<()> {
         &mut app_server,
         legacy_thread_id,
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     )
     .await?;
     let legacy_reads = recorded_params(&requests, "thread/read");
@@ -1287,7 +1287,7 @@ async fn cold_paginated_subagent_transcript_excludes_inherited_parent_history()
         &mut app_server,
         child_thread_id,
         crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-        Some(app.config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(&app.config),
     )
     .await?;
     let visible_history = cells

codex-rs/tui/src/app/transcript_export.rs

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ use crate::history_cell::ReasoningSummaryCell;
 use crate::history_cell::SessionInfoCell;
 use crate::history_cell::UserHistoryCell;
 use crate::history_cell::raw_lines_from_source;
+use crate::legacy_core::config::Config;
 use crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility;
 use crate::thread_transcript::thread_items_to_transcript_cells;
 
@@ -42,12 +43,11 @@ impl App {
         } else {
             RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden
         };
-        let codex_home = self.config.codex_home.to_path_buf();
         let cells = load_export_transcript(
             app_server,
             thread_id,
             visibility,
-            Some(codex_home.as_path()),
+            Some(&self.config),
             self.transcript_cells.clone(),
         )
         .await?;
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ pub(super) async fn load_export_transcript(
     app_server: &mut AppServerSession,
     thread_id: ThreadId,
     visibility: RawReasoningVisibility,
-    codex_home: Option<&Path>,
+    config: Option<&Config>,
     visible_transcript: Vec<Arc<dyn HistoryCell>>,
 ) -> Result<Vec<Arc<dyn HistoryCell>>, String> {
     let mut thread = app_server
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ pub(super) async fn load_export_transcript(
                 &thread.cwd,
                 [item],
                 visibility,
-                codex_home,
+                config,
             ));
         }
     }

codex-rs/tui/src/app_server_session/history.rs

@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ fn rendered_history_rows(
         &thread.cwd,
         items,
         visibility,
-        Some(config.codex_home.as_path()),
+        Some(config),
     )
     .into_iter()
     .fold(rendered_rows, |rows, cell| {

codex-rs/tui/src/inline_visualization.rs

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ use std::ops::Range;
 use std::path::Component;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::sync::Mutex;
 use url::Url;
 use uuid::Uuid;
 
@@ -33,9 +35,12 @@ const MAX_FRAGMENT_BYTES: u64 = 2 * 1024 * 1024;
 pub(crate) struct InlineVisualizationContext {
     visualizations_dir: PathBuf,
     thread_dir: PathBuf,
+    viewer_dir: PathBuf,
+    materialized_viewers: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<PathBuf, String>>>,
 }
 
 impl InlineVisualizationContext {
+    #[cfg(test)]
     pub(crate) fn new(codex_home: &Path, thread_id: ThreadId) -> Option<Self> {
         Self::new_with_writable_roots(codex_home, thread_id, std::iter::empty())
     }
@@ -44,15 +49,33 @@ impl InlineVisualizationContext {
         config: &crate::legacy_core::config::Config,
         thread_id: ThreadId,
     ) -> Option<Self> {
-        let writable_roots = config
+        let file_system_policy = config.permissions.file_system_sandbox_policy();
-            .permissions
+        if file_system_policy.has_full_disk_write_access() {
-            .file_system_sandbox_policy()
+            return None;
-            .get_writable_roots_with_cwd(config.cwd.as_path());
+        }
-        Self::new_with_writable_roots(
+        let writable_roots = file_system_policy.get_writable_roots_with_cwd(config.cwd.as_path());
+        let context = Self::new_with_writable_roots(
             config.codex_home.as_path(),
             thread_id,
             writable_roots.iter().map(|root| root.root.as_path()),
-        )
+        )?;
+        let viewer_caches = [
+            config.codex_home.as_path().join("visualization-viewers"),
+            context.viewer_dir.parent()?.parent()?.to_path_buf(),
+        ];
+        for viewer_cache in viewer_caches {
+            if file_system_policy.can_write_path_with_cwd(&viewer_cache, config.cwd.as_path())
+                || file_system_policy
+                    .can_write_path_with_cwd(viewer_cache.parent()?, config.cwd.as_path())
+                || writable_roots.iter().any(|root| {
+                    root.is_path_writable(&viewer_cache)
+                        || root.root.as_path().starts_with(&viewer_cache)
+                })
+            {
+                return None;
+            }
+        }
+        Some(context)
     }
 
     fn new_with_writable_roots<'a>(
@@ -60,6 +83,7 @@ impl InlineVisualizationContext {
         thread_id: ThreadId,
         writable_roots: impl IntoIterator<Item = &'a Path>,
     ) -> Option<Self> {
+        let codex_home = fs::canonicalize(codex_home).ok()?;
         let thread_id = thread_id.to_string();
         let uuid = Uuid::parse_str(&thread_id).ok()?;
         let timestamp = uuid.get_timestamp()?;
@@ -74,11 +98,17 @@ impl InlineVisualizationContext {
             [thread_dir] => (*thread_dir).to_path_buf(),
             _ => visualizations_dir
                 .join(created_at.format("%Y/%m/%d").to_string())
-                .join(thread_id),
+                .join(&thread_id),
         };
+        let artifact_thread_id = thread_dir.file_name()?.to_owned();
         Some(Self {
             visualizations_dir,
             thread_dir,
+            viewer_dir: codex_home
+                .join("visualization-viewers")
+                .join(thread_id)
+                .join(artifact_thread_id),
+            materialized_viewers: Arc::default(),
         })
     }
 
@@ -110,7 +140,9 @@ impl InlineVisualizationContext {
         if !fragment_path.starts_with(&thread_dir) {
             return None;
         }
-        let viewer_path = materialize_document(&fragment_path, &thread_dir).ok()?;
+        let viewer_path =
+            materialize_document(&fragment_path, &self.viewer_dir, &self.materialized_viewers)
+                .ok()?;
         Url::from_file_path(viewer_path).ok()
     }
 }

codex-rs/tui/src/inline_visualization/viewer.rs

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 use super::MAX_FRAGMENT_BYTES;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::fs;
 use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::sync::Mutex;
 
 const FRAGMENT_PLACEHOLDER: &str = "<!--__INLINE_VISUALIZATION_FRAGMENT__-->";
 const VIEWER_DIRECTORY_NAME: &str = ".codex-viewers";
@@ -14,7 +16,11 @@ const VIEWER_RUNTIME: &str = include_str!("assets/visualize.html");
 const FRAME_CSP: &str = "default-src 'none'; script-src 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval' 'wasm-unsafe-eval' blob: data: https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com https://cdn.jsdelivr.net https://esm.sh https://fonts.bunny.net https://fonts.googleapis.com https://fonts.gstatic.com https://unpkg.com; style-src 'unsafe-inline' blob: data: https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com https://cdn.jsdelivr.net https://esm.sh https://fonts.bunny.net https://fonts.googleapis.com https://fonts.gstatic.com https://unpkg.com; img-src blob: data: https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com https://cdn.jsdelivr.net https://esm.sh https://fonts.bunny.net https://fonts.googleapis.com https://fonts.gstatic.com https://unpkg.com; font-src blob: data: https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com https://cdn.jsdelivr.net https://esm.sh https://fonts.bunny.net https://fonts.googleapis.com https://fonts.gstatic.com https://unpkg.com; media-src blob: data:; worker-src blob:; connect-src blob: data:; frame-src 'none'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'none'; form-action 'none'";
 const SHELL_STYLE: &str = ":root{color-scheme:light dark;background:light-dark(rgb(255 255 255), rgb(24 24 24))}html,body{margin:0}body{box-sizing:border-box;padding:1rem;background:inherit}iframe{display:block;width:100%;max-width:736px;height:calc(100vh - 2rem);margin:0 auto;border:0}";
 
-pub(super) fn materialize_document(path: &Path, thread_dir: &Path) -> std::io::Result<PathBuf> {
+pub(super) fn materialize_document(
+    path: &Path,
+    viewer_dir: &Path,
+    materialized_viewers: &Mutex<HashMap<PathBuf, String>>,
+) -> std::io::Result<PathBuf> {
     let metadata = path.metadata()?;
     if !metadata.is_file() || metadata.len() > MAX_FRAGMENT_BYTES {
         return Err(std::io::Error::other("invalid visualization fragment"));
@@ -28,29 +34,30 @@ pub(super) fn materialize_document(path: &Path, thread_dir: &Path) -> std::io::R
         .replace('-', " ");
     let document = render_fragment(&fragment, &title);
 
-    let thread_dir = fs::canonicalize(thread_dir)?;
+    let viewer_dir = viewer_dir.join(VIEWER_DIRECTORY_NAME);
-    let viewer_dir = thread_dir.join(VIEWER_DIRECTORY_NAME);
     fs::create_dir_all(&viewer_dir)?;
-    let viewer_dir = fs::canonicalize(viewer_dir)?;
+    if fs::canonicalize(&viewer_dir)? != viewer_dir {
-    if !viewer_dir.starts_with(&thread_dir) {
         return Err(std::io::Error::other(
-            "visualization viewer directory escapes thread directory",
+            "visualization viewer directory must not contain symbolic links",
         ));
     }
     let file_name = path
         .file_name()
         .ok_or_else(|| std::io::Error::other("visualization fragment has no file name"))?;
     let viewer_path = viewer_dir.join(file_name);
-    if fs::read_to_string(&viewer_path).is_ok_and(|existing| existing == document) {
+    let mut materialized_viewers = materialized_viewers
+        .lock()
+        .map_err(|_| std::io::Error::other("visualization viewer cache is unavailable"))?;
+    if materialized_viewers.get(&viewer_path) == Some(&document) {
         return Ok(viewer_path);
     }
-
     let mut temporary = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new_in(&viewer_dir)?;
     temporary.write_all(document.as_bytes())?;
     temporary.flush()?;
     temporary
         .persist(&viewer_path)
         .map_err(|error| error.error)?;
+    materialized_viewers.insert(viewer_path.clone(), document);
     Ok(viewer_path)
 }
 

codex-rs/tui/src/inline_visualization_tests.rs

@@ -244,12 +244,37 @@ fn viewer_reuses_path_and_refreshes_static_document() {
     let (_codex_home, context) = context_with_fragment("<div>first</div>");
     let first_url = context.link_for("chart.html").expect("first viewer link");
     let viewer_path = first_url.to_file_path().expect("viewer file path");
+    let original_viewer_metadata = fs::metadata(&viewer_path).expect("read viewer metadata");
     assert!(
         fs::read_to_string(&viewer_path)
             .expect("read first viewer")
             .contains("first")
     );
 
+    let reused_url = context.link_for("chart.html").expect("reused viewer link");
+
+    assert_eq!(reused_url, first_url);
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    {
+        use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt;
+        assert_eq!(
+            fs::metadata(&viewer_path)
+                .expect("read reused viewer metadata")
+                .ino(),
+            original_viewer_metadata.ino()
+        );
+    }
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    {
+        use std::os::windows::fs::MetadataExt;
+        assert_eq!(
+            fs::metadata(&viewer_path)
+                .expect("read reused viewer metadata")
+                .creation_time(),
+            original_viewer_metadata.creation_time()
+        );
+    }
+
     fs::write(context.thread_dir.join("chart.html"), "<div>second</div>").expect("update fragment");
     let second_url = context.link_for("chart.html").expect("second viewer link");
 

codex-rs/tui/src/lib.rs

@@ -3164,7 +3164,7 @@ mod tests {
                 let preview = crate::resume_picker::load_transcript_preview(
                     &mut app_server,
                     thread_id,
-                    /*codex_home*/ None,
+                    /*config*/ None,
                 )
                 .await?;
                 assert!(!preview.is_empty());
@@ -3173,7 +3173,7 @@ mod tests {
                 &mut app_server,
                 thread_id,
                 crate::thread_transcript::RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-                /*codex_home*/ None,
+                /*config*/ None,
             )
             .await?;
             assert!(cells.len() > 100);

codex-rs/tui/src/resume_picker.rs

@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ async fn run_resume_picker_with_launch_context(
             archive_request_handle,
             include_non_interactive,
             raw_reasoning_visibility(config),
-            (!uses_remote_workspace).then(|| config.codex_home.to_path_buf()),
+            (!uses_remote_workspace).then(|| config.clone()),
             bg_tx,
         ),
         bg_rx,
@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ pub async fn run_fork_picker_with_app_server(
             archive_request_handle,
             /*include_non_interactive*/ false,
             raw_reasoning_visibility(config),
-            (!uses_remote_workspace).then(|| config.codex_home.to_path_buf()),
+            (!uses_remote_workspace).then(|| config.clone()),
             bg_tx,
         ),
         bg_rx,
@@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ fn spawn_app_server_page_loader(
     archive_request_handle: AppServerRequestHandle,
     include_non_interactive: bool,
     raw_reasoning_visibility: RawReasoningVisibility,
-    codex_home: Option<PathBuf>,
+    config: Option<Config>,
     bg_tx: mpsc::UnboundedSender<BackgroundEvent>,
 ) -> PickerLoader {
     let (request_tx, mut request_rx) = mpsc::unbounded_channel::<PickerLoadRequest>();
@@ -671,8 +671,7 @@ fn spawn_app_server_page_loader(
                 }
                 PickerLoadRequest::Preview { thread_id } => {
                     let preview =
-                        load_transcript_preview(&mut app_server, thread_id, codex_home.as_deref())
+                        load_transcript_preview(&mut app_server, thread_id, config.as_ref()).await;
-                            .await;
                     let _ = bg_tx.send(BackgroundEvent::Preview { thread_id, preview });
                 }
                 PickerLoadRequest::Transcript {
@@ -684,7 +683,7 @@ fn spawn_app_server_page_loader(
                             &mut app_server,
                             thread_id,
                             raw_reasoning_visibility,
-                            codex_home.as_deref(),
+                            config.as_ref(),
                         ) => {
                             let _ = bg_tx.send(BackgroundEvent::Transcript {
                                 thread_id,
@@ -875,7 +874,7 @@ async fn load_app_server_page(
 pub(crate) async fn load_transcript_preview(
     app_server: &mut AppServerSession,
     thread_id: ThreadId,
-    codex_home: Option<&Path>,
+    config: Option<&Config>,
 ) -> std::io::Result<Vec<TranscriptPreviewLine>> {
     const MAX_PREVIEW_LINES: usize = 6;
 
@@ -896,10 +895,10 @@ pub(crate) async fn load_transcript_preview(
             .map_err(std::io::Error::other)?;
     }
     let cwd = thread.cwd.as_path();
-    let inline_visualization_context = codex_home.and_then(|codex_home| {
+    let inline_visualization_context = config.and_then(|config| {
         ThreadId::from_string(&thread.id)
             .ok()
-            .and_then(|thread_id| InlineVisualizationContext::new(codex_home, thread_id))
+            .and_then(|thread_id| InlineVisualizationContext::from_config(config, thread_id))
     });
     let mut lines = if thread.history_mode == ThreadHistoryMode::Paginated {
         let mut groups = Vec::new();
@@ -6452,7 +6451,7 @@ session_picker_view = "dense"
         let rendered = thread_to_transcript_cells(
             thread,
             RawReasoningVisibility::Visible,
-            /*codex_home*/ None,
+            /*config*/ None,
         )
         .into_iter()
         .flat_map(|cell| cell.transcript_lines(/*width*/ 80))
@@ -6516,7 +6515,7 @@ session_picker_view = "dense"
         let hidden = thread_to_transcript_cells(
             thread.clone(),
             RawReasoningVisibility::Hidden,
-            /*codex_home*/ None,
+            /*config*/ None,
         )
         .into_iter()
         .flat_map(|cell| cell.transcript_lines(/*width*/ 80))
@@ -6526,7 +6525,7 @@ session_picker_view = "dense"
         let visible = thread_to_transcript_cells(
             thread,
             RawReasoningVisibility::Visible,
-            /*codex_home*/ None,
+            /*config*/ None,
         )
         .into_iter()
         .flat_map(|cell| cell.transcript_lines(/*width*/ 80))
@@ -6588,7 +6587,7 @@ session_picker_view = "dense"
         let rendered = thread_to_transcript_cells(
             thread,
             RawReasoningVisibility::Visible,
-            /*codex_home*/ None,
+            /*config*/ None,
         )
         .into_iter()
         .flat_map(|cell| cell.transcript_lines(/*width*/ 80))

codex-rs/tui/src/thread_transcript.rs

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use crate::history_cell::ReasoningSummaryCell;
 use crate::history_cell::UserHistoryCell;
 use crate::history_cell::split_reasoning_summary_parts;
 use crate::inline_visualization::InlineVisualizationContext;
+use crate::legacy_core::config::Config;
 use crate::multi_agents::sub_agent_activity_summary;
 use codex_app_server_protocol::Thread;
 use codex_app_server_protocol::ThreadItem;
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn load_session_transcript(
     app_server: &mut AppServerSession,
     thread_id: ThreadId,
     raw_reasoning_visibility: RawReasoningVisibility,
-    codex_home: Option<&std::path::Path>,
+    config: Option<&Config>,
 ) -> std::io::Result<TranscriptCells> {
     let mut thread = app_server
         .thread_read(thread_id, /*include_turns*/ false)
@@ -53,14 +54,14 @@ pub(crate) async fn load_session_transcript(
     Ok(thread_to_transcript_cells(
         thread,
         raw_reasoning_visibility,
-        codex_home,
+        config,
     ))
 }
 
 pub(crate) fn thread_to_transcript_cells(
     thread: Thread,
     raw_reasoning_visibility: RawReasoningVisibility,
-    codex_home: Option<&std::path::Path>,
+    config: Option<&Config>,
 ) -> TranscriptCells {
     let cwd = thread.cwd;
     let thread_id = ThreadId::from_string(&thread.id).ok();
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ pub(crate) fn thread_to_transcript_cells(
         &cwd,
         thread.turns.into_iter().flat_map(|turn| turn.items),
         raw_reasoning_visibility,
-        codex_home,
+        config,
     );
     if cells.is_empty() {
         cells.push(Arc::new(PlainHistoryCell::new(vec![
@@ -84,10 +85,10 @@ pub(crate) fn thread_items_to_transcript_cells(
     cwd: &AbsolutePathBuf,
     items: impl IntoIterator<Item = ThreadItem>,
     raw_reasoning_visibility: RawReasoningVisibility,
-    codex_home: Option<&std::path::Path>,
+    config: Option<&Config>,
 ) -> TranscriptCells {
-    let inline_visualization_context = codex_home.and_then(|codex_home| {
+    let inline_visualization_context = config.and_then(|config| {
-        thread_id.and_then(|thread_id| InlineVisualizationContext::new(codex_home, thread_id))
+        thread_id.and_then(|thread_id| InlineVisualizationContext::from_config(config, thread_id))
     });
     let mut cells: TranscriptCells = Vec::new();
     for item in items {