## Problem
Codex already treated an existing top-level project `./.codex` directory
as protected, but there was a gap on first creation.
If `./.codex` did not exist yet, a turn could create files under it,
such as `./.codex/config.toml`, without going through the same approval
path as later modifications. That meant the initial write could bypass
the intended protection for project-local Codex state.
## What this changes
This PR closes that first-creation gap in the Unix enforcement layers:
- `codex-protocol`
- treat the top-level project `./.codex` path as a protected carveout
even when it does not exist yet
- avoid injecting the default carveout when the user already has an
explicit rule for that exact path
- macOS Seatbelt
- deny writes to both the exact protected path and anything beneath it,
so creating `./.codex` itself is blocked in addition to writes inside it
- Linux bubblewrap
- preserve the same protected-path behavior for first-time creation
under `./.codex`
- tests
- add protocol regressions for missing `./.codex` and explicit-rule
collisions
- add Unix sandbox coverage for blocking first-time `./.codex` creation
- tighten Seatbelt policy assertions around excluded subpaths
## Scope
This change is intentionally scoped to protecting the top-level project
`.codex` subtree from agent writes.
It does not make `.codex` unreadable, and it does not change the product
behavior around loading project skills from `.codex` when project config
is untrusted.
## Why this shape
The fix is pointed rather than broad:
- it preserves the current model of “project `.codex` is protected from
writes”
- it closes the security-relevant first-write hole
- it avoids folding a larger permissions-model redesign into this PR
## Validation
- `cargo test -p codex-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-sandboxing seatbelt`
- `cargo test -p codex-exec --test all
sandbox_blocks_first_time_dot_codex_creation -- --nocapture`
---------
Co-authored-by: Michael Bolin <mbolin@openai.com>
## Summary
- keep legacy Windows restricted-token sandboxing as the supported
baseline
- support the split-policy subset that restricted-token can enforce
directly today
- support full-disk read, the same writable root set as legacy
`WorkspaceWrite`, and extra read-only carveouts under those writable
roots via additional deny-write ACLs
- continue to fail closed for unsupported split-only shapes, including
explicit unreadable (`none`) carveouts, reopened writable descendants
under read-only carveouts, and writable root sets that do not match the
legacy workspace roots
## Example
Given a filesystem policy like:
```toml
":root" = "read"
":cwd" = "write"
"./docs" = "read"
```
the restricted-token backend can keep the workspace writable while
denying writes under `docs` by layering an extra deny-write carveout on
top of the legacy workspace-write roots.
A policy like:
```toml
"/workspace" = "write"
"/workspace/docs" = "read"
"/workspace/docs/tmp" = "write"
```
still fails closed, because the unelevated backend cannot reopen the
nested writable descendant safely.
## Stack
-> fix: support split carveouts in windows restricted-token sandbox
#14172
fix: support split carveouts in windows elevated sandbox #14568
## Summary
- support legacy `ReadOnlyAccess::Restricted` on Windows in the elevated
setup/runner backend
- keep the unelevated restricted-token backend on the legacy full-read
model only, and fail closed for restricted read-only policies there
- keep the legacy full-read Windows path unchanged while deriving
narrower read roots only for elevated restricted-read policies
- honor `include_platform_defaults` by adding backend-managed Windows
system roots only when requested, while always keeping helper roots and
the command `cwd` readable
- preserve `workspace-write` semantics by keeping writable roots
readable when restricted read access is in use in the elevated backend
- document the current Windows boundary: legacy `SandboxPolicy` is
supported on both backends, while richer split-only carveouts still fail
closed instead of running with weaker enforcement
## Testing
- `cargo test -p codex-windows-sandbox`
- `cargo check -p codex-windows-sandbox --tests --target
x86_64-pc-windows-msvc`
- `cargo clippy -p codex-windows-sandbox --tests --target
x86_64-pc-windows-msvc -- -D warnings`
- `cargo test -p codex-core windows_restricted_token_`
## Notes
- local `cargo test -p codex-windows-sandbox` on macOS only exercises
the non-Windows stubs; the Windows-targeted compile and clippy runs
provide the local signal, and GitHub Windows CI exercises the runtime
path
## Summary
- launch Windows sandboxed children on a private desktop instead of
`Winsta0\Default`
- make private desktop the default while keeping
`windows.sandbox_private_desktop=false` as the escape hatch
- centralize process launch through the shared
`create_process_as_user(...)` path
- scope the private desktop ACL to the launching logon SID
## Why
Today sandboxed Windows commands run on the visible shared desktop. That
leaves an avoidable same-desktop attack surface for window interaction,
spoofing, and related UI/input issues. This change moves sandboxed
commands onto a dedicated per-launch desktop by default so the sandbox
no longer shares `Winsta0\Default` with the user session.
The implementation stays conservative on security with no silent
fallback back to `Winsta0\Default`
If private-desktop setup fails on a machine, users can still opt out
explicitly with `windows.sandbox_private_desktop=false`.
## Validation
- `cargo build -p codex-cli`
- elevated-path `codex exec` desktop-name probe returned
`CodexSandboxDesktop-*`
- elevated-path `codex exec` smoke sweep for shell commands, nested
`pwsh`, jobs, and hidden `notepad` launch
- unelevated-path full private-desktop compatibility sweep via `codex
exec` with `-c windows.sandbox=unelevated`
## Why
PR #13783 moved the `codex.rs` unit tests into `codex_tests.rs`. This
applies the same extraction pattern across the rest of `codex-rs/core`
so the production modules stay focused on runtime code instead of large
inline test blocks.
Keeping the tests in sibling files also makes follow-up edits easier to
review because product changes no longer have to share a file with
hundreds or thousands of lines of test scaffolding.
## What changed
- replaced each inline `mod tests { ... }` in `codex-rs/core/src/**`
with a path-based module declaration
- moved each extracted unit test module into a sibling `*_tests.rs`
file, using `mod_tests.rs` for `mod.rs` modules
- preserved the existing `cfg(...)` guards and module-local structure so
the refactor remains structural rather than behavioral
## Testing
- `cargo test -p codex-core --lib` (`1653 passed; 0 failed; 5 ignored`)
- `just fix -p codex-core`
- `cargo fmt --check`
- `cargo shear`