Codex Browser and Computer Use worked correctly on my Personal Pro account
until yesterday. They are now blocked before any page interaction.
Error:
“Browser Use could not complete this action because a browser security
check was unavailable. The admin-enforced policy could not be verified,
so access was not granted.”
Relevant Codex log:
GET /accounts/[redacted]/settings → 401
{“detail”:“Must use workspace account for this operation”}
Environment:
Personal Pro account only — no Work/Business workspace
Windows 11
Codex Desktop 26.820.10647.0
Browser runtime 26.820.80927
The issue affects both the built-in Browser and the Chrome extension
It occurs on localhost and public websites
Already tested:
Codex and browser restarts
Codex updates
Chrome extension reconnection/reinstallation
New Codex tasks
Wi-Fi, 4G and VPN connections in several countries
No local Codex administrator policy is installed
Could this be an account entitlement or Personal Pro policy-verification
regression? The feature worked previously on the same account and computer.
You are welcome to discuss Codex issues here. However, the official place to report and track them is the OpenAI Codex GitHub issue tracker.
I asked ChatGPT to look for the closest related issue, and it identified:
If that issue matches your problem, consider adding a reaction on the GitHub issue itself—not only on this forum topic. Reactions on GitHub can help the developers gauge the number of affected users.
If it does not describe the same problem, search the existing Codex issues for a closer match. If you cannot find one, open a new issue and include as much relevant detail as possible.
I have no idea as I do not currently have the problem and it is not just you.
GitHub issue #39280 matches the failure I am experiencing. I added a
reaction and posted my Windows reproduction details there under the username
webolabo.
The existing comments now confirm similar behavior on Windows, macOS and Linux,
affecting both the built-in Browser and Chrome control. This suggests that the
problem is in the shared policy-verification or authorization layer rather than
a specific website or browser configuration.
Update: resolved on my Windows 11 Personal Pro account.
Like dan-hook on GitHub issue #39280 , I found a stale user-level CODEX_CLI_PATH environment variable pointing to a nonexistent, version-hashed codex.exe.
I backed up the old value, removed only this user-level environment variable, fully quit Codex, and restarted it.
After the restart:
CODEX_CLI_PATH was unset at process, user, and machine scope.
The Codex In-app Browser could read and interact with my localhost page.
Chrome control could also read the same page.
The “admin-enforced policy could not be verified” error disappeared.
In my Windows case, this was therefore not an actual administrator restriction or a Personal Pro limitation. It was caused by a stale CLI path override. This may not explain every macOS or Linux reproduction.
reaction on the GitHub issue itself—not only on this forum topic. Reactions on GitHub can help the developers gauge the number of affected users.