[Ctrl]+[F1] on a keyword in the editor window leads to a Security Warning dialog in the terminal window

[co-xpts]

Prerequisites

• I have written a descriptive issue title.
• I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
• I have read the troubleshooting guide.
• I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
• I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
• If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.

Summary

When pressing [Ctrl]+[F1] on a keyword in the editor window ...

Expected:
The default browser opens with contextual help for the keyword

Actual:
The terminal window presents a Security Warning dialog that has to be answered positively before the browser opens:

Security Warning: Script Execution Risk
Invoke-WebRequest parses the content of the web page. Script code in the web page might be run when the page is parsed.
      RECOMMENDED ACTION:
      Use the -UseBasicParsing switch to avoid script code execution.

      Do you want to continue?
      [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "N"):

This seems to stem from a PowerShell security update from December 2025 that adds the warning before running Invoke-WebRequest without -UseBasicParsing

PowerShell Version

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      5.1.26100.7462
PSEdition                      Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion                   10.0.26100.7462
CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion              3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1

Name             : Visual Studio Code Host
Version          : 2025.4.0
InstanceId       : 81e2ecd0-03b3-490b-8967-028b626f7b72
UI               : System.Management.Automation.Internal.Host.InternalHostUserInterface
CurrentCulture   : de-AT
CurrentUICulture : de-DE
PrivateData      : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost+ConsoleColorProxy
DebuggerEnabled  : True
IsRunspacePushed : False
Runspace         : System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.LocalRunspace

Visual Studio Code Version

1.111.0
ce099c1ed25d9eb3076c11e4a280f3eb52b4fbeb
x64

Extension Version

ms-vscode.powershell@2025.4.0

Steps to Reproduce

• Press [Ctrl]+[F1] on a keyword in the editor window
• Terminal window presents an unexpected Security Warning

Visuals

No response

Logs

No response

[co-xpts]

Workaround:
Put this into your PS 5.1 profile.ps1, which I think is a good idea in general:

$PSDefaultParameterValues['Invoke-WebRequest:UseBasicParsing'] = $true