[🐛 Bug]: Cannot read OTP from Chrome extension page (chrome-extension://...) after Chrome v136+

[kashishsinghyadav]

Description

After updating Chrome to version 136+, i fails to access an internal Chrome extension page (e.g. chrome-extension://kmcfomidfpdkfieipokbalgegidffkal/pages/welcome/index.html) which is used to retrieve an OTP for authentication.

This setup worked fine in Chrome 135 and below. Now, Selenium is unable to switch focus or read from the extension page, breaking the OTP-based authentication step

After upgrading to Chrome v136 or v137:

Extension is loaded via --load-extension=, but Selenium cannot access chrome-extension:// pages.

getOTPToAutenticatBrowser() fails silently or returns nothing.

Even if downgraded, it work fine but when i update auto- again it breaks the setup.

No changes in code—only browser version change caused this.

Likely a security change or policy enforcement in Chrome v136+ (related to extension isolation or restricting programmatic access to chrome-extension:// pages).

Selenium may not support newer context isolation or needs updated handling.

Request for Help:
Can Selenium still access chrome-extension:// pages in newer Chrome versions (v136 and up)?
Is there a workaround, setting, or browser flag needed now?

Would appreciate any insight or guidance. Thanks in advance

Reproducible Code

Chrome option setup : 
String chromeExtensionPath = extensionPath + "\\Chrome";
System.out.println("Loading Chrome extension from: " + chromeExtensionPath);

ChromeOptions chromeOptions = new ChromeOptions();
chromeOptions.addArguments("--disable-features=IsolateOrigins,site-per-process");
chromeOptions.addArguments("--disable-site-isolation-trials");
chromeOptions.addArguments("--disable-web-security");
chromeOptions.addArguments("--user-data-dir=C:/Temp/ChromeProfile");
chromeOptions.addArguments("--load-extension=" + chromeExtensionPath);
chromeOptions.addArguments("start-maximized");
chromeOptions.addArguments("--disable-features=DisableLoadExtensionCommandLineSwitch");

WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
WebDriver browserDriver = new ChromeDriver(chromeOptions);


my code : 

public void unlock() throws Exception {
    if (!isWebsiteelementpresent.isWebsiteElementPresent(browserRedirection.getUsernameBy())) {
        GenericMethods.scrollToElementBrowser(browserDriver, browserRedirection.getUsernameBy());
    }

    GenericMethods.switchFocusToInlinemenu(browserDriver, browserRedirection.getUsernameBy(), 3, 1000);

    if (inlineMenuScreen.isInlineMenuLocked()) {
        System.out.println("Unlock inline menu");
        inlineMenuScreen.clickInlineMenuLockScreen();
        Thread.sleep(1000);
        GenericMethods.switchFocusToExtension(driver);

        if (iwindowsLoginScreen.unlockButtonVisible()) {
            iwindowsLoginScreen.unlockEnpass(password);
            commonElementsScreen.waitForLoading();
        }
    }

    setupBrowserConnectionSteps.setupMainHelperWindow();
}

public void setupMainHelperWindow() throws Exception {
    if (!extensionMainScreen.isExtensionAuthenticated()) {
        int attemptCount = 0;
        int maxAttempts = 3;

        while (authenticateBrowser.isAuthenticateBrowserVisible() && attemptCount < maxAttempts) {
            System.out.println("Authentication required - Attempt " + (attemptCount + 1));

            GenericMethods.hitEnter(driver);

            try {
                authenticateBrowser.enterOTPToAutenticatBrowser();
            } catch (Exception e) {
                System.out.println("An error occurred while entering the OTP: " + e.getMessage());
                e.printStackTrace();
            }

            GenericMethods.openExtension(driver);

            attemptCount++;
        }

        if (authenticateBrowser.isAuthenticateBrowserVisible()) {
            System.out.println("Authentication failed after " + maxAttempts + " attempts.");
        } else {
            System.out.println("Extension successfully authenticated!");
        }
    }
}

public void enterOTPToAutenticatBrowser() throws InterruptedException, AWTException {
    otp = getOTPToAutenticatBrowser(); // reads OTP from extension page
    System.out.println(otp);
    GenericMethods.switchFocusToExtension(driver);
    sendKeys(driver, otpFieldBy(), otp);
    hitEsc(driver);
}

Debugging Logs

Selenium: 4.33.0(before version having same problem)

ChromeDriver: 137.0.x

Chrome: 136+ (breaks here) 

Java: 17
os - window

---

ℹ️ Last known working version: 4.33.0

[selenium-ci]

@kashishsinghyadav, thank you for creating this issue. We will troubleshoot it as soon as we can.

Selenium Triage Team: remember to follow the Triage Guide

[github-actions]

⚠️ You reported using Selenium version 4.33.0, but the latest release is 4.34.

Please verify that this issue still occurs with the latest version. If it no longer applies, you can close this issue or update your comment.

This issue will be marked "awaiting answer" and may be closed automatically if no response is received.

[kashishsinghyadav]

I’ve now updated my project to use latest version 4.34.0 by updating the pom.xml, and I can confirm that the issue still persists with the latest release.

[diemol]

Duplicate of #15685

[navin772]

@kashishsinghyadav in short you need to add a new capability - enableExtensionTargets, see this for more info - #15685 (comment)

[kashishsinghyadav]

thankyou it works for me