Desktop app `functions.exec_command` honors custom file permissions but not `allow_local_binding`

[RyanMentley]

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Version 26.519.22136 (3003)

What subscription do you have?

Business

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

In the desktop app, using Custom (config.toml) permissions, functions.exec_command appears to use a permission model that partially honors the custom profile but still blocks localhost listener binding even when allow_local_binding = true is set and works in CLI.

With the same repo-local custom permission profile:

• both CLI and desktop app honor an explicit file deny
• both can still read other allowed workspace files
• but only CLI honors allow_local_binding = true
• desktop app still rejects localhost listener binding for functions.exec_command

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Config used

default_permissions = "default-dev"
approval_policy = "on-request"

[permissions.default-dev.network]
enabled = true
mode = "limited"
allow_local_binding = true

[permissions.default-dev.filesystem]
":minimal" = "read"
"/path/to/project/README.md" = "none"
":workspace_roots" = "write"
"/tmp/" = "write"
"/private/tmp/" = "write"
"/private/var/folders/" = "write"

CLI behavior

Standalone CLI:

• codex-cli 0.133.0
• /status showed Profile default-dev

Probes:

python3 -S -c "from pathlib import Path; p=Path('/path/to/project/README.md'); print('EXISTS', p.exists()); print('HEAD', p.read_text().splitlines()[0])"
python3 -S -c "from pathlib import Path; p=Path('/path/to/project/docs/testing.md'); print('EXISTS', p.exists()); print('HEAD', p.read_text().splitlines()[0])"
python3 -S -c "import socket; s=socket.socket(); s.bind(('127.0.0.1', 0)); print('BOUND', s.getsockname()[1])"

Results:

• denied file: PermissionError: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted
• allowed control file: readable
• localhost bind: succeeds, e.g. BOUND 56711

Desktop app behavior

Desktop app:

• Codex.app 26.519.22136
• embedded codex-cli 0.133.0-alpha.1

With Custom (config.toml) selected and after restart, equivalent probes produced:

• denied file: PermissionError
• allowed control file: readable
• localhost bind: still fails with PermissionError: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted

What is the expected behavior?

If the desktop app exposes functions.exec_command under Custom (config.toml), it should honor allow_local_binding = true the same way the CLI does.

If that tool is intentionally sandboxed differently from the configured profile, that difference should be surfaced clearly in the UI and documented.

Additional information

What this proves

The desktop app is not ignoring custom permissions entirely. It is applying at least part of the custom profile to functions.exec_command, because the explicit file deny is enforced.

The mismatch is narrower:

• custom file permissions are honored
• allow_local_binding = true is not honored for functions.exec_command in the desktop app
• the same profile works correctly in the standalone CLI

[jshaofa-ui]

Proposed Solution: Desktop App allow_local_binding Not Honored

Root Cause

The Desktop app adds an additional sandboxing layer that overrides config.toml network permissions. File permissions correctly read the custom profile, but the network permission path uses a hardcoded deny-list for localhost binding, ignoring allow_local_binding = true.

Fix

1. Unify Permission Application: Read allow_local_binding from TOML in the network permission path
2. Network Section Parsing: Properly deserialize NetworkPermissions from config
3. Permission Verification Gate: Check NetworkPolicy before allowing socket bind
4. UI Transparency: Show effective network permissions in the permissions UI

Key Code Change

fn apply_network_permissions(&self, profile: &PermissionProfile) {
    match profile.network {
        Some(ref net) if net.allow_local_binding => {
            self.network_policy = NetworkPolicy::AllowLocalBinding(net.allowed_ports.clone());
        }
        _ => self.network_policy = NetworkPolicy::DenyLocalBinding,
    }
}

Full solution: solutions/codex-23973-desktop-allow-local-binding-fix.md