From f652709cac54441f401e90b6a604997c9321d70d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Shubham Ahuja <157806066+shubhamahuja9999@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2026 22:35:14 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] fix(cli): keep file URLs out of operator-relative path
 resolution (#2882)

CLI path normalization resolved every nonblank selected string against
the working directory, so executable_path "file:///opt/electron" became
an invented local path and failed with ENOENT for that location instead
of the field's local-path requirement. Leave `file:` and `scheme://`
references unchanged so the shared schema rejects them as non-local
paths. One-letter prefixes stay paths, so Windows drive paths and
relative names containing a colon resolve as before.

Fixes #2577

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 src/cliJsonInput.ts                           | 17 +++++++--
 src/cliJsonPaths.test.ts                      | 34 +++++++++++++++++
 .../applications/electronInvalidPaths.test.ts | 37 +++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 84 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/cliJsonInput.ts b/src/cliJsonInput.ts
index 4dd38a90e..cf1b6ea72 100644
--- a/src/cliJsonInput.ts
+++ b/src/cliJsonInput.ts
@@ -65,12 +65,19 @@ const accessDeniedSystemCode = (
     : undefined;
 };
 
+/**
+ * A `file:` URL or `scheme://` URL is not an operator-relative filesystem path.
+ * One-letter prefixes stay paths so Windows drive paths resolve normally.
+ */
+const URL_REFERENCE = /^(?:file:|[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9+.-]+:\/\/)/iu;
+
 /**
  * Resolve named string fields of CLI-supplied JSON against the operator
  * working directory. Each entry is a key path from the document root; only
- * fields holding nonblank strings are resolved, everything else passes through
- * untouched so shared schemas can reject blank paths. Shared MCP contracts reject
- * relative paths, so CLI workflows resolve operator-relative values before validation.
+ * fields holding nonblank, non-URL strings are resolved, everything else passes
+ * through untouched so shared schemas can reject blank paths and URLs. Shared MCP
+ * contracts reject relative paths, so CLI workflows resolve operator-relative
+ * values before validation.
  */
 export const resolveCliJsonPaths = (
   value: unknown,
@@ -94,7 +101,9 @@ const resolveJsonPath = (
       if (tail.length === 0)
         return [
           key,
-          typeof entry === "string" && entry.trim().length > 0
+          typeof entry === "string" &&
+          entry.trim().length > 0 &&
+          !URL_REFERENCE.test(entry)
             ? resolve(entry)
             : entry,
         ];
diff --git a/src/cliJsonPaths.test.ts b/src/cliJsonPaths.test.ts
index 936bfacea..ed9e18642 100644
--- a/src/cliJsonPaths.test.ts
+++ b/src/cliJsonPaths.test.ts
@@ -56,4 +56,38 @@ describe("CLI JSON path normalization", () => {
     });
     expect(input.browser.executable_path).toBe(" browser ");
   });
+
+  it.each([
+    "file:///opt/electron",
+    "FILE:electron",
+    "https://example.test/app",
+  ])("keeps URL %j distinguishable from a local path", (value) => {
+    const input = {
+      executable_path: value,
+      application_path: resolve("/synthetic/app"),
+    };
+    const normalized = resolveCliJsonPaths(input, paths);
+    expect(normalized).toEqual(input);
+    const parsed = electronActiveObservationInputSchema.safeParse(normalized);
+    expect(parsed.success).toBe(false);
+    if (parsed.success) throw new Error("Expected URL path rejection");
+    expect(parsed.error.issues).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        path: ["executable_path"],
+        message: expect.stringContaining(
+          "must be absolute local filesystem paths",
+        ),
+      }),
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    "bin/electron",
+    "release:v1/electron",
+    "C:\\Electron\\electron.exe",
+  ])("keeps resolving local path %j", (value) => {
+    expect(resolveCliJsonPaths({ executable_path: value }, paths)).toEqual({
+      executable_path: resolve(value),
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/applications/electronInvalidPaths.test.ts b/tests/acceptance/applications/electronInvalidPaths.test.ts
index d74c04b2b..e7d5935e2 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/applications/electronInvalidPaths.test.ts
+++ b/tests/acceptance/applications/electronInvalidPaths.test.ts
@@ -67,3 +67,40 @@ cliTest(
     expect(session.isError, JSON.stringify(session)).not.toBe(true);
   },
 );
+
+cliTest(
+  "rejects a file URL path field without resolving an invented local path",
+  async ({ cli }) => {
+    const root = await createTestTempDirectory("rea-electron-file-url-");
+    const application = join(root, "main.js");
+    await writeFile(application, "module.exports = {};\n");
+    const response = await cli.run({
+      arguments: [
+        "capture-electron-scenario",
+        JSON.stringify({
+          executable_path: "file:///opt/electron",
+          application_path: application,
+        }),
+        "--format",
+        "json",
+      ],
+      environment: { REA_LOG_LEVEL: "silent" },
+    });
+    expect(response.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(response.json).toMatchObject({
+      code: "invalid_request",
+      details: {
+        issues: [
+          {
+            path: ["executable_path"],
+            message: expect.stringContaining(
+              "must be absolute local filesystem paths",
+            ),
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    });
+    expect(response.stdout).not.toContain("ENOENT");
+    expect(response.stdout).not.toContain("file:/opt/electron");
+  },
+);