App doesn't navigate to a not here page when a non member clicks on a room URL

[nlemma]

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Version Number: 9.3.11-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/415177
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): N/A
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Regression TC Execution
Device used: Windows 11 Pro - Chrome
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

1. [User A] Log in as workspace admin
2. [User A] Create a room
3. [User A] Copy the URL and send it to user B.
4. [User B] As a non-workspace member, click on the URL

Expected Result:

Not Found screen displays

Actual Result:

App does nothing when clicking on a room url a user is not a member of. User has to manually navigate to the URL by changing the browser's url

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7057835_1769700681001.bandicam_2026-01-29_18-29-26-565.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @bernhardoj

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @bernhardoj (External)

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @trjExpensify (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[yatin-italy]

Proposal

Restate the problem this issue is trying to solve.

When a user who is not a workspace member opens a shared room URL, the app does not navigate to a Not Found page. The app stays on the current screen and shows no error or fallback state. The user cannot continue unless they manually change or reload the URL.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The earliest wrong technical assumption exists in src/libs/actions/Link.ts inside the openLink function and the openReportFromDeepLink function. The code assumes that authenticated users do not need to fetch or validate the report before navigation. This assumption is wrong because the report is not loaded into Onyx, so access validation cannot run when the screen mounts, which prevents the Not Found state from being shown.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

• Update src/libs/actions/Link.ts in openLink.

  • Extract the reportID from the URL.
  • If the user is authenticated and a reportID exists, call openReport(reportID) before navigation.
  • Always navigate after calling openReport.

• Update src/libs/actions/Link.ts in openReportFromDeepLink.

  • If the user is authenticated and a reportID exists, call openReport(reportID).
  • Call doneCheckingPublicRoom() after openReport.

• Do not change existing behavior for anonymous users.

// File: src/libs/actions/Link.ts

// ... existing code ...

if (internalNewExpensifyPath && hasSameOrigin) {
    if (isAnonymousUser() && !canAnonymousUserAccessRoute(internalNewExpensifyPath)) {
        signOutAndRedirectToSignIn();
        return;
    }

    if (!isAnonymousUser()) {
        const reportID = getReportIDFromLink(href);
        if (reportID) {
            openReport(reportID);
        }
    }

    Navigation.navigate(internalNewExpensifyPath as Route);
    return;
}

// ... existing code ...

function openReportFromDeepLink(
    url: string,
    currentOnboardingPurposeSelected: OnyxEntry<OnboardingPurpose>,
    currentOnboardingCompanySize: OnyxEntry<OnboardingCompanySize>,
    onboardingInitialPath: OnyxEntry<string>,
    reports: OnyxCollection<Report>,
    isAuthenticated: boolean,
) {
    const reportID = getReportIDFromLink(url);

    if (reportID && !isAuthenticated) {
        openReport(reportID, '', [], undefined, '0', true);

        if (networkStatus === CONST.NETWORK.NETWORK_STATUS.OFFLINE) {
            doneCheckingPublicRoom();
        }
    } else if (reportID && isAuthenticated) {
        openReport(reportID);
        doneCheckingPublicRoom();
    } else {
        doneCheckingPublicRoom();
    }

    // ... existing code ...
}

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

• Handle access checks only in withReportOrNotFound. Not chosen because the report may not exist in Onyx.
• Block navigation until the report is loaded. Not chosen because it slows navigation.
• Remove early returns in openReportFromDeepLink. Not chosen because it breaks the current navigation flow.

[dmkt9]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

App does nothing when clicking on a room url a user is not a member of. User has to manually navigate to the URL by changing the browser's url

What is the root cause of that problem?

• The user will always be forced to go back at this point.
  

  App/src/pages/inbox/ReportScreen.tsx

  Lines 369 to 381 in 735721f

  	if (
  	!isFocused ||
  	!reportIDFromRoute ||
  	report?.reportID ||
  	reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
  	reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
  	isLoadingApp ||
  	userLeavingStatus
  	) {
  	return;
  	}
  	Navigation.goBack();

• Because we are accessing a report that is not permitted, report?.reportID will always be undefined.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

• We need to check: if the report is not found, instead of going back, we should display a Not Found page.
  

  App/src/pages/inbox/ReportScreen.tsx

  Line 372 in 735721f

  report?.reportID ||

report?.reportID ||
report?.errorFields?.notFound ||

• We should also add a check for isLoadingReportOnyxMetadata to ensure the report is fully read from Onyx before performing the validation.
  

  App/src/pages/inbox/ReportScreen.tsx

  Line 182 in 735721f

  const [reportOnyx] = useOnyx(`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${reportIDFromRoute}`, {allowStaleData: true, canBeMissing: true});

    const [reportOnyx, reportOnyxMetadata] = useOnyx(`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${reportIDFromRoute}`, {allowStaleData: true, canBeMissing: true});
    const isLoadingReportOnyxMetadata = isLoadingOnyxValue(reportOnyxMetadata);

App/src/pages/inbox/ReportScreen.tsx

Line 376 in 735721f

userLeavingStatus

    userLeavingStatus ||
    isLoadingReportOnyxMetadata

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

[mobile84developer-ctrl]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user opens a room URL that they are not a member of, the app remains on the current screen instead of navigating to the Not Found page. This occurs both when clicking a room link inside the app and when opening the same link via deep link.

What is the root cause of that problem?

Room navigation relies on Navigation.navigate() without enforcing route replacement.

If the destination route matches the currently active route, React Navigation treats the navigation call as a no-op. As a result, the report screen does not remount and its access validation logic is never re-run, leaving the user stuck on the previous screen.

This affects:

in-app room links handled by openLink

deep-linked room navigation

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Ensure that navigation to report routes always triggers a remount by forcing route replacement whenever a room link is opened. This guarantees that access validation executes consistently and invalid room access redirects correctly.

In App/src/libs/actions/Link.ts

Replace

App/src/libs/actions/Link.ts

Lines 222 to 232 in 735721f

	if (internalNewExpensifyPath && hasSameOrigin) {
	if (isAnonymousUser() && !canAnonymousUserAccessRoute(internalNewExpensifyPath)) {
	signOutAndRedirectToSignIn();
	return;
	}
	if (shouldCloseRHP) {
	Navigation.closeRHPFlow();
	}
	Navigation.navigate(internalNewExpensifyPath as Route);
	return;
	}

With

if (internalNewExpensifyPath && hasSameOrigin) {
    if (isAnonymousUser() && !canAnonymousUserAccessRoute(internalNewExpensifyPath)) {
        signOutAndRedirectToSignIn();
        return;
    }

    const reportID = getReportIDFromLink(href);

    if (shouldCloseRHP) {
        Navigation.closeRHPFlow();
    }

    Navigation.navigate(internalNewExpensifyPath as Route, {
        forceReplace: !!reportID,
    });
    return;
}

And
Inside the deep-link navigation handler, replace:

App/src/libs/actions/Link.ts

Line 357 in 735721f

Navigation.navigate(route as Route, {forceReplace});

With

Navigation.navigate(route as Route, {
    forceReplace: forceReplace || !!reportID,
});

This ensures deep-linked room navigation handled during app startup also remounts the report screen when necessary.

Resolved.80895.webm

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

[melvin-bot]

@bernhardoj Eep! 4 days overdue now. Issues have feelings too...