Add sandbox attribute to EmbeddedDemo iframe to prevent blocked navigation by MelvinBot · Pull Request #85125 · Expensify/App

MelvinBot · 2026-03-12T18:28:48Z

Explanation of Change

When a new user clicks "Take a 2-minute test drive," a Storylane interactive tour opens in an iframe. If the user clicks the Expensify logo inside the tour, the iframe navigates to www.storylane.io, which returns anti-framing headers (X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN and CSP frame-ancestors 'self'), causing the browser to display "This content is blocked."

This PR adds the sandbox attribute to the <iframe> in EmbeddedDemo with allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox. By omitting allow-top-navigation, the browser blocks the iframe from navigating itself to the non-embeddable URL, while the Storylane tour continues to function normally (scripts, same-origin access, and popups still work).

Fixed Issues

$ #82517
PROPOSAL: #82517 (comment)

Tests

Sign up a new account on a public domain
Click on GAB > Take a 2-minute test drive
Verify the Storylane tour loads and is interactive (click through steps)
Click the Expensify logo in the top-left corner of the tour
Verify the iframe does NOT navigate to a broken "This content is blocked" page
Verify the tour remains functional after clicking the logo

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

N/A — the embedded demo requires an internet connection to load the Storylane tour. The sandbox attribute is a static HTML attribute that does not depend on network state.

QA Steps

Sign up a new account on a public domain
Click on GAB > Take a 2-minute test drive
Verify the Storylane tour loads and is interactive
Click the Expensify logo in the top-left corner of the tour
Verify the iframe does NOT show "This content is blocked" — the tour should remain on its current page or do nothing
Verify the tour is still fully interactive after clicking the logo

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

N/A — change is web-only (iframe sandbox attribute)

Android: mWeb Chrome

N/A — change is web-only (iframe sandbox attribute)

iOS: Native

N/A — change is web-only (iframe sandbox attribute)

iOS: mWeb Safari

N/A — change is web-only (iframe sandbox attribute)

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

…navigation The Storylane test drive tour iframe navigates to www.storylane.io when the Expensify logo is clicked, but that page blocks framing via X-Frame-Options and CSP headers, showing "This content is blocked." Adding the sandbox attribute without allow-top-navigation prevents the iframe from navigating to non-embeddable URLs while keeping the tour functional. Co-authored-by: Shridhar Goel <ShridharGoel@users.noreply.github.com>

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-13T18:10:30Z

@MelvinBot It would be better to open the Expensify home page on clicking the logo

MelvinBot · 2026-03-13T18:13:18Z

Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, the Expensify logo and its click behavior are part of Storylane's embedded tour content — we don't control what happens when a user interacts with elements inside the iframe. Since the iframe loads third-party Storylane URLs (e.g., expensify.storylane.io/share/...) and there's no postMessage or event listener communication between our app and the iframe, we can't intercept or redirect the logo click from our side. Cross-origin restrictions also prevent us from modifying the iframe's DOM.

If we want the logo to open the Expensify home page, that would need to be configured on Storylane's side (their demo settings/branding options). This PR's scope is limited to preventing the broken "This content is blocked" error page that currently appears when the logo is clicked, which is the reported bug in #82517.

Would you like me to open a follow-up issue to track the Storylane configuration change, or is this something that can be handled outside of this PR?

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-13T18:35:43Z

@MelvinBot Instead of directly changing EmbeddedDemo, pass the sandbox values using iframeProps via TestDriveDemo.

…rops Co-authored-by: Shridhar Goel <ShridharGoel@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-13T18:38:01Z

Done! Moved the sandbox attribute out of EmbeddedDemo and passed it via iframeProps from TestDriveDemo instead. This keeps EmbeddedDemo generic.

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-13T18:39:46Z

@MelvinBot Mark this as ready for review

MelvinBot · 2026-03-13T18:41:02Z

Done — PR has been marked as ready for review.

melvin-bot · 2026-03-13T18:41:04Z

@ShridharGoel Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-13T18:41:30Z

@trjExpensify This is the experience. It opens the storylane website on clicking the logo which we can't control via the App code.

Screen.Recording.2026-03-14.at.12.09.04.AM.mov

github-actions · 2026-03-13T18:44:23Z

src/components/TestDrive/TestDriveDemo.tsx

                        <EmbeddedDemo
                            url={getTestDriveURL(shouldUseNarrowLayout, introSelected, isCurrentUserPolicyAdmin)}
                            iframeTitle={testDrive.EMBEDDED_DEMO_IFRAME_TITLE}
+                            iframeProps={{sandbox: 'allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox'}}


❌ CONSISTENCY-2 (docs)

The sandbox attribute value 'allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox' is a hardcoded magic string with security implications. Other iframe configuration values for the embedded demo (e.g., EMBEDDED_DEMO_WHITELIST, EMBEDDED_DEMO_IFRAME_TITLE) are already defined as named constants. This value should follow the same pattern for consistency, discoverability, and ease of future changes.

Define this as a named constant alongside the existing embedded demo constants, for example in src/libs/actions/Welcome/OnboardingFlow.ts:

EMBEDDED_DEMO_SANDBOX: 'allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox',

Then reference it in the component:

iframeProps={{sandbox: testDrive.EMBEDDED_DEMO_SANDBOX}}

Please rate this suggestion with 👍 or 👎 to help us improve! Reactions are used to monitor reviewer efficiency.

@MelvinBot Do the above, and use a proper name for the constant

Co-authored-by: Shridhar Goel <ShridharGoel@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-13T18:49:25Z

Extracted the inline sandbox string into CONST.STORYLANE.IFRAME_SANDBOX and updated TestDriveDemo to reference it.

melvin-bot · 2026-03-13T18:49:54Z

@stitesExpensify Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: 1237374714

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-03-13T18:52:08Z

src/components/TestDrive/TestDriveDemo.tsx

                        <EmbeddedDemo
                            url={getTestDriveURL(shouldUseNarrowLayout, introSelected, isCurrentUserPolicyAdmin)}
                            iframeTitle={testDrive.EMBEDDED_DEMO_IFRAME_TITLE}
+                            iframeProps={{sandbox: 'allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox'}}


Block iframe self-navigation explicitly

This sandbox value does not prevent the embedded page from navigating its own iframe context; it only restricts ancestor/top-level navigation when allow-top-navigation is omitted. If the Storylane logo uses _self (which is consistent with the current blocked-page symptom inside the iframe), the iframe can still navigate to www.storylane.io, so this change will not reliably prevent the "This content is blocked" flow.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

MelvinBot · 2026-03-13T19:02:07Z

The failing check is unrelated to this PR.

Failing test: tests/ui/SessionTest.tsx:111 — "should not remember the report path of the last deep link login after signing out and in again" (exceeded 120s timeout)

Analysis: This PR only modifies src/CONST/index.ts and src/components/TestDrive/TestDriveDemo.tsx (adding an iframe sandbox attribute). The failing test is about deep link session handling, which has no relation to the iframe sandbox changes.

Evidence: The same SessionTest.tsx:111 timeout failure is occurring on other unrelated PRs at the same time (e.g., the claude-useVisionCameraForAttachments branch has the identical failure). This is a pre-existing flaky test.

trjExpensify

Nice catch 👍

MelvinBot · 2026-03-16T10:53:13Z

The failing check test (job 8) is unrelated to this PR — it's a flaky test timeout.

Failing test: tests/ui/SessionTest.tsx — "should not remember the report path of the last deep link login after signing out and in again" (exceeded 120s timeout)

Why it's unrelated:

This PR only modifies src/CONST/index.ts and src/components/TestDrive/TestDriveDemo.tsx (iframe sandbox attribute)
The failing test covers deep linking / session behavior, which has no connection to the EmbeddedDemo changes
Recent runs on main are all passing, indicating this is an intermittent timeout

The other failing check (checklist) is the PR Author/Reviewer checklist, which is not a code issue.

Recommendation: Re-run the failed workflow to clear the flaky test failure.

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-16T11:04:49Z

Reviewer Checklist

I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
- I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
- I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
- I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
- I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
I verified that the composer does not automatically focus or open the keyboard on mobile unless explicitly intended. This includes checking that returning the app from the background does not unexpectedly open the keyboard.
I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
- Android: HybridApp
- Android: mWeb Chrome
- iOS: HybridApp
- iOS: mWeb Safari
- MacOS: Chrome / Safari
If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
- I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
- I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
- I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
- I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
- I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
- I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
- I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
- I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
I verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
If a new component is created I verified that:
- A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
- All props are defined accurately and each prop has a /** comment above it */
- The file is named correctly
- The component has a clear name that is non-ambiguous and the purpose of the component can be inferred from the name alone
- The only data being stored in the state is data necessary for rendering and nothing else
- For Class Components, any internal methods passed to components event handlers are bound to this properly so there are no scoping issues (i.e. for onClick={this.submit} the method this.submit should be bound to this in the constructor)
- Any internal methods bound to this are necessary to be bound (i.e. avoid this.submit = this.submit.bind(this); if this.submit is never passed to a component event handler like onClick)
- All JSX used for rendering exists in the render method
- The component has the minimum amount of code necessary for its purpose, and it is broken down into smaller components in order to separate concerns and functions
If any new file was added I verified that:
- The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
- A similar style doesn't already exist
- The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
- I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
- I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this flow.
If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: HybridApp

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screen.Recording.2026-03-14.at.12.09.04.AM.mov

stitesExpensify

Code looks fine to me, tests are failing though

stitesExpensify · 2026-03-16T15:28:17Z

I re-ran the test and it passed. We're good to go here!

github-actions · 2026-03-16T15:29:09Z

🚧 @stitesExpensify has triggered a test Expensify/App build. You can view the workflow run here.

github-actions · 2026-03-16T15:35:14Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #85125.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-096827a-a6a9d5f-67aff241e9e59e4d00ddfc2b8c090bc34471907d/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-096827a-a6a9d5f-ae8cd9cb4d9c28b1b0240dd3d59fc01738f396e8/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://85125.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

OSBotify · 2026-03-16T15:37:55Z

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

OSBotify · 2026-03-17T11:56:23Z

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/stitesExpensify in version: 9.3.39-0 🚀

platform	result
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

izarutskaya · 2026-03-17T15:36:23Z

@ShridharGoel PR is failing with original issue ID #82517

Recording.3676.mp4

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-18T08:57:20Z

@MelvinBot It was working fine till this comment: #85125 (comment)

What could have caused the issue to happen again?

MelvinBot · 2026-03-18T09:01:44Z

Good question. I investigated the code and it looks correct — the sandbox attribute IS being applied via iframeProps in TestDriveDemo.tsx:103, and CONST.STORYLANE.IFRAME_SANDBOX resolves to 'allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox'. No other PR has modified these files since this one was merged.

The likely root cause is that the sandbox attribute without allow-top-navigation only prevents the iframe from navigating the parent/top-level window (e.g., window.top.location = ... or <a target="_top">). It does not prevent the iframe from navigating itself to a different URL. If Storylane's logo uses an in-iframe navigation (e.g., <a href="https://storylane.io"> or window.location.href = "https://storylane.io"), the sandbox can't block that. The iframe navigates itself to storylane.io, which returns X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN, and the browser shows "This content is blocked" within the iframe.

Why it may have appeared to work initially: During local testing, if the Storylane tour hadn't fully loaded or the logo link wasn't yet active, the navigation wouldn't trigger — giving the false impression the sandbox fix prevented it.

To actually fix this, a different approach is needed since sandbox can't prevent in-iframe navigation. Some options:

Storylane configuration — ask Storylane to disable/change the logo link behavior in their branding settings (this is the cleanest solution since the logo is part of their content)
Listen for iframe re-navigation — attach an onLoad handler to the iframe and, after the initial load, reset src back to the tour URL if a second load event fires (indicating the iframe navigated away)
CSS overlay — position a transparent click-intercepting element over the logo area to prevent the click from reaching the Storylane content (fragile, depends on Storylane's layout)

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-18T09:10:45Z

@MelvinBot Let's try option 2 in a new PR

OSBotify · 2026-03-18T13:03:29Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/cristipaval in version: 9.3.39-3 🚀

platform	result
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	failure ❌
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-20T14:43:22Z

#82517 (comment)

MelvinBot assigned ShridharGoel Mar 12, 2026

MelvinBot requested a review from a team March 12, 2026 18:28

MelvinBot mentioned this pull request Mar 12, 2026

[$250] Test drive - Expensify logo link leads to broken page #82517

Open

7 tasks

Move sandbox attribute from EmbeddedDemo to TestDriveDemo via iframeP…

1237374

…rops Co-authored-by: Shridhar Goel <ShridharGoel@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot marked this pull request as ready for review March 13, 2026 18:40

MelvinBot requested a review from a team as a code owner March 13, 2026 18:40

melvin-bot bot requested review from ShridharGoel and trjExpensify and removed request for a team March 13, 2026 18:41

melvin-bot bot removed the request for review from a team March 13, 2026 18:41

github-actions bot reviewed Mar 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Extract iframe sandbox value into CONST.STORYLANE.IFRAME_SANDBOX

930c321

Co-authored-by: Shridhar Goel <ShridharGoel@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot requested a review from a team as a code owner March 13, 2026 18:49

melvin-bot bot requested review from stitesExpensify and removed request for a team March 13, 2026 18:49

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Mar 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

trjExpensify approved these changes Mar 16, 2026

View reviewed changes

ShridharGoel approved these changes Mar 16, 2026

View reviewed changes

stitesExpensify approved these changes Mar 16, 2026

View reviewed changes

stitesExpensify merged commit 096827a into main Mar 16, 2026
44 of 47 checks passed

stitesExpensify deleted the claude-fixTestDriveIframeBlocking branch March 16, 2026 15:28

OSBotify mentioned this pull request Mar 17, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-03-17 #85529

Closed

75 tasks

Conversation

MelvinBot commented Mar 12, 2026

Explanation of Change

Fixed Issues

Tests

Offline tests

QA Steps

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

melvin-bot bot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

github-actions bot Mar 13, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

❌ CONSISTENCY-2 (docs)

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel Mar 13, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

melvin-bot bot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

💡 Codex Review

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot Mar 13, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

trjExpensify left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 16, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 16, 2026

Reviewer Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Uh oh!

stitesExpensify left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

stitesExpensify commented Mar 16, 2026

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

github-actions bot commented Mar 16, 2026

Uh oh!

github-actions bot commented Mar 16, 2026

Uh oh!

OSBotify commented Mar 16, 2026

Uh oh!

OSBotify commented Mar 17, 2026

Uh oh!

izarutskaya commented Mar 17, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 18, 2026

Uh oh!

MelvinBot commented Mar 18, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Mar 18, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

OSBotify commented Mar 18, 2026

izarutskaya commented Mar 17, 2026 •

edited

Loading

ShridharGoel commented Mar 18, 2026 •

edited

Loading