Browser extension completely breaks passkeys/webauthn in browser process (Chromium/Linux)

[pdf]

Steps To Reproduce

1. Go to https://webauthn.io
2. Click on Register
3. Scroll down to error message
4. Error: The operation either timed out or was not allowed.

This happens for all sites implementing webauthn, both for registration and auth.

Bizarrely, if I open devtools, the browser extension works as expected and intercepts the call, popping the extension UI, and the native UI if the extension flow is cancelled.

If I disable the browser extension, the native webauthn UI is displayed correctly on register/auth.

Expected Result

Browser extension pops to handle passkeys.

Actual Result

Extension causes browser to return an error and completely breaks webauthn for the entire browser process.

Screenshots or Videos

No response

Additional Context

No response

Operating System

Linux

Operating System Version

Arch Linux hostname 6.17.9-zen1-1-zen #1 ZEN SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:21:16 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Web Browser

Chrome

Browser Version

142.0.7444.162

Environment Versions

Version: 2025.11.1

SDK: 'main (8ef7951)'

Server version: 2025.11.1

Issue Tracking Info

• I understand that work is tracked outside of Github. A PR will be linked to this issue should one be opened to address it, but Bitwarden doesn't use fields like "assigned", "milestone", or "project" to track progress.

[bitwarden-bot]

Thank you for reporting this issue! We've added this to our internal tracking system.
ID: PM-29257
Link (for internal use): https://bitwarden.atlassian.net/browse/PM-29257

[abergs]

Hmm. The error should still be around in the console if you open it after the crash. Could you look?

[pdf]

@abergs there are no errors in the browser console, this error is returned from the webauthn API I believe.

If I enable developer mode and collect errors on the extension I can get some output, though not certain how enlightening it is, see attached.

console-1764954266005.log

[abergs]

That log was enlightening. Do you have any other extensions running? Or multiple instances of bitwarden?

[pdf]

Created a fresh browser profile with only Bitwarden for that test.

[pdf]

Another odd datapoint - having devtools open only causes the extension to start functioning correctly if devtools is in a separate window, does not have any effect if devtools is docked.

Attached is a log with devtools for the calling page popped to a separate window, where the extension triggers as expected while devtools is open.

EDIT: Replaced log with a slightly cleaner version from a new session, after logging into the extension.

console-1764961421657.log