#36: Localized dialog titles collide between OS versions in 8 languages, so detect OS version using caption icon automation ID instead

Author: Aldaviva

AuthenticatorChooser/AuthenticatorChooser.csproj

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
         <RuntimeIdentifiers>win-x64;win-arm64</RuntimeIdentifiers>
         <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
         <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
-        <Version>0.4.0</Version>
+        <Version>0.4.1</Version>
         <Authors>Ben Hutchison</Authors>
         <Copyright>© 2025 $(Authors)</Copyright>
         <Company>$(Authors)</Company>

AuthenticatorChooser/ChooserOptions.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@ namespace AuthenticatorChooser;
 
 public readonly record struct ChooserOptions(bool skipAllNonSecurityKeyOptions) {
 
-    public Stopwatch overallStopwatch { get; init; } = null!;
+    public Stopwatch overallStopwatch { get; } = new();
 
 }

AuthenticatorChooser/PromptStrategy.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ namespace AuthenticatorChooser;
 
 public interface PromptStrategy {
 
+    bool canHandleTitle(string? actualTitle);
     void submitChoice(string actualTitle, AutomationElement fidoEl, AutomationElement outerScrollViewer, bool isShiftDown);
 
 }

AuthenticatorChooser/Windows11/Win1123H2Strategy.cs

@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ public class Win1123H2Strategy(ChooserOptions options): Win11Strategy(options) {
 
     private static readonly Condition NEXT_BUTTON_CONDITION = new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.AutomationIdProperty, "OkButton");
 
+    public override bool canHandleTitle(string? actualTitle) => I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.SIGN_IN_WITH_YOUR_PASSKEY)
+        .Concat(options.skipAllNonSecurityKeyOptions ? I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.MAKING_SURE_ITS_YOU) : [])
+        .Any(expected => expected.Equals(actualTitle, StringComparison.CurrentCulture));
+
     /**
      * If we're on the TPM dialog, and the user wants to absolutely always use security keys, then we just selected "Use another device" to see the list of all authenticator choices, so the dialog is closing because we selected something, so don't do anything else with the soon to be nonexistant dialog.
      * Otherwise, perform common checks like holding Shift and stopping if there are other options.

AuthenticatorChooser/Windows11/Win1125H2Strategy.cs

@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ public class Win1125H2Strategy(ChooserOptions options): Win11Strategy(options) {
         new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ClassNameProperty, "TextBlock"),
         new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.HeadingLevelProperty, AutomationHeadingLevel.None));
 
+    public override bool canHandleTitle(string? actualTitle) => I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.CHOOSE_A_PASSKEY)
+        .Concat(options.skipAllNonSecurityKeyOptions ? I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.SIGN_IN_WITH_A_PASSKEY) : [])
+        .Any(expected => expected.Equals(actualTitle, StringComparison.CurrentCulture));
+
     public override void submitChoice(string actualTitle, AutomationElement fidoEl, AutomationElement outerScrollViewer, bool isShiftDown) {
         if (I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.CHOOSE_A_PASSKEY).Contains(actualTitle, StringComparer.CurrentCulture)) {
             if (findAuthenticatorChoices(outerScrollViewer) is not { } authenticatorChoices) return;

AuthenticatorChooser/Windows11/Win11Strategy.cs

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ public abstract class Win11Strategy(ChooserOptions options): PromptStrategy {
 
     protected ChooserOptions options { get; } = options;
 
+    public abstract bool canHandleTitle(string? actualTitle);
     public abstract void submitChoice(string actualTitle, AutomationElement fidoEl, AutomationElement outerScrollViewer, bool isShiftDown);
 
     protected bool shouldSkipSubmission(AutomationElement desiredChoice, IEnumerable<AutomationElement> authenticatorChoices, bool isShiftDown) {

AuthenticatorChooser/Windows11/WindowsSecurityKeyChooser.cs

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 using ManagedWinapi.Windows;
 using NLog;
-using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 using System.Windows.Automation;
 using System.Windows.Input;
@@ -18,11 +17,10 @@ public class WindowsSecurityKeyChooser(ChooserOptions options): AbstractSecurity
 
     private static readonly Condition TITLE_CONDITION = new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ClassNameProperty, "TextBlock");
 
-    private ChooserOptions options = options;
+    private PromptStrategy? strategy;
 
     public override void chooseUsbSecurityKey(SystemWindow fidoPrompt) {
-        Stopwatch overallStopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
-        options = options with { overallStopwatch = overallStopwatch };
+        options.overallStopwatch.Restart();
         try {
             if (!isFidoPromptWindow(fidoPrompt)) {
                 LOGGER.Trace("Window 0x{hwnd:x} is not a Windows Security window", fidoPrompt.HWnd);
@@ -38,29 +36,39 @@ public override void chooseUsbSecurityKey(SystemWindow fidoPrompt) {
                 return;
             }
 
-            LOGGER.Trace("Found outerScrollViewer, looking for dialog title");
+            LOGGER.Trace("Found outerScrollViewer, looking for dialog icon and title");
+
+            // #36: detect OS version using caption icon automation ID instead of title, which collides between versions in 19% of languages
+            if (strategy == null) {
+                // Icon appears with neither AutomationElement.FindFirst nor Inspect's UIA Content or Control Views, only Raw View
+                string? captionIconAutomationId = TreeWalker.RawViewWalker.GetFirstChild(fidoEl).Current.AutomationId;
+                strategy = captionIconAutomationId switch {
+                    "WindowLogo"         => new Win1123H2Strategy(options),
+                    "WindowSecurityLogo" => new Win1125H2Strategy(options),
+                    _                    => null
+                };
+
+                if (strategy == null) {
+                    LOGGER.Error("Unsupported OS dialog version, Windows Security dialog box caption icon has unrecognized automation ID {id}", captionIconAutomationId);
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
 
             // #21: title not rendered immediately
             if (outerScrollViewer.WaitForFirst(TreeScope.Children, TITLE_CONDITION, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5), Startup.EXITING) is not { } titleLabel) {
-                LOGGER.Debug("Window is not a passkey choice prompt because there is no TextBlock child of the ScrollViewer after retrying for {0:N3}", overallStopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
+                LOGGER.Debug("Window is not a passkey choice prompt because there is no TextBlock child of the ScrollViewer after retrying for {0:N3}", options.overallStopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
                 return;
             }
 
-            PromptStrategy strategy;
-            string?        actualTitle = titleLabel.GetCurrentPropertyValue(AutomationElement.NameProperty) as string;
-            if (hasTitle(I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.CHOOSE_A_PASSKEY).Concat(options.skipAllNonSecurityKeyOptions ? I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.SIGN_IN_WITH_A_PASSKEY) : []))) {
-                strategy = new Win1125H2Strategy(options);
-            } else if (hasTitle(I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.SIGN_IN_WITH_YOUR_PASSKEY).Concat(options.skipAllNonSecurityKeyOptions ? I18N.getStrings(I18N.Key.MAKING_SURE_ITS_YOU) : []))) {
-                strategy = new Win1123H2Strategy(options);
-            } else {
+            string? actualTitle = titleLabel.GetCurrentPropertyValue(AutomationElement.NameProperty) as string;
+
+            if (!strategy.canHandleTitle(actualTitle)) {
                 LOGGER.Debug("Window is not a passkey choice prompt because the first TextBlock child of the ScrollViewer has the name {actual}", actualTitle);
                 return;
+            } else {
+                LOGGER.Trace("Window 0x{hwnd:x} is a Windows Security window", fidoPrompt.HWnd);
             }
 
-            bool hasTitle(IEnumerable<string> expectedTitles) => expectedTitles.Any(expected => expected.Equals(actualTitle, StringComparison.CurrentCulture));
-
-            LOGGER.Trace("Window 0x{hwnd:x} is a Windows Security window", fidoPrompt.HWnd);
-
             bool isShiftDown = Keyboard.IsKeyDown(Key.LeftShift) || Keyboard.IsKeyDown(Key.RightShift);
 
             strategy.submitChoice(actualTitle!, fidoEl, outerScrollViewer, isShiftDown);