Implement shortcut parsing

Co-authored-by: David Lönnhager <david.l@mullvad.net>
Co-authored-by: Markus Pettersson <markus.pettersson@mullvad.net>
Co-authored-by: Joakim Hulthe <joakim.hulthe@mullvad.net>

17 files changed, 404 insertions, 15 deletions

diff --git a/desktop/package-lock.json b/desktop/package-lock.json
index fc1c088646..de1e261588 100644
--- a/desktop/package-lock.json
+++ b/desktop/package-lock.json
@@ -14219,6 +14219,10 @@
         "string-width": "^1.0.2 || 2"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/win-shortcuts": {
+      "resolved": "packages/win-shortcuts",
+      "link": true
+    },
     "node_modules/word-wrap": {
       "version": "1.2.5",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/word-wrap/-/word-wrap-1.2.5.tgz",
@@ -14669,7 +14673,8 @@
         "redux": "^4.2.0",
         "simple-plist": "^1.3.1",
         "sprintf-js": "^1.1.2",
-        "styled-components": "^6.1.13"
+        "styled-components": "^6.1.13",
+        "win-shortcuts": "0.0.0"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@playwright/test": "^1.41.1",
@@ -14720,6 +14725,13 @@
       "dependencies": {
         "@neon-rs/load": "^0.1.73"
       }
+    },
+    "packages/win-shortcuts": {
+      "version": "0.0.0",
+      "license": "GPL-3.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@neon-rs/load": "^0.1.73"
+      }
     }
   },
   "dependencies": {
@@ -22607,6 +22619,7 @@
         "tsc-watch": "^5.0.3",
         "vinyl-buffer": "^1.0.1",
         "vinyl-source-stream": "^2.0.0",
+        "win-shortcuts": "0.0.0",
         "xvfb-maybe": "^0.2.1"
       }
     },
@@ -25870,6 +25883,12 @@
         "string-width": "^1.0.2 || 2"
       }
     },
+    "win-shortcuts": {
+      "version": "file:packages/win-shortcuts",
+      "requires": {
+        "@neon-rs/load": "^0.1.73"
+      }
+    },
     "word-wrap": {
       "version": "1.2.5",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/word-wrap/-/word-wrap-1.2.5.tgz",
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/gulpfile.js b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/gulpfile.js
index 02375032f4..529b05f9c4 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/gulpfile.js
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/gulpfile.js
@@ -18,8 +18,18 @@ task('set-prod-env', function (done) {
 task('clean', function (done) {
   fs.rm('./build', { recursive: true, force: true }, done);
 });
+task('build-proto', scripts.buildProto);
+task(
+  'develop',
+  series(
+    'clean',
+    'set-dev-env',
+    scripts.buildNseventforwarder,
+    scripts.buildWinShortcuts,
+    watch.start,
+  ),
+);
 task('build', series('clean', 'set-prod-env', assets.copyAll, scripts.build));
-task('develop', series('clean', 'set-dev-env', scripts.buildNseventforwarder, watch.start));
 task('pack-win', series('build', dist.packWin));
 task('pack-linux', series('build', dist.packLinux));
 task('pack-mac', series('build', dist.packMac));
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/package.json b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/package.json
index 056b0be93f..0963f79914 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/package.json
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     "react-redux": "^7.2.9",
     "react-router": "^5.3.4",
     "redux": "^4.2.0",
+    "win-shortcuts": "0.0.0",
     "simple-plist": "^1.3.1",
     "sprintf-js": "^1.1.2",
     "styled-components": "^6.1.13"
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/index.ts b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/index.ts
index 2186168379..a80241f527 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/index.ts
@@ -829,7 +829,12 @@ class ApplicationMain
       // If the applications is a string (path) it's an application picked with the file picker
       // that we want to add to the list of additional applications.
       if (typeof application === 'string') {
-        const executablePath = await splitTunneling!.resolveExecutablePath(application);
+        let executablePath;
+        try {
+          executablePath = await splitTunneling!.resolveExecutablePath(application);
+        } catch {
+          return;
+        }
         this.settings.gui.addBrowsedForSplitTunnelingApplications(executablePath);
         await splitTunneling!.addApplicationPathToCache(application);
         await this.daemonRpc.addSplitTunnelingApplication(executablePath);
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/windows-split-tunneling.ts b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/windows-split-tunneling.ts
index 7ae73827d0..4f1df5660a 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/windows-split-tunneling.ts
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/src/main/windows-split-tunneling.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-import { app, shell } from 'electron';
+import { app } from 'electron';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports
+const { readShortcut } = require('win-shortcuts');
+
 import {
   ISplitTunnelingApplication,
   ISplitTunnelingAppListRetriever,
@@ -114,7 +117,12 @@ export class WindowsSplitTunnelingAppListRetriever implements ISplitTunnelingApp
 
   public resolveExecutablePath(providedPath: string): Promise<string> {
     if (path.extname(providedPath) === '.lnk') {
-      return Promise.resolve(shell.readShortcutLink(path.resolve(providedPath)).target);
+      const target = this.tryReadShortcut(path.resolve(providedPath));
+      if (target) {
+        return Promise.resolve(target);
+      } else {
+        return Promise.reject('Failed to resolve shortcut');
+      }
     }
 
     return Promise.resolve(providedPath);
@@ -124,12 +132,14 @@ export class WindowsSplitTunnelingAppListRetriever implements ISplitTunnelingApp
   public async addApplicationPathToCache(applicationPath: string): Promise<void> {
     const parsedPath = path.parse(applicationPath);
     if (parsedPath.ext === '.lnk') {
-      const shortcutDetiails = shell.readShortcutLink(path.resolve(applicationPath));
-      this.additionalShortcuts.push({
-        ...shortcutDetiails,
-        name: path.parse(applicationPath).name,
-        deletable: true,
-      });
+      const target = this.tryReadShortcut(path.resolve(applicationPath));
+      if (target) {
+        this.additionalShortcuts.push({
+          target,
+          name: path.parse(applicationPath).name,
+          deletable: true,
+        });
+      }
     } else {
       await this.addApplicationToAdditionalShortcuts(applicationPath);
     }
@@ -216,14 +226,14 @@ export class WindowsSplitTunnelingAppListRetriever implements ISplitTunnelingApp
   private resolveLinks(linkPaths: string[]): ShortcutDetails[] {
     return linkPaths
       .map((link) => {
-        try {
+        const target = this.tryReadShortcut(path.resolve(link));
+        if (target) {
           return {
-            ...shell.readShortcutLink(path.resolve(link)),
+            target,
             name: path.parse(link).name,
           };
-        } catch {
-          return null;
         }
+        return null;
       })
       .filter(
         (shortcut): shortcut is ShortcutDetails =>
@@ -677,4 +687,17 @@ export class WindowsSplitTunnelingAppListRetriever implements ISplitTunnelingApp
   private alignDword(offset: number): number {
     return Math.ceil(offset / 4) * 4;
   }
+
+  private tryReadShortcut(appPath: string): string | null {
+    try {
+      return readShortcut(path.resolve(appPath));
+    } catch (e) {
+      if (e && typeof e === 'object' && 'message' in e) {
+        log.error(`Failed to read .lnk shortcut for ${appPath}.`, e.message);
+      } else {
+        log.error(`Failed to read .lnk shortcut for ${appPath}.`);
+      }
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/distribution.js b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/distribution.js
index 8ab8a35882..9965db3ccb 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/distribution.js
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/distribution.js
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ function newConfig() {
       '!node_modules/grpc-tools',
       '!node_modules/@types',
       '!node_modules/nseventforwarder/debug',
+      '!node_modules/win-shortcuts/debug',
     ],
 
     // Make sure that all files declared in "extraResources" exists and abort if they don't.
@@ -300,12 +301,16 @@ async function packWin() {
             process.env.SETUP_SUBDIR = '.';
             process.env.TARGET_SUBDIR = 'x86_64-pc-windows-msvc';
             process.env.DIST_SUBDIR = '';
+
+            execFileSync('npm', ['-w', 'win-shortcuts', 'run', 'build-x86']);
             break;
           case 'arm64':
             process.env.TARGET_TRIPLE = 'aarch64-pc-windows-msvc';
             process.env.SETUP_SUBDIR = 'aarch64-pc-windows-msvc';
             process.env.TARGET_SUBDIR = 'aarch64-pc-windows-msvc';
             process.env.DIST_SUBDIR = 'aarch64-pc-windows-msvc';
+
+            execFileSync('npm', ['-w', 'win-shortcuts', 'run', 'build-arm']);
             break;
           default:
             throw new Error('Invalid or unknown target (only one may be specified)');
diff --git a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/scripts.js b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/scripts.js
index 066ad60c6b..baa89736d2 100644
--- a/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/scripts.js
+++ b/desktop/packages/mullvad-vpn/tasks/scripts.js
@@ -117,12 +117,18 @@ function buildNseventforwarder(callback) {
   }
 }
 
+function buildWinShortcuts(callback) {
+  exec('npm -w win-shortcuts run build-debug', (err) => callback(err));
+}
+
 compileScripts.displayName = 'compile-scripts';
 buildNseventforwarder.displayName = 'build-nseventforwarder';
+buildWinShortcuts.displayName = 'build-win-shortcuts';
 
 exports.build = series(
   compileScripts,
   parallel(makeBrowserifyPreload(false), makeBrowserifyRenderer(false)),
 );
 exports.buildNseventforwarder = buildNseventforwarder;
+exports.buildWinShortcuts = buildWinShortcuts;
 exports.makeWatchCompiler = makeWatchCompiler;
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/.gitignore b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec4fda9fef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+target
+index.node
+**/node_modules
+**/.DS_Store
+npm-debug.log*
+lib
+*.log
+dist/
+debug/
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/Cargo.toml b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed8f3f43af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+[package]
+name = "win-shortcuts"
+description = ""
+authors.workspace = true
+repository.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+rust-version.workspace = true
+exclude = ["index.node"]
+
+[lints]
+workspace = true
+
+[lib]
+crate-type = ["cdylib"]
+path = "win-shortcuts-rs/lib.rs"
+
+[target.'cfg(target_os = "windows")'.dependencies]
+neon = "1"
+windows = { version = "0.59.0", features = ["Win32", "Win32_UI", "Win32_UI_Shell", "Win32_System", "Win32_System_Com", "Win32_Storage_FileSystem"] }
+thiserror = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/README.md b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b837b8e6a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# win-shortcuts
+
+## Building win-shortcuts
+
+Building win-shortcuts requires a [supported version of Node and Rust](https://github.com/neon-bindings/neon#platform-support).
+
+To run the build, run:
+
+```sh
+$ npm run build-debug
+```
+
+## Learn More
+
+Learn more about:
+
+- [Neon](https://neon-bindings.com).
+- [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org).
+- [Node](https://nodejs.org).
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/eslint.config.mjs b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/eslint.config.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9e16ad57ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/eslint.config.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import workspaceConfig from '../../eslint.config.mjs';
+
+export default [...workspaceConfig, { ignores: ['lib/'] }];
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/package.json b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..245c9ef179
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+{
+  "name": "win-shortcuts",
+  "version": "0.0.0",
+  "author": "Mullvad VPN",
+  "license": "GPL-3.0",
+  "description": "",
+  "main": "./lib/index.cjs",
+  "scripts": {
+    "cargo-build": "tsc && cargo build",
+    "build-debug": "npm run cargo-build && (test -d debug || mkdir debug) && cp ../../../target/debug/win_shortcuts.dll debug/index.node",
+    "build-arm": "npm run cargo-build -- --release --target aarch64-pc-windows-msvc && (test -d dist || mkdir dist) && (test -d dist/win32-arm64-msvc || mkdir \"dist/win32-arm64-msvc\") && cp ../../../target/aarch64-pc-windows-msvc/release/win_shortcuts.dll dist/win32-arm64-msvc/index.node",
+    "build-x86": "npm run cargo-build -- --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc && (test -d dist || mkdir dist) && (test -d dist/win32-x64-msvc || mkdir \"dist/win32-x64-msvc\") && cp ../../../target/x86_64-pc-windows-msvc/release/win_shortcuts.dll dist/win32-x64-msvc/index.node",
+    "clean": "rm -rf debug; rm -rf dist",
+    "lint": "eslint .",
+    "lint-fix": "eslint --fix ."
+  },
+  "exports": {
+    ".": {
+      "import": {
+        "types": "./lib/index.d.mts",
+        "default": "./lib/index.mjs"
+      },
+      "require": {
+        "types": "./lib/index.d.cts",
+        "default": "./lib/index.cjs"
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "types": "./lib/index.d.cts",
+  "files": [
+    "lib/**/*.?({c,m}){t,j}s"
+  ],
+  "dependencies": {
+    "@neon-rs/load": "^0.1.73"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.cts b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.cts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..717968cda4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.cts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+// This module is the CJS entry point for the library.
+
+// The Rust addon.
+import * as addon from './load.cjs';
+
+// Use this declaration to assign types to the addon's exports,
+// which otherwise by default are `any`.
+declare module './load.cjs' {
+  function readShortcut(linkPath: string): string | null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return path for a shortcut.
+ * @param linkPath absolute path to a `.lnk`.
+ */
+export function readShortcut(linkPath: string): string | null {
+  return addon.readShortcut(linkPath);
+}
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.mts b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.mts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5e1ab260f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/index.mts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+// This module is the ESM entry point for the library.
+
+export * from './index.cjs';
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/load.cts b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/load.cts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e58b265901
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/src/load.cts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+// This module loads the platform-specific build of the addon on
+// the current system.
+
+/* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports */
+module.exports = require('@neon-rs/load').proxy({
+  platforms: {
+    'win32-x64-msvc': () => require('../dist/win32-x64-msvc'),
+    'win32-arm64-msvc': () => require('../dist/win32-arm64-msvc'),
+  },
+  debug: () => require('../debug/index.node'),
+});
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/tsconfig.json b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..31e6603771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "module": "node16",
+    "declaration": true,
+    "outDir": "lib"
+  },
+  "exclude": ["lib"]
+}
diff --git a/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/win-shortcuts-rs/lib.rs b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/win-shortcuts-rs/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9cc0cea0c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/packages/win-shortcuts/win-shortcuts-rs/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+#![cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+
+use std::marker::PhantomData;
+use std::string::FromUtf16Error;
+use std::sync::{mpsc, OnceLock};
+
+use neon::prelude::*;
+use windows::core::{Interface, HSTRING, PCWSTR};
+use windows::Win32::System::Com::{
+    CoCreateInstance, CoInitializeEx, CoUninitialize, IPersistFile, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER,
+    COINIT_APARTMENTTHREADED, STGM_READ,
+};
+use windows::Win32::UI::Shell::{IShellLinkW, ShellLink, SLGP_UNCPRIORITY};
+
+/// Messages that can be sent to the thread
+enum Message {
+    ResolveShortcut {
+        path: String,
+        result_tx: mpsc::Sender<Result<Option<String>, Error>>,
+    },
+}
+
+#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
+enum Error {
+    /// The handler thread is down
+    #[error("The handler thread is down")]
+    ThreadDown,
+
+    /// CoCreateInstance failed to create an IShellLinkW instance
+    #[error("CoCreateInstance failed to create an IShellLinkW instance")]
+    CreateInstance(#[source] windows::core::Error),
+
+    /// Failed to cast shortcut to IPersistFile
+    #[error("Failed to cast IShellLinkW")]
+    CastShortcut(#[source] windows::core::Error),
+
+    /// Failed to load shortcut
+    #[error("Failed to load shortcut .lnk")]
+    LoadShortcut(#[source] windows::core::Error),
+
+    /// Failed to retrieve IShellLinkW path
+    #[error("Failed to retrieve IShellLinkW link")]
+    GetPath(#[source] windows::core::Error),
+
+    /// Path is not valid UTF-16
+    #[error("Path is not valid UTF-16")]
+    Utf16ToString(#[source] FromUtf16Error),
+}
+
+/// Maximum path length of shortcut
+/// 32 KiB: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation?tabs=registry
+const MAX_PATH_LEN: usize = 0x7fff;
+
+#[neon::main]
+fn main(mut cx: ModuleContext<'_>) -> NeonResult<()> {
+    cx.export_function("readShortcut", read_shortcut)?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn read_shortcut(mut cx: FunctionContext<'_>) -> JsResult<'_, JsValue> {
+    let link_path = cx.argument::<JsString>(0)?.value(&mut cx);
+
+    match read_shortcut_inner(link_path) {
+        Ok(Some(path)) => Ok(cx.string(path).as_value(&mut cx)),
+        Ok(None) => Ok(cx.null().as_value(&mut cx)),
+        Err(err) => cx.throw_error(format!("Failed to read shortcut: {err}")),
+    }
+}
+
+fn read_shortcut_inner(link_path: String) -> Result<Option<String>, Error> {
+    let tx = get_com_thread();
+
+    let (result_tx, result_rx) = mpsc::channel();
+    tx.send(Message::ResolveShortcut {
+        path: link_path,
+        result_tx,
+    })
+    .map_err(|_err| Error::ThreadDown)?;
+
+    result_rx.recv().map_err(|_err| Error::ThreadDown)?
+}
+
+/// Retrieve shortcut .lnk to its target path
+fn get_shortcut_path(path: &str) -> Result<Option<String>, Error> {
+    let shell_link_result: windows::core::Result<IShellLinkW> =
+        // SAFETY: We're passing a valid GUID pointer.
+        unsafe { CoCreateInstance(&ShellLink, None, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER) };
+    let shell_link = shell_link_result.map_err(Error::CreateInstance)?;
+
+    // Load the .lnk using IPersistFile
+    let path = HSTRING::from(path);
+    let persist_file_result: windows::core::Result<IPersistFile> = shell_link.cast();
+    let persist_file = persist_file_result.map_err(Error::CastShortcut)?;
+
+    // SAFETY: HSTRING::from will ensure that path is a valid utf16 null-terminated string.
+    unsafe { persist_file.Load(PCWSTR(path.as_ptr()), STGM_READ) }.map_err(Error::LoadShortcut)?;
+
+    let mut target_buffer = [0u16; MAX_PATH_LEN];
+
+    // SAFETY: This function is trivially safe to call.
+    unsafe {
+        shell_link.GetPath(
+            &mut target_buffer,
+            std::ptr::null_mut(),
+            SLGP_UNCPRIORITY.0 as u32,
+        )
+    }
+    .map_err(Error::GetPath)?;
+
+    let utf16_slice = split_at_null(&target_buffer);
+    let s = String::from_utf16(utf16_slice).map_err(Error::Utf16ToString)?;
+    Ok(Some(s))
+}
+
+fn split_at_null(slice: &[u16]) -> &[u16] {
+    slice.split(|&c| c == 0).next().unwrap_or(slice)
+}
+
+/// Struct for safely handling initialization and deinitialization of the Windows COM library.
+/// A successful call to [CoInitializeEx] _needs_ to be accompanied by a call to [CoUninitialize],
+/// which is taken care by the drop implementation on [ComContext].
+///
+/// [CoInitializeEx] sets up thread-local state. Thus this type is `!Send` to stop it being moved
+/// to another thread.
+struct ComContext {
+    // HACK: until negative impls are stable, this how we stop `Send` from being impld
+    _do_not_impl_send: PhantomData<*mut ()>,
+}
+
+impl ComContext {
+    /// Create a new [ComContext].
+    ///
+    /// This will call [CoInitializeEx] now, and [CoUninitialize] when dropped.
+    ///
+    /// May return an error if [CoInitializeEx] was previously called with different arguments on
+    /// the same thread.
+    fn new() -> Result<Self, windows::core::Error> {
+        // SAFETY: This is paired with CoUninitialize in impl Drop
+        unsafe { CoInitializeEx(None, COINIT_APARTMENTTHREADED) }.ok()?;
+
+        Ok(Self {
+            _do_not_impl_send: PhantomData,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for ComContext {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        // SAFETY: CoInitializeEx was called when this struct was created,
+        // and it was called on the same thread since ComContext is !Send.
+        unsafe {
+            CoUninitialize();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Retrieve a channel for communicating with the thread responsible for handling
+/// COM library safely.
+/// We spawn a thread in case the caller may have already initialized COM in an
+/// incompatible way.
+fn get_com_thread() -> mpsc::Sender<Message> {
+    static THREAD_SENDER: OnceLock<mpsc::Sender<Message>> = OnceLock::new();
+    THREAD_SENDER
+        .get_or_init(move || {
+            let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel();
+
+            std::thread::spawn(move || {
+                let com = match ComContext::new() {
+                    Ok(com) => com,
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        eprintln!("Failed to initialize ComContext: {e}");
+                        return;
+                    }
+                };
+
+                while let Ok(msg) = rx.recv() {
+                    match msg {
+                        Message::ResolveShortcut { path, result_tx } => {
+                            let _ = result_tx.send(get_shortcut_path(&path));
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+
+                drop(com);
+            });
+
+            tx
+        })
+        .clone()
+}