diff --git a/src/inspect_ai/util/_context/resource.py b/src/inspect_ai/util/_context/resource.py
index 4be6f4c0..8b03dac9 100644
--- a/src/inspect_ai/util/_context/resource.py
+++ b/src/inspect_ai/util/_context/resource.py
@@ -79,7 +79,10 @@ def read_resource() -> str:
         # no scheme means either a local file or a string
         else:
             # extract the path
-            path = url2pathname(parsed.path)
+            try:
+                path = url2pathname(parsed.path)
+            except OSError:
+                return resource
 
             # return it if it exists (otherwise return the str)
             fs = filesystem(path)