reverted:
--- b/core/modules/simpletest/drupal_web_test_case.php
+++ a/core/modules/simpletest/drupal_web_test_case.php
@@ -2542,45 +2542,27 @@
    *
    * @param $path
    *   A path from the internal browser content.
-   *
    * @return
+   *   The $path with $base_url prepended, if necessary.
-   *   If $path is an absolute URL, it will not be changed. Otherwise, it will
-   *   be converted to an absolute URL within the context of the page the
-   *   internal browser is currently pointed at.
    */
   protected function getAbsoluteUrl($path) {
+    global $base_url, $base_path;
+
     $parts = parse_url($path);
     if (empty($parts['host'])) {
       // Ensure that we have a string (and no xpath object).
       $path = (string) $path;
+      // Strip $base_path, if existent.
+      $length = strlen($base_path);
+      if (substr($path, 0, $length) === $base_path) {
+        $path = substr($path, $length);
+      }
       // Ensure that we have an absolute path.
+      if ($path[0] !== '/') {
+        $path = '/' . $path;
-      if (strpos($path, $GLOBALS['base_path']) !== 0) {
-        $path = $GLOBALS['base_path'] . $path;
-      }
-      // If the internal browser is currently pointed at a particular URL,
-      // strip everything off the end of it until we're left with the
-      // equivalent of Drupal's $base_root global variable (for example,
-      // http://example.com). It is important to derive this from the browser's
-      // URL (rather than using the parent site's $base_root directly) because
-      // the internal browser might be pointed to a different location, e.g.
-      // the https:// version of the site.
-      if ($url = $this->getUrl()) {
-        $parts = parse_url($url);
-        $url_part_prefixes = array('fragment' => '#', 'query' => '?', 'path' => '');
-        foreach ($url_part_prefixes as $part => $prefix) {
-          if (isset($parts[$part])) {
-            $url = substr($url, 0, -strlen($prefix . $parts[$part]));
-          }
-        }
-        $base_root = $url;
-      }
-      // If the internal browser hasn't visited a URL yet, fall back on using
-      // the parent site's $base_root instead.
-      else {
-        $base_root = $GLOBALS['base_root'];
       }
+      // Finally, prepend the $base_url.
+      $path = $base_url . $path;
-      // Finally, prepend the base root to the path to form an absolute URL.
-      $path = $base_root . $path;
     }
     return $path;
   }
@@ -2727,18 +2709,10 @@
    * A good example would be when testing drupal_http_request(). After fetching
    * the page the content can be set and page elements can be checked to ensure
    * that the function worked properly.
-   *
-   * @param $content
-   *   A string representing the raw HTML content to set.
-   * @param $url
-   *   (optional) The URL to set as the internal browser URL associated with
-   *   this content. If not provided, the browser URL will not be changed.
    */
+  protected function drupalSetContent($content, $url = 'internal:') {
-  protected function drupalSetContent($content, $url = NULL) {
     $this->content = $content;
+    $this->url = $url;
-    if (isset($url)) {
-      $this->url = $url;
-    }
     $this->plainTextContent = FALSE;
     $this->elements = FALSE;
     $this->drupalSettings = array();
reverted:
--- b/core/modules/simpletest/simpletest.test
+++ a/core/modules/simpletest/simpletest.test
@@ -325,16 +325,6 @@
  * Test internal testing framework browser.
  */
 class SimpleTestBrowserTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
-  /**
-   * Stores the value of $GLOBALS['base_root'] before the test modifies it.
-   */
-  protected $base_root;
-
-  /**
-   * Stores the value of $GLOBALS['base_url'] before the test modifies it.
-   */
-  protected $base_url;
-
   public static function getInfo() {
     return array(
       'name' => 'SimpleTest browser',
@@ -346,62 +336,30 @@
   function setUp() {
     parent::setUp();
     variable_set('user_register', USER_REGISTER_VISITORS);
-    // Store the original values of the global $base_root and $base_url
-    // variables so we can restore them after they are modified by the test.
-    $this->base_root = $GLOBALS['base_root'];
-    $this->base_url = $GLOBALS['base_url'];
-  }
-
-  function tearDown() {
-    // Restore the original values of the global $base_root and $base_url
-    // variables.
-    $GLOBALS['base_root'] = $this->base_root;
-    $GLOBALS['base_url'] = $this->base_url;
-    parent::tearDown();
   }
 
   /**
    * Test DrupalWebTestCase::getAbsoluteUrl().
    */
   function testGetAbsoluteUrl() {
+    // Testbed runs with Clean URLs disabled, so disable it here.
+    variable_set('clean_url', 0);
+    $url = 'user/login';
+
+    $this->drupalGet($url);
+    $absolute = url($url, array('absolute' => TRUE));
+    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
+    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
+
+    $this->drupalPost(NULL, array(), t('Log in'));
+    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
+    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
+
+    $this->clickLink('Create new account');
+    $url = 'user/register';
+    $absolute = url($url, array('absolute' => TRUE));
+    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
+    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
-    // Store the URLs of the pages we will direct the internal browser to visit
-    // during this test. Force them to be http:// URLs regardless of the
-    // environment the test is running in.
-    variable_set('https', TRUE);
-    $user_login_absolute_url = url('user/login', array('absolute' => TRUE, 'https' => FALSE));
-    $user_register_absolute_url = url('user/register', array('absolute' => TRUE, 'https' => FALSE));
-
-    // Test that the internal browser always stores the correct URLs for the
-    // location it is pointed at. For example, the URLs should use http:// if
-    // the internal browser is visiting an http:// version of the site,
-    // regardless of whether the parent site (that is running the tests) is on
-    // http:// or https://. This behavior is tested here by modifying the
-    // global $base_root and $base_url variables on the parent site and
-    // verifying that this does not affect the URLs seen by the internal
-    // browser.
-    foreach (array(TRUE, FALSE) as $https_on) {
-      // Simulate the parent site as either http:// or https://.
-      $scheme = $https_on ? 'https' : 'http';
-      $GLOBALS['base_root'] = preg_replace('@^https?://@', "$scheme://", $GLOBALS['base_root']);
-      $GLOBALS['base_url'] = preg_replace('@^https?://@', "$scheme://", $GLOBALS['base_url']);
-
-      // Visit the http:// version of the user/login page and verify that's
-      // where the browser thinks it's at.
-      $this->drupalGet('user/login', array('https' => FALSE));
-      $this->assertEqual($user_login_absolute_url, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
-      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
-
-      // Submit a form and verify that we remain on the correct http:// URL.
-      $this->drupalPost(NULL, array(), t('Log in'));
-      $this->assertEqual($user_login_absolute_url, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
-      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
-
-      // Click a link to go to user/register, and verify that we are on the
-      // correct http:// URL there too.
-      $this->clickLink('Create new account');
-      $this->assertEqual($user_register_absolute_url, $this->url, t('Passed and requested URL are equal.'));
-      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), t('Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.'));
-    }
   }
 
   /**
only in patch2:
unchanged:
--- a/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/Tests/BrowserTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/Tests/BrowserTest.php
@@ -13,6 +13,16 @@
  * Test internal testing framework browser.
  */
 class BrowserTest extends WebTestBase {
+  /**
+   * Stores the value of $GLOBALS['base_root'] before the test modifies it.
+   */
+  protected $base_root;
+
+  /**
+   * Stores the value of $GLOBALS['base_url'] before the test modifies it.
+   */
+  protected $base_url;
+
   public static function getInfo() {
     return array(
       'name' => 'SimpleTest browser',
@@ -21,26 +31,64 @@ public static function getInfo() {
     );
   }
 
+  function setUp() {
+    parent::setUp();
+    // Store the original values of the global $base_root and $base_url
+    // variables so we can restore them after they are modified by the test.
+    $this->base_root = $GLOBALS['base_root'];
+    $this->base_url = $GLOBALS['base_url'];
+  }
+
+  function tearDown() {
+    // Restore the original values of the global $base_root and $base_url
+    // variables.
+    $GLOBALS['base_root'] = $this->base_root;
+    $GLOBALS['base_url'] = $this->base_url;
+    parent::tearDown();
+  }
+
   /**
    * Test Drupal\simpletest\WebTestBase::getAbsoluteUrl().
    */
   function testGetAbsoluteUrl() {
-    $url = 'user/login';
-
-    $this->drupalGet($url);
-    $absolute = url($url, array('absolute' => TRUE));
-    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
-    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
-
-    $this->drupalPost(NULL, array(), t('Log in'));
-    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
-    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
-
-    $this->clickLink('Create new account');
-    $url = 'user/register';
-    $absolute = url($url, array('absolute' => TRUE));
-    $this->assertEqual($absolute, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
-    $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
+    // Store the URLs of the pages we will direct the internal browser to visit
+    // during this test. Force them to be http:// URLs regardless of the
+    // environment the test is running in.
+    variable_set('https', TRUE);
+    $user_login_absolute_url = url('user/login', array('absolute' => TRUE, 'https' => FALSE));
+    $user_register_absolute_url = url('user/register', array('absolute' => TRUE, 'https' => FALSE));
+
+    // Test that the internal browser always stores the correct URLs for the
+    // location it is pointed at. For example, the URLs should use http:// if
+    // the internal browser is visiting an http:// version of the site,
+    // regardless of whether the parent site (that is running the tests) is on
+    // http:// or https://. This behavior is tested here by modifying the
+    // global $base_root and $base_url variables on the parent site and
+    // verifying that this does not affect the URLs seen by the internal
+    // browser.
+    foreach (array(TRUE, FALSE) as $https_on) {
+      // Simulate the parent site as either http:// or https://.
+      $scheme = $https_on ? 'https' : 'http';
+      $GLOBALS['base_root'] = preg_replace('@^https?://@', "$scheme://", $GLOBALS['base_root']);
+      $GLOBALS['base_url'] = preg_replace('@^https?://@', "$scheme://", $GLOBALS['base_url']);
+
+      // Visit the http:// version of the user/login page and verify that's
+      // where the browser thinks it's at.
+      $this->drupalGet('user/login', array('https' => FALSE));
+      $this->assertEqual($user_login_absolute_url, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
+      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
+
+      // Submit a form and verify that we remain on the correct http:// URL.
+      $this->drupalPost(NULL, array(), t('Log in'));
+      $this->assertEqual($user_login_absolute_url, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
+      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
+
+      // Click a link to go to user/register, and verify that we are on the
+      // correct http:// URL there too.
+      $this->clickLink('Create new account');
+      $this->assertEqual($user_register_absolute_url, $this->url, 'Passed and requested URL are equal.');
+      $this->assertEqual($this->url, $this->getAbsoluteUrl($this->url), 'Requested and returned absolute URL are equal.');
+    }
   }
 
   /**
only in patch2:
unchanged:
--- a/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php
@@ -1963,26 +1963,43 @@ protected function clickLink($label, $index = 0) {
    * @param $path
    *   A path from the internal browser content.
    * @return
-   *   The $path with $base_url prepended, if necessary.
+   *   If $path is an absolute URL, it will not be changed. Otherwise, it will
+   *   be converted to an absolute URL within the context of the page the
+   *   internal browser is currently pointed at.
    */
   protected function getAbsoluteUrl($path) {
-    global $base_url, $base_path;
-
     $parts = parse_url($path);
     if (empty($parts['host'])) {
       // Ensure that we have a string (and no xpath object).
       $path = (string) $path;
-      // Strip $base_path, if existent.
-      $length = strlen($base_path);
-      if (substr($path, 0, $length) === $base_path) {
-        $path = substr($path, $length);
-      }
       // Ensure that we have an absolute path.
-      if ($path[0] !== '/') {
-        $path = '/' . $path;
+      if (strpos($path, $GLOBALS['base_path']) !== 0) {
+        $path = $GLOBALS['base_path'] . $path;
+      }
+      // If the internal browser is currently pointed at a particular URL,
+      // strip everything off the end of it until we're left with the
+      // equivalent of Drupal's $base_root global variable (for example,
+      // http://example.com). It is important to derive this from the browser's
+      // URL (rather than using the parent site's $base_root directly) because
+      // the internal browser might be pointed to a different location, e.g.
+      // the https:// version of the site.
+      if ($url = $this->getUrl()) {
+        $parts = parse_url($url);
+        $url_part_prefixes = array('fragment' => '#', 'query' => '?', 'path' => '');
+        foreach ($url_part_prefixes as $part => $prefix) {
+          if (isset($parts[$part])) {
+            $url = substr($url, 0, -strlen($prefix . $parts[$part]));
+          }
+        }
+        $base_root = $url;
       }
-      // Finally, prepend the $base_url.
-      $path = $base_url . $path;
+      // If the internal browser hasn't visited a URL yet, fall back on using
+      // the parent site's $base_root instead.
+      else {
+        $base_root = $GLOBALS['base_root'];
+      }
+      // Finally, prepend the base root to the path to form an absolute URL.
+      $path = $base_root . $path;
     }
     return $path;
   }
@@ -2129,10 +2146,18 @@ protected function drupalGetMails($filter = array()) {
    * A good example would be when testing HTTP request made by Drupal. After fetching
    * the page the content can be set and page elements can be checked to ensure
    * that the function worked properly.
+   *
+   * @param $content
+   *   A string representing the raw HTML content to set.
+   * @param $url
+   *   (optional) The URL to set as the internal browser URL associated with
+   *   this content. If not provided, the browser URL will not be changed.
    */
-  protected function drupalSetContent($content, $url = 'internal:') {
+  protected function drupalSetContent($content, $url = NULL) {
     $this->content = $content;
-    $this->url = $url;
+    if (isset($url)) {
+      $this->url = $url;
+    }
     $this->plainTextContent = FALSE;
     $this->elements = FALSE;
     $this->drupalSettings = array();