User from Login Object no longer used if ANONYMOUS_JOB set to Y on Unix Java Agent

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine
• Automic SaaS
• CA Automic One Automation

Issue/Introduction

After the upgrade to 24.x of the Unix/Linux Agents from 21.x C-Based Unix Agents, with login_check=no and agentUser= and ANONYMOUS_JOB set to Y in the UC_HOSTCHAR_* used by the Agent, the Jobs are executed with the root account instead of the user defined in the Login Object.

To replicate this, it's required to have in UC_HOSTCHAR_* for the impacted agent:

ANONYMOUS_JOB set to Y

Different test cases and results with combination of login_check and agentUser in the ini file of the agent:

login_check=YES - works as expected - job is launched with the user defined in login object
login_check=NO - NOT working as expected  - all jobs launched as root and no error at all
agentUser=uc4 (or any other unprivileged user) - works as expected
agentUser=root - works as expected
agentUser= NOT working as expected as jobs are launched as root and no error at all

Expected behavior: the agent should launch the jobs as the user defined in the login object as login_check is set to NO and agent started as root (default is agentuser=)
Actual behavior: the agent unix/linux will launch all jobs as root which is not expected and no error will be shown if ANONYMOUS_JOB set to Y

Environment

Agent Unix/Linux Java 24.x

Cause

Defect DE168330

Resolution

Workaround:

Set any (one is enough) of the below settings in the agent unix/linux ini file:

agentUser=uc4 or any other unprivileged user like automic -- this is the preferred option to keep same behavior as previous versions with separation of privileges
login_check=YES
 
Or in the UC_HOSTCHAR_* applied to the relevant Agents set

ANONYMOUS_JOB to N

Solution:

Update to a fix version listed below or a newer version if available.

Fix version:
Component(s): Agent Unix Java
Automation.Engine 24.4.0 HF3 - Available
Automation.Engine 24.4.1 - Available

Additional Information

Public Title: Unix Agent does not use user of the provided Login object

Public Description: The Unix Agent incorrectly executed jobs as the root user without verifying the provided credentials. This occurred when ANONYMOUS_JOB=Y or INI login_check=N was set. In such cases, the Agent ignored the LOGIN object and started the job directly as root (Agent User), bypassing the expected password check.

To ensure a smooth upgrade and prevent similar issues, we strongly recommend verifying the LOGIN object using the root username and password before proceeding. This will confirm that credentials are correctly configured and help avoid unexpected behavior.