Error: "javax.security.auth.login.LoginException: User can't be null" for Policy Periodic Events in Aria Automation Orchestrator

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

In VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator, a scheduled workflow triggered by a Policy Periodic Event intermittently fails and stops executing. The Policy Run Audit displays the following error:

Exception when fetching policy, reason:javax.security.auth.login.LoginException: User can't be null

Environment

8.x

Cause

This error indicates that the security context or user session for the scheduled policy has expired, become corrupted, or detached from the initial execution identity. Because policies run under the security context of the user who started them, an inability to validate this context during the periodic fetch results in a null user state.

Resolution

 

1. Log in to the Aria Automation Orchestrator appliance via SSH as root.

2. Reset the authentication provider to ensure the security context is correctly initialized: 

   vracli vro authentication

3. Restart the Orchestrator services to apply the changes: 

   /opt/scripts/deploy.sh

4. Log in to the Aria Automation Orchestrator UI.

5. Navigate to the affected policy, stop it, and restart it to refresh the user session and bind a new security context to the periodic event.

 

Additional Information

Ensure the user account starting the policy has adequate permissions and is not subject to frequent forced logouts or token revocations from the identity provider.