Unix Agent v24.4.x ignores killSignal=SIGTERM in non-privileged mode.

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine
• Automic SaaS

Issue/Introduction

When running the Unix/Linux Agent v24.4.4 in a non-root or non-privileged environment (such as a GKE Kubernetes container or an on-premise installation without the SetUID bit set), cancelling a job from the Automic Web Interface (AWI) fails to send the signal configured in the agent's INI file.

• Expected Behavior: The agent should send the signal specified in killSignal= (e.g., SIGTERM / 15) to allow for graceful job termination and cleanup activities.
• Actual Behavior: The agent ignores the configuration and defaults to sending SIGKILL (kill-9), causing immediate process termination without cleanup.

Environment

• Product: Automic Automation
• Component: Unix/Linux Java-based Agent
• Affected Version: v24.4.4

Cause

A product defect was identified where the v24.4.4 Agent ignores the killSignal parameter when started in non-authenticated or unprivileged mode. This is a regression compared to Agent v21.

This issue is tracked under Engineering Defect: DE197539.

Resolution

The defect has been corrected. The fix is included in the following releases:

• Automation.Engine 24.4.5 - TBA
• Automation.Engine 26.1.0 - TBA

Workaround

For on-premise environments where security policies allow it, the agent can be run in privileged mode by setting the SetUID (sbit) on the agent binary and ensuring it is owned by root.

Note: This workaround is typically not applicable for containerized environments like GKE where privileged mode is restricted.