What causes "QueryInformationJobObject() failed" in ansible/ansible?

Check the Win32ErrorCode: 5 suggests the containing job denies query access to your token.

ansible/ansible · error · Win32Exception

QueryInformationJobObject() failed

Error message

QueryInformationJobObject() failed

What it means

Thrown by AsyncUtil.CanCreateBreakawayProcess when QueryInformationJobObject(JobObjectBasicLimitInformation) fails on the current job. After IsProcessInJob confirms the process is in a job, this query reads the job's limit flags to see whether JOB_OBJECT_LIMIT_BREAKAWAY_OK is set (i.e. children may escape the job). Failure means the flag query itself was rejected.

Source

Thrown at lib/ansible/module_utils/csharp/Ansible._Async.cs:283

            {
                throw new Win32Exception("IsProcessInJob() failed");
            }

            if (!isInJob)
            {
                return true;
            }

            NativeHelpers.JOBOBJECT_BASIC_LIMIT_INFORMATION jobInfo = new NativeHelpers.JOBOBJECT_BASIC_LIMIT_INFORMATION();
            bool jobRes = NativeMethods.QueryInformationJobObject(
                IntPtr.Zero,
                NativeHelpers.JobObjectBasicLimitInformation,
                ref jobInfo,
                Marshal.SizeOf<NativeHelpers.JOBOBJECT_BASIC_LIMIT_INFORMATION>(),
                IntPtr.Zero);
            if (!jobRes)
            {
                throw new Win32Exception("QueryInformationJobObject() failed");
            }

            return (jobInfo.LimitFlags & NativeHelpers.JOB_OBJECT_LIMIT_BREAKAWAY_OK) != 0;
        }

        public static ProcessInformation CreateAsyncProcess(
            string applicationName,
            string commandLine,
            SafeHandle stdin,
            SafeHandle stdout,
            SafeHandle stderr,
            SafeHandle mutexHandle,
            SafeHandle parentProcess,
            StreamReader stdoutReader,
            StreamReader stderrReader)
        {
            StringBuilder commandLineBuffer = new StringBuilder(commandLine);
            int creationFlags = NativeHelpers.CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE |

View on GitHub (pinned to 9cf16a4aca)

Solutions

Check the Win32ErrorCode: 5 suggests the containing job denies query access to your token.
Run the module/connection outside the restrictive job (e.g. interactive session instead of a hardened service) to confirm.
Ensure the async wrapper configuration does not require breakaway when the job forbids it (parentProcess-based spawning is the fallback path).
Report upstream with OS version if breakaway-eligible jobs still fail the query.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try
{
    ok = AsyncUtil.CanCreateBreakawayProcess();
}
catch (Win32Exception ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("QueryInformationJobObject"))
{
    // containing job denies the query (often access denied) or nested-job edge case;
    // safest fallback: assume breakaway is NOT allowed and spawn under a parent process
    ok = false;
}

Prevention

When the connection runs under a scheduler/service job, prefer parent-process-based async spawning over breakaway.
Check job ACLs if you control the job object; grant query rights to the module's token.
Cache the result once per run instead of probing repeatedly.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a NULL job handle (as done here) queries the assigned job, which fails with ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED if the job handle is not queryable by the caller; nested-job configurations on older Windows versions (pre-Win8 nested-job semantics); a job that was terminated concurrently.

Common situations: Ansible connections running inside scheduler/service job objects (SCM, Task Scheduler, CI agents) whose ACLs deny query rights to the module's token; Windows versions with partial nested-job support.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of ansible/ansible@9cf16a4aca (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/08231baf2f38a80e. Report an issue: GitHub.