The watchdog that got its own leash

Description and use

Three timeout‑less calls in a health‑check script caused 144 blank authorizations daily. Adding a 30‑second timeout removed all unbounded executions, dropping blank authorizations to zero and reducing the total unbounded count from 39 to 36.

Problem

Three critical call sites in a health‑check script had no timeout, causing 144 blank authorizations per day and risking unbounded execution.

Outcome

The timeout addition eliminated all unbounded executions, reducing blank authorizations from 144 to zero and lowering the class‑wide unbounded count from 39 to 36.

Workflow

• Run initial census to identify unbounded call sites.
• Locate the three offending lines in the health‑check script.
• Add timeout=30 to each call.
• Commit change and run a dry‑run of the health‑check to ensure success.
• Re‑run the census to verify the counts have dropped to zero.
• Document the change in the internal log.
• Monitor future censuses to confirm the fix persists.

Evidence

Three lines in one file. A network‑listing call and two process‑kill calls, each now carrying timeout=30.

Source

The file's unbounded count went from 3 to 0. The class‑wide number went from 39 unbounded sites to 36.

Source