Transient issue: updating a distribution causes a task timeout

[ianballou]

Version

      "versions": {
        "deb": "3.7.0",
        "rpm": "3.32.0",
        "core": "3.85.1",
        "file": "3.85.1",
        "ostree": "2.5.0",
        "python": "3.19.0",
        "ansible": "0.28.0",
        "certguard": "3.85.1",
        "container": "2.26.1"
      }

Describe the bug

When updating an Ansible distribution, the update task failed with the following information:

---
pulp_tasks:
- pulp_href: "/pulp/api/v3/tasks/0199cee7-4e58-7155-a141-90995f59beb8/"
  prn: prn:core.task:0199cee7-4e58-7155-a141-90995f59beb8
  pulp_created: '2025-10-10T16:14:49.434Z'
  pulp_last_updated: '2025-10-10T16:14:49.433Z'
  state: failed
  name: pulpcore.app.tasks.base.ageneral_update
  logging_cid: 0b21fa09-54a5-470c-999b-f139169cc44a
  created_by: "/pulp/api/v3/users/1/"
  unblocked_at: '2025-10-10T16:14:49.444Z'
  started_at: '2025-10-10T16:14:49.445Z'
  finished_at: '2025-10-10T16:14:54.972Z'
  error:
    traceback: |2
        File "/usr/lib/python3.12/site-packages/pulpcore/tasking/tasks.py", line 108, in _execute_task
          raise RuntimeError(
    description: Immediate task timed out after 5 seconds.
  child_tasks: []
  progress_reports: []
  created_resources: []
  reserved_resources_record:
  - pdrn:bb7dd743-cddd-4d9c-9b70-e8063ecb3dfc:distributions
  - shared:prn:core.domain:bb7dd743-cddd-4d9c-9b70-e8063ecb3dfc
task_groups: []

To Reproduce
It's not 100% reproducible, but I created a distribution for an Ansible repo that synced the ansible.posix collection in a Katello environment. Mirroring policy is 'content only'. Distribution looks like:

  {
    "pulp_href": "/pulp/api/v3/distributions/ansible/ansible/0199ce6d-cb15-780f-a338-fd13b28056f7/",
    "pulp_created": "2025-10-10T14:02:05.974503Z",
    "base_path": "Default_Organization/Library/custom/Buttermilk_Biscuits/Ansible_Repo",
    "content_guard": null,
    "name": "Ansible_Repo-18653",
    "repository": null,
    "repository_version": "/pulp/api/v3/repositories/ansible/ansible/0199ce6d-c630-7afc-aee3-216a1aaf1692/versions/3/",
    "client_url": "https://foreman.example.com/pulp_ansible/galaxy/Default_Organization/Library/custom/Buttermilk_Biscuits/Ansible_Repo/",
    "pulp_labels": {}
  }

It's likely that the update task just sent all of the same information that already existed. Potentially just with a new repo version to distribute.

Expected behavior
Timeout does not occur.

Additional context
This is my first time hitting it - so it may be difficult to reproduce naturally.

[mdellweg]

I don't quite see what can cause updating the distribution to take so long to hit a timeout.
Maybe we need to look at the rel_path validation here.
But maybe also there is some out of control life cycle hook in pulp_ansible.

[dralley]

Perhaps #3322 ?

[mdellweg]

Perhaps #3322 ?

I don't think so, because that would prevent the update task from being executed immediately in the first place, but queued for a worker to pick up.