Error, 'Failed to create worker thread' when starting vfunction-vfapi-parser Container using UBI Container Images
Overview of the Issue
This issue occurs in the following circumstances:
- A vFunction organization uses a RedHat-based Linux Host for their vFunction Server
- The organization downloads the Universal Base Image (UBI) vFunction Server installation TGZ
- The organization configures the server-installation.yaml and runs the install.sh script
- Unexpectedly, the vfunction-vfapi-parser Container gets stuck, “starting” and the console output displays the following message:
2026-04-28 12:28:25.711 Verifying system status:
2026-04-28 12:28:25.775 vfunction-mysql: healthy
2026-04-28 12:28:25.853 vfunction-nginx: healthy
2026-04-28 12:28:25.918 vfunction-vfapi-parser: starting
2026-04-28 12:28:36.392 vfunction-vfapi-parser: starting
2026-04-28 12:28:46.454 vfunction-vfapi-parser: starting
2026-04-28 12:28:56.506 vfunction-vfapi-parser: starting
2026-04-28 12:29:06.561 vfunction-vfapi-parser: starting
2026-04-28 12:29:16.631 vfunction-vfapi-idp: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.684 vfunction-vfapi-mcp: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.744 vfunction-vfapi-measurements: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.803 vfunction-vfapi-organizations: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.856 vfunction-vfapi-users: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.923 vfunction-vfapi-otlp: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.977 vfunction-vfapi-dm: healthy
2026-04-28 12:29:16.981 Something went wrong while trying to run dockers: vfunction-vfapi-parser.
2026-04-28 12:29:16.984 Please check logs under /var/log/vfunction or consult vFunction support
- The organization attempts to run the vfunction-vfapi-parser outside of the installation script to see the error live
### For example
docker run --name vfunction-vfapi-parser --network=vfunction --env-file=/etc/sysconfig/vfunction/vfapi/automated-custom-env.list -p 8002:8443 -e TZ=Etc/GMT-2 --restart=unless-stopped --user 1500:1500 --security-opt no-new-privileges --cap-drop=all vfunction/vfunction-vfapi-parser-ubi:v4.6.2017
- Unexpectedly, the vfunction-vfapi-parser fails to run and generates the following error
+ [[ -v CA_ROOT ]]
+ unset CA_ROOT
+ DEBUG_MODE_OPT=
+ [[ -v SQL_PARSER_DEBUG_MODE ]]
+ [[ -e /opt/vfunction-vfapi/bin/sql-parser.jar ]]
+ cp /etc/profile.d/vfunction.sh /home/vfunction/.bashrc
+ echo 'Running parser'
Running parser
+ touch /var/log/vfunction/sqlparser.log
+ cd /opt/vfunction-vfapi/parser/
+ /opt/j9/jre/bin/java -jar ./sql-parser.jar --logfile=/var/log/vfunction/sqlparser.log --address=0.0.0.0 --server.ssl.certificate=/opt/server.crt --server.ssl.trust-certificate=/opt/server.crt --server.ssl.certificate-private-key=/opt/server.key --management.server.ssl.certificate=/opt/server.crt --management.server.ssl.trust-certificate=/opt/server.crt --management.server.ssl.certificate-private-key=/opt/server.key
[0.008s][warning][os,thread] Failed to start thread "GC Thread#0" - pthread_create failed (EPERM) for attributes: stacksize: 1024k, guardsize: 4k, detached.
[0.009s][error ][gc,task ] Failed to create worker thread
+ sleep 11
Steps to Resolve the Issue
The following steps can be used to resolve this issue:
- SSH to the Linux Host running the vFunction Server
- Edit the server-installation.yaml
vi /etc/sysconfig/vfunction/installation/server-installation.yaml
### Before
security:
...
### Run all dockers with customized security options
### If empty, the default options would be: "--security-opt no-new-privileges --cap-drop=all"
# custom_security_options:
### After
security:
...
custom_security_options: "--security-opt seccomp=unconfined"
- Run the installation script again
bash /opt/vfunction/server-installation/install.sh