What happens when an AI agent administers a Linux server? These field notes follow concrete examples from recorded tests: leaked credentials, firewall changes, failed recovery, incomplete automation and other operational problems.

The examples include failures during setup, mistakes the agent later repaired, and defects in generated scripts that could fail under specific conditions. The original prompts and recorded commands show what the agents were asked to do and what happened.

TopicArticle
Logging gapsIL-31: AI Discarded a Worker’s Error Output
Idempotency risksIL-30: Rerunning Ansible Could Duplicate Mail
Competing servicesIL-29: AI Started a Competing DHCP Server
Cluster integrityIL-28: A Cluster Node Rejoined but Still Needed Data Repair
Incomplete deploymentIL-27: AI Left Deployments Unfinished
Configuration driftIL-26: AI Left Package Sources Changed After Repository Tests
Security misconfigurationIL-25: Security Settings Did Not Enforce the Promised Limits
Runaway remediationIL-24: AI Repeated Repairs That Were Not Working
Manual dependenciesIL-23: Ansible Passed After Manual Setup
False successIL-22: AI Reports Contradicted the Logs
Weak authenticationIL-21: Weak Passwords Were Accepted Despite Password Rules
Process integrityIL-20: AI Service Scripts Did Not Verify Start or Stop
Network exposureIL-19: AI Left Unrequested Network Services Running
Disruptive testingIL-18: AI Lost SSH Access During Its Memory Test
DIY infrastructureIL-17: AI Wrote a Proxy That Could Submit a Write Twice
Excessive privilegesIL-16: AI Gave a Test Login Access to Every Database
Test residueIL-15: AI Left Backdated Test Archives Among Real Backups
Reboot failuresIL-14: AI Setups Needed Repairs After Reboot
Unsafe changesIL-13: AI Cleared Database Passwords After Password Generation Failed
Security bypassesIL-12: AI Disabled Security Controls During Setup
Software provenanceIL-11: AI Skipped Software Authenticity Checks
Service outagesIL-10: A Server Became Unreachable During Its Reboot Test
Incomplete verificationIL-9: AI Finished Testing Before Automatic Certificate Renewal
Firewall misconfigurationIL-8: AI Opened More Firewall Access Than Requested
Secret residueIL-7: AI Left a Certificate Signing Key in a Temporary Directory
Leftover accessIL-6: AI Left Temporary Login Access Behind
Credential leakageIL-5: AI Printed Database Passwords into Its Command Log