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Linux API status code

Override the HTTP status code (and optionally the response body) of API responses passing through a target Linux machine for a configurable duration.

Linux API status code is a chaos fault that starts a local proxy on the target Linux machine, redirects traffic to/from TARGET_SERVICE_PORT through the proxy on PROXY_PORT, and overrides matching API responses with STATUS_CODE (and optionally RESPONSE_BODY) for DURATION. Filters and HTTPS interception controls mirror Linux API block. The fault runs through the Linux Chaos Infrastructure (LCI) systemd service installed on the target VM.

Use this fault to test how callers handle specific error responses: whether they retry safely on 5xx, give up on 4xx, parse the override body correctly, and whether monitoring detects the elevated error rate within the alerting SLA.

RUN YOUR FIRST EXPERIMENT

If you have not installed the Linux Chaos Infrastructure yet, go to Linux Chaos Infrastructure to install the agent and connect the VM to the control plane.

Use cases

Run this fault when you want to answer concrete questions like:

  • Error class handling: When matching responses return STATUS_CODE, do callers do the right thing (retry on 5xx, give up on 4xx)?

  • Rate-limit simulation: Return 429 Too Many Requests with a Retry-After body to validate back-off behavior.

  • Content filtering: Return 404 Not Found for specific paths to confirm callers honor "missing resource" semantics.

  • Monitoring fidelity: Do alerts on the chosen status-code class fire within the alerting SLA?

Prerequisites

  • Linux Chaos Infrastructure installed: The linux-chaos-infrastructure systemd service is active on the target VM and the infrastructure is in CONNECTED state. Go to Linux Chaos Infrastructure to install it.

  • Target service port reachable: TARGET_SERVICE_PORT is the port the application listens on (ingress) or the upstream service port (egress).

  • Proxy port free: PROXY_PORT (default 20000) is not bound by another process.

  • HTTPS material if HTTPS_ENABLED=true: Provide a CA bundle in HTTPS_ROOT_CERT_FILE.

  • /tmp is exec-mountable.

Supported environments

The fault has been tested on the following Linux distributions. Go to Linux fault requirements to see the full compatibility matrix.

Platform
Support status

Ubuntu 16+, Debian 10+

Supported

CentOS 7+, RHEL 7+, Fedora 30+

Supported

openSUSE LEAP 15.4+ / SUSE Linux Enterprise 15+

Supported

Permissions required

This fault is classified as an Advanced Linux fault. It requires the Linux Chaos Infrastructure systemd service to run with the root user and root user group on the target VM so it can install iptables redirects and bind the proxy port. No cloud credentials are needed.

Fault tunables

Configure the following fault parameters when you add Linux API status code to an experiment in Chaos Studio. Defaults are shown for reference.

Chaos parameters

Tunable
Description
Default

DURATION

Total duration of the fault. Accepts [hours]h[minutes]m[seconds]s format.

30s

STATUS_CODE

HTTP status code to return for matching API calls.

404

RESPONSE_BODY

Optional body string to return with STATUS_CODE. Leave empty to keep the original body.

""

TARGET_SERVICE_PORT

Port of the application (ingress) or upstream service (egress) to intercept.

80

PROXY_PORT

Port on which the local proxy listens.

20000

NETWORK_INTERFACE

Network interface used for ingress redirection.

eth0

RAMP_TIME

Wait period in seconds before and after the fault. Go to ramp time to read how it is applied.

0

Request filters (combine as needed)

Tunable
Description
Default

PATH_FILTER

API path glob to match.

""

HEADERS_FILTERS

HTTP headers filter.

""

METHODS

Comma-separated HTTP methods to match.

""

Direction and source/destination filters

Tunable
Description
Default

SERVICE_DIRECTION

ingress or egress.

ingress

SOURCE_HOSTS

Comma-separated source host names (ingress only).

""

SOURCE_IPS

Comma-separated source IPs (ingress only).

""

DESTINATION_HOSTS

Comma-separated destination host names (egress only).

""

DESTINATION_IPS

Comma-separated destination IPs (egress only).

""

DESTINATION_PORTS

Comma-separated destination ports (egress only).

""

HTTPS interception (egress)

Tunable
Description
Default

HTTPS_ENABLED

Enable HTTPS interception.

false

HTTPS_ROOT_CERT_FILE

Path to the root CA bundle.

""

CUSTOM_CERTIFICATES

Base64-encoded custom certificates.

""

Tunables that apply to every fault are documented in common tunables for all faults.

Fault execution in brief

Adds an iptables redirect that routes TARGET_SERVICE_PORT traffic through the local proxy on PROXY_PORT for DURATION. Matching API responses are replaced with STATUS_CODE (and RESPONSE_BODY when set). On exit, the iptables redirect and proxy are removed.

Expected behavior during fault execution

  • Matching API calls return STATUS_CODE (with the optional RESPONSE_BODY) for the duration of the fault.

  • Non-matching calls pass through to the original destination unchanged.

  • Callers react per the status-code class: 5xx typically triggers retries, 4xx typically does not.

  • After the duration ends, the iptables redirect is removed and the proxy stops; responses pass through unchanged.

WHEN THE FAULT ENDS

The chaos pod removes the iptables redirect and stops the local proxy. The next request returns the original response.

Signals to watch

Attach resilience probes to assert each layer:

  • Caller error rate: Use a Prometheus probe on caller counters for the chosen status-code class.

  • Retry behavior: Use a Prometheus probe on retry counters.

  • End-to-end availability: Use an HTTP probe on a user-visible endpoint.

Verify the fault execution effect

  1. Send a matching request from the VM.

    The response should report STATUS_CODE (and RESPONSE_BODY if configured) during the chaos window.

  2. Inspect iptables redirects.

  3. Inspect Linux Chaos Infrastructure logs.

Recovery and cleanup

  • End of duration: The chaos pod removes the iptables redirect and stops the proxy when DURATION elapses.

  • Abort the experiment: Stopping the experiment from Chaos Studio also removes the redirect and stops the proxy.

  • Manual recovery: If the redirect survives an abort, inspect with sudo iptables -t nat -L -n -v and delete the rule; kill the proxy on PROXY_PORT.

Limitations

  • Single status code per run: Each fault run uses one STATUS_CODE. Combine multiple experiments to test mixed responses.

  • Body replacement is optional: Leaving RESPONSE_BODY empty preserves the upstream body with the new status; the combination may break Content-Length-sensitive callers.

  • HTTPS requires certificates for matching and rewriting HTTPS traffic.

  • Single VM scope: Each fault run targets one VM.

  • /tmp exec required.

Troubleshooting

Linux API status code fault did not change any status in Harness Chaos Engineering

Verify PATH_FILTER and METHODS match your test traffic. For HTTPS endpoints, set HTTPS_ENABLED=true and provide HTTPS_ROOT_CERT_FILE. Confirm the iptables redirect with sudo iptables -t nat -L -n -v.

Content-Length mismatch in callers

When RESPONSE_BODY is empty, the upstream body and Content-Length pass through with the new status. If callers complain about length mismatches, set RESPONSE_BODY to a small string that matches the expected Content-Type.

Status override persisted after the experiment ended

If the iptables redirect was not removed, inspect with sudo iptables -t nat -L -n -v and delete the rule. Kill any orphan proxy on PROXY_PORT.

Related faults

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