[SYSTEM] /usr/sbin/cron: PID 388: (CRON) error (can't switch user context)

[John Eastberg]

I think I fixed the problem.  I decided to rebuild /etc/passwd and
/etc/group.  Stopped the cron service and restarted.
Reran /usr/bin/cronevents and noticed a message "WRONG FILE OWNER
(tabs/john.eastberg)".  I wnt back to Gemini and asked "[SYSTEM]
/usr/sbin/cron: PID 454: (john.eastberg) WRONG FILE OWNER
(tabs/john.eastberg)".  Its response suggests something is wrong with
/var/cron/tabs/john.eastberg.  I followed the suggested resolution, and
that worked.  Crontab scheduled script runs on schedule.

*GEMINI response:*

That error message indicates that the *cron* daemon is refusing to run a
scheduled task because the ownership of the crontab file for the user
john.eastberg is incorrect. For security reasons, cron requires that a
user's crontab file be owned by that specific user (or sometimes root,
depending on the OS) and not be group-writable.

To resolve this, you generally need to restore the correct ownership and
permissions to the crontab "spool" file.
How to Fix the Error

You will likely need sudo or root privileges to fix this, as these files
are stored in restricted system directories.

   1.

   *Identify the file location:* On most Linux systems, user crontabs are
   located in /var/spool/cron/crontabs/. On some Unix or BSD systems, they
   may be in /var/cron/tabs/. Based on your error message, it looks like
   the path is tabs/john.eastberg.
   2.

   *Correct the Ownership:* Run the following command to ensure the user
   owns their own crontab file:
   Bash

   sudo chown john.eastberg /var/spool/cron/crontabs/john.eastberg

   *(Note: Replace the path with the actual path on your system if it
   differs.)*
   3.

   *Correct the Permissions:* Crontab files should typically be readable
   only by the owner:
   Bash

   sudo chmod 600 /var/spool/cron/crontabs/john.eastberg

   4.

   *Restart the Cron Service:* After fixing the file, it’s a good idea to
   restart the daemon to ensure it picks up the changes:
   Bash

   sudo systemctl restart cron



John Eastberg


On Tue, Mar 31, 2026 at 3:57 PM John Eastberg <john.eastberg@gmail.com>
wrote:

> CRON is not running a scheduled script.  I've tried several Gemini
> recommendations.  Finally, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling cron using
> Cygwin utilities.  Attached is the cronbug.txt output.
>
> John Eastberg
>