Introduction

In rare cases, Astra's system automatically cancels an ongoing scan when persistent issues prevent it from completing reliably. This guide explains the common reasons for automatic cancellations, how to identify what happened, and how to get your scan running again.

Prerequisites

• Access to the Astra dashboard

• The canceled scan visible in your Continuous Scans list

Common Reasons for Automatic Cancellation

1. Target Unavailability or Performance Issues

The most common cause. Astra's scanner uses an exponential backoff and retry strategy when it detects issues with your target. If the target remains unreachable or unstable after multiple retries, the scan is canceled to prevent incomplete or misleading results. Triggers include:

• High response times from the target application

• Repeated 5xx server errors or gateway timeouts

• Dropped packets or connectivity issues over a sustained period

2. Internal System Error

In rare cases, an internal error or network glitch on Astra's side may cause a scan to cancel. These are typically short-lived and self-resolving.

3. Manual Cancellation by a Workspace Member

Another member of your workspace may have canceled the scan intentionally or accidentally. All workspace members with Full Member role or higher can cancel scans.

How to Identify the Cause

1. Log in to your Astra dashboard

2. Navigate to Continuous Scans in the left sidebar

3. Click on the canceled scan to open the Scan Details page

4. Review the scan progress and any error messages displayed

5. Check with your team to confirm whether the scan was manually canceled by another workspace member

Steps to Resolve and Restart

If your target was unavailable or slow:

1. Verify your application is up and responding normally

2. Check server health, uptime, and response times with your DevOps or infrastructure team

3. Reduce the scan speed under Target Settings → General Settings → Scan Speed to reduce load on your target during scanning

4. Once the target is stable, navigate to Continuous Scans and start a new scan

If the cancellation was due to an internal error:

1. Wait a few minutes for the issue to self-resolve

2. Start a new scan from the Continuous Scans page

3. If the scan cancels again immediately, raise a support ticket from your dashboard

If a workspace member canceled the scan:

1. Confirm the cancellation was intentional

2. Start a new scan when ready from the Continuous Scans page

Expected Outcome

After resolving the underlying issue, a new scan should run to completion without being canceled. If instability persists, reducing scan speed or scheduling scans during off-peak hours typically resolves the issue.

Troubleshooting

Scan cancels immediately after starting

• Run the connectivity check from your target's settings page to confirm the scanner can reach your target before starting a full scan

• Confirm your target URL is correct and returning expected responses by visiting it directly in a browser

• Check whether a recent deployment or infrastructure change may have affected target availability

Scan cancels repeatedly despite target being available

• Check if a WAF, Cloudflare, or other security layer is intermittently blocking scanner requests. See How to scan applications with restricted access for guidance

• Verify Astra's scanner IPs are whitelisted in your firewall. See Astra IP Ranges

• Raise a support ticket if the issue persists — our team can review scan logs to identify the specific cause

Cannot tell if the scan was canceled manually or automatically

• Check with other workspace members who have Full Member role or higher

• Review recent workspace activity if available in your dashboard

• If no team member canceled the scan, it was most likely an automatic cancellation due to target issues

Application was available but scan still canceled

• Temporary network instability between Astra's scanning infrastructure and your target can trigger cancellation even when your application appears healthy from other locations

• Try restarting the scan during a different time window to rule out intermittent network issues

Next Steps

• How to cancel an ongoing scan

• How to change the scan speed

• How to scan applications with restricted access

• Astra IP Ranges