question Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed' in Developer forum

Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

sd2097 — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:08:58 GMT

Hello devs,

I have come across a strange issue in flow designer. So, I have created subflow, and there is a custom action being called in the subflow, for each of the records being looked up. Suppose there are 3 records in the lookup action, the subflow will be executed 3 times.

I am executing the flow with a script. Even though the flow is executing, and the look up record action is also returning 1 record (as expected), the action is not executing at all.

One of the reasons that I could think of, is the error that I am getting when I am loading the steps of the subflow execution (please see the screenshot attached).

For context, I am looking up attachment records with Sys_Ids.

PS- Also, when I am running a test execution for the subflow, the result is the same.

This is turning out to be a major blocker, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

Ankur Bawiskar — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:18:16 GMT

@sd2097

it clearly says some access issue.

Ensure Run as -> System user for the custom flow action and then test

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

miftikhar20 — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:30:18 GMT

Hi @sd2097 ,

This usually isn’t your flow logic that’s broken, but permissions / scope issues.

To fix this, you can try the following:

Check sys_attachements table ACLs
- Make sure the user/role running the flow (e.g., system, flow_operator, or your integration user) has read access.
Check App Scope restrictions
- If your custom action is in a scoped app, ServiceNow may block access to system tables like sys_attachment.
- Go to System Applications > Application Cross Scope Access
- Look for entries allowing Read on sys_attachment. If missing, add one.
Check the Flow runtime user
- Make sure Run as -> System user for the custom flow action and then test

Thanks & Regards,
Muhammad Iftikhar
If my response helped, please mark it as the accepted solution so others can benefit as well.

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

PruthveshV — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:56:26 GMT

Hi @sd2097

It seems like the issue might be related to permission restrictions or missing inputs in the flow. Please check if the user has necessary rights to access the records, and verify all required fields correctly passes to the custom action.

Regards,

Pruthvesh

If my response helped, please mark it as the accepted solution so others can benefit as well.

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

Bhuvan — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:06:14 GMT

@sd2097

If you are running the flow as 'User who initiated the session' make sure the user has necessary ACLs and try to change the flow to run as system and try it.

If you are already running the flow as System and getting the error, try below knowledge article

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0856507

If this helped to answer your query, please mark it helpful & accept the solution.

Thanks,

Bhuvan

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

miftikhar20 — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:17:17 GMT

Hi @sd2097 ,

Thank you for marking my reply as helpful.

If my response helped, please mark it as the accepted solution so others can benefit as well.

Thanks & Regards,
Muhammad Iftikhar

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

sd2097 — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:23:29 GMT

Hi Ankur,

Thanks for your response. I did try with both 'User who initiates session', and 'System User', but the issue is still the same.

Thanks

Re: Action in a subflow not executing, but status showing as 'Completed'

Bhuvan — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:20:47 GMT

@sd2097

Thanks for marking the post as helpful.

If my response helped to guide you or answer your query, please accept the solution.

Thanks,

Bhuvan