KB-2399 Process model fails to trigger via email with attachments due to APNX-1-4188-001 uthorization Error
Symptoms
- Process model configured to start by email does not trigger when an email with a document attachment is received.
- The same process triggers successfully when the email is sent without any attachment.
- The following error appears in the application server logs, referencing the username of the original publisher of the process model:
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS,SSS [Appian EmailHandlerBean - XXX] ERROR com.appiancorp.messaging.MessagePublisherServiceImpl - Could not process received email
com.appiancorp.security.authz.AuthorizationException: The user [user.name] does not have sufficient privileges to perform the requested action because they are not in any role. (APNX-1-4188-001)
Cause
The process model was originally created by a user whose account has been deactivated. When an email with an attachment is received, the system attempts to initiate the process using the original creator's credentials even if that process model has since been republished by an active user. Once the site has been restarted and cache is cleared, since that user account is no longer active, the authorization check fails with the APNX-1-4188-001 error, preventing the process from triggering.
Emails without attachments do not encounter this issue because they are started depending on standard process configurations, whereas email attachments are always uploaded in the context of the original process model creator.
Action
Reactivate the deactivated user account that originally created the process model.
If reactivating the original user account is not possible, perform the following steps:
- Delete the existing process model.
- Reimport the process model using an active user account.
For best practices, please see the following documentation.
Affected Versions
This article applies to all versions of Appian.
Last Reviewed: September 2026