An unexpected error occurred on our servers. Please try again, or contact support if the issue persists

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

my setup is

macbook pro M3
macOS sequoia 15.6
VPN zscaler

always got error (Previously, the issue happened intermittently, but today (Jan 26, 2026) it has been occurring all day, even after HTTP/2 was disabled.)

Internal Error
An unexpected error occurred on our servers. Please try again, or contact support if the issue persists.

Request details

Request ID: b98a84ce-0d32-41a9-b981-41f05ab08bf1
[internal] read Unknown system error -96
LTe: [internal] read Unknown system error -96
    at kmf (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:9095:38337)
    at Cmf (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:9095:37240)
    at $mf (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:9096:4395)
    at ova.run (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:9096:8170)
    at async qyt.runAgentLoop (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:34190:57047)
    at async Wpc.streamFromAgentBackend (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:34239:7695)
    at async Wpc.getAgentStreamResponse (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:34239:8436)
    at async FTe.submitChatMaybeAbortCurrent (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:9170:14575)

Steps to Reproduce

just ask agent or ask mode, then error

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 2.4.21
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: dc8361355d709f306d5159635a677a571b277bc0
Date: 2026-01-22T16:57:59.675Z (3 days ago)
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Early Access
Electron: 39.2.7
Chromium: 142.0.7444.235
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

3

Hey, thanks for the report.

“Unknown system error -96” on macOS usually points to a network-level issue. In your case, Zscaler (or its TLS inspection) might be blocking connections to the agent API.

Try this:

  1. Test without VPN
    Temporarily disable Zscaler and check if the agent works. This will confirm whether Zscaler is the cause.

  2. Change DNS (if you can’t disable VPN)
    Other users with similar issues fixed it by switching DNS to Quad9:

  • System Settings → Network → your network → DNS Servers → add 149.112.112.112
  • Restart Cursor and test again

Context: there’s a known routing issue via Cloudflare CDN for some regions and providers: [Known Issue] HTTP/2 Connection Failures with SSLV3_ALERT_HANDSHAKE_FAILURE

  1. Network Diagnostics
    Settings → Network → Run Diagnostics. Send a screenshot of the results. This will show exactly where the connection drops.

Let me know if the no-VPN test or the DNS change helped.

4

Testing without VPN : it work without any problem
Change DNS (still enable VPN) : even changed DNS still not work

and this network diagnostics image

more info : after i test for a while it switching between

  • The connection stalled. Please try again.
  • An unexpected error occurred on our servers. Please try again, or contact support if the issue persists
  • Connection failed. If the problem persists, please check your internet connection or VPN

image
image657×471 24.2 KB

image
image659×534 54.9 KB

5

I see McAfee Web Gateway is intercepting SSL traffic to Cursor. This is a classic corporate MITM proxy issue.

Issue:
The McAfee Cloud proxy (c1200488389.wgcs.mcafee-cloud.com) is replacing Cursor’s certificates. That can cause SSE responses to get buffered and make ping slow.

Fixes:

  1. Use Cursor without VPN or McAfee (if possible)

    • If your company policy allows it, turn off McAfee or VPN when using Cursor

  2. Ask IT to whitelist Cursor (best long-term fix)

    • Domains to bypass: *.cursor.sh, *.cursor.com, *.anysphere.co
    • This disables SSL inspection for Cursor
    • You’ll need to send a request to your IT team

  3. Try disabling HTTP/2

    • Settings → Network → HTTP/2 Compatibility Mode
    • It can help with buffering, but it’s not guaranteed

Changing DNS won’t help because the problem is SSL interception, not routing.

Let me know if your IT team can add Cursor to the bypass list. That should fix it permanently.