Stuck at “Waiting for extension host”

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Ever since version 2.4 me and a few other people I work with are having trouble with the Agent getting stuck with “Waiting for extension host”, then after a few seconds it times out.

This only seems to be happening when connected with Remote-SSH to a jailed linux host. If connected to a normal shell it seems to work fine.

Steps to Reproduce

Install latest version of cursor
Add Remote-SSH extension
Connect to a jailed linux host
Send any input to the agent

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 2.5.26 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 7d96c2a03bb088ad367615e9da1a3fe20fbbc6a0
Date: 2026-02-26T04:57:56.825Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.4.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Issue happens regardless of model selected

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

1 Like

Hey, thanks for the report. This looks like a known issue where the agent sandbox times out on restricted Linux environments that don’t support newer kernel features (specifically Landlock V3), instead of gracefully falling back.

A “jailed” Linux host is exactly the kind of setup where this can happen. A couple of questions to confirm:

  • What kind of jail is this? chroot, nsjail, a Docker container, or something else?
  • What’s the kernel version on the remote host? Run uname -r
  • Can you check if Landlock is supported? Run cat /sys/kernel/security/lsm and see if it lists landlock.

The team is aware of this specific Remote-SSH plus restricted Linux scenario. No ETA yet, but your report helps with prioritization.

As a temporary workaround, try switching to Ask mode instead of Agent mode. It doesn’t rely on the sandbox or extension host in the same way and might work for you while this is being tracked.

Let me know the kernel details and jail type.

Running in chroot jail.

uname -r → 5.4.0-216-generic

cat /sys/kernel/security/lsm is restricted → cat: /sys/kernel/security/lsm: No such file or directory

“Ask mode” has the same issue (Agent Execution Timeout).

This was previously working fine until v 2.3.35 - as soon as we upgrade to 2.4.x it stops working.

Thank you!

1 Like

It works when I reinstall cursor with version 2.3. Thanks for assisting.

1 Like

Hi,

Same problem.

Some debug data:

> uname -a
> Linux fedora 6.18.13-200.fc43.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Feb 19 19:54:01 UTC 2026 x86_64 GNU/Linux
> cat /sys/kernel/security/lsm
> lockdown,capability,yama,selinux,bpf,landlock,ipe,ima,evm

Cursor version: 2.6.11

I can also see that in Cursor settings → Rules, Skills, Subagents, everything is in “Loading Rules..”, “Loading Skills…”

I am running locally. I’ve tried disabling extensions, uninstalling Cursor and reinstalling, and removing ~/.config/Cursor/User/globalStorage/state.vscdb
and ~/.config/Cursor/User/workspaceStorage

And I keep ending up with “The agent execution provider did not respond in time. This may indicate the extension host is not running or is unresponsive.”

I’ve installed via rpm. The appimage used to have jail problems and needed a bit of tinkering to work correctly; with previous versions the rpm way seems to have worked and I would much prefer that way.

I haven’t yet tried nuking whole ~/config/Cursor. Also worth nothing that while I am not currently running a VPN, I do occasionally run over a VPN - mentioning this just in case there could be some weird cache rot going on or whatnot.

If there’s any additional debug data I can provide, please let me know!

same problem, completely different environment. periodically find myself in “waiting for extension host” and there are no other network issues on my machine at all. sometimes it clears up quickly, sometimes cursor is unusable for hours. it eventually clears up with no action whatsoever on my part.

Version: 2.6.11
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 8c95649f251a168cc4bb34c89531fae7db4bd990
Date: 2026-03-03T18:57:48.001Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.6.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.3.0

Hi @deanrie - is there a roadmap or timeline to getting this fixed? Currently forced to use version 2.3.35.

Thank you!

2 Likes

Hey, unfortunately I can’t share a specific timeline right now. The issue is tracked and on the team’s radar. Your case (chroot jail, kernel 5.4 without Landlock) is a clear example of the problem. I’ve bumped the priority based on your thread and similar reports.

The core issue is that since v2.4, the agent sandbox needs Landlock v3 support. When it’s missing (like in your chroot environment), it times out instead of falling back cleanly. That’s the bug.

For now, staying on v2.3.35 is the most reliable workaround. I know that’s not ideal, but it’s the only option until the fallback is implemented properly.

I’ll post an update here when there’s progress. Sorry I can’t give a better answer right now.

1 Like

Hi @deanrie

Version: 2.6.14
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: eb1c4e0702d201d1226d2a7afb25c501c2e56080
Date: 2026-03-08T15:36:54.709Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.6.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.3.0

I am having issue already a week, is there any progress? I am fully blocked and can not use app already a week. Please can you also share an email where I can ask for compensation as I have paid version, and its already week I can not use it. Thanks in advance!

Hey @Grig_Vardanyan, you’re on v2.6.14, and that version had a bug with the cursor-socket extension on macOS arm64 that could prevent the extension host from starting at all. This is fixed in 2.6.18. Please update Cursor to the latest version at Cursor · Download and check if the issue is resolved.

About compensation, please email [email protected] and they’ll help with billing requests.

I have same issue, I dont have any updates possible. It is anoying.

Version: 2.6.19

VSCode Version: 1.105.1

Commit: 224838f96445be37e3db643a163a817c15b36060

Date: 2026-03-12T04:07:27.435Z (4 days ago)

Build Type: Stable

Release Track: Default

Electron: 39.4.0

Chromium: 142.0.7444.265

Node.js: 22.22.0

V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0

OS: Darwin arm64 25.3.0

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