Fix clock handling for API submissions

[CaptWake]

When submitting a sample through the API without specifying the clock, the parse_request_arguments() function automatically sets the clock to the submission time. Later, the analysis manager tries to update the clock before running the task. However, the clock update only works correctly if the timestamp is set to 0 (database.py)

This behavior can cause problems in large-scale analyses, where there can be a significant delay (even days) between submission and execution. In such cases, if the sample makes network requests, they can fail due to the large discrepancy between the submission time and the actual task execution time.

Setting the clock to 0 instead of the submission time ensures that the clock update in the analysis manager works correctly, preventing this issue

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @CaptWake, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request addresses a critical issue in how CAPEv2 handles clock synchronization for API-submitted tasks. By adjusting the default clock value to the Unix epoch when not specified, it ensures that the analysis manager can properly set the task's clock, preventing failures in network requests that arise from significant time differences between submission and execution. This enhancement improves the reliability and robustness of analyses, especially in environments with potential processing delays.

Highlights

• API Clock Handling: Modified the parse_request_arguments function to set the default clock value to datetime.utcfromtimestamp(0) when no clock is explicitly provided in API submissions. Previously, it defaulted to the current submission time.
• Improved Analysis Stability: This change resolves an issue where a large delay between API submission and task execution could cause network requests to fail due to time discrepancies. Setting the clock to 0 ensures the analysis manager can correctly update the clock before the task runs.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request aims to fix an issue with clock handling for API submissions by setting the clock to epoch when it's not specified. The change correctly handles an empty clock parameter but misses the case where the parameter is not provided at all, which would still default to the submission time. I've suggested a simplification that addresses both scenarios and makes the code's intent clearer.

[kevoreilly]

Thanks very much.

I am certainly intrigued by what scale might see days of delay!

[CaptWake]

Thanks very much.

I am certainly intrigued by what scale might see days of delay!

I’ve experienced this when submitting around 20k PE samples, with the timeout set to 3 minutes and using 10 VMs.

I was submitting the samples through the API using a simple sequential submission script, and some tasks started to run several days later after the submission