Fix cancellation token race in EvaluateAndCompare

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Salman Chishti <salmanmkc@GitHub.com>

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
   "name": "Actions Runner Devcontainer",
-  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:focal",
+  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/base:noble",
   "features": {
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:1": {},
+    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/dotnet": {
       "version": "8.0.418"
     },

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ jobs:
     # Upload runner package tar.gz/zip as artifact
     - name: Publish Artifact
       if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
       with:
         name: runner-package-${{ matrix.runtime }}
         path: |

.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
 
       - name: Log into registry ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
-        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        uses: docker/login-action@v4
         with:
           registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
           username: ${{ github.actor }}

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ jobs:
     # Upload runner package tar.gz/zip as artifact.
     - name: Publish Artifact
       if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
       with:
         name: runner-packages-${{ matrix.runtime }}
         path: |
@@ -133,37 +133,37 @@ jobs:
 
     # Download runner package tar.gz/zip produced by 'build' job
     - name: Download Artifact (win-x64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-win-x64
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (win-arm64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-win-arm64
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (osx-x64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-osx-x64
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (osx-arm64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-osx-arm64
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (linux-x64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-linux-x64
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (linux-arm)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-linux-arm
         path: ./
     - name: Download Artifact (linux-arm64)
-      uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
       with:
         name: runner-packages-linux-arm64
         path: ./
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
 
       - name: Log into registry ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
-        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        uses: docker/login-action@v4
         with:
           registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
           username: ${{ github.actor }}

releaseVersion

@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.332.0
+<Update to ./src/runnerversion when creating release>

src/Misc/externals.sh

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ NODE_ALPINE_URL=https://github.com/actions/alpine_nodejs/releases/download
 # When you update Node versions you must also create a new release of alpine_nodejs at that updated version.
 # Follow the instructions here: https://github.com/actions/alpine_nodejs?tab=readme-ov-file#getting-started
 NODE20_VERSION="20.20.0"
-NODE24_VERSION="24.13.1"
+NODE24_VERSION="24.14.0"
 
 get_abs_path() {
   # exploits the fact that pwd will print abs path when no args

src/Runner.Common/Constants.cs

@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common
                 public static readonly string SnapshotPreflightHostedRunnerCheck = "actions_snapshot_preflight_hosted_runner_check";
                 public static readonly string SnapshotPreflightImageGenPoolCheck = "actions_snapshot_preflight_image_gen_pool_check";
                 public static readonly string CompareWorkflowParser = "actions_runner_compare_workflow_parser";
+                public static readonly string ServiceContainerCommand = "actions_service_container_command";
                 public static readonly string SetOrchestrationIdEnvForActions = "actions_set_orchestration_id_env_for_actions";
                 public static readonly string SendJobLevelAnnotations = "actions_send_job_level_annotations";
                 public static readonly string EmitCompositeMarkers = "actions_runner_emit_composite_markers";

src/Runner.Listener/SelfUpdater.cs

@@ -120,8 +120,10 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
+                Trace.Error(ex);
+                _terminal.WriteError($"Runner update failed: {ex.Message}");
                 _updateTrace.Enqueue(ex.ToString());
-                throw;
+                return false;
             }
             finally
             {

src/Runner.Listener/SelfUpdaterV2.cs

@@ -120,8 +120,10 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
+                Trace.Error(ex);
+                _terminal.WriteError($"Runner update failed: {ex.Message}");
                 _updateTrace.Enqueue(ex.ToString());
-                throw;
+                return false;
             }
             finally
             {

src/Runner.Worker/ActionManager.cs

@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             {
                 // Log the error and fail the PrepareActionsAsync Initialization.
                 Trace.Error($"Caught exception from PrepareActionsAsync Initialization: {ex}");
-                executionContext.InfrastructureError(ex.Message, category: "resolve_action");
+                executionContext.InfrastructureError(ex.InnerException?.Message ?? ex.Message, category: "resolve_action");
                 executionContext.Result = TaskResult.Failed;
                 throw;
             }
@@ -818,7 +818,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                             try
                             {
                                 Trace.Info($"Found unpacked action directory '{cacheDirectory}' in cache directory '{actionArchiveCacheDir}'");
-                                                        
+
                                 // repository archive from github always contains a nested folder
                                 var nestedDirectories = new DirectoryInfo(cacheDirectory).GetDirectories();
                                 if (nestedDirectories.Length != 1)
@@ -832,14 +832,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                                     IOUtil.DeleteDirectory(destDirectory, executionContext.CancellationToken);
                                     IOUtil.CreateSymbolicLink(destDirectory, nestedDirectories[0].FullName);
                                 }
-                                                        
+
                                 executionContext.Debug($"Created symlink from cached directory '{cacheDirectory}' to '{destDirectory}'");
                                 executionContext.Global.JobTelemetry.Add(new JobTelemetry()
                                 {
                                     Type = JobTelemetryType.General,
                                     Message = $"Action archive cache usage: {downloadInfo.ResolvedNameWithOwner}@{downloadInfo.ResolvedSha} use cache {useActionArchiveCache} has cache {hasActionArchiveCache} via symlink"
                                 });
-                                
+
                                 Trace.Info("Finished getting action repository.");
                                 return;
                             }

src/Runner.Worker/Container/ContainerInfo.cs

@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker.Container
             this.ContainerImage = containerImage;
             this.ContainerDisplayName = $"{container.Alias}_{Pipelines.Validation.NameValidation.Sanitize(containerImage)}_{Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N").Substring(0, 6)}";
             this.ContainerCreateOptions = container.Options;
+            this.ContainerEntryPoint = container.Entrypoint;
+            this.ContainerEntryPointArgs = container.Command;
             _environmentVariables = container.Environment;
             this.IsJobContainer = isJobContainer;
             this.ContainerNetworkAlias = networkAlias;

src/Runner.Worker/ExecutionContext.cs

@@ -77,8 +77,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
 
         List<string> StepEnvironmentOverrides { get; }
 
-        ExecutionContext Root { get; }
-        ExecutionContext Parent { get; }
+        IExecutionContext Root { get; }
 
         // Initialize
         void InitializeJob(Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage message, CancellationToken token);
@@ -251,7 +250,9 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             }
         }
 
-        public ExecutionContext Root
+        IExecutionContext IExecutionContext.Root => Root;
+
+        private ExecutionContext Root
         {
             get
             {
@@ -266,13 +267,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             }
         }
 
-        public ExecutionContext Parent
-        {
-            get
-            {
-                return _parentExecutionContext;
-            }
-        }
+
 
         public JobContext JobContext
         {
@@ -1328,9 +1323,9 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             UpdateGlobalStepsContext();
         }
 
-        internal IPipelineTemplateEvaluator ToPipelineTemplateEvaluatorInternal(ObjectTemplating.ITraceWriter traceWriter = null)
+        internal IPipelineTemplateEvaluator ToPipelineTemplateEvaluatorInternal(bool allowServiceContainerCommand, ObjectTemplating.ITraceWriter traceWriter = null)
         {
-            return new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(HostContext, this, traceWriter);
+            return new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(HostContext, this, allowServiceContainerCommand, traceWriter);
         }
 
         private static void NoOp()
@@ -1418,10 +1413,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
 
         public static IPipelineTemplateEvaluator ToPipelineTemplateEvaluator(this IExecutionContext context, ObjectTemplating.ITraceWriter traceWriter = null)
         {
+            var allowServiceContainerCommand = (context.Global.Variables.GetBoolean(Constants.Runner.Features.ServiceContainerCommand) ?? false)
+                || StringUtil.ConvertToBoolean(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ACTIONS_SERVICE_CONTAINER_COMMAND"));
+
             // Create wrapper?
             if ((context.Global.Variables.GetBoolean(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser) ?? false) || StringUtil.ConvertToBoolean(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ACTIONS_RUNNER_COMPARE_WORKFLOW_PARSER")))
             {
-                return (context as ExecutionContext).ToPipelineTemplateEvaluatorInternal(traceWriter);
+                return (context as ExecutionContext).ToPipelineTemplateEvaluatorInternal(allowServiceContainerCommand, traceWriter);
             }
 
             // Legacy
@@ -1433,6 +1431,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             return new PipelineTemplateEvaluator(traceWriter, schema, context.Global.FileTable)
             {
                 MaxErrorMessageLength = int.MaxValue, // Don't truncate error messages otherwise we might not scrub secrets correctly
+                AllowServiceContainerCommand = allowServiceContainerCommand,
             };
         }
 

src/Runner.Worker/Handlers/CompositeActionHandler.cs

@@ -312,7 +312,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker.Handlers
                 // Emit start marker after full context setup so display name expressions resolve correctly
                 if (emitCompositeMarkers)
                 {
-                    step.TryUpdateDisplayName(out _);
+                    try
+                    {
+                        step.EvaluateDisplayName(step.ExecutionContext.ExpressionValues, step.ExecutionContext, out _);
+                    }
+                    catch (Exception ex)
+                    {
+                        Trace.Warning("Caught exception while evaluating embedded step display name. {0}", ex);
+                    }
                     ExecutionContext.Output($"##[start-action display={EscapeProperty(SanitizeDisplayName(step.DisplayName))};id={EscapeProperty(markerId)}]");
                     stepStopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
                 }

src/Runner.Worker/PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper.cs

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Threading;
 using GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser;
 using GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2;
 using GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.Tokens;
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
         public PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(
             IHostContext hostContext,
             IExecutionContext context,
+            bool allowServiceContainerCommand,
             ObjectTemplating.ITraceWriter traceWriter = null)
         {
             ArgUtil.NotNull(hostContext, nameof(hostContext));
@@ -40,11 +42,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             _legacyEvaluator = new PipelineTemplateEvaluator(traceWriter, schema, context.Global.FileTable)
             {
                 MaxErrorMessageLength = int.MaxValue, // Don't truncate error messages otherwise we might not scrub secrets correctly
+                AllowServiceContainerCommand = allowServiceContainerCommand,
             };
 
             // New evaluator
             var newTraceWriter = new GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.EmptyTraceWriter();
-            _newEvaluator = new WorkflowTemplateEvaluator(newTraceWriter, context.Global.FileTable, features: null)
+            var features = WorkflowFeatures.GetDefaults();
+            features.AllowServiceContainerCommand = allowServiceContainerCommand;
+            _newEvaluator = new WorkflowTemplateEvaluator(newTraceWriter, context.Global.FileTable, features)
             {
                 MaxErrorMessageLength = int.MaxValue, // Don't truncate error messages otherwise we might not scrub secrets correctly
             };
@@ -222,8 +227,12 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             Func<TNew> newEvaluator,
             Func<TLegacy, TNew, bool> resultComparer)
         {
-            // Capture cancellation state before evaluation
-            var cancellationRequestedBefore = _context.CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
+            // Use the root (job-level) cancellation token to detect cancellation race conditions.
+            // The step-level token only fires on step timeout, not on job cancellation.
+            // Job cancellation mutates JobContext.Status which expression functions read,
+            // so we need the root token to properly detect cancellation between evaluator runs.
+            var rootCancellationToken = _context.Root?.CancellationToken ?? CancellationToken.None;
+            var cancellationRequestedBefore = rootCancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
 
             // Legacy evaluator
             var legacyException = default(Exception);
@@ -257,7 +266,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 }
 
                 // Capture cancellation state after evaluation
-                var cancellationRequestedAfter = _context.CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
+                var cancellationRequestedAfter = rootCancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
 
                 // Compare results or exceptions
                 bool hasMismatch = false;
@@ -401,6 +410,18 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 return false;
             }
 
+            if (!string.Equals(legacyResult.Entrypoint, newResult.Entrypoint, StringComparison.Ordinal))
+            {
+                _trace.Info($"CompareJobContainer mismatch - Entrypoint differs (legacy='{legacyResult.Entrypoint}', new='{newResult.Entrypoint}')");
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            if (!string.Equals(legacyResult.Command, newResult.Command, StringComparison.Ordinal))
+            {
+                _trace.Info($"CompareJobContainer mismatch - Command differs (legacy='{legacyResult.Command}', new='{newResult.Command}')");
+                return false;
+            }
+
             if (!CompareDictionaries(legacyResult.Environment, newResult.Environment, "Environment"))
             {
                 return false;

src/Sdk/DTExpressions2/Expressions2/ExpressionParser.cs

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2
             IEnumerable<IFunctionInfo> functions,
             Boolean allowCaseFunction = true)
         {
-            var context = new ParseContext(expression, trace, namedValues, functions, allowCaseFunction);
+            var context = new ParseContext(expression, trace, namedValues, functions, allowCaseFunction: allowCaseFunction);
             context.Trace.Info($"Parsing expression: <{expression}>");
             return CreateTree(context);
         }

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/Pipelines/JobContainer.cs

@@ -39,6 +39,24 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines
             set;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the container entrypoint override.
+        /// </summary>
+        public String Entrypoint
+        {
+            get;
+            set;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the container command and args (after the image name).
+        /// </summary>
+        public String Command
+        {
+            get;
+            set;
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets or sets the volumes which are mounted into the container.
         /// </summary>

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/Pipelines/ObjectTemplating/PipelineTemplateConstants.cs

@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
         public const String NumberStrategyContext = "number-strategy-context";
         public const String On = "on";
         public const String Options = "options";
+        public const String Entrypoint = "entrypoint";
+        public const String Command = "command";
         public const String Outputs = "outputs";
         public const String OutputsPattern = "needs.*.outputs";
         public const String Password = "password";

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/Pipelines/ObjectTemplating/PipelineTemplateConverter.cs

@@ -237,7 +237,8 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
         internal static JobContainer ConvertToJobContainer(
             TemplateContext context,
             TemplateToken value,
-            bool allowExpressions = false)
+            bool allowExpressions = false,
+            bool allowServiceContainerCommand = false)
         {
             var result = new JobContainer();
             if (allowExpressions && value.Traverse().Any(x => x is ExpressionToken))
@@ -280,6 +281,22 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
                         case PipelineTemplateConstants.Options:
                             result.Options = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{PipelineTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
                             break;
+                        case PipelineTemplateConstants.Entrypoint:
+                            if (!allowServiceContainerCommand)
+                            {
+                                context.Error(containerPropertyPair.Key, $"The key '{PipelineTemplateConstants.Entrypoint}' is not allowed");
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            result.Entrypoint = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{PipelineTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
+                            break;
+                        case PipelineTemplateConstants.Command:
+                            if (!allowServiceContainerCommand)
+                            {
+                                context.Error(containerPropertyPair.Key, $"The key '{PipelineTemplateConstants.Command}' is not allowed");
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            result.Command = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{PipelineTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
+                            break;
                         case PipelineTemplateConstants.Ports:
                             var ports = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertSequence($"{PipelineTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}");
                             var portList = new List<String>(ports.Count);
@@ -326,7 +343,8 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
         internal static List<KeyValuePair<String, JobContainer>> ConvertToJobServiceContainers(
             TemplateContext context,
             TemplateToken services,
-            bool allowExpressions = false)
+            bool allowExpressions = false,
+            bool allowServiceContainerCommand = false)
         {
             var result = new List<KeyValuePair<String, JobContainer>>();
 
@@ -340,7 +358,7 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
             foreach (var servicePair in servicesMapping)
             {
                 var networkAlias = servicePair.Key.AssertString("services key").Value;
-                var container = ConvertToJobContainer(context, servicePair.Value);
+                var container = ConvertToJobContainer(context, servicePair.Value, allowExpressions, allowServiceContainerCommand);
                 result.Add(new KeyValuePair<String, JobContainer>(networkAlias, container));
             }
 

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/Pipelines/ObjectTemplating/PipelineTemplateEvaluator.cs

@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
 
         public Int32 MaxResultSize { get; set; } = 10 * 1024 * 1024; // 10 mb
 
+        public bool AllowServiceContainerCommand { get; set; }
+
         public Boolean EvaluateStepContinueOnError(
             TemplateToken token,
             DictionaryContextData contextData,
@@ -357,7 +359,7 @@ namespace GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating
                 {
                     token = TemplateEvaluator.Evaluate(context, PipelineTemplateConstants.Services, token, 0, null, omitHeader: true);
                     context.Errors.Check();
-                    result = PipelineTemplateConverter.ConvertToJobServiceContainers(context, token);
+                    result = PipelineTemplateConverter.ConvertToJobServiceContainers(context, token, allowServiceContainerCommand: AllowServiceContainerCommand);
                 }
                 catch (Exception ex) when (!(ex is TemplateValidationException))
                 {

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/workflow-v1.0.json

@@ -430,6 +430,21 @@
       }
     },
 
+    "service-container-mapping": {
+      "mapping": {
+        "properties": {
+          "image": "string",
+          "options": "string",
+          "entrypoint": "string",
+          "command": "string",
+          "env": "container-env",
+          "ports": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
+          "volumes": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
+          "credentials": "container-registry-credentials"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+
     "services": {
       "context": [
         "github",
@@ -454,7 +469,7 @@
       ],
       "one-of": [
         "string",
-        "container-mapping"
+        "service-container-mapping"
       ]
     },
 

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/Conversion/WorkflowTemplateConstants.cs

@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
         public const String NumberStrategyContext = "number-strategy-context";
         public const String On = "on";
         public const String Options = "options";
+        public const String Entrypoint = "entrypoint";
+        public const String Command = "command";
         public const String Org = "org";
         public const String Organization = "organization";
         public const String Outputs = "outputs";

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/Conversion/WorkflowTemplateConverter.cs

@@ -1079,7 +1079,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
         internal static JobContainer ConvertToJobContainer(
             TemplateContext context,
             TemplateToken value,
-            bool isEarlyValidation = false)
+            bool isEarlyValidation = false,
+            bool isServiceContainer = false)
         {
             var result = new JobContainer();
             if (isEarlyValidation && value.Traverse().Any(x => x is ExpressionToken))
@@ -1089,11 +1090,34 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
 
             if (value is StringToken containerLiteral)
             {
-                if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(containerLiteral.Value))
+                // Trim "docker://"
+                var trimmedImage = containerLiteral.Value;
+                var hasDockerPrefix = containerLiteral.Value.StartsWith(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix, StringComparison.Ordinal);
+                if (hasDockerPrefix)
                 {
+                    trimmedImage = trimmedImage.Substring(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix.Length);
+                }
+
+                // Empty shorthand after trimming "docker://" ?
+                if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(trimmedImage))
+                {
+                    // Error at parse-time for:
+                    //   1. container: 'docker://'
+                    //   2. services.foo: ''
+                    //   3. services.foo: 'docker://'
+                    //
+                    // Do not error for:
+                    //   1. container: ''
+                    if (isEarlyValidation && (hasDockerPrefix || isServiceContainer))
+                    {
+                        context.Error(value, "Container image cannot be empty");
+                    }
+
+                    // Short-circuit
                     return null;
                 }
 
+                // Store original, trimmed further below
                 result.Image = containerLiteral.Value;
             }
             else
@@ -1122,6 +1146,22 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
                         case WorkflowTemplateConstants.Options:
                             result.Options = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
                             break;
+                        case WorkflowTemplateConstants.Entrypoint:
+                            if (!context.GetFeatures().AllowServiceContainerCommand)
+                            {
+                                context.Error(containerPropertyPair.Key, $"The key '{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Entrypoint}' is not allowed");
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            result.Entrypoint = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
+                            break;
+                        case WorkflowTemplateConstants.Command:
+                            if (!context.GetFeatures().AllowServiceContainerCommand)
+                            {
+                                context.Error(containerPropertyPair.Key, $"The key '{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Command}' is not allowed");
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            result.Command = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertString($"{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}").Value;
+                            break;
                         case WorkflowTemplateConstants.Ports:
                             var ports = containerPropertyPair.Value.AssertSequence($"{WorkflowTemplateConstants.Container} {propertyName}");
                             var portList = new List<String>(ports.Count);
@@ -1152,22 +1192,30 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
                 }
             }
 
+            // Trim "docker://"
+            var hadDockerPrefix = false;
+            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(result.Image) && result.Image.StartsWith(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix, StringComparison.Ordinal))
+            {
+                hadDockerPrefix = true;
+                result.Image = result.Image.Substring(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix.Length);
+            }
+
             if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(result.Image))
             {
-                // Only error during early validation (parse time)
-                // At runtime (expression evaluation), empty image = no container
-                if (isEarlyValidation)
+                // Error at parse-time for:
+                //   1. container: {image: 'docker://'}
+                //   2. services.foo: {image: ''}
+                //   3. services.foo: {image: 'docker://'}
+                //
+                // Do not error for:
+                //   1. container: {image: ''}
+                if (isEarlyValidation && (hadDockerPrefix || isServiceContainer))
                 {
                     context.Error(value, "Container image cannot be empty");
                 }
                 return null;
             }
 
-            if (result.Image.StartsWith(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix, StringComparison.Ordinal))
-            {
-                result.Image = result.Image.Substring(WorkflowTemplateConstants.DockerUriPrefix.Length);
-            }
-
             return result;
         }
 
@@ -1188,7 +1236,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
             foreach (var servicePair in servicesMapping)
             {
                 var networkAlias = servicePair.Key.AssertString("services key").Value;
-                var container = ConvertToJobContainer(context, servicePair.Value);
+                var container = ConvertToJobContainer(context, servicePair.Value, isEarlyValidation, isServiceContainer: true);
                 result.Add(new KeyValuePair<String, JobContainer>(networkAlias, container));
             }
 

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/JobContainer.cs

@@ -35,6 +35,24 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser
             set;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the container entrypoint override.
+        /// </summary>
+        public String Entrypoint
+        {
+            get;
+            set;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the container command and args (after the image name).
+        /// </summary>
+        public String Command
+        {
+            get;
+            set;
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets or sets the volumes which are mounted into the container.
         /// </summary>

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/WorkflowFeatures.cs

@@ -48,6 +48,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser
         [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
         public bool StrictJsonParsing { get; set; }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether service containers may specify "entrypoint" and "command".
+        /// Used during parsing and evaluation.
+        /// </summary>
+        [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
+        public bool AllowServiceContainerCommand { get; set; }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the default workflow features.
         /// </summary>
@@ -60,6 +67,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser
                 Snapshot = false,           // Default to false since this feature is still in an experimental phase
                 StrictJsonParsing = false,  // Default to false since this is temporary for telemetry purposes only
                 AllowModelsPermission = false, // Default to false since we want this to be disabled for all non-production environments
+                AllowServiceContainerCommand = false, // Default to false since this feature is gated by actions_service_container_command
             };
         }
 

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/workflow-v1.0.json

@@ -2589,21 +2589,53 @@
       "mapping": {
         "properties": {
           "image": {
-            "type": "non-empty-string",
-            "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.image` to define the Docker image to use as the container to run the action. The value can be the Docker Hub image or a registry name."
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "The Docker image to use as the container. The value can be the Docker Hub image or a registry name."
           },
           "options": {
             "type": "string",
-            "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.options` to configure additional Docker container resource options."
+            "description": "Additional Docker container resource options."
           },
           "env": "container-env",
           "ports": {
             "type": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
-            "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.ports` to set an array of ports to expose on the container."
+            "description": "An array of ports to expose on the container."
           },
           "volumes": {
             "type": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
-            "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.volumes` to set an array of volumes for the container to use. You can use volumes to share data between services or other steps in a job. You can specify named Docker volumes, anonymous Docker volumes, or bind mounts on the host."
+            "description": "An array of volumes for the container to use. You can use volumes to share data between services or other steps in a job. You can specify named Docker volumes, anonymous Docker volumes, or bind mounts on the host."
+          },
+          "credentials": "container-registry-credentials"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "service-container-mapping": {
+      "mapping": {
+        "properties": {
+          "image": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "The Docker image to use as the container. The value can be the Docker Hub image or a registry name."
+          },
+          "options": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "Additional Docker container resource options."
+          },
+          "entrypoint": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "Override the default ENTRYPOINT in the service container image."
+          },
+          "command": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "Override the default CMD in the service container image."
+          },
+          "env": "container-env",
+          "ports": {
+            "type": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
+            "description": "An array of ports to expose on the container."
+          },
+          "volumes": {
+            "type": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
+            "description": "An array of volumes for the container to use. You can use volumes to share data between services or other steps in a job. You can specify named Docker volumes, anonymous Docker volumes, or bind mounts on the host."
           },
           "credentials": "container-registry-credentials"
         }
@@ -2634,12 +2666,12 @@
         "matrix"
       ],
       "one-of": [
-        "non-empty-string",
-        "container-mapping"
+        "string",
+        "service-container-mapping"
       ]
     },
     "container-registry-credentials": {
-      "description": "If the image's container registry requires authentication to pull the image, you can use `jobs.<job_id>.container.credentials` to set a map of the username and password. The credentials are the same values that you would provide to the `docker login` command.",
+      "description": "If the container registry requires authentication to pull the image, set a map of the username and password. The credentials are the same values that you would provide to the `docker login` command.",
       "context": [
         "github",
         "inputs",
@@ -2655,7 +2687,7 @@
       }
     },
     "container-env": {
-      "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.env` to set a map of variables in the container.",
+      "description": "A map of environment variables to set in the container.",
       "mapping": {
         "loose-key-type": "non-empty-string",
         "loose-value-type": "string-runner-context"

src/Test/L0/Listener/SelfUpdaterL0.cs

@@ -228,8 +228,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                                  .Returns(Task.FromResult(new TaskAgent()));
 
 
-                    var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<TaskCanceledException>(() => updater.SelfUpdate(_refreshMessage, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken));
-                    Assert.Contains($"failed after {Constants.RunnerDownloadRetryMaxAttempts} download attempts", ex.Message);
+                    var result = await updater.SelfUpdate(_refreshMessage, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken);
+                    Assert.False(result);
                 }
             }
             finally
@@ -281,8 +281,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                                  .Returns(Task.FromResult(new TaskAgent()));
 
 
-                    var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<Exception>(() => updater.SelfUpdate(_refreshMessage, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken));
-                    Assert.Contains("did not match expected Runner Hash", ex.Message);
+                    var result = await updater.SelfUpdate(_refreshMessage, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken);
+                    Assert.False(result);
                 }
             }
             finally

src/Test/L0/Listener/SelfUpdaterV2L0.cs

@@ -170,8 +170,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                         DownloadUrl = "https://github.com/actions/runner/notexists"
                     };
 
-                    var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<TaskCanceledException>(() => updater.SelfUpdate(message, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken));
-                    Assert.Contains($"failed after {Constants.RunnerDownloadRetryMaxAttempts} download attempts", ex.Message);
+                    var result = await updater.SelfUpdate(message, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken);
+                    Assert.False(result);
                 }
             }
             finally
@@ -220,8 +220,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                         SHA256Checksum = "badhash"
                     };
 
-                    var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<Exception>(() => updater.SelfUpdate(message, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken));
-                    Assert.Contains("did not match expected Runner Hash", ex.Message);
+                    var result = await updater.SelfUpdate(message, _jobDispatcher.Object, true, hc.RunnerShutdownToken);
+                    Assert.False(result);
                 }
             }
             finally

src/Test/L0/Sdk/ExpressionParserL0.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2.Sdk;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating;
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Sdk
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Regression tests for ExpressionParser.CreateTree to verify that
+    /// allowCaseFunction does not accidentally set allowUnknownKeywords.
+    /// </summary>
+    public sealed class ExpressionParserL0
+    {
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Sdk")]
+        public void CreateTree_RejectsUnrecognizedNamedValue()
+        {
+            // Regression: allowCaseFunction was passed positionally into
+            // the allowUnknownKeywords parameter, causing all named values
+            // to be silently accepted.
+            var parser = new ExpressionParser();
+            var namedValues = new List<INamedValueInfo>
+            {
+                new NamedValueInfo<ContextValueNode>("inputs"),
+            };
+
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<ParseException>(() =>
+                parser.CreateTree("github.event.repository.private", null, namedValues, null));
+
+            Assert.Contains("Unrecognized named-value", ex.Message);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Sdk")]
+        public void CreateTree_AcceptsRecognizedNamedValue()
+        {
+            var parser = new ExpressionParser();
+            var namedValues = new List<INamedValueInfo>
+            {
+                new NamedValueInfo<ContextValueNode>("inputs"),
+            };
+
+            var node = parser.CreateTree("inputs.foo", null, namedValues, null);
+
+            Assert.NotNull(node);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Sdk")]
+        public void CreateTree_CaseFunctionWorks_WhenAllowed()
+        {
+            var parser = new ExpressionParser();
+            var namedValues = new List<INamedValueInfo>
+            {
+                new NamedValueInfo<ContextValueNode>("github"),
+            };
+
+            var node = parser.CreateTree("case(github.event_name, 'push', 'Push Event')", null, namedValues, null, allowCaseFunction: true);
+
+            Assert.NotNull(node);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Sdk")]
+        public void CreateTree_CaseFunctionRejected_WhenDisallowed()
+        {
+            var parser = new ExpressionParser();
+            var namedValues = new List<INamedValueInfo>
+            {
+                new NamedValueInfo<ContextValueNode>("github"),
+            };
+
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<ParseException>(() =>
+                parser.CreateTree("case(github.event_name, 'push', 'Push Event')", null, namedValues, null, allowCaseFunction: false));
+
+            Assert.Contains("Unrecognized function", ex.Message);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Sdk")]
+        public void CreateTree_CaseFunctionDoesNotAffectUnknownKeywords()
+        {
+            // The key regression test: with allowCaseFunction=true (default),
+            // unrecognized named values must still be rejected.
+            var parser = new ExpressionParser();
+            var namedValues = new List<INamedValueInfo>
+            {
+                new NamedValueInfo<ContextValueNode>("inputs"),
+            };
+
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<ParseException>(() =>
+                parser.CreateTree("github.ref", null, namedValues, null, allowCaseFunction: true));
+
+            Assert.Contains("Unrecognized named-value", ex.Message);
+        }
+    }
+}

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionManifestManagerL0.cs

@@ -928,6 +928,58 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void Load_ContainerAction_RejectsInvalidExpressionContext()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange
+                Setup();
+
+                var actionManifest = new ActionManifestManager();
+                actionManifest.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                // Act & Assert — github is not a valid context for container-runs-env (only inputs is allowed)
+                var ex = Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() =>
+                    actionManifest.Load(_ec.Object, Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "dockerfileaction_env_invalid_context.yml")));
+
+                Assert.Contains("Failed to load", ex.Message);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void Load_ContainerAction_AcceptsValidExpressionContext()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange
+                Setup();
+
+                var actionManifest = new ActionManifestManager();
+                actionManifest.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                // Act — inputs is a valid context for container-runs-env
+                var result = actionManifest.Load(_ec.Object, Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "dockerfileaction_arg_env_expression.yml"));
+
+                // Assert
+                var containerAction = result.Execution as ContainerActionExecutionDataNew;
+                Assert.NotNull(containerAction);
+                Assert.Equal("${{ inputs.entryPoint }}", containerAction.Environment[1].Value.ToString());
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         private void Setup([CallerMemberName] string name = "")
         {
             _ecTokenSource?.Dispose();

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionManifestManagerLegacyL0.cs

@@ -926,6 +926,58 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void Load_ContainerAction_RejectsInvalidExpressionContext()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange
+                Setup();
+
+                var actionManifest = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                actionManifest.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                // Act & Assert — github is not a valid context for container-runs-env (only inputs is allowed)
+                var ex = Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() =>
+                    actionManifest.Load(_ec.Object, Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "dockerfileaction_env_invalid_context.yml")));
+
+                Assert.Contains("Failed to load", ex.Message);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void Load_ContainerAction_AcceptsValidExpressionContext()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange
+                Setup();
+
+                var actionManifest = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                actionManifest.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                // Act — inputs is a valid context for container-runs-env
+                var result = actionManifest.Load(_ec.Object, Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "dockerfileaction_arg_env_expression.yml"));
+
+                // Assert
+                var containerAction = result.Execution as ContainerActionExecutionData;
+                Assert.NotNull(containerAction);
+                Assert.Equal("${{ inputs.entryPoint }}", containerAction.Environment[1].Value.ToString());
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         private void Setup([CallerMemberName] string name = "")
         {
             _ecTokenSource?.Dispose();

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionManifestParserComparisonL0.cs

@@ -379,6 +379,40 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void Load_BothParsersRejectInvalidExpressionContext()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange — regression test: both parsers must reject github context
+                // in container-runs-env (only inputs is allowed per schema)
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                var manifestPath = Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "dockerfileaction_env_invalid_context.yml");
+
+                // Act & Assert — both parsers should reject, wrapper should throw
+                Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() => wrapper.Load(_ec.Object, manifestPath));
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         private string GetFullExceptionMessage(Exception ex)
         {
             var messages = new List<string>();

src/Test/L0/Worker/Handlers/CompositeActionHandlerL0.cs

@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContextData;
 using GitHub.DistributedTask.WebApi;
 using GitHub.Runner.Common.Util;
 using GitHub.Runner.Sdk;
 using GitHub.Runner.Worker;
 using GitHub.Runner.Worker.Handlers;
 using Moq;
+using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
 using Xunit;
 using DTWebApi = GitHub.DistributedTask.WebApi;
+using Pipelines = GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines;
 
 namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker.Handlers
 {
@@ -250,6 +254,66 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker.Handlers
             Assert.Equal("##[end-action id=failing-step;outcome=failure;conclusion=success;duration_ms=500]", marker);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void PostStepMarker_UsesEvaluatedDisplayName()
+        {
+            // Arrange: create an ActionRunner with a RepositoryPathReference (simulating actions/cache@v4)
+            // and Stage = Post. Verify that EvaluateDisplayName produces the correct display name
+            // so the composite marker emits "Run actions/cache@v4" instead of the fallback "run".
+            var hc = new TestHostContext(this, nameof(PostStepMarker_UsesEvaluatedDisplayName));
+            var actionManifestLegacy = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+            actionManifestLegacy.Initialize(hc);
+            hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(actionManifestLegacy);
+            var actionManifestNew = new ActionManifestManager();
+            actionManifestNew.Initialize(hc);
+            hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(actionManifestNew);
+            var actionManifestManager = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+            actionManifestManager.Initialize(hc);
+            hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerWrapper>(actionManifestManager);
+
+            var ec = new Mock<IExecutionContext>();
+            var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+            var githubContext = new GitHubContext();
+            githubContext.Add("event", JToken.Parse("{\"foo\":\"bar\"}").ToPipelineContextData());
+            contextData.Add("github", githubContext);
+#if OS_WINDOWS
+            contextData["env"] = new DictionaryContextData();
+#else
+            contextData["env"] = new CaseSensitiveDictionaryContextData();
+#endif
+            ec.Setup(x => x.Global).Returns(new GlobalContext());
+            ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionValues).Returns(contextData);
+            ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionFunctions).Returns(new List<GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2.IFunctionInfo>());
+            ec.Setup(x => x.Write(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>()));
+            ec.Object.Global.Variables = new Variables(hc, new Dictionary<string, VariableValue>());
+
+            var actionRunner = new ActionRunner();
+            actionRunner.Initialize(hc);
+            actionRunner.ExecutionContext = ec.Object;
+            actionRunner.Stage = ActionRunStage.Post;
+            actionRunner.Action = new Pipelines.ActionStep()
+            {
+                Name = "cache",
+                Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
+                Reference = new Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference()
+                {
+                    Name = "actions/cache",
+                    Ref = "v4"
+                }
+            };
+
+            // Act: call EvaluateDisplayName directly, which is what CompositeActionHandler now does
+            // for embedded steps (including Post stage) instead of TryUpdateDisplayName.
+            var result = actionRunner.EvaluateDisplayName(contextData, ec.Object, out bool updated);
+
+            // Assert: display name should be "Run actions/cache@v4", not the fallback "run"
+            Assert.True(result);
+            Assert.True(updated);
+            Assert.Equal("Run actions/cache@v4", actionRunner.DisplayName);
+        }
+
         // Helper methods that call the real production code
         private static string EscapeProperty(string value) =>
             CompositeActionHandler.EscapeProperty(value);

src/Test/L0/Worker/PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapperL0.cs

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
     public sealed class PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapperL0
     {
         private CancellationTokenSource _ecTokenSource;
+        private CancellationTokenSource _rootTokenSource;
         private Mock<IExecutionContext> _ec;
         private TestHostContext _hc;
 
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
                 var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "test-value");
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
@@ -63,9 +64,9 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
-                // Call EvaluateAndCompare directly: the new evaluator cancels the token
+                // Call EvaluateAndCompare directly: the new evaluator cancels the root token
                 // and returns a different value, forcing hasMismatch = true.
                 // Because cancellation flipped during the evaluation window, the
                 // mismatch should be skipped.
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                     () => "legacy-value",
                     () =>
                     {
-                        _ecTokenSource.Cancel();
+                        _rootTokenSource.Cancel();
                         return "different-value";
                     },
                     (legacy, @new) => string.Equals(legacy, @new, StringComparison.Ordinal));
@@ -88,6 +89,43 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_SkipsMismatchRecording_WhenRootCancellationOccursBetweenEvaluators()
+        {
+            // Simulates job-level cancellation firing between legacy and new evaluator runs.
+            // Root is mocked with a separate CancellationTokenSource to exercise the
+            // _context.Root?.CancellationToken path (the job-level token).
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+
+                // Legacy evaluator cancels the root token (simulating job cancel) and returns a value.
+                // The new evaluator returns a different value. The mismatch should be skipped.
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                    "TestRootCancellationSkip",
+                    () =>
+                    {
+                        var legacyValue = "legacy-value";
+                        _rootTokenSource.Cancel();
+                        return legacyValue;
+                    },
+                    () => "different-value",
+                    (legacy, @new) => string.Equals(legacy, @new, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+
+                Assert.Equal("legacy-value", result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         [Trait("Level", "L0")]
         [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
@@ -98,7 +136,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
                 // Different results without cancellation — mismatch SHOULD be recorded.
                 var result = wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
@@ -130,7 +168,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new BooleanToken(null, null, null, true);
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
@@ -156,7 +194,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
                 token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "FOO"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "bar"));
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
@@ -184,7 +222,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new BasicExpressionToken(null, null, null, "true");
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
@@ -211,7 +249,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
                 token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "input1"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "val1"));
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
@@ -239,7 +277,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new NumberToken(null, null, null, 10);
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
@@ -265,7 +303,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "");
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
@@ -281,6 +319,140 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_DockerPrefixOnly_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "docker://");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_DockerPrefixOnlyMapping_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "docker://"));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_EmptyImageMapping_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, ""));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_ValidImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "ubuntu:latest");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("ubuntu:latest", result.Image);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_DockerPrefixWithImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "docker://ubuntu:latest");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("ubuntu:latest", result.Image);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         [Trait("Level", "L0")]
         [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
@@ -291,7 +463,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
                 token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "out1"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "val1"));
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
@@ -319,7 +491,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "https://example.com");
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
@@ -348,7 +520,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
                 token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "shell"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "bash"));
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
@@ -376,7 +548,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
 
@@ -391,6 +563,213 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_EmptyImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                // Build a services mapping token with one service whose image is empty string
+                // Similar to: services: { db: { image: '' } }
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, ""));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions);
+
+                // Should get a list with one entry where the container is null (empty image = no container)
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Single(result);
+                Assert.Equal("db", result[0].Key);
+                Assert.Null(result[0].Value);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_DockerPrefixOnlyImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "docker://"));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Single(result);
+                Assert.Equal("db", result[0].Key);
+                Assert.Null(result[0].Value);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_ExpressionEvalsToEmpty_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                // Simulates: services: { db: { image: ${{ condition && 'img' || '' }} } }
+                // where the expression evaluates to '' at runtime
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new BasicExpressionToken(null, null, null, "''"));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Single(result);
+                Assert.Equal("db", result[0].Key);
+                Assert.Null(result[0].Value);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_ValidImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "postgres:latest"));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Single(result);
+                Assert.Equal("db", result[0].Key);
+                Assert.NotNull(result[0].Value);
+                Assert.Equal("postgres:latest", result[0].Value.Image);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_EntrypointAndCommand_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "postgres:latest"));
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "entrypoint"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "/bin/bash"));
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "command"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "-lc echo hi"));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: true);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Single(result);
+                Assert.Equal("db", result[0].Key);
+                Assert.NotNull(result[0].Value);
+                Assert.Equal("postgres:latest", result[0].Value.Image);
+                Assert.Equal("/bin/bash", result[0].Value.Entrypoint);
+                Assert.Equal("-lc echo hi", result[0].Value.Command);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_EntrypointAndCommand_FlagOff_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var servicesMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                var serviceMapping = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "image"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "postgres:latest"));
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "entrypoint"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "/bin/bash"));
+                serviceMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "command"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "-lc echo hi"));
+                servicesMapping.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "db"), serviceMapping);
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                Assert.Throws<GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.TemplateValidationException>(() =>
+                    wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(servicesMapping, contextData, functions));
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         [Trait("Level", "L0")]
         [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
@@ -401,7 +780,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
                 var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
                 var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
 
@@ -430,7 +809,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
                 // Both throw JsonReaderException with different messages — should be treated as equivalent
                 var legacyEx = new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Error reading JToken from JsonReader. Path '', line 0, position 0.");
@@ -461,7 +840,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
                 // Legacy throws Newtonsoft JsonReaderException, new throws System.Text.Json.JsonException
                 var legacyEx = new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Error reading JToken");
@@ -492,7 +871,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 Setup();
                 _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
 
-                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object, allowServiceContainerCommand: false);
 
                 // Both throw non-JSON exceptions with different messages — should record mismatch
                 var legacyEx = new InvalidOperationException("some error");
@@ -521,6 +900,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
         {
             _ecTokenSource?.Dispose();
             _ecTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
+            _rootTokenSource?.Dispose();
+            _rootTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
 
             _hc = new TestHostContext(this, name);
 
@@ -536,6 +917,9 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                     WriteDebug = true,
                 });
             _ec.Setup(x => x.CancellationToken).Returns(_ecTokenSource.Token);
+            var rootEc = new Mock<IExecutionContext>();
+            rootEc.Setup(x => x.CancellationToken).Returns(_rootTokenSource.Token);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.Root).Returns(rootEc.Object);
             _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionValues).Returns(expressionValues);
             _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionFunctions).Returns(expressionFunctions);
             _ec.Setup(x => x.Write(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>())).Callback((string tag, string message) => { _hc.GetTrace().Info($"{tag}{message}"); });
@@ -544,6 +928,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
 
         private void Teardown()
         {
+            _rootTokenSource?.Dispose();
             _hc?.Dispose();
         }
     }

src/Test/TestData/dockerfileaction_env_invalid_context.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+name: 'Action With Invalid Context'
+description: 'Docker action that uses github context in env (only inputs is allowed)'
+inputs:
+  my-input:
+    description: 'A test input'
+    required: false
+    default: 'hello'
+runs:
+  using: 'docker'
+  image: 'Dockerfile'
+  env:
+    VALID: '${{ inputs.my-input }}'
+    INVALID: '${{ github.event.repository.private }}'