Describe the bug
The GitHub Actions runner application repeatedly encounters an error stating "An error occurred: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." This issue persists even after restarting the service. There are no clear indicators in the system logs that point to the cause of this error. This is the first time this error has been encountered.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Start the GitHub Actions runner service on the machine.
2. Observe the runner's log output.
3. The error "An error occurred: Object reference not set to an instance of an object" appears shortly after the service starts.

Expected behavior
The GitHub Actions runner should start without encountering a null reference exception and be ready to execute workflows without errors.

Runner Version and Platform

Version of your runner: 2.317.0

OS of the machine running the runner: Linux (ubuntu)

What's not working?

The runner fails to operate normally due to a recurring error message: "An error occurred: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." This prevents the runner from executing any workflows.

● actions.runner.puk.UKLENOAPIPI001.service - GitHub Actions Runner (puk.UKLENOAPIPI001)
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/actions.runner.puk.UKLENOAPIPI001.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-07-17 08:48:58 UTC; 13min ago
Main PID: 2129042 (runsvc.sh)
Tasks: 8 (limit: 19044)
Memory: 8.7M
CPU: 1min 39.466s
CGroup: /system.slice/actions.runner.puk.UKLENOAPIPI001.service
├─2129042 /bin/bash /home/infraeno/actions-runner/runsvc.sh
└─2129044 ./externals/node16/bin/node ./bin/RunnerService.js

Jul 17 08:56:09 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Runner listener exited with error code 2
Jul 17 08:56:09 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Runner listener exit with retryable error, re-launch runner in 5 seconds.
Jul 17 08:56:14 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Starting Runner listener with startup type: service
Jul 17 08:56:14 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Started listener process, pid: 2130576
Jul 17 08:56:15 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: √ Connected to GitHub
Jul 17 08:56:16 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Current runner version: '2.317.0'
Jul 17 08:56:16 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: 2024-07-17 08:56:16Z: Listening for Jobs
Jul 17 09:02:35 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: An error occurred: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
Jul 17 09:02:35 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Runner listener exited with error code 2
Jul 17 09:02:35 UKLENOAPIPI001 runsvc.sh[2129044]: Runner listener exit with retryable error, re-launch runner in 5 seconds.

Job Log Output

Not applicable, as the error occurs at the service startup, before any job execution.

Runner and Worker's Diagnostic Logs

Diagnostic logs from the _diag folder might provide more insight, but specific log entries related to the error have not been provided. Users experiencing this issue are encouraged to check their runner's _diag folder for logs prefixed with Runner_ and Worker_ for more details and include relevant excerpts when reporting the issue.