Troubleshooting common authentication errors

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Note

The Cloud Partner Portal APIs are integrated with and will continue working in Partner Center. The transition introduces small changes. Review the changes listed in Cloud Partner Portal API Reference to ensure your code continues working after transitioning to Partner Center. CPP APIs should only be used for existing products that were already integrated before transition to Partner Center; new products should use Partner Center submission APIs.

This article provides assistance with common authentication errors when using the Cloud Partner Portal APIs.

Unauthorized error

If you consistently get 401 unauthorized errors, verify that you have a valid access token. If you have not already done so, create a basic Microsoft Entra application and a service principal as described in Use portal to create a Microsoft Entra application and service principal that can access resources. Then, use the application or a simple HTTP POST request to verify your access. You will include the Tenant ID, Application ID, Object ID, and the secret key to obtain the access token.

Forbidden error

If you get a 403 forbidden error, make sure that the correct service principal has been added to your publisher account in the Cloud Partner Portal. Follow the steps in the Prerequisites page to add your service principal to the portal.

If the correct service principal has been added, then verify all the other information. Pay close attention to the Object ID entered on the portal. There are two Object IDs in the Microsoft Entra app registration page, and you must use the local Object ID. You can find the correct value by going to the App registrations page for your app and clicking on the app name under Managed application in local directory. This takes you to the local properties for the app, where you can find the correct Object ID in the Properties page, as shown in the following figure. Also, ensure that you use the correct publisher ID when you add the service principal and make the API call.