401 when authenticating an OAuth 2.0 bearer token with Microsoft Azure Active Directory in an MVC API

Question

I'm writing an API service in MVC (no views, just API), and I want to use OAuth 2.0 tokens acquired via the client_credentials flow (2-legged OAuth). I created an ActiveDirectory app in the Azure management portal, and have successfully acquired a bearer token (see screenshot from Postman at the bottom).

Then I installed the Microsoft.Owin.Security.ActiveDirectory nuget package, created an Owin startup class and wrote the following code in it:

public class OwinStartup
{
    public void Configuration(IAppBuilder app)
    {
        // For more information on how to configure your application, visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=316888
        var myoptions = new WindowsAzureActiveDirectoryBearerAuthenticationOptions();
        myoptions.Audience = // my App ID
        myoptions.Tenant = // my tenant
        myoptions.AuthenticationMode = Microsoft.Owin.Security.AuthenticationMode.Passive;
        app.UseWindowsAzureActiveDirectoryBearerAuthentication(myoptions);
    }
}

I added a controller with an action, and I would like the action to be accessible with the bearer token.

This is the controller:

public class TestController : Controller
{
    [Authorize]
    public JsonResult Index()
    {
        return Json(3, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
    }
}

I'm trying to call it with the Authorization header like this:

Calling endpoint

However, I'm getting 401: "You do not have permission to view this directory or page". The details are:

Module     ManagedPipelineHandler
Notification       ExecuteRequestHandler
Handler    System.Web.Mvc.MvcHandler
Error Code     0x00000000
Requested URL      http://localhost:57872/test
Logon Method       Anonymous
Logon User     Anonymous

It looks that my bearer token is ignored.

What am I doing wrong?

Appendix: Creating an Azure Active Directory OAuth bearer token in Postman with the client_credentials flow:

Creating a token in Postman

Ilya Kogan Ilya Kogan · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-02T12:55:35

It seems that I can get it to work by creating a second application in AD - a client app, authorizing it to the service app, and requesting the authentication token as the client rather than as the service.

So in the token request I had to use the client app's ID and secret instead of the original ones and add another parameter: "resource", whose value is the service app ID: https://mytenant.onmicrosoft.com/servieappname

I based my solution on this good example by Microsoft. Replaced the Windows store app by a web app acting as the client.

401 when authenticating an OAuth 2.0 bearer token with Microsoft Azure Active Directory in an MVC API

3 Answers