IAM policy blocks ERP API calls after password rotation, breaking supplier onboarding automation

[dorothy_pro]

Our automated supplier onboarding workflow stopped working after we rotated service credentials for our ERP API integration with IBM Cloud. The workflow uses a service ID to call various IBM Cloud APIs (IAM, Resource Controller, etc.) to provision resources for new suppliers.

After rotating the API key for our service ID last week, all API calls are returning 403 Forbidden errors:

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
{
  "error": "Forbidden",
  "message": "Insufficient permissions",
  "trace": "abc-123-def-456"
}

I’ve verified the new API key is correctly configured in our application, and the service ID still has the ‘Editor’ role on the resource group. But I’m not sure if IAM policy evaluation changed after credential rotation, or if there’s a delay in policy propagation. I also need to check Activity Tracker logs but I’m not sure what events to look for. Has anyone experienced IAM policy blocks after rotating service credentials? How do I debug this?

[brenda_data]

To troubleshoot using Activity Tracker, filter for events where the initiator is your service ID and the outcome is ‘failure’. Look specifically for action types like ‘iam-identity.serviceid.create’, ‘iam-identity.policy.create’, or ‘iam-groups.member.add’. The event’s ‘reason’ field will tell you exactly which permission is missing. Based on that, you can add the specific role needed. Don’t just add Administrator everywhere - follow least privilege and only grant the minimum roles required for your workflow’s specific actions.

[nicholas_dev]

I rotated the API key for the existing service ID, didn’t create a new one. I ran the command and the service ID still shows ‘Editor’ role on our resource group. But now I’m wondering if ‘Editor’ is sufficient for all the API calls we’re making? Our workflow creates service instances, assigns access policies, and updates resource tags. Maybe we need additional roles beyond just ‘Editor’?

[sandra_expert]

Editor role on a resource group gives you permissions to manage resources within that group, but it doesn’t grant permissions to manage IAM policies or access groups. If your supplier onboarding workflow assigns IAM policies to new service IDs or users, you need the ‘Administrator’ role on the IAM Identity Service. Similarly, if you’re creating or modifying access groups, you need ‘Administrator’ on the Access Groups service. Check exactly which IBM Cloud APIs your workflow calls and ensure your service ID has appropriate roles for each service. The 403 errors should specify which resource or action is being denied.

[anna_architect]

That makes sense! Our workflow does create service IDs and assign policies to them as part of supplier onboarding. So we probably need Administrator role on IAM Identity Service. But why did this work before the credential rotation? Did rotating the API key somehow trigger a policy re-evaluation that exposed this permissions gap?

[mary_ninja]

Here’s a comprehensive solution to resolve your IAM policy blocking issue:

Root Cause: Your service ID has ‘Editor’ role on the resource group, which allows managing resources but NOT managing IAM policies or service IDs. Your supplier onboarding workflow requires IAM administration permissions that were never properly configured, and the issue became apparent after API key rotation triggered fresh authorization checks.

Solution:

Step 1: IAM Policy Evaluation - Identify Missing Permissions

Query Activity Tracker to find denied actions:

Filter: initiator.id=SERVICE_ID_CRN AND outcome=failure
Look for actions:
- iam-identity.serviceid.create (requires Operator/Editor on IAM Identity)
- iam-identity.policy.create (requires Administrator on IAM Identity)
- iam-groups.member.add (requires Administrator on Access Groups)
- resource-controller.instance.create (requires Editor on Resource Group)

The Activity Tracker events will show:

{
  "action": "iam-identity.policy.create",
  "outcome": "failure",
  "reason": {"reasonCode": 403, "reasonType": "Forbidden"},
  "message": "Insufficient permissions to create policy"
}

Step 2: Service Credential Rotation - Verify Configuration

Confirm the new API key is properly configured:

# Verify API key belongs to correct service ID
ibmcloud iam service-api-key SERVICE_ID --output json | jq '.[] | select(.name=="YOUR_KEY_NAME")'

# Test API key authentication
curl -X GET https://iam.cloud.ibm.com/v1/apikeys/details \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(ibmcloud iam oauth-tokens | grep IAM | cut -d: -f2)"

Ensure your application is using the new API key (not cached old key):

• Check environment variables: `echo $IBMCLOUD_API_KEY
• Verify application config files
• Restart application services to clear any in-memory credential caches

Step 3: Activity Tracker Log Analysis - Grant Required Permissions

Based on Activity Tracker findings, add necessary IAM policies:

For creating service IDs:

ibmcloud iam service-policy-create SERVICE_ID \
  --roles Operator \
  --service-name iam-identity

For assigning IAM policies (required for supplier onboarding):

ibmcloud iam service-policy-create SERVICE_ID \
  --roles Administrator \
  --service-name iam-identity

For managing access groups:

ibmcloud iam service-policy-create SERVICE_ID \
  --roles Administrator \
  --service-name iam-groups

Keep existing resource group Editor role for creating service instances:

ibmcloud iam service-policy-create SERVICE_ID \
  --roles Editor \
  --resource-group-name YOUR_RESOURCE_GROUP

Complete Policy Set for Supplier Onboarding Automation:

1. Resource Group - Editor: Create/manage service instances for suppliers
2. IAM Identity Service - Administrator: Create service IDs and assign policies to them
3. Access Groups Service - Administrator: Add supplier service IDs to access groups
4. Resource Controller - Editor: Provision and configure cloud resources
5. Activity Tracker - Viewer (optional): Allow workflow to query its own audit logs

Validation:

Test your supplier onboarding workflow:

# Simulate workflow steps with new credentials
1. Create test service ID: Should succeed
2. Assign policy to test service ID: Should succeed
3. Create test service instance: Should succeed
4. Add to access group: Should succeed

Monitor Activity Tracker during test:

Filter: initiator.id=SERVICE_ID_CRN AND outcome=success
Verify actions:
- iam-identity.serviceid.create (outcome=success)
- iam-identity.policy.create (outcome=success)
- resource-controller.instance.create (outcome=success)

Why It Worked Before:

Likely scenarios:

1. Old API key had temporary elevated permissions that weren’t documented
2. Policy changes occurred simultaneously with credential rotation
3. Workflow recently added new automation steps requiring IAM administration
4. Authorization cache masked the permissions gap with old credentials

Best Practices:

1. Document Service ID Policies: Maintain a policy matrix showing which service IDs need which roles for automation workflows
2. Test After Rotation: Always test automated workflows immediately after credential rotation in a non-production environment
3. Use Activity Tracker Proactively: Set up alerts for authorization failures (outcome=failure + reasonCode=403)
4. Least Privilege: Only grant Administrator role on services where policy management is required (IAM Identity, Access Groups)
5. Credential Rotation Schedule: Rotate API keys regularly (90 days) and maintain runbooks for post-rotation validation
6. Separate Service IDs: Consider using different service IDs for different automation tasks to limit blast radius if credentials are compromised

After applying these policies, your supplier onboarding automation should work correctly with the new API key, and you’ll have proper audit trails in Activity Tracker showing successful IAM operations.

[rebeccaexpert]

First thing to check - did you rotate the API key for the same service ID, or did you create a new service ID? If you created a new service ID, you need to assign all the IAM policies to the new ID. If you rotated the key for the existing service ID, the policies should remain intact. Can you verify the service ID that owns the new API key has the necessary policies? Run ibmcloud iam service-policies SERVICE_ID to list all policies for that service ID.