Encountering invalid_client error when calling Apple authentication/revocation API

Hello,

I have implemented Sign in with Apple in my iOS app and am currently trying to implement the revocation feature. However, I keep encountering an invalid_client error when calling the Apple authentication/revocation API.

Here are the details of my configuration:

Team ID: HUGD2H952H
Client ID: com.puppylink.puppylinkapp
Key ID: KXSYK98424

I am using these details to generate a client secret with the JWT ES256 algorithm. Below is the code I am using on the backend server to generate the client secret:

 private fun makeClientSecret(): String {
        val now: ZonedDateTime = ZonedDateTime.now(ZoneOffset.UTC)
        val expirationTime: ZonedDateTime = now.plusMinutes(5) // Setting expiration time to 5 minutes

        return Jwts.builder()
            .setHeaderParam(JwsHeader.KEY_ID, appleProperties.keyId)
            .setHeaderParam("alg", "ES256")
            .setIssuer(appleProperties.teamId)
            .setIssuedAt(Date.from(now.toInstant()))
            .setExpiration(Date.from(expirationTime.toInstant()))
            .setAudience("https://appleid.apple.com")
            .setSubject(appleProperties.clientId)
            .signWith(getPrivateKey(), SignatureAlgorithm.ES256)
            .compact()
    }

    private fun getPrivateKey(): PrivateKey {
        val resource = ClassPathResource(appleProperties.privateKeyFile)
        val privateKey = String(Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(resource.uri)))
        val pemReader: Reader = StringReader(privateKey)
        val pemParser = PEMParser(pemReader)
        val converter = JcaPEMKeyConverter()
        val keyInfo = pemParser.readObject() as PrivateKeyInfo
        return converter.getPrivateKey(keyInfo)
    }
}

Additionally, here is the code used to call the Apple authentication API from the backend server:

@Service
class AppleAuthService(
    private val appleProperties: AppleProperties,
) {
    private val logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(javaClass)
    private val restTemplate = RestTemplate()

    fun getTokens(authorizationCode: String): TokenResponse {
        try {
            val clientSecret = makeClientSecret()

            val formData: MultiValueMap<String, String> = LinkedMultiValueMap()
            formData.add("client_id", appleProperties.clientId)
            formData.add("client_secret", clientSecret)
            formData.add("code", authorizationCode)
            formData.add("grant_type", "authorization_code")

            val headers = HttpHeaders()
            headers.contentType = MediaType.APPLICATION_FORM_URLENCODED

            val requestEntity = HttpEntity(formData, headers)

            val response =
                restTemplate.postForObject(
                    "https://appleid.apple.com/auth/token",
                    requestEntity,
                    TokenResponse::class.java,
                )

            return response ?: throw RuntimeException("Failed to retrieve tokens from Apple")
        } catch (ex: Exception) {
            logger.error("Error retrieving tokens: ", ex)
            throw ex
        }
    }


data class TokenResponse(
    val access_token: String,
    val expires_in: Long,
    val id_token: String,
    val refresh_token: String,
    val token_type: String,
)

Despite generating the client secret correctly, I am still receiving the invalid_client error when calling the API. Could you please help me identify the cause of this error and provide guidance on how to resolve it?

Thank you.

Answered by DTS Engineer in 806672022

Hi @puppylink,

Sign in with Apple expects all token validation and revocation requests to contain the client ID matching the initial authorization request. For example, if the user had authorized access to their data via a native app using the Authentication Services framework, the client ID should match the bundle ID of the app; otherwise the Service ID should be used instead. This is also why the aud claim exists in the ID token; for you to know which client ID the token was provisioned for.

If these client IDs are mismatched, an invalid_client error could be returned. For other reasons why this error happens, please see the technote below:

TN3107: Resolving Sign in with Apple response errors

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3107-resolving-sign-in-with-apple-response-errors

Important: Your Developer Team ID, and private key ID are considered sensitive information and are used in your client secret. Because of this, you should omit these values from public posts and possibly revoke and recreate your private keys now that the key ID is compromised.

Cheers,

Paris X Pinkney |  WWDR | DTS Engineer

Hi @puppylink,

Sign in with Apple expects all token validation and revocation requests to contain the client ID matching the initial authorization request. For example, if the user had authorized access to their data via a native app using the Authentication Services framework, the client ID should match the bundle ID of the app; otherwise the Service ID should be used instead. This is also why the aud claim exists in the ID token; for you to know which client ID the token was provisioned for.

If these client IDs are mismatched, an invalid_client error could be returned. For other reasons why this error happens, please see the technote below:

TN3107: Resolving Sign in with Apple response errors

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3107-resolving-sign-in-with-apple-response-errors

Important: Your Developer Team ID, and private key ID are considered sensitive information and are used in your client secret. Because of this, you should omit these values from public posts and possibly revoke and recreate your private keys now that the key ID is compromised.

Cheers,

Paris X Pinkney |  WWDR | DTS Engineer

Encountering invalid_client error when calling Apple authentication/revocation API
 
 
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