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Set up a resource owner password credentials flow in Azure Active Directory B2C

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Before you begin, use the Choose a policy type selector at the top of this page to choose the type of policy you’re setting up. Azure Active Directory B2C offers two methods to define how users interact with your applications: through predefined user flows or through fully configurable custom policies. The steps required in this article are different for each method.

In Azure Active Directory B2C (Azure AD B2C), the resource owner password credentials (ROPC) flow is an OAuth standard authentication flow. In this flow, an application, also known as the relying party, exchanges valid credentials for tokens. The credentials include a user ID and password. The tokens returned are an ID token, access token, and a refresh token.

Warning

We recommend that you don't use the ROPC flow. In most scenarios, more secure alternatives are available and recommended. This flow requires a very high degree of trust in the application and carries risks that aren't present in other flows. You should only use this flow when other more secure flows aren't viable.

ROPC flow notes

In Azure Active Directory B2C (Azure AD B2C), the following options are supported:

  • Native Client: User interaction during authentication happens when code runs on a user-side device. The device can be a mobile application that's running in a native operating system, such as Android and iOS.
  • Public client flow: Only user credentials, gathered by an application, are sent in the API call. The credentials of the application aren't sent.
  • Add new claims: The ID token contents can be changed to add new claims.

The following flows aren't supported:

  • Server-to-server: The identity protection system needs a reliable IP address gathered from the caller (the native client) as part of the interaction. In a server-side API call, only the server’s IP address is used. If a dynamic threshold of failed authentications is exceeded, the identity protection system may identify a repeated IP address as an attacker.
  • Confidential client flow: The application client ID is validated, but the application secret isn't validated.

When using the ROPC flow, consider the following limitations:

  • ROPC doesn’t work when there's any interruption to the authentication flow that needs user interaction. For example, when a password expires or needs to be changed, multifactor authentication is required, or when more information needs to be collected during sign-in (for example, user consent).
  • ROPC supports local accounts only. Users can’t sign in with federated identity providers like Microsoft, Google+, X, AD-FS, or Facebook.
  • Session Management, including keep me signed-in (KMSI), isn't applicable.

Register an application

To register an application in your Azure AD B2C tenant, you can use our new unified App registrations experience or our legacy Applications (Legacy) experience. Learn more about the new experience.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
  2. Make sure you're using the directory that contains your Azure AD B2C tenant:
    1. Select the Directories + subscriptions icon in the portal toolbar.
    2. On the Portal settings | Directories + subscriptions page, find your Azure AD B2C directory in the Directory name list, and then select Switch.
  3. In the Azure portal, search for and select Azure AD B2C
  4. Select App registrations, and then select New registration.
  5. Enter a Name for the application. For example, ROPC_Auth_app.
  6. Leave the other values as they are, and then select Register.
  7. Record the Application (client) ID for use in a later step.
  8. Under Manage, select Authentication.
  9. Select Try out the new experience (if shown).
  10. Under Advanced settings, and section Enable the following mobile and desktop flows, select Yes to treat the application as a public client. This setting is required for the ROPC flow.
  11. Select Save.
  12. In the left menu, select Manifest to open the manifest editor.
  13. Set the oauth2AllowImplicitFlow attribute to true: 
    "oauth2AllowImplicitFlow": true,
  14. Select Save.

Create a resource owner user flow

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal as the External ID User Flow Administrator of your Azure AD B2C tenant.
  2. If you have access to multiple tenants, select the Settings icon in the top menu to switch to your Azure AD B2C tenant from the Directories + subscriptions menu.
  3. In the Azure portal, search for and select Azure AD B2C.
  4. Select User flows, and select New user flow.
  5. Select Sign in using resource owner password credentials (ROPC).
  6. Under Version, make sure Preview is selected, and then select Create.
  7. Provide a name for the user flow, such as ROPC_Auth.
  8. Under Application claims, select Show more.
  9. Select the application claims that you need for your application, such as Display Name, Email Address, and Identity Provider.
  10. Select OK, and then select Create.

Prerequisite

If you've not done so, learn how to use the custom policy starter pack in Get started with custom policies in Active Directory B2C.

Create a resource owner policy

  1. Open the TrustFrameworkExtensions.xml file.

  2. Under the BuildingBlocks element, locate the ClaimsSchema element, then add the following claims types:

    <ClaimsSchema>
  <ClaimType Id="logonIdentifier">
    <DisplayName>User name or email address that the user can use to sign in</DisplayName>
    <DataType>string</DataType>
  </ClaimType>
  <ClaimType Id="resource">
    <DisplayName>The resource parameter passes to the ROPC endpoint</DisplayName>
    <DataType>string</DataType>
  </ClaimType>
  <ClaimType Id="refreshTokenIssuedOnDateTime">
    <DisplayName>An internal parameter used to determine whether the user should be permitted to authenticate again using their existing refresh token.</DisplayName>
    <DataType>string</DataType>
  </ClaimType>
  <ClaimType Id="refreshTokensValidFromDateTime">
    <DisplayName>An internal parameter used to determine whether the user should be permitted to authenticate again using their existing refresh token.</DisplayName>
    <DataType>string</DataType>
  </ClaimType>
</ClaimsSchema>

  3. After ClaimsSchema, add a ClaimsTransformations element and its child elements to the BuildingBlocks element:

    <ClaimsTransformations>
  <ClaimsTransformation Id="CreateSubjectClaimFromObjectID" TransformationMethod="CreateStringClaim">
    <InputParameters>
      <InputParameter Id="value" DataType="string" Value="Not supported currently. Use oid claim." />
    </InputParameters>
    <OutputClaims>
      <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="sub" TransformationClaimType="createdClaim" />
    </OutputClaims>
  </ClaimsTransformation>

  <ClaimsTransformation Id="AssertRefreshTokenIssuedLaterThanValidFromDate" TransformationMethod="AssertDateTimeIsGreaterThan">
    <InputClaims>
      <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="refreshTokenIssuedOnDateTime" TransformationClaimType="leftOperand" />
      <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="refreshTokensValidFromDateTime" TransformationClaimType="rightOperand" />
    </InputClaims>
    <InputParameters>
      <InputParameter Id="AssertIfEqualTo" DataType="boolean" Value="false" />
      <InputParameter Id="AssertIfRightOperandIsNotPresent" DataType="boolean" Value="true" />
    </InputParameters>
  </ClaimsTransformation>
</ClaimsTransformations>

  4. Locate the ClaimsProvider element that has a DisplayName of Local Account SignIn and add following technical profile:

    <TechnicalProfile Id="ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials-OAUTH2">
  <DisplayName>Local Account SignIn</DisplayName>
  <Protocol Name="OpenIdConnect" />
  <Metadata>
    <Item Key="UserMessageIfClaimsPrincipalDoesNotExist">We can't seem to find your account</Item>
    <Item Key="UserMessageIfInvalidPassword">Your password is incorrect</Item>
    <Item Key="UserMessageIfOldPasswordUsed">Looks like you used an old password</Item>
    <Item Key="DiscoverMetadataByTokenIssuer">true</Item>
    <Item Key="ValidTokenIssuerPrefixes">https://sts.windows.net/</Item>
    <Item Key="METADATA">https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/.well-known/openid-configuration</Item>
    <Item Key="authorization_endpoint">https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/oauth2/token</Item>
    <Item Key="response_types">id_token</Item>
    <Item Key="response_mode">query</Item>
    <Item Key="scope">email openid</Item>
    <Item Key="grant_type">password</Item>
  </Metadata>
  <InputClaims>
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="logonIdentifier" PartnerClaimType="username" Required="true" DefaultValue="{OIDC:Username}"/>
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="password" Required="true" DefaultValue="{OIDC:Password}" />
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="grant_type" DefaultValue="password" />
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="scope" DefaultValue="openid" />
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="nca" PartnerClaimType="nca" DefaultValue="1" />
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="client_id" DefaultValue="ProxyIdentityExperienceFrameworkAppId" />
    <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="resource_id" PartnerClaimType="resource" DefaultValue="IdentityExperienceFrameworkAppId" />
  </InputClaims>
  <OutputClaims>
    <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="objectId" PartnerClaimType="oid" />
    <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="userPrincipalName" PartnerClaimType="upn" />
  </OutputClaims>
  <OutputClaimsTransformations>
    <OutputClaimsTransformation ReferenceId="CreateSubjectClaimFromObjectID" />
  </OutputClaimsTransformations>
  <UseTechnicalProfileForSessionManagement ReferenceId="SM-Noop" />
</TechnicalProfile>

    Replace the DefaultValue of client_id with the Application ID of the ProxyIdentityExperienceFramework application that you created in the prerequisite tutorial. Then replace DefaultValue of resource_id with the Application ID of the IdentityExperienceFramework application that you also created in the prerequisite tutorial.

  5. Add following ClaimsProvider elements with their technical profiles to the ClaimsProviders element:

    <ClaimsProvider>
  <DisplayName>Azure Active Directory</DisplayName>
  <TechnicalProfiles>
    <TechnicalProfile Id="AAD-UserReadUsingObjectId-CheckRefreshTokenDate">
      <Metadata>
        <Item Key="Operation">Read</Item>
        <Item Key="RaiseErrorIfClaimsPrincipalDoesNotExist">true</Item>
      </Metadata>
      <InputClaims>
        <InputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="objectId" Required="true" />
      </InputClaims>
      <OutputClaims>
        <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="objectId" />
        <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="refreshTokensValidFromDateTime" />
      </OutputClaims>
      <OutputClaimsTransformations>
        <OutputClaimsTransformation ReferenceId="AssertRefreshTokenIssuedLaterThanValidFromDate" />
        <OutputClaimsTransformation ReferenceId="CreateSubjectClaimFromObjectID" />
      </OutputClaimsTransformations>
      <IncludeTechnicalProfile ReferenceId="AAD-Common" />
    </TechnicalProfile>
  </TechnicalProfiles>
</ClaimsProvider>

<ClaimsProvider>
  <DisplayName>Session Management</DisplayName>
  <TechnicalProfiles>
    <TechnicalProfile Id="SM-RefreshTokenReadAndSetup">
      <DisplayName>Trustframework Policy Engine Refresh Token Setup Technical Profile</DisplayName>
      <Protocol Name="None" />
      <OutputClaims>
        <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="objectId" />
        <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="refreshTokenIssuedOnDateTime" />
      </OutputClaims>
    </TechnicalProfile>
  </TechnicalProfiles>
</ClaimsProvider>

<ClaimsProvider>
  <DisplayName>Token Issuer</DisplayName>
  <TechnicalProfiles>
    <TechnicalProfile Id="JwtIssuer">
      <Metadata>
        <!-- Point to the redeem refresh token user journey-->
        <Item Key="RefreshTokenUserJourneyId">ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials-RedeemRefreshToken</Item>
      </Metadata>
    </TechnicalProfile>
  </TechnicalProfiles>
</ClaimsProvider>

  6. Add a UserJourneys element and its child elements to the TrustFrameworkPolicy element:

    <UserJourney Id="ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials">
  <PreserveOriginalAssertion>false</PreserveOriginalAssertion>
  <OrchestrationSteps>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="1" Type="ClaimsExchange">
      <ClaimsExchanges>
        <ClaimsExchange Id="ResourceOwnerFlow" TechnicalProfileReferenceId="ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials-OAUTH2" />
      </ClaimsExchanges>
    </OrchestrationStep>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="2" Type="ClaimsExchange">
      <ClaimsExchanges>
        <ClaimsExchange Id="AADUserReadWithObjectId" TechnicalProfileReferenceId="AAD-UserReadUsingObjectId" />
      </ClaimsExchanges>
    </OrchestrationStep>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="3" Type="SendClaims" CpimIssuerTechnicalProfileReferenceId="JwtIssuer" />
  </OrchestrationSteps>
</UserJourney>
<UserJourney Id="ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials-RedeemRefreshToken">
  <PreserveOriginalAssertion>false</PreserveOriginalAssertion>
  <OrchestrationSteps>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="1" Type="ClaimsExchange">
      <ClaimsExchanges>
        <ClaimsExchange Id="RefreshTokenSetupExchange" TechnicalProfileReferenceId="SM-RefreshTokenReadAndSetup" />
      </ClaimsExchanges>
    </OrchestrationStep>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="2" Type="ClaimsExchange">
      <ClaimsExchanges>
        <ClaimsExchange Id="CheckRefreshTokenDateFromAadExchange" TechnicalProfileReferenceId="AAD-UserReadUsingObjectId-CheckRefreshTokenDate" />
      </ClaimsExchanges>
    </OrchestrationStep>
    <OrchestrationStep Order="3" Type="SendClaims" CpimIssuerTechnicalProfileReferenceId="JwtIssuer" />
  </OrchestrationSteps>
</UserJourney>

  7. On the Custom Policies page in your Azure AD B2C tenant, select Upload Policy.

  8. Enable Overwrite the policy if it exists, and then browse to and select the TrustFrameworkExtensions.xml file.

  9. Select Upload.

Create a relying party file

Next, update the relying party file that initiates the user journey that you created:

  1. Make a copy of SignUpOrSignin.xml file in your working directory and rename it to ROPC_Auth.xml.

  2. Open the new file and change the value of the PolicyId attribute for TrustFrameworkPolicy to a unique value. The policy ID is the name of your policy. For example, B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth.

  3. Change the value of the ReferenceId attribute in DefaultUserJourney to ResourceOwnerPasswordCredentials.

  4. Change the OutputClaims element to only contain the following claims:

    <OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="sub" />
<OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="objectId" />
<OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="displayName" DefaultValue="" />
<OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="givenName" DefaultValue="" />
<OutputClaim ClaimTypeReferenceId="surname" DefaultValue="" />

  5. On the Custom Policies page in your Azure AD B2C tenant, select Upload Policy.

  6. Enable Overwrite the policy if it exists, and then browse to and select the ROPC_Auth.xml file.

  7. Select Upload.

Test the ROPC flow

Use your favorite API development application to generate an API call, and review the response to debug your policy. Construct a call like this example with the following information as the body of the POST request:

https://<tenant-name>.b2clogin.com/<tenant-name>.onmicrosoft.com/B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth/oauth2/v2.0/token

  • Replace <tenant-name> with the name of your Azure AD B2C tenant.
  • Replace B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth with the full name of your resource owner password credentials policy.
Key Value
username user-account
password password1
grant_type password
scope openid application-id offline_access
client_id application-id
response_type token id_token
  • Replace user-account with the name of a user account in your tenant.
  • Replace password1 with the password of the user account.
  • Replace application-id with the Application ID from the ROPC_Auth_app registration.
  • Offline_access is optional if you want to receive a refresh token.

The actual POST request looks like the following example:

POST /<tenant-name>.onmicrosoft.com/B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth/oauth2/v2.0/token HTTP/1.1
Host: <tenant-name>.b2clogin.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

username=contosouser.outlook.com.ws&password=Passxword1&grant_type=password&scope=openid+00001111-aaaa-2222-bbbb-3333cccc4444+offline_access&client_id=00001111-aaaa-2222-bbbb-3333cccc4444&response_type=token+id_token

A successful response with offline-access looks like the following example:

{
    "access_token": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6Ik9YQjNhdTNScWhUQWN6R0RWZDM5djNpTmlyTWhqN2wxMjIySnh6TmgwRlki...",
    "token_type": "Bearer",
    "expires_in": "3600",
    "refresh_token": "eyJraWQiOiJacW9pQlp2TW5pYVc2MUY0TnlfR3REVk1EVFBLbUJLb0FUcWQ1ZWFja1hBIiwidmVyIjoiMS4wIiwiemlwIjoiRGVmbGF0ZSIsInNlciI6Ij...",
    "id_token": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6Ik9YQjNhdTNScWhUQWN6R0RWZDM5djNpTmlyTWhqN2wxMjIySnh6TmgwRlki..."
}

Redeem a refresh token

Construct a POST call like the one shown here. Use the information in the following table as the body of the request:

https://<tenant-name>.b2clogin.com/<tenant-name>.onmicrosoft.com/B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth/oauth2/v2.0/token

  • Replace <tenant-name> with the name of your Azure AD B2C tenant.
  • Replace B2C_1A_ROPC_Auth with the full name of your resource owner password credentials policy.
Key Value
grant_type refresh_token
response_type id_token
client_id application-id
resource application-id
refresh_token refresh-token
  • Replace application-id with the Application ID from the ROPC_Auth_app registration.
  • Replace refresh-token with the refresh_token that was sent back in the previous response.

A successful response looks like the following example:

{
    "access_token": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6Ilg1ZVhrNHh5b2pORnVtMWtsMll0djhkbE5QNC1jNTdkTzZRR1RWQndhT...",
    "id_token": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6Ilg1ZVhrNHh5b2pORnVtMWtsMll0djhkbE5QNC1jNTdkTzZRR1RWQn...",
    "token_type": "Bearer",
    "not_before": 1533672990,
    "expires_in": 3600,
    "expires_on": 1533676590,
    "resource": "bef2222d56-552f-4a5b-b90a-1988a7d634c3",
    "id_token_expires_in": 3600,
    "profile_info": "eyJ2ZXIiOiIxLjAiLCJ0aWQiOiI1MTZmYzA2NS1mZjM2LTRiOTMtYWE1YS1kNmVlZGE3Y2JhYzgiLCJzdWIiOm51bGwsIm5hbWUiOiJEYXZpZE11IiwicHJlZmVycmVkX3VzZXJuYW1lIjpudWxsLCJpZHAiOiJMb2NhbEFjY291bnQifQ",
    "refresh_token": "eyJraWQiOiJjcGltY29yZV8wOTI1MjAxNSIsInZlciI6IjEuMCIsInppcCI6IkRlZmxhdGUiLCJzZXIiOiIxLjAi...",
    "refresh_token_expires_in": 1209600
}

Troubleshooting

The provided application isn't configured to allow the 'OAuth' Implicit flow

  • Symptom - You run the ROPC flow, and get the following message: AADB2C90057: The provided application isn't configured to allow the 'OAuth' Implicit flow.
  • Possible causes - The implicit flow isn't allowed for your application.
  • Resolution: When creating your app registration in Azure AD B2C, you need to manually edit the application manifest and set the value of the oauth2AllowImplicitFlow property to true. After you configure the oauth2AllowImplicitFlow property, it can take a few minutes (typically no more than five) for the change to take effect.

Use a native SDK or App-Auth

Azure AD B2C meets OAuth 2.0 standards for public client resource owner password credentials and should be compatible with most client SDKs. For the latest information, see Native App SDK for OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect implementing modern best practices.