Audit reporting export fails with permission denied error when using service principal

ALM Azure DevOps
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1

We’re hitting a consistent 403 Forbidden error when our automated audit report export runs through a service principal. The export works fine when triggered manually by admins with full organization access, but fails immediately when the scheduled job executes.

Our service principal has been granted Organization-level Auditing permissions in Azure DevOps, and the token includes the expected scope. However, when calling the audit endpoint via REST API, we get:


HTTP 403 Forbidden
Error: Insufficient permissions for audit resource access
Resource: vssps://audit/streams/{organizationId}

The token scope validation seems to pass initially, but something in the audit-reporting module rejects the request. We need these exports for compliance requirements, and the manual workaround isn’t sustainable. Has anyone successfully configured service principal access for organization-level audit operations?

2

Check your token acquisition flow too. If you’re using client credentials flow (which you should be for service principals), ensure the token request explicitly includes both the resource identifier and the audit scope. Sometimes the default token doesn’t include audit permissions even when they’re granted. I had to modify our token request to explicitly specify scope=499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798/.default to get it working.

3

One thing to watch for: even with correct scopes, the token validation in audit-reporting module checks for explicit permission grants, not just role membership. Make sure your service principal has the “View audit log” permission directly assigned, not inherited through a group. I’ve seen cases where group-based permissions work for most operations but fail specifically for audit exports. The validation logic is stricter there due to compliance requirements.

4

Thanks for the responses. I verified the service principal is added at organization level with Auditing permission enabled. The token does include vso.auditlog scope. However, I just noticed our app registration in Entra ID might be missing that specific resource identifier. Let me check that configuration.

5

I ran into something similar last month. The Organization-level audit permission alone isn’t enough - you also need to verify the service principal has the correct Azure DevOps REST API resource identifier configured in Entra ID. Check if your app registration includes 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798 as the resource scope. Without this specific identifier, the token won’t be recognized by the audit endpoints even if other permissions look correct.

6

The issue is definitely in your Entra ID service principal configuration. You need to address all four critical areas:

1. Entra ID Service Principal Scope Configuration: Your app registration must explicitly request the Azure DevOps resource with audit scope:


scope: 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798/.default
grant_type: client_credentials
resource: https://app.vssps.visualstudio.com

2. Organization-Level vs Project-Level Permissions: The service principal MUST be added directly to organization settings (not project settings). Navigate to Organization Settings > Users > Add users, select your service principal, and assign the “View audit log” permission explicitly. Project-level permissions are completely separate and won’t work for organization audit streams.

3. Azure DevOps REST API Resource Identifier: In your Entra ID app registration, go to API permissions and add Azure DevOps with the user_impersonation delegated permission. More importantly, ensure the resource identifier 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798 is included in your token request. This is the registered identifier for Azure DevOps services and is required for audit endpoint access.

4. Token Scope Validation in Audit-Reporting Module: The audit-reporting module performs strict validation. Your token must contain:

  • Audience (aud): `499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798
  • Scope: `vso.auditlog
  • Subject (sub): Your service principal’s object ID

Validate your token at jwt.ms to verify these claims are present. The 403 error specifically indicates the token passed authentication but failed authorization, which means the scope validation rejected it.

Additional Configuration: Ensure your service principal has “View audit log” permission directly assigned (not through security group inheritance). The audit module doesn’t honor group-based permissions for compliance reasons. After making these changes, wait 5-10 minutes for permission propagation before testing again.