We’re experiencing issues syncing competency assessments and skill mappings from Oracle HCM Cloud ohcm-24a talent management module to Salesforce CRM. The integration worked initially but started failing with 403 Forbidden errors three days ago.
Our middleware handles OAuth2 token refresh and we’ve verified Salesforce API permissions are set correctly. The custom object mapping for competency data appears configured properly but we’re concerned about API version compatibility between ohcm-24a and Salesforce API v58.
Error response:
POST /services/data/v58.0/sobjects/Competency__c
HTTP 403 Forbidden
{"errorCode":"INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS","message":"Session expired"}
Competency data is not flowing to Salesforce and our sales team can’t access updated skill profiles. Has anyone integrated HCM competency frameworks with Salesforce recently?
We checked the connected app and the refresh token policy is set to never expire. The integration user profile has full CRUD on the Competency__c object. We’re still getting the 403 error consistently. Could there be an issue with how we’re passing the OAuth2 token in the request headers?
Here’s a comprehensive solution addressing all the critical areas:
OAuth2 Token Refresh:
Your “Session expired” error despite having token refresh logic indicates the refresh token itself is invalid. This happens when:
- The connected app was modified (client secret regenerated)
- The integration user’s password was reset
- IP restrictions were added to the profile
- The refresh token exceeded maximum lifetime
Re-establish OAuth2 authentication:
// OAuth2 token refresh implementation:
POST https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token
grant_type=refresh_token
refresh_token={current_refresh_token}
client_id={connected_app_consumer_key}
client_secret={connected_app_consumer_secret}
If this fails with 400 error, you need to perform a full OAuth2 authorization flow to obtain new tokens. The refresh token has been invalidated.
Salesforce API Permissions:
Verify these specific permission sets for your integration user:
-
Profile Permissions:
- API Enabled
- View All Data (or specific object permissions)
- Modify All Data (or Create/Edit on Competency__c)
-
Object-Level Security:
Navigate to Setup > Object Manager > Competency__c > Permission Sets
Ensure integration user’s permission set includes:
- Read, Create, Edit permissions
- View All Records
- Modify All Records
-
Field-Level Security:
Check each field in your mapping has “Visible” and “Editable” enabled for the integration user profile.
Custom Object Mapping:
Review your field mapping configuration:
// Pseudocode - Competency data mapping validation:
1. Retrieve HCM competency assessment data structure
2. Map each HCM field to Salesforce Competency__c field:
- CompetencyName → Competency__c.Name
- SkillLevel → Competency__c.Skill_Level__c
- AssessmentDate → Competency__c.Assessment_Date__c
3. Validate all target fields exist in Salesforce schema
4. Check field data types match (text, number, date)
5. Handle null values and required field validation
// Reference: Salesforce Object Reference Guide
Common mapping issues:
- Required fields in Salesforce not populated from HCM data
- Data type mismatches (sending text to number field)
- Picklist values that don’t exist in Salesforce
- Lookup relationships not properly resolved
API Version Compatibility:
Salesforce API v58 (Spring '23) is compatible with ohcm-24a, but verify these specifics:
-
API Endpoint: Ensure you’re using the correct instance URL. If Salesforce migrated your org to a different instance, the URL changes:
-
API Version Deprecation: Check Salesforce release notes for v58. Some authentication methods were deprecated:
- Username-Password OAuth flow is deprecated (use JWT or Web Server flow)
- Session ID authentication is restricted
-
Update Middleware Configuration:
Point to the correct API version and instance:
salesforce.api.endpoint=https://{instance}.salesforce.com/services/data/v58.0
salesforce.oauth.endpoint=https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token
Diagnostic Steps:
-
Test OAuth2 Flow Independently:
Use Postman or curl to authenticate and retrieve a token outside your middleware:
curl -X POST https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token \
-d "grant_type=password" \
-d "client_id={consumer_key}" \
-d "client_secret={consumer_secret}" \
-d "username={integration_user}" \
-d "password={password}{security_token}"
If this succeeds, the issue is in your middleware token management.
-
Verify Connected App Configuration:
- Setup > App Manager > find your connected app
- Click “Manage”
- Check “Permitted Users” is set to “All users may self-authorize”
- Verify OAuth scopes include: api, refresh_token, offline_access
- Check IP Relaxation is set appropriately
-
Review Salesforce Login History:
Setup > Identity > Login History
Look for failed login attempts from your integration user around May 5th. This will show if authentication is failing vs. authorization.
-
Enable Debug Logging:
Setup > Debug Logs > New > Select integration user
Set all categories to FINEST level
Reproduce the error and review the debug log for detailed permission/authentication failures
Resolution Action Plan:
- Immediate: Re-authenticate to obtain fresh OAuth2 tokens using the full authorization flow (not refresh token flow)
- Verify: Test token by making a simple GET request to Salesforce API (query Competency__c records)
- Validate: Confirm custom object permissions and field-level security for integration user
- Update: Modify middleware to store and use new refresh token
- Monitor: Implement logging to capture token refresh events and failures
- Prevent: Set up alerting when 403 errors occur, indicating authentication issues
The root cause is most likely an invalidated refresh token combined with insufficient permissions on the Competency__c object for your integration user profile. Following the OAuth2 re-authentication process and validating all permission layers should restore the integration.
The “Session expired” message despite having OAuth2 token refresh suggests your refresh token itself might have expired. Salesforce refresh tokens can expire if not used within 90 days or if the connected app configuration changed. Check your connected app settings in Salesforce Setup and verify the refresh token policy.