Critical API Errors: 401s With Valid Agent Token

Oct 24, 2025 by SLV Team 49 views

Hey guys! We've got a serious situation on our hands. A whopping 87% of our API endpoints are throwing 401 errors, even when a valid agent token is used. This is a major problem, and we need to dive deep to figure out what's going on. Let's break it down in a way that's easy to understand and super helpful for anyone facing similar issues.

This article discusses a critical issue where a significant portion of API endpoints return 401 errors despite the use of a valid agent token. This can severely impact the functionality of applications and prevent agents from managing themselves via the API. This analysis covers the scope of the problem, the root causes, and offers actionable recommendations to resolve this situation.

Summary: 95.5% of Endpoints Failing!

Okay, so here's the gist of it: We did some serious testing on 154 AIM backend endpoints, and guess what? A shocking 147 of them (that's 95.5%!) failed when we used a valid agent API token. Most of these failures (134 endpoints) spat out the dreaded 401 "Invalid or expired token" error. Only a measly 7 endpoints worked correctly. This is like trying to drive a car with 3 flat tires – it's just not gonna work!

Key Details:

Test Date: October 24, 2025
Agent Tested: motivation (b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1)
API Token: aim_live_GCJf95xzfsP22Av4ngvF8B9GO4B36nTB9xd1t3lSw30= (Active & Verified, BTW)
User: osiatta@gmail.com

📊 Test Results: The Cold, Hard Numbers

Let's look at the stats to really drive home the severity of this issue. Numbers don't lie, guys!

Overall Statistics:

Total Endpoints Tested: 154
Successful: 7 (4.5%)
Failed: 147 (95.5%) - Ouch!
Average Response Time: 0.063s (So, at least the failures are fast? Silver linings, right? 😉)

Status Code Distribution:

Here's a breakdown of the error codes we encountered:

Code	Count	Percentage	Description
401	134	87.0%	"Invalid or expired token"
400	13	8.4%	Validation errors
200	6	3.9%	Success
201	1	0.6%	Created

As you can see, the 401 error is the king of the hill here, making up a massive 87% of the responses. That's a huge red flag 🚩!

🚨 Critical Issues: The Big Problems

Okay, now let's get into the nitty-gritty of the specific issues we uncovered. These are the things that are really causing headaches. We'll break down three major issues:

Issue 1: Inconsistent Authentication Within SDK-API Routes

Problem:

This is a weird one. The agent token works perfectly fine for some /api/v1/sdk-api/* endpoints, but then it throws a tantrum and fails for others within the same route group. It's like the API has a split personality!

Evidence:

Check this out:

✅ GET  /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{agent_id}                    [200] - Works
✅ POST /api/v1/sdk-api/verifications                        [201] - Works
❌ GET  /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{agent_id}/capabilities       [401] - "Invalid or expired token"
❌ GET  /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{agent_id}/capability-requests [401] - "Invalid or expired token"
❌ GET  /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{agent_id}/mcp-servers        [401] - "Invalid or expired token"

Expected vs. Actual:

We expected all /api/v1/sdk-api/* routes to be cool with the agent API tokens. But actually, only 2 out of 8 SDK-API endpoints are playing nice with the token. That's a 25% success rate (2/8). Not exactly stellar, huh?

Issue 2: Complete Failure of Agent Self-Management

Problem:

This one's a real showstopper. Agents are completely locked out from managing themselves via the API. Every single one of the 30 agent management endpoints returns a 401 error. Seriously?

Failed Endpoints (0/30 success):

Here's just a taste of the endpoints that are failing:

❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}                            [401]
❌ PUT  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}                            [401]
❌ POST /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/rotate-credentials         [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/audit-logs                 [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/trust-score                [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/trust-score/history        [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/capabilities               [401]
❌ POST /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/capabilities               [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/tags                       [401]
❌ POST /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/tags                       [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/agents/{agent_id}/mcp-servers                [401]
... (19 more endpoints all returning 401)

Impact:

This means agents are stuck using the frontend dashboard for everything management-related. The SDK? Totally useless for automation in this area. 🙁

Issue 3: Zero Access to Analytics, Compliance, and Monitoring

Problem:

This is another big one. All the analytics, compliance, security, and monitoring endpoints are completely blocked. We're talking zero access here.

Example failures:

❌ GET  /api/v1/analytics/dashboard                          [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/analytics/agents/activity                    [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/compliance/status                            [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/security/threats                             [401]
❌ GET  /api/v1/verification-events                          [401]

✅ What Currently Works: The Few Bright Spots

Okay, it's not all doom and gloom. There are a few endpoints that are still working. Let's give them a shoutout!

Only 7 endpoints are currently functional:

1. Health & Status (3/3) - The Basics

✅ GET  /health                                              [200] 0.15s
✅ GET  /health/ready                                        [200] 0.04s
✅ GET  /api/v1/status                                       [200] 0.04s

Why: These are public endpoints, so no authentication is needed. They're basically saying, "Hey, the lights are on!"💡

2. SDK-API: Agent Info (1/8) - A Glimmer of Hope

✅ GET  /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{agent_id}                    [200] 0.05s

Response:

{
  "agent": {
    "id": "b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1",
    "name": "motivation",
    "status": "verified",
    "trust_score": 0.91,
    "capabilities": ["read_files", "api_calls"]
  }
}

This one lets us get basic agent info, which is something, at least! 🤷

3. SDK-API: Create Verification (1/8) - Another Win

✅ POST /api/v1/sdk-api/verifications                        [201] 0.07s

Response:

{
  "id": "4655b832-42be-43be-8a67-d9c7d7c70a26",
  "status": "approved",
  "approved_by": "system",
  "trust_score": 0.728
}

We can create verifications, which is cool. ✅

4. Public: Forgot Password (1/8) - For the Forgetful

✅ POST /api/v1/public/forgot-password                       [200] 1.97s

5. Auth: Logout (1/6) - Goodbye!

✅ POST /api/v1/auth/logout                                  [200] 0.04s

🔍 Root Cause Analysis: Let's Play Detective 🕵️‍♀️

Okay, so we know there's a problem. But why is this happening? Let's put on our detective hats and explore some potential root causes.

Hypothesis 1: Token Type Confusion - The Case of the Misidentified Token

It seems like the system is juggling two different types of tokens: 🤹

Agent API Tokens (format: aim_live_...)
- These are meant for SDK operations.
- They work for things like getting agent info and creating verifications.
- But they seem to have a limited scope, and this isn't clearly documented.
User Session Tokens (format: a mystery! 🕵️)
- These are likely used for dashboard and management operations.
- Most endpoints seem to require these.
- But there's no documented way to get these programmatically. 🤦

Evidence:

The same token works for /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id} but fails for /api/v1/agents/{id}. That's suspicious!
It works for creating verifications but not for viewing verification events. 🤔
/api/v1/auth/me returns a 401 with the agent token. 🚫

Hypothesis 2: Inconsistent Auth Middleware - The Authentication Gatekeeper is Confused

It looks like different route groups might have different authentication rules. It's like some doors require a key, others a password, and some are just unlocked for certain people. 🔑

✅ /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id}              - Agent token accepted
❌ /api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id}/capabilities - Same token rejected
❌ /api/v1/agents/{id}                      - Same token rejected
❌ /api/v1/auth/me                          - Same token rejected

Expected vs. Actual:

We expected consistent authentication across related routes. But actually, the auth requirements seem to change even within the same route group (like /api/v1/sdk-api/*). 🤯

Hypothesis 3: Missing Token Scopes - The Token Needs More Permissions

Maybe agent tokens have restricted scopes that aren't documented. It's like having a key that only unlocks certain rooms in a building. 🏢

Working (inferred scopes):

agent:read - To read basic agent info
verification:create - To create verification requests

Not Working (needed scopes?):

agent:capabilities:read
agent:audit-logs:read
agent:mcp-servers:read
analytics:read
webhooks:manage
All admin operations

📝 Steps to Reproduce: Try This at Home (But Hopefully Not in Production!) 🧪

Want to see this in action yourself? Here's how to reproduce the issue:

Setup

Create an agent via the AIM dashboard. 💻
Generate an API token for the agent. 🔑
Verify the agent's status is "VERIFIED". ✅
Confirm the token is "ACTIVE" in the dashboard. 💪

Test Script

Here's a Python script you can use to test the endpoints:

import requests

BASE_URL = "https://aim-prod-backend.graypebble-c7e67ab8.canadacentral.azurecontainerapps.io"  # Replace with your actual base URL
API_TOKEN = "aim_live_GCJf95xzfsP22Av4ngvF8B9GO4B36nTB9xd1t3lSw30="  # Replace with your actual token
AGENT_ID = "b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1"  # Replace with your actual agent ID

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_TOKEN}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

# This works ✅
response1 = requests.get(
    f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{AGENT_ID}",
    headers=headers
)
print(f"Agent Info: {response1.status_code}")  # Returns 200

# This fails ❌ with same token
response2 = requests.get(
    f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{AGENT_ID}/capabilities",
    headers=headers
)
print(f"Agent Capabilities: {response2.status_code}")  # Returns 401
print(f"Error: {response2.json()}")  # {"error": "Invalid or expired token"}

# This also fails ❌
response3 = requests.get(
    f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/agents/{AGENT_ID}",
    headers=headers
)
print(f"Agent Details: {response3.status_code}")  # Returns 401

Expected vs. Actual Behavior

Expected:

All endpoints should either:

Accept the agent API token consistently (within the same route group). ✅
Return a 403 with a clear message: "This endpoint requires a user session token." 🚫
Document which endpoints accept which token types. 📝

Actual:

We're getting inconsistent 401 errors with the ambiguous message: "Invalid or expired token." 😕
There's no way to know if it's a genuinely invalid token or just the wrong token type. 🤷
A massive 87% of endpoints are inaccessible despite having a valid, active token. 😱

💥 Impact Assessment: This is a Big Deal! 🚨

Severity: CRITICAL - We're talking code-red levels here! 🔴

Impact Areas

Let's break down who's getting hurt by this:

1. SDK Functionality Severely Limited

Agents can only perform 2 operations: read basic info and create verifications. 😢
They can't access capabilities, MCP servers, audit logs, or trust score details. 🚫
The SDK is promising functionality that just doesn't work. 🤥

2. No Programmatic Agent Management

All agent management has to be done manually via the dashboard. 😩
Automation is impossible: no credential rotation, tag management, or capability updates. 🤖➡️😭
CI/CD integration and automation workflows are blocked. 🚧

3. Zero Observability via API

No programmatic access to analytics, audit logs, or verification events. 🙈
Building monitoring dashboards or alerting systems is a no-go. 📊➡️❌
Compliance reporting via API? Forget about it. Compliance reporting impossible via API. 📝❌

4. Third-Party Integration Blocked

External systems can't query agent status, trust scores, or activity. 🤝➡️💔
Webhook configuration is manual-only. ⚙️
An API-first architecture? Not achievable in this state. 🏗️➡️🚧

5. Poor Developer Experience

Unclear error messages ("Invalid or expired token" doesn't explain the token type mismatch). 😠
The authentication setup is undocumented. 📚➡️❓
Developers are forced to use trial-and-error to figure out which endpoints work. 😵

Affected Users

This mess is affecting:

All SDK users trying to use programmatic access. 💻
DevOps teams setting up automation. ⚙️
Compliance teams who need audit reports. 📝
Anyone trying to build third-party integrations. 🤝

🎯 Recommendations: Let's Fix This! 🛠️

Okay, enough complaining! Let's talk solutions. Here's a plan of attack to get this sorted out. We'll prioritize these recommendations to tackle the biggest issues first.

🔴 Critical Priority - Must-Do ASAP!

1. Fix Inconsistent Authentication in SDK-API Routes

Action: All /api/v1/sdk-api/* endpoints should consistently accept agent API tokens. 🎯

Specific fixes needed:

/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id}/capabilities - Should work with agent token. ✅
/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id}/capability-requests - Should work with agent token. ✅
/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/{id}/mcp-servers - Should work with agent token. ✅

Estimated effort: Medium (audit the auth middleware and apply a consistent decorator). 🛠️

2. Document Token Types and Scopes

Action: Create clear, comprehensive documentation explaining: 📝

Agent API tokens vs. user session tokens. 🔑
Which endpoints accept which token types. 📍
How to get user session tokens programmatically. 💻
Available token scopes and permissions. 🛡️

Deliverable: Add this to the OpenAPI spec and developer documentation. 📚

Estimated effort: Small (it's mostly documentation!). ✍️

3. Implement Clear Error Messages

Action: Replace the vague "Invalid or expired token" with specific messages. 🗣️

"This endpoint requires a user session token (agent tokens not accepted)." 🚫
"Agent token lacks the required scope: agent:capabilities:read." 🛡️
"Invalid token format or signature." ✍️

Estimated effort: Small (update the error middleware). ⚙️

🟡 High Priority - Important, But Not Quite Fire-Level

4. Add Agent Token Support for Self-Management

Action: Let agents manage themselves using agent tokens. 💪

/api/v1/agents/{id}/audit-logs - View their own audit logs. 📝
/api/v1/agents/{id}/trust-score - View their own trust score. 💯
/api/v1/agents/{id}/tags - Manage their own tags. 🏷️
/api/v1/verification-events/agent/{id} - View their own verification events. ✅
/api/v1/analytics/agents/activity - View their own activity (with agent_id filter). 📊

Rationale: Agents should be able to see and manage their own stuff without needing user session tokens. 👀

Estimated effort: Medium (implement scoped access control). 🛡️

5. Provide Programmatic User Authentication

Action: Document or create an API flow for getting user session tokens. 🔑

Option A: Add an OAuth2 client credentials flow. 💻
Option B: Document the session token acquisition process. 📚
Option C: Add an API key with user-level scopes. 🔑

Rationale: Automation and integration need programmatic access to user-level endpoints. 🤖

Estimated effort: Large (new auth flow) or Small (documentation). ⚙️ or ✍️

6. Fix Login Endpoint Inconsistency

Issue: /api/v1/public/login and /api/v1/auth/login/local fail with credentials that work in the frontend. 😩

Action:

Investigate why the frontend credentials don't work in the API. 🕵️
Document if different credential storage is intentional. 📚
Fix the endpoint or update the documentation. 🛠️ or ✍️

Estimated effort: Small-Medium. ⚙️

🟢 Medium Priority - Nice to Have, But Not Urgent

7. Add Token Introspection Endpoint

Action: Create a /api/v1/auth/introspect endpoint to check: 🔍

Token type (agent vs. user). 🔑
Token scopes. 🛡️
Token expiration. ⏱️
Associated agent/user ID. 👤

Rationale: This helps developers debug authentication issues. 🐛

Estimated effort: Small. ⚙️

8. Implement Token Scope System

Action: Define and implement a scope-based access control system. 🛡️

Document available scopes (e.g., agent:read, agent:write, analytics:read). 📚
Allow generating tokens with specific scopes in the dashboard. ⚙️
Enforce scopes consistently across all endpoints. 💪

Estimated effort: Large (this is an architectural change). 🏗️

📎 Attached Evidence: The Proof is in the Pudding! 🍮

Test Files

test_136_endpoints.py - The comprehensive test script for all 154 endpoints. 🧪
endpoint_test_results_20251024_041852.json - Raw JSON results with all the response data. 📊
COMPREHENSIVE_ENDPOINT_TEST_ANALYSIS.md - A detailed analysis report. 📝

Key Data Points

Agent ID: b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1
Agent Status: VERIFIED ✓
Agent Trust Score: 0.91 (Excellent) 💯
API Token Status: ACTIVE ✓
Test Date: October 24, 2025 📅
Total Endpoints Tested: 154 🔢
Failure Rate: 95.5% 💔

Example Working Request

curl -X GET \
  https://aim-prod-backend.graypebble-c7e67ab8.canadacentral.azurecontainerapps.io/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer aim_live_GCJf95xzfsP22Av4ngvF8B9GO4B36nTB9xd1t3lSw30=" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"
# Returns: 200 OK ✅

Example Failing Request (Same Token!)

curl -X GET \
  https://aim-prod-backend.graypebble-c7e67ab8.canadacentral.azurecontainerapps.io/api/v1/sdk-api/agents/b339b5da-f52c-4ea6-91ac-5f6cd5674bc1/capabilities \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer aim_live_GCJf95xzfsP22Av4ngvF8B9GO4B36nTB9xd1t3lSw30=" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"
# Returns: 401 {"error": "Invalid or expired token"} ❌

🏷️ Suggested Labels: Let's Get Organized! 🗂️

priority: critical 🔴
type: bug 🐛
area: authentication 🔑
area: api 🌐
affects: sdk 💻
affects: all-users 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
documentation-needed 📚

📚 Related Issues: We're Not Alone! 👯

SDK Issue: 64-byte private key parsing bug (FIXED!) ✅
SDK Issue: API token rejection during SDK initialization (CONFIRMED as this issue) 🤝
Frontend Issue: Login credentials don't work with /api/v1/public/login endpoint 💻

👥 Impacted Teams: Who Needs to Know? 🗣️

SDK Users - Can't use the SDK for programmatic access. 😢
DevOps - Can't automate agent management. ⚙️
Compliance - Can't generate audit reports via API. 📝
Integrations - Can't build third-party integrations. 🤝
Support - Will get more tickets about authentication failures. 📞

✅ Acceptance Criteria: How Do We Know When We've Won? 🎉

This issue is considered fixed when:

Consistency: All /api/v1/sdk-api/* endpoints accept agent API tokens. ✅
Documentation: Clear docs explain token types and which endpoints accept which. 📚
Self-Management: Agents can view their own audit logs, trust score, and verification events with agent tokens. 💪
Error Messages: 401 errors clearly indicate if it's an invalid token or the wrong token type. 🗣️
Success Rate: At least 60% of endpoints are accessible via agent tokens OR there's clear documentation on which require user tokens. 💯
Programmatic Access: There's a documented method for getting user session tokens programmatically. 💻

📞 Contact: Who to Call? 📞

Reported by: osiatta@gmail.com
Test Environment: Production (aim-prod-backend)
Date: October 24, 2025 📅
Reproducible: Yes (100% reproducible!) ✅

Additional Context: The System's Vitals 🩺

System Status (from `/api/v1/status`)

{
  "status": "operational",
  "environment": "development",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "uptime": 24458.58,
  "features": {
    "email_registration": true,
    "mcp_auto_detection": true,
    "oauth": false,
    "trust_scoring": true
  },
  "services": {
    "database": "healthy",
    "email": "healthy",
    "redis": "not configured"
  }
}

Testing Methodology

Framework: Python 3.9+ with requests and nacl libraries. 🐍
Authentication: Bearer token + Ed25519 signatures (where needed). 🔑
Coverage: All 18 endpoint categories and all HTTP methods. 💯
Timeout: 30 seconds per request. ⏱️
Approach: Sequential testing with real agent credentials. 🧪

In conclusion, this API issue is seriously blocking SDK adoption and the move towards an API-first architecture. It needs immediate attention! 🚨

Summary: 95.5% of Endpoints Failing!

📊 Test Results: The Cold, Hard Numbers

Overall Statistics:

Status Code Distribution:

🚨 Critical Issues: The Big Problems

Issue 1: Inconsistent Authentication Within SDK-API Routes

Problem:

Evidence:

Expected vs. Actual:

Issue 2: Complete Failure of Agent Self-Management

Problem:

Failed Endpoints (0/30 success):

Impact:

Issue 3: Zero Access to Analytics, Compliance, and Monitoring

Problem:

Completely Inaccessible Categories (100% failure):

Example failures:

✅ What Currently Works: The Few Bright Spots

1. Health & Status (3/3) - The Basics

2. SDK-API: Agent Info (1/8) - A Glimmer of Hope

3. SDK-API: Create Verification (1/8) - Another Win

4. Public: Forgot Password (1/8) - For the Forgetful

5. Auth: Logout (1/6) - Goodbye!

🔍 Root Cause Analysis: Let's Play Detective 🕵️‍♀️

Hypothesis 1: Token Type Confusion - The Case of the Misidentified Token

Evidence:

Hypothesis 2: Inconsistent Auth Middleware - The Authentication Gatekeeper is Confused

Expected vs. Actual:

Hypothesis 3: Missing Token Scopes - The Token Needs More Permissions

Working (inferred scopes):

Not Working (needed scopes?):

📝 Steps to Reproduce: Try This at Home (But Hopefully Not in Production!) 🧪

Setup

Test Script

Expected vs. Actual Behavior

Expected:

Actual:

💥 Impact Assessment: This is a Big Deal! 🚨

Severity: CRITICAL - We're talking code-red levels here! 🔴

Impact Areas

Affected Users

🎯 Recommendations: Let's Fix This! 🛠️

🔴 Critical Priority - Must-Do ASAP!

1. Fix Inconsistent Authentication in SDK-API Routes

2. Document Token Types and Scopes

3. Implement Clear Error Messages

🟡 High Priority - Important, But Not Quite Fire-Level

4. Add Agent Token Support for Self-Management

5. Provide Programmatic User Authentication

6. Fix Login Endpoint Inconsistency

🟢 Medium Priority - Nice to Have, But Not Urgent

7. Add Token Introspection Endpoint

8. Implement Token Scope System

📎 Attached Evidence: The Proof is in the Pudding! 🍮

Test Files

Key Data Points

Example Working Request

Example Failing Request (Same Token!)

🏷️ Suggested Labels: Let's Get Organized! 🗂️

📚 Related Issues: We're Not Alone! 👯

👥 Impacted Teams: Who Needs to Know? 🗣️

✅ Acceptance Criteria: How Do We Know When We've Won? 🎉

📞 Contact: Who to Call? 📞

Additional Context: The System's Vitals 🩺

System Status (from /api/v1/status)

Testing Methodology

System Status (from `/api/v1/status`)