Logic App Consumption deployment: The secret of KeyVault parameter cannot be retrieved. Http status code: ‘Forbidden’. Error message: ‘Access denied to first party service

by Sandro Pereira | Mar 25, 2024 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication

Recently, a client asked me for help rectifying some existing logic apps in their environment because their resource had left the company. Not only to rectify the project but to put it in a better shape and use all good best practices.

One of the tasks we decided to do was reference secrets in Key Vault for the deployment process, whether through CI/CD or directly through Visual Studio. We had administrator access to the Key Vault in the dev environment, so we were able to easily create those secrets and reference them in the Logic App parameter file, for example, an Azure Service Bus connection string. For those who are not aware, we can archive that by using the code below:

"arm_servicebus_connectionString": {
      "reference": {
        "keyVault": {
          "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups//providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/"
        },
        "secretName": "KVS-SB-ConnectionString"
      }
    }

The problem was that when we tried to deploy the solution through Visual Studio, we got the following error:

Logic app visual studio deployment Multiple error occurred: Forbidden,Forbidden,Forbidden. Please see details.

Without any more detail. After some analysis, we realized that the number of Forbidden words in the messages matched the number of key vault secrets we were trying to reference. When we commented on them all and only left one, then we got an error message with more detail:

The secret of KeyVault parameter ‘name’ cannot be retrieved. Http status code: ‘Forbidden’.
Error message: ‘Access denied to first party service.
Caller: name=ARM;tid=;appid=…
Vault:;location=’. Please see https://aka.ms/arm-keyvault for usage details.

Initially, I thought that was a Key Vault access permission issue, even though I was a Key Vault administrator. However, sometimes, we also need some RBAC permission. In the end, I ended up giving Administrator, Reader, and Secret User permission access at the key vault, resource group, and subscription level:

Still, I was getting the same error!

Cause

When you are developing a Logic App Consumption, this is, in fact, an ARM template project and an ARM template deployment. So, when we reference a Key Vault secret in the LogicApp.parameters.json file, we are referencing a secure parameter that will be used during the ARM template deployment.

The problem is that to be able to access the key vault by the resource manager, you need to change the access policy to allow Azure Resource Manager for template deployment.

You can see this on the official documentation here:

When you need to pass a secure value (like a password) as a parameter during deployment, you can retrieve the value from an Azure Key Vault. To access the Key Vault when deploying Managed Applications, you must grant access to the Appliance Resource Provider service principal. The Managed Applications service uses this identity to run operations. To successfully retrieve a value from a Key Vault during deployment, the service principal must be able to access the Key Vault.

Solution

To solve this issue is quite very simple:

1. Sign in to the Azure Portal.
2. Open your key vault. Enter key vaults in the search box or select Key vaults.
3. On the Key Vault, select Access configuration under the Settings section

1. Select Azure Resource Manager for template deployment under Resource access. Then, select Apply.

Now, you will be able to successfully reference the Key Vault secure parameter and deploy the Logic App Consumption solution from Visual Studio.

Hope you find this helpful! So, if you liked the content or found it useful and want to help me write more, you can buy (or help me buy) my son a Star Wars Lego! 

Author: Sandro Pereira

Sandro Pereira lives in Portugal and works as a consultant at DevScope. In the past years, he has been working on implementing Integration scenarios both on-premises and cloud for various clients, each with different scenarios from a technical point of view, size, and criticality, using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft BizTalk Server and different technologies like AS2, EDI, RosettaNet, SAP, TIBCO etc.

He is a regular blogger, international speaker, and technical reviewer of several BizTalk books all focused on Integration. He is also the author of the book “BizTalk Mapping Patterns & Best Practices”. He has been awarded MVP since 2011 for his contributions to the integration community.
View all posts by Sandro Pereira