Troubleshooting Common Errors while setting up AWS Auth method for HCP Vault Dedicated – HashiCorp Help Center

Overview

This Knowledge Base (KB) article outlines some of the most common errors encountered when configuring the AWS auth method on HCP Vault Dedicated, along with their causes and recommended solutions to help you troubleshoot and resolve these issues effectively.

Issue

When attempting to authenticate using the AWS Auth Method in Vault, users may encounter several errors that prevent successful authentication. Below highlighted are the most frequently seen error messages and how to address them:

Errors and Solutions:

1. "SignatureDoesNotMatch" Error:

The SignatureDoesNotMatch error occurs when AWS finds that the signature in your request doesn’t match what it expected. This prevents successful authentication.

Check AWS Secret Key: Ensure that your AWS Secret Access Key is correctly configured.
Verify Region Settings: Make sure the sts_region (if specified) matches the AWS region where your IAM roles are deployed. Mismatched regions can result in this signature error.

2. "InvalidClientTokenId" Error:

The InvalidTokenId error arises when AWS receives a request with an invalid or non-existent security token. This typically happens when the temporary security credentials (tokens) used in the request are incorrect, expired, or improperly formatted.

Verify AWS Access Key & Secret Access Key: Verify that both the AWS Access Key and Secret Access key are correct.
Check IAM Role Configuration: While configuring the auth role, make sure the policies andbound_iam_principal_arn accurately reflect your AWS IAM roles and policies.

3. "Unable to resolve ARN":

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This error indicates that the HCP Vault is unable to resolve the IAM role ARN due to a mismatch in the AWS account ID. This happens because the account ID in the provided ARN does not match the default client’s AWS account ID that Vault is using to make the API request.

Ensure Correct AWS Account ID: Verify that the AWS account ID in the ARN matches the AWS account associated with your Vault configuration.
Cross Account Set Up: Make sure to correctly set sts_endpoint and sts_region in case of cross account setup.