docs: Reject service account tokens as OAuth authentication pattern
Service account tokens (client_credentials grant) violate OAuth "act on-behalf-of" principles and have been moved to ADR-002's "Will Not Implement" section. ## Problem Discovery Testing revealed that service account tokens create Nextcloud user accounts (e.g., `service-account-nextcloud-mcp-server`) due to user_oidc's bearer provisioning feature. This violates core OAuth principles: - ❌ Creates stateful server identity in Nextcloud - ❌ All actions attributed to service account, not real user - ❌ Breaks audit trail and user attribution - ❌ Service account becomes "admin by another name" ## Changes ### Documentation (ADR-002) - Moved service account (old Tier 1) to "Will Not Implement" section - Added "OAuth Act On-Behalf-Of Principle" section - Renumbered tiers: - Tier 1: Impersonation (NOT IMPLEMENTED) - Tier 2: Delegation via token exchange (IMPLEMENTED) - Updated status to reflect rejection of service accounts ### Code Warnings - Added comprehensive warning to KeycloakOAuthClient.get_service_account_token() - Clarified VALID use: only as subject_token for RFC 8693 token exchange - Clarified INVALID use: direct API access with service account token ### Supporting Documentation - CLAUDE.md: Removed outdated "Tier 1" references, added rejection note - oauth-impersonation-findings.md: Added prominent update banner - audience-validation-setup.md: Updated tier numbers, added rejection note - tests/manual/test_token_exchange.py: Added warning comment ## Valid Patterns (ADR-002) ✅ Foreground operations: User's access token from MCP request ✅ Background operations: Token exchange (impersonation/delegation) ✅ Offline access: Refresh tokens with user consent ❌ Service accounts: Creates independent server identity (REJECTED) ## Alternative If service account pattern is truly needed, use BasicAuth mode instead of OAuth mode. OAuth mode MUST maintain "act on-behalf-of" semantics. Related: c12df98 (revert of service account test) 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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@@ -389,9 +389,11 @@ Security: Refresh tokens stored encrypted, rotated on use
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## Authentication Strategies for Background Jobs
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### Current Approach: Offline Access with Refresh Tokens (Tier 1)
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> **Note on Service Account Tokens**: Service account tokens (`client_credentials` grant) were evaluated but **rejected** as they create Nextcloud user accounts (e.g., `service-account-{client_id}`) which violates OAuth "act on-behalf-of" principles. See ADR-002 "Will Not Implement" section for details.
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The MCP server currently uses **offline_access** scope to enable background operations:
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### Current Approach: Offline Access with Refresh Tokens
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The MCP server uses **offline_access** scope to enable background operations:
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**How it works:**
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1. User grants `offline_access` scope during OAuth consent
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@@ -412,7 +414,7 @@ The MCP server currently uses **offline_access** scope to enable background oper
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- ⚠️ Weak audit trail - API requests appear to come from user directly
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- ⚠️ No visibility that MCP Server is the actual actor
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### Future Enhancement: Token Exchange with Delegation (Tier 2)
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### Token Exchange with Delegation (ADR-002 Tier 2 - Implemented)
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**RFC 8693 Delegation** would provide better audit trail and security:
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