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- Clarified INVALID use: direct API access with service account token ### Supporting Documentation - CLAUDE.md: Removed outdated "Tier 1" references, added rejection note - oauth-impersonation-findings.md: Added prominent update banner - audience-validation-setup.md: Updated tier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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@@ -342,9 +342,27 @@ class KeycloakOAuthClient:
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"""
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Get a service account token using client_credentials grant.
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This requires the client to have serviceAccountsEnabled=true in Keycloak.
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The service account token can be used for server-initiated operations
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or as the subject_token for token exchange.
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⚠️ **WARNING: DO NOT USE FOR DIRECT API ACCESS IN OAUTH MODE** ⚠️
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This method creates a service account user in Nextcloud which VIOLATES
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OAuth "act on-behalf-of" principles. Using this token directly for API
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access will:
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- Create a Nextcloud user: `service-account-{client_id}`
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- Attribute all actions to service account instead of real user
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- Break audit trail and user attribution
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- Create stateful server identity in Nextcloud
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- Violate OAuth security model
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**Valid Use Case**: ONLY as subject_token for RFC 8693 token exchange
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(ADR-002 Tier 2) where it's immediately exchanged for a user token.
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**Invalid Use Case**: Direct API access with this token (ADR-002 rejected
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this as "Tier 1" - see docs/ADR-002-vector-sync-authentication.md).
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**Alternative**: Use token exchange (impersonation/delegation) for
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background operations, or use BasicAuth mode if truly need service account.
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This requires the client to have serviceAccountsEnabled=true in provider.
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Args:
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scopes: Optional list of scopes to request (default: openid profile email)
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@@ -359,9 +377,9 @@ class KeycloakOAuthClient:
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Raises:
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httpx.HTTPError: If token request fails
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Note:
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This is used for ADR-002 Tier 2 (Token Exchange). The service account
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token is exchanged for user-scoped tokens via RFC 8693.
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See Also:
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- ADR-002 "Will Not Implement" section for detailed critique
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- exchange_token_for_user() for proper token exchange usage
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"""
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if not self.token_endpoint:
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await self.discover()
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