AADSTS7000215 - Invalid Client Secret Provided
Microsoft Entra ID returns `AADSTS7000215` when an app sends an invalid client secret in token requests.
Last reviewed: February 12, 2026|Editorial standard: source-backed technical guidance
What Does Invalid Client Secret Provided Mean?
Token issuance fails at client authentication, so all downstream API calls depending on that token path are blocked.
Common Causes
- -Application sends secret identifier instead of secret value in token request.
- -Configured client secret is expired, revoked, or belongs to another app registration.
- -Secret was rotated in Entra but deployment environment still uses old value.
- -Secret string is mutated by escaping, encoding, or variable interpolation issues.
How to Fix Invalid Client Secret Provided
- 1Create a new client secret if needed and copy the secret value immediately at creation time.
- 2Update workload configuration with secret value (not key ID) in secure secret store.
- 3Validate tenant/client ID/authority combination points to the intended app registration.
- 4Retest token acquisition directly against Entra token endpoint.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Invalid Client Secret Provided
- 1Capture token endpoint response and confirm `AADSTS7000215` code in error payload.
- 2Verify secret source in runtime (secret manager, env var, pipeline variable) and compare checksum safely.
- 3Inspect app registration credentials for expiration/revocation status.
- 4Replay auth request in isolation using known-good client credentials to isolate environment drift.
Credential Material Integrity
- -Confirm runtime uses secret value, not secret ID (example: pipeline variable stores credential object ID instead of secret text).
- -Check for silent string mutation (example: trailing newline from secret file causes signature mismatch).
Rotation and Registration Alignment
- -Validate active secret set on app registration (example: old secret expired yesterday but workload cache still serves it).
- -Ensure tenant/app pairing is correct (example: client ID from app A with secret from app B triggers invalid secret error).
How to Verify the Fix
- -Request new token and confirm `AADSTS7000215` no longer appears.
- -Validate dependent API calls succeed with newly issued tokens across all environments.
- -Monitor auth failure metrics to confirm secret-related errors drop to baseline.
How to Prevent Recurrence
- -Adopt short-lived credential rotation with automated rollout verification.
- -Enforce secret schema validation in CI/CD to reject secret-ID/secret-value confusion.
- -Use certificate credentials for high-security workloads where feasible.
Pro Tip
- -include a startup self-check that requests a token and emits a non-sensitive auth health signal before serving traffic.
Decision Support
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Playbook
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Official References
Provider Context
This guidance is specific to Azure services. Always validate implementation details against official provider documentation before deploying to production.