AADSTS70011 - Invalid Scope

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What Does Invalid Scope Mean?

AADSTS70011 is a semantic mismatch. Under OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, a single access token is generally issued for a single resource or audience. If the application requests User.Read for Microsoft Graph and api://my-custom-api/access for a custom API in the same token request, Entra ID returns AADSTS70011. It also appears when the wrong scope type is used for the selected flow, such as requesting a delegated scope in a daemon-style client-credentials flow.

Common Causes

• -Multi-Resource Scope Mix: Combining Microsoft Graph scopes with custom API scopes in one request string.
• -Spelling Errors: Typographical mistakes such as Directory.Read.Alll or invalid permission names.
• -Malformed `/.default` Usage: Static scope requests are formatted incorrectly, for example by omitting the resource prefix or misusing /.default in the wrong flow.
• -Flow And Scope Mismatch: Delegated permissions are requested during a client-credentials flow, or application-style /.default is used where a delegated user scope is expected.
• -Invalid Separators: Scopes are separated with commas or semicolons instead of spaces in the raw request.

How to Fix Invalid Scope

1. 1Split The Requests: If you need tokens for Microsoft Graph and a custom API, make two separate token requests.
2. 2Check The Resource Prefix: Ensure custom scopes are fully qualified, for example api://{client-id}/scope_name.
3. 3Use `/.default` For Daemons: If the app is a background service using client credentials, request https://graph.microsoft.com/.default instead of delegated scope names.
4. 4Validate In The Portal: In App Registration > Expose an API, copy the scope URI exactly as configured rather than rebuilding it manually.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Invalid Scope

1. 1Inspect the network trace or debugger and look directly at the scope parameter in the authorize or token request.
2. 2Count the resources referenced in the scope list. If more than one base resource or App ID URI appears, that is usually the root cause.
3. 3Verify the OAuth flow type and match the scope style to that flow: delegated for interactive user flows, /.default for client credentials.
4. 4Check for invisible characters, bad URL encoding, or incorrect separators in the scope string.

// Incorrect: mixing Microsoft Graph and custom API scopes
const request = { scopes: ["User.Read", "api://my-backend/access"] };

// Correct: get a Graph token first
const graphResponse = await msalInstance.acquireTokenSilent({ scopes: ["User.Read"] });

// Then request a token for your API separately
const apiResponse = await msalInstance.acquireTokenSilent({ scopes: ["api://my-backend/access"] });

# Use /.default to request all pre-configured application permissions
curl -X POST "https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/oauth2/v2.0/token" \
     -d "client_id={id}" \
     -d "scope=https://graph.microsoft.com/.default" \
     -d "grant_type=client_credentials" \
     -d "client_secret={secret}"

Seen in Production

Debugging Tools

• -Fiddler or Network Trace: Best way to inspect the raw scope string sent in the request body or query.
• -Entra ID Portal Expose an API View: Useful for verifying the exact URI of custom scopes.
• -Jwt.ms: Helpful for checking whether a returned token, when successful, matches the audience and scopes you expected.

How to Verify the Fix

• -Confirm the application now makes distinct token requests for each unique resource.
• -Verify the token response contains the expected scp or roles claims for the corrected request.
• -Ensure the aud claim in the resulting JWT matches the intended resource.

How to Prevent Recurrence

• -Centralize Scope Constants: Keep Graph scopes and custom API scopes in separate configuration arrays.
• -Use SDK Best Practices: Let MSAL manage formatting, but never pass a mixed-resource scope array into a single request.
• -Add CI Validation: Include tests that validate scope structure and flow compatibility before deployment.
• -Pro tip: If AADSTS70011 appears right after migrating from ADAL to MSAL, inspect how old resource parameters were converted into scope strings. This is a very common migration pitfall.

Related Errors

Official References

• -Scopes and Permissions in Entra ID
• -The `/.default` Scope Explained
• -Microsoft Identity Platform Error Codes - AADSTS70011
• -Azure Official Documentation