Solving the Mysterious “interaction_required” Error from Azure AD: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of seeing the pesky “interaction_required” error message from Azure Active Directory (AD) whenever you try to authenticate with your application. Worry not, friend! This comprehensive guide will walk you through the most common causes of this error and provide you with actionable solutions to get you back on track.

What is the “interaction_required” Error?

The “interaction_required” error is an HTTP response code 400 error that occurs when Azure AD detects that the user needs to perform additional actions to complete the authentication process. This can happen due to various reasons, which we’ll dive into shortly.

Cause 1: Conditional Access Policy

Azure AD Conditional Access (CA) is a powerful feature that allows you to set policies to control access to your applications based on user and device attributes. However, if your CA policy is too restrictive, it might trigger the “interaction_required” error.

To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com/) with your admin credentials.

2. Navigate to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.

3. Identify the policy that’s causing the issue and click on it.

4. Review the policy settings and adjust them to allow access to your application.

5. Save the changes and try authenticating again.

Cause 2: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Azure AD MFA adds an extra layer of security to your authentication process. If MFA is enabled for your application, but the user hasn’t completed the MFA setup, you’ll see the “interaction_required” error.

To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com/) with your admin credentials.

2. Navigate to Azure Active Directory > Users > All users.

3. Find the user who’s experiencing the issue and click on their profile.

4. Scroll down to the Authentication methods section.

5. Check if MFA is enabled for the user. If it is, make sure they’ve completed the MFA setup.

6. If the user hasn’t completed the MFA setup, have them follow the prompts to complete it.

7. Try authenticating again once the MFA setup is complete.

Cause 3: User Session Expired

If the user’s session has expired, Azure AD will require them to re-authenticate, resulting in the “interaction_required” error.

To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Have the user sign out of your application.

2. Clear the user’s browser cache and cookies.

3. Have the user sign back in to your application.

Cause 4: Application Configuration Issues

Incorrect application configuration can also lead to the “interaction_required” error.

To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Review your application’s Azure AD configuration:

   
   {
     "clientId": "your_client_id",
     "authority": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/your_tenant_id",
     "redirectUri": "https://your-application.com/callback"
   }
   
   

   Make sure the clientId, authority, and redirectUri values are correct.

2. Verify that your application is registered in Azure AD:

   • Navigate to Azure Active Directory > App registrations.

   • Find your application and click on it.

   • Check that the Supported account types and Platform configurations are correct.

3. Try authenticating again with the corrected configuration.

Advanced Troubleshooting

If none of the above solutions work, it’s time to dive deeper into the Azure AD authentication flow.

Fiddler or Browser DevTools

Use Fiddler or your browser’s DevTools to capture the authentication request and response. This will help you identify the specific error code and message.

Here’s an example of how to use Fiddler:

1. Download and install Fiddler (https://www.telerik.com/download/fiddler).

2. Launch Fiddler and start a new session.

3. Reproduce the authentication error in your application.

4. In Fiddler, find the authentication request and response.

5. Check the response code and error message.

Azure AD Token Acquisition

If you’re using the Azure AD client library, you can enable token acquisition logging to get more detailed error messages.

Here’s an example in C#:

using Microsoft.Identity.Client;

var app = ConfidentialClientApplicationBuilder.Create(clientId)
    .WithAuthority(authority)
    .WithRedirectUri(redirectUri)
    .Build();

app.ClientApplication.Logged += (sender, args) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"LOG: {args.Message}");
};

This will log the token acquisition process, including any errors that occur.

Conclusion

The “interaction_required” error from Azure AD can be frustrating, but with these step-by-step solutions and advanced troubleshooting techniques, you should be able to identify and resolve the underlying issue.

Remember to explore the Azure AD documentation and Microsoft Graph API references for more information on conditional access, MFA, and application configuration.

Happy debugging!

Cause	Solution
Conditional Access Policy	Review and adjust CA policy settings
MFA	Ensure user has completed MFA setup
User Session Expired	Sign out, clear cache, and sign back in
Application Configuration Issues	Review and correct application configuration

Frequently Asked Questions

Stuck with the “interaction_required” error from Azure AD? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some frequently asked questions to help you troubleshoot and resolve this issue.