Rest authentication failed t uri= request body= - Common causes and quick fixes

Rest authentication failed t uri= request body= – How to solve this Elasticsearch error

Opster Team

Aug-23, Version: 6.8-6.8

Briefly, this error occurs when Elasticsearch cannot authenticate the REST request due to incorrect or missing credentials. This could be due to a wrong username/password, expired tokens, or incorrect access permissions. To resolve this, ensure that the correct credentials are being used, the tokens are valid, and the user has the necessary permissions to perform the requested operation. If using an API key, ensure it’s valid and not expired. Also, check the Elasticsearch security settings and ensure that the user is authorized to access the requested resource.

This guide will help you check for common problems that cause the log ” {}[rest] [authentication_failed]\t{}; uri=[{}]{}; request_body=[{}] ” to appear. To understand the issues related to this log, read the explanation below about the following Elasticsearch concepts: plugin.

Log Context

Log “{}[rest] [authentication_failed]\t{}; uri=[{}]{}; request_body=[{}]” classname is DeprecatedLoggingAuditTrail.java.
We extracted the following from Elasticsearch source code for those seeking an in-depth context :

    @Override
    public void authenticationFailed(String requestId; RestRequest request) {
        if (events.contains(AUTHENTICATION_FAILED)
                && (eventFilterPolicyRegistry.ignorePredicate().test(AuditEventMetaInfo.EMPTY) == false)) {
            if (includeRequestBody) {
                logger.info("{}[rest] [authentication_failed]\t{}; uri=[{}]{}; request_body=[{}]"; localNodeInfo.prefix;
                        hostAttributes(request); request.uri(); opaqueId(); restRequestContent(request));
            } else {
                logger.info("{}[rest] [authentication_failed]\t{}; uri=[{}]{}"; localNodeInfo.prefix; hostAttributes(request);
                        request.uri(); opaqueId());
            }