# Authentication and Authorization

> The MCP Gateway Registry provides enterprise-ready authentication and authorization using industry-standard OAuth 2.0 flows with fine-grained access control.

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- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-29
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/authentication-and-authorization-2

---

# Authentication and Authorization

The MCP Gateway Registry provides enterprise-ready authentication and authorization using industry-standard OAuth 2.0 flows with fine-grained access control.

## Overview

The authentication system supports three distinct identity scenarios:

1. **Human Users** - Interactive users accessing the Registry UI via browser
2. **Programmatic Access** - Self-signed JWT tokens for CLI tools and AI coding assistants
3. **Workload Identity (M2M)** - Service accounts for AI agents and automated systems

## Related Documentation

### Design Documents

For architectural details and design decisions:

- [Authentication Design](design/authentication-design.md) - Detailed auth flows for human users, programmatic access, and M2M workloads
- [Multi-Provider IdP Support](design/idp-provider-support.md) - Architecture for supporting multiple identity providers (Keycloak, Entra ID)

### Configuration Guides

For setup and configuration:

- [Scopes Management](scopes-mgmt.md) - Scope configuration file format and fine-grained access control
- [Authentication Management](auth-mgmt.md) - Managing users, groups, and scopes via CLI
- [Microsoft Entra ID Setup](entra-id-setup.md) - Entra ID-specific setup and configuration
- [Complete Setup Guide](complete-setup-guide.md) - End-to-end deployment instructions

---

## Authentication Architecture

### Identity Types

The system distinguishes between three types of identities, each with different authentication flows:

| Identity Type | Use Case | Auth Method | Token Signing | Lifetime |
|--------------|----------|-------------|---------------|----------|
| Human Users | Browser UI | OAuth2 Authorization Code | RS256 (IdP) | Session-based |
| Programmatic | CLI, AI assistants | Self-signed JWT | HS256 (SECRET_KEY) | 8 hours |
| M2M Workloads | AI agents, automation | OAuth2 Client Credentials | RS256 (IdP) | 1 hour |

### Supported Identity Providers

The registry supports multiple identity providers through a pluggable architecture:

- **Keycloak** - Open-source identity management
- **Microsoft Entra ID** - Enterprise Azure AD integration

Provider selection is controlled by the `AUTH_PROVIDER` environment variable:

```bash
AUTH_PROVIDER=keycloak   # Use Keycloak (default)
AUTH_PROVIDER=entra      # Use Microsoft Entra ID
```

---

## High-Level Authentication Flow

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant User as User/Developer
    participant Agent as AI Agent
    participant Auth as Keycloak/Entra ID<br/>(Identity Provider)
    participant Gateway as NGINX Gateway
    participant AuthServer as Auth Server
    participant Registry as Registry API

    Note over User,Registry: Human User Flow (Browser)

    User->>Gateway: 1. Access Registry UI
    Gateway->>Auth: 2. Redirect to IdP login
    Auth->>User: 3. Login page
    User->>Auth: 4. Authenticate
    Auth->>Gateway: 5. Authorization code
    Gateway->>AuthServer: 6. Exchange code for tokens
    AuthServer->>Auth: 7. Validate & get user info
    AuthServer->>User: 8. Set session cookie
    User->>Registry: 9. Access API with session

    Note over User,Registry: Programmatic Access (JWT Token)

    User->>AuthServer: 10. Request JWT token (via UI)
    AuthServer->>User: 11. Self-signed JWT (HS256)
    User->>Agent: 12. Configure agent with token
    Agent->>Gateway: 13. API request with Bearer token
    Gateway->>AuthServer: 14. Validate token (/validate)
    AuthServer->>Gateway: 15. User context + permissions
    Gateway->>Registry: 16. Proxied request
```

---

## Authorization Model

### Scope-Based Access Control

Authorization is based on **scopes** that define:

1. **Server Access** - Which MCP servers and methods users can access
2. **Agent Actions** - Which agent operations users can perform
3. **UI Permissions** - Which UI features are available

### Group-to-Scope Mapping

User permissions are determined by mapping IdP groups to scopes stored in MongoDB/DocumentDB:

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    subgraph IdP["Identity Provider"]
        KC["Keycloak Group<br/>registry-admins"]
        EA["Entra ID Group<br/>4c46ec66-a4f7-..."]
    end

    subgraph DB["MongoDB/DocumentDB"]
        SM["Scope: registry-admins<br/>group_mappings:<br/>- registry-admins<br/>- 4c46ec66-a4f7-..."]
    end

    subgraph Perms["Permissions"]
        SA["server_access:<br/>server: *<br/>methods: [all]<br/>tools: [all]"]
        UI["ui_permissions:<br/>list_agents: [all]<br/>publish_agent: [all]<br/>..."]
    end

    KC --> SM
    EA --> SM
    SM --> SA
    SM --> UI
```

### Scope Configuration

Scopes are defined in JSON files and loaded into MongoDB. See [Scopes Management](scopes-mgmt.md) for the complete file format.

**Example: Admin Scope**

```json
{
  "_id": "registry-admins",
  "group_mappings": ["registry-admins", "4c46ec66-a4f7-4b62-9095-b7958662f4b6"],
  "server_access": [
    {"server": "*", "methods": ["all"], "tools": ["all"]}
  ],
  "ui_permissions": {
    "list_agents": ["all"],
    "publish_agent": ["all"],
    "list_service": ["all"],
    "toggle_service": ["all"]
  }
}
```

**Example: Limited User Scope**

```json
{
  "_id": "public-mcp-users",
  "group_mappings": ["public-mcp-users", "5f605d68-06bc-4208-b992-bb378eee12c5"],
  "server_access": [
    {"server": "context7", "methods": ["initialize", "tools/list", "tools/call"], "tools": ["*"]}
  ],
  "ui_permissions": {
    "list_service": ["all"],
    "list_agents": ["/flight-booking"],
    "get_agent": ["/flight-booking"]
  }
}
```

---

## Token Validation Flow

All API requests are validated by the auth server through NGINX's `auth_request` directive:

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant Client as CLI/Agent
    participant NGINX as NGINX Gateway
    participant Auth as Auth Server
    participant IdP as Identity Provider
    participant API as Registry API

    Client->>NGINX: 1. API Request<br/>Authorization: Bearer <token>
    NGINX->>Auth: 2. auth_request /validate

    alt Self-Signed Token (iss: mcp-auth-server)
        Auth->>Auth: 3a. Validate with SECRET_KEY (HS256)
    else IdP Token (iss: Keycloak/Entra)
        Auth->>IdP: 3b. Fetch JWKS
        IdP-->>Auth: Public keys
        Auth->>Auth: 3c. Validate signature (RS256)
    end

    Auth->>Auth: 4. Extract groups from token
    Auth->>Auth: 5. Map groups to scopes
    Auth->>Auth: 6. Check server/tool access

    alt Access Granted
        Auth-->>NGINX: 7a. 200 OK + X-User headers
        NGINX->>API: 8. Proxy request
        API-->>Client: 9. Response
    else Access Denied
        Auth-->>NGINX: 7b. 403 Forbidden
        NGINX-->>Client: 403 Forbidden
    end
```

---

## Key Security Layers

### Layer 1: Gateway Authentication

The NGINX gateway validates all incoming requests:

- Extracts JWT from `Authorization` header
- Calls auth server `/validate` endpoint
- Sets user context headers for downstream services

### Layer 2: Token Validation

The auth server supports multiple token types:

| Token Type | Issuer | Algorithm | Validation Method |
|------------|--------|-----------|-------------------|
| Self-signed | `mcp-auth-server` | HS256 | SECRET_KEY |
| Keycloak | `{keycloak_url}/realms/{realm}` | RS256 | JWKS endpoint |
| Entra ID | `https://sts.windows.net/{tenant}/` | RS256 | JWKS endpoint |

### Layer 3: Scope-Based Authorization

After token validation, the auth server:

1. Extracts `groups` claim from token
2. Queries MongoDB for matching scopes (via `group_mappings`)
3. Validates requested server/method/tool against `server_access` rules
4. Returns user context with permissions

---

## Permission Types

### MCP Server Permissions

Control access to MCP servers and their tools:

| Permission | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| `server` | Server name or `*` for all |
| `methods` | Allowed MCP methods (initialize, tools/list, tools/call, etc.) |
| `tools` | Allowed tool names or `*` for all |

### Agent Permissions

Control operations on A2A agents:

| Permission | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| `list_agents` | View agents in listings |
| `get_agent` | View agent details |
| `publish_agent` | Register new agents |
| `modify_agent` | Update existing agents |
| `delete_agent` | Remove agents |

### UI Permissions

Control access to UI features:

| Permission | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| `list_service` | View MCP servers in dashboard |
| `register_service` | Register new MCP servers |
| `health_check_service` | Run health checks |
| `toggle_service` | Enable/disable servers |
| `modify_service` | Edit server configurations |

---

## Entra ID Group Mapping

When using Microsoft Entra ID, group identifiers are Object IDs (GUIDs), not names:

```json
{
  "group_mappings": [
    "public-mcp-users",
    "5f605d68-06bc-4208-b992-bb378eee12c5"
  ]
}
```

This allows the same scope to work with both Keycloak (group names) and Entra ID (Object IDs).

**Finding Entra ID Group Object IDs:**

1. Azure Portal > Azure Active Directory > Groups
2. Select the group
3. Copy the "Object ID" from the Overview page

---

## Session Management

### Human User Sessions

Browser sessions use signed cookies:

- Created after successful OAuth2 login
- Contains: username, groups, provider, scopes
- Validated using `SECRET_KEY` (HS256)
- Default expiry: 8 hours (configurable)

### Programmatic Tokens

Self-signed JWT tokens for CLI/API access:

- Generated via "Get JWT Token" in UI
- Contains: username, groups, scopes, permissions
- Signed with `SECRET_KEY` (HS256)
- Default expiry: 8 hours

### M2M Tokens

Service account tokens from IdP:

- Obtained via OAuth2 Client Credentials flow
- Signed by IdP (RS256)
- Default expiry: 1 hour
- Must be refreshed periodically

---

## Security Best Practices

1. **Use HTTPS** - All production deployments should use TLS
2. **Rotate Secrets** - Regularly rotate SECRET_KEY and client secrets
3. **Least Privilege** - Assign minimal required permissions to users/agents
4. **Audit Logging** - Monitor authentication events and access patterns
5. **Token Expiry** - Use short-lived tokens and implement refresh flows

---

## Troubleshooting

### Common Issues

**Token validation fails:**
- Check token issuer matches expected provider
- Verify JWKS endpoint is accessible
- Ensure SECRET_KEY matches between auth server instances

**Permission denied:**
- Verify user's groups in IdP
- Check group_mappings in scope configuration
- Ensure scope includes required server/method access

**Group not recognized:**
- For Entra ID: Use Object ID, not group name
- Verify group exists in group_mappings array
- Reload scopes after configuration changes

### Debug Endpoints

```bash
# Check user context
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  https://registry.example.com/api/debug/user-context

# List available scopes
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  https://registry.example.com/api/scopes
```

---

## Additional Resources

- [Authentication Design](design/authentication-design.md) - Detailed auth flow diagrams
- [IdP Provider Support](design/idp-provider-support.md) - Provider architecture
- [Scopes Management](scopes-mgmt.md) - Scope file format reference
- [Auth Management](auth-mgmt.md) - CLI operations guide