Inbound OAuth client credentials grant returns 401 Unauthorized on the ServiceNow instance - Support and Troubleshooting

Inbound OAuth client credentials grant returns 401 Unauthorized on the ServiceNow instance Issue .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Inbound OAuth (Open Authorization) token requests using the client credentials grant type return 401 Unauthorized The third-party system (for example, Datadog Events sending events to ServiceNow Event Management) cannot deliver payloads to the ServiceNow instance The OAuth Application Registry record for the integration appears correctly configured, with both the OAuth Application User and Default Grant Type populated when viewed in list view The same fields may appear empty in form view even though they are populated — they are hidden by default in the form layout No descriptive error message is written to System Logs beyond the 401 response The same OAuth Application Registry configuration succeeds on a different instance where the integration was originally established Release .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } All currently supported releases.

Cause .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } The ServiceNow platform uses the system property glide.oauth.inbound.client.credential.grant_type.enabled to control whether inbound OAuth token requests submitted with the client credentials grant type are accepted. When this property is missing from the instance or is set to false , the platform rejects inbound OAuth token requests that use the client credentials flow and returns 401 Unauthorized — even when the OAuth Application Registry record, the OAuth Application User, and the Default Grant Type are all configured correctly.

This commonly happens when an integration is established on one instance using the Integration Launchpad — which configures the required system property automatically — and is later replicated to another instance by manually recreating the OAuth Application Registry record. Manual recreation does not add the system property to the target instance, so the same OAuth client credentials flow that works on the source instance fails on the target instance.

Resolution .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Log in to the affected ServiceNow instance as a user with the admin role. In the application navigator filter, enter sys_properties.list and press Enter. In the Name column filter, search for glide.oauth.inbound.client.credential.grant_type.enabled . If the property exists, open the record, set the Value field to true , and click Update. If the property does not exist, click New and create a property with the following values: Name: glide.oauth.inbound.client.credential.grant_type.enabled Description: Enables the OAuth 2.0 client credentials grant type for inbound OAuth requests Type: true | false Value: true Application: Global Click Submit. Ask the integration owner to retry the inbound OAuth token request from the third-party system. Confirm that the token request now succeeds and the integration delivers payloads to the ServiceNow instance as expected. Note: No system restart is required. The property takes effect on the next inbound OAuth token request. Related Links .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Create the Client Credentials system property