Fix HTTP 403 during technical account creation in AEM
HTTP 403 errors occur during technical account creation or certificate upload in AEM Developer Console and prevent integration setup from completing successfully. The request fails before processing due to missing required permissions in Adobe Admin Console. Assigning the correct roles restores access and allows the operation to complete successfully.
To resolve the issue assign System Administrator and AEM Author roles correctly.
Description description
Environment
- AEM as a Cloud Service
- Adobe Developer Console
- Technical account creation and certificate upload
Issue/Symptoms
- Displays “HTTP 403 Forbidden” error in Developer Console
- Fails to create technical account during integration setup
- Fails to upload certificate with HTTP 403 response
- Shows POST request failure with 403 status in network logs
Cause
The issue occurs due to missing required permissions in Adobe Admin Console. Specifically:
- The account does not have the Adobe IMS Organization System Administrator role
- The account is not part of the required AEM Author product profile (AEM Administrators or AEM Users)
Only accounts that have both permissions together can create or manage technical accounts. When either permission is missing, the Developer Console rejects the request and returns HTTP 403 (Forbidden).
Resolution resolution
Follow these steps to resolve
- Open Adobe Admin Console and assign the System Administrator role at the organization level.
- Navigate to AEM product profiles and add the account to AEM Administrators or AEM Users for the Author instance.
- Sign out of Adobe Experience Cloud, then sign back in to refresh updated permissions.
- Clear browser cache and cookies to remove stale authentication data.
- Wait a few minutes for permission propagation, then retry technical account creation or certificate upload.