Error: 401 UNAUTHORIZED "The token is not valid or revoked" during VCF Automation deployment

Products

• VCF Automation

Issue/Introduction

• When performing deployments in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Automation 9.0.x, the process fails after the Network Configuration subscription is completed.
• The following error is observed in the logs: [Unable to create network resources for machine WORKER_VMS::401 UNAUTHORIZED "The token is not valid or revoked."]
• This typically occurs during the 3rd or 4th network configuration attempt, especially if accessTokenTimeToLive has been manually increased.

Environment

VCF Automation 9.0.x

Cause

The internal token refresh mechanism fails because the cached session token is revoked when a user manually logs out or the browser session times out due to inactivity. When accessTokenTimeToLive is increased, the system may bypass certain internal refresh behaviors, leading to unauthorized calls once the UI session ends.

Resolution

Fixed in release VCF 9.1 and higher. See Download Broadcom Products for steps to download this release.

Release Notes: VCF 9.1 Release Notes

Workaround:

If you cannot upgrade to VCF 9.1 immediately, use the following steps to maintain an active session during deployments:

1. Avoid manually logging out of the VCF Automation UI while deployments are in progress.
2. Keep the browser tab active to prevent the session from timing out.
3. If the UI must be closed, close the entire browser tab rather than logging out to prevent explicit token revocation.