CreateSession API - IAM Roles Anywhere

CreateSession API

The CreateSession API returns temporary security credentials for workloads that have been authenticated with IAM Roles Anywhere to access AWS resources.

Request Syntax

POST /sessions HTTP/1.1 Content-type: application/json { "durationSeconds": number, "profileArn": string, "roleArn": string, "trustAnchorArn": string, "roleSessionName": string, }

URI Request Parameters

The request does not use any URI parameters.

Request Body

The request accepts the following data in JSON format.

durationSeconds

The duration, in seconds, of the role session. The value is optional and can range from 900 seconds (15 minutes) up to 43200 seconds (12 hours). Please see the Expiration subsection of the Credentials Object section for more details on how this value is used in determining the expiration of the vended session.

Type: Number

Required: No

profileArn

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the profile.

Type: String

Required: Yes

roleArn

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the role to assume.

Type: String

Required: Yes

sessionName

This parameter has been deprecated.

This parameter is no longer used. Instead, use the roleSessionName parameter.

Type: String

Required: No

trustAnchorArn

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the trust anchor.

Type: String

Required: Yes

roleSessionName

An identifier for the role session.

Type: String

Required: No

Response Syntax

HTTP/1.1 201 Content-type: application/json { "credentialSet":[ { "assumedRoleUser": { "arn": ARN, "assumedRoleId": String }, "credentials":{ "accessKeyId": String, "expiration": Timestamp, "secretAccessKey": String, "sessionToken": String }, "packedPolicySize": Number, "roleArn": ARN, "sourceIdentity": String } ], "subjectArn": ARN }

Response Elements

If the action is successful, the service sends back an HTTP 201 response.

The following data is returned in JSON format by the service.

assumedRoleUser

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) and the assumed role ID, which are identifiers that you can use to refer to the resulting temporary security credentials.

Type: AssumedRoleUser object

credentials

The temporary security credentials, which include an access key ID, a secret access key, and a security (or session) token.

Type: Credentials Object

packedPolicySize

A percentage value that indicates the packed size of the session policies and session tags combined passed in the request. The request fails if the packed size is greater than 100 percent, which means the policies and tags exceeded the allowed space.

Type: Integer

Valid Range: Minimum value of 0

sourceIdentity

The source identity is specified by the principal that is calling the CreateSession operation. For more information on how the source identity is derived please see the Trust Model section.

Type: String

Pattern: [\p{L}\p{Z}\p{N}_.:/=+\-@]+

roleArn

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the assumed role.

Type: String

subjectArn

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the Subject resource.

The Subject resource records the history of the principal that is calling the CreateSession operation, including its first recorded authentication time, and last recorded authentication time.

Type: String

Credentials Object

AWS credentials for API authentication.

AccessKeyId

The access key ID that identifies the temporary security credentials.

Type: String

Length Constraints: Minimum length of 16. Maximum length of 128.

Required: Yes

Expiration

The time at which the vended credentials expire. This value is determined based on the values set for profileDurationSeconds and createSessionDurationSeconds, where profileDurationSeconds is the value of the durationSeconds field that's set on the profile referenced in the call to CreateSession, and createSessionDurationSeconds is the value of the durationSeconds parameter in the request to CreateSession. From this, finalDurationSeconds is determined by the following: finalDurationSeconds = min(profileDurationSeconds, createSessionDurationSeconds), where finalDurationSeconds is the value for durationSeconds that will be sent in the AssumeRole request to assume the target role. If createSessionDurationSeconds isn't provided, then finalDurationSeconds = profileDurationSeconds. From this, Expiration is determined by the following: Expiration = CurrentTime + finalDurationSeconds. Note that if finalDurationSeconds is greater than the maximum session duration (MaxSessionDuration) set on the role, you will receive an error response from the API.

Type: Timestamp

Required: Yes

SecretAccessKey

The secret access key that can be used to sign requests.

Type: String

Required: Yes

SessionToken

The token that users must pass to the service API to use the temporary credentials.

Type: String

Required: Yes

The relationship between CreateSession and AssumeRole

CreateSession is an x509 wrapper around AssumeRole. The temporary session credentials are delivered to RolesAnywhere by AssumeRole, and then passed on without modification in the result of CreateSession. CreateSession is not included in any SDK or client as there is not yet native SDK or client support for CreateSession's signing process.

The roleSessionName option in the CreateSession request allows you to customize the identifier of a role session. The provided value will be passed into the AssumeRole request during the CreateSession process and will be incorporated into the ARN and ID of the assumed role user. This means that subsequent API requests using the temporary session credentials vended by CreateSession will expose the role session name to the corresponding account in their CloudTrail logs. Also, you can reference these credentials in a resource-based policy by the ARN or the ID. The default role session name, when not provided, is the serial number of the x509 certificate provided in a session request.

The acceptRoleSessionName option on a profile controls whether or not a role session name will be accepted in a session request with this profile. By setting the acceptRoleSessionName option to true, you acknowledge that a role session name will be honored in a session request if the CreateSession call is made with this specific profile. This means that the default role session name, which is the serial number of the x509 certificate, will no longer be used and included in the ARN or ID of the assumed role user.

By default, the acceptRoleSessionName attached to the profile is false. If you provide a custom role session name in the CreateSession request but cusom role session names are not accepted, you will receive an Access Denied error. However, when a role session name is not presented in the CreateSession request, the role session name will default to the serial number of the end-entity x509 certificate that was used to authenticate the request, even when the acceptRoleSessionName on the profile is true.