Problem Statement

When running the rpk command, you may encounter the following error;

This error indicates an authentication issue when rpk attempts to access the Kafka API or Admin API in Redpanda.

Solution

There are several reasons why this error may occur. Checking Redpanda logs can provide valuable insights.

1. A missing SCRAM or an incorrect password

If Redpanda logs contain the following message;

Authentication failed: stored and client submitted credentials do not match

• • This happens when the rpk command accesses the Kafka API with either a missing SCRAM or an incorrect password. Please check that your SCRAM and password are correct.  

2. The SASL username is incorrect

If Redpanda log didn't show anything, but the rpk command returned Authentication Failed, your username didn't exist. Please check your username. 

 

3. Your username or password is incorrect when the rpk accesses the Redpanda Admin API 

If Redpanda logs contain the following messages, please check your username and/or password.

- An example of a WARN message for a wrong password

request_auth - request_auth.cc:150 - Client auth failure: user 'joe' wrong password

- An example of a WARN message for an incorrect username

request_auth - request_auth.cc:123 - Client auth failure: user 'Joeee' not found

Notes

Depending on the Redpanda version, the error messages may vary slightly. 

 

If you have any questions on this notice or need further guidance, please contact customer-success@redpanda.com / support@redpanda.com