3699071 - Technical User Authentication Fails with ACCESS_DENIED When Calling Timeline Service API in Mashup Scenario

• A technical user account is unable to authenticate successfully when calling the Timeline Service API via a mashup application in SAP Cloud for Customer.
• Although a token is generated successfully and passed in the request header (x-sap-crm-token), the API response returns an ACCESS_DENIED error. As a result, timeline data for accounts or contacts cannot be retrieved using the technical user.

SAP Cloud for Customer

1. Generate an authentication token using the technical user credentials via the first endpoint.
2. Include the generated token in the request header (x-sap-crm-token) when calling the Timeline Service API (second endpoint).
3. Execute the request to retrieve timeline activities for an account using the relevant filter.
4. The response returns the following payload instead of timeline data:
   {
   "value": [
   {
   "accessRestrictionType": "ACCESS_DENIED"
   }
   ]
   }

• The Timeline API is not exposed or released for via the SAP API Hub
• If the API endpoint was accessed, it was likely discovered through the browser’s network activity rather than through officially supported documentation
• This is a side-by-side add-on scenario (not V2). Technical users created in V1 may not have the required business authorizations to access Timeline-related data
• CAM users have the necessary business access, which explains why the API call works when a different user is used
• The Timeline service itself does not directly validate user access; instead, access control is delegated to the underlying services that generate timeline entries
• Calling this Timeline API directly is not recommended, as it may lead to inconsistent or unsupported behavior

The “ACCESS_DENIED” response observed when using the technical user is expected behavior, as this API is not intended or supported. At this time, we do not see a supported business use case for accessing Timeline data through this API

Timeline Service, Timeline API, ACCESS_DENIED, Technical User, Authentication Failure, Mashup Application, x-sap-crm-token, Side-by-Side Extension, Authorization , KBA , CEC-CRM-TIM , Timeline for SAP Sales/Service Cloud , Problem