PingFederate token exchange lets an OAuth client—such as an API gateway or an agent-facing service—present an existing token and request one suited to a downstream service. It is based on OAuth 2.0 Token Exchange (RFC 8693). The administrator must configure the exchange policy and token-generation components, then enable the grant for the client. The exchange is a way to mediate credentials, not proof that an AI agent is trustworthy: the authorization policy that decides which claims and attributes carry into the new token remains essential.
What PingFederate token exchange does
In a typical flow, a caller presents a token to an API gateway. If a downstream service expects a different token, the gateway acts as an OAuth client and asks PingFederate to exchange the presented token. PingFederate processes it under the policy configured for that client, generates the requested token, and returns it to the gateway. The gateway then calls the downstream resource server with that token and returns the service’s result upstream. Ping Identity describes this gateway-to-microservice pattern in its PingFederate Server 12.2.9 token-exchange documentation.
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The same documented OAuth client pattern can apply when an agent component makes the downstream request, but PingFederate’s documentation does not define a separate AI-agent transaction mode. The component must actually operate as the configured OAuth client.
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What the exchange request contains
The request’s core inputs are a subject_token—the token being exchanged—and a subject_token_type identifying its type. Depending on the use case, the client may also provide an actor_token and actor_token_type to represent an actor involved in delegation or impersonation. Optional parameters can request an output token type or identify a target resource or audience. Which combinations are appropriate depends on the downstream service and the server-side policy; these parameters do not grant authorization by themselves.
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PingFederate sends the request through the Token Exchange Processor Policy (TEPP) selected for the client. The policy maps incoming token types to token processors and builds an attribute contract from token and request attributes. An access-token manager or token generator then uses that contract to issue the new token. See the PingFederate Server 12.3 OAuth token-exchange reference for the policy and exchange behavior.
Configure the server and client
Token exchange requires server-side preparation as well as client enablement. Ping Identity’s configuration overview lists the main components: processor policies, token-generation components, attribute mappings, and the OAuth clients allowed to use the grant.
Prepare policies and token generation
- Define a Token Exchange Processor Policy. Configure the policy to process the subject token and, where needed, the actor token. Map supported input token types to the appropriate token processors and define the policy’s attribute contract.
- Configure the token issuer. For most use cases, PingFederate’s 12.2 feature documentation recommends an access-token-manager instance. Configure token generators or generator groups for advanced scenarios that need them.
- Map attributes deliberately. Connect the policy’s attributes to the token-generation component. Decide which claims and attributes are appropriate for the downstream service; do not treat every incoming claim as safe to propagate.
- Review the target and output. Confirm what the resource server accepts, which input token type the policy handles, whether an actor token is needed, and the requested output type and audience or resource.
Ping Identity’s PingFederate Server 12.2.9 configuration guide covers the server-side setup. The documentation distinguishes common access-token-manager use from more advanced token-generator arrangements.
Enable the grant for the OAuth client
- Open the relevant OAuth client configuration in PingFederate.
- Under Allowed Grant Types, select Token Exchange.
- Select the Token Exchange Processor Policy that should govern this client.
- Save the client settings.
These client enablement steps are documented for PingFederate Server 13.0.5. A client should receive only the policy and permissions it needs; the grant should not be enabled without deciding how its exchange requests will be authorized.
Send a request to the token endpoint
The documented token endpoint is /as/token.oauth2. Send the token request as an HTTP POST with application/x-www-form-urlencoded content. The client must authenticate using the method configured for it. PingFederate documentation lists client secret, client certificate (mutual TLS), and JWT-based client authentication among the available methods; see the PingFederate Server 12.3.8 token endpoint reference.
Use the deployed server’s actual base URL and configured client credentials; neither can be inferred from the endpoint path alone. Keep client secrets out of URLs and logs. The form’s exchange-specific parameters must match the policy and requested result. A conceptual request includes the grant type and subject-token fields, with actor and output-target parameters only when applicable:
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POST /as/token.oauth2
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
grant_type=urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:token-exchange&subject_token=...&subject_token_type=...This illustrates the protocol’s core fields, not a complete ready-to-run request: client authentication, URL encoding, and any required deployment-specific parameters still apply.
Check token types against your PingFederate version
Supported inputs and outputs should be verified against the deployed release and its configured processors rather than assumed from another version’s documentation.
- The PingFederate Server 12.2.9 feature page explicitly lists access tokens, SAML 1.1 tokens, SAML 2.0 tokens, and JWTs.
- The PingFederate Server 12.3 administrator reference describes scenarios involving access tokens, ID tokens, SAML 1.1 and 2.0, Kerberos, and X.509 certificate tokens, including access-token and SAML outputs.
- The PingFederate Server 13.1.3 grant-types page says token exchange can issue an Identity Assertion JWT (ID-JAG) when
requested_token_typeisurn:ietf:params:oauth:token-type:id-jag.
These are version-specific statements from the cited pages, not a guarantee that every token type is enabled or supported in every installation.
Choose the exchange design around the downstream service
Before selecting a policy or generator, establish the target service’s token requirements and how much identity context it should receive. Use the simplest token-generation path that meets those requirements.
| Decision | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Downstream acceptance | Which token format and claims the resource server accepts. |
| Input identity | The subject-token type the policy must process, and whether the request needs an actor token for a delegation or impersonation pattern. |
| Target | The required output token type and, where used, the resource or audience identifying the intended recipient. |
| Generation component | Whether an access-token manager meets the use case or an advanced token-generator arrangement is required. |
| Attribute policy | Which claims and attributes the policy permits into the newly issued token. |
Token exchange can change the token presented to a service, but the trust decision depends on the configured authorization and attribute mapping. A successful exchange alone does not establish that an agent or its request is trustworthy.
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