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Fix Slow AKS Access After PIM: Get Instant Access with These Tricks

Authors
  • avatar
    Name
    Alexander Arana Escobedo
    Twitter

Intro

If you’re working with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and using Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to elevate your permissions, you’ve probably noticed a frustrating delay.

Even after activating your role, it can take up to 10 minutes or more before your kubectl commands work.

This delay isn’t a bug. It’s tied to how Azure handles access tokens in the background. In this post, I’ll explain what’s happening and, most importantly, show you two quick solutions to get instant AKS access right after using PIM.

🚀 Get Immediate AKS Access After PIM Activation

1. Quick Fix: Clear Your Tokens with kubelogin

If you just activated your PIM role and need instant access to your AKS cluster, run this command to refresh your token:

kubelogin remove-tokens

This forces kubelogin to request a fresh token immediately, skipping the wait.

2. Full Reset: Revoke All Azure Tokens (Advanced!)

If the above doesn’t work—or you want to fully reset your Azure authentication—here’s a more extreme method. Note: This will sign you out of EVERYTHING: Azure CLI, Teams, Azure Portal, etc.

Steps (Mac Example):

  1. Install PowerShell via Homebrew:
brew install --cask powershell
  1. Install the Azure AD module:
pwsh
Install-Module AzureAD.Standard.Preview -Scope CurrentUser -Force
Import-Module AzureAD.Standard.Preview
  1. Connect to your Azure account:
Connect-AzAccount
  1. Revoke your refresh tokens:
$objectId = (Get-AzADUser -SignedIn).Id
Revoke-AzureADUserAllRefreshToken -ObjectId $objectId

⚠️ Important: This command will immediately sign you out of ALL Microsoft services—including Teams, Azure Portal, and others!

🧐 Why This Happens (Simplified Explanation)

When you activate a PIM role, Azure issues tokens to CLI tools like kubelogin. These tokens can’t be revoked immediately, only after their refresh tokens expire (typically 60-75 minutes). That’s why access feels delayed.

By removing tokens (via kubelogin remove-tokens), you skip this delay without waiting for automatic expiration.

If you want the detailed technical information, click here.

I hope these quick tips help you speed up your AKS access and avoid unnecessary delays when working with PIM! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! 🙏

Alexander Arana.E

References:

Use Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to control access to your Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters

BUG PIM Activation Results in Unreliable Access Rights Update for Azure RBAC Roles

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