Wordpress Users REST API returning rest_cannot_edit_roles for Administrator role

Question

I have created an API Key and Secret in the WooCommerce settings of a WordPress site, linked to a user with Administrator role. I'm able to use this API key successfully for various API calls to the site.

However, when I try to execute this API call to update a user role: POST /wp-json/wp/v2/users/35

{
    "roles": ["technician"]
}

I get back a 401 Response with the following content:

{
    "code": "rest_cannot_edit_roles",
    "message": "Sorry, you are not allowed to edit roles of this user.",
    "data": {
        "status": 401
    }
}

Yet, as mentioned already, the user associated with the API key used in the API call is an Administrator, with full permissions. What am I missing?

Answer 1

I solved the problem by authenticating the API call with an Application Password configured on the user profile, instead of the WooCommerce API key and secret.