1.5 KiB
MSC3550: Add HTTP 403 to possible profile lookup responses
Background
In the current spec, the only response codes listed for GET /_matrix/client/v3/profile/{userId}
are 200 and 404. However, some servers may not allow profile lookup over federation, and thus
respond to GET /_matrix/client/v3/profile/{userId} with an HTTP 403.
For example, Synapse can be configured to behave in this way by setting:
allow_profile_lookup_over_federation=false
Thus, this behavior already exists in Synapse, and may cause issues for clients such as vector-im/element-web#17269.
Proposal
The proposal is to allow HTTP 403 as an option for responding to GET /_matrix/client/v3/profile/{userId}
requests. Allowing HTTP 403 gives clients more specific information as to why a request has
failed, thus enabling more precise error handling. The 403 would be accompanied by an
M_FORBIDDEN error code.
Potential Issues
The change to the spec may conflict with other existing server implementations.
Alternatives
The spec could remain as-is and Synapse could alter its current behavior and return an HTTP 404 rather than 403 in this case.
Security Considerations
None at this time.