Rekognition Face Liveness not creating session ID

Greeting

Hi CriticalCode!

Thanks for reaching out with your detailed question! It sounds like you're making great strides in integrating Rekognition's Face Liveness detection into your Next.js app, but I can see how running into server issues without a session ID can be frustrating. Let’s dig in and see if we can resolve this for you. 🚀

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Clarifying the Issue

From what you've shared, the main issue seems to be that when you attempt to start a Face Liveness session, no session ID is returned, and the process ends prematurely. Your API Gateway and Lambda function seem correctly configured based on their roles and permissions. The Get request to streaming-rekognition.us-west-2.amazonaws.com aligns with the region specified in your aws-exports.js file. However, the request appears to halt at this point, without providing the necessary session ID.

You’ve already checked CloudWatch logs and confirmed the Lambda function initializes and runs but doesn't show any significant event data. This points toward a potential configuration, network, or runtime issue, and we'll focus on systematically ruling those out.

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Why This Matters

Rekognition Face Liveness detection is an essential security feature for ensuring real-time user verification. Successfully integrating this feature adds both sophistication and trust to your application. Resolving the issue will allow you to evaluate its full capabilities and provide a seamless user experience.

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Key Terms

• Face Liveness Detection: A service in AWS Rekognition that verifies whether a person is physically present during face authentication.
• Session ID: A unique identifier required to initiate and track a Face Liveness session.
• Lambda Execution Role: The IAM role attached to the Lambda function, granting permissions to invoke AWS APIs.
• API Gateway: The service exposing your Lambda function as a REST API.
• CloudWatch Logs: A logging service that helps debug AWS Lambda functions and other AWS services.

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The Solution (Our Recipe)

Steps at a Glance:

1. Verify API Gateway integration and deployment.
2. Check aws-exports.js configuration for accuracy.
3. Test Lambda function permissions explicitly with AWS CLI or SDK.
4. Review CORS policy for local development.
5. Debug the session creation workflow with precise logs.

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Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Verify API Gateway integration and deployment.
Ensure that your API Gateway stages are properly deployed and include all required methods (POST and GET) linked to your Lambda function. Additionally, double-check that the region specified in your API Gateway matches the region where your Rekognition service is hosted, as region mismatches can silently cause failures. Use the AWS CLI to test the API endpoint:

curl -X POST https://your-api-id.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/production/session

You should receive a response that includes a session ID. If this fails, review the API Gateway's logs in CloudWatch to ensure requests are reaching your Lambda function.

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2. Check aws-exports.js configuration for accuracy.
Ensure the aws-exports.js file contains the correct region and endpoints. The region specified here must align with the region of the Rekognition service to avoid silent failures. For example:

const awsConfig = {
  aws_project_region: "us-west-2",
  aws_rekognition_endpoint: "https://streaming-rekognition.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
};
export default awsConfig;

Make sure these align with your region and API Gateway configuration.

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3. Test Lambda function permissions explicitly with AWS CLI or SDK.
Verify that the CreateFaceLivenessSession API call works independently. Use the AWS CLI to test:

aws rekognition create-face-liveness-session --client-request-token "testToken123" --region us-west-2

If this succeeds, your Lambda function might not have the correct permissions. Update the Lambda execution role with precise resource ARNs instead of "*" where possible. Narrowing permissions to specific ARNs enhances security and adheres to the principle of least privilege:

{
  "Action": [
    "rekognition:CreateFaceLivenessSession",
    "rekognition:StartFaceLivenessSession",
    "rekognition:GetFaceLivenessSessionResults"
  ],
  "Resource": "arn:aws:rekognition:us-west-2:123456789012:*",
  "Effect": "Allow"
}

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4. Review CORS policy for local development.
Running on localhost can trigger CORS issues, preventing the browser from communicating with the API. Using a tool like ngrok during development can create a secure public URL for testing and bypass localhost-specific CORS problems. Configure your API Gateway to include appropriate headers:

{
  "headers": {
    "Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*",
    "Access-Control-Allow-Methods": "POST,GET,OPTIONS",
    "Access-Control-Allow-Headers": "Content-Type"
  }
}

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5. Debug the session creation workflow with precise logs.
Add detailed logging to your Lambda function to track where the process halts. Including the AWS SDK version in your logs is also a good practice, as outdated SDK versions can lead to unexpected issues. For example:

exports.handler = async (event) => {
  console.log("EVENT:", JSON.stringify(event));
  try {
    const session = await rekognition.createFaceLivenessSession(params).promise();
    console.log("SESSION ID:", session.SessionId);
    return session;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("ERROR:", error);
    throw error;
  }
};

Check CloudWatch Logs after triggering the function for any detailed error messages.

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Closing Thoughts

I hope these steps help you identify and resolve the issue! Here are some AWS documentation links for further guidance:

• AWS Rekognition Face Liveness Detection
• API Gateway CORS Configuration
• AWS CLI Rekognition Commands

Let me know how it goes, or if you'd like additional support on any of the steps. Good luck with your integration! 😊✨

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Farewell

Take care, and I hope you're up and running soon, CriticalCode! Let me know if you need further help. 🚀

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Cheers,

Aaron 😊