diff --git a/repl/src/main/scala/org/apache/livy/repl/SparkRInterpreter.scala b/repl/src/main/scala/org/apache/livy/repl/SparkRInterpreter.scala
index 5c721d8..b7e614c 100644
--- a/repl/src/main/scala/org/apache/livy/repl/SparkRInterpreter.scala
+++ b/repl/src/main/scala/org/apache/livy/repl/SparkRInterpreter.scala
@@ -76,12 +76,24 @@ object SparkRInterpreter {
     val backendInstance = sparkRBackendClass.getDeclaredConstructor().newInstance()
 
     var sparkRBackendPort = 0
+    var sparkRBackendSecret = ""
     val initialized = new Semaphore(0)
     // Launch a SparkR backend server for the R process to connect to
     val backendThread = new Thread("SparkR backend") {
       override def run(): Unit = {
-        sparkRBackendPort = sparkRBackendClass.getMethod("init").invoke(backendInstance)
-          .asInstanceOf[Int]
+        var initMethod = sparkRBackendClass.getMethod("init")
+        if (initMethod.getReturnType() == classOf[Int]) {
+          sparkRBackendPort = initMethod.invoke(backendInstance)
+            .asInstanceOf[Int]
+        }
+        else {
+          val authHelperClass = mirror.classLoader.loadClass("org.apache.spark.api.r.RAuthHelper")
+          var (port, authHelper) = initMethod.invoke(backendInstance)
+            .asInstanceOf[Tuple2[Int, Any]]
+          sparkRBackendPort = port
+          sparkRBackendSecret = authHelperClass.getDeclaredField("secret").get(authHelper)
+            .asInstanceOf[String]
+        }
 
         initialized.release()
         sparkRBackendClass.getMethod("run").invoke(backendInstance)
@@ -119,6 +131,7 @@ object SparkRInterpreter {
       env.put("SPARKR_PACKAGE_DIR", packageDir)
       env.put("R_PROFILE_USER",
         Seq(packageDir, "SparkR", "profile", "general.R").mkString(File.separator))
+      env.put("SPARK_BACKEND_AUTH_SECRET", sparkRBackendSecret)
 
       builder.redirectErrorStream(true)
       val process = builder.start()
diff --git a/rsc/src/main/java/org/apache/livy/rsc/ContextLauncher.java b/rsc/src/main/java/org/apache/livy/rsc/ContextLauncher.java
index b87e054..782e8bf 100644
--- a/rsc/src/main/java/org/apache/livy/rsc/ContextLauncher.java
+++ b/rsc/src/main/java/org/apache/livy/rsc/ContextLauncher.java
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ class ContextLauncher {
       // In some scenarios the user may need to configure this endpoint setting explicitly.
       String address = conf.get(LAUNCHER_ADDRESS);
       // If not specified, use the RPC server address; otherwise use the specified address.
-      if (address == null) {
+      if (address == null || address.trim().isEmpty()) {
         address = factory.getServer().getAddress();
       }
       conf.set(LAUNCHER_ADDRESS, address);