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Configuring SAML 2.0 Web SSO

In a single sign on system there are two roles; Service Providers and Identity Providers. The important characteristic of a single sign on system is the pre-defined trust relationship between the service providers and the identity providers. Service providers trust the assertions issued by the identity providers and the identity providers issue assertions based on the results of authentication and authorization of principles which access services on the service provider's side.

SAML 2.0 web browser-based single-sign-on profile is defined under the SAML 2.0 Profiles specification.  In a web browser-based SSO system, the flow can be started by the user either by attempting to access a service at the service provider, or by directly accessing the identity provider itself.

Preliminary Configs

Follow the steps below to navigate to the federated authenticators configuration section.

Before you begin

  1. Run WSO2 Identity Server.

  2. Sign in to the WSO2 Identity Server Management Console at https://<SERVER_HOST>:9443/carbon as an administrator.

  1. On the Main menu of the Management Console, click Identity > Identity Providers > Add.

    Add Identity Provider menu-item

    Info

    For more information on identity providers, see Adding and Configuring an Identity Provider.

  2. Enter a suitable name for the identity provider in the Identity Provider Name text box.

    Add Identity Provider screen

  3. Under the Federated Authenticators section, click SAML2 Web SSO Configuration.

    SAML2 Web SSO Configuration option

  4. Enter the following values as given below.

    Field Description Sample Value
    Enable SAML2 Web SSO Selecting this option enables SAML2 Web SSO to be used as an authenticator for users provisioned to the Identity Server. Selected
    Default Selecting the Default checkbox signifies that SAML2 Web SSO is the main/default form of authentication. This removes the selection made for any other Default checkboxes for other authenticators. Selected
    Service Provider Entity Id

    This is the entity Id of the Identity Server. This can be any value but when you configure a service provider in the external IDP you should give the same value as the Service Provider Entity Id.

    wso2is

    NameID format

    This is the NameID format to be used in the SAML request. By default, it has urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:unspecified. But you can change this as per the identity provider.

    urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:unspecified

    You proceed with the subsequent steps based on your preferred configuration mode.

Manual Configs

To configure manually,

  1. Perform the preliminary configs.

  2. Enter the required values as given below.

    SAML2 Web SSO Configuration screen


    Field Description Sample Value
    Select Mode Select the mode to decide the input method for SAML configuration. You can have manual configuration or Metadata data configuration where an .xml metadata file is uploaded. Manual configuration
    Identity Provider Entity Id

    This is basically the <Issuer> value of the SAML2 response from the identity provider you are configuring. This value must be a unique string among identity providers inside the same tenant. This information should be taken from the external Identity provider.

    In order to enable the <Issuer> validation in the SAML2 response from the IdP, open the /repository/conf/deployment.toml file and add the following configuration.

    https://idp.example.org/idp/shibboleth
    SSO URL This is the URL that you want to send the SAML request to. This information should be taken from the external Identity provider. https://localhost:8443/idp/profile/SAML2/Redirect/SSO
    ACS URL

    This is the identity provider's SAML2 ACS URL.

    Warning

    To configure this, apply the 2020-01-17 WUM update to WSO2 Identity Server 5.9.0 using the WSO2 Update Manager (WUM).

    To deploy a WUM update into production, you need to have a paid subscription. If you do not have a paid subscription, you can use this feature with the next version of WSO2 Identity Server when it is released. For more information on updating WSO2 Identity Server using WUM, see Getting Started with WUM in the WSO2 Administration Guide.


    If not entered, the default ACS URL will be used.
    Enable Authentication Request Signing Selecting this checkbox enables you to sign the authentication request. If this is enabled, you must sign the request using the private key of the identity provider. Selected
    Enable Assertion Encryption This is a security feature where you can encrypt the SAML2 Assertions returned after authentication. So basically, the response must be encrypted when this is enabled. Selected
    Enable Assertion Signing

    Select Enable Assertion Signing to sign the SAML2 Assertions returned after the authentication. SAML2 relying party components expect these assertions to be signed by the Identity Server.

    Selected
    Enable Logout Select Enable Single Logout so that all sessions are terminated once the user signs out from one server. Selected
    Logout URL
    If the external IDP support for logout you can select Enable Logout . Then you can set the URL of the external IDP, where you need to send the logout request, under Logout URL. If you do not set a value for this it will simply return to the SSO URL .
    https://localhost:8443/idp/samlsso/logout
    Enable Logout Request Signing Selecting this checkbox enables you to sign the logout request. Selected
    Enable Authentication Response Signing

    Select Enable Authentication Response Signing to sign the SAML2 responses returned after the authentication.

    Selected
    Signature Algorithm

    Specifies the ‘SignatureMethod’ algorithm to be used in the ‘Signature’ element in POST binding and “SigAlg” HTTP Parameter in REDIRECT binding. The expandable Signature Algorithms table below lists the usable algorithms and their respective URIs that will be sent in the actual SAMLRequest.

    Default value: RSA with SHA1
    Digest Algorithm

    Specifies the ‘DigestMethod’ algorithm to be used in the ‘Signature’ element in POST binding. The Digest Algorithms table below lists the usable algorithms and their respective URIs that will be sent in the actual SAMLRequest.

    Default value: SHA1
    Attribute Consuming Service Index Specifies the ‘AttributeConsumingServiceIndex’ attribute. By default this would be empty, therefore that attribute would not be sent unless filled.
    Enable Force Authentication Enable force authentication or decide from the incoming request. This affects ‘ForceAuthn’ attribute. Default value: As Per Request
    Include Public Certificate Include the public certificate in the request. Selected by default
    Include Protocol Binding Include ‘ProtocolBinding’ attribute in the request. Selected by default
    Include NameID Policy Include ‘NameIDPolicy’ element in the request. Selecte d by default
    Include Authentication Context Include a new ‘RequestedAuthnContext’ element in the request, or reuse from the incoming request. Default value: Yes
    Authentication Context Class

    Choose an Authentication Context Class Reference (AuthnContextClassRef) to be included in the requested authentication context from the Identity Server which specifies the authentication context requirements of authentication statements returned in the response. Authentication Context Class table below lists the usable classes and their respective URIs that will be sent in the SAMLRequest from the Identity Server to trusted IdP.

    Default value: PasswordProtectedTransport .
    Authentication Context Comparison Level

    Choose the Requested Authentication Context ‘Comparison’ attribute to be sent which specifies the comparison method used to evaluate the requested context classes or statements.

    • If Comparison is set to "exact" or omitted, then the resulting authentication context in the authentication statement MUST be the exact match of at least one of the authentication contexts specified.
    • If Comparison is set to "minimum", then the resulting authentication context in the authentication statement MUST be at least as strong (as deemed by the responder) as one of the authentication contexts specified.
    • If Comparison is set to "better", then the resulting authentication context in the authentication statement MUST be stronger (as deemed by the responder) than any one of the authentication contexts specified.
    • If Comparison is set to "maximum", then the resulting authentication context in the authentication statement MUST be as strong as possible (as deemed by the responder) without exceeding the strength of at least one of the authentication contexts specified.
    Default value: Exact
    SAML2 Web SSO User Id Location Select whether the User ID is found in 'Name Identifier' or if it is found among claims. If the user ID is found amongthe claims, it can override the User ID Claim URI configuration in the identity provider claim mapping section . User ID found among claims
    HTTP Binding Select the HTTP binding details that are relevant for your scenario. This refers to how the request is sent to the identity provider. HTTP-Redirect and HTTP-POST are standard means of sending the request. If you select As Per Request it can handle any type of request. HTTP-POST
    Response Authentication Context Class Select As Per Response to pass the AuthnContextClassRef received from the configured identity provider to the service provider. Select Default to pass the default AuthnContextClassRef instead.

    The AuthnContextClassRef specifies how the user has been authenticated by the IdP (e.g. via username/password login, via certificate etc.)
    As Per Response
    Additional Query Parameters

    This is necessary if you are connecting to another Identity Server or application. Sometimes extra parameters are required by this IS or application so these can be specified here. These will be sent along with the SAML request.

    Info

    If you want to send query parameters that need to be updated dynamically with each SAML request, the value needs to be defined within parenthesis.This value should be the key of the query parameter sent in the SAML request URL.
    Example: locale={lang}

    Multiple parameters can be defined by separation of query parameters using the & character.

    Example: locale={lang}&scope=openid email profile
    paramName1=value1

  3. Click Register.

Information on security algorithms

The following table lists out the security algorithms and their respective URI.

Security algorithm name Security algorithm URI
DSA with SHA1 http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#dsa­sha1
ECDSA with SHA1 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#ecdsa­sha1 dsa­sha1
ECDSA with SHA256 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#ec dsa­sha256
ECDSA with SHA384 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#ec dsa­sha384
ECDSA with SHA512 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#ec dsa­sha512
RSA with MD5 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#rsa ­md5
RSA with RIPEMD160 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#rsa ­ripemd160
RSA with SHA1 http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#rsa­sha1
RSA with SHA256 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#rsa ­sha256
RSA with SHA384 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#rsa sha384
RSA with SHA512 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#rsa ­sha512
Information on digest algorithms

The following table lists out the digest algorithms and their respective URI.

Digest algorithm name Digest algorithm URI
MD5 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#md 5
RIPEMD160 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#ripemd16 0
SHA1 http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#sha1
SHA256 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha256
SHA384 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig­more#sh a384
SHA512 http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha512
Information on authentication context classes

The following table lists out the authentication context classes and their respective URI.

Authentication context class name Authentication context class URI
Internet Protocol urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:InternetProtocol
Internet Protocol Password urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:InternetProtocolPassword
Kerberos urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:Kerberos
Mobile One Factor Unregistered urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:MobileOneFactorUnregistered
Mobile Two Factor Unregistered urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:MobileTwoFactorUnregistered
Mobile One Factor Contract urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:MobileOneFactorContract
Mobile Two Factor Contract urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:MobileTwoFactorContract
Password urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:Password
Password Protected Transport urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:PasswordProtectedTransport
Previous Session urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:PreviousSession
Public Key X.509 urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:X509
Public Key PGP urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:PGP
Public Key SPKI urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:SPKI
Public Key XML Digital Signature urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:XMLDSig
Smartcard urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:Smartcard
Smartcard PKI urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:SmartcardPKI
Software PKI urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:SoftwarePKI
Telephony urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:Telephony
Telephony (Nomadic) urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:NomadTelephony
Telephony (Personalized) urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:PersonalTelephony
Telephony (Authenticated) urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:AuthenticatedTelephony
Secure Remote Password urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:SecureRemotePassword
SSL/TLS Certificate­Based Client Authentication urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:TLSClient
Time Sync Token urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:TimeSyncToken
Unspecified urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:unspecified

File-Based Configs

About Metadata upload

When configuring a service provider (SP) or federated Identity Provider (Federated IdP), the user is required to enter configuration data to facilitate exchanging authentication and authorization data between entities in a standard way. Apart from manual entering of configuration data, the Identity Server 5.3.0 provides the facility to upload configuration data using a metadata xml file or referring to metadata xml file located in a predetermined URL. These two methods of uploading configuration data enables faster entry of configuration data because it allows the user to use the same metadata xml file for multiple instances of entity configuration. In addition to SAML metadata upload, WSO2 Identity Server also supports SAML metadata download for resident Identity providers using Management Console and URL.

To configure through file upload:

  1. Perform the preliminary configs.

  2. Enter the required values as given below.

    SAML2 Web SSO File Upload Configuration screen


    Field Description Sample Value
    Select Mode Select the mode to decide the input method for SAML configuration. You can have manual configuration or Metadata data configuration where an .xml metadata file is uploaded. Metadata File Configuration
    File Location This is to upload the IdP metadata file.
    Sample

    <EntityDescriptor
    xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:metadata"
    entityID="example.com">
    <IDPSSODescriptor
    WantAuthnRequestsSigned="false"
    protocolSupportEnumeration="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:protocol">
    <KeyDescriptor use="signing">
    <KeyInfo xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#">
    <X509Data>
    <X509Certificate>
    -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
    MIIC+jCCAmOgAwIBAgIJAParOnPwEkKjMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBQUAMIGKMQswCQYD
    VQQGEwJMSzEQMA4GA1UECBMHV2VzdGVybjEQMA4GA1UEBxMHQ29sb21ibzEWMBQG
    A1UEChMNU29mdHdhcmUgVmlldzERMA8GA1UECxMIVHJhaW5pbmcxLDAqBgNVBAMT
    I1NvZnR3YXJlIFZpZXcgQ2VydGlmaWNhdGUgQXV0aG9yaXR5MB4XDTEwMDcxMDA2
    MzMwM1oXDTI0MDMxODA2MzMwM1owdjELMAkGA1UEBhMCTEsxEDAOBgNVBAgTB1dl
    c3Rlcm4xEDAOBgNVBAcTB0NvbG9tYm8xFjAUBgNVBAoTDVNvZnR3YXJlIFZpZXcx
    ETAPBgNVBAsTCFRyYWluaW5nMRgwFgYDVQQDEw9NeSBUZXN0IFNlcnZpY2UwgZ8w
    DQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADgY0AMIGJAoGBAN6bi0llFz+R+93nLLK5BmnuF48tbODp
    MBH7yGZ1/ESVUZoYm0GaPzg/ai3rX3r8BEr4TUrhhpKUKBpFxZvb2q+yREIeDEkD
    bHJuyVdS6hvtfa89WMJtwc7gwYYkY8AoVJ94gU54GP2B6XyNpgDTXPd0d3aH/Zt6
    69xGAVoe/0iPAgMBAAGjezB5MAkGA1UdEwQCMAAwHQYDVR0OBBYEFNAwSamhuJSw
    XG0SJnWdIVF1PkW9MB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFNa3YmhDO7BOwbUqmYU1k/U6p/UUMCwG
    CWCGSAGG+EIBDQQfFh1PcGVuU1NMIEdlbmVyYXRlZCBDZXJ0aWZpY2F0ZTANBgkq
    hkiG9w0BAQUFAAOBgQBwwC5H+U0a+ps4tDCicHQfC2SXRTgF7PlAu2rLfmJ7jyoD
    X+lFEoWDUoE5qkTpMjsR1q/+2j9eTyi9xGj5sby4yFvmXf8jS5L6zMkkezSb6QAv
    tSHcLfefKeidq6NDBJ8DhWHi/zvC9YbT0KkCToEgvCTBpRZgdSFxTJcUksqoFA==
    -----END CERTIFICATE-----
    </X509Certificate>
    </X509Data>
    </KeyInfo>
    </KeyDescriptor>
    <KeyDescriptor use="encryption">
    <KeyInfo xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#">
    <X509Data>
    EwpDYWxpZm9ybmlhMRQwEgYDVQQHEwtTYW50YSBDbGFyYTEeMBwGA1UEChMVU3VuIE1pY3Jvc3lz
    dGVtcyBJbmMuMRowGAYDVQQLExFJZGVudGl0eSBTZXJ2aWNlczEcMBoGA1UEAxMTQ2VydGlmaWNh
    dGUgTWFuYWdlcjAeFw0wNzAzMDcyMjAxMTVaFw0xMDEyMDEyMjAxMTVaMDsxFDASBgNVBAoTC2V4
    YW1wbGUuY29tMSMwIQYDVQQDExpMb2FkQmFsYW5jZXItMy5leGFtcGxlLmNvbTCBnzANBgkqhkiG
    HREEETAPgQ1tYWxsYUBzdW4uY29tMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBAUAA0EAEgbmnOz2Rvpj9bludb9lEeVa
    OA46zRiyt4BPlbgIaFyG6P7GWSddMi/14EimQjjDbr4ZfvlEdPJmimHExZY3KQ==
     </X509Data>
    </KeyInfo>
    </KeyDescriptor>
    <ArtifactResolutionService 
               isDefault="true"
               index="0"
               Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP"
               Location="https://example.com/SAML/Artifact"/>
    <SingleLogoutService
               Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP"
               Location="https://example.com/SAML/SLO/SOAP"/>
    <SingleLogoutService
               Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect"
               Location="https://example.com/SAML/SLO/Browser"
     ResponseLocation="https://example.com/SAML/SLO/Response"/>
    <SingleLogoutService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect"/>
    <SingleLogoutService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP"/>
    <ManageNameIDService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect"
    ResponseLocation="https://example.com:9443/amserver/IDPMniRedirect/metaAlias/idp"/>
    <ManageNameIDService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP"
    Location="https://example.com:9443/amserver/IDPMniSoap/metaAlias/idp"/>
    <NameIDFormat>
    urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistent
    </NameIDFormat>
    <NameIDFormat>
    urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient
    </NameIDFormat>
    <SingleSignOnService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect"
    Location="https://example.com:9443/amserver/SSORedirect/metaAlias/idp"/>
    <SingleSignOnService
    Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP"
    Location="https://example.example.com:9443/amserver/SSOSoap/metaAlias/idp"/>
    </IDPSSODescriptor>
    </EntityDescriptor>

  3. Click Register.

Advanced Configs

Configure ACL URL in a production environment

The default assertion consumer URL that is sent with the SAML request includes the local domain and default port. In a production environment, you may need to change the assertion consumer URL. To do this, follow the steps given below:

  1. Open the <IS_HOME>/repository/conf/deployment.toml file and add the following configuration.
  2. Update the assertion consumer URL as required.

    [authentication.authenticator.saml] 
    enable=true
    SAMLSSOAssertionConsumerUrl="https://localhost:9443/commonauth"

Configuring hostname verification

  • In previous releases, SAML Single-Logout (SLO) requests for service providers were initiated without hostname verification which can impose a security risk. From IS 5.2.0 release onwards, certificate validation has been enforced and hostname verification is enabled by default. If you want to disable the hostname verification, open the <IS_HOME>/repository/conf/deployment.toml file and add the following configuration.

    [saml.slo] 
    host_name_verification: false
  • If the certificate is self-signed, import the service provider's public key to the IS client trust store to ensure that the SSL handshake in the SLO request is successful. For more information on how to do this, see Managing Keystores with the UI in the WSO2 Product Administration Guide.

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