Hub 2023.3 Help

SAML 2.0 Auth Module

A SAML 2.0 authentication module lets you configure Hub as a SAML Service Provider (SAML SP). SAML supports single sign-on (SSO) across multiple domains.

When you enable an SAML 2.0 authentication module in Hub:

  • Your users log in to Hub with the credentials that are managed in a specified third-party identity provider (SAML IdP).

  • Your Hub users have fewer accounts and passwords to remember.

  • New users with accounts in the connected service can create their own accounts in Hub.

Hub can also be set up as a SAML IdP. However, the instructions for the identity provider setup are not described here. To learn how to use Hub as a SAML IdP, see SAML 2.0.

IdP-initiated SSO

The SAML 2.0 authentication module supports both service-provider (SP) and identity-provider (IdP) initiation for single sign-on (SSO). The login request is based on how the user signs in to Hub.

  • If the user signs in through an external login portal or access management provider (for example, OneLogin), the request is initiated by the IdP.

  • If the user signs in by clicking the button for the IdP on the Hub login page, Hub initiates the request as SP.

To support this behavior, the RelayState parameter for your SAML IdP can either be empty or a URL with the same hostname as the hostname of the service's home URL. If you set another value for this parameter in the configuration for your IdP, the redirection to the internal Hub service results in a Can't restore state error.

Add a SAML 2.0 Authentication Module

To add a SAML 2.0 authentication module to your Hub installation, follow these instructions. When finished, users will be able to log in to Hub using accounts that are managed in the connected SAML identity provider.

To add a SAML 2.0 Authentication module:

  1. In a service that you plan to use as a SAML identity provider for Hub, retrieve its parameters as the IdP.

  2. If the IdP service does not provide a fingerprint of their certificate, create it applying SHA256. For example, you can use SAML Tool

  3. In Hub, open the Administration > Auth Modules page.

  4. Click the New module button, then select SAML 2.0 from the list.

    new SAML auth module
  5. In the dialog, specify the parameters for the IdP service, then click the Create button.

    • The SAML 2.0 authentication module is created and enabled.

  6. Configure the auth module by providing the names of the SAML attributes for user accounts in the Attributes section of the page.

General Settings

The first section of the page displays settings that identify the authentication module and let you manage the connection to the SAML service.

Setting

Description

Type

Displays the type of service that is enabled for authentication in Hub. Built-in Authorization means that this module is a part of Hub and is not installed separately.

Name

Stores the name of the authentication module. Use this setting to distinguish this module from other authentication modules in the Auth Modules list.

Button image

Displays the image used for the button that a user clicks to log in to Hub with a their account in the connected authorization service. You can upload a JPG, GIF or PNG file. The image is resized to 48 x 48 pixels automatically.

SAML SSO URL

The URL that Hub uses to redirect to the external identity provider. Hub only supports HTTP-redirect binding for sign-on.

IdP entity ID

The entity ID of the external identity provider.

Certificate fingerprint

The SHA-256 fingerprint of the identity provider SAML certificate. Use the SAML XML Metadata from your identity provider to generate the fingerprint.

SP entity ID

The URL that identifies Hub as a service provider.

SSL key

Selects an SSL key that can be used to verify the identity of your Hub installation to the authentication service. When used, all requests that are sent to the identity provider from Hub are signed using the corresponding SSL certificate.

This list displays only keystores that have been imported into Hub. For more information, see SSL Keys.

ACS URL

The assertion consumer service URL used by Hub as a service provider.

SP metadata

The URL that Hub uses to provide metadata to the external identity provider.

Contact user

The user who is responsible for the SAML 2.0 service provider configuration. The email address that is associated with this user account must be verified in Hub.

Attribute Mapping Settings

Settings in the Attributes section of the page let you map attributes for user accounts in the SAML service to fields that are stored in Hub accounts.

Option

Description

Username

The name of the SAML attribute that stores the username.

Email

The name of the SAML attribute that stores the email address.

First name

The name of the SAML attribute that stores the first name of the user.

Last name

The name of the SAML attribute that stores the last name of the user.

Full name

The name of the SAML attribute that stores the full name of the user.

Groups

Maps to the attribute that stores group membership assignments in the connected authorization service.

When this value is specified, you can map and sync group memberships in the authorization service with corresponding groups in Hub. For details, see Group Mappings.

Additional Settings

The following options are located at the bottom of the page. Use these settings to manage Hub account creation and group membership, and to reduce the loss of processing resources consumed by idle connections.

Option

Description

User creation

Enables creation of Hub accounts for unregistered users who log in with an account that is stored in the connected authorization service. Hub uses the email address to determine whether the user has an existing account.

Email auto-verification

Determines how Hub sets the verification status of an email address when the authentication service does not return a value for this attribute.

Auto-join groups

Adds users to a group when they log in with an account that is stored in the connected authorization service. You can select one or more groups. New users that auto-join a group inherit all the permissions assigned to this group.

We recommend that you add users to at least one group. Otherwise, a new user is only granted the permissions that are currently assigned to the All Users group.

Connection timeout

Sets the period of time to wait to establish a connection to the authorization service. The default setting is 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds).

Read timeout

Sets the period of time to wait to read and retrieve user profile data from the authorization service. The default setting is 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds).

Audit

Links to the Audit Events page in Hub. There, you can view a list of changes that were applied to this authentication module.

Group Mappings

On the Group Mappings tab, you can map existing groups in the SAML service to the groups in Hub.

Group mappings for SAML accounts.

If you want to map groups in the SAML service to groups in Hub, you need to specify the Groups attribute that stores SAML group memberships in the Attribute Mapping section of the settings for this auth module.

When group mappings are configured, Hub checks for group memberships when users log in with accounts that are managed in the SAML service. Hub performs the following operations for each group from the SAML service that is mapped to a Hub group:

  • Users who are members of a mapped SAML group and are not members of the mapped Hub group are added to the group in Hub.

  • Users who are not members of a mapped SAML group and are members of the mapped Hub group are removed from the group in Hub.

Changes to group memberships in the authorization service are only applied in Hub when users log in using their accounts from the SAML service.

You can map multiple groups from the SAML service to a single target group in Hub. You can't map groups from the SAML service to more than one Hub group.

To map group from the SAML service to a group in Hub:

  1. Open your SAML auth module.

  2. Select the Group Mappings tab.

  3. Click the Add mapping button.

    • The Add Mapping dialog opens.

    Dialog for adding group mappings.
  4. Enter the name of the SAML group in the SAML group name field.

  5. Select a group from the Target group list.

  6. Click the Add button.

    • The mapping is added to the list.

Sample Configurations

The following sample configurations show you how to use the SAML 2.0 authentication module to support different user management scenarios.

Okta as SAML Identity Provider for Hub

Due to a "URL Loop" in both applications' setup processes, a non-straightforward process is required to configure Okta as a SAML IdP in YouTrack. Setting up an Auth Module in YouTrack requires a unique URL from the IdP and creating an IdP URL in Okta requires a unique URL from the SAML SP, YouTrack. You must create an application in Okta with a fake URL for YouTrack to generate the IdP URL, then you create an auth module in YouTrack to generate the SP URL that can be used in the Okta application.

Okta supports two protocols for handling federated single sign-on, both of which are supported for authentication with Hub.

  • The setup described here uses the SAML protocol. The settings for this module are preconfigured for generic connections with various SAML providers. Additional configuration for SAML authentication with Okta is required.

  • The Okta Auth Module supports the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol. The settings for this module are preconfigured to support direct connections with the Okta service. With this module, you need to register Hub as a client application in Okta, but everything else relatively easy to set up.

Your choice of protocol depends mainly on your use case, but OIDC is generally recommended for new integrations.

To use use Okta as IdP for Hub:

  1. In Okta, create a new application for Hub service. Use any URLs for Hub as the SP. You need to correct it later. See the Okta documentation for setting up SAML application.

  2. When you created the application, click the View Setup Instructions button to open a page with the parameters of your Okta IdP:

    Parameters for Okta IdP
  3. Download the certificate of your Okta IdP.

  4. Create a fingerprint for the Okta certificate applying SHA256. For example, you can use SAML Developer Tools.

  5. In Hub, open Auth Modules page.

  6. Click the New module button, then select SAML2.0 in the drop-down list.

    • A New SAML 2.0 Auth Module dialog opens.

  7. In the displayed dialog, specify the parameters of your Okta IdP, then click the Create button.

    Okta idp create new auth module hub
  8. Configure the new module: Set up the SAML attributes.

    Okta idp configure auth module hub
  9. Switch back to Okta. Edit the Hub application by storing the URLs that are generated during the creation of the authentication module. The settings in Okta should be configured as follows:

    Setting

    Description

    Single Sign On Url

    Enter the ACS URL from the authentication module in Hub.

    Use this for recipient and destination URL

    Enable this option.

    Audience URI

    Enter the SP entity ID from the authentication module in Hub.

  10. Assign the Hub application to groups and users that should be able to log in to Hub with Okta credentials.

That's it. Now the users can log in to Hub and connected services with their Okta credentials.

Hub as SAML Identity Provider for Another Hub Service

If you have two Hub services, you can use one of them as a SAML Identity Provider and another one as the service provider.

  1. In the Hub installation that you use as the SAML IdP, open the Administration > SAML 2.0 page.

    Saml hub hub idp parameters

    For details about Hub as a SAML 2.0 Identity Provider, see SAML 2.0 Identity Provider Parameters.

  2. In Hub installation that you use as SAML service provider, open the Auth Modules page.

  3. Click the New module button, then select SAML2.0.

    • A New SAML 2.0 Auth Module dialog opens.

  4. In the dialog, enter the parameters of the Hub service that you use as IdP:

    Saml hub2hub auth module create

    Click the Create button.

    • The new module is created. You are navigated to the settings page the created module:

    Saml hub hub module created
  5. Configure SAML attributes:

    Saml hub hub module attributes
  6. In the Hub service that you are using as IdP, open the SAML 2.0 page from the Access Management section of the Administration menu, select the Registered Service Providers tab, then click the New service provider button.

  7. Register the second Hub service as the SAML service provider:

    Saml hub2hub auth module sp register

    To register the service provider, enter the same values that are currently stored in the settings for the SAML 2.0 authentication module. For more details, see Register a Service Provider.

You are all set! Now your users can log into the Hub SP with the credentials from the Hub service that you use as SAML IdP.

Last modified: 27 February 2024