Create a SAML integration using AIW

SAML integrations use Federated Authentication standards to give end users one-click access to your SAML app. The AIW generates the XML needed for the SAML request.

Before you begin

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Task 1: Launch the Wizard

  1. In the Admin Console, go to Applications > Applications.
  2. Click Add Application.
  3. Click Create New App.
  4. To create a SAML integration, select Web as the Platform and SAML 2.0 for the Sign on method.
  5. Click Create.

Task 1: Launch the Wizard (new entry path)

This is an Early Access feature. To enable it, contact Okta Support.

  1. In the Admin Console, go to Applications >Applications.
  2. Click Create App Integration.
  3. To create a SAML integration, select SAML 2.0 as the Sign-on method.
  4. Click Next.

Task 2: Configure general settings

  • App name — Specify a name for your integration.
    Info

    Note

    The name can only consist of UTF-8, 3-byte characters.

  • Optional. App logo — Add a logo to accompany your integration in the Okta org. The logo file must be PNG, JPG, or GIF format and be smaller than 1 MB in size. For best results, use a PNG image with a transparent background and a landscape orientation. Use a minimum resolution of 420 x 120 pixels to prevent upscaling.
  • App visibility — Choose whether to hide your integration from your end-users' homepage. Choose whether to hide your integration from the Okta Mobile Apps Store on your end-users devices.

Task 3: Configure SAML settings

A SAML 2.0 configuration requires a combination of information from both your org and the target app. For help completing each field, use your app-specific documentation and the Okta tool tips.

  • Single sign on URL — The location where the SAML assertion is sent with a POST operation. This URL is required and serves as the default ACS URL value for the Service Provider (SP). This URL is always used for Identity Provider (IdP) initiated sign-on requests.
    • Use this for Recipient URL and Destination URL — Select this check box if you want the recipient and destination URL to be the same.
      • Recipient URL — (Appears if the previous check box is not selected.) The location where the application may present the SAML assertion. This is usually the Single Sign-On (SSO) URL.
      • Destination URL — (Appears if the previous check box is not selected.) The location where the SAML Response is intended to be sent inside the SAML assertion. This should be the same location as the Single sign on URL unless your application explicitly defines a specific value.
    • Allow this app to request other SSO URLs — For use in SP-initiated sign-in flows. Select this option to configure multiple ACS URLs to support applications capable of choosing where the SAML Response is sent. Specify an index or URL to uniquely identify each ACS URL endpoint. If an AuthnRequest message does not specify an index or URL, the SAML Response is sent to the default ACS URL specified in the Single sign on URL field.
      • Requestable SSO URLs — (Appears if the previous check box is selected.) Enter the SSO URLs for any other nodes.
  • Audience URI (SP Entity ID) — The intended audience of the SAML assertion. This is usually the Entity ID of your application.
  • Default RelayState — The page where users land after a successful sign-in using SAML into the SP. This should be a valid URL. Consult the SP documentation to get this information.
  • Name ID format — The username format you are sending in the SAML Response. Consult the SP documentation to determine which format to use, but use the default (Unspecified) if the application does not explicitly specify a format.
  • Application username — The default value to use for the username with the application.
    • Info

    Important

    To maintain security, do not use fields that can be edited by end users.

    • Response — Choose Signed  or Unsigned to determine whether the SAML authentication response message is digitally signed by the IdP.
    • Assertion Signature — Choose Signed  or Unsigned to determine whether the SAML assertion is digitally signed.
    • Signature Algorithm — Determines the signing algorithm used to digitally sign the SAML assertion and response.
    • Digest Algorithm — Determines the digest algorithm used to digitally sign the SAML assertion and response.
    • Assertion Encryption — Determines whether or not the SAML assertion is encrypted.

      The following three options appear when Encrypted  is selected in the Assertion Encryption  setting.

      • Encryption Algorithm  — Select the encryption algorithm used to encrypt the SAML assertion.
      • Key Transport Algorithm  — Select the key transport algorithm used to encrypt the SAML assertion.
      • Encryption Certificate  — Browse to public key certificate used to encrypt the SAML assertion, and then click Upload Certificate  to upload the certificate.
        • Info

        Note

        The certificate file must have a .cer file extension.

    • Enable Single Logout — Allows users to sign out of both a configured custom app and Okta with a single click (but not out of other apps that may be open). For more information, see the section Single Logout Profile in the Profiles for the OASIS Security Mark Up Language (SAML) version 2.0 guide.
      • If Enable Single Logout is specified, the following three choices are available.
        • Single Logout URL — Specify where you want to send the sign-out response.
        • SP Issuer — The issuer for the service provider.
        • Signature Certificate — Determines the public key certificate used to verify the digital signatures. Browse to the certificate, then click Upload Certificate. You need to upload the certificate in order to make the Single Logout functionality work properly.
        Info

        Note

        If SAML Single Logout is configured, a field for Identity Provider Single Logout URL appears in the SAML 2.0 setup instructions.

    • Authentication context class — Tells you the type of authentication restriction; usually set with the default PasswordProtectedTransport. Consult the SP documentation to obtain this information.
    • Optional. Honor Force Authentication — When set to Yes, your users are prompted for their credentials when a SAML request has the ForceAuthn attribute set to true, even if they are already signed in to Okta. Users will need to enter their credentials, even if they normally sign in through Desktop SSO. If this option is set to No, the attribute is ignored.
    • Optional. SAML Issuer ID — Use this option when you need to override an Issuer ID. An override is required when more than one sign-in exists for a single application. It can also be used when you have an OIN integration that requires additional attributes. Enter the Issuer ID to override the default value of http://www.okta.com/$(org.externalKey). Obtain the External Key  from the setup instructions of the current working application instance.
  • Attribute Statements (optional) — When you create a new SAML integration, or modify an existing one, you can define custom attribute statements. These statements are inserted into the SAML assertions shared with your app.

    Each SAML assertion in the Attribute Statements (optional) section has these elements:

    • Name — the reference name of the attribute needed by your application. The maximum length for this field is 512 characters. The Name attribute must be unique across all of the user and group attribute statements.
    • Name Format — the format in which the Name attribute is given to your application. The formats are:
      • Unspecified - can be any format defined by the Okta profile and must be interpreted by your application.
      • URI Reference - the name is provided as a Uniform Resource Identifier string.
      • Basic - a simple string; the default if no other format is specified.
    • Value — the value for the attribute defined by the Name element. Admins can create custom expressions (using Okta Expression Language) to reference values in the Okta user profile. The maximum length for this field is 1024 characters.
    • Click Add Another to add an additional statement row.
    • Repeat until all necessary attributes are defined.

    After you add your attribute statements and create your SAML integration, you will need to update the profile using the Profile Editor.

    • In the Admin Console, go to Directory > Profile Editor, and find the integration you just created. Click Profile.
    • In the Attributes screen that opens, click Add Attribute.
    • Add a new attribute and click Save
    • In the Admin Console, go to Applications > Application and click the app name.
    • In the screen that opens, click the General tab. Then click Edit in the SAML Settings section.
    • In the screen that opens, click Next.
    • In the Attribute Statements (Optional) section, type in the name of the attribute you just created in step 3. This value does not populate the drop-down box automatically. For the Value, type "appuser", a period, and the attribute name. For example, if your attribute is named NewRole, the Value is appuser.NewRole.
    • When done, click Next.
    • On the Applications page, click the integration name, then click the Assignments tab. Click Assign, and select Assign to Groups. In the window, click Assign to the right of the group. You can verify these assignments with a SAML tracer.
  • Group Attribute Statements (optional) — If your Okta org uses groups to categorize users, you can add group attribute statements to the SAML assertion shared with your app.

    In the Group Attribute Statements (optional) section:

    • Enter the Name of the group attribute in your SAML app.
    • Select a Name Format.
    • Choose a Filtering option for your expression: Starts with, Equals, Contains, or Matches regex
    • Type in the expression that will be used to match against the Okta GroupName values and added to the SAML assertion.
    • Click Add Another to add an additional group statement row
    • Repeat until all necessary groups are defined.

    • Info

    Note

    The Dynamic SAML feature does not change the way attribute statements are entered or processed by the Okta Expression Language. This feature enables SAML attribute statements to be processed by apps in the Okta Integration Network; previously the attribute statements were only available for apps created using the App Integration Wizard.

  • Click < > Preview the SAML Assertion to view the XML generated from the Configure SAML section of the SAML App Wizard.

Task 4: Configure feedback

If you are an Okta customer adding an integration that is intended for internal use only:

  • Select I'm an Okta customer adding an internal app
  • Click the check box for This is an internal app that we have created or, if your app requires additional SAML configuration instructions to work with Okta, click the check box for It's required to contact the vendor to enable SAML. Fill in the provided fields to help the Okta support team understand your SAML configuration.
  • Click Finish. Your integration is created in your Okta org.
  • The Settings page for your integration appears, where you can modify any of the parameters and assign your integration to users.

If you are an independent software vendor who wants to add your integration to the Okta Integration Network (OIN):

  • Select I'm a software vendor. I'd like to integrate my app with Okta.
  • Click Finish. Your integration is created in your Okta org.
  • The Settings page for your integration appears, where you can modify any of the parameters and assign your integration to users.
  • After you are satisfied that all settings are correct and you have completed your preliminary testing, click Submit your app for review. This opens the OIN manager site and begins the OIN submission process.

Task 5: Manage Signing Certificates

This is an Early Access feature. To enable it, contact Okta Support.

After you create the SAML app integration, the SAML Signing Certificates section appears on the Sign On tab. You must configure your app integration to verify signed SAML assertions for SSO and trust Okta as the Identity Provider.

You may see two certificates available. If so, notice that one is active and one is inactive. The active certificate is scoped only for your app integration, while the inactive one is scoped for your entire org. Okta recommends keeping the app-only certificate active. Optionally, you can generate and activate a new certificate.

Perform the following steps to obtain the necessary settings to provide for your SAML app:

  1. Set the Status for the certificate you want to Active.

    If it is not active, select Activate in the Actions menu for another certificate, or click Generate new certificate and activate the new certificate.

    2. Important NoteYour SSO configuration isn't complete until you perform the following steps.

  2. Under SAML Setup, click View SAML setup instructions.

  3. Depending on your application, either:

    • Copy the IdP settings and download the certificate
    • Copy all the IdP metadata if your application can consume it

Next steps

If your integration does not behave as expected, contact Okta support at support@okta.com for assistance.