Configure Auth0 as SAML Service Provider
To configure Auth0 as the service provider (SP) in a SAML federation, you will need to create an Enterprise connection in Auth0 and then update your SAML identity provider (IdP) with the connection's metadata.
Auth0 supports using Auth0 as the SP in configurations that conform to the SAML 1.1 or SAML 2.0 protocol.
Get metadata and certificate from the IdP
You'll need to collect some configuration metadata from the IdP to create a connection in Auth0:
Sign In URL: The URL where SAML authentication requests are sent. This is also called the single sign-on (SSO) endpoint.
Sign Out URL: The URL where SAML logout requests are sent. This is also called the single logout (SLO) endpoint.
X509 Signing Certificate: The public-key certificate required by the SP to validate the signature of the authentication assertions that have been digitally signed by the IdP. Auth0 accepts the
.pemand.cerformats.
Create SAML Enterprise connection in Auth0
You can create a SAML Enterprise connection in the Auth0 Dashboard or with the Auth0 Management API:
Go to Dashboard > Authentication > Enterprise, and select SAML.
Select Create Connection.
Configure the following settings, and then select Create:
Setting Description Connection Name Enter a connection name such as SAML-SP.Sign In URL Enter the Sign In URL that you obtained from the IdP. X509 Signing Certificate Upload the X509 Signing Certificate file (in .pemor.cerformat) that you obtained from the IdP.Enable Sign Out Enable the Sign Out URL field. Sign Out URL Enter the Sign Out URL obtained from the IdP. User ID Attribute Enter the attribute in the SAML token that will be mapped to the user_idproperty in Auth0. If not set, then theuser_idwill be retrieved from the following (in listed order):http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifierhttp://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/upnhttp://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameDebug Mode Enable Debug Mode for more verbose logging. Sign Request Enable signed SAML authentication requests. Sign Request Algorithm Choose the hash algorithm to use. Sign Request Algorithm Digest Choose the algorithm to use to check the validity of the assertion. Protocol Binding Choose HTTP-Redirectto enable messages to be transmitted within URL parameters. ChooseHTTP-POSTto enable messages to be transmitted within an HTML form.Sync user profile attributes at each login Choose if you want to sync user profile attributes during each login.
The Auth0 Management API Create a Connection endpoint supports the following properties on the options object when creating a SAML connection:
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
signingCert |
(Required) String. Contents of the X509 signing certificate (in .pem or .cer format) encoded in Base64. |
signInEndpoint |
(Required) String. The Sign In URL of the IdP. |
disableSignout |
(Optional) Boolean. Toggles the Sign Out URL. If false, you must provide a Sign Out URL to accept logout requests. If true, logout requests will be sent to the Sign In URL. |
fieldsMap |
(Optional) Object. Any attribute mappings to be applied to the authentication responses from the IdP. For example: "email": "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier". |
user_id_attribute |
(Optional) String. The name of the attribute in the authentication responses to map to the User ID property. This field will supercede any mappings for the user_id property in the fieldsMap object. |
idpinitiated |
(Optional) Object. Options for IdP-Initiated SSO:
|
signSAMLRequest |
(Optional) Boolean. Toggles the signing of authentication requests sent by Auth0. |
signatureAlgorithm |
(Optional) String. The algorithm used to sign authentication requests. Accepted values are rsa-sha256 and rsa-sha1. |
digestAlgorithm |
(Optional) String. The algorithm used to encrypt the digest element of authentication requests. Accepted values are sha256 and sha1. |
protocolBinding |
(Optional) String. The protocol binding used for authentication requests. Accepted values are urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect and urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST. |
debug |
(Optional) Boolean. Toggles Debug Mode, which includes more verbose logging during the authentication process. This should be set to false for connections used in production environments. |
Example request
{
"strategy": "samlp",
"name": "example-samlp-connection",
"options": {
"signingCert": "{X509_CERTIFICATE_IN_BASE64}",
"signInEndpoint": "https://example.com/samlp/login",
"disableSignout": false,
"signOutEndpoint": "https://example.com/samlp/logout",
"fieldsMap": {
"email": "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier",
"user_id": [
"http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress",
"http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/upn",
"http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/name"
],
"given_name": "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier",
"address_name": "http://schemas.auth0.com/address_name",
"address_street_address": "http://schemas.auth0.com/address_street_address"
},
"user_id_attribute": "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier",
"idpinitiated": {
"enabled": true,
"client_id": "{DEFAULT_APPLICATION_CLIENT_ID}",
"client_protocol": "oauth2",
"client_authorizequery": "response_type=code&scope=openid email profile"
},
"signSAMLRequest": true,
"signatureAlgorithm": "rsa-sha256",
"digestAlgorithm": "sha256",
"protocolBinding": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect",
"debug": true
}
}Was this helpful?
Customize the request template
When Auth0 sends the authentication request to the IdP, the request body contains an AuthnRequest object. You can customize the template used for this object:
Go to Auth0 Dashboard > Authentication > Enterprise > SAML, and select your connection.
Switch to the Settings view, and locate the Request Template field.
Template variables
Variables can be placed into the AuthnRequest template using the @@VariableName@@ syntax. The following variables are available:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ID | The transaction ID. |
| IssueInstant | The transaction date timestamp. |
| Issuer | The entity ID of the SP in urn format. For example, urn:auth0:<YOUR_AUTH0_TENANT_NAME>:<YOUR_AUTH0_CONNECTION_NAME>. |
| ProtocolBinding | The protocol binding type. |
| AssertionConsumerServiceURL | The URL where the IdP sends the response after the user signs in. Include the ProtocolBinding attribute in the request template if you use this. |
| Destination | The URL where Auth0 sends the request. This should be the Sign In URL configured for the connection. |
| LoginHint | The username or email of the user logging in. If you are using Identifier First Authentication, Auth0 can send this value to the IdP to pre-populate it in the IdP's login form. |
| ProviderName | The name of the application that initiated the request. |
| Connection.<options-key> | Use dot notation on the Connection key to access any of the connection's options values as returned from the Auth0 Management API's Get a Connection endpoint. For example, if the connection has options.some_property: "value", then you can use @@Connection.some_property@@ in the template. |
| AssertServiceURLAndDestination | Deprecated. For new configurations, use AssertionConsumerServiceUrl and Destination instead. |
Configure the IdP
Go to SAML Identity Provider Configuration Settings to find the metadata you'll need to provide to the IdP.
Auth0 supports all SAML IdPs that conform to the SAML 1.1 or SAML 2.0 protocol. We have detailed instructions for configuring specific providers:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ID | The transaction ID. |
| IssueInstant | The transaction date timestamp. |
| Issuer | The entity ID of the SP in urn format. For example, urn:auth0:<YOUR_AUTH0_TENANT_NAME>:<YOUR_AUTH0_CONNECTION_NAME>. |
| ProtocolBinding | The protocol binding type. |
| AssertionConsumerServiceURL | The URL where the IdP sends the response after the user signs in. Include the ProtocolBinding attribute in the request template if you use this. |
| Destination | The URL where Auth0 sends the request. This should be the Sign In URL configured for the connection. |
| LoginHint | The username or email of the user logging in. If you are using Identifier First Authentication, Auth0 can send this value to the IdP to pre-populate it in the IdP's login form. |
| ProviderName | The name of the application that initiated the request. |
| Connection.<options-key> | Use dot notation on the Connection key to access any of the connection's options values as returned from the Auth0 Management API's Get a Connection endpoint. For example, if the connection has options.some_property: "value", then you can use @@Connection.some_property@@ in the template. |
| AssertServiceURLAndDestination | Deprecated. For new configurations, use AssertionConsumerServiceUrl and Destination instead. |
Test connection
You can test your connection in the Dashboard:
Locate the connection you created, select the ... (three dots) menu icon, and select Try.
A Universal Login Page will appear and prompt you to enter credentials.
Enter the email address of a user who exists in the IdP. If you configured HRD, make sure you enter an email address that uses one of the specified domains.
After you are redirected to the login screen for the IdP, log in as you normally would.
You will be redirected to a page on Auth0 that displays the contents of the authentication assertion sent to Auth0 from the IdP.
Troubleshoot connection
If your connection is not working as expected, try the following steps:
Clear your browser history, cookies, and cache before each test. If you do not, the browser may not pick up the latest configuration information, or it may have stale cookies that affect execution.
Ensure that your browser allows cookies and has JavaScript enabled.
Capture a HAR file of the transaction, and then use the Auth0 SAML Tool to decode the SAML assertion and inspect its contents.