Cognito SAML Single Sign-On using DNN SAML as IDP

Overview

DotNetNuke (DNN) SAML IDP module acts as a SAML 2.0 Identity Provider which can be configured to establish the trust between the module and various SAML-compliant service providers to securely authenticate the user using the DotNetNuke (DNN) site credentials. Here we will go through a step-by-step guide to configure Single Sign-On (SSO) between DotNetNuke(DNN) and Cognito considering DotNetNuke(DNN) as IDP.

Pre-requisites : Download And Installation

• Download DNN SAML Identity Provider (IDP) module.

• Upload the installation package xxx_dnn-saml-single-sign-on-sso-idp_xxx_Install by going in Settings > Extension > Install Extension.

• Open any of the page on your DNN site (Edit mode) and Click on Add Module.

• Search for moDNNSAMLIDP and click on the moDNNSAMLIDP. Drag and drop the module on the page where you want.

• After successfully installing the module on your DNN site, click the gear icon of the module, and select Settings from the dropdown menu.

• Navigate to the moDNNSAMLIDP Settings tab to configure the module.

• To activate the module, enter the license key received via email in the provided input field.
• If you haven’t received the license key, click on the Click Here link to download it, and then upload the license file using the Choose File button.

• Then, accept the terms and conditions by checking the box, and click on the Activate License button to activate the module.

Step 1: Configure Cognito as SP

• Navigate to the IDP Configurations tab in the DNN SAML IDP module.

• You can share your DNN SAML IDP Metadata with the Service Provider in either of the following ways:
  • Metadata URL : Share the metadata URL with your Service Provider.

  OR

  • Download Metadata XML : Download the metadata XML file and upload it to your Service Provider.

• You can also manually share the DNN SAML IDP metadata by copying the IdP Entity ID, Single Sign-On URL, SAML SLO URL, NameID Format, and x.509 Certificate.

• First of all, go to Amazon Console and sign up/login in your account to Configure AWS Cognito.

• Search for Cognito in the AWS Services search bar as shown below.

• Click on Create a identity pool to create a new identity pool.

• Now under the Authentication section select Authenticated Access as User Access & select SAML as Authenticated Identity Source.
• Click on Next button.

• Now In Configure Permissions check the create a new IAM role box and enter a name for new IAM role.
• Click on Next button

• For creating new user pool. Enter Pool Name and select Review Defaults.

• On the navigation bar on the left-side of the page, choose App clients under General settings.
• Choose Add an app client and give your app a Name.
• Clear the Generate client secret option for this getting started exercise, as it would not be secure to send it in the URL using client-side JavaScript.

• Choose Create app client.
• Note the App client ID and choose Return to pool details.

• Click on the Domain name tab of the Amazon Cognito console and add Domain Prefix.

• On the left navigation bar, choose Identity providers and then choose SAML to open the SAML dialog.

• Under Metadata document upload a metadata document from your DNN SAML IDP. You can also enter a URL that points to the metadata document.

• Enter the values by referring to the table below.

Provider Name	Enter your SAML Identity Provider name.
Identifiers (optional)	Enter any optional SAML Identifiers you want to use.
Enable IdP sign out flow	Select Enable IdP sign out flow if you want your user to be logged out from the SAML IdP when logging out from Amazon Cognito.

• Click on Create provider.
• On the Attribute mapping tab,if you are opting for it then add mappings for at least the required attributes, typically email.
• Choose Save changes.

Step 2: Configure DNN as SAML IDP

• Navigate to the SP Configurations tab and click on the Add Application button.

• From the list of service providers given below, select AWS Cognito.

There are two options to add an application for your Service Provider in the IDP module

A] Upload Metadata using the “Upload Metadata” option

• You can upload the Service Provider metadata directly using the Upload Metadata button.

• The IDP module requires the SP Entity ID and ACS URL values from your Service Provider.
• You may receive these values either through a metadata file (.xml) or a metadata URL from your SP.
• Upload the metadata by selecting the appropriate option — via XML file or URL — as shown in the screenshot below.

B] Configure the Service Provider metadata manually

• If you prefer to configure the Service Provider manually, copy the SP Entity ID and ACS URL from your Service Provider’s metadata and paste them into the corresponding fields.

• Once you have entered all required details, click on Save Settings to save the configuration.

Step 3: Attribute Mapping

• In this steps you will map the DotNetNuke user attribute to be sent in the response to the Service Provider.
• NameID defines what SP is expecting in the subject element of SAML Assertion. Generally, NameID is Username of Email Address. You can select which user attribute you want to send in the NameID.
• You can add other attributes to be sent in SAML Assertion to SP. The attributes include user’s profile attributes such as first name, last name, fullname, username, email, custom profile attributes etc.

• After completing the attribute mapping, click on the Save Settings button to save your configurations.

Step 4: Testing SSO

• In the User Pool, under App integration.
• Go to your configured App Client, and scroll down to the Hosted UI section.
• Click on View Hosted UI.

• Click on the Button below Sign in with your corporate ID.

• You would be redirected to the DNN Login screen. Enter the Credentials and click Log in.
• If you were able to redirect to the selected Callback URL, then your configuration is correct.

Step 5: IdP Initiated SSO

• Once the SSO connection is successfully tested, you can proceed to copy the DNN IdP initiated SSO link.
• After adding your Service Provider, click on Select Actions → Copy SSO Link.
  For DNN (IdP) initiated SSO, you can use the SSO link provided by the DNN SAML IDP module.

Troubleshooting

• If you face any issues or get any errors duing the setup. Click on the Troubleshoot button and Enable logs.

• Reproduce the Issue and share the logs with us at dnnsupport@xecurify.com.

Related Articles

• DotNetNuke Two-Factor Authentication
• DNN SAML Single Sign-On (SSO)
• DNN OAuth Single Sign-On (SSO)
• DNN Power BI
• DNN SAML IDP Setup Guides

Get in Touch

Please reach out to us at dnnsupport@xecurify.com, and our team will assist you with setting up SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) for Cognito using DNN as the Identity Provider (IDP). We will also help you choose the most suitable solution or plan based on your requirements.