Shibboleth single sign-on for WordPress using OAuth

WordPress OAuth & OpenID Connect Single Sign-On (SSO) plugin enables secure login into WordPress using as OAuth and OpenID Connect provider. You can also configure plugin using different custom providers and standard IDPs. It supports advanced Single Sign-On (SSO) features such as user profile Attribute mapping, Role mapping, etc. Here we will go through a guide to configure SSO between WordPress and Shibboleth. By the end of this guide, users should be able to login to WordPress from Shibboleth. To know more about other features we provide in WP OAuth Single Sign-On ( OAuth & OpenID Connect Client ) plugin, you can click here.

Pre-requisites : Download And Installation

• Log into your WordPress instance as an admin.
• Go to the WordPress Dashboard >> Plugins and click on Add New.
• Search for a WordPress OAuth Single Sign-On (SSO) plugin and click on Install Now.
• Once installed click on Activate.

Steps to configure Shibboleth Single Sign-On (SSO) Login into WordPress

Step 1: Setup Shibboleth as OAuth Provider

• Go to the developer account of Shibboleth and sign up/login.
• From Configure OAuth tab in Oauth Client plugin, collect Redirect/Callback URL and enter it into your Shibboleth Application
• Copy your Client ID and Client Secret and save it on your miniOrange OAuth Client plugin Configuration.
• You have successfully completed your Shibboleth OAuth side configurations.

You have successfully configured Shibboleth as OAuth Provider for achieving Shibboleth login into your WordPress Site.

Step 2: Setup WordPress as OAuth Client

• After activating OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth client) plugin go to miniOrange OAuth.
• Click on Select Application to search your OAuth Provider application or click on your OAuth Provider application from the given applications.
• If your Application/ Server Name is not there in default list. You can click on Custom OAuth 2.0 App or Custom OpenID Connect App to add custom OAuth/OpenID Connect Server.

• Configure OAuth application in Shibboleth using the Callback/Redirect Url (refer screenshot below).
  
  
• Fill in the configuration details below from received configuration details from Shibboleth
  
  

  Client ID :	Received from app configured in Shibboleth
  Client Secret :	Received from app configured in Shibboleth
  Scope:	Based on data you want to get access to e.g. email or profile
  Authorize Endpoint:	Authorization endpoint of Shibboleth
  Access Token Endpoint:	Token endpoint of Shibboleth
  Get User Info Endpoint:	Resource or userinfo endpoint of Shibboleth

• Click on Save Settings button once you have entered all mandatory information.

3. User Attribute Mapping and Test Connection

• Click on Test Configuration button to verify if you have configured correctly.

• On successful configuration, you will get Attributes Name and Attribute Values on Test Configuration window. Map Attribute Names provided by your OAuth Server with OAuth Client Attributes given under Attribute Mapping Section and click on Save Settings.

4. Role Mapping [Premium]

• Click on “Test Configuration” and you will get the list of Attribute Names and Attribute Values that are sent by your OAuth provider.
• From the Test Configuration window, map the Attribute Names in the Attribute Mapping section of the plugin. Refer to the screenshot for more details.

• Enable Role Mapping: To enable Role Mapping, you need to map Group Name Attribute. Select the attribute name from the list of attributes which returns the roles from your provider application.
  Eg: Role


• Assign WordPress role to the Provider role: Based on your provider application, you can allocate the WordPress role to your provider roles. It can be a student, teacher, administrator or any other depending on your application. Add the provider roles under Group Attribute Value and assign the required WordPress role in front of it under WordPress Role.
  
  For example, in the below image. Teacher has been assigned the role of Administrator & Student is assigned the role of Subscriber.

• Once you save the mapping, the provider role will be assigned the WordPress administrator role after SSO.
  Example: As per the given example, Users with role ‘teacher’ will be added as Administrator in WordPress and ‘student’ will be added as Subscriber.

5: Login Settings / Sign In Settings

• The settings in Single Sign-On (SSO) Settings tab define the user experience for Single Sign-On (SSO). To add a Shibboleth login widget on your WordPress page, you need to follow the below steps.

1. Sign in settings for wordpress 5.7 and before :

• Go to WordPress Left Panel > Appearances > Widgets.
• Select miniOrange OAuth. Drag and drop to your favourite location and save.


2. Sign in settings for wordpress 5.8 :

• Go to WordPress Left Panel > Appearances > Widgets.
• Select miniOrange OAuth. Drag and drop to your favourite location and save.

• Open your WordPress page and you can see the Shibboleth SSO login button there. You can test the Shibboleth Single Sign-On (SSO) now.

In this Guide, you have successfully configured Shibboleth Single Sign-On (SSO) by configuring Shibboleth as OAuth Provider and WordPress as OAuth Client using our WP OAuth Single Sign-On ( OAuth & OpenID Connect Client ) plugin. This solution ensures that you are ready to roll out secure access to your WordPress site using Shibboleth SSO login credentials within minutes.

Additional Resources

• What is OAuth 2.0?
• Authenticating with OAuth 2.0 overview
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)