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ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) with Azure AD as IDP

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) middleware gives the ability to enable SAML Single Sign-On for your ASP.NET core applications. Using Single Sign-On you can use only one password to access your ASP.NET core application and services. Our middleware is compatible with all the SAML compliant Identity providers. Here we will go through a step-by-step guide to configure Single Sign-On (SSO) between ASP.NET Core and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) considering Azure AD as IdP. To know more about the features we provide for ASP.NET Core SSO, click here.

Platform Support: The ASP.NET Core SAML middleware supports ASP.NET Core 2.0 and above. It supports all the ASP.NET Core platforms, including Windows, Linux and macOS.

Pre-requisites: Download And Installation

.NET5 & Above
NETCore2.0-.NETCore3.1

NuGet Package
.NET CLI

PM> NuGet\Install-Package miniOrange.SAML.SSO

Note: To integrate the miniOrange ASP.NET SAML SSO middleware in your application, you will be required to add the below namespaces, services and middleware in your project (marked in green), below here is a sample example

    
        
        
  
     using miniOrange.saml;
     using System.Reflection;

     public class Startup
     {
       public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)
       {
         Configuration = configuration;
       }
       public IConfiguration Configuration {get;}
       // This method gets called by the runtime. Use this method to add services to the container.
       public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
       {
         services.AddRazorPages();
         services.AddminiOrangeServices(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
      }

     // This method gets called by the runtime. Use this method to configure the HTTP request pipeline.
       public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
       {
        if (env.IsDevelopment())
        {
         app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
        }
        else
        {
         app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
      // The default HSTS value is 30 days. You may want to change this for production scenarios, see https://aka.ms/aspnetcore-hsts.
         app.UseHsts();
        }

      app.UseHttpsRedirection();

      app.UseCookiePolicy();
      app.UseAuthentication();
      app.UseStaticFiles();
      app.UseminiOrangeSAMLSSOMiddleware();

      app.UseRouting();
      app.UseAuthorization();
      app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
      {
        endpoints.MapRazorPages();
      });
     }
   }

    
        
  
    using miniOrange.saml;
    using System.Reflection;

    var builder=WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
    

    // Add services to the container.
    builder.Services.AddRazorPages();
    builder.Services.AddminiOrangeServices(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());

    var app = builder.Build();
    if(!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
    {
      app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
      app.UseHsts();
    }
    app.UseHttpsRedirection();
    app.UseRouting();
    app.UseAuthorization();
    app.MapRazorPages();

    app.UseCookiePolicy();
    app.UseAuthentication();
    app.UseStaticFiles();
    app.UseminiOrangeSAMLSSOMiddleware();

    app.Run();

Steps to configure ASP.NET Core Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD as IDP

1. Add middleware on ASP.NET Core application

After integration, open your browser and browse the connector dashboard with the URL below:
https://<asp.net-middleware-base-url>/?ssoaction=config
If the registration page or login page pops up, you have successfully added the miniOrange ASP.NET middleware authentication SAML SSO connector to your application.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - saml dll register

2. Configure Azure AD as Identity Provider

Under the Plugin Settings tab, select Azure AD as your identity provider from the list shown.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Select Azure AD as identity provider

There are two ways detailed below with which you can get the SAML SP metadata to configure onto your identity provider end.

A] Using SAML metadata URL or metadata file:

In the Plugin Settings menu, look for Service Provider Settings. Under that, you can find the metadata URL as well as the option to download the SAML metadata.
Copy metadata URL or download the metadata file to configure the same on your identity provider end.
You may refer to the screenshot below:

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Copy Downloaded Metadata

B] Uploading metadata manually:

From the Service Provider Settings section, you can manually copy the service provider metadata like SP Entity ID, ACS URL, Single Logout URL and share it with your identity provider for configuration.
You may refer to the screenshot below:

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Manual Metadata

Azure AD setup through Enterprise Applications
Azure AD setup through App Registrations

Log in to Azure AD Portal
Select Azure Active Directory.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Enterprise registrations

Select Enterprise Application.

Click on New Application.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - New Application

Click on Create your own Application.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Add Non-Gallery Application

Enter the name for your app, then select Non-gallery application section and click on Create button.

Click on Setup Single sign-on .

Select the SAML tab.

After clicking on Edit, enter the SP Entity ID for Identifier and the ACS URL for Reply URL from Service Provider Metadata tab of the plugin.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Select SAML authentication SSO

By default, the following Attributes will be sent in the SAML response. You can view or edit the claims sent in the SAML response to the application under the Attributes tab.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Configure SAML 2.0

Copy the App Federation Metadata Url to get the Endpoints required for configuring your Service Provider.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Setup SAML 2.0

Assign users and groups to your SAML application

Navigate to Users and groups tab and click on Add user/group.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - assign groups and users

Click on Users to assign the required user and then click on select.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - add users

You can also assign a role to your application under Select Role section.

You have successfully configured Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) as SAML IDP (Identity Provider) for achieving ASP.NET Core Single Sign-On (SSO).

3. Configure ASP.NET Core SAML Middleware as Service Provider

There are two ways detailed below with which you can configure your SAML identity provider metadata in the middleware.

A] Upload metadata using the Upload IDP Metadata button:

If your identity provider has provided you with the metadata URL or metadata file (.xml format only), then you can simply configure the identity provider metadata in the middleware using the Upload IDP Metadata option.
You may refer to the screenshot below:

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Upload Metadata

You can choose any one of the options according to the metadata format you have available.

B] Configure the identity provider metadata manually:

After configuring your Identity Provider, it will provide you with IDP Entity ID, IDP Single Sign On URL and SAML X509 Certificate fields respectively.
Click Save to save your IDP details.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - SAML dll config

4. Testing SAML SSO

Click on the Test Configuration button to test whether the SAML Configuration you’ve done is correct.
The screenshot below shows a successful result. Click on SSO Integration to further continue with the SSO Integration.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - SAML dll Test configuration

If you are experiencing any error on the middleware end you’ll be shown with the window similar to below.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - Enable debug logs

To troubleshoot the error you can follow the below steps:

Under Troubleshoot tab, enable the toggle to receive the plugin logs.

Once enabled, you will be able to retrieve plugin logs by navigating to Plugin Settings tab and clicking on Test Configuration.
Download the log file from the Troubleshoot tab to see what went wrong.
You can share the log file with us at aspnetsupport@xecurify.com and our team will reach out to you to resolve your issue.

5. Attribute Mapping

After testing the configuration, Map your application attributes with the Identity Provider (IdP) attributes.
Note: All the mapped attributes will be stored in the session so that you can access them in your application.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) as IDP - attribute mapping

6. Integration Code

This steps allow you to retrieve the SSO user information in your application in the form of user claims.
You can also look the setup tour to understand how the SSO integration would work in your asp.net middleware application.
Just copy-paste that code snippet wherever you want to access the user attributes.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) | ASP.NET Core Authentication | ASP.NET Core SAML SSO - integration code

Note:This trial middleware only supports user information in claims, retrieving user information in session and headers is available in the premium plugin
You can also copy the integration code from below:

          
      

  string name="";
  string claimtype="";
  string claimvalue="";

   if(User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
   {
     foreach( var claim  in User.Claims) 
     {
       claimtype = claim.Type;
       claimvalue = claim.Value;
     }
     //retrive custom attributes(for eg. Retrieve Mapped 'mobileNumber' attribute of your IDP)
     var identity = (ClaimsIdentity)User.Identity;
     IEnumerable claims = identity.Claims;
     string mobileNumber = identity.FindFirst("mobileNumber")?.Value;
   }

Note: All the mapped attributes will be stored in the claims to be accessed in your application.
If you want some assistance regarding the integration code, get in touch with us at aspnetsupport@xecurify.com

7. Login Settings

Hover on Select Actions and click on Copy SSO Link.

ASP.NET Core SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) using ADFS as IDP - Copy SSO Link

Use the following URL as a link in the application from where you want to perform SSO:
https://asp.net-middleware-base-url/?ssoaction=login
For example, you can use it as:
<a href=”https://asp.net-middleware-base-url/?ssoaction=login”>Log in</a>

8. Logout Settings

Use the following URL as a link to your application from where you want to perform SLO:
https://asp.net-middleware-base-url/?ssoaction=logout
For example, you can use it as:
<a href=”https://asp.net-middleware-base-url/?ssoaction=logout”>Log out</a>

You can configure the ASP.NET Core SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On (SSO) middleware with any Identity Provider such as ADFS, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Bitium, Centrify, G Suite, JBoss Keycloak, Okta, OneLogin, Salesforce, AWS Cognito, OpenAM, Oracle, PingFederate, PingOne, RSA SecureID, Shibboleth-2, Shibboleth-3, SimpleSAML, WSO2 or even with your own custom identity provider. Check the list of identity providers here.

Additional Resources

Need Help?

Not able to find your identity provider? Mail us on aspnetsupport@xecurify.com and we'll help you set up SSO with your IDP and for quick guidance (via email/meeting) on your requirement and our team will help you to select the best suitable solution/plan as per your requirement.

idp_cert	Enter the IDP certificate against this field
ssourl	Enter the SSO URL against this field
idp_issuer	Enter the IDP Issuer against this field