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Guide to Configure ASP.NET Core SAML SSO using Okta 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 Okta considering Okta as IdP.

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.


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, below is a sample implementation for reference.

  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();

  #if NET9_0_OR_GREATER
  app.MapStaticAssets();
  #else
  app.UseStaticFiles();
  #endif

  app.UseminiOrangeSAMLSSOMiddleware();
  app.Run();
NuGet Packege
.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, below here is a sample .

  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();

      #if NET9_0_OR_GREATER
      app.MapStaticAssets();
      #else
      app.UseStaticFiles();
      #endif

      app.UseminiOrangeSAMLSSOMiddleware();

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

Step by Step guide for ASP.NET Core SAML SSO using Okta as Identity Provider.


  • After integration, open your browser and browse the connector dashboard with the URL below:
 http(s)<your-dotnet-application-base-url>?ssoaction=config
  • If the registration page or login page pops up, you have successfully added the miniOrange SAML SSO middleware in your application.
ASP.NET Core- registeration page

  • Register or log in with your account by clicking the Register button to configure the middleware.
  • After successful registration, you will receive a trial license key on your registered email address.
  • To activate the middleware, you can either:
    • Enter the license key received via email in the provided input field.

    OR

    • Upload the license file that you downloaded by clicking on the Click Here button.
ASP.NET Middleware Verify Trial License

  • Then, check the box "I have read the above conditions and I want to activate the middleware", and click the Activate License button.
ASP.NET Middleware Activate License

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- Service Provider 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- enter sp data manually
  • In Okta Developer site, navigate to Applications tab and select Applications.
Okta Developer Console

  • Click on the Create App Integration button to create new app.
Create App Integration

  • Select SAML 2.0 as Sign-On method and Click on Next button.
Create App Integration

  • In General Settings tab, enter App Name and click on Next button.
General Settings tab

  • In Configure SAML tab, enter the required details:
Single Sign On URL ACS (AssertionConsumerService) URL from the Service Provider Metadata tab of the Plugin
Audience URL(SP Entity ID) SP Entity ID / Issuer from the Service Provider Metadata tab of the Plugin
Name ID Format Select E-Mail Address as a Name Id from dropdown list
Application Username Okta username
SAML Settings

  • Configure Group Attribute Statements (Optional) and click on Next button.
Group Attribute Statements

  • Select type of configured application and click on Finish button.
Group Attribute Statements

Assigning Groups/People:

  • Navigate to the application you created and click on the Assignments Tab in Okta.
Assigning Groups/People

  • Click on Assign button to Assign People and Assign Groups.
Assigning Groups/People

  • Once you Assign the user, click on Done button.
Assigning Groups/People

  • Click on Sign On tab and scroll down to the SAML Signing Certificates section.
  • Under Settings section in the Sign On tab, click on Copy button to copy the Metadata URL.
Metadata URL

  • Or you can also get IDP Metadata URL by following the further steps, click on Action dropdown for the Active certificate and then click on the View IdP Metadata option to get IdP Metadata which will be required for configuring your Service Provider.
IdP Metadata

  • Copy the Metadata URL.
Metadata URL


  • Click on the Add new IDP button to configure a new Identity Provider.
ASP.NET Core SAML SSO using Azure AD as IDP - Add New IDP

  • Under the Plugin Settings tab, select Okta as your identity provider from the list shown.
ASP.NET Core SAML SSO using Okta as IDP - Add New IDP

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.
  • 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- Upload IDP 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- Configure IDP Manually
  • After uploading the metadata details, navigate to the Identity Provider Settings section. Hover over the Select Actions dropdown and click on Test Configuration.
ASP.NET Core- Test Configuration

  • The screenshot below shows a successful result. Click on SSO Integration to further continue with the SSO Integration.
ASP.NET Core- 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- Test Configuration Error

  • To troubleshoot the error you can follow the below steps:
  • Under Troubleshoot tab, enable the toggle to receive the plugin logs.
ASP.NET Core- TroubleShoot

  • 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.
  • After testing the configuration, Map your application attributes with the Identity Provider (IdP) attributes.
  • From the left-hand menu of the miniOrange ASP.NET SAML SSO Middleware, click on Attribute/Role Mapping tab as shown in the image.
ASP.NET Core- Attribute Mapping

  • If you want to pass additional attributes from your IdP, enter the Attribute Name and corresponding Attribute Value under Custom Attribute Mapping.
  • Note: All the mapped attributes will be stored in the session so that you can access them in your application.
  • Once the attributes are mapped, click Save Attribute Mapping to apply changes.
ASP.NET Core- Attribute Mapping
  • 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- Integration Code

  • Note: With the trial middleware the authenticated user details are stored in user claims using the default .NET Cookie Authentication. Support of setting user claims using Header-based, Session-based, JWT-based authentication is available in our 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;
  }

  • Hover on Select Actions and click on Copy SSO Link.
ASP.NET Core 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>
  • 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>

Please reach out to us at aspnetsupport@xecurify.com, and our team will assist you with setting up the ASP.NET Core SAML SSO. Our team will help you to select the best suitable solution/plan as per your requirement.

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