What is SSO ?
Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication method that enables users to access multiple applications with one-click login and one set of credentials. For example, after users log in to your org, they can automatically access all apps from the App Launcher. When you set up SSO, you configure one system to trust another to authenticate users , eliminating users' need to log in to each system separately. The system that authenticates users is called an Identity provider. The system that trusts the identity provider for authentication is called the Service provider.
SAML allows exchanging of information between Service Provider and Identity provider, SAML is integration between SP and IDP. When a user tries to log in, your identity provider sends SAML assertions containing facts about the user to Identity Provider. Identity Provider receives the assertion, validates it against your Identity Provider configuration, and allows the user to access your org.
Shibboleth3 Single Sign On (SSO) for Joomla miniOrange provides a ready to use solution for Joomla. This solution ensures that you are ready to roll out secure access to your Joomla site using Shibboleth3 within minutes.
Joomla SAML app gives the ability to enable SAML Single Sign-On for Joomla Site. Joomla site is compatible with all SAML Identity Providers. Here we will go through a guide to configure SAML SSO between Joomla and your Identity Provider. By the end of this guide, users from your Identity Provider should be able to login and register to Joomla site.
Step 1: Setup Shibboleth3 as Identity Provider
- In conf/idp.properties, uncomment and set 'idp.encryption.optional' to true.
eg. idp.encryption.optional = true
- In conf/metadata-providers.xml, configure Service Provider like this
<MetadataProvider xmlns:samlmd="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:metadata"
id="miniOrangeInLineEntity" xsi:type="InlineMetadataProvider" sortKey="1">
<samlmd:EntityDescriptor ID="entity" entityID="<SP-EntityID / Issuer from Service Provider Info tab in plugin.>"
validUntil="2020-09-06T04:13:32Z">
<samlmd:SPSSODescriptor AuthnRequestsSigned="false" WantAssertionsSigned="true"
protocolSupportEnumeration="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:protocol">
<samlmd:NameIDFormat>
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress
</samlmd:NameIDFormat>
<samlmd:AssertionConsumerService Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST"
Location="<ACS (AssertionConsumerService) URL from Step1 of the plugin under Identity Provider Tab.>"
index="1" />
</samlmd:SPSSODescriptor>
</samlmd:EntityDescriptor>
</MetadataProvider>
- In conf/saml-nameid.properties, uncomment and set default NameID as Email Address like this
idp.nameid.saml2.default=urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress
- In conf/saml-nameid-xml, search for shibboleth.SAML2NameIDGenerators. Uncomment the shibboleth.SAML2AttributeSourcedGenerator bean and comment all other ref beans
<!-- SAML 2 NameID Generation -->
<util:list id="shibboleth.SAML2NameIDGenerators">
<!--<ref bean="shibboleth.SAML2TransientGenerator" /> -->
<!-->ref bean="shibboleth.SAML2PersistentGenerator" /> -->
<bean parent="shibboleth.SAML2AttributeSourcedGenerator"
p:format="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress"
p:attributeSourceIds="#{ {'email'} }" />
</util:list>
- Make sure you have defined AttributeDefinition in conf/attribute-resolver.xml.
<!-- Note: AttributeDefinitionid must be same as what you provided in attributeSourceIds in conf/saml-nameid.xml -->
<resolver:AttributeDefinitionxsi:type="ad:Simple" id="email" sourceAttributeID="mail">
<resolver:Dependency ref="ldapConnector" />
<resolver:AttributeEncoderxsi:type="enc:SAML2String" name="email" friendlyName="email" />
</resolver:AttributeDefinition >
<resolver:DataConnector id="ldapConnector" xsi:type="dc:LDAPDirectory" ldapURL="%{idp.authn.LDAP.ldapURL}"
baseDN="%{idp.authn.LDAP.baseDN}" principal="%{idp.authn.LDAP.bindDN}"
principalCredential="%{idp.authn.LDAP.bindDNCredential}">
<dc:FilterTemplate>
<!-- Define you User Search Filter here -->
<![CDATA[ (&(objectclass=*)(cn=$requestContext.principalName)) ]]>
</dc:FilterTemplate>
<dc:ReturnAttributes>*</dc:ReturnAttributes>
</resolver:DataConnector>
- Make sure you have AttributeFilterPolicy defined in conf/attribute-filter.xml.
<afp:AttributeFilterPolicy id="ldapAttributes">
<afp:PolicyRequirementRulexsi:type="basic:ANY"/>
<afp:AttributeRuleattributeID="email">
<afp:PermitValueRulexsi:type="basic:ANY"/>
</afp:AttributeRule>
</afp:AttributeFilterPolicy>
- Restart the Shibboleth Server.
- You need to configure these endpoints in the Service Provider.
| IDP Entity ID |
https://<your_domain>/idp/shibboleth |
| Single Login URL |
https://<your_domain>/idp/profile/SAML2/Redirect/SSO |
| Single Logout URL |
https://<your_domain>/idp/shibboleth |
| X.509 Certificate |
The public key certificate of your Shibboleth server |
Step 2: Configuring Joomla as Service Provider (SP)
- In Joomla SAML plugin, go to Service Provider Setup Tab. There are three ways to configure the plugin:
By Metadata URL :
- Click on Upload IDP Metadata.
- Enter Metadata URL (Copy from IDP app) and click on Fetch Metadata.
By Uploading Metadata File:
- Click on Upload IDP Metadata.
- Choose metadata file and click on Upload.
Manual Configuration :
- Copy SAML Entity ID, SAML Single-Sign-On Endpoint URL and x.509 certificate from Federation Metadata document and paste it in IdP Entity ID or Issuer, Single Sign-on Service URL, x.509 Certificate fields respectively in the plugin.
| IdP Entity ID or Issuer |
SAML Entity ID in the Federation Metadata document |
| Single Sign-On Service URL |
SAML Single-Sign-On Endpoint URL in the Federation Metadata document |
| X.509 Certificate |
x.509 Certificate in the Federation Metadata document |
Add a button on your site login page with the following URL:
Step 3: Attribute Mapping (It is Optional to fill this). This is Premium feature.
- Attributes are user details that are stored in your Identity Provider.
- Attribute Mapping helps you to get user attributes from your Identity Provider (IdP) and map them to Joomla user attributes like firstname, lastname etc.
- While auto registering the users in your Joomla site these attributes will automatically get mapped to your Joomla user details.
- In Joomla SAML plugin, go to Attribute Mapping tab and fill in all the fields.
| Username: |
Name of the username attribute from IdP (Keep NameID by default) |
| Email: |
Name of the email attribute from IdP (Keep NameID by default) |
| Group/Role: |
Name of the Role attribute from Identity Provider(IdP) |
- You can check the Test Configuration Results under Service Provider Setup tab to get a better idea of which values to map here.
Step 4: Group Mapping (It is Optional to fill this). This is Premium feature.
- Joomla uses a concept of Roles, designed to give the site owner the ability to control what users can and cannot do within the site.
- Role mapping helps you to assign specific roles to users of a certain group in your Identity Provider (IdP).
- While auto registering, the users are assigned roles based on the group they are mapped to.
Step 5: Redirection & SSO Links.
- Go to Login Settings tab. There are multiple features availabe in this tab like Auto redirect the user to Identity Provider and Enable Backed Login for Super Users. To use these features, click on the respective checkboxes.
You have successfully completed your miniOrange SAML 2.0 SP configurations. Still, if you are facing any difficulty please mail us on
joomlasupport@xecurify.com .
Step 2: Configuring Joomla as Service Provider (SP)
- In Joomla SAML plugin, go to Service Provider Setup Tab. There are three ways to configure the plugin:
By Metadata URL :
- Click on Upload IDP Metadata.
- Enter Metadata URL (Copy from IDP app) and click on Fetch Metadata.
By Uploading Metadata File:
- Click on Upload IDP Metadata.
- Choose metadata file and click on Upload.
Manual Configuration :
- Copy SAML Entity ID, SAML Single-Sign-On Endpoint URL and x.509 certificate from Federation Metadata document and paste it in IdP Entity ID or Issuer, Single Sign-on Service URL, x.509 Certificate fields respectively in the plugin.
| IdP Entity ID or Issuer |
SAML Entity ID in the Federation Metadata document |
| Single Sign-On Service URL |
SAML Single-Sign-On Endpoint URL in the Federation Metadata document |
| X.509 Certificate |
x.509 Certificate in the Federation Metadata document |
Add a button on your site login page with the following URL:
Step 3: Attribute Mapping (It is Optional to fill this). This is Premium feature.
- Attributes are user details that are stored in your Identity Provider.
- Attribute Mapping helps you to get user attributes from your Identity Provider (IdP) and map them to Joomla user attributes like firstname, lastname etc.
- While auto registering the users in your Joomla site these attributes will automatically get mapped to your Joomla user details.
- In Joomla SAML plugin, go to Attribute Mapping tab and fill in all the fields.
| Username: |
Name of the username attribute from IdP (Keep NameID by default) |
| Email: |
Name of the email attribute from IdP (Keep NameID by default) |
| Group/Role: |
Name of the Role attribute from Identity Provider(IdP) |
- You can check the Test Configuration Results under Service Provider Setup tab to get a better idea of which values to map here.
Step 4: Group Mapping (It is Optional to fill this). This is Premium feature.
- Joomla uses a concept of Roles, designed to give the site owner the ability to control what users can and cannot do within the site.
- Role mapping helps you to assign specific roles to users of a certain group in your Identity Provider (IdP).
- While auto registering, the users are assigned roles based on the group they are mapped to.
Step 5: Redirection & SSO Links.
- Go to Login Settings tab. There are multiple features availabe in this tab like Auto redirect the user to Identity Provider and Enable Backed Login for Super Users. To use these features, click on the respective checkboxes.
You have successfully completed your miniOrange SAML 2.0 SP configurations. Still, if you are facing any difficulty please mail us on
joomlasupport@xecurify.com .
How miniorange Joomla SAML SSO plugin works?
SAML 2.0 SP Single Sign On ( SAML SSO) - Service Provider Plugin acts as a SAML 2.0 Service Provider which can be configured to establish the trust between the Joomla site and various SAML 2.0 supported Identity Providers to securely authenticate (Secure Login) the user to the Joomla site.
SAML 2.0 SP Single Sign On (SSO) - Service Provider plugin also provides Cross-Domain / Sub-domain login sharing with other Joomla websites.
We also provide a separate plugin that enables Joomla to act as an Identity Provider. It supports authentication with Joomla, user management, session management, change password, etc. You can configure any service provider with your Joomla site with the help of this plugin.
What is the use of the configuration or integration with SAML SSO?
Miniorange Provides best SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) solution to Shibboleth3.
SSO reduces the number of attack surfaces because users only log in once each day and only use one set of credentials. Reducing login to one set of credentials improves enterprise security. When employees have to use separate passwords for each app, they usually don't.
Single Sign-On (SSO) is a highly secure user authentication process. SSO lets the users access multiple applications with a single account credential and sign out instantly with one click.
Mini orange Joomla plugin supports SSO. To provide single sign-on services for your domain, Joomla acts as a service provider (SP) through the SAML (Secure Assertion Markup Language) standard.
Shibboleth3 [SAML] Single Sign-On (SSO) login for Joomla can be achieved by using our Joomla SAML SP Single Sign-On(SSO) plugin. Our plugin is compatible with all the SAML compliant Identity providers. Here we will go through a step-by-step guide to configure SAML SSO login between the Joomla site and Shibboleth3
SSO with Shibboleth3 :-
The Joomla SAML Single Sign-On plugin allows your Shibboleth3 users to login to the Joomla site by authenticating with their Shibboleth3 credentials(Login using Shibboleth3 / Shibboleth3 Login).
Our Joomla Single Sign-On (SAML SSO) plugin supports all the Shibboleth3 SSO use cases such as Shibboleth3 Login, Shibboleth3 Single Sign-On, Shibboleth3 Community SSO, Shibboleth3 Login(Single Sign-On) into Joomla, Login using Shibboleth3, Login with Shibboleth3.
This allows you to seamlessly achieve Login using Shibboleth3, Shibboleth3 Login, Shibboleth3 Community SSO, Login with Shibboleth3, Shibboleth3 Single Sign-On for your Joomla site.
