SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) into Zendesk using Joomla IDP Plugin

Single Sign-On in Zendesk using Joomla IDP allows users to log in to Zendesk using Joomla by configuring Zendesk as a Service Provider (SP) and Joomla as a SAML Identity Provider (IDP). This guide will take you through a step-by-step process to configure SSO between the two platforms.

What is Zendesk?
Zendesk Support is a system for tracking, prioritizing, and solving customer support tickets. It puts all customer information in one place so that everything is in a single location. Zendesk provides machine learning powered, self-service customer support, using a combination of the Zendesk API, Web Widget, and Mobile SDK as Zendesk Embeddables.

Pre-requisites: Download And Installation

Download

Handbook

Free Trial

Install Joomla IDP Plugin

• Download the zip file for the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin.
• Log into your Joomla site’s administrator console.
• From left toggle menu, click on System, then under Install section click on Extensions.

• Upload the downloaded zip file to install the Joomla IDP plugin.

• Installation of the plugin is successful. Now click on Start Using miniOrange SAML IDP Plugin to configure miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin.

Steps to configure Zendesk SSO with Joomla as IDP.

1. Configure Zendesk as Service Provider

• Go to the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin, navigate to the Identity Provider tab.
• Here, you can find the Identity Provider Metadata URL/XML Metadata or endpoints like IDP Entity ID, SAML Login URL, SAML Logout URL (Premium Feature), and Certificate for SP configuration. Download the XML Metadata by clicking on the button as shown below.

• Go to Zendesk and Login to your Zendesk domain.
• Click on the Account in the left pane and then click on Single sign-on under Security.

• Now click on Create SSO configuration and then select SAML from the dropdown.

• Here enter the information into the corresponding fields from the Joomla IDP metadata here. Then, click on the Save button.


Enter the following values:

SAML SSO URL	Enter SAML Login URL from the Identity Provider tab of the Joomla plugin.
Remote logout URL	Enter SAML logout URL from the Identity Provider tab of the Joomla plugin.
Certificate Fingerprint	Copy the Thumbprint of the certificate downloaded from the Identity Provider tab of the Joomla plugin. To generate copy all the content of the certificate and paste it in any online X.509 Certificate Fingerprint generator.

You have successfully configured the Zendesk as Service Provider (SP).

2. Configure Joomla as Identity Provider

• Now go to Components miniOrange Joomla IDP Service Provider

• Navigate to the Service Provider tab and complete the fields for Service Provider Name, SP Entity ID or Issuer, ACS URL, and NameID Format. Refer to this step to get Service Provider details. Fill in the other fields according to your requirements. Click on Save.

Enter the following values:

Service Provider Name	Enter appropriate name according to your choice.
SP Entity ID or Issuer	Service Provider Entity ID.
ACS URL	SP Assertion Consumer Service URL.
X.509 Certificate (optional) [For Signed Request]	Paste certificate value you copied from the Metadata file.
NameID Format	Select urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress.
Assertion Signed	Checked.


• Now click on Advance Mapping tab. Select the NameID Attribute and then click on Save Button.


You have successfully completed your miniOrange SAML 2.0 IDP configurations.

3. Attribute Mapping (Premium Feature)

• In the miniOrange Joomla IDP plugin, navigate to the Advance Mapping tab.
• Here, you can configure Custom attribute mapping and also add additional User Attributes.

In this Guide, you have successfully integrated Zendesk SAML Single Sign-On (SSO) with Joomla as the IDP. This solution ensures that you are ready to roll out secure Single Sign-On (SSO) access with SAML 2.0 Authentication into Zendesk using Joomla login credentials.

Free Trial

If you would like to test out the plugin to ensure your business use case is fulfilled, we do provide a 7-day trial. Please drop us an email at joomlasupport@xecurify.com requesting a trial. You can create an account with us using this link.

Additional Resources.

• What is Single Sign-On (SSO)
• What is SAML?
• Additional SAML IDP guides
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)