Working with User Authentication
- Introduction
Introduction
After you have logged into the Controller for the first time (see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator), you can create authentication methods and apply them to the authentication policies you define in your Ivanti Neurons for Zero Trust Access (nZTA) deployment. You then apply an authentication policy, together with user rules, to a user group. A user group forms part of a Secure Access Policy.
To learn more about secure access policies, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
To view user authentication methods currently defined on the Controller, see Viewing User Authentication Methods. To view user authentication policies, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
This chapter includes workflows for configuring user authentication according to each supported authentication type. nZTA supports the following types:
- Local authentication: An authentication system that is internal to the Controller. You must create all users manually on the Controller, and update any required authentication policies. see Workflow: Creating a Local Authentication Policy.
- Azure AD SAML authentication: An existing remote SAML authentication system based on an Azure AD server. See Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy With Azure AD.
- On-premICSSAML authentication: An existing remote SAML authentication system based on an on-premises ICS server. See Workflow: Creating an Authentication Policy for On-Premises ICS SAML.
- Okta SAML authentication: An existing remote SAML authentication system based on Okta. See Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy for Okta.
- PingID SAML authentication: An existing remote SAML authentication system based on PingID. See Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy for Ping Identity.
- TOTP authentication: Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) authentication as a secondary mechanism in Multi-Factor Authentication deployments. See Workflow: Adding TOTP to an Authentication Policy.
After you have created the required authentication methods and updated your user authentication policies, you create user rules and user groups, see Creating User Rules and User Groups.
Optionally, you can associate each user group with an admin role, see Associating User Groups with Admin Roles.
Viewing User Authentication Methods
To view the user authentication methods defined on the Controller, select the Secure Access icon in the nZTA menu, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers.
The Authentication Servers page appears, showing all user authentication methods:
User Authentication Methods
From this page, you can:
- Add a new authentication method by selecting Create Authentication Server.
- Edit an existing authentication method by selecting the adjacent check box, then selecting Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and save the changes.
- Delete an unused authentication method by selecting the adjacent check box, then selecting Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
- View the configured attributes for a SAML authentication method, where that method is configured for use with an authentication policy. To do this, select the arrow indicator to the left of the method name, where shown.
Viewing User Authentication Policies
To view the user authentication policies defined on the Controller, select the Secure Access icon in the nZTA menu, then select Manage Users > User Policies.
The User Policies page appears, showing all user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies
nZTA provides following default/built-in authentication policies, indicated by a tick in the Default column, suitable for the primary use-cases of administrative sign-in, user enrollment, and user sign-in:
- Admin SignIn. This policy is used whenever admin users log in. That is, for connection requests to the */login/admin/ URL. It is referenced by the ALLADMINUSERS user rule, which associates it with the ADMINISTRATORS user rule group.
- User SignIn. This policy can be used as the primary connection endpoint for all user device sign-in and enrollment requests. That is, for connection requests to the */login/ URL. It is referenced by the ALLUSERS user rule, which associates it with the USERS user rule group.a
These policies are fixed and cannot be deleted. However, you can edit them to reference specific authentication methods.
Furthermore, you can create additional custom authentication policies to enable bespoke authentication for specific groups of users or parts of your organization. Each policy should contain a unique access URL to which your users connect, and each should then be configured to link to authentication methods applicable for that purpose (for more information, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies).
To learn more about how user authentication policies are used in a nZTA service, see Defining User Authentication.
From this page, you can:
- (For SAML authentication) Download policy metadata files that are required for external SAML enrollment or sign-in apps. To do this, select the check box for the required policy and select Download. Save the file to your local workstation.
- View the configured attributes for a SAML-authenticated policy, where that policy is configured with a valid SAML authentication method. To do this, select the arrow indicator to the left of the policy name, where shown.
- Add an authentication policy by selecting Create User Policy.
- Edit an existing authentication policy by selecting the adjacent check box, then selecting Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and save the changes.
- Delete an unused authentication policy by selecting the adjacent check box, then selecting Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
Creating User Rules and User Groups
After your authentication method is established and associated with an authentication policy, you can set up any required user rules and user groups. A user rule identifies one or more users based on a test against a selected attribute present in a user credential or profile, checked against either a local authentication record or from a SAML authentication service. For information about creating user rules, see Creating User Rules.
Performing authentication through a User Group
You associate one or more user rules with an authentication policy to form a user group (see Creating User Groups). Users requesting authorization for a service controlled by a Secure Access Policy must pass all the rules contained in the User Group attached to the policy.
A user group is required when defining a secure access policy. The user group identifies the users and the authentication policy to which a secure access policy applies, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Optionally, you can associate each user group with an admin role, see Associating User Groups with Admin Roles.
Creating User Rules
Through user rules, an admin can construct a test to provide authorization to only those users of a particular name, role, group, or some other stored attribute. In the rule configuration, you select the user attribute on which you want a test to be performed.
nZTA includes following default user rules:
- ALLADMINUSERS. This matches all users, and is referenced by the default ADMINISTRATORS user group, which associates it with the built-in Admin Signin authentication policy.
- ALLUSERS. This matches all users, and is referenced by the default USERS user group, which associates it with the built-in User Signin authentication policy.
To read more about default user groups, see Creating User Groups. To read more about built-in authentication policies, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
This preset configuration of rules, groups, and policies is suitable for typical use cases involving whole-organization authorization needs. In other words, where you require only a single user authorization path that matches all users. For scenarios where you require more specific user authorization checks, you can create additional rules to match specific types of users.
When you create a rule, you select the user attribute with which you want this rule to test. nZTA provides the following rule attribute types:
- username: For local authentication methods, choose this attribute type to match against locally-defined user names.
- SAML (Azure AD): For SAML authentication methods, choose this attribute type to match against user names or groups provided by the SAML service.
- Custom: For SAML authentication methods, choose this attribute type to match against a custom SAML attribute expression.
To create a user rule:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Rules. The User Rules page appears. This page lists all user rules.
- Click Create User Rule. The Create User Rule form appears.
Create User Rule
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by clicking Reset Fields.
- Enter a Rule Name.
- Select Select Attribute Type and select one of the available options:
- Username: Matches user names in a local authentication method. When you select this option, you must then:
- Select an Expression type, either Matching or Not Matching.
- For the User value, enter a match expression for the selected Expression type. For the value:
- A comma-separated list of items is supported where required.
- Wildcard matches are supported.
- Special characters are supported.
- Single and double quotes are not supported.
Ivanti recommends that a basic asterisk wildcard is not used when you intend to associate admin roles with user groups. Instead, a more-specific wildcard that only includes admin users is required in this case to prevent all users having total access rights.
- SAML (Azure AD): Matches user names or groups in a SAML authentication method. When you select this option, you must then:
- Select a SAML Attribute Type, either Username or Group.
- For Attribute Value, enter a single-value match expression for the selected SAML Attribute Type as a SAML expression. For matches against username, *-wildcard values are accepted. For matches against Group, specify either a Group Name or GroupID based on the configuration in your Azure AD service.
If you select an attribute type of Group, an authenticated user must be a part of only the matching group. If the user is a part of multiple groups, authentication will fail.
- Custom. Matches against a custom SAML attribute expression. When you select this option, use the Type or Create an Expression property to enter an attribute expression. Supported formats include:
- For simple user attribute key-value matching, use the syntax userAttr.<attr-key> [=|!=] <attr-value>. For example:
- userAttr.memberOf = "CN=sales,DC=example,DC=com"
- userAttr.mail = "[email protected]"
- userAttr.realm = "Users"
- userAttr.department != "example_department"- To match against attributes that can have multiple values associated with a single attribute key, use the syntax samlMultiValAttr.<attr-key> [=|!=] (<list>). For example:
- samlMultiValAttr.memberOf = ("CN=Employee,CN=Users,DC=example_demo,DC=com")
- samlMultiValAttr.memberOf = ("CN=Users,DC=example_demo,DC=com")- Use brackets and AND/OR operators to construct logical compound expressions:
- userAttr.groups = ("Group1" or "Group2")
- userAttr.realm = ("ztaqa") and samlMultiValAttr.memberOf = ("CN=sales,DC=uisdp,DC=com")
- userAttr.realm = ("ztaqa") or samlMultiValAttr.memberOf = ("CN=sales,DC=uisdp,DC=com")
- userAttr.realm != ("ztaqa") and samlMultiValAttr.memberOf = ("CN=sales,DC=uisdp,DC=com")For samlMultiValAttr expressions containing multiple groups (for example, samlMultiValAttr.groups = ("Group1" or "Group2")), your matching users must be a part of both groups in the expression to obtain authorization.
- To create the user rule with the displayed settings, click Create User Rule. The new user rule is added to the list of user rules.
- Repeat steps 3-6 for each required user rule.
- (Optional) Edit an existing user rule by selecting the adjacent check box, and then selecting Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and save the changes.
- (Optional) Delete an unused user rule by selecting the adjacent check box, and then selecting Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
After you have created all required user rules, you can create user groups, see Creating User Groups.
Creating User Groups
After you have created user rules (see Creating User Rules), you associate one or more user rules with an authentication policy to form a user group.
User groups are one of the four dimensions of a Secure Access Policy, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
nZTA includes following default user groups:
- ADMINISTRATORS. This user group associates the default ALLADMINUSERS user rule with the built-in Admin Signin authentication policy.
- USERS. This user group associates the default ALLUSERS user rule with the built-in User Signin authentication policy.
To read more about built-in authentication policies, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
This preset configuration of rules, groups, and policies is suitable for typical use cases involving whole-organization authorization needs. In other words, where you require only a single user authorization path that matches all users. For scenarios where you require more specific user authorization checks, you can create additional user groups to make different associations of user rules and custom authentication policies.
To create a user group:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Groups. The User Groups page appears. This page lists all user groups.
- Click Create User Group. A form appears to enable you to create the user group.
Create User Groups
- Enter a User Group Name and an optional Description, then click Next.
- Select each of the listed User Rules that are required in the user group, then click Next.
User rules should be different for enrollment and user sign-in groups
- Select required authentication policy from the list, then click Next.
- Review the summary and click Create. The new user group appears in the User Groups list.
- Repeat steps 2-7 to create all required user groups.
- (Optional) To edit a listed user group, select the adjacent check box, then select Actions > Edit and make any required updates.
- (Optional) To delete an unused user group, select the adjacent check box, then select Actions > Delete and confirm the deletion.
After you have created user groups, you can optionally assign the user group to an admin role, see Associating User Groups with Admin Roles.
Associating User Groups with Admin Roles
An admin role defines the elements of the user interface that an associated user group can access.
The current user can only access an individual user interface page/workflow if their user group is associated with an admin role that permits it. The tasks they can perform within that displayed element depends on the permissions set within the admin role.
When you are using admin roles, Ivanti recommends that any user rules for administrators does not use a basic asterisk wildcard, see Creating User Rules. Instead, a more-specific wildcard that only includes admin users is required in this case to prevent all users having total access rights.
The default admin roles are not created by the tenant admin using the nZTA user interface. Rather, they are set up by the Ivanti DevOps team.
For example, the DevOps team might define the following admin roles:
- The .Administrators admin role has access to all user interface elements (full read, create, update, delete rights).
- The .Read-Only Administrators admin role has access to all user interface elements except workflows (read only).
- The .Network Administrators admin role has access to nZTA Gateways and Insights (read only).
- The .CxOs admin role has access to Insights only (read only).
For more information about your assigned admin roles, please contact Ivanti DevOps.
The Tenant Admin can view admin roles in the Administration > Admin Roles page, and associate each role with a single user group.
To associate a user group with an admin role:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select Administration, then select Admin Roles.
A list of Admin Roles appears. This includes default admin roles and custom admin roles (RBAC). For example:
Admin Roles
- Select the check box adjacent to the role you want to update, then select Actions > Edit.
A dialog appears. For example:
Edit Admin Roles
- Under Choose group, select the user group that you want the admin group to be associated with.
- Select Save Changes.
- (Optional) Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each admin role.
Role-based Access Control for Admin Users
With Role-based access control (RBAC), organizations can easily add admins and assign them specific roles, with differing levels of access to the nSA Admin Portal. In addition to an existing set of default roles, Administrators can now create custom granular roles for specific functions within the nSA admin portal.
The following examples illustrate how an organization can leverage role-based administration for a variety of scenarios.
To create a custom admin role:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select Administration, then select Admin Roles.
- In the Admin Roles page, click Create Role. The Create Admin Role page appears.
Create Admin Role
- Enter a unique name for the role.
- From the drop-down list, select the User Group that you want to associate with this role. For details, see Associating User Groups with Admin Roles.
- Optionally, enter a Description.
- From the drop-down list, select an existing role that suits your requirements.
- Under Permission Settings, the Controller Permissions list shows the list of resources. The resources specific to nZTA are tagged with nZTA and resources specific to nSA are tagged with ICS.
Controller Permissions
- Select the Hide, View only, or Modify permissions for each resource and its attributes. This determines which pages to show and which actions to allow.
- Under Permission Settings, the ICS Gateway Configuration list shows the list of ICS Gateway resources.
ICS Gateway Permissions
- Click Select Gateways. In the Select Gateways dialog, select one or more Gateways / Clusters from the list and click Apply.
Select Gateways/Clusters
- Select the Hide, View only, or Modify permissions for each resource and its attributes. This determines which pages to show and which actions to allow.
- Click Create. The newly created custom admin role is displayed in the Admin Roles page.
- (Optional) Edit an existing admin role by selecting the check box adjacent to the role and then clicking Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and save the changes.
- (Optional) Delete an unused custom admin rule by selecting the check box adjacent to the role and then clicking Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
New pages added as part of Controller/Gateway updates are visible to Super Admins by default, but hidden for custom admin roles. Super Admins can modify the permissions for the new pages added based on the custom roles created.
Workflow: Creating a Local Authentication Policy
This process involves creating a local user authentication method and defining within it all user credentials necessary to identify and authenticate your end-users. You then configure this method as the primary authentication method in your authentication policies. If you are configuring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in your deployment, you can configure local user authentication as either the primary or secondary authentication method.
Before you begin, make sure you have all user details (name and password) ready.
To configure a new local authentication method:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers.
The Authentication Servers page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods. For example:
User Authentication Methods
- Select Create Authentication Server.
A form appears that enables you to define the authentication method.
Adding a new local user authentication method
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
- Under Choose name and type:
- Specify an Authentication Server Name.
- Select the Authorization Type of Local.
- Configure the password options. This is applicable to default Admin Auth and default User Auth.
Settings | Guidelines |
|---|---|
Minimum length | Specify a number of characters. The valid range is 6-128. 6 is the default. |
Maximum length | Specify a number of characters. The valid range is 6-128. 128 is the default. The maximum length cannot be less than the minimum length. |
Minimum digits | Specify the number of digits required in a password. Do not require more digits than the value of the maximum length option. |
Minimum letters | Specify the number of letters required in a password. Do not require more letters than the value of the maximum length option. If you enable the previous option, the combined total of the two options cannot exceed that of the value specified in the maximum length option. |
Uppercase and lowercase required | Select this option if you want all passwords to contain a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters. Require passwords to contain at least two letters if you also require a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters. |
| |
Special Characters | Select this option if you want password should contain any special characters |
Different from current password | Select this option if the password must not be same as the current password. |
Different from username | Select this option if the password must not be same as the username. |
Different from previous password | Select this option and then select the number from drop-down if a new password must not be same as the previous number of passwords. |
Force password change | Select this option to specify the number of days after which a password expires. The default is 180 days. |
Allow users to change passwords | Select this option if you want users to be able to change their passwords. In addition to selecting local authentication password management options, you must select the Enable Password Management option for the associated realm authentication policy. |
Prompt users to change password | Select this option to specify when to prompt the user to change passwords. |
- Click Create User. The Create Local User dialog appears to show additional local authentication settings:
Adding local users to a new authentication method
- Enter the following settings:
- Specify a User Name, Full Name, and Email for the user.
- Specify a Password and Confirm Password for the user.
- (Optional) Select the Temporary Password check box if you want the user to change their password when they first log in.
- Click Create User.
The user is added to the list of users.
- Repeat the previous step for each required user.
- Click Create Authentication Server.
The new local user authentication method is added to the list of methods and the process is complete.
After you have created your local authentication method, create or update your authentication policies with the new authentication method.
nZTA provides built-in policies to cover both basic cases. In addition, nZTA allows for the definition of custom policies to facilitate separate authentication endpoints for specific groups of users. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
Repeat the following steps for each policy, starting with enrollment:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies. The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies. From this page, either create a new custom policy or edit an existing policy.
- To add a new custom policy, click Create User Policy. The Create Authentication Policy form appears.
Create Authentication Policy
To learn more about how custom policies are used for user login and enrollment, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies.
- Enter a Policy Name.
- Enter a Login URL using the format */login/<path>/. The URL must start with "*/login/" and cannot contain any special characters. <path> should be set to a unique value reflecting the endpoint URL you want to define for this authentication policy (appended with a backslash):
- In the case of user sign-in policies, this is the URL endpoint (appended to the tenant FQDN) to which new users are invited to connect to enroll or sign-in a device with the Controller. Example value: "*/login/saleslogin/".
- In the case of user enrollment policies, this endpoint identifies the enrollment URL to which users are redirected if they attempt to connect to the equivalent sign-in policy with an un-enrolled device. In most cases, you do not advertise this endpoint to your users. Example value: "*/login/salesenroll/".
In some enrollment circumstances, such as when using a device pre-installed with an older version of Ivanti Secure Access Client, you connect directly to the enrollment policy endpoint to enroll the device. For more details, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- (Optional) Enter a description for the authentication policy.
- Select a User Type based on the intended authentication activity for this policy. Choose from:
- Users: Select this option to define the user sign-in endpoint for enrolled devices. This is the endpoint that you provide to your users to access the service (regardless of enrollment status).
- Administrators: Select this option to define the authentication endpoint for administrator-level sign-in. This endpoint is used for administrator login to the Controller only.
- (for policies with a User Type of "Users" only): Select an Enroll Device Policy from the drop-down list to be linked to this sign-in policy (as indicated):
Linking an enrollment policy to a user sign-in policy This is the enrollment policy to which a user is redirected if it is determined that the device is not yet enrolled. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- Under Policy Server Details, select Primary Auth Server from the drop-down list:
Selecting a primary authentication method for this policy
- (Optional) Where a secondary method is required for Multi-Factor Authentication, select Secondary Auth Server from the drop-down list.
Secondary authentication methods do not apply to Enrollment User type policies. The relevant field is hidden in this case.
- Click Create User Policy to create the new policy.
The new policy is added to the list of authentication policies.
If you instead elect to update an existing custom or built-in policy:
- Select the check box adjacent to the relevant policy, then select Actions > Edit. The Edit authentication policy form appears.
For built-in authentication policies, all properties except Primary Auth Server and Secondary Auth Server (where applicable) are read-only.
- Configure the primary and/or secondary authentication methods, as required:
- Set the Primary Auth Server to be the new local user authentication method (indicated):
Editing the primary auth server
- If you are configuring a policy for MFA, set the Secondary Auth Server to be the new local user authentication method (indicated):
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
- Click Update User Policy. The list of authentication policies updates.
- Repeat until all required authentication policies are updated.
To ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy With Azure AD
nZTA supports the use of a cloud-based Active Directory (AD) SAML service to provide authentication for your users.
If you choose to use AD as a SAML Identity Provider (IdP), you do not create any users locally on the Controller. All users will already be present in your remote SAML service.
Configuring nZTA to use SAML authentication requires you to create separate SAML apps on the Azure AD platform for the following primary activities:
- User sign-in
- User enrollment
As part of hardening custom sign-in policies and login URLs, the following changes are implemented:
- Instead of requiring administrators to configure enrollment policies, administrators will only need to configure user policies. As a default, all configured user policies support enrollment.
- Single SAML authentication server for user authentication and enrollment.
The Controller includes built-in default authentication policies for each of these purposes, and also includes the ability to create your own custom policies for separate authentication of specific user groups. You create an authentication method referencing one of the Azure AD SAML apps described above and then assign the method to an authentication policy of the same type (either the built-in policy, or one you create).
Configuring nZTA to Use SAML Authentication
You must keep the SAML metadata up-to-date, especially after renewing certificates. This is essential for a secure and successful SaaS Apps SAML SSO flow. Regularly updating configurations in both the Identity Provider and Service Providers helps prevent authentication failures and ensures the security of the authentication process.
Configure nZTA by performing the following steps:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers. The Authentication Servers page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods:
User Authentication Methods
- Click Create Authentication Server. A form appears that enables you to define the authentication method:
Adding a user authentication method
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
- Under Choose Server Name and Authentication Type:
- Select the Authentication Type as SAML (Azure AD). The form expands to show additional settings.
Configuring SAML (Azure AD) authentication settings
- Specify an Authentication Server Name.
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Auth metadata file if not selected already. This is selected by default. The Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link is enabled.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link. Retain the downloaded file for later use.
- Select Enter SAML Auth metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Azure AD) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
- If this Auth server is used with User Policy of type “User”, then click Enable Enrollment.
Enable Enrollment
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Enroll metadata file if not selected already. This is selected by default.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Enroll Service Provider Metadata for IDP link.
- Select Enter SAML Enroll metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Azure AD) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
- When editing an existing SAML Auth server, the 'Enable Enrollment' option can be enabled or disabled if the SAML Auth server is not being used in any ‘User Policy’. If the SAML Auth server is being used in a ‘User Policy’, then Enable Enrollment button will be grayed out. - If 'Enable Enrollment' is not selected, then while creation of 'User Policy' of type 'User', the server you have created (without Enable Enrollment) will not be listed. - When Enrollment is disabled, the enrollment SAML configuration will be deleted. To enable enrollment, you have to again provide enroll SAML auth server configuration.
- Use the downloaded User Authentication and Enrollment SP Metadata files to create Sign-In and Enrollment SAML Apps in Azure AD. For details, see Creating Enrollment/Sign-in SAML App in Azure AD.
- Browse and upload the digitally-signed (or unsigned) federation metadata XML definition files downloaded from Azure AD.
- Confirm that your settings are correct, then select Create Authentication Server to create the authentication method.
The new SAML user authentication method is added to the list of methods displayed in the User Authentication page, and the process completes.
(Optional) To edit a listed authentication method, select the adjacent check box, then select Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and confirm.
- (Optional) To delete one (or more) an unused authentication methods, select the check box for each, then select Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
Creating Enrollment/Sign-in SAML App in Azure AD
Perform the following steps in Azure AD:
- Create a SAML app for the required activity (sign-in or enrollment).
- Click Upload Metadata File and select the file from your download. This defines at least the following Basic SAML Configuration fields:
- Identifier (Entity ID). This is the URL of the SAML endpoint on the Controller. This is the audience of the SAML response for IdP-initiated SSO. This cannot be left blank.
- Reply URL (Assertion Consumer Service URL). This is the URL of the SAML consumer on the Controller. This is the destination URL in the SAML response for IdP-initiated SSO. This cannot be left blank.
Setting Basic SAML Configuration in Azure AD applications
- Download the Federation metadata XML definition for the SAML app to your local workstation. Retain this file for later use.
Downloading Federation Metadata XML files for user enrollment and user sign-in SAML applications
- Repeat these steps for each activity.
For details on how to create SAML apps in Azure AD, see the Azure AD SAML documentation.
Creating/Updating Authentication Policies
After you have created your SAML authentication method, create or update your authentication policies with the new authentication method.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies. The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies. From this page, either create a new custom policy or edit an existing policy.
- To add a new custom policy, select Create User Policy. The Create Authentication Policy form appears.
Create Authentication Policy
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
To learn more about how custom policies are used for user login and enrollment, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies.
- Enter a Policy Name.
- Enter a Login URL using the format */login/<path>/. The URL must start with "*/login/" and cannot contain any special characters. <path> should be set to a unique value reflecting the endpoint URL you want to define for this authentication policy (appended with a backslash):
- In the case of user sign-in policies, this is the URL endpoint (appended to the tenant FQDN) to which new users are invited to connect to enroll or sign-in a device with the Controller. Example value: "*/login/saleslogin/".
- In the case of user enrollment policies, this endpoint identifies the enrollment URL to which users are redirected if they attempt to connect to the equivalent sign-in policy with an un-enrolled device. In most cases, you do not advertise this endpoint to your users. Example value: "*/login/salesenroll/".
In some enrollment circumstances, such as when using a device pre-installed with an older version of Ivanti Secure Access Client, you connect directly to the enrollment policy endpoint to enroll the device. For more details, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- (Optional) Enter a description for the authentication policy.
- Select a User Type based on the intended authentication activity for this policy. Choose from:
- Users: Select this option to define the user sign-in endpoint for enrolled devices. This is the endpoint that you provide to your users to access the service (regardless of enrollment status).
- Administrators: Select this option to define the authentication endpoint for administrator-level sign-in. This endpoint is used for administrator login to the Controller only.
- From the Device Policy list, select a device policy.
- (for policies with a User Type of "Users" only): Select an Enroll Device Policy from the drop-down list to be linked to this sign-in policy (as indicated): This is the enrollment policy to which a user is redirected if it is determined that the device is not yet enrolled. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- Under Auth Servers, select Primary Auth Server and choose the required authentication method from the drop-down list. Only Local and SAML servers will be available for selection as a Primary Auth Server.
- (Optional) Where a secondary method is required for Multi-Factor Authentication, select Secondary Auth Server and choose the required authentication method from the drop-down list. Only Local and TOTP servers will be available for selection as a Secondary Auth Server.
- Click Create User Policy to create the new policy.
The new policy is added to the list of authentication policies.
Existing User Policies
- For existing default user policies, admin can select either existing or new SAML or Local Auth Server. Note: The Auth Server for enrollment will be added automatically.
- For existing custom user policies, user can update existing SAML Auth Server.
If you intend to update an existing custom or built-in policy:
- Select the check box adjacent to the relevant policy, then select Actions > Edit. The Update Authentication Policy form appears.
For built-in authentication policies, all properties except Primary Auth Server and Secondary Auth Server (where applicable) are read-only.
- Set the Primary Auth Server to be the new SAML user authentication method (indicated):
Editing the primary auth server
SAML authentication can be used only as a Primary Auth Server. If you are using MFA, specify either a local authentiction or TOTP method as the Secondary Auth Server.
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
- Select Update User Policy. The list of authentication policies updates.
- Repeat until all required authentication policies are updated.
At this point, the Controller uses the uploaded Federation Metadata to contact the SAML service. After this process completes, a Download function becomes available for each relevant policy. This metadata file is required to configure trusted communication with the remote SAML service.
- Refresh your browser until the Download action is visible for the relevant policies.
- Select the check box for the policy metadata you want to download and clear all other check boxes.
- Select Download and save the metadata file.
As mentioned previously, make sure you repeat this procedure for each required SAML app on your Azure AD platform. That is, you require separate XML metadata files for the enrollment authentication policy and the login authentication policy.
After the User Authentication workflow is complete, you can configure the Azure AD platform with the XML configuration of the Controller. For details on how to configure Azure AD, see Configuring Azure AD with Service Provider Metadata from the Controller.
Finally, to ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Configuring MFA with Azure AD (Optional)
This section describes an optional configuration activity for SAML User Authentication on Azure AD.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is an authentication method by which a user is granted access only after successfully presenting two (or more) pieces of evidence (or factors) to an authentication mechanism.
The Azure AD platform supports MFA internally, and this can be configured so that two authentication factors are required by users for a single user authentication method.
After you have configured the Azure AD platform for SAML User Authentication, you can optionally add MFA support.
For full details of this activity, consult the Azure AD documentation for Azure AD Conditional Access and Multi-Factor Authentication.
An overview of the general process is given below:
- On Azure AD, locate the Azure AD Conditional Access page.
- Create a New Policy with the following details:
- Add a Name for the policy.
- Under Assignments > Users and Groups:
- Select Select Users and Groups.
- Check the Users and Groups option, and select the required users and groups from the list.
- Select Done.
- Under Assignments > Cloud Apps and Actions:
- Select Select apps.
- Select (for example) the zta-enroll and zta-auth apps.
- Select Done.
- Under Access Controls > Grant:
- Select Require multi-factor authentication.
- Under Enable Policy:
- Turn the policy On.
- Select Create.
- Locate the Multi-Factor Authentication page.
- On the right-side panel, under Configure:
- Select the Additional cloud-based MFA settings.
A new tab appears.
- Enable the following MFA methods as per the requirement.
- Call to phone.
- Text message to phone.
- Select Save.
Configuration of MFA on Azure AD is complete.
Mobile end users will be asked for secondary authentication information from their next login.
You can then create user rules and user groups, see Creating User Rules and User Groups.
Configuring nZTA to use Azure AD Security Groups (Optional)
This section describes an optional configuration activity for SAML User Authentication on Azure AD.
You can configure nZTA to retrieve Azure AD-based user security group information through SAML attributes applied to your User Rules.
You can create users and security groups directly in Azure AD portal. This means that Azure AD group information can be retrieved by the Controller through SAML attributes containing only the group’s Object ID. To instead retrieve Azure AD group information via the sAMAccountName attribute, create an Azure AD group in the local Active Directory and synchronize it to the cloud using Azure AD Connect.
To create users and groups directly in the Azure AD portal:
This process is applicable only if you are creating users or groups directly in Azure AD. For scenarios that involve synchronizing local Active Directory users or groups to the cloud, continue to the procedure that follows this.
- Log in to the Azure AD portal
- Navigate to your SAML SSO application, and select the Users page.
- Add a new user for your organization by selecting Create User:
Adding a new user Enter the following details:
- User name: Enter a username for the new user, appended by the domain applicable to your organization.
- Name: Enter the user's full display name.
- (Optional) First Name: Enter the user's first name.
- (Optional) Last Name: Enter the user's last name.
- Password: Select either an auto-generated or admin supplied password.
To create the user, select Create.
- Add a new security group for your organization by navigating to the Groups page and selecting New Group:
Adding a new security group Enter the following details:
- Group type: Select Security.
- Group name: Enter a name for the new security group.
- (Optional) Group description: Enter a description for the group.
- (Optional) Azure AD roles can be assigned to the group: Use the default setting.
- Membership type: Select Assigned.
To create the group, select Create.
- In the list of groups, make a note of the Object ID for the newly created group:
Viewing the Object ID for the new group You use the Object ID property when configuring your nZTAUser Rules.
- Assign the new user to your new security group:
Assigning the new user to your new security group
To create Azure AD applications that facilitate retrieval of Security Group information:
- Create two non-gallery applications under Enterprise applications, one for user enrollment and another for user sign-in, and configure Single Sign-On. Then, for each application, obtain the Federation Metadata XML file. For more details on this procedure, see Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy With Azure AD or follow the Azure AD user documentation.
- Assign your applications to the required users or security groups:
Assigning applications to users and security groups
- Create two new SAML (Azure AD) user authentication methods (user enrollment and user sign-in) in the nZTA Tenant Admin portal that correspond to the SAML applications created in the Azure AD portal. Upload the Federation Metadata XML file from each application to the matching method.
- Create corresponding authentication policies and assign each Azure AD authentication method as the Primary Auth Server.
- Obtain the IdP metadata files for both authentication policies and upload this data to the Azure AD portal under the respective applications. For more details, see Configuring Azure AD with Service Provider Metadata from the Controller.
- For each Azure AD application, in the User Attributes and Claims section, select Edit.
Editing the user attributes and claims for an Azure AD application
- Add a new group claim to your application by selecting Add a group claim:
Adding a new group claim to your Azure AD application In the Group Claims panel, enter the following details:
- Which groups associated with the user should be returned in the claim?: Select "Security groups".
- Source attribute:
- To retrieve Azure AD security group details based on the group object ID, select "Group ID".
- To retrieve Azure AD security group details based on the group name, select "sAMAccountName". This option is available only for groups synchronized from Active Directory.
To specify a different claim type for group claims, select Customize the name of the group claim and specify the claim type in the Name field. For example, if you specify "ADgroup", the group claim is emitted as userAttr.ADgroup or samlMultiValAttr.ADgroup.
userAttr.http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups
samlMultiVarAttr.http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groupsBy default, Azure AD populates SAML attributes for group claims in the format:
To add the new group claim, select Save.
- Return to the nZTA Tenant Admin portal and navigate to the Secure Access > Manage Users > User Groups and Rules > User Rules page. Create a new user rule to access the Azure AD group attribute. Configure the following settings:
- Rule name: Enter a descriptive name for the rule
- Select Attribute Type: Select "SAML (Azure AD)".
- SAML Attribute Type: Select "Group".
- Attribute value: Use one of the following options:
- If you created the security group in Azure AD, use the group Object ID as noted earlier in the process:
Specifying an Object ID as the group attribute value
- If you synchronized your security group to Azure AD from a local Active Directory, use the Group Name.
Specifying an Object Name as the group attribute value
The following expressions are examples of Azure AD group attribute values:
- Users that are members of only the identified group:
userAttr.{http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = "<Group Object ID>"- Users that are members of only the named group (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
userAttr.{http://schemas\.microsoft\.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = "<Group Name>"- Users that are members of only the identified group:
userAttr.<Customized Group Claim Name> = "<Group Object ID>"- Users that are members of only the named group (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
userAttr.<Customized Group Claim Name> = "<Group Name>"To add SAML multi-valued attributes (samlMultiValAttr.<claim>) in Azure AD User Rules, you must set Select Attribute Type to "SAML (Custom)". This applies to the following examples:
- Users that are members of either identified group:
samlMultiValAttr.{http://schemas\.microsoft\.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = ("<Group OID A>" or "<Group OID B>") - Users that are members of both identified groups:
samlMultiValAttr.{http://schemas\.microsoft\.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = ("<Group OID A>" and "<Group OID B>") - Users that are members of either named group (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
samlMultiValAttr.{http://schemas\.microsoft\.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = ("<Group A>" or "<Group B>") - Users that are members of both named groups (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
samlMultiValAttr.{http://schemas\.microsoft\.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups} = ("<Group A>" and "<Group B>")- Users that are members of either named group (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
samlMultiValAttr.<Customized Group Claim Name> = ("<Group A>" or "<Group B>") - Users that are members of both named groups (for AD groups synchronized from a local Active Directory):
samlMultiValAttr.<Customized Group Claim Name> = ("<Group A>" and "<Group B>")- To create the User Rule, select Create.
- Create a new User Rule Group and select the User Authentication Policy (Enrollment or Sign-in) that is applicable to this service. Then, in the list of User Rules, select the rule you created in the previous step:
Configuring a User Rule Group with a User Authentication Policy and User Rule
- To create the User Rule Group, select Create.
- Proceed to create your Secure Access Policy, selecting the applicable Application, Gateway, Device Policy and the User Rule Group created during this procedure.
Workflow: Creating an Authentication Policy for On-Premises ICS SAML
You can choose to use a configured ICS server (either remote or local) as an on-premises SAML AD authentication server for your Controller.
If you choose to use SAML authentication on your Controller, you do not create any users manually. All users will already be present on your remote SAML server.
Configuring nZTA to use SAML authentication requires you to create separate SAML apps on the on-premises ICS server for the following primary activities:
- User enrollment
- User sign-in
The Controller includes built-in default authentication policies for each of these purposes and includes the ability to create your own custom policies for separate authentication of specific groups. You create an authentication method referencing one of the SAML apps described above and then assign the method to an authentication policy of the same type (either the built-in policy, or one you create). Begin with enrollment, and then repeat the process for user sign-in.
To configure nZTA to use SAML authentication through ICS, perform the following steps:
- Configure your on-premises ICS to act as a SAML AD authentication server:
- Define an on-premises SAML authentication method, see Defining an On-Premises SAML Authentication Method.
- Configure an on-premises SAML authentication policy, see Defining Authentication Policies for On-Premises SAML Authentication.
- After you complete the User Authentication workflow, configure the SAML apps on the on-premises ICS server with the XML metadata configuration from the matching nZTA authentication policy, see Configuring ICS with Controller Metadata.
You will need to repeat this process for each required SAML app on your ICS server.
To ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Configuring Secondary Authentication for On-Premises ICS (Optional)
This section describes an optional configuration activity for SAML User Authentication on an on-premises ICS server.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is an authentication method by which a computer user is granted access only after successfully presenting two (or more) pieces of evidence (or factors) to an authentication mechanism. The ICS platform supports a number of secondary authentication solutions, and can be configured so that two authentication factors are required by users using a single nZTA user authentication method. Before you configure the on-premises ICS server and Controller for SAML User Authentication, you can choose to configure MFA (secondary) support to ICS.
Before you start this procedure, you must have fully configured a secondary authentication server. For example, Google OTP (One Time Password) or NAS OTP. For the purposes of this example, an existing local Google OTP server is used, but different established secondary authentication methods are also supported.
To configure ICS for secondary authentication:
- Log in to the on-premises Ivanti Connect Secure server.
- On the Authentication menu, select Auth. Servers. The Authentication Servers page appears.
- Under New, select the required authentication server type. For example, select Time based One Time Password (TOTP) Server.
- Select New Server. The New Time based One Time Password (TOTP) Server page appears.
- Enter the following parameters for the new server:
- Add a Name for the server, for example Google OTP.
- Select the Allow Auto Unlock check box, and set Auto unlock period. For example, 10 minutes.
- Select the Allow new TOTP user registration to happen via External Port check box.
- Select the Allow TOTP authentication from Remote Pulse Secure Devices check box.
- Leave all other parameters as their default settings.
- Select Save Changes. The new server (Google OTP) is added to the list of Authentication Servers.
- You must now add a new user to the local system. To do this:
- In the Authentication Servers list, select the hyperlink for the System Local entry.
- The Settings page for System Local appears.
- Select the Users tab.
- Select New to create a user.
- The New Local User page appears.
- Enter details for the user, and ensure that the Enabled check box is selected, and that other check boxes are clear.
- Select Save Changes to create the user.
- Select the Users menu, then select User Realms. The User Authentication Realms page appears.
- You must now enable secondary authentication. To do this:
- In the User Authentication Realms list, select the hyperlink for the Users entry.
The General page for the Users realm appears.
- Under Additional authentication server, select the Enable additional authentication server check box.
- Set Authentication #2 to Google OTP.
- At the bottom of the page, select Save Changes.
You can now configure an Identity Provider in ICS, see Configuring a SAML Identity Provider in Ivanti Connect Secure.
Configuring a SAML Identity Provider in Ivanti Connect Secure
This section describes the steps to configure a SAML Identity Provider (IdP) on an on-premises Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS) server. The metadata for the IdP is required by each SAML user method on nZTA.
To configure SAML IdP on the Ivanti Connect Secure server:
- Log in to the on-premises Ivanti Connect Secure server that is identified as an Identity Provider.
- Navigate to System > Configuration > SAML > Settings.
- Configure the following Metadata Server Configuration:
- Timeout value for metadata fetch request to 300.
- Host FQDN for SAML to the Fully Qualified Domain Name, noting the host FQDN guidance below.
The host FQDN specified here is used in the SAML entity ID, used by browsers to connect to ICS, and used in the URLs for SAML services. Typically:
- If the ICS is standalone, the FQDN should resolve to the IP address of the external interface / internal interface, whichever is chosen.
- If the ICS is an Active-Passive cluster, the FQDN should resolve to the external VIP / Internal VIP, whichever is chosen.
- If the ICS is an Active-Active cluster behind an in-line load balancer, the FQDN should resolve to the load balancer's external VIP / Internal VIP, whichever is chosen.
- Select Save Changes.
- Select Update Entity IDs and confirm this action on the warning page by selecting Update Entity IDs.
- Navigate to System > Configuration > Certificates > Device Certificate, create a new CSR, and import certificate and keys. Skip this step if the ICS external interface / internal interface (whichever is chosen) already provides a certificate that matches the host’s Fully Qualified Domain Name.
- Navigate to Authentication > Signing In > Sign In SAML > Identity Provider.
- Locate the the Basic Identity Provider (IdP) Configuration section.
- Under Protocol Binding to use for SAML Response:
- Select the Post check box.
- Clear the Artifact check box.
- Select the required Signing Certificate.
- Under Other Configurations:
- Select the Accept unsigned AuthnRequest check box.
- Select sha-256 for Signature Algorithm, if ICS is using 22.x version onwards.
- Under Service-Provider-related IDP Configuration:
- For SignIn Policy, select the */ policy.
- Under User Identity:
- For Subject Name Format, select Email Address.
- For Subject Name, enter <USERNAME>.
- At the bottom of the page, select Save Changes.
You can now configure a Metadata Provider in ICS, see Configuring a Metadata Provider in Ivanti Connect Secure.
Configuring a Metadata Provider in Ivanti Connect Secure
This section describes the steps to configure Ivanti Connect Secure to be a Metadata Provider, and to download metadata for use on the Controller.
To configure a Metadata Provider in the on-premises ICS server:
- Log in to Ivanti Connect Secure server.
- Navigate to Authentication > Signing-In > Sign In SAML > Metadata Provider. The SAML Metadata Provider Entity Id property is pre-populated. It is generated by the system, based on the value for the Host FQDN for SAML setting on the System > Configuration > SAML > Settings page.
- Set Metadata Validity to 365 days.
- Clear the Do Not Publish IdP in Metadata check box.
- Select Save Metadata Provider.
- Select Download Metadata and save the file to your computer.
This definition file is required to enable on-premises SAML apps on the Controller.
You can then configure the Controller to use an on-premises SAML Server, see Defining an On-Premises SAML Authentication Method.
Defining an On-Premises SAML Authentication Method
A minimum of two authentication methods are required:
- An authentication method for a SAML enrollment sign-in app.
- An authentication method for a SAML user sign-in app.
To create an on-premises SAML server authentication method for a specific activity, for example, device enrollment:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers. The Authentication Servers page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods:
User Authentication Methods
- Select Create Authentication Server. A form appears that enables you to define the authentication method:
Creating a user authentication method
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Vields.
- Under Choose Server Name and Authentication Type:
- Select the Authentication Type of SAML (Custom). The form expands to show additional settings:
Configuring SAML (Custom) authentication settings
Specify an Authentication Server Name. For example: Enrollment or SignIn.
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Auth metadata file if not selected already. This is selected by default. The Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link is enabled.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link. Retain the downloaded file for later use.
- Select Enter SAML Auth metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Azure AD) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
- When editing an existing SAML Auth server, the 'Enable Enrollment' option can be enabled or disabled if the SAML Auth server is not being used in any ‘User Policy’. If the SAML Auth server is being used in a ‘User Policy’, then Enable Enrollment button will be grayed out. - If 'Enable Enrollment' is not selected, then while creation of 'User Policy' of type 'User', the server you have created (without Enable Enrollment) will not be listed. - When Enrollment is disabled, the enrollment SAML configuration will be deleted. To enable enrollment, you have to again provide enroll SAML auth server configuration.
- Confirm that your settings are correct, then select Create Authentication Server to create the authentication method. The new SAML authentication method is added to the list of methods and the process is complete.
- (Optional) To edit a listed authentication method, select the adjacent check box, then select Actions > Edit. Make any required updates and confirm.
- (Optional) To delete one (or more) an unused authentication methods, select the check box for each, then select Actions > Delete. You must confirm the deletion.
You can now proceed to update the required authentication policy, see Defining Authentication Policies for On-Premises SAML Authentication.
Defining Authentication Policies for On-Premises SAML Authentication
After you have created your SAML authentication method, create or update your authentication policies with the new authentication method.
From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies.
The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies
To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
From this page, either create a new custom policy or edit an existing policy. To add a new custom policy:
- Select Create User Policy. The Create Authentication Policy form appears.
Add User Authentication
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
To learn more about how custom policies are used for user login and enrollment, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies.
- Enter a Policy Name.
- Enter a Login URL using the format */login/<path>/. The URL must start with "*/login/" and cannot contain any special characters. <path> should be set to a unique value reflecting the endpoint URL you want to define for this authentication policy (appended with a backslash):
- In the case of user sign-in policies, this is the URL endpoint (appended to the tenant FQDN) to which new users are invited to connect to enroll or sign-in a device with the Controller. Example value: "*/login/saleslogin/".
- In the case of user enrollment policies, this endpoint identifies the enrollment URL to which users are redirected if they attempt to connect to the equivalent sign-in policy with an un-enrolled device. In most cases, you do not advertise this endpoint to your users. Example value: "*/login/salesenroll/".
In some enrollment circumstances, such as when using a device pre-installed with an older version of Ivanti Secure Access Client, you connect directly to the enrollment policy endpoint to enroll the device. For more details, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- (Optional) Enter a description for the authentication policy.
- Select a User Type based on the intended authentication activity for this policy. Choose from:
- Users: Select this option to define the user sign-in endpoint for enrolled devices. This is the endpoint that you provide to your users to access the service (regardless of enrollment status).
- Administrators: Select this option to define the authentication endpoint for administrator-level sign-in. This endpoint is used for administrator login to the Controller only.
- (for policies with a User Type of "Users" only): Select an Enroll Device Policy from the drop-down list to be linked to this sign-in policy (as indicated):
Linking an enrollment policy to a user sign-in policy This is the enrollment policy to which a user is redirected if it is determined that the device is not yet enrolled. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- Under Policy Server Details, select Primary Auth Server and choose the required authentication method from the drop-down list:
Selecting a primary authentication method for this policy Alternatively, select Create Authentication Server and create a new authentication method as per the steps described earlier in this section.
- (Optional) Where a secondary method is required for Multi-Factor Authentication, repeat the previous step for Secondary Auth Server.
Secondary authentication methods do not apply to Enrollment User type policies. The relevant field is hidden in this case.
- Select Add to create the new policy.
The new policy is added to the list of authentication policies.
If you instead elect to update an existing custom or built-in policy:
- Select the check box adjacent to the relevant policy, then select Actions > Edit. The Edit authentication policy form appears.
For built-in authentication policies, all properties except Primary Auth Server and Secondary Auth Server (where applicable) are read-only.
- Set the Primary Auth Server to be the new SAML user authentication method (indicated):
Editing the primary auth server
SAML authentication can be used only as a Primary Auth Server. If you are using MFA, specify either a local authentication or TOTP method as the Secondary Auth Server.
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
- Select Update User Policy.
The list of authentication policies updates.
At this point, the Controller uses the uploaded metadata to contact the SAML service. After this process completes, a Download function becomes available for the policy. This metadata file is required to configure trusted communication with the remote SAML service. Perform the following steps:
- Refresh your browser until the Download action is visible for the relevant policy.
- Select the check box for the policy and clear all other check boxes.
- Select Download and save the metadata file.
Repeat these procedures for each required SAML app on your On-Prem ICS server. That is, you require separate XML metadata files for your enrollment authentication policy and your sign-in authentication policy.
After you have configured a user authentication policy, you can configure your ICS SAML app with the SP Metadata configuration of the Controller, see Configuring ICS with Controller Metadata.
Configuring ICS with Controller Metadata
Before the Controller can use a SAML server on an on-premises ICS server, you must enable communication between each separate SAML app on the ICS server and the Controller.
To do this, you must configure the SAML apps on the on-premises ICS server with the XML metadata configuration file for the Controller.
There are a minimum of two SAML apps:
- A SAML app for user enrollment. For example, called Enrollment.
- A SAML app during user sign-in. For example, called Signin.
You download the Controller XML configuration file when you selected an authentication policy. Alternatively, select the policy, then select Download on the User authentication policies page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
To configure a SAML app on ICS with XML from the Controller:
- Log into your ICS platform.
- Navigate to System > Configuration > SAML.
- Select New Metadata Provider.
- Enter a Name for the metadata provider.
- Under Metadata Provider Location Configuration:
- For Location, select Local.
- For Upload Metadata File, select Browse and select the metadata that you saved on your computer in the previous process (see above).
- Under Metadata Provider Verification Configuration:
- Select the Accept Unsigned Metadata check box.
- Under Metadata Provider Filter Configuration:
- For Roles, select the Service Provider check box.
- Select Save Changes.
- Navigate to Authentication > Signing In > Sign-In SAML > Identity Provider.
- In the Configuration section, select Add SP. The New Peer Service Provider page appears.
- In the Service Provider Configuration and Certificate Status Checking Configuration sections, make the necessary service provider specific settings. For more details, refer to the "Configuring Sign-in SAML Identity Provider Settings" section in the "Ivanti Connect Secure Administration Guide".
- In the Customize IdP Behavior section, select the Override Default Configuration check box.
- Clear the Reuse Existing NC (Pulse) Session check box.
- Select the Accept unsigned AuthnRequest check box.
- At the bottom of the page, select Save Changes.
After the on-premises ICS SAML service is configured to connect to the Controller, you can then create a user group to apply the newly created authentication policy to your secure applications, see Creating User Rules and User Groups.
Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy for Okta
nZTA supports the use of Okta as a SAML service to provide authentication for your users.
If you choose to use Okta as a SAML Identity Provider (IdP), you do not create any users locally on the Controller. All users will already be present in your remote SAML service.
The process to configure Okta as a custom SAML authentication method within nZTA involves the following steps:
- Create your Okta application and obtain the SAML IdP metadata, see Creating an Okta SAML Application.
- Define an Okta SAML authentication method in nZTA and associate it with your authentication policies, see Defining and Applying Okta Authentication in nZTA.
Configuring nZTA to use Okta SAML authentication requires configuration of two separate authentication policies on the Controller, user enrollment and user sign-in. The Controller includes built-in default authentication policies for each of these purposes, and also includes the ability to create your own custom policies should you require this authentication mechanism to apply only to a sub-set of your users. Therefore, complete the above steps for each of these policies in turn. Begin with enrollment, and then repeat the process for user sign-in.
To ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Before you start, make sure you know the following information:
- The default Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URL:
- For the user enrollment policy, the ACS URL uses the form: https://<tenant FQDN>/dana-na/auth/saml-consumer.cgi (For example, https://zta1.example.com/dana-na/auth/saml-consumer.cgi)
- For the user sign-in policy, the ACS URL uses the form: https://<tenant MTLS FQDN>/dana-na/auth/saml-consumer.cgi (For example, https://zta1.e.example.com/dana-na/auth/saml-consumer.cgi)
- The SP Entity ID of nZTA for your integration:
- For the user enrollment policy, the SP Entity ID uses the form: https://<tenant FQDN>/dana-na/auth/saml-endpoint.cgi?p=sp1 (For example, https://zta1.example.com/dana-na/auth/saml-endpoint.cgi?p=sp1)
- For the user sign-in policy, the SP Entity ID uses the form: https://<tenant MTLS FQDN>/dana-na/auth/saml-endpoint.cgi?p=sp2 (For example, https://zta1.e.example.com/dana-na/auth/saml-endpoint.cgi?p=sp2)
Creating an Okta SAML Application
- To fully configure Okta as a SAML authenticator in nZTA, complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn. - For the latest configuration details, see Okta Documentation.
To create a new Okta application and obtain the SAML IdP Metadata file:
- Log in to your Okta account and select Classic UI mode.
- In the Admin Console, navigate to Applications > Applications.
- Select Add Application.
- Start the Application Integration Wizard by selecting Create New App.
- For Platform, select "Web".
- For Sign-on method, select "SAML 2.0".
- Select Create.
- In the General Settings tab, enter an application name.
Ivanti advises using a descriptive name that relates to the user authentication policy this application is created for.
- (Optional) Upload a logo for the application.
- In the Configure SAML tab, enter the following information corresponding to the authentication policy for which you are creating this application.
- Single sign on URL: Enter your ACS URL
- Audience URI (SP Entity ID): Enter your nZTA Entity ID
- Name ID Format: Select "Email Address"
- Application username: Select "Okta username".
- (Optional) If you want to use Okta group membership policies to categorize users, complete the Fill in Group Attribute Statements section to filter users by group membership in the SAML assertion. For example, to set a filter that returns all groups to which the user is assigned, you might enter the following details:
- Name: ZTAGroups
- Filter: Matches Regex
- Value: .*
For more information, see Using Okta Group Attribute Statements to Categorize Users.
- For all other fields, use the default values.
- Select Next to continue.
- For Are you a customer or partner?, select the option that is most applicable.
- Select Finish. The Settings page for your application appears.
- In the Sign On tab, download the Identity Provider metadata file. Save this file to your local workstation.
- In the Applications tab, select Assign Applications. Then select Assign to People or Assign to Groups as per your requirements.
- For each user or group you want to assign to your application, select Assign against the respective item.
- After you have completed your assignments, select Done.
- Proceed to define a new authentication method in nZTA, see Defining and Applying Okta Authentication in nZTA.
Using Okta Group Attribute Statements to Categorize Users
This section is applicable only to scenarios where Okta SAML authentication is augmented with user categorization through group attribute policies.
To configure Okta with group membership policies, and to enable nZTA to query these policies when authenticating access requests, add Group Attribute Statements to your Okta user enrollment and user sign-in applications. Then, update your enrollment and sign-in User Rules within nZTA to use the corresponding Custom SAML attributes.
The following table lists common Okta Group Attribute Statements, designed to return matching user groups in a SAML assertion:
The attribute name "ZTAGroups" is used here as an example. Use the attribute tag which corresponds to your Okta group configuration.
Okta Group Attribute Name | Okta Group Attribute Filter | Groups Returned |
|---|---|---|
ZTAGroups | Contains: ZTA | All groups containing "ZTA" (ignores case) |
ZTAGroups | StartsWith: ZTA | All groups starting with "ZTA" (ignores case) |
ZTAGroups | Equals: ZTAUsers | The "ZTAUsers" group only |
ZTAGroups | Matches regex: .* | All groups to which the user is assigned |
The following are examples of Okta custom SAML expressions for use within nZTAUser Rules:
- Users that are members of only the named group:
userAttr.ZTAGroups = "ZTAGroup1"- Users that are members of either named group:
userAttr.ZTAGroups = ("ZTAGroup1" or "ZTAGroup2")- Users that are members of either named group, or both groups:
samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups = ("ZTAGroup1" or "ZTAGroup2")- Users that are only members of both named groups:
samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups = ("ZTAGroup1" and "ZTAGroup2")- Users that are members of "ZTAGroup1", but not members of "ZTAGroup2":
samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups = "ZTAGroup1" and samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups != "ZTAGroup2"- Users that are members of either "ZTAGroup1" or "ZTAGroup2", or both groups, and also a member of "ZTAGroup3":
samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups = ("ZTAGroup1" or "ZTAGroup2") and samlMultiValAttr.ZTAGroups = "ZTAGroup3"To learn more about adding custom SAML user rules, see Creating User Rules.
Defining and Applying Okta Authentication in nZTA
To fully configure Okta as a SAML authenticator in nZTA, complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn.
To define a new authentication method using Okta as the SAML IdP:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator. The Network Overview page appears.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Server. The Authentication Server page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods.
- To add a new custom SAML authentication method, select Create Authentication Server. The Create Authentication Server form appears:
Creating an authentication server
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
- Under Choose Server Name and Authentication Type:
- Select the Authentication Type of SAML (Custom).
- The form expands to show additional settings:
Configuring Okta SAML authentication settings Specify an Authentication Server Name. For example: SAML_Okta_Enroll or SAML_Okta_SignIn.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Auth metadata file to upload a digitally-signed (or unsigned) Okta Identity Provider (IdP) metadata file, as obtained while creating a new Okta SAML application for this activity. That is, for either user enrollment or user sign-in. See Creating an Okta SAML Application. The Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link is enabled.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link. Retain the downloaded file for later use.
- Select Enter SAML Auth metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Custom) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
If, at a later date, you need to replace the metadata definition file with a modified version, edit the authentication method through the User Authentication page and repeat this step. Either edit the existing metadata file and re-upload, or replace it completely with a new version. In both cases, however, make sure your metadata file is valid before uploading it through this process.
- If this Auth server is used with User Policy of type “User”, then click Enable Enrollment.
Enable Enrollment
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Enroll metadata file if not selected already. This is selected by default.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Enroll Service Provider Metadata for IDP link.
- Select Enter SAML Enroll metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Azure AD) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
- When editing an existing SAML Auth server, the 'Enable Enrollment' option can be enabled or disabled if the SAML Auth server is not being used in any ‘User Policy’. If the SAML Auth server is being used in a ‘User Policy’, then Enable Enrollment button will be grayed out. - If 'Enable Enrollment' is not selected, then while creation of 'User Policy' of type 'User', the server you have created (without Enable Enrollment) will not be listed. - When Enrollment is disabled, the enrollment SAML configuration will be deleted. To enable enrollment, you have to again provide enroll SAML auth server configuration.
- Confirm that your settings are correct, then select Create Authentication Server to create the authentication method.
The Authentication Server page lists the new Okta authentication method.
After you have created your Okta authentication method, create or update your authentication policies with the new authentication method:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies. The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies. From this page, either create a new custom policy or edit an existing policy.
- To add a new custom policy, select Create User Policy. The Create Authentication Policy form appears.
Add User Authentication
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
To learn more about how custom policies are used for user login and enrollment, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies.
- Enter a Policy Name.
- Enter a Login URL using the format */login/<path>/. The URL must start with "*/login/" and cannot contain any special characters. <path> should be set to a unique value reflecting the endpoint URL you want to define for this authentication policy (appended with a backslash):
- In the case of user sign-in policies, this is the URL endpoint (appended to the tenant FQDN) to which new users are invited to connect to enroll or sign-in a device with the Controller. Example value: "*/login/saleslogin/".
- In the case of user enrollment policies, this endpoint identifies the enrollment URL to which users are redirected if they attempt to connect to the equivalent sign-in policy with an un-enrolled device. In most cases, you do not advertise this endpoint to your users. Example value: "*/login/salesenroll/".
In some enrollment circumstances, such as when using a device pre-installed with an older version of Ivanti Secure Access Client, you connect directly to the enrollment policy endpoint to enroll the device. For more details, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- (Optional) Enter a description for the authentication policy.
- Select a User Type based on the intended authentication activity for this policy. Choose from:
- Users: Select this option to define the user sign-in endpoint for enrolled devices. This is the endpoint that you provide to your users to access the service (regardless of enrollment status).
- Administrators: Select this option to define the authentication endpoint for administrator-level sign-in. This endpoint is used for administrator login to the Controller only.
- (for policies with a User Type of "Users" only): Select an Enroll Device Policy from the drop-down list to be linked to this sign-in policy (as indicated):
Linking an enrollment policy to a user sign-in policy This is the enrollment policy to which a user is redirected if it is determined that the device is not yet enrolled. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- Under Policy Server Details, select Primary Auth Server and choose the required authentication method from the drop-down list:
Alternatively, select Add New Server and create a new authentication method as per the steps described earlier in this section.
Selecting a primary authentication method for this policy
- (Optional) Where a secondary method is required for Multi-Factor Authentication, repeat the previous step for Secondary Auth Server.
Secondary authentication methods do not apply to Enrollment User type policies. The relevant field is hidden in this case.
- Select Add to create the new policy.
The new policy is added to the list of authentication policies.
If you instead elect to update an existing custom or built-in policy:
- Select the check box adjacent to the relevant policy, then select Actions > Edit. The Update Authentication Policy form appears.
For built-in authentication policies, all properties except Primary Auth Server are read-only.
- Set the Primary Auth Server to be the new Okta SAML user authentication method:
SAML authentication can be used only as a Primary Auth Server. If you are using MFA, specify either a local authentication or TOTP method as the Secondary Auth Server.
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
- Select Update User Policy.
The list of authentication policies updates.
Complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn.
Workflow: Creating a SAML Authentication Policy for Ping Identity
nZTA supports the use of Ping Identity (PingID) as a SAML service to provide authentication for your users.
If you choose to use PingID as a SAML Identity Provider (IdP), you do not create any users locally on the Controller. All users will already be present in your remote SAML service.
The process to configure PingID as a custom SAML authentication method within nZTA involves the following steps:
- Create your PingID application and obtain the SAML IdP metadata, see Creating a PingID SAML Application.
- Define a PingID SAML authentication method in nZTA and associate it with your authentication policies, see Defining and Applying PingID Authentication in nZTA.
- Obtain the nZTA Service Provider (SP) metadata and upload it back to the PingID application, see Updating Your PingID SAML Application with Your SP Metadata.
Configuring nZTA to use PingID SAML authentication requires configuration of two separate authentication policies on the Controller, user enrollment and user sign-in. The Controller includes built-in default authentication policies for each of these purposes, and also includes the ability to create your own custom policies should you require this authentication mechanism to apply only to a sub-set of your users. Therefore, complete the above steps for each of these policies in turn. Begin with enrollment, and then repeat the process for user sign-in.
To ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
Creating a PingID SAML Application
- To fully configure PingID as a SAML authenticator in nZTA, complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn. - For the latest configuration details, see PingIdentity Documentation.
To create a new PingID application and obtain the SAML IdP Metadata file:
- Log in to the PingOne web portal (https://admin.pingone.com) and navigate to My Applications.
- Select Add Application > New SAML Application:
Adding a PingID application
- In the Application Details step, enter an Application Name and Application Description for the new application:
Entering a name and description for your new PingID application
Ivanti advises using a descriptive name that relates to the user authentication policy this application is created for.
- Select Continue to Next Step.
- In the Application Configuration step, locate the SAML Metadata field and select the adjacent Download link to obtain the SAML metadata file. Save this file to your local workstation:
Downloading the PingID application IdP metadata file
- Keep this browser page open in order to finish creating the application after you have obtained the SP metadata file from nZTA.
- Proceed to define a new authentication method in nZTA, see Defining and Applying PingID Authentication in nZTA.
Defining and Applying PingID Authentication in nZTA
To fully configure PingID as a SAML authenticator in nZTA, complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn.
To define a new authentication method using PingID as the SAML IdP:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator. The Network Overview page appears.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers. The Authentication Servers page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods.
- To add a new custom SAML authentication method, select Create Authentication Server. The Create Authentication Server form appears:
Adding a user authentication method
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
- Under Choose Authentication Name and Type:
- Select the Authentication Type of SAML (Custom).
- The form expands to show additional settings:
Configuring PingID SAML authentication settings Specify an Authentication Server Name. For example: SAML_Ping_Enroll or SAML_Ping_SignIn.
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Auth metadata file to upload a digitally-signed (or unsigned) PingID Identity Provider (IdP) metadata file, as obtained while creating a new PingID SAML application for this activity. That is, for either user enrollment or user sign-in. See Creating a PingID SAML Application. The Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link is enabled.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Auth Service Provider Metadata for IDP link. Retain the downloaded file for later use.
- Select Enter SAML Auth metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. Then, enter the following details:
Configuring SAML (Custom) IdP settings manually The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
If, at a later date, you need to replace the metadata definition file with a modified version, edit the authentication method through the User Authentication page and repeat this step. Either edit the existing metadata file and re-upload, or replace it completely with a new version. In both cases, however, make sure your metadata file is valid before uploading it through this process.
- If this Auth server is used with User Policy of type “User”, then click Enable Enrollment.
- To provide your SAML IdP settings, select one of the following:
- Select Upload SAML Enroll metadata file if not selected already. This is selected by default.
- (Optional) Specify a Single Logout URL. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
By default, the Controller expects a signed metadata definition file. To allow an unsigned metadata file, select Allow Unsigned Metadata.
Click the Download Enroll Service Provider Metadata for IDP link.
- Select Enter SAML Enroll metada details manually to manually enter the required IdP SAML settings. Use this option in scenarios where a SAML federation metadata file is not available or incomplete. The following minimum settings are required for your SAML authentication service to function correctly. Each setting relates to a value configured in the SAML application on your IdP. Contact your IdP administrator to obtain the relevant details:
- IDP Entity ID: The entity ID is sent as the Issuer value in the SAML assertion generated by the IdP. Specify the Issuer value in assertions generated by the SAML identity provider.
- IDP SSO URL: A URL provisioned by the SAML IdP to support service-provider-initiated Single Sign-On. Use the format https://<FQDN>.
- IDP SLO Service: (Optional) A URL to specify the Single Log-Out/sign out endpoint if you want to force re-authentication for increased security. Use the format https://<FQDN>. For more information, see Using SAML Single Logout to Force User Authentication.
- User Name Template: Specify how the system is to derive the username from the SAML assertion. The default value can be used, or replaced with an alternative specifier that the Controller uses from the incoming assertion. For example: <assertionNameDN.uid>, the NameID value where ICS is the IdP, the UID from X509SubjectName, <userAttr.attr>, attr from AttributeStatement attributes.
- IDP Signing Certificate: The signing certificate to be used with the SAML app on the IdP. Type or paste in the contents of your Base-64 encoded public key.
- When editing an existing SAML Auth server, the 'Enable Enrollment' option can be enabled or disabled if the SAML Auth server is not being used in any ‘User Policy’. If the SAML Auth server is being used in a ‘User Policy’, then Enable Enrollment button will be grayed out. - If 'Enable Enrollment' is not selected, then while creation of 'User Policy' of type 'User', the server you have created (without Enable Enrollment) will not be listed. - When Enrollment is disabled, the enrollment SAML configuration will be deleted. To enable enrollment, you have to again provide enroll SAML auth server configuration.
- Confirm that your settings are correct, then select Create Authentication Server to create the authentication method.
The Authentication Server page lists the new PingID authentication method.
After you have created your PingID authentication method, create or update your authentication policies with the new authentication method:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies. The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies. From this page, either create a new custom policy or edit an existing policy.
User Authentication Policies
- To add a new custom policy, select Create User Policy. The Create Authentication Policy form appears.
Create User Authentication
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
To learn more about how custom policies are used for user login and enrollment, see Adding Custom Authentication Policies.
- Enter a Policy Name.
- Enter a Login URL using the format */login/<path>/. The URL must start with "*/login/" and cannot contain any special characters. <path> should be set to a unique value reflecting the endpoint URL you want to define for this authentication policy (appended with a backslash):
- In the case of user sign-in policies, this is the URL endpoint (appended to the tenant FQDN) to which new users are invited to connect to enroll or sign-in a device with the Controller. Example value: "*/login/saleslogin/".
- In the case of user enrollment policies, this endpoint identifies the enrollment URL to which users are redirected if they attempt to connect to the equivalent sign-in policy with an un-enrolled device. In most cases, you do not advertise this endpoint to your users. Example value: "*/login/salesenroll/".
In some enrollment circumstances, such as when using a device pre-installed with an older version of Ivanti Secure Access Client, you connect directly to the enrollment policy endpoint to enroll the device. For more details, see Using User Authentication Policies.
- (Optional) Enter a description for the authentication policy.
- Select a User Type based on the intended authentication activity for this policy. Choose from:
- Users: Select this option to define the user sign-in endpoint for enrolled devices. This is the endpoint that you provide to your users to access the service (regardless of enrollment status).
- Administrators: Select this option to define the authentication endpoint for administrator-level sign-in. This endpoint is used for administrator login to the Controller only.
- (for policies with a User Type of "Users" only): Select an Enroll Device Policy from the drop-down list to be linked to this sign-in policy (as indicated):
This is the enrollment policy to which a user is redirected if it is determined that the device is not yet enrolled. To learn more, see Using User Authentication Policies.
Linking an enrollment policy to a user sign-in policy
- Under Policy Server Details, select Primary Auth Server and choose the required authentication method from the drop-down list:
Alternatively, select Create Authentication Server and create a new authentication method as per the steps described earlier in this section.
Selecting a primary authentication method for this policy
- (Optional) Where a secondary method is required for Multi-Factor Authentication, repeat the previous step for Secondary Auth Server.
Secondary authentication methods do not apply to Enrollment User type policies. The relevant field is hidden in this case.
- Select Create User Policy to create the new policy.
The new policy is added to the list of authentication policies.
If you instead elect to update an existing custom or built-in policy:
- Select the check box adjacent to the relevant policy, then select Actions > Edit.
The Update Authentication Policy form appears.
For built-in authentication policies, all properties except Primary Auth Server are read-only.
- Set the Primary Auth Server to be the new PingID SAML user authentication method:
Editing an authentication policy
SAML authentication can be used only as a Primary Auth Server. If you are using MFA, specify either a local authentication or TOTP method as the Secondary Auth Server.
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
- Select Update User Policy.
The list of authentication policies updates.
On the Authentication Policies page, select the authentication policy you just created (or updated), then select the corresponding Download link. Save the resulting SP metadata file to your local workstation.
After you have completed this process for both enrollment and sign-in activities, you can proceed to finish configuring your PingID application using the SP metadata file downloaded during this workflow. See Updating Your PingID SAML Application with Your SP Metadata.
Updating Your PingID SAML Application with Your SP Metadata
To fully configure PingID as a SAML authenticator in nZTA, complete these steps for each of your user enrollment and user sign-in policies in turn.
After you have obtained the SP Metadata file from your nZTA Authentication Policy, update the PingID SAML application created in Creating a PingID SAML Application. Make sure you use the application that corresponds to the policy. In other words, if you have obtained metadata for the enrollment policy, update the PingID enrollment application.
To update the PingID application:
- Return to the PingID application previously started through the PingOne portal (https://admin.pingone.com):
Continuing the PingID application creation process
- Locate the Upload Metadata field and select Select File. Upload your SP metadata file.
- Make any further changes you require to the application configuration, then select Next. The Group Access section appears.
Adding groups to your PingID application
- Add to your application any required user groups.
The user groups you require depend on your organization and might vary from those shown in this workflow. At least one user group is required.
- To review your application configuration, select Continue to next step. The Review Setup stage appears.
Reviewing your application configuration
- To complete configuration of your PingID application, select Finish.
Workflow: Adding TOTP to an Authentication Policy
This feature is supported for client and gateway versions applicable to release 22.2R1 and later only.
nZTA supports the use of Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) as a secondary authentication method in Multi-Factor Authentication deployments.
To use TOTP, first create a TOTP authentication method in nZTA and then associate it with your user sign-in authentication policies.
To ensure that your users can access the authentication mechanism defined in the policies you configure through this process, make sure your Secure Access Policies are configured with a User Group in which these authentication policies are defined. To learn more, see Creating/Editing Secure Access Policies.
To configure a new TOTP authentication method:
- Log into the Controller as a Tenant Admin, see Logging in as a Tenant Administrator.
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > Authentication Servers. The Authentication Servers page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication methods. For example:
User Authentication Methods
- Select Create Authentication Server. A form appears that enables you to define the authentication method.
Creating a new TOTP user authentication method
At any point during this process, you can reset the form data by selecting Reset Fields.
- Under Choose name and type:
- Specify an Authentication Server Name.
- Select the Authorization Type of TOTP.
The form expands to show additional TOTP authentication settings:
Adding TOTP authentication settings
- Enter the following settings:
- No of Attempts: The maximum number of consecutive wrong attempts allowed before the account is locked (minimum: 1 attempt, maximum: 5 attempts). To view user attempts and to unlock locked accounts, see Unlocking Locked User Accounts.
- Custom message for registration page: A custom message to be shown on the new TOTP-user registration web page.
- Allow Auto Unlock: When selected, a locked account is automatically unlocked after the specified period. (minimum: 10 minutes, maximum: 90 days).
- Display QR code during User Registration: When selected, a QR code is displayed during user registration.
- Disable Generation of Backup Codes: When selected, the Controller does not generate TOTP backup codes.
- To create an authentication method based on these settings, select Add.
The new TOTP user authentication method is added to the list of methods and the process is complete.
After you have created your TOTP authentication method, create or update your user sign-in authentication policies with the new method. nZTA supports using TOTP only as secondary authentication, so make sure you have previously configured a primary authentication method before continuing this process. To view workflows for all available authentication types, see Introduction.
Secondary authentication methods do not apply to Enrollment User type policies. The relevant field is hidden in this case.
Complete the following steps for your user sign-in authentication policy:
- From the nZTA menu, select the Secure Access icon, then select Manage Users > User Policies. The User Policies page appears. This page lists all existing user authentication policies.
User Authentication Policies To learn more about the policies on this page, see Viewing User Authentication Policies.
- Select the check box adjacent to your desired user sign-in policy, then select Actions > Edit. The Edit Authentication Policy form appears.
Selecting a secondary TOTP authentication method for this policy
- For Secondary Auth Server, select your new TOTP authentication method from the drop-down list (as indicated). Alternatively, select Add New Server and create a new authentication method as per the steps described earlier in this section.
- Select Save to update the policy.
If you configure a secondary authentication method in a policy that is currently in use, any active user sessions must be disconnected and reconnected for the changes to take effect.
Unlocking Locked User Accounts
After you have created a TOTP authentication method and assigned it to an active user authentication policy, you can use the authentication method configuration page to view users that have attempted authentication through TOTP. This information enables you to unlock locked user accounts, if required.
To access user attempt information, perform the following steps:
- Select Secure Access > Manage Users > Authentication Servers.
- Select the check box adjacent to your TOTP authentication method, then select Actions > Edit. At the bottom of the page, a Users table is presented:
Viewing the list of users who attempted TOTP authentication through this method This table lists each user who has attempted to authenticate a device through TOTP, including the last attempt and last successful login times.
- (Optional) If a user account is locked through too many consecutive failed authentication attempts (that exceed the value configured in No of Attempts), unlock the account by selecting the checkbox adjacent to the user entry and selecting UNLOCK. The user is then free to re-attempt authentication using valid authentication codes.
- (Optional) To remove a user from the list, select the checkbox adjacent to the user entry and select RESET. This means a user must then re-register their device with the TOTP policy.
Reset and unlock operations of individual users are supported only when the TOTP authentication method is associated with a user authentication policy. To reset or unlock all users in a disassociated TOTP authentication method, delete the TOTP authentication method itself.