Centralize user verification by configuring SAML 2.0 authentication profiles in the
Cloud Identity Engine.
| Where Can I Use This? | What Do I Need? |
|
| The Cloud Identity Engine service is free; however, the
enforcement points utilizing directory data may require specific
licenses. Click here for more
information. |
The Cloud Identity Engine simplifies network security by acting as a central hub for
verifying user identities. Instead of configuring every firewall and security device
to connect directly to your login system—a process that can be complex and
time-consuming—you connect your devices to the Cloud Identity Engine once. When a
user attempts to access a protected resource, the engine acts as a "middleman,"
automatically redirecting the user to your organization's standard login page. Once
the user signs in successfully, the engine confirms their identity to the firewall,
allowing access based on your security rules.
This centralized approach offers significant flexibility, particularly for
organizations that use multiple login systems. For instance, you can configure the
system to have full-time employees log in using one service while contractors or
partners use another, all within a single configuration profile. This ensures a
consistent and secure login experience for all users without requiring you to manage
individual connections on every device in your network.
The Cloud Identity Engine supports the industry-standard SAML 2.0 protocol, allowing
you to easily integrate with major identity providers. Supported integrations
include Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Okta, PingOne,
PingFederate, Google, and CyberArk.
Configure Azure as an IdP in the Cloud Identity Engine
Learn how to configure Azure as an identity provider
in the Cloud Identity Engine to use as an authentication type for
user authentication.
Download the Cloud Identity Engine integration
in the Azure Portal.
If you have not already done so,
activate the Cloud Identity
Engine app.
Log in to the
Azure Portal and select
Azure
Active Directory.
Make sure you complete all the necessary
steps in the Azure portal.
If you have more than one directory, Switch
directory to select the directory you want to use with
the Cloud Identity Engine.
Select
Enterprise applications and click
New
application.
Add from the gallery then enter
Palo Alto Networks Cloud Identity Engine - Cloud Authentication Service and
download the Azure AD single-sign
on integration.
After
the application loads, select
Users and groups,
then
Add user/group to
Assign them
to this application.
Select the users and groups you want to use the Azure IdP in the Cloud Identity Engine for
authentication.
Be sure to assign the account you're using so you
can test the configuration when it's complete. You may need to
refresh the page after adding accounts to successfully complete the
test.
Select
Single sign-on then
select
SAML.
Upload Metadata File by browsing to
the metadata file that you downloaded from the Cloud Identity Engine
app and click
Add.
After the metadata uploads,
Save your
configuration.
(Optional)
Edit your
User
Attributes & Claims to
Add a new claim or
Edit an
existing claim.
If you attempt to test the configuration on the Azure
Admin Console, a 404 error displays because the test is triggered
by the IdP and the Cloud Identity Engine supports authentication
requests initiated by the service provider.
Configure Azure AD for the Cloud Identity Engine.
Select
Single sign-on then select
SAML.
Edit the
Basic SAML Configuration settings.
Upload metadata file and select the
metadata file you downloaded from the Cloud Identity Engine in the
first step.
Enter your regional endpoint as the
Sign-on URL using
the following format:
https://<RegionUrl>.paloaltonetworks.com/sp/acs (where
<RegionUrl> is your
regional endpoint). For more information on regional endpoints,
see
Configure Cloud Identity Engine Authentication on the Firewall or Panorama.
Copy the
App Federation
Metadata Url and save it to a secure location.
At this point in the process, you may see the option to
Test sign-in. If you try to test the single
sign-on configuration now, the test won't be successful. You can test
your configuration to verify it's correct in step
9.
Add and assign users who you want to require to use Azure AD for
authentication.
Select
Azure Active Directory then select .
Create a
New user and enter a
Name,
User name.
Select
Show password, copy the password to a
secure location, and
Create the user.
In the
Palo Alto Networks Cloud Identity Engine - Cloud
Authentication Service integration in the Azure Portal,
select
Users and groups.
Add user then select
Users and
groups.
Add Azure as an authentication type in the Cloud Identity Engine
app.
In the Cloud Identity Engine app, select then click
Add New Authentication
Type.
Set Up a
SAML 2.0
authentication type.
Select the
Metadata Type you want to use.
Copy the
Entity ID and
Assertion
Consumer Service URL and save them in a secure
location.
Download SP Certificate and
Download
SP Metadata and save them in a secure location.
Enter a unique and descriptive
Profile
Name.
Select
Azure as your
Identity
Provider Vendor.
Select the method you want to use to
Add Metadata.
- If you want to enter the information manually, copy the identity
provider ID and SSO URL, download the certificate, then enter the
information in the Cloud Identity Engine IdP profile.
- Copy the necessary information from the Azure Portal and enter
it in the IdP profile on the Cloud Identity Engine app as
indicated in the following table:
| Copy or Download from Azure
Portal | Enter in Cloud Identity Engine
IdP Profile |
| Copy the Azure AD
Identifier. | Enter it as the
Identity Provider
ID. |
| Download
the Certificate
(Base64). | Click Browse
files to select the
Identity Provider
Certificate you downloaded from the
Azure Portal. |
| Copy the Login
URL. | Enter the URL as the
Identity Provider SSO
URL. |
- (Optional) Select the HTTP Binding for SSO Request to
Identity Provider (Optional) method you want to
use for the SAML binding that allows the firewall and IdP to
exchange request and response messages:
- HTTP Redirect—Transmit SAML
messages through URL parameters.
- HTTP Post—Transmit SAML messages
using base64-encoded HTML.
- If you want to upload a metadata file, download the metadata file from
your IdP management system.
- In the Azure Portal, Download the
Federation Metadata XML and
Save it to a secure location.
- In the Cloud Identity Engine app, click Browse
files to select the metadata file, then
Open the metadata file.
- If you want to use a URL to retrieve the metadata, copy the
App Federation Metadata Url, then paste it in
the profile as the Identity Provider Metadata URL
and click Get URL to obtain the
metadata.
Palo Alto Networks recommends using this method to
configure Azure as an IdP.
- If you don't want to
enter the configuration information now, you can Do it
later. This option allows you to submit the profile
without including configuration information. However, you must edit the
profile to include the configuration information to use the
authentication type in an authentication profile.
Specify the
Maximum Clock Skew (seconds), which is the
allowed difference in seconds between the system times of the IdP and the
firewall at the moment when the firewall validates IdP messages (default is 60;
range is 1–900). If the difference exceeds this value, authentication
fails.
Select
Multi-factor Authentication is Enabled on
the Identity Provider if your Azure configuration uses multi-factor
authentication (MFA).
To require users to log in using their credentials to reconnect to
GlobalProtect, enable
Force Authentication.
Click
Test SAML setup to verify the profile
configuration.
This step is necessary to confirm that your firewall and IdP can communicate.
If you do not provide the vendor information,
the SAML test passes so that you can still submit the configuration.
Select the SAML attributes you want the firewall to use
for authentication and
Submit the IdP profile.
- In the Azure Portal, Edit the User
Attributes & Claims.
- (Optional) In the Cloud Identity Engine app, enter the Username
Attribute, Usergroup Attribute,
Access Domain, User
Domain, and Admin Role.
- Submitthe profile.
If you want to
Enable Dynamic Privilege Access, ensure
completion of the prerequisites before enabling this option, then
Submit your changes to confirm the configuration.
Configure Okta as an IdP in the Cloud Identity Engine
If
you want to use Okta to authenticate users with the Cloud Identity Engine, there are two
ways to configure Okta authentication with the Cloud Identity Engine: Select the method you want to use to integrate the Okta authentication in the
Cloud Identity Engine and complete the steps in the Okta management console.
Set up the Okta authentication in the Cloud Identity Engine.
If you have not already done so,
activate the Cloud Identity
Engine app.
In the Cloud Identity Engine app, select .
Add Okta as an authentication type in the Cloud Identity Engine app.
Set Up a
SAML 2.0
authentication type.
Select the
Metadata Type.
Copy the
Entity ID and store it in a secure
location.
Copy the
Assertion Consumer Service URL and
store it in a secure location.
Click
Download SP Certificate and store it in a
secure location.
Click
Download SP Metadata and store it in a
secure location.
Configure the Okta IDP profile.
Enter a unique and descriptive
Profile
Name.
Select
Okta as the
Identity Provider
Vendor.
Select the method you want to use to
Add Metadata.
- If you want to enter the information manually, copy the client ID and
domain, download the SP metadata certificate, then enter the information
in the Cloud Identity Engine IdP profile.
- In the Okta Admin Console, select and select the Palo Alto Networks
Cloud Identity Engine integration.
- Copy the necessary information from the Okta
Admin Console and enter it in the IdP profile on the Cloud
Identity Engine app as indicated in the following table:
| Copy or Download from Okta
Admin Console | Enter in Cloud Identity Engine
|
| Copy the Client
ID. | Enter it as the
Identity Provider
ID. |
| N/A | Click to
Upload the SP metadata certificate you
downloaded in step 3.e. |
| Copy the Okta
Domain. | Enter the URL as the
Identity Provider SSO
URL. |
- Select the HTTP Binding for SSO Request to
IdP method you want to use for the SAML binding
that allows the firewall and IdP to exchange request and
response messages:
- HTTP Redirect—Transmit SAML
messages through URL parameters.
- HTTP Post—Transmit SAML messages
using base64-encoded HTML.
- If you want to upload a metadata file, download the metadata file from
your IdP management system.
- In the Okta Admin Console, click View Setup
Info and copy the IDP
metadata and save it to a secure location.
- In the Cloud Identity Engine app, click Browse
Files to select the metadata file then
Open the metadata file.
- If you want to use a URL to retrieve the metadata, copy the
IDP metadata from step 4.2. Paste it in the
profile and click Get URL to obtain the metadata.
- If you don't want to
enter the configuration information now, you can Do it
later. This option allows you to submit the profile
without including configuration information. However, you must edit the
profile to include the configuration information to use the
authentication type in an authentication profile.
Specify the
Maximum Clock Skew (seconds), which is the
allowed difference in seconds between the system times of the IdP and the
firewall at the moment when the firewall validates IdP messages (default is 60;
range is 1–900). If the difference exceeds this value, authentication
fails.
To require users to log in using their credentials to reconnect to
GlobalProtect, enable
Force Authentication.
Test SAML setup to verify the profile configuration.
The Test SAML setup option
is not available until the Cloud Identity Engine validates the identity
provider profile data.
This step is necessary to confirm that your firewall and IdP can
communicate.
Select the SAML attributes you want the firewall to use for authentication and
Submit the IdP profile.
You must select the username attribute in the Okta Admin Console for the
attribute to display in the Cloud Identity Engine.
- In the Okta Admin Console, Edit the
User Attributes & Claims.
- In the Cloud Identity Engine app, select the Username
Attribute and optionally, the Usergroup
Attribute, Access Domain,
User Domain, and Admin
Role.
If you're using the Cloud Identity Engine
for SAML authentication with GlobalProtect Clientless VPN, you must
configure the User Domain attribute to the
same value as the userdomain field in the
Okta Admin Console ().
Integrate Okta as a Custom or Gallery Application