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    Next-Generation Firewall

    Device > Server Profiles > SAML Identity Provider

    Table of Contents

    Device > Server Profiles > SAML Identity Provider

    Use this page to register a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 2.0 identity provider (IdP) with the firewall or Panorama. Registration is a necessary step to enable the firewall or Panorama to function as a SAML service provider, which controls access to your network resources. When administrators and end users request resources, the service provider redirects the users to the IdP for authentication. The end users can be GlobalProtect or Authentication Portal users. The administrators can be managed locally on the firewall and Panorama or managed externally in the IdP identity store. You can configure SAML single sign-on (SSO) so that each user can automatically access multiple resources after logging into one. You can also configure SAML single logout (SLO) so that each user can simultaneously log out of every SSO-enabled service by logging out of any single service.
    Authentication sequences don’t support authentication profiles that specify SAML IdP server profiles.
    In most cases, you cannot use SSO to access multiple apps on the same mobile device.
    You cannot enable SLO for Authentication Portal users.
    The easiest way to create a SAML IdP server profile is to Import a metadata file containing the registration information from the IdP. After saving a server profile with imported values, you can edit the profile to modify the values. If the IdP doesn’t provide a metadata file, you can Add the server profile and manually enter the information. After creating a server profile, assign it to an authentication profile (see Device > Authentication Profile) for specific firewall or Panorama services.
    SAML Identity Provider Server Settings
    Description
    Profile Name
    Enter a name to identify the server (up to 31 characters). The name is case-sensitive and must be unique. Use only letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, and underscores.
    Location
    Select the scope in which the profile is available. In the context of a firewall that has multiple virtual systems, select a virtual system or select Shared (all virtual systems). In any other context, you can’t select the Location; its value is predefined as Shared (firewalls) or as Panorama. After you save the profile, you can’t change its Location.
    Administrator Use Only
    Select this option to specify that only administrator accounts can use the profile for authentication. For firewalls that have multiple virtual systems, this option appears only if the Location is Shared.
    Identity Provider ID
    Enter an identifier for the IdP. Your IdP provides this information.
    Identity Provider Certificate
    Select the certificate that the IdP uses to sign SAML messages that it sends to the firewall. You must select an IdP certificate to ensure the integrity of messages that the IdP sends to the firewall. To validate the IdP certificate against the issuing Certificate Authority (CA), you must specify a Certificate Profile in any authentication profile that references the IdP server profile (see Device > Authentication Profile).
    When generating or importing a certificate and its associated private key, remember that the key usage attributes specified in the certificate control what you can use the key for. If the certificate explicitly lists key usage attributes, one of the attributes must be Digital Signature, which is not available in certificates that you generate on the firewall. In this case, you must Import the certificate and key from your enterprise certificate authority (CA) or a third-party CA. If the certificate doesn’t specify key usage attributes, you can use the key for any purpose, including signing messages. In this case, you can use any method to obtain the certificate and key
    for signing SAML messages.
    IdP certificates support the following algorithms:
    • Public key algorithms—RSA (1,024 bits or larger) and ECDSA (all sizes). A firewall in FIPS/CC mode supports RSA (2,048 bits or larger) and ECDSA (all sizes).
    • Signature algorithms— SHA1, SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512. A firewall in FIPS/CC mode supports SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512.
    Identity Provider SSO URL
    Enter the URL that the IdP advertises for its single-sign on (SSO) service.
    If you create the server profile by importing a metadata file and the file specifies multiple SSO URLs, the firewall uses the first URL that specifies a POST or redirect binding method.
    Palo Alto Networks strongly recommends using a URL that relies on HTTPS, although SAML also supports HTTP.
    Identity Provider SLO URL
    Enter the URL that the IdP advertises for its single logout (SLO) service.
    If you create the server profile by importing a metadata file and the file specifies multiple SLO URLs, the firewall uses the first URL that specifies a POST or redirect binding method.
    Palo Alto Networks strongly recommends using a URL that relies on HTTPS, although SAML also supports HTTP.
    SSO SAML HTTP Binding
    Select the HTTP binding associated with the Identity Provider SSO URL. The firewall uses the binding to send SAML messages to the IdP. The options are:
    • POST—The firewall sends messages using base64-encoded HTML forms.
    • Redirect—The firewall sends base64-encoded and URL-encoded SSO messages within URL parameters.
    If you import an IdP metadata file that has multiple SSO URLs, the firewall uses the binding of the first URL that uses the POST or redirect method. The firewall ignores URLs that use other bindings.
    SLO SAML HTTP Binding
    Select the HTTP binding associated with the Identity Provider SLO URL. The firewall uses the binding to send SAML messages to the IdP. The options are:
    • POST—The firewall sends messages using base64-encoded HTML forms.
    • Redirect—The firewall sends base64-encoded and URL-encoded SSO messages within URL parameters.
    If you import an IdP metadata file that has multiple SLO URLs, the firewall uses the binding of the first URL that uses the POST or redirect method. The firewall ignores URLs that use other bindings.
    Identity Provider Metadata
    This field displays only if you Import an IdP metadata file that you uploaded to the firewall from the IdP. The file specifies the values and signing certificate for a new SAML IdP server profile. Browse to the file, specify the Profile Name and Maximum Clock Skew, and then click OK to create the profile. Optionally, you can edit the profile to change the imported values.
    Validate Identity Provider Certificate
    Select this option to validate the chain of trust and optionally the revocation status of the IdP signing certificate.
    To enable this option, a Certificate Authority (CA) must issue your IdP’s signing certificate. You must create a Certificate Profile that has the CA that issued the IdP’s signing certificate. In the Authentication Profile, select the SAML Server profile and Certificate Profile to validate the IdP certificate (see Device > Authentication Profile).
    If your IdP signing certificate is a self-signed certificate, there is no chain of trust; as a result, you cannot enable this option. The firewall always validates the signature of the SAML Responses or Assertions against the Identity Provider certificate that you configure whether or not you enable the Validate Identity Provider Certificate option. If your IdP provides a self-signed certificate, ensure that you are using PAN-OS 11.1 to mitigate exposure to CVE-2020-2021.
    Sign SAML Message to IdP
    Select this option to specify that the firewall sign messages it sends to the IdP. The firewall uses the Certificate for Signing Requests that you specify in an authentication profile (see Device > Authentication Profile).
    Using a signing certificate ensures the integrity of messages sent to the IdP.
    Maximum Clock Skew
    Enter the maximum acceptable time difference in seconds between the IdP and firewall system times at the moment when the firewall validates a message that it receives from the IdP (range is 1 to 900; default is 60). If the time difference exceeds this value, the validation (and thus authentication) fails.

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