You can use Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 2.0 to authenticate administrators who access the firewall or Panorama web interface and end users who access web applications that are internal or external to your organization. In environments where each user accesses many applications and authenticating for each one would impede user productivity, you can configure SAML single sign-on (SSO) to enable one login to access multiple applications. Likewise, SAML single logout (SLO) enables a user to end sessions for multiple applications by logging out of just one session. SSO is available to administrators who access the web interface and to end users who access applications through GlobalProtect or Authentication Portal. SLO is available to administrators and GlobalProtect end users, but not to Authentication Portal end users. When you configure SAML authentication on the firewall or on Panorama, you can specify SAML attributes for administrator authorization. SAML attributes enable you to quickly change the roles, access domains, and user groups of administrators through your directory service, which is often easier than reconfiguring settings on the firewall or Panorama.

SAML authentication requires a service provider (the firewall or Panorama), which controls access to applications, and an identity provider (IdP) such as PingFederate, which authenticates users. When a user requests a service or application, the firewall or Panorama intercepts the request and redirects the user to the IdP for authentication. The IdP then authenticates the user and returns a SAML assertion, which indicates authentication succeeded or failed. SAML Authentication for Authentication Portal End Users illustrates SAML authentication for an end user who accesses applications through Authentication Portal.