How Explicit Proxy with SAML Processes Traffic

Here’s how Explicit Proxy with SAML works. Follow along to see the path traffic takes:

The mobile user browses the internet or accesses the SaaS application by entering the URL or IP address using a web browser.
The browser on the mobile users’ endpoint checks for the PAC file.
This PAC file specifies that the URL or SaaS request should go to
Prisma Access
explicit proxy.
The HTTPS client (the browser on the mobile user’s endpoint) forwards the URL request to the proxy URL.
The traffic redirects to the explicit proxy, and the proxy decrypts the traffic.
The proxy inspects the traffic and checks for the authentication cookie set up by the
Prisma Access
explicit proxy.
The cookie contains information that identifies the mobile user, and uses the cookie to authenticate the user.
If, upon inspection of the cookie,
Prisma Access
determines that the user is not authenticated, it redirects the user for authentication.
After the IdP authenticates the user,
Prisma Access
stores the authentication state of the user in the Authentication Cache Service (ACS). The validity period of the authentication is based on the
Cookie Lifetime
value you specify during explicit proxy configuration.
The explicit proxy checks for the presence and validity of our cookie. If the cookie is not present or is invalid, the user is redirected to ACS. After ACS confirms the authentication of the user, the user is redirected back to the explicit proxy with a token. The proxy then validates that token and sets the cookie for that domain for that user.
Prisma Access
applies security enforcement based on the Security policy rules that the administrator has configured.
If the URL is not blocked by Security policy rules, Prisma Access sends the URL request to the internet.
(
Optional
) Configure Explicit Proxy Connectivity in GlobalProtect for Always-On Internet Security. Enable this functionality to achieve always-on security for the internet traffic, while providing on-demand access to private apps through GlobalProtect or a third-party VPN.