Configure Azure AD SAML Authentication for Mobile User Deployments

Log in to Azure AD and open the enterprise application for either GlobalProtect or Explicit Proxy, depending on the deployment type.
GlobalProtect has its own app in Azure AD; for Explicit Proxy, Palo Alto Networks does not have an existing enterprise application for Explicit Proxy and you must create one.
Palo Alto Networks does not control your Azure AD setup and the UI might be different than these examples. For more information, refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation.
GlobalProtect Deployments

—Select

Home

Enterprise Applications

; then, search for

Palo Alto Networks - GlobalProtect

and select the

Palo Alto Networks - GlobalProtect

application.



Explicit Proxy Deployments

—Select

Home

Enterprise Applications

and create a

New application

; then, select

Create your own application

, give it a

Name

, select

Integrate any other application you don’t find in the gallery

, and

Create

it.



After you create the application, select it.


Set up the Azure AD application.
Select

Set up single sign on

from the button or select

Single sign on

from the left navigation pane.



In the

Basic SAML Configuration

area, click

Edit

.



Enter the parameters for your Explicit Proxy or GlobalProtect deployment.

Mobile Users—GlobalProtect Deployments

—Enter the following parameters:

In the

Identifier (Entity ID)

area, enter a URL of

https://

portal-name

:443/SAML20/SP

, where

portal-name

is the Mobile Users—GlobalProtect portal name (

Panorama

Cloud Services

Status

Network Details

Mobile Users—GlobalProtect

Portals

), and select that as the

Default

entity ID. is the Mobile Users—GlobalProtect host name, and select that as the

Default

identifier.

In addition, enter all gateway names (

Panorama

Cloud Services

Status

Network Details

Mobile Users—GlobalProtect

Gateways

) in the format of

https://

gateway-name

:443/SAML20/SP

.



If you are configuring a standalone GlobalProtect deployment, you can use either the FQDN or IP address of the GlobalProtect portal as the

portal-name

. To find the FQDN or IP address, select

Network

Portal

portal-config

Agent

agent-config

External

.

In the

Reply URL (Assertion Consumer Service URL)

, re-enter the portal and gateway names, appending ACS to the URL names (

https://

portal-name

:443/SAML20/SP/ACS

and

https://

gateway-name

:443/SAML20/SP/ACS

, respectively). Specify the portal name as the default.



Explicit Proxy Deployments

—Enter the following parameters:

In the

Identifier (Entity ID)

area, enter an Entity ID of

https://global.acs.prismaaccess.com/saml/metadata

and select that as the

Default

identifier.



In the

Reply URL (Assertion Consumer Service URL)

, enter a SAML Assertion Consumer Service URL of

https://global.acs.prismaaccess.com/saml/acs

and select that as the

Default

entity ID.



In the

Set Up Single Sign-On with SAML

pane, select

Edit

in the

User Attributes & Claims

area.



Enter the following values:

Enter
user.userprincipalname
as the
Unique User Identifier (Name ID)
.
In the
Additional Claims
area, add a
Claim Name
of
username
and a
Value
of
user.userprincipalname
.
You must add this claim to ensure correct username-to-IP address mapping for authenticated users.



From the left navigation pane, select

Users and groups

and

Add user/group

that require the Azure AD authentication.


(
Optional
) If you use a certificate authority (CA)-issued certificate or any other certificate that requires that you validate it when you import the SAML IdP profile into Prisma Access, configure your identity provider certificate in Panorama and in Azure AD.
If your deployment certificates issued by a CA for SAML authentication, or if the SAML certificate is part of your enterprise’s public key infrastructure (PKI), you must upload the certificate to Azure AD before you export the metadata XML file from Azure AD. If you do not upload the certificate, Panorama can not validate the certificate for use with Prisma Access. For more information about the steps you perform in Azure AD, refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation
From the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, select
Device
Certificate Management
Certificates
Device Certificates
and create a self-signed root CA certificate (if you have not done so already).
Generate a certificate from your enterprise root CA as a subordinate certificate.
Be sure to select
Certificate Authority
so that this certificate can be validated by the authentication profile you create in a later step.

Select the certificate you created and
Export Certificate
.
Because you need both the certificate and a certificate password for enhanced security, select
Encrypted Private Key and Certificate (PKC512)
and enter a
Passphrase
.

From Azure AD, in the SAML Signing Certificate area, select
Edit
.

Import Certificate
.
Select the
Certificate
you exported from Panorama and enter the
PFX Password
, which is the
Passphrase
(password) you entered for the certificate.

Select the certificate you uploaded and
Make certificate active
.
(
Optional
) If you have another certificate uploaded, either deactivate it or delete it.
For more information about uploading and activating certificates, refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation.
Export the metadata XML file from Azure AD and save it to a client system from which you can upload it to Prisma Access by clicking
Download
in the
Federation Metadata XML
area.
Prisma Access requires this XML file to retrieve the correct SAML attributes from Azure AD. You upload the file when you create the SAML IdP profile in Panorama.

Log in to the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, add a SAML IdP server profile, and import the metadata XML file you downloaded to the profile.
You import the SAML metadata file from Azure so that Prisma Access can automatically create a server profile and populate the connection, registration, and IdP certificate information.
From the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, select

Device

Server Profiles

SAML Identity Provider

.

Make sure you are in the

Explicit_Proxy_Template

(for explicit proxy deployments) or

Mobile_User_Template

(for GlobalProtect deployments).

Enter a

Profile Name

to identify the server profile.

Import

the metadata XML file from Azure to the SAML IdP.

(

Optional

) If you are using a CA-issued certificate for SAML authentication, select

Validate Identity Provider Certificate

; otherwise, leave this choice deselected.

Make sure that you have added the SAML certificate to Microsoft Azure in Step 3.

Browse

to the

Identity Provider Metadata

file.

(

Optional

) Enter the

Maximum Clock Skew

, which is the allowed difference in seconds between the system times of the IdP and Prisma Access at the moment when Prisma Access validates IdP messages (default is 60; range is 1 to 900). If the difference exceeds this value, authentication fails.



Click

OK

to save the server profile.

The metadata file updates the information for the

Identity Provider ID

,

Identity Profile SSO URL

, and

Identity Provider SLO URL

.


Configure an authentication profile for Azure AD.
The profile defines authentication settings that are common to a set of users.
Select
Device
Authentication Profile
and
Add
a profile.
Make sure that you are still in the
Explicit_Proxy_Template
(for explicit proxy deployments) or
Mobile_User_Template
(for GlobalProtect deployments).
Enter a
Name
to identify the profile.
Set the
Type
to
SAML
.
Select the
IdP Server Profile
you created.
Enter the
Username Attribute
that IdP messages use to identify users (default
username
).

Select
Advanced
and
Add
the allow list of user‘s and user groups that can authenticate with this profile.
Select
All
to allow all users to authenticate with this profile.
Click
OK
to save the authentication profile.
Commit
and
Push
your changes.
Add the authentication profile you created to the Explicit Proxy or GlobalProtect deployment.
GlobalProtect Deployments

—Select

Panorama

Cloud Services

Configuration

Mobile Users—GlobalProtect

, select a

Hostname

or

Configure

a new GlobalProtect configuration; then, select the

Authentication Profile

you created.

After you commit and push your changes, you cannot make any changes to the authentication profile and authentication override certificate in this area and the choices become read-only. To make changes after initial onboarding, modify or add one or more GlobalProtect client authentication configurations under the

Mobile_User_Template

.



Explicit Proxy Deployments

—Select

Panorama

Cloud Services

Configuration

Mobile Users—Explicit Proxy

, select a

Connection Name

or

Configure

a new Explicit Proxy configuration; then, in the

Settings

tab, specify the

Authentication Profile

you created.


Commit
and
Push
your changes.
(
Explicit Proxy Deployments Only
) Configure the PAC file to bypass the URLs used for authentication with Explicit Proxy.
Explicit Proxy provides you with a sample PAC file that you add to your end users’ browsers; you can modify this PAC file or edit an existing one.
Palo Alto Networks recommends that you edit the PAC file to add the following Azure-specific URLs by bypass Explicit Proxy:
*.microsoftonline.com
*.azure.com
*.msauth.net
*.microsoftazuread-sso.com
*.login.windows.net

(
Optional
) Configure user and group mapping settings by associating the Cloud Identity Engine with Prisma Access.
While you cannot authenticate users with Prisma Access using the Cloud Identity Engine, you can use the Cloud Identity Engine to simplify the retrieval of user and group information from Azure AD to enforce user- and group-based policy.
Create a Cloud Identity Engine instance for Prisma Access, and make a note of the instance name.
When you activate the Cloud Identity Engine, it creates an instance. You use the instance name when you associate the Cloud Identity Engine with Prisma Access in a later step. Optionally, if you need to create a separate instance for Prisma Access, create it and make a note of the instance name.
Configure Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) in the Cloud Identity Engine to allow the Cloud Identity Engine to collect data from your Azure AD for policy enforcement and user visibility.
See Configure Azure Active Directory in the Cloud Identity Engine Getting Started for details.
To configure an Azure AD in the Cloud Identity Engine, you must have at least the following role privileges in Azure AD: Application Administrator and Cloud Application Administrator. For more information about roles in Azure AD, refer to the following link.
Associate the Cloud Identity Engine with the Panorama app by logging in to the Palo Alto Networks hub and selecting the Panorama app.

Complete the association by selecting the
Cloud Identity Engine
instance you want to associate with the app and click
OK
.

From the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, find the serial number of the Panorama Explicit Proxy deployment by selecting the
Dashboard
and noting the
Serial #
that displays.

Return to the Palo Alto Networks hub and select
Panorama
; then, Find the serial number of the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, select it, then select
Add Directory Sync
.

Enter the
Directory Sync
instance you created in Step 11.a and click
OK
.
You do not need to select the Region; the Cloud Identity Engine uses the same region that Prisma Access uses for Cortex Data Lake.

Return to the Panorama that manages Prisma Access, select or
Panorama
Cloud Services
Configuration
Mobile Users—GlobalProtect
(for GlobalProtect deployments) or
Panorama
Cloud Services
Configuration
Mobile Users—Explicit Proxy
(for explicit proxy deployments), select the gear icon to edit the
Settings
, then select
Group Mapping Settings
.

Select
Enable Directory Sync Integration
to enable Cloud Identity Engine with Prisma Access; then, enter the following information and click
OK
:
Specify a
Primary Username
and
E-Mail
of
mail
.
Specify an
Alternate User Name 1
of
userPrincipalName
.
Complete the configuration of Explicit Proxy or GlobalProtect in Panorama, including creating security policy rules to enforce your organization’s security policies and adding the PAC file to the browsers on your end users’ endpoints.
See Secure Mobile Users with an Explicit Proxy (for explicit proxy) or Secure Mobile Users With GlobalProtect (for GlobalProtect) in the Prisma Access Administrator’s Guide (Panorama Managed) for details. If you have already configured Explicit Proxy, skip this step.
Verify that SAML authentication is working with Explicit Proxy.
Set up a tool to capture authentication-related SAML messages from the mobile user’s endpoint.
Most supported browsers have a tool you can use to capture SAML messages, such as a browser extension or plugin.
You can perform an internet search for SAML debugging tools to find a SAML tracer extension or plugin for your mobile user’s preferred browser.
From a mobile user’s endpoint, authenticate from a supported browser.
GlobalProtect Deployments
—Open the GlobalProtect app to find the GlobalProtect
Portal
; then, enter the portal URL in a supported browser.

Explicit Proxy Deployments
—Navigate from a supported browser to a website that is protected by Explicit Proxy.
When you are challenged for authentication, verify that you are redirected to Azure AD and are presented with a login page.
After you successfully authenticate to Azure AD, Azure AD redirects you to Prisma Access. Prisma Access then validates the SAML responses from Azure AD and the mobile user should be allowed to visit the website (for Explicit Proxy deployments) or you can successfully log in to the GlobalProtect portal (for GlobalProtect deployments).
From Panorama, select
Monitor
Logs
and verify that the mobile user’s username is displayed in the Traffic, URL Filtering, and Authentication logs.
(
Optional
) If the username is not displaying correctly in the logs, open a website that is protected by Explicit Proxy from another browser and capture the SAML response from Azure AD from that mobile user's browser using the tool you set up in Step 13.a.
In the attribute for
username
, the correct user name should be displayed.

(
Optional
) If you are still not seeing correct user names, revisit the Azure AD configuration and make sure that you have set up claims correctly; in particular, make sure that you have set up the correct claim for username in Step 2.e, and retry the sign-on operation.