SAMLv2 authentication process

You can configure the Remedy Single Sign-On (Remedy SSO) server to authenticate users through SAMLv2 authentication. SAML V2.0 is implemented by forming a Circle of Trust that comprises a Service Provider (SP) and an Identity Provider (IdP).

The SP hosts and protects the services that the user accesses. Remedy SSO is configured as an SP for BMC products. The IdP authenticates users and provides details of the authentication information to the SP.

The following image shows the tasks that you need to perform to configure the SAMLv2 authentication in Remedy SSO.

SAMLv2Authentication

Before you begin

Ensure that you have performed the Remedy SSO server configuration. For more information on server configuration, see Remedy SSO server general configuration.
Configure a realm for the authentication. For more information on realm configuration, see Configuring Realms.
Obtain the following information from the IdP admin:
- IdP entity ID
- Login URL of the IdP

To configure the SAMLv2 authentication

In the left navigation panel of the Add Realm or Edit Realm page, click Authentication.
In the Authentication Type field, click SAML.
(Optional) Select the Enable AR authentication for bypass check box to enable bypass URL to authenticate against AR. For more information about enabling BMC Remedy AR System authentication for bypass, see Enabling AR System authentication for bypass.
Enter the SAML details. For more information on parameters, see SAMLv2 authentication parameters.
Click Save.

SAMLv2 authentication parameters

Field	Description	Applicable versions
Identity Provider
Import	Opens a dialog box to import the IdP metadata. You can provide a URL or specify a local file to import the data.
IdPEntity ID	IdP entity ID that is obtained from an external IdP provider such as AD FS or Okta. Examples: http://adfs.local/adfs/services/trust , http://www.okta.com/exk4mi22tbfhiAnIn0h7
Login URL	Login URL of the IdP that is obtained from an external IdP provider such as AD FS or Okta. Examples: https://adfs.local/adfs/ls , https://dev-726770.oktapreview.com/app/bmcdev726770_ oktaidp_1/exk4mi22tbfhiAnIn0h7/sso/saml
Logout URL	URL provided by IdP to which the user is redirected for SP initiated logout. If you do not provide any value in this parameter, then the value in the Login URL field is used for both login and logout endpoints.	9.1.02 and later
Logout Response URL	URL provided by IdP to which the user is redirected for IdP initiated logout.	9.1.02 and later
HTTP Binding Type	HTTP binding for SP initiated logout URL.	9.1.02 and later
IdPSigning Certificate	Signing certificate that is used by Remedy SSO to sign requests that are sent to IdP.
User ID Attribute	User ID attribute that is used to retrieve the user id from the specified attribute in the SAML response. If it is not specified, the NameID will be used as the user id.
NameID Format	Defines the name identifier formats supported by the service provider. Name identifiers are a way for providers to communicate with each other regarding a user. The Name ID format list is an ordered list, the first Name ID has the highest priority in determining the Name ID format to use. If the user does not specify a Name ID to use when initiating single sign-on, the first one in this list is chosen and supported by the remote Identity Provider. A persistent identifier is saved to a particular user's data store entry as the value of two attributes. A transient identifier is temporary and no data will be written to the user's persistent data store. Note: For linking user accounts from SP and IdP (Remote Identity Provider) together, after logging in,the persistent nameID format must be on the top of the list.
Auth Context Compare	Select an option (exact, minimum, maximum, better) from the list.
Auth Context	Authentication context that maps the SAMLv2-defined authentication context classes to the authentication level set for the user session for the service provider.
Auth Issuer	Issuer details that are used by SAML authentication request XML to inform the IdP about the entity ID of the service provider for this request. If the value is not specified, by default SP entity ID of the current realm will be used as Issuer in SAML authentication request.
Assertion Time Skew	Time offset between Remedy SSO and IdP. The value is specified in minutes.	9.1.02 and later
Assertion Time Format	Time format used by assertions.	9.1.02 and later
Sign Request	Specifies whether the IdP requires authentication request to be signed.
Force Authentication	The option to select enforce authentication.
Enable Single Logout	Option to delete SAML IdP session on an application logout. If an end user logs out from an application, the user will be logged out from SAML IdP as well.	9.1.02 and later
Sign Response	Specifies whether Remedy SSO requires a signed response from the IdP. Remedy SSO validates the signature from the authentication response.
Compress Request	Specifies whether to compress the SAML message to save space in the URL.
Service Provider
View Metadata	Displays Remedy SSO metadata that is configured in the SP Metadata Template field. If any required parameter is not entered, the system shows an error message for that parameter.
Template
Authentication Request Template	Template used for SAML authentication request. You can select Default or Custom and also edit the template if required.
SP Metadata Template	Service provider metadata template. You can select Default or Custom and also edit the template if required. If you are enabling the IdP initiated single logout feature, include the following information in the SP metadata template after the <AssertionConsumerService> tag and then update the settings of the IdP with the new metadata. `<SingleLogoutService Binding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML: 2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST" Location="%%LOGOUT_REQUEST%%" ResponseLocation="%%LOGOUT_RESPONSE%%"/>` where, Location: Endpoint for the IdP to send the logout request. For example https://access.bmc.com:8443/rsso/receiver/Saml. ResponseLocation: Endpoint for the IdP to send logout response after getting the logout request from Remedy SSO. For example, https://access.xyz.com:8443/rsso/receiver/Saml.

Configuring AD FS as a SAML IdP provider

After you configure Remedy SSO as an SP and AD FS as the remote identity provider in the Remedy SSO Admin Console, perform the following steps to configure AD FS to handle the SAML protocol:

Import certificates
Configure Relying Party Trust
Modify the secure hash algorithm
Configure claim rule
Export AD FS certificates

Importing certificates

Perform the following steps to import certificates:

Export the SSL certificate of the Tomcat on which the Remedy SSO is deployed.
Click here to expand to read the steps to export the certificate.
1. When you open the Remedy SSO URL, click on the padlock symbol in the address line of the browser.
2. In the Certificate window, click on the Details tab.
3. Click Copy to File.
4. In the Certificate Export Wizard, click Next.
5. In the displayed page, select "DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER)".
6. Click Next.
7. Provide a name for the file and include the path in the file name.
Note

The Common Name (CN) attribute of this certificate must be the same as the FQDN of the Remedy SSO server.
Go to the AD FS server.
Import the following certificates through the mmc console to the Trusted Root Certificate Authorities folder.
- Import the SSL certificate of the Tomcat on which the Remedy SSO. You must establish an https connection between Remedy SSO and AD FS.
  Click here to read the steps to import the certificates.
  1. From the Run dialog box, type mmc to open Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
  2. Open the File menu and click Add/Remove Snap-in…
  3. Select Certificates from the list of available snap-ins and click Add.
    The Certificates snap-in dialog box is displayed.
  4. Select My User Account, and click Finish and OK.
  5. Open Personal>Certificates from the explorer panel.
  6. On the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and then click Import to start the Certificate Import Wizard.
  7. Import the SSL certificate of the Tomcat on which the Remedy SSO is deployed and the Signing certificate.
  8. Open Trusted Root Certification Authorities>Certificates from the explorer panel.
  9. Import the SSL certificate of the Tomcat on which the Remedy SSO is deployed.
- Signing certificate (optional) - Remedy SSO may sign SAML messages. In such a case, the certificate for verifying such signature must be provided. This certificate must be stored in a *.jks file and path to it should be specified in the Remedy SSO Admin UI (General>Advanced>SAML Service Provider>Keystore File).

Configuring Relying Party Trust

On the AD FS server, open the AD FS 2.0 Management application.
On Trust Relationships tab, click Relying Party Trusts.
Click Add Relying Party Trust. A wizard appears.
Configure the following parameters:
1. Select Import data about the relying party published online or on a local network.
2. Copy the metadata web link that you received from the Remedy SSO. For example, https://rssoexample.bmc.com:8443/rsso/getmetadata.jsp?tenantName= <name of the corresponding tenant>.
  Note
  
  If you see a warning, you can ignore it. However, if you are unable to proceed with the configuration, the certificates were not exchanged correctly. Contact the Remedy SSO administrator for more information.
  In case of specific network settings when AD FS and Remedy SSO servers are not able to connect using SSL protocol, this error message may be normal and can be ignored. In this case, you can import the SP metadata into AD FS offline using an XML file.
3. Click Next.
4. Type rsso-sp for the display name, and click Next.
5. Select AD FS 2.0 profile, and click Next.
6. Select Permit all users to access this relying party, and click Next.
7. Clear the Open the Claims when this finishes check box.
8. Click Close.

After closing the Add Relying Party Trust Wizard window, rsso-sp appears in the Relying Party Trusts list.

Modifying the secure hash algorithm

Right-click rsso-sp, and select properties.
The rsso-sp Properties dialog box appears.
Click the Advanced tab, and select the secure hash algorithm, SHA-1.
Click OK.

Configuring claim rule

Configure the claim rules for the relying party.

On AD FS 2.0, select rsso-sp, and click Edit Claim Rules from the Actions menu.
To add the claim rule, click Add Rule.
1. Select the claim-rule template Send Claims Using Custom Rule.
2. Enter the claim-rule name Send Claims Using UPN. In this case, use the following script:

c:[Type == "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/upn"]
     => issue(
Type = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier",
Issuer = c.Issuer,
OriginalIssuer = c.OriginalIssuer, 
Value = c.Value, 
ValueType = c.ValueType,
     
Properties["http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/format"] = "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient",
     
Properties["http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/namequalifier"] = "<idp-entity-id>",
     
Properties["http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/spnamequalifier"] = "<sp-entity-id>/<realm-id>"
     );

Note

sp name qualifier is required only when you want to implement SP initiated Single log out.
The properties "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/format " must be the same as the NameID format value in the Authentication tab of Remedy SSO. For example, a Transient Identifier such as urn:oasis:tc:SAM:2.0:nameid-format:transient.
The FQDN specified for the properties " http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/namequalifier " must be the FQDN of the AD FS server.
The properties "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claimproperties/spnamequalifier " must be the same as the SP Entity Id value specified in Remedy SSO (General > Advanced > SAML Service Provider > SP Entity ID).

Exporting AD FS certificates

Export AD FS certificates as files.
Perform the following steps:
1. Open the AD FS 2.0 Management console.
2. From the explorer panel, go to Service > Certificates.
3. Double click the certificate name.
4. Select the Details tab.
5. Click Copy to File and then click Next.
6. Select Do not export the private key and then click Next.
7. Select DER and then select the file to save it.
8. Click Finish.
Perform the following steps to import the AD FS certificates into the Remedy SSO *.jks file with KeyStore Explorer tool:
1. Open the truststore file using the KeyStore Explorer.
2. Select Tools and click Import Trusted Certificate.
3. Select the file and import it.
Restart the Remedy SSO server.