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Configure remote authentication through SAML

You can configure secure, single sign-on (SSO) authentication to the ExtraHop system through one or more security assertion markup language (SAML) identity providers.

Video:See the related training: SSO Authentication

When a user logs in to an ExtraHop system that is configured as a service provider (SP) for SAML SSO authentication, the ExtraHop system requests authorization from the appropriate identity provider (IdP). The identity provider authenticates the user's credentials and then returns the authorization for the user to the ExtraHop system. The user is then able to access the ExtraHop system.

Configuration guides for specific identity providers are linked below. If your provider is not listed, apply the settings required by the ExtraHop system to your identity provider.

Identity providers must meet the following criteria:

  • SAML 2.0
  • Support SP-initiated login flows. IdP-initiated login flows are not supported.
  • Support signed SAML Responses
  • Support HTTP-Redirect binding

The example configuration in this procedure enables access to the ExtraHop system through group attributes.

If your identity provider does not support group attribute statements, configure user attributes with the appropriate privileges for module access, system access, and packet forensics.

Enable SAML remote authentication

Before you begin

Warning:If your system is already configured with a remote authentication method, changing these settings will remove any users and associated customizations created through that method, and remote users will be unable to access the system. Local users are unaffected.
You can enable remote authentication with SAML on this ExtraHop system.
  1. Log in to the Administration settings on the ExtraHop system through https://<extrahop-hostname-or-IP-address>/admin.
  2. In the Access Settings section, click Remote Authentication.
  3. Select SAML from the remote authentication method drop-down list and then click Continue.
  4. Click View SP Metadata to view the Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URL and Entity ID of the ExtraHop system.
    These strings are required by your identity provider to configure SSO authentication. You can also scroll down to download the metadata as an XML file that you can import into your identity provider configuration.
    Note:The ACS URL includes the hostname configured in Network Settings. If the ACS URL contains an unreachable hostname, such as the default system hostname extrahop, you must edit the URL when adding the ACS URL to your identity provider and specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the ExtraHop system.
  5. Click Add Identity Provider to add the following information:
    Provider Name
    Type a name to identify your specific identity provider. This name appears on the ExtraHop system log in page after the Log in with text.
    Entity ID
    Paste the entity ID provided by your identity provider into this field.
    SSO URL
    Paste the single sign-on URL provided by your identity provider into this field.
    Public Certificate
    Paste the X.509 certificate provided by your identity provider into this field.
    Auto-provision users
    When this option is selected, ExtraHop user accounts are automatically created when the user logs in through the identity provider. To manually control which users can log in, clear this checkbox and manually configure new remote users through the ExtraHop Administration settings or REST API. Any manually-created remote username should match the username configured on the identity provider.
    Enable this identity provider
    This option is selected by default and allows users to log in to the ExtraHop system. To prevent users from logging in through this identity provider, clear the checkbox.
    User Privilege Attributes
    You must configure user privilege attributes before users can log in to the ExtraHop system through an identity provider. Values are not case sensitive and can include spaces.

    The names and values of user privilege attributes must match the names and values your identity provider includes in SAML responses, which are configured when you add the ExtraHop application to a provider. For example, in Microsoft Entra ID, you configure claim names and claim condition values that must match the names and values of user privilege attributes in the ExtraHop system.

    Note:If a user matches multiple attribute values, the user is granted the most permissive access privilege. For example, if a user matches both Limited write and Full write values, the user is granted Full write privileges. For more information about privilege levels, see Users and user groups.

    For more detailed examples, see the following topics:

    NDR Module Access
    NDR attributes enable users to access NDR features.
    NPM Module Access
    NPM attributes enable users to access NPM features.
    Packets and Session Key Access
    Packets and session key attributes enable users to access packets and session keys. Configuring packets and session key attributes is optional and only required when you have a connected ExtraHop packetstore.
  6. Click Save.

User attribute mapping

You must configure the following set of user attributes in the application attribute mapping section on your identity provider. These attributes identify the user throughout the ExtraHop system. Refer to your identity provider documentation for the correct property names when mapping attributes.

ExtraHop Attribute Name Friendly Name Category Identity Provider Attribute Name
urn:oid:0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.3 mail Standard Attribute Primary email address
urn:oid:2.5.4.4 sn Standard Attribute Last name
urn:oid:2.5.4.42 givenName Standard Attribute First name


Group attribute statements

The ExtraHop system supports group attribute statements to easily map user privileges to all members of a specific group. When you configure the ExtraHop application on your identity provider, specify a group attribute name. This name is then entered in the Attribute Name field when you configure the identity provider on the ExtraHop system.



If your identity provider does not support group attribute statements, configure user attributes with the appropriate privileges for module access, system access, and packet forensics.

Next steps

After you configure remote authentication through SAML, review these tasks.

Last modified 2024-05-03