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Single Sign-On (SSO) Configuration

Tier: Pro, Enterprise

Stirling-PDF allows login via Single Sign-On (SSO) using OAuth 2 OpenID Connect (OIDC) and SAML 2. This allows you to log in to the app using an account you may have with another Provider such as Google or GitHub.

OAuth 2 Set Up​

To enable OAuth 2 in Stirling-PDF there are a number of properties you must set. Begin by setting security.enableLogin to true and security.loginMethod to oauth2 in your /configs/settings.yml.

security:
  enableLogin: true
  ...
  loginMethod: all | normal | oauth2 | saml2
  • enableLogin: Set to true to enable login
  • loginMethod: Defines the type of login method that will be used on application start up. The available options are:
    • all: Enables all login methods (username/password, OAuth 2, SAML 2). Can be used alternatively to oauth2
    • normal: Enables the username/password login method
    • oauth2: Enables the OAuth 2 login method. Use this if you only want to log in via OAuth 2
    • saml2: Enables the SAML 2 login method

Next, you will need to configure the OAuth 2 properties for your chosen Provider. Start by setting security.oauth2.enabled to true. Stirling-PDF supports multiple Providers, in particular Google, GitHub and Keycloak. You also have the option to use a different Provider apart from the aforementioned if you wish.

⚠️ Note​

The enableLogin property must be set to true for SSO to work.

oauth2:
  enabled: true
  client:
    google:
      clientId: <YOUR_CLIENT_ID>
      clientSecret: <YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>
      scopes: email, profile
      useAsUsername: email | name | given_name | family_name
  provider: google
  • security.oauth2.enabled Set this to true to enable login
  • security.oauth2.issuer The URL for the Provider's OpenID Configuration. Set this to any Provider that supports an OpenID Connect Discovery /.well-known/openid-configuration endpoint
  • security.oauth2.clientId Client ID from your Provider
  • security.oauth2.clientSecret Client Secret from your Provider
  • security.oauth2.autoCreateUser Set this to true to allow auto-creation of non-existing users
  • security.oauth2.blockRegistration: Set to true to deny login with SSO without prior registration by an admin
  • security.oauth2.useAsUsername: The value from the Provider to use as the username for the application. Check with your Provider for specific options. The default is email
  • security.oauth2.scopes: Specifies the list of scopes for which the application will request permissions. The available scopes for Google and GitHub can be found here and here
  • security.oauth2.provider: The name of the Provider

The Callback URL (Redirect URL) for entering in your IdP is: https://<striling-pdf.yourdomain>/login/oauth2/code/<oidc-provider> eg https://<striling-pdf.yourdomain>/login/oauth2/code/keycloak. It is highly recommended to use an SSL-enabled reverse-proxy, if the application is going to be exposed to the internet.

After the OAuth 2 login is enabled, a new button will show up on the login page as per the screenshot below. Clicking the 'Login via Single Sign-On' button will present you with the login for your Provider of choice. Once you have clicked the button, you will be redirected to your Provider in order to login and authorise Stirling-PDF to use your profile:

login-page.pngsso-login-option.png

SAML 2 Set Up​

⚠️ Note​

SAML 2 is an enterprise-only feature. To use it you must have premium.enabled set to true and have a valid license key.

Begin by setting security.enableLogin to true and security.loginMethod to saml2 in your /configs/settings.yml.

saml2:
  enabled: true
  provider: <PROVIDER_NAME>
  autoCreateUser: true
  blockRegistration: false
  registrationId: <REGISTRATION_ID>
  idpMetadataUri: <PROVIDER_METADATA_URI>
  idpSingleLoginUrl: <PROVIDER_SSO_URL>
  idpSingleLogoutUrl: <PROVIDER_SLO_URL>
  idpIssuer: <PROVIDER_ISSUER_ID>
  idpCert: classpath:<PROVIDER_SELF-SIGNED_CERTIFICATE>
  privateKey: classpath:<YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY>
  spCert: classpath:<YOUR_CERTIFICATE>
  • security.saml2.enabled: Set to true to activate SAML 2 SSO # Only enabled for paid enterprise clients (enterpriseEdition.enabled must be true)
  • security.saml2.autoCreateUser: Set this to true to allow auto-creation of non-existing users
  • security.saml2.blockRegistration: Set to true to deny login with SSO without prior registration by an admin
  • security.saml2.registrationId: The registration ID for your Provider. Should match the name in the path for your Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URL The default is stirling
  • security.saml2.idpMetadataUri: The location of the metadata file from your Provider. Can be a file or URI
  • security.saml2.idpSingleLoginUrl: The URL given by your Provider to initiate the SSO flow
  • security.saml2.idpSingleLogoutUrl: The URL given by your Provider to initiate the SLO flow
  • security.saml2.idpIssuer: The name of your Provider
  • security.saml2.idpCert: The signing certificate given by your Provider in .pem format. Place in stirling-pdf/src/main/resources
  • security.saml2.privateKey: Your private key from your keypair in .key format. Place in stirling-pdf/src/main/resources
  • security.saml2.spCert: classpath:certificate.crt from your keypair in .crt format. Place in stirling-pdf/src/main/resources

Generating a Keypair​

To generate a keypair for the app to use for signing and verification, enter this command in your terminal:

openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout private_key.key -x509 -days 365 -out certificate.crt
  • openssl req: This starts the OpenSSL command to create or manage a certificate signing request (CSR) or certificate
  • newkey rsa:2048: This generates a new key pair using the RSA algorithm with a key size of 2048 bits. RSA 2048 is a common and secure key size
  • nodes: Skips encrypting the private key (no passphrase). If omitted, you would be prompted to set a password for the key, which would be required whenever using it. With -nodes, the private key is generated in plain text for easier use in automated systems
  • keyout private_key.key: Specifies the file name where the private key will be saved
  • x509: This tells OpenSSL to create a self-signed certificate instead of generating a certificate signing request (CSR) A self-signed certificate is not verified by a Certificate Authority (CA), which is why browsers may display a security warning when using it
  • days 365: Specifies the certificate's validity period (in days). In this case, the certificate is valid for 365 days
  • out certificate.crt: Specifies the output file where the self-signed certificate will be saved

After generating the keypair, the .key and .crt files should be located in the directory you executed the above command in. Move the files to stirling-pdf/src/main/resources.

Once you have added your configuration, you should see the button for your chosen Provider on the login page prompting you to log in:

sso-login-dark-mode.pngsso-saml-login.png

Auto-login​

⚠️ Note​

Auto Login is an enterprise-only feature. To use it you must have premium.enabled set to true and have a valid license key.

It is also possible to automatically log in to Stirling PDF on start-up using SSO. To enable this feature, set the property premium.proFeatures.SSOAutoLogin to true. This will redirect to your SSO's URL when any user navigates to Stirling-PDF's default login screen. If a login fails 3 times this redirection is disabled

Configurations Examples​

Below are examples of the full configuration for both OAuth 2 and SAML 2:

security:
  enableLogin: true # set to 'true' to enable login
  oauth2:
    issuer: <ISSUER_URI>
    clientId: <CLIENT_ID>
    clientSecret: <CLIENT_SECRET>
    autoCreateUser: true
    blockRegistration: false
    useAsUsername: email
    scopes: openid, profile, email
    provider: <PROVIDER_NAME>
  saml2:
    enabled: true
    autoCreateUser: true
    blockRegistration: false
    registrationId: <REGISTRATION_ID>
    idpMetadataUri: <PROVIDER_METADATA_URI>
    idpSingleLoginUrl: <PROVIDER_SSO_URL>
    idpSingleLogoutUrl: <PROVIDER_SLO_URL>
    idpIssuer: <PROVIDER_NAME>
    idpCert: classpath:<PROVIDER_SELF-SIGNED_CERTIFICATE>
    privateKey: classpath:<YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY>
    spCert: classpath:<YOUR_CERTIFICATE>

Disable Form Login

Once you successfully enabled Single Sign-on (with OAuth2 or SAML), you might want to disable the form login. This can be done by changing the loginMethod setting accordingly to your needs, like so:

security:
  ...
  loginMethod: oauth2 # Accepts values like 'all' and 'normal'(only Login with Username/Password), 'oauth2'(only