Azure Entra ID

This guide will walk you through the steps required to configure Azure Entra ID as a SAML identity provider in Keycloak.

Prerequisites

• Access to your Azure Entra ID Tenant, with at least Cloud Application Administrator Privileges.
• Existing Entra ID Groups that are designated for Administrators and Auditors of UDS Core Applications (see note below).
• VERY IMPORTANT Users configured in Entra are REQUIRED to have an email address defined, without this Keycloak will fail to create the user.

UDS Core comes with two preconfigured user groups in Keycloak: Admin and Auditor. These groups are assigned roles to the various applications deployed by UDS Core, outlined here. Using Identity Provider Mappers in Keycloak, we can map your existing Administrator and Auditor groups in Azure Entra ID to the Admin and Auditor groups in Keycloak. See User Groups for more details.

Creating Application Registrations in Azure Entra ID

In this section, we will configure Application Registrations for each Keycloak realm deployed with UDS Core - the default master realm and the uds realm. The two App Registrations should be nearly identical, with the main difference being their Redirect URI.

Create App Registration - Master Realm

1. In Azure Entra ID, navigate to the “App registrations” page under “Manage”.
2. Click “New registration”.
3. Input a name for the application.
4. Under “Supported Account Types”, select “Accounts in this organizational directory ( only - Single tenant)”.
5. Under “Redirect URI”, select “Web” from the drop down menu and then input the following as the URL: https://keycloak.<admin_domain>/realms/master/broker/azure-saml/endpoint.
6. Click “Register” when done.

Once created, you will be directed to your application’s configuration page in Entra ID. Follow the steps below to configure the App Registration:

1. On the left-hand side, navigate to “Manage” > “Token configuration”. Here you will need to add the following as “Optional claims”:

   Claim	Token Type
   acct	SAML
   email	SAML
   ipaddr	ID
   upn	SAML

When adding these claims, a dialogue box will appear that says “Some of these claims (email, upn) require OpenID Connect scopes to be configured through the API permissions page or by checking the box below.”. Select the checkbox that says “Turn on the Microsoft Graph email, profile permission (required for claims to appear in token). Click “Add”.

1. You will also need to add a “Groups claim” as follows:
   1. Select “All groups” under “Select group types to include in Access, ID, and SAML tokens.” Accept the default values for the rest.
   2. Click “Add” when done.

1. Next, Navigate to “Expose an API” under “Manage”
2. On the top of the page, you will see “Application ID URI”. Click “Add”.
3. The window that appears should automatically populate with api://<Application (Client ID)>. Note this value. You will need it for configuring the Azure SAML Identity Provider in Keycloak later.
4. Click “Save”.

Create App Registration - UDS Realm

Repeat the steps above to create a new App Registration for the UDS Realm. Note the following caveats below:

1. When you get to step 3, ensure that you provide the Application Registration a unique name.
2. When asked to provide a “Redirect URI”, provide the following: https://sso.<domain>/realms/uds/broker/azure-saml/endpoint
3. Continue with next steps.

Keycloak Azure Entra Identity Provider Setup

• Log into Keycloak Admin UI

  • keycloak.< admin_domain >
  • The Keycloak admin username and password varies based on how UDS Core is deployed
    • If deploying with the bundle override INSECURE_ADMIN_PASSWORD_GENERATION
      • The username will be admin and the password will be in a Kubernetes secret called keycloak-admin-password
    • If not deploying with bundle override
      • An admin user will need to be registered by using zarf connect keycloak
      • This temporary admin user is recommended to be removed later

• Both Master and UDS Realms should be created by deploying UDS Core

  • Verify this in the Top Left dropdown

Master Realm

1. Configure the Required Actions

   1. Select Authentication tab from left side nav bar under Configure

   2. Select Required actions tab from top nav bar

   3. Now disable all required actions

   • These required actions are configurations that every user registered to the Master realm will need to complete, even if they register via an Identity Provider like Entra. This can add unnecessary checks that a user will need to configure when they register. Since we are shifting all authorization to Azure Entra, these will be repetitive validations.

2. Configure User Groups and Realm Roles

   1. Select Groups tab from left side nav bar under Manage

   2. Select Create Group button in the middle of the page

   3. Name that group admin-group and select the Create button

   4. Select the newly created admin-group, this will open a Group details page

   5. Select Role Mapping tab from top nav bar

   6. Select Assign role button in the middle of the page

   7. On the pop up page, Select the Filter by clients dropdown in the top left and select Filter by realm roles

   8. This should be a much smaller list, now toggle the admin role and click Assign in the bottom left corner

   • This creates a Master Realm specific group for admin users to be put into when they register. This group will be mapped from the Entra user into Keycloak. This group gives the admin users complete control, if the admin users should not have those controls then creating a different role with the reuiqred controls would be necessary and a group that is connected to that role.

3. Configure the SAML Identity Provider for Azure

   1. Select Identity Providers tab from left side nav bar under Manage

   2. Select SAML v2.0 option from middle of page under User-defined

      1. Should be on a new page called Add SAML provider now
      2. Change the Alias field to azure-saml
      3. Change the Display name field to Azure SSO
      4. Get the Service provider entity ID from the Entra portal:
         1. Entra - App Registrations
         2. Select Application from list for master realm
         3. Copy the Application ID URI and copy that the Service provider entity ID` in the Keycloak Identity Provider creation
      5. Get the SAML entity descriptor from the Entra portal:
         1. Entra - App Registrataions
         2. Select Application from list for master realm
         3. Select the Endpoints tab from top nav bar
         4. Copy the Federation metadata document endpoint over to the SAML entity descriptor in the Keycloak Identity Provider creation, make sure that it gets the green checkmark
      6. Select Add button, should now see an Azure SSO page that has been auto populated
      7. Toggle Backchannel logout to On under SAML Settings
      8. Toggle Trust Email to On under Advanced settings
      9. Change the First login flow override under Advanced settings to be first broker login
      10. Select Save

   3. Select Mappers tab from top nav bar

      1. Select Add mapper, should now be on Add Identity Provider Mapper page
         1. Change Name field to Username Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to username
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      2. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to First Name Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/givenname
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to firstName
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      3. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Last Name Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/surname
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to lastName
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      4. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Email Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to email
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      5. Select the Add mapper

         1. Change Name field to Group Mapper

         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force

         3. Change Mapper type field to Advanced Attribute to Group

         4. Select Add Attributes from middle of page

         5. Enter key http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups and value is in the Entra Manage Groups, Pick the admin group and copy the Group ID into the value field

         6. Select Select group button

         7. Select admin-group from the pop up window and click Select

         8. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page

      • This creates mappers for mapping users information between Entra and Keycloak. While not absolutely necessary there is many reasons why this is a good idea. Make sure the Entra group that is for admins is very restrictive and only users that should have control of keycloak are admitted.

4. Configure Authentication Flows and default Browser Flow

   1. Select Authentication from left side nav bar under Configure

   2. Select Create Flow from top nav bar, should be on Create flow page now

      1. Change Name to browser-idp-redirect
      2. Select Create, should be on browser-idp-redirect page now, this is not in use yet
      3. Select Add an execution
      4. In the search bar enter redirector and select the Identity Provider Redirector, and click Add
      5. Change the requirement dropdown to REQUIRED
      6. Select the gear settings icon
      7. Change Alias to Browser IDP
      8. Change Default Identity Provider to azure-saml

   3. Select the Authentication breacrumb at the top of the page

   • We have created an Identity Provider and we have disabled the use of username passwords for admin users. So we need to disable the final route for admin users to utilize those passwords.

5. OPTIONAL but recommended - Configure a Client for service account authentication

   1. Select Clients from left side nav bar under manage

   2. Select Create client from top nav bar

   3. Change Client ID field to service-client

   4. Change Name field to Service Client

   5. Change Description field to Service Account Enabled Client

   6. Select Next button from bottom of page

   7. Toggle Client authentication to On

   8. Toggle Standard flow to Off

   9. Toggle Direct access grants to Off

   10. Toggle Service account roles to On

   11. Select Next button from bottom of page

   12. Select Save button from bottom of page

   13. Should be on the service-client client details page now

   14. Select the Service accounts roles tab from top nav bar

   15. Select Assign role

   16. Switch the Filter by clients dropdown to Filter by realm roles

   17. Select the admin role and click Assign at bottom of pop up

   • This step creates a Keycloak client that can only be used via service accounts. This means things like Terraform or otherwise. Instead of providing a users credentials to run terraform against keycloak, the client_id and client_secret could be used instead. The client_id can be found on the client details page and the client_secret can be found in the Credentials tab of the client. This is not necessary but can provide another avenue to manage day 2 ops for Keycloak.

6. Testing Changes

   This requires that user be setup in Entra and have the correct group defined in Entra that maps to the Keycloak admin group created earlier

   1. We would recommend testing all of these changes at this point to verify functionality of Authentication flows

   2. Select the Admin user drop down from top right corner of screen

   3. Select sign out

   4. Should be redirected to a Keycloak login screen where Username/Password is enabled and an Azure SSO option is present

   • We will disable the Username/Password Authentication Flow after we’ve tested that everything is working otherwise if anything is misconfigured, you won’t be able to get back in and will have to start this process over again.

   5. Select the Azure SSO option
   6. Should experience some redirects and land on Entra Login page
   7. Enter Entra Users information
   8. Should be redirected to the Admin UI again with full permissions

7. FINALLY

   1. When configuration of Keycloak is complete and everything is working, do these final steps:

   2. Disable Username Password Auth

      1. Select Authentication from left side nav bar under Configure

      2. Find the newly created browser-idp-redirect Authentication Flow

      3. Select the three dots at the far right of the row

      4. Select the Bind flow option

      5. Select the Browser flow from the dropdown and click Save

      • Since we are shifting authentication to Entra, we setup an Authentication flow that automatically redirects users to Entra when they need to login or register. This mitigates both confusion and misconfigurations.

   3. Remove the admin user that was initial created

      1. Select Users tab from left side nav bar under Manage

      2. This next step will remove you from Keycloak if you’re still using the temp admin user

      3. Select the three dots from the far right of admin row

      4. Select Delete

      • This user is a requirement for keycloak to be accessed and configured the very first time. So by default this user is a super user and should be removed so that a user cannot assume the admin users creds.

UDS Realm

1. Configure the SAML Identity Provider for Azure

   1. Select Identity Providers tab from left side nav bar under Manage

   2. Select SAML v2.0 option from middle of page under User-defined

      1. Should be on a new page called Add SAML provider now
      2. Change the Alias field to azure-saml
      3. Change the Display name field to Azure SSO
      4. Get the Service provider entity ID from the Entra portal:
         1. Entra - App Registrations
         2. Select Application from list for master realm
         3. Copy the Application ID URI and copy that the Service provider entity ID in the Keycloak Identity Provider creation
      5. Get the SAML entity descriptor from the Entra portal:
         1. Entra - App Registrataions
         2. Select Application from list for master realm
         3. Select the Endpoints tab from top nav bar
         4. Copy the Federation metadata document endpoint over to the SAML entity descriptor in the Keycloak Identity Provider creation, make sure that it gets the green checkmark
      6. Select Add button, should now see an Azure SSO page that has been auto populated
      7. Toggle Backchannel logout to On under SAML Settings
      8. Toggle Trust Email to On under Advanced settings
      9. Change the First login flow override under Advanced settings to be first broker login
      10. Select Save

   3. Select Mappers tab from top nav bar

      1. Select Add mapper, should now be on Add Identity Provider Mapper page
         1. Change Name field to Username Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to username
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      2. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to First Name Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/givenname
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to firstName
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      3. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Last Name Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/surname
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to lastName
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      4. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Email Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Attribute Importer
         4. Change Attribute Name field to http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress
         5. Change User Attribute Name in the dropdown field to email
         6. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      5. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Admin Group Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Advanced Attribute to Group
         4. Select Add Attributes from middle of page
         5. Enter key http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups and value is in the Entra Manage Groups, Pick the admin group and copy the Group ID into the value field
         6. Select Select group button
         7. Select /UDS Core/Admin from the pop up window and click Select
         8. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page
      6. Select the Add mapper
         1. Change Name field to Auditor Group Mapper
         2. Change Sync mode override field to Force
         3. Change Mapper type field to Advanced Attribute to Group
         4. Select Add Attributes from middle of page
         5. Enter key http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/groups and value is in the Entra Manage Groups, Pick the auditor group and copy the Group ID into the value field
         6. Select Select group button
         7. Select /UDS Core/Auditor from the pop up window and click Select
         8. Select Save and navigate back to Provider details via the breadcrumbs at top of page

Testing

1. Navigate to sso.< domain >
2. Select the Azure SSO
3. Go through Entra Login
4. Should be able to access Keycloak Account UI

References

• Quickstart: Register an application with the Microsoft identity platform
• Enable single sign-on for an enterprise application