Use this guide to enable Multi-Factor Authentication and Single Sign-on (SSO) access via SAML to JIRA.
1. Have a JIRA account
2. Create a New Realm for the JIRA integration
3. Configure the following tabs in the Web Admin before configuring the Post Authentication tab:
- Overview – the description of the realm and SMTP connections must be defined
- Data – an enterprise directory must be integrated with SecureAuth IdP
- Workflow – the way in which users will access this application must be defined
- Multi-Factor Methods – the Multi-Factor Authentication methods that will be used to access this page (if any) must be defined
1. In the Profile Fields section, map the directory field that contains the user's JIRA ID to the SecureAuth IdP Property
For example, add the JIRA ID to the Email 2 Property if it is not already contained somewhere else
Click Save once the configurations have been completed and before leaving the Data page to avoid losing changes
2. Select SAML 2.0 (SP Initiated) Assertion Page from the Authenticated User Redirect dropdown in the Post Authentication tab in the Web Admin
3. An unalterable URL will be auto-populated in the Redirect To field, which will append to the domain name and realm number in the address bar (Authorized/SAML20SPInit.aspx)
4. A customized post authentication page can be uploaded, but it is not required
5. Select the SecureAuth IdP Property that corresponds to the directory field that contains the JIRA ID (Email 2)
6. Select urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:unspecified from the Name ID Format dropdown (default)
Select a different option if JIRA requires it, which the Service Provider (SP) will provide
7. Select False from the Encode to Base64 dropdown
8. Set the WSFed/SAML Issuer to a Unique Name that will be shared with JIRA
The WSFed/SAML Issuer must match exactly on the SecureAuth IdP side and the JIRA side
9. Provide the SP Start URL to enable SSO and to redirect users appropriately to access JIRA
For example, the SP Start URL would be https://jira.company.com
10. Set the SAML Offset Minutes to make up for time differences between devices
11. Set the SAML Valid Hours to limit for how long the SAML assertion is valid
No configuration is required for the WSFed Reply To/SAML Target URL, SAML Consumer URL, SAML Recipient, or SAML Audience fields
12. Leave the Signing Cert Serial Number as the default value, unless there is a third-party certificate being used for the SAML assertion
If using a third-party certificate, click Select Certificate and choose the appropriate certificate
13. Provide the Domain in order to Download the Metadata File to send to JIRA (if required)
Click Save once the configurations have been completed and before leaving the Post Authentication page to avoid losing changes
14. Click View and Configure FormsAuth keys / SSO token to configure the token/cookie settings and to configure this realm for SSO
These are optional configurations
1. If SSL is required to view the token, select True from the Require SSL dropdown
2. Choose whether SecureAuth IdP will deliver the token in a cookie to the user's browser or device:
- UseCookies enables SecureAuth IdP to always deliver a cookie
- UseUri disables SecureAuth IdP to deliver a cookie, and instead deliver the token in a query string
- AutoDetect enables SecureAuth IdP to deliver a cookie if the user's settings allow it
- UseDeviceProfile enables SecureAuth IdP to deliver a cookie if the browser's settings allow it, no matter the user's settings
3. Set the Sliding Expiration to True if the cookie remains valid as long as the user is interacting with the page
4. Set the Timeout length to determine for how many minutes a cookie is valid
No configuration is required for the Name, Login URL, or Domain fields
5. No changes are required in the Validation field, unless the default value does not match the company's requirement
If a different value is required, select it from the dropdown
6. No changes are required in the Decryption field, unless the default value does not match the company's requirement
If a different value is required, select it from the dropdown
No configuration is required for the Validation Key or Decryption Key fields
7. Enable the cookie to be Persistent by selecting True - Expires after Timeout from the dropdown
Selecting False - Session Cookie enables the cookie to be valid as long as the session is open, and will expire once the browser is closed or the session expires
No configuration is required for the Pre-Auth Cookie, Post-Auth Cookie, or the Clean Up Pre-Auth Cookie fields
Click Save once the configurations have been completed and before leaving the Forms Auth / SSO Token page to avoid losing changes
To configure this realm for SSO, refer to SecureAuth IdP Single Sign-on Configuration
To configure this realm for Windows Desktop SSO, refer to Windows desktop SSO configuration
Information from the Atlassian SSO Plugin Configuration guide, author Jörg Brandstätt
1. Go to the SAML SSO Plugin page (https://<confluence/JIRA-url>/plugins/servlet/samlsso/admin)
2. Set the following values into the appropriate fields:
| Setting | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| IdP URL | URL on the Identity Provider to where the SAML authentication requests are sent. | https://adfs.example.com/adfs/ls/ |
| Default Redirect URL | Relative URL on JIRA or Confluence to redirect after successful login, if no specific URL was called. This is usually the case if the samlsso-Servlet is opened directly. This value is typically just / if Confluence / JIRA is running in the root context. | / |
| Login Page URL | If the SAML login fails, a link to the username / password login page is displayed on the error page. For Confluence, this is usually /login.action; for JIRA, /login.jsp | /login.jsp |
| Redirect Login Requests | If this box is checked, JIRA / Confluence redirects to the samlsso-Servlet (which redirects to ADFS) instead of the login page. If this box is not checked, then single sign-on only works if the samlsso-Servlet is called directly at https://<confluence / JIRA-url>/plugins/servlet/samlsso. | |
| IdP Certificate | Paste the Base64-encoded Token Signing Certificate here (step 12 in SecureAuth IdP Configuration Steps). If this field is left empty, the SAML response signature validation is disabled. This can be useful for testing and troubleshooting, but it is strongly recommended that the validation is enabled to mitigate attackers gaining access by sending fake SAML responses. After clicking Send, the certificate is shown in the field below in readable form. |
