JPA - SAML2 Metadata Management

Metadata documents may also be stored in and fetched from a relational database instance. This may specially be used to avoid copying metadata files across CAS nodes in a cluster, particularly where one needs to deal with more than a few bilateral SAML integrations. Metadata documents are stored in and fetched from a single pre-defined table (i.e. SamlMetadataDocument) whose connection information is taught to CAS via settings and is automatically generated. The outline of the table is as follows:

Field Description
id The identifier of the record.
name Indexed field which describes and names the metadata briefly.
entityId Indexed entity identifier extracted from the metadata document.
value The XML document representing the metadata for the service provider.
signature The contents of the signing certificate to validate metadata, if any.

Support is enabled by including the following module in the overlay:

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<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apereo.cas</groupId>
    <artifactId>cas-server-support-saml-idp-metadata-jpa</artifactId>
    <version>${cas.version}</version>
</dependency>
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implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-saml-idp-metadata-jpa:${project.'cas.version'}"
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dependencyManagement {
    imports {
        mavenBom "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-bom:${project.'cas.version'}"
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-saml-idp-metadata-jpa"
}
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dependencies {
    /*
        The following platform references are included automatically and are listed for reference only.

        implementation enforcedPlatform("org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-bom:${project.'cas.version'}")
        implementation platform(org.springframework.boot.gradle.plugin.SpringBootPlugin.BOM_COORDINATES)
        
    */
    implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-saml-idp-metadata-jpa"
}

SAML service definitions must then be designed as follows to allow CAS to fetch metadata documents from database instances:

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{
  "@class" : "org.apereo.cas.support.saml.services.SamlRegisteredService",
  "serviceId" : "the-entity-id-of-the-sp",
  "name" : "SAMLService",
  "id" : 10000003,
  "description" : "A relational-db-based metadata resolver",
  "metadataLocation" : "jdbc://"
}
:information_source: Metadata Location

The metadata location in the registration record above needs to be specified as jdbc:// to signal to CAS that SAML metadata for registered service provider must be fetched from JDBC data sources defined in CAS configuration.

The following settings and properties are available from the CAS configuration catalog:

cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.encryption.keyThe encryption key is a string whose length is defined by the encryption key size setting.
no default
RequiredSpEL

The encryption key is a string whose length is defined by the encryption key size setting.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
EncryptionJwtCryptoProperties
Supports
Spring Expression Language
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.signing.keyThe signing key is a string whose length is defined by the signing key size setting.
no default
RequiredSpEL

The signing key is a string whose length is defined by the signing key size setting.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
SigningJwtCryptoProperties
Supports
Spring Expression Language
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.driver-classThe JDBC driver used to connect to the database.
org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver
Required

The JDBC driver used to connect to the database.

Type
String
Default
org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.passwordThe database connection password.
no default
Required

The database connection password.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.urlThe database connection URL.
jdbc:hsqldb:mem:cas-hsql-database
RequiredSpEL

The database connection URL.

Type
String
Default
jdbc:hsqldb:mem:cas-hsql-database
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
Supports
Spring Expression Language
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.userThe database user.
sa
Required

The database user.

The database user must have sufficient permissions to be able to handle schema changes and updates, when needed.

Type
String
Default
sa
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.autocommitThe default auto-commit behavior of connections in the pool.
false

The default auto-commit behavior of connections in the pool. Determined whether queries such as update/insert should be immediately executed without waiting for an underlying transaction.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.batch-sizeA non-zero value enables use of JDBC2 batch updates by Hibernate. e.g. recommended values between 5 and 30.
100

A non-zero value enables use of JDBC2 batch updates by Hibernate. e.g. recommended values between 5 and 30.

Type
Integer
Default
100
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.connection-timeoutIndicates the maximum number of milliseconds that the service can wait to obtain a connection.
PT30S
Duration

Indicates the maximum number of milliseconds that the service can wait to obtain a connection.

Type
String
Default
PT30S
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.algThe signing/encryption algorithm to use.
no default

The signing/encryption algorithm to use.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
EncryptionJwtSigningJwtCryptographyProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.enabledWhether crypto operations are enabled.
true

Whether crypto operations are enabled.

Type
Boolean
Default
true
Defined by
EncryptionJwtSigningJwtCryptographyProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.encryption.key-sizeThe encryption key size.
512

The encryption key size.

Type
Integer
Default
512
Defined by
EncryptionJwtCryptoProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.signing.key-sizeThe signing key size.
512

The signing key size.

Type
Integer
Default
512
Defined by
SigningJwtCryptoProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.crypto.strategy-typeControl the cipher sequence of operations.
ENCRYPT_AND_SIGN
Control the cipher sequence of operations. The accepted values are:
  • ENCRYPT_AND_SIGN: Encrypt the value first, and then sign.
  • SIGN_AND_ENCRYPT: Sign the value first, and then encrypt.
Type
String
Default
ENCRYPT_AND_SIGN
Defined by
EncryptionJwtSigningJwtCryptographyProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.data-source-nameAttempts to do a JNDI data source look up for the data source name specified.
no default

Attempts to do a JNDI data source look up for the data source name specified. Will attempt to locate the data source object as is.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.ddl-autoHibernate feature to automatically validate and exports DDL to the schema.
update
Hibernate feature to automatically validate and exports DDL to the schema. By default, creates and drops the schema automatically when a session is starts and ends. Setting the value to validate or none may be more desirable for production, but any of the following options can be used:
  • validate: Validate the schema, but make no changes to the database.
  • update: Update the schema.
  • create: Create the schema, destroying previous data.
  • create-drop: Drop the schema at the end of the session.
  • none: Do nothing.

Note that during a version migration where any schema has changed create-drop will result in the loss of all data as soon as CAS is started. For transient data like tickets this is probably not an issue, but in cases like the audit table important data could be lost. Using `update`, while safe for data, is confirmed to result in invalid database state. validate or none settings are likely the only safe options for production use.

For more info, see this.

Type
String
Default
update
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.default-catalogQualifies unqualified table names with the given catalog in generated SQL.
no default

Qualifies unqualified table names with the given catalog in generated SQL.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.default-schemaQualify unqualified table names with the given schema/tablespace in generated SQL.
no default

Qualify unqualified table names with the given schema/tablespace in generated SQL.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.dialectThe database dialect is a configuration setting for platform independent software (JPA, Hibernate, etc) which allows such software to translate its generic SQL statements into vendor specific DDL, DML.
org.hibernate.dialect.HSQLDialect

The database dialect is a configuration setting for platform independent software (JPA, Hibernate, etc) which allows such software to translate its generic SQL statements into vendor specific DDL, DML.

Type
String
Default
org.hibernate.dialect.HSQLDialect
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.fail-fast-timeoutSet the pool initialization failure timeout.
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Set the pool initialization failure timeout.
  • Any value greater than zero will be treated as a timeout for pool initialization. The calling thread will be blocked from continuing until a successful connection to the database, or until the timeout is reached. If the timeout is reached, then a PoolInitializationException will be thrown.
  • A value of zero will not prevent the pool from starting in the case that a connection cannot be obtained. However, upon start the pool will attempt to obtain a connection and validate that the connectionTestQuery and connectionInitSql are valid. If those validations fail, an exception will be thrown. If a connection cannot be obtained, the validation is skipped and the pool will start and continue to try to obtain connections in the background. This can mean that callers to DataSource#getConnection() may encounter exceptions.
  • A value less than zero will not bypass any connection attempt and validation during startup, and therefore the pool will start immediately. The pool will continue to try to obtain connections in the background. This can mean that callers to DataSource#getConnection() may encounter exceptions.
Note that if this timeout value is greater than or equal to zero (0), and therefore an initial connection validation is performed, this timeout does not override the connectionTimeout or validationTimeout; they will be honored before this timeout is applied. The default value is one millisecond.
Type
Long
Default
1
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.fetch-sizeUsed to specify number of rows to be fetched in a select query.
100

Used to specify number of rows to be fetched in a select query.

Type
Integer
Default
100
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.generate-statisticsAllow hibernate to generate query statistics.
false

Allow hibernate to generate query statistics.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.health-queryThe SQL query to be executed to test the validity of connections.
no default

The SQL query to be executed to test the validity of connections. This is for "legacy" databases that do not support the JDBC4 Connection.isValid() API.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.idle-timeoutControls the maximum amount of time that a connection is allowed to sit idle in the pool.
PT10M
Duration

Controls the maximum amount of time that a connection is allowed to sit idle in the pool.

Type
String
Default
PT10M
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.idp-metadata-enabledWhether identity provider metadata artifacts are expected to be found in the database.
false

Whether identity provider metadata artifacts are expected to be found in the database.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.isolate-internal-queriesThis property determines whether data source isolates internal pool queries, such as the connection alive test, in their own transaction.
false

This property determines whether data source isolates internal pool queries, such as the connection alive test, in their own transaction.

Since these are typically read-only queries, it is rarely necessary to encapsulate them in their own transaction. This property only applies if #autocommit is disabled.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.isolation-level-nameDefines the isolation level for transactions.
ISOLATION_READ_COMMITTED

Defines the isolation level for transactions. @see org.springframework.transaction.TransactionDefinition

Type
String
Default
ISOLATION_READ_COMMITTED
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.leak-thresholdControls the amount of time that a connection can be out of the pool before a message is logged indicating a possible connection leak.
PT6S
Duration

Controls the amount of time that a connection can be out of the pool before a message is logged indicating a possible connection leak.

Type
String
Default
PT6S
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.physical-naming-strategy-class-nameFully-qualified name of the class that can control the physical naming strategy of hibernate.
org.apereo.cas.hibernate.CasHibernatePhysicalNamingStrategy

Fully-qualified name of the class that can control the physical naming strategy of hibernate.

Type
String
Default
org.apereo.cas.hibernate.CasHibernatePhysicalNamingStrategy
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.keep-alive-timeThis property controls the keepalive interval for a connection in the pool.
0
Duration

This property controls the keepalive interval for a connection in the pool. An in-use connection will never be tested by the keepalive thread, only when it is idle will it be tested. Default is zero, which disables this feature.

Type
String
Default
0
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.max-sizeControls the maximum number of connections to keep in the pool, including both idle and in-use connections.
18

Controls the maximum number of connections to keep in the pool, including both idle and in-use connections.

Type
Integer
Default
18
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.max-waitSets the maximum time in seconds that this data source will wait while attempting to connect to a database.
PT2S
Duration

Sets the maximum time in seconds that this data source will wait while attempting to connect to a database.

A value of zero specifies that the timeout is the default system timeout if there is one; otherwise, it specifies that there is no timeout.

Type
String
Default
PT2S
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.maximum-lifetimeThis property controls the maximum lifetime of a connection in the pool.
PT10M
Duration

This property controls the maximum lifetime of a connection in the pool. When a connection reaches this timeout, even if recently used, it will be retired from the pool. An in-use connection will never be retired, only when it is idle will it be removed.

Type
String
Default
PT10M
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.min-sizeControls the minimum size that the pool is allowed to reach, including both idle and in-use connections.
6

Controls the minimum size that the pool is allowed to reach, including both idle and in-use connections.

Type
Integer
Default
6
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.nameSet the name of the connection pool.
no default

Set the name of the connection pool. This is primarily used for the MBean to uniquely identify the pool configuration.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.suspensionWhether or not pool suspension is allowed.
false

Whether or not pool suspension is allowed.

There is a performance impact when pool suspension is enabled. Unless you need it (for a redundancy system for example) do not enable it.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.pool.timeout-millisThe maximum number of milliseconds that the pool will wait for a connection to be validated as alive.
1000

The maximum number of milliseconds that the pool will wait for a connection to be validated as alive.

Type
Long
Default
1000
Defined by
ConnectionPoolingProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.propagation-behavior-nameDefines the propagation behavior for transactions.
PROPAGATION_REQUIRED

Defines the propagation behavior for transactions. @see org.springframework.transaction.TransactionDefinition

Type
String
Default
PROPAGATION_REQUIRED
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.propertiesAdditional settings provided by Hibernate (or the connection provider) in form of key-value pairs.
no default

Additional settings provided by Hibernate (or the connection provider) in form of key-value pairs.

Type
Map<String,String>
Default
none
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.jpa.read-onlyConfigures the Connections to be added to the pool as read-only Connections.
false

Configures the Connections to be added to the pool as read-only Connections.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
JpaSamlMetadataProperties

Required settings may be needed to activate or affect the feature; review them even when they have a default. Optional settings only need to be set to change a default or to turn on the behavior they control. Third party settings belong to libraries such as Spring Boot that CAS builds on; their own documentation may have more detail.

Signing & encryption

This CAS feature is able to accept signing and encryption crypto keys. In most scenarios if keys are not provided, CAS will auto-generate them. The following instructions apply if you wish to manually and beforehand create the signing and encryption keys.

Note that if you are asked to create a JWK of a certain size for the key, you are to use the following set of commands to generate the token:

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wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apereo/cas/master/etc/jwk-gen.jar
java -jar jwk-gen.jar -t oct -s [size]

The outcome would be similar to:

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{
  "kty": "oct",
  "kid": "...",
  "k": "..."
}

The generated value for k needs to be assigned to the relevant CAS settings. Note that keys generated via the above algorithm are processed by CAS using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm which is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.


Hibernate & JDBC

Control global properties that are relevant to Hibernate, when CAS attempts to employ and utilize database resources, connections and queries.

cas.jdbc.gen-ddlWhether to generate DDL after the EntityManagerFactory has been initialized creating/updating all relevant tables.
true

Whether to generate DDL after the EntityManagerFactory has been initialized creating/updating all relevant tables.

Type
Boolean
Default
true
Defined by
DatabaseProperties
cas.jdbc.physical-table-namesIndicate a physical table name to be used by the hibernate naming strategy in case table names need to be customized for the specific type of database.
no default

Indicate a physical table name to be used by the hibernate naming strategy in case table names need to be customized for the specific type of database. The key here indicates the CAS-provided table name and the value is the translate physical name for the database. If a match is not found for the CAS-provided table name, then that name will be used by default.

Type
Map<String,String>
Default
none
Defined by
DatabaseProperties
cas.jdbc.show-sqlWhether SQL queries should be displayed in the console/logs.
false

Whether SQL queries should be displayed in the console/logs.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
DatabaseProperties
Notes on configuration

Configuration Metadata

The collection of configuration properties listed in this section are automatically generated from the CAS source and components that contain the actual field definitions, types, descriptions, modules, etc. This metadata may not always be 100% accurate, or could be lacking details and sufficient explanations.

Be Selective

This section is meant as a guide only. Do NOT copy/paste the entire collection of settings into your CAS configuration; rather pick only the properties that you need. Do NOT enable settings unless you are certain of their purpose and do NOT copy settings into your configuration only to keep them as reference. All these ideas lead to upgrade headaches, maintenance nightmares and premature aging.

YAGNI

Note that for nearly ALL use cases, declaring and configuring properties listed here is sufficient. You should NOT have to explicitly massage a CAS XML/Java/etc configuration file to design an authentication handler, create attribute release policies, etc. CAS at runtime will auto-configure all required changes for you. If you are unsure about the meaning of a given CAS setting, do NOT turn it on without hesitation. Review the codebase or better yet, ask questions to clarify the intended behavior.

Naming Convention

Property names can be specified in very relaxed terms. For instance cas.someProperty, cas.some-property, cas.some_property are all valid names. While all forms are accepted by CAS, there are certain components (in CAS and other frameworks used) whose activation at runtime is conditional on a property value, where this property is required to have been specified in CAS configuration using kebab case. This is both true for properties that are owned by CAS as well as those that might be presented to the system via an external library or framework such as Spring Boot, etc.

:information_source: Note

When possible, properties should be stored in lower-case kebab format, such as cas.property-name=value. The only possible exception to this rule is when naming actuator endpoints; The name of the actuator endpoints (i.e. ssoSessions) MUST remain in camelCase mode.

Settings and properties that are controlled by the CAS platform directly always begin with the prefix cas. All other settings are controlled and provided to CAS via other underlying frameworks and may have their own schemas and syntax. BE CAREFUL with the distinction. Unrecognized properties are rejected by CAS and/or frameworks upon which CAS depends. This means if you somehow misspell a property definition or fail to adhere to the dot-notation syntax and such, your setting is entirely refused by CAS and likely the feature it controls will never be activated in the way you intend.

Validation

Configuration properties are automatically validated on CAS startup to report issues with configuration binding, especially if defined CAS settings cannot be recognized or validated by the configuration schema. Additional validation processes are also handled via Configuration Metadata and property migrations applied automatically on startup by Spring Boot and family.

Indexed Settings

CAS settings able to accept multiple values are typically documented with an index, such as cas.some.setting[0]=value. The index [0] is meant to be incremented by the adopter to allow for distinct multiple configuration blocks.

Actuator Endpoints

The following endpoints are provided by CAS:

samlIdPRegisteredServiceMetadata
CAS endpoint4 operationsNot exposed by default
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Turn the endpoint on and expose it over the web. One entry covers every operation. By default only info, health and status are exposed.

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management.endpoint.samlIdPRegisteredServiceMetadata.access=UNRESTRICTED
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=samlIdPRegisteredServiceMetadata

Endpoints may be mapped to other paths. For example, to serve health at healthcheck:

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management.endpoints.web.path-mapping.health=healthcheck

Identity Provider Metadata

Metadata artifacts that belong to CAS as a SAML2 identity provider may also be managed and stored via JPA. Artifacts such as the metadata, signing and encryption keys, etc are kept inside a database table that would have the following structure:

Field Description
id The identifier of the record.
signingCertificate The signing certificate.
signingKey The signing key.
encryptionCertificate The encryption certificate.
encryptionKey The encryption key.
metadata The SAML2 identity provider metadata.
appliesTo The owner of the SAML2 identity provider metadata (i.e. CAS).

Per Service

Identity provider metadata, certificates and keys can also be defined on a per-service basis to override the global defaults. Metadata documents that would be applicable to a service definition need to adjust the appliesTo column in the metadata document to carry the service definition’s name and numeric identifier using the [service-name]-[service-numeric-identifier] format.