APEREO CASDocumentation

Enterprise Authentication for All Earthlings and Beyond

Identity, Single Sign-On and Access Management
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MongoDb - SAML2 Metadata Management

Metadata documents may also be stored in and fetched from a MongoDb 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 collection that is taught to CAS via settings. The outline of the document 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-mongo</artifactId>
    <version>${cas.version}</version>
</dependency>





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implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-saml-idp-metadata-mongo:${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-mongo"
}





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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-mongo"
}

SAML service definitions must then be designed as follows to allow CAS to fetch metadata documents from MongoDb 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 MongoDb-based metadata resolver",
  "metadataLocation" : "mongodb://"
}
:information_source: Metadata Location

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

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

cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.client-uriThe connection uri to the mongodb instance.
no default
Required

The connection uri to the mongodb instance. This typically takes on the form of mongodb://user:psw@ds135522.somewhere.com:35522/db. If not specified, will fallback onto other individual settings. If specified, takes over all other settings where applicable.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.collectionMongoDb database collection name to fetch and/or create.
no default
Required

MongoDb database collection name to fetch and/or create.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.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.mongo.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.mongo.database-nameMongoDb database instance name.
no default
Required

MongoDb database instance name.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.hostMongoDb database host for authentication.
localhost
Required

MongoDb database host for authentication. Multiple host addresses may be defined, separated by comma. If more than one host is defined, it is assumed that each host contains the port as well, if any. Otherwise the configuration may fallback onto the port defined.

Type
String
Default
localhost
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.passwordMongoDb database password for authentication.
no default
Required

MongoDb database password for authentication.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.portMongoDb database port.
27017
Required

MongoDb database port.

Type
Integer
Default
27017
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.user-idMongoDb database user for authentication.
no default
Required

MongoDb database user for authentication.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.authentication-database-nameName of the database to use for authentication.
no default

Name of the database to use for authentication.

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

Whether crypto operations are enabled.

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

The encryption key size.

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

The signing key size.

Type
Integer
Default
512
Defined by
SigningJwtCryptoProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.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.mongo.drop-collectionWhether collections should be dropped on startup and re-created.
false

Whether collections should be dropped on startup and re-created.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.idp-metadata-collectionThe collection name that is responsible to hold the identity provider metadata.
no default

The collection name that is responsible to hold the identity provider metadata.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.pool.idle-timeThe maximum idle time of a pooled connection.
PT30S
Duration

The maximum idle time of a pooled connection. A zero value indicates no limit to the idle time. A pooled connection that has exceeded its idle time will be closed and replaced when necessary by a new connection.

Type
String
Default
PT30S
Defined by
MongoDbConnectionPoolProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.pool.life-timeThe maximum time a pooled connection can live for.
PT60S
Duration

The maximum time a pooled connection can live for. A zero value indicates no limit to the life time. A pooled connection that has exceeded its life time will be closed and replaced when necessary by a new connection.

Type
String
Default
PT60S
Defined by
MongoDbConnectionPoolProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.pool.max-sizeMaximum number of connections to keep around.
10

Maximum number of connections to keep around.

Type
Integer
Default
10
Defined by
MongoDbConnectionPoolProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.pool.max-wait-timeThe maximum time that a thread may wait for a connection to become available.
PT60S
Duration

The maximum time that a thread may wait for a connection to become available.

Type
String
Default
PT60S
Defined by
MongoDbConnectionPoolProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.pool.min-sizeMinimum number of connections to keep around.
1

Minimum number of connections to keep around.

Type
Integer
Default
1
Defined by
MongoDbConnectionPoolProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.read-concernRead concern.
AVAILABLE
Read concern. Accepted values are:
  • LOCAL
  • MAJORITY
  • LINEARIZABLE
  • SNAPSHOT
  • AVAILABLE
Type
String
Default
AVAILABLE
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.read-preferenceRead preference.
PRIMARY
Read preference. Accepted values are:
  • PRIMARY
  • SECONDARY
  • SECONDARY_PREFERRED
  • PRIMARY_PREFERRED
  • NEAREST
Type
String
Default
PRIMARY
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.replica-setA replica set in MongoDB is a group of mongod processes that maintain the same data set.
no default

A replica set in MongoDB is a group of mongod processes that maintain the same data set. Replica sets provide redundancy and high availability, and are the basis for all production deployments.

Type
String
Default
none
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.retry-writesSets whether writes should be retried if they fail due to a network error.
false

Sets whether writes should be retried if they fail due to a network error.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.ssl-enabledWhether connections require SSL.
false

Whether connections require SSL.

Type
Boolean
Default
false
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.timeoutMongoDb database connection timeout.
PT5S
Duration

MongoDb database connection timeout.

Type
String
Default
PT5S
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties
cas.authn.saml-idp.metadata.mongo.write-concernWrite concern describes the level of acknowledgement requested from MongoDB for write operations to a standalone mongo db or to replica sets or to sharded clusters.
ACKNOWLEDGED

Write concern describes the level of acknowledgement requested from MongoDB for write operations to a standalone mongo db or to replica sets or to sharded clusters. In sharded clusters, mongo db instances will pass the write concern on to the shards.

Type
String
Default
ACKNOWLEDGED
Defined by
MongoDbSamlMetadataProperties

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.

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 MongoDb. Artifacts such as the metadata, signing and encryption keys, etc are kept inside a MongoDb collection taught to CAS via settings as a single document that would have the following structure:



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{
    "signingCertificate": "...",
    "signingKey": "...",
    "encryptionCertificate": "...",
    "encryptionKey": "...",
    "metadata": "...",
    "appliesTo": "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 field in the metadata document to carry the service definition’s name and numeric identifier using the [service-name]-[service-numeric-identifier] format.