Configuring SSO with SAML Token Profiles 

Use

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is a standard that defines a language to exchange security information between partners. The SAML standard is driven by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). SAML uses assertions that contain statements about a subject, authentication, authorization and attributes.

SAML Token Profile is developed by the OASIS Web Services Security (WS Security) Technical Committee as a standard to integrate and use SAML for Web Services Security.

Although both the SAML token profile and SAML browser artifact use the SAML standard for transferring security information, they are used for different authentication purposes, as shown below:

■       SAML browser artifacts are used for authenticating Web-based access from a Web browser.

■       SAML token profiles are used for WS access authentication at the SOAP message level.

Prerequisites

You have set up a trust relationship between the WS provider system and the WS consumer system. If you have configured your systems for the use of logon tickets, this relationship has already been set up.

By default, the system PSE, which is based on DSA, is used for logon ticket configuration. This means that you cannot use this PSE if you want to send encrypted responses.

Note the following:

■       AS ABAP cannot yet set provider certificates.

■       In the AS Java, you can use a certificates other than the client’s signature certificate (which is based on the system PSE) for encryption by the provider.

If you do not want to configure your systems for the use of logon tickets, set up the required trust relationship between systems, as described in Configuring a Trust Relationship for SAML Token Profiles Without Logon Ticket Configuration.

Features

SAP NetWeaver enables you to use the sender-vouches subject confirmation method to confirm a subject with SAML token profile authentication. For this subject confirmation method, the WS intermediary system acts also as a SAML assertion issuer. The Web Service intermediary (1) authenticates the client and (2) forwards to the back-end WS provider the authentication information for the WS consumer using a SAML token profile. The WS provider, in turn, authenticates access based on its trust relationship with the intermediary system.

The subject confirmation method enables SSO for Web services by forwarding authentication information of a previous login using SAML assertions. For more information, see Subject Confirmation Methods for SAML Token Profiles.

Activities

●      Preparing the SAML-Token-Profile-Issuing WS Consumer AS ABAP  

●      Setting the WS Provider AS ABAP to Accept SAML Token Profiles