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Single Sign On (SSO) for ExpressionEngine

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miniOrange provides a ready to use solution for ExpressionEngine. This solution ensures that you are ready to roll out secure access to your ExpressionEngine site within minutes.

by miniorange

miniOrange SAML Single Sign On SSO Module acts as a SAML 2.0 Service Provider which can be configured to establish the trust between the plugin and various SAML 2.0 supported Identity Providers to securely authenticate the user to the ExpressionEngine site as an admin.
SAML SP supports all known IdPs like ADFS, Azure AD, Okta, Salesforce, Shibboleth, SimpleSAMLphp, miniOrange IdP, OpenAM, Centrify, Ping, RSA, IBM, Google Apps, Oracle, OneLogin, Bitium, WSO2, NetIQ etc. Also Support the OAuth Protocol for SSO.

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Note: The information contained on this page does not create a joint venture, partnership, agency or other form of association, or an express or implied license grant by either party to the other under any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other intellectual property right.

ExpressionEngine

miniOrange provides secure access to ExpressionEngine for enterprises and full control over access of applications, Single Sign On (SSO) into ExpressionEngine with one set of login credentials.

miniOrange SAML Single Sign on (SSO) plugin acts as a SAML Service Provider which can be configured to establish the trust between the plugin and a SAML capable Identity Providers to securely authenticate the user to the ExpressionEngine site.

miniOrange Single Sign On (SSO) Solution provides easy and seamless access to all enterprise resources with one set of credentials. miniOrange provides Single Sign On (SSO) to any type of devices or applications whether they are in the cloud or on-premise.

miniOrange and ExpressionEngine Single Sign-On (SSO) integration supports the following features:

• SP Initiated Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Easily Configure the Identity Provider by providing just the metadata URL or metadata file of the Identity Provider.
• Provides Single Sign-On functionality for admins to log into Control Panel using any SAML 2.0 compliant IdP.
• Using this module, admins don’t need to remember passwords. If they have an account in the IdP, then they can log in using that IdP. Also, automatic user registration after login if the user is not already registered with your site.

Follow the Step-by-Step Guide given below for ExpressionEngine Single Sign-On (SSO)

1. Configure ExpressionEngine in miniOrange

• Login into miniOrange Admin Console.
• Go to Apps and click on Add Application button.



• In Choose Application Type, select SAML/WS-FED from the All Apps dropdown.



• Search for ExpressionEngine in the list, if you don't find ExpressionEngine in the list then, search for custom and you can set up your application in Custom SAML App.

• In the Basic settings section, enter the following details:
• Enter the Display Name as ExpressionEngine.
• Enter the SP Entity ID or Issuer from your ExpressionEngine SAML plugin.
• Enter the ACS URL from your ExpressionEngine SAML plugin.
• Enter the Single Logout URL (Optional).
• Click on Choose File to upload the App Logo for your application.



• Click on Next to proceed further.
• In the Attribute Mapping tab configure the following attributes as shown in the image below.



• Click Next to go to the Policies. Save the application first to configure the policy.



• Click the Assign Group button. In the Configure Group Assignment dialog box, select DEFAULT as the group.





• Click Next to go to the Assign Policies section. Select First Factor as Password.



• Click Save.
• Once done, policies will be created for all the selected groups.




To get miniOrange metadata details in order to configure ExpressionEngine:

• Go to Apps >> Applications.
• Search for your app and click the three-dot icon in the Actions column.
• Click Metadata to view the miniOrange metadata details. You can also click Show SSO Link to get the IdP-initiated SSO link for your application.



• Now, go to the Metadata tab. Here you will see 2 sections. If you are setting up miniOrange as IdP, copy the metadata from the first section. If you need to authenticate via external IdPs (Okta, Azure AD, ADFS, OneLogin, Google Workspace), get the metadata from the External source as IdP section as shown below.





• Keep SAML Login URL, IdP Entity ID or Issuer and click on the Download Certificate button to download certificate which you will require in Step 2.

2. Configure ExpressionEngine as Service Provider

Download and Install Plugin

• You can install and download the miniOrange SAML 2.0 SSO SP plugin in ExpressionEngine from EE Marketplace.
• Copy and paste the ‘miniorange_saml_sso’ folder inside /system/user/addons/
• Go to admin panel of your website “https://example.com/admin.php”
• Click on ‘Developer’ > ‘Addons’
• Scroll Down and click on ‘Install’ beside the addon named ‘Miniorange SAML SSO’



• Click on the cog wheel icon besides the ‘miniorange saml sso’ module.



• Login / Register with your miniOrange credentials. This is just a one time setup to make it easier for us to get in touch with you in-case you need any support.

After login / register, you will see the following sections:

• SP Settings
• IDP Configuration
• Submit Query sections.



• In case you are stuck feel free to drop us a query from here.



• Go to your IdP and get the following data:
  • IdP Entity ID
  • SAML Login URL
  • Logout URL
  • SAML X.509 Certificate

Configure the plugin

• Provide the required settings (i.e. Identity Provider Name, IdP Entity ID or Issuer, SAML Login URL, X.509 Certificate) from your IdP and save it.

IdP Entity ID or Issuer	https://login.xecurify.com/moas
SAML Login URL	https://login.xecurify.com/moas/idp/samlsso
X.509 Certificate	X.509 certificate is enclosed in X509Certificate tag in IdP-Metadata XML file. (parent tag: KeyDescriptor use="signing")
SAML Logout URL	https://login.xecurify.com/moas/idp/samllogout

• After filling these fields click On Save Settings button to save the details.
• Click on Test configuration button and the User Details would be fetched.



• The below screenshot shows successful test result. This screenshot shows the attributes that are received and are mapped by attribute mapping

Adding SSO button to Login Page

• Go to " \system\ee\EllisLab\ExpressionEngine\View\account\login.php "
• In login.php, scroll down and paste this code before the <?=form_close()?> :

<fieldset data-data-style="text-align:center>
<br><br>
<button class="btn btn-primary" >
<a data-data-style="color: white" href="https://example.com/index.php?ACT=101" >Sign-in with miniOrange</a>
</button>
</fieldset>

• Save the login.php file.
• Go to your admin panel and you can see the SSO button has been added.
• Now you can do Single-Sign-On at the time of login using the button.

3. Test SSO Configuration

Test SSO login to your ExpressionEngine account with miniOrange IdP:

Using SP Initiated Login

• Go to your ExpressionEngine URL, here you will be either asked to enter the username or click on the SSO link which will redirect you to miniOrange IdP Sign On Page.



• Enter your miniOrange login credential and click on Login. You will be automatically logged in to your ExpressionEngine account.


Not able to configure or test SSO?


Contact us or email us at idpsupport@xecurify.com and we'll help you setting it up in no time.

4. Configure Your User Directory (Optional)

miniOrange provides user authentication from various external sources, which can be Directories (like ADFS, Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, OpenLDAP, Google, AWS Cognito etc), Identity Providers (like Okta, Shibboleth, Ping, OneLogin, KeyCloak), Databases (like MySQL, Maria DB, PostgreSQL) and many more. You can configure your existing directory/user store or add users in miniOrange.

• Setup miniOrange as IDP
• Setup AD as User Directory
• Setup External IDP

• To add your users in miniOrange there are 2 ways:
• Create User in miniOrange
• Bulk Upload Users

1. Create User in miniOrange

• Click on Users >> User List >> Add User.



• Here, fill the user details without the password and then click on the Create User button.



• After successful user creation a notification message "An end user is added successfully" will be displayed at the top of the dashboard.



• Click on Onboarding Status tab. Check the email, with the registered e-mail id and select action Send Activation Mail with Password Reset Link from Select Action dropdown list and then click on Apply button.



• Now, Open your email id. Open the mail you get from miniOrange and then click on the link to set your account password.
• On the next screen, enter the password and confirm password and then click on the Single Sign-On (SSO) reset password button.



• Now, you can log in into miniOrange account by entering your credentials.

2. Bulk Upload Users in miniOrange via Uploading CSV File.

• Navigate to Users >> User List. Click on Add User button.



• In Bulk User Registration Download sample csv format from our console and edit this csv file according to the instructions.



• To bulk upload users, choose the file make sure it is in comma separated .csv file format then click on Upload.



• After uploading the csv file successfully, you will see a success message with a link.
• Click on that link you will see list of users to send activation mail. Select users to send activation mail and click on Send Activation Mail. An activation mail will be sent to the selected users.

• Click on Identity Providers >> Add Identity Provider in the left menu of the dashboard



• In Choose Identity Provider, select AD/LDAP Directories from the dropdown.



• Then search for AD/LDAP and click it.



• STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION IN MINIORANGE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in miniOrange. If the active directory is behind a firewall, you will need to open the firewall to allow incoming requests to your AD.
• STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION ON PREMISE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in your premise and only allow access to AD inside premises. You will have to download and install miniOrange gateway on your premise.




• Enter AD/LDAP Display Name and Identifier name.
• Select Directory Type as Active Directory.
• Enter the LDAP Server URL or IP Address against the LDAP Server URL field.
• Click on the Test Connection button to verify if you have made a successful connection with your LDAP server.



• In Active Directory, go to the properties of user containers/OU's and search for the Distinguished Name attribute. The bind account should have minimum required read privileges in Active Directory to allow directory lookups. If the use case involves provisioning (such as creating, updating, or deleting users or groups), the account must also be granted appropriate write permissions.



• Enter the valid Bind account Password.
• Click on the Test Bind Account Credentials button to verify your LDAP Bind credentials for LDAP connection.



• Search Base is the location in the directory where the search for a user begins. You will get this from the same place you got your Distinguished name.



• Select a suitable Search filter from the drop-down menu. If you use User in Single Group Filter or User in Multiple Group Filter, replace the <group-dn> in the search filter with the distinguished name of the group in which your users are present. To use custom Search Filter select "Write your Custom Filter" option and customize it accordingly.



• Click on the Next button, or go to the Login Options tab.
• You can also configure following options while setting up AD. Enable Activate LDAP in order to authenticate users from AD/LDAP. Click on the Next button to add user store.




Here's the list of the attributes and what it does when we enable it. You can enable/disable accordingly.

Attribute	Description
Activate LDAP	All user authentications will be done with LDAP credentials if you Activate it
Fallback Authentication	If LDAP credentials fail then user will be authenticated through miniOrange
Enable administrator login	On enabling this, your miniOrange Administrator login authenticates using your LDAP server
Show IdP to users	If you enable this option, this IdP will be visible to users
Sync users in miniOrange	Users will be created in miniOrange after authentication with LDAP



• Click on the Next button, or go to the Attributes tab.

Attributes Mapping from AD

• By default userName, firstName, lastName, email are configured. Scroll down and click on Save button. To fetch additional attributes from Active Directory, enable Send Configured Attributes. On the left side, enter the name that you wish to release to the applications. On the right side, enter the attribute name from Active Directory. E.g., if you wish to fetch company attribute from Active Directory, and send it as organization to configured applications, enter the following:

  Attribute Name sent to SP = organization
  Attribute Name from IDP = company






• Click on the Next button, or go to the Provisioning tab.

User Import and Provisioning from AD

• If you want to set up provisioning, click here for detailed information. We will skip this step for now.

Import Password Policy from AD

• If you want to import your Active Directory password policy into miniOrange, click here for detailed information. We will skip this step for now.

Test Connections

• You will see a list of directories under Identity Providers. From the dropdown, select AD/LDAP Directories, search for your configured directory, click the three dots next to it, and select Test Connection.



• A pop-up appears prompting you to enter a username and password to verify your LDAP configuration.



• On Successful connection with LDAP Server, a success message is shown.

Test Attribute Mapping

• You will see a list of directories under Identity Providers. From the dropdown, select AD/LDAP Directories, search for your configured directory, click the three dots next to it, and select Test Attribute Mapping.



• A pop‑up appears to enter a username and click Test.



• The Test Attribute Mapping Result will be displayed.

Set up AD as External Directory configuration is complete.

Note: Refer our guide to setup LDAP on windows server.

miniOrange integrates with various external user sources such as directories, identity providers, and etc.

• Okta
• ADFS
• Ping
• AWS Cognito
• Many more

Not able to find your IdP or Need help setting it up?

Contact us or email us at idpsupport@xecurify.com and we'll help you setting it up in no time.

5. Adaptive Authentication with ExpressionEngine

Adaptive Authentication for ExpressionEngine enables administrators to enforce context-aware access policies by evaluating user login conditions such as IP address, device, location and login time. Based on the configured policy, users can be allowed access, challenged with additional verification or denied access. Administrators can also configure email alerts, customize user-facing error messages, review policy settings before deployment and assign adaptive authentication policies to application login policies to strengthen security and prevent unauthorized access.

[Note: The Adaptive Authentication section has been moved from the left navigation menu. You can now access and manage adaptive authentication policies by navigating to Policies >> Adaptive Access Policy.]

A. Restricting access to ExpressionEngine with IP Based Access Restriction

IP Based Access Restriction allows administrators to control user access based on the source IP address of the login request. Administrators can configure trusted or restricted IP addresses and IP ranges and define the action to be taken when a user's IP address matches the configured criteria. During authentication, the user's IP address is evaluated against the configured policy and access is either Allowed, Denied or Challenged based on the selected configuration.

You can configure Adaptive Authentication with IP Based Restriction in following way :

• Login to Self Service Console >> Policies >> Adaptive Access Policy section from the left side menu.



• Click on the Create Policy button on the upper right. Add a suitable policy name and click on Create Policy.



• Expand the IP Based Access Restriction section by clicking on the dropdown icon to configure IP-based access rules.



• Click Add IP Range to configure IP addresses or IP ranges for the policy.



• Specify the IP Address that you want to whitelist. For the IP Range other than the whitelisted one, you can select the above setting to reflect.
• Choose either Allow or Deny by selecting the corresponding option from the dropdown. If a user tries to login with the whitelisted IP address, they will always be allowed access.
• We support IP address range in three formats i.e., IPv4, IPv4 CIDR and IPv6 CIDR. You can choose whichever is suitable for you from the dropdown menu.
• You can add multiple IPs or IP ranges by clicking the + Add IP Range button.



• Once the changes are made, click on Next.
• Select Action for Behavior Change, choose the appropriate Action and Challenge Type for the user from that section.





Attribute (Option)	Description
Allow	Allow users to authenticate and use services if Adaptive authentication condition is true.
Deny	Deny user authentications and access to services if Adaptive authentication condition is true.
Challenge	Challenge users with one of the three methods mentioned below for verifying user authenticity.



• Challenge Type Options: Set the challenge type when the Action for Behaviour is configured as Challenge.



Attribute	Description
User second Factor	The User needs to authenticate using the second factor he has opted or assigned for such as OTP over SMS PUSH Notification OTP over Email and many more.
KBA (Knowledge-based authentication)	The System will ask the user for 2 of 3 questions he has configured in his Self-Service Console. Only after the right answer to both questions is the user allowed to proceed further.
OTP over Alternate Email	User will receive an OTP on the alternate email they have configured through the Self Service Console. Once the user provides the correct OTP, they are allowed to proceed further.



• Click on Next to continue.

B. Restricting access to ExpressionEngine with Device Based Access Restriction

Device Based Access Restriction allows administrators to control user access based on trusted and registered devices. By leveraging device identification and verification mechanisms, administrators can define policies that evaluate the device used during authentication. When a user attempts to log in, the device is assessed against the configured policy and the appropriate action: Allow, Challenge or Deny is applied based on the configured conditions.

You can configure Adaptive Authentication with Device Based Restriction in following way :

• Login to Self Service Console >> Policies >> Adaptive Access Policy section from the left side menu.



• Click on the Create Policy button on the upper right. Add a suitable policy name and click on Create Policy.



• Click on the Dropdown option to expand the Device Based Access Restriction section to configure device-based access controls.



• Turn on the Enable Device Configuration toggle.



• Configure either Agentless Device Restriction or Agent-Based Device Restriction based on your organization's requirements.
• Agentless Device Restriction: Verifies and manages trusted devices without requiring any software or agent installation on the endpoint. It uses browser and device-based identification methods to evaluate device trust and enforce access policies during authentication.
• Agent-Based Device Restriction: Provides enhanced device trust verification by using a lightweight agent installed on managed devices. It enables advanced device validation and risk-based access control to ensure that only trusted devices can access protected resources.



• Click here to get more information about Device Based Restriction.
• Once the changes are made, click on Next.
• Under Action for Behaviour Change, select the appropriate action and challenge type for the policy.



• Click on Next to continue.

C. Restricting access to ExpressionEngine with Location Based Access Restriction

In location restrictions, admin configures a list of locations where they want to allow end-users to either login or deny based on the condition set by the admin. When a user tries to login with adaptive authentication enabled, their Location Attributes, such as (Latitude, Longitude and Country Code) are verified against the Location list configured by the admin. Based on this user will be either allowed, challenged or denied.

You can configure Adaptive Authentication with Location Based Restriction in following way :

• Login to Self Service Console >> Policies >> Adaptive Access Policy section from the left side menu.



• Click on the Create Policy button on the upper right. Add a suitable policy name and click on Create Policy.



• Click on the Dropdown to expand the Location Based Access Restriction section to configure location-based access rules.



• Select Register Location if User Completes Challenge to automatically register a user's location after successful challenge verification.
• Click on Add Location.



• In the Search Location field, enter the location name and select the appropriate location from the search results.
• Specify the radius around the selected location and choose the distance unit (KM or Miles). This will be the total area in and around the location we have configured using the Latitude and Longitude points.
• For each configured location, select whether access should be Allowed or Denied.



• You can click on the Add Location button to add more than one location and then follow steps 2-4 as mentioned above.
• Once the changes are made, click on Next.
• Select your Action for behavior Change and Challenge Type for user from the Action for behavior Change Section.



• Click on Next to continue.

D. Restricting access to ExpressionEngine with Time Based Access Restriction

In time restriction, admin configures a time zone with Start and End Times for that timezone and users are either allowed, denied or challenged based on the condition in the policy. When an end-user tries to login with the adaptive authentication enabled, their time zone-related attributes such as Time-Zone and Current System Time, are verified against the list configured by the admin and based on the configuration, the user is either allowed, denied or challenged.

You can configure Adaptive Authentication with Time Based Restriction in following way :

• Login to Self Service Console >> Policies >> Adaptive Access Policy section from the left side menu.



• Click on the Create Policy button on the upper right. Add a suitable policy name and click on Create Policy.



• Expand the Time Based Access Restriction section by clicking on the dropdown icon to Time Based Access Restriction rules.



• Enter the Login Window Buffer Time (Minutes) to allow a grace period before the start time and after the end time of the configured login window. If no value is specified, the default buffer time of 0 minutes is applied.
• Click Add Time to create a time-based access rule.



• Select the required Timezone, configure the Start Time and End Time and choose the applicable days.
• For each time-based rule, select whether access should be Allowed or Denied.



• Click on the Add Time to add more than one timezones.
• Once the changes are made, click on Next.
• Select your Action for behavior Change and Challenge Type for user from the Action for behavior Change Section.



• Click on Next to continue.

E. Email Alerts and Custom Email Message

This section handles the notifications and alerts related to Adaptive Access Policy. It provides the following options:

• Send email alerts: Configure the recipients who should receive email notifications when adaptive authentication events occur. Alerts can be sent to administrators, end users or both, depending on your monitoring and security requirements.
• Send email alerts to administrators: Enable this option to notify administrators when configured adaptive authentication events are triggered. You can optionally specify an email address under Administrator's e-mail address to receive alerts to receive alerts; otherwise, alerts are sent to the default administrator account.



• Send email alerts to end users: Enable this option to notify end users when adaptive authentication events affect their login attempts or device registrations.
• Number of Device Registrations Exceeded Allowed Count: When enabled, end users receive an email notification if they attempt to register more devices than the maximum number allowed by the configured device restriction policy. (Available only for end-user notifications.)



• Get email alerts if users login from unknown devices or locations: Admins need to enable this option to enable receiving alerts for different alert options.



Option	Description
Users login from unknown IP addresses, devices or locations	Enabling this option allows you to login from unknown IP addresses or devices and even locations.
Challenge Completed and Device Registered	Enabling this option allows you to send an email alert when an end-user completes a challenge and registers a device.
Challenge Completed but Device Not Registered	Enabling this option allows you to send an email alert when an end-user completes a challenge but do not registers the device.
Challenge Failed	Enabling this option allows you to send an email alert when an end-user fails to complete the challenge.





• In case you want multiple admin accounts to receive alerts, then you can enable the option for admin and then enter the admin emails separated by a ',' in the input field next to Administrator's email to receive alerts label. To enable alerts for the end users, you can enable the End User checkbox.
• In case you want to customize the deny message that the end user receives in case his authentication is denied due to adaptive policy, you can do this by entering the message inside Deny Message text box.

F. Review

Review the configured policy conditions, behavior change actions, email alert settings and custom error messages before creating the adaptive authentication policy. This step provides a consolidated view of all configured settings, allowing you to verify the policy configuration and make any necessary changes before saving.




• Once you have verified all configurations, click Create Policy to save and activate the policy.
• You will see the policy listed once it’s successfully added.

G. Add Adaptive Authentication policy to ExpressionEngine

• Login to Self Service Console >> Policies >> App Login Policy.
• Click on Edit icon option for predefined app policy.



• Set your policy in the Policy Name and select Password as First Factor.



• Enable Adaptive Authentication on Edit Login Policy page and select the required restriction method as an option.
• From Select Login Policy dropdown select the policy we created in last step.
• Apply Restrictions Using: Configure how multiple adaptive authentication restrictions should be evaluated during user login.
  • AND: All enabled restrictions must be successfully satisfied for the login attempt to be allowed.
  • OR: At least one enabled restriction must be successfully satisfied for the login attempt to be allowed.



• Adaptive Authentication Restrictions: Configure additional login restrictions and verification conditions to strengthen account security and control user access based on contextual risk factors.
  • IP Restriction: Restrict login access to specific IP addresses or IP ranges for enhanced security.
  • Device Restriction: Allow login access only from trusted or pre-authorized devices.
  • Location Restriction: Control user login access based on geographic location.
  • Time Restriction: Restrict user login access to specific days or time periods.
  • Force MFA On Each Login Attempt: Require users to complete MFA verification during every login attempt regardless of device or session state.

How to add a trusted Device

• When End-user log in to the self service console after the policy for device restriction is on, he is provided the option to add the current device as a trusted device.

External References

• Guide For Single Sign On (SSO)
• Solution for 6000+ Pre-Integrated Apps