by Nikki Siapno
SSO can be thought of as a master key to open all different locks. It allows a user to log in to different systems using a single set of credentials.
In a time where we are accessing more applications than ever before, this is a big help to mitigate password fatigue and streamlines user experience.
To fully understand the SSO process, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿:
𝟭) 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀
First, the user would attempt to access the Service Provider (LinkedIn). At this point, a user would be presented with login options, and in this example, they would select “Sign in with Google”.
𝟮) 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁
From here, the Service Provider (LinkedIn) will redirect the user to the Identity Provider (Google) with an authentication request.
𝟯) 𝗜𝗱𝗣 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Once the Identity Provider (Google) has received the request, it will check for an active session. If it doesn’t find one, authentication will be requested.
𝟰) 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀
At this stage, the user will submit their login credentials (username and password) to the Identity Provider (IdP).
𝟱) 𝗜𝗱𝗣 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀
The Identity Provider will then verify the submitted credentials against its User Directory (database). If the credentials are correct, the IdP will create an authentication token or assertion.
𝟲) 𝗜𝗱𝗣 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿
Once the token or assertion has been created, the IdP sends it back to the Service Provider confirming the user’s identity. The user is now authenticated and can access the Service Provier (LinkedIn).
𝟳) 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Since the Identity Provider has established a session, when the user goes to access a different Service Provider (eg; GitHub), they won’t need to re-enter their credentials. Future service providers will request authentication from the Identity Provider, recognize the existing session, and grant access to the user based on the previously authenticated session.
SSO workflows like the above operate on SSO protocols, which are a set of rules that govern how the IdP and SP communicate and trust each other. Common protocols include Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), OpenID Connect, and OAuth.
