SAML Decoder

What is SAML?

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an XML-based open standard data format for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, in particular, between an identity provider and a service provider.

How to view a SAML response in your browser for troubleshooting

1. Start the developer console.
2. Select the Network tab, and then select Preserve log.
3. Reproduce the issue.
4. Look for a SAML Post in the developer console pane. Select that row, and then view the Headers tab at the bottom. Look for the SAMLResponse attribute that contains the encoded request.
5. Once you find the Base64-encoded SAML response element in your browser, copy it and use your favorite Base-64 decoding tool to extract the XML tagged response.

How does SAML work?

The identity provider and service provider communicate using Extensible Markup Language (XML). A SAML assertion is an XML document that an identity provider sends to a service provider to authorize a user.

SAML allows an identity provider and a service provider to exchange information about users, logins, and attributes. When a user logs in with SSO, the IdP sends SAML attributes to the SP, guaranteeing that the user only has to log in once.

SSO applications use SAML to move information about user identities from an identity provider to a service provider. SAML authenticates end users who are logged in from a primary service provider to another service provider. For example, an enterprise user logged in to their primary SSO work network can be authenticated to a third-party cloud application provider through SAML rather than being required to log in separately to the cloud application.

What exactly is single-sign-on (SSO)?

SSO stands for Single Sign-On. (SSO) can be described as a method for users to sign in to multiple services and applications simultaneously. With SSO, users sign in to a single login screen and then access a variety of applications. Users don't have to verify their identity with every service they utilize.
To allow signing, the SSO system has to communicate with all external apps to let them know that the user is logged in and authenticated. This is the point at which SAML is crucial.

What is the process behind SAML function?

The typical SSO authentication procedure includes the following three participants:
•    Principal (also referred to by"subject," or "subject")
•    Identity provider
•    Service provider
The subject is almost always a human user that is trying to connect to cloud-hosted applications.
Identity provider Identity service (IdP) is cloud software that stores and authenticates user identity, usually via a login procedure. In essence, the role of an identity provider is to state, "I know this person, and here is what they are allowed to do." IN REALITY, an SSO system could be different from the IdP; however, in those situations, the SSO is essentially an agent for the IdP in all purposes. They're all identical in a SAML workflow.
Service provider The cloud hosting application or service that the user would like to use. The most common examples are cloud email services like Gmail and Microsoft Office 365, cloud storage services like Google Drive and AWS S3, and communication apps like Slack and Skype. Typically, users log in to these services by themselves; however, it logs the user through the SSO when SSO is utilized. SAML can be used to grant users access, not an immediate login.
This is how the typical flow would be like: The main solicits the provider. The service provider requests an identity provider's authentication. The identity provider then sends a SAML statement to the provider, and the service provider may then issue a response to the primary.
If the primary (the user) had not yet registered, an identity provider might require them to sign in before sending a SAML assertion.

SAML assertion

A SAML assertion can be described as an XML document that is returned an Identity Provider's document in the direction of the Service Provider after authentication of the user. The assertion is a specific structure as defined in the SAML standard. It may contain conditions or characteristics that relate to the information being communicated. An SAML assertion follows an Information about the element that includes information on the. The digital signature and asserts that the user is authenticated.