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Set Up External Portal Application Authentication with Okta and OIDC

These instructions help you set up Okta as your third-party identity provider for use with the Kong OIDC and Portal Application Registration plugins.

Define an authorization server and create a custom claim in Okta

Follow these steps to set up an authorization server in Okta for all authorization types.

1. Sign in to the Developer Okta site.

2. Click Security > API > Authorization Servers.

   Notice that you already have an authorization server set up named default. This example uses the default auth server. You can also create as many custom authorization servers as necessary to fulfill your requirements. For more information, refer to the Okta developer documentation.

3. Click default to view the details for the default auth server. Take note of the Issuer URL, which you will use to associate Kong with your authorization server.

4. Click the Claims tab.

5. Click Add Claim. Add a custom claim called application_id that will attach any successfully authenticated application’s id to the access token.
   1. Enter application_id in the Name field.
   2. Ensure the Include in token type selection is Access Token.
   3. Enter app.clientId in the Value field.
   4. Click Create.

   Now that you have created a custom claim, you can associate the client_id with a Service via the Application Registration plugin. Start by creating a Service in Kong Manager.

6. Create a Service and a Route and instantiate an OIDC plugin on that Service. You can allow most options to use their defaults.

   1. In the Config.Issuer field, enter the Issuer URL of the Authorization server from your identity provider.

      

   2. In the Config.Consumer Claim field, enter your <application_id>.

   Tip: Because Okta’s discovery document does not include all supported auth types by default, ensure the config.verify_parameters option is disabled.

   

   The core configuration should be:

   {
     "issuer": "<auth_server_issuer_url>",
     "verify_credentials": false,
     "consumer_claim": "<application_id>",
   }
   
   

7. Configure a Portal Application Registration plugin on the Service as well. See Application Registration.

Register an application in Okta

Follow these steps to register an application in Okta and associate the Okta application with an application in the Kong Dev Portal.

1. Sign in to the Developer Okta site.
2. Click Applications > Applications.

3. Depending on which authentication flow you want to implement, the setup of your Okta application will vary:

   • Create a new app integration: Select API Services when prompted for an application type. In the New API Services App Integration modal, enter your app integration name.

   You will need your client_id and client_secret later on when you authenticate with the proxy.

   • Implicit Grant: Select Single-Page App, Native, or Web when prompted for an application type. Make sure Implicit is selected for Allowed grant types. Enter the Login redirect URIs, Logout redirect URIs, and Initiate login URI fields with the correct values, depending on your application’s routing. The Implicit Grant flow is not recommended if the Authorization Code flow is possible.

   • Authorization Code: Select Single-Page App, Native, or Web when prompted for an application type. Make sure Authorization Code is selected for Allowed grant types. Enter the Login redirect URIs, Logout redirect URIs, and Initiate login URI fields with the correct values, depending on your application’s routing.

Associate the identity provider application with your Kong application

Now that the application has been configured in Okta, you need to associate the Okta application with the corresponding application in Kong’s Dev Portal.

Note: Each developer should have their own application in both Okta and Kong.
Each Okta application has its own client_id that maps to its respective application in Kong. Essentially, this maps identity provider applications to portal applications.

This example assumes Client Credentials is the chosen OAuth flow.

1. In the Kong Dev Portal, create an account if you haven’t already.
2. After you’ve logged in, click My Apps.
3. On the Applications page, click + New Application.

4. Complete the Name and Description fields. Paste the client_id of your corresponding Okta (or other identity provider) application into the Reference Id field.

   

Now that the application has been created, developers can authenticate with the endpoint using the supported and recommended third-party OAuth flows.