Configuring Third-Party Identity Provider for AWS SSO

Setting Up Relying Party for SAML 2.0 Federation

Question

Your team plans to use a third-party identity provider (IdP) such as Shibboleth.

You need to configure the environment to enable single sign-on (SSO) to the AWS Management Console.

In order to establish the SAML 2.0 federation successfully between the IdP and AWS, AWS should be added as a relying party in the third-party IdP.

Which of the following options would you choose to set up the relying party?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Correct Answer - D.

In order to enable the single sign-on to AWS, the third-party IdP should be configured to use AWS as a relying party.

One example can be found in https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/how-to-use-shibboleth-for-single-sign-on-to-the-aws-management-console/.

Option A is incorrect: This option ensures that the IAM role is used for the identity provider.

However, it does not set up the relying party in the IdP.

Option B is incorrect: This option is not required as it is not related to adding a relying party in the IdP.

Option C is incorrect: This is a step that you create a SAML identity provider in AWS for the IdP.

It is not what the question is asking.

Option D is CORRECT: This step adds AWS as a relying party in the IdP.

Take Shibboleth as an example.

The metadata URL is added in relying-party.xml.

Sure, I'd be happy to help!

To enable single sign-on (SSO) to the AWS Management Console using a third-party identity provider (IdP) such as Shibboleth, you need to set up a SAML 2.0 federation between the IdP and AWS. One key step in setting up the federation is to configure AWS as a relying party in the third-party IdP. This means that the IdP recognizes AWS as a trusted party that it can provide authentication information to.

Now let's review each of the options and see which one is the correct way to set up the relying party:

A. Set up IAM federated roles where the Principal is the SAML provider ARN that you created for the SAML IdP. This option refers to setting up IAM roles in AWS that are associated with the SAML provider ARN for the IdP. While this step may be required for other aspects of the SAML federation, it is not directly related to setting up the relying party. Therefore, this option is not the correct choice.

B. Get a public certificate from a certifying authority (CA) and use it to secure the communication between the IdP and AWS. This option refers to obtaining a public certificate from a certifying authority (CA) and using it to secure the communication between the IdP and AWS. While this step is important for ensuring secure communication, it is not directly related to setting up the relying party. Therefore, this option is not the correct choice.

C. Create a SAML identity provider in AWS and upload the metadata document from the IdP to the provider. This option refers to creating a SAML identity provider (IdP) in AWS and uploading the metadata document from the third-party IdP to the AWS IdP. This is the correct way to set up the relying party. By creating the AWS IdP and uploading the metadata document, you are configuring AWS to recognize the third-party IdP as a trusted party that can provide authentication information. Once this is done, you can proceed with setting up the rest of the SAML federation.

D. Add the AWS metadata URL "https://signin.aws.amazon.com/static/saml-metadata.xml" to the IdP configuration file such as relying-party.xml. This option refers to adding the AWS metadata URL to the IdP configuration file. While this step may be required for other aspects of the SAML federation, it is not directly related to setting up the relying party. Therefore, this option is not the correct choice.

In conclusion, the correct option to set up the relying party in the SAML 2.0 federation between a third-party IdP and AWS is to create a SAML identity provider in AWS and upload the metadata document from the IdP to the provider.