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Tutorial: Integrate Secret Server (On-Premises) with Microsoft Entra ID

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In this tutorial, you'll learn how to integrate Secret Server (On-Premises) with Microsoft Entra ID. When you integrate Secret Server (On-Premises) with Microsoft Entra ID, you can:

  • Control in Microsoft Entra ID who has access to Secret Server (On-Premises).
  • Enable your users to be automatically signed-in to Secret Server (On-Premises) with their Microsoft Entra accounts.
  • Manage your accounts in one central location.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need the following items:

  • A Microsoft Entra subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can get a free account.
  • Secret Server (On-Premises) single sign-on (SSO) enabled subscription.

Scenario description

In this tutorial, you configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO in a test environment.

  • Secret Server (On-Premises) supports SP and IDP initiated SSO.

To configure the integration of Secret Server (On-Premises) into Microsoft Entra ID, you need to add Secret Server (On-Premises) from the gallery to your list of managed SaaS apps.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > New application.
  3. In the Add from the gallery section, type Secret Server (On-Premises) in the search box.
  4. Select Secret Server (On-Premises) from results panel and then add the app. Wait a few seconds while the app is added to your tenant.

Alternatively, you can also use the Enterprise App Configuration Wizard. In this wizard, you can add an application to your tenant, add users/groups to the app, assign roles, as well as walk through the SSO configuration as well. Learn more about Microsoft 365 wizards.

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO for Secret Server (On-Premises)

Configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Secret Server (On-Premises) using a test user called B.Simon. For SSO to work, you need to establish a link relationship between a Microsoft Entra user and the related user in Secret Server (On-Premises).

To configure and test Microsoft Entra SSO with Secret Server (On-Premises), perform the following steps:

  1. Configure Microsoft Entra SSO - to enable your users to use this feature.
    1. Create a Microsoft Entra test user - to test Microsoft Entra single sign-on with B.Simon.
    2. Assign the Microsoft Entra test user - to enable B.Simon to use Microsoft Entra single sign-on.
  2. Configure Secret Server (On-Premises) SSO - to configure the single sign-on settings on application side.
    1. Create Secret Server (On-Premises) test user - to have a counterpart of B.Simon in Secret Server (On-Premises) that is linked to the Microsoft Entra representation of user.
  3. Test SSO - to verify whether the configuration works.

Configure Microsoft Entra SSO

Follow these steps to enable Microsoft Entra SSO.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.

  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > Secret Server (On-Premises) application integration page, find the Manage section and select Single sign-on.

  3. On the Select a Single sign-on method page, select SAML.

  4. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML page, click the pencil icon for Basic SAML Configuration to edit the settings.

    Edit Basic SAML Configuration

  5. On the Basic SAML Configuration section, if you wish to configure the application in IDP initiated mode, enter the values for the following fields:

    a. In the Identifier text box, type the URL: https://secretserveronpremises.azure

    b. In the Reply URL text box, type a URL using the following pattern: https://<SecretServerURL>/SAML/AssertionConsumerService.aspx

    Note

    The Entity ID shown above is an example only and you are free to choose any unique value that identifies your Secret Server instance in Microsoft Entra ID. You need to send this Entity ID to Secret Server (On-Premises) Client support team and they configure it on their side. For more details, please read this article.

  6. Click Set additional URLs and perform the following step if you wish to configure the application in SP initiated mode:

    In the Sign-on URL text box, type a URL using the following pattern: https://<SecretServerURL>/login.aspx

    Note

    These values are not real. Update these values with the actual Reply URL and Sign-On URL. Contact Secret Server (On-Premises) Client support team to get these values. You can also refer to the patterns shown in the Basic SAML Configuration section.

  7. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML page, in the SAML Signing Certificate section, find Certificate (Base64) and select Download to download the certificate and save it on your computer.

    The Certificate download link

  8. On the Set up Single Sign-On with SAML page, click the Edit icon to open SAML Signing Certificate dialog.

    Screenshot that shows the "S A M L Signing Certificate" section with the "Certificate (Base64" "Download" action selected.)

  9. Select Signing Option as Sign SAML response and assertion.

    Signing options

  10. On the Set up Secret Server (On-Premises) section, copy the appropriate URL(s) based on your requirement.

    Copy configuration URLs

Create a Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you'll create a test user called B.Simon.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a User Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Users > All users.
  3. Select New user > Create new user, at the top of the screen.
  4. In the User properties, follow these steps:
    1. In the Display name field, enter B.Simon.
    2. In the User principal name field, enter the username@companydomain.extension. For example, B.Simon@contoso.com.
    3. Select the Show password check box, and then write down the value that's displayed in the Password box.
    4. Select Review + create.
  5. Select Create.

Assign the Microsoft Entra test user

In this section, you'll enable B.Simon to use single sign-on by granting access to Secret Server (On-Premises).

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
  2. Browse to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications > Secret Server (On-Premises).
  3. In the app's overview page, select Users and groups.
  4. Select Add user/group, then select Users and groups in the Add Assignment dialog.
    1. In the Users and groups dialog, select B.Simon from the Users list, then click the Select button at the bottom of the screen.
    2. If you are expecting a role to be assigned to the users, you can select it from the Select a role dropdown. If no role has been set up for this app, you see "Default Access" role selected.
    3. In the Add Assignment dialog, click the Assign button.

Configure Secret Server (On-Premises) SSO

To configure single sign-on on the Secret Server (On-Premises) side, you need to send the downloaded Certificate (Base64) and appropriate copied URLs to the Secret Server (On-Premises) support team. They set this setting to have the SAML SSO connection set properly on both sides.

Create Secret Server (On-Premises) test user

In this section, you create a user called Britta Simon in Secret Server (On-Premises). Work with Secret Server (On-Premises) support team to add the users in the Secret Server (On-Premises) platform. Users must be created and activated before you use single sign-on.

Test SSO

In this section, you test your Microsoft Entra single sign-on configuration with following options.

SP initiated:

  • Click on Test this application, this will redirect to Secret Server (On-Premises) Sign-on URL where you can initiate the login flow.

  • Go to Secret Server (On-Premises) Sign on URL directly and initiate the login flow from there.

IDP initiated:

  • Click on Test this application, and you should be automatically signed in to the Secret Server (On-Premises) for which you set up the SSO.

You can also use Microsoft My Apps to test the application in any mode. When you click the Secret Server (On-Premises) tile in the My Apps, if configured in SP mode you would be redirected to the application sign-on page for initiating the login flow and if configured in IDP mode, you should be automatically signed in to the Secret Server (On-Premises) for which you set up the SSO. For more information about the My Apps, see Introduction to the My Apps.

Next steps

Once you configure Secret Server (On-Premises) you can enforce session control, which protects exfiltration and infiltration of your organization’s sensitive data in real time. Session control extends from Conditional Access. Learn how to enforce session control with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.