Joomla! Documentation™

In this article, you'll learn what SAML is, and how it works.

What is SAML

SAML stands for Security Assertion Markup Language. It is an XML-based open-standard for transferring identity data between two parties: an Identity Provider (IdP) and a Service Provider (SP).

What that jargon means is that you can use one set of credentials to log into multiple websites. It’s much simpler to manage one login per user than it is to manage separate logins to email, customer relationship management (CRM) software, Active Directory, etc.

SAML transactions use Extensible Markup Language (XML) for standardized communications between the identity provider and service providers. SAML is the link between the authentication of a user’s identity and the authorization to use a service.

Identity Provider - Performs authentication and passes the user's identity and authorization level to the service provider.

Service Provider - Trusts the identity provider and authorizes the given user to access the requested resource.

Benefits of SAML Authentication

• Better user experience:- Users will only need to login/sign in once to access various service providers so that he doesn't need to remember multiple set of login credentials for each and every application.

• Highly Secure:- SAML provides a single point of authentication, which happens at a secure identity provider. Then, SAML transfers the identity information to the service providers. This form of authentication ensures that credentials are only sent to the IDP directly.