Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication scheme that enables users to access multiple applications and services using a single identity. SSO is built upon a concept called federated identity, which allows the sharing of identity information across trusted and independent systems. The two protocols widely used to enable SSO are SAML and OIDC.

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is a protocol that allows users to authenticate against multiple applications with one set of login credentials, thereby facilitating SSO. User authentication is handled by a centralized identity provider, where the authentication status is maintained and shared. Read more at SAML 2.0 Authentication.

Similar to SAML, OpenID Connect (OIDC) is a protocol often used as an identity layer in conjunction with OAuth 2.0. OIDC enables SSO by allowing users to authenticate against multiple applications using credentials from trusted identity providers, such as Google or Facebook. The respective identity providers handle user authentication and share the authenticated state with interested applications. Read more at Oauth 2.0 + OIDC Authentication.