OpenID Connect (OIDC) Setup
Note: This help topic describes new single sign-on (SSO) setup options. To enhance security and stability, Blackbaud has switched to a new SSO authentication service. Organizations that already use SSO will now see a New single sign-on tab on the Authentication settings page in Security and must set up new SSO connections by Oct. 31.
OIDC is an authentication protocol that enables third-party applications to verify end users. You can use OIDC to set up an SSO connection that lets users sign in to your Blackbaud solutions through an identity provider (IdP). An organization admin (or another user with the necessary admin rights) must claim your organization's email domains, configure the OIDC connection, test the connection, and then turn on SSO.
To prevent inadvertent lockouts, make sure to:
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Complete the setup during a maintenance window for your organization's network.
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Create a Blackbaud ID outside of your claimed domains with access to the Authentication settings page in Security.
Tip: If you are migrating an existing SSO connection to connect through OIDC, we already pulled over any domains you previously claimed from your existing connection. This means you can proceed directly to configure your connection and then test that your organization can use your IdP to sign in to Blackbaud solutions.
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In Security, select Authentication.
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Under New single sign-on (SSO) on the Authentication settings page, select Manage SSO settings.
If you are migrating an existing SSO connection, this option appears on the New single sign-on tab. Before you migrate, you can mange your existing connection on the Active single sign-on tab. After you migrate, the tabs no longer appear and you can no longer manage the old connection.
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On the Single sign-on page, select OIDC.
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Under Claim your email domains, select Claim domains or Edit claimed domains and specify the email domains that your organization uses. This allows you to recognize and redirect members to your IdP when they sign in. For instructions, see Claimed Email Domains.
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Under Configure your connection on the Authentication settings page, select Get started or Edit connection.
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On the Configure OIDC connection screen, enter a name to identify your organization's OIDC connection in the Connection name field.
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To copy the redirect URL (https://id.blackbaud.com/bbid.onmicrosoft.com/oauth2/authresp), select Copy.
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In a different browser tab, go to your IdP portal to register a new application or select an existing one on your OIDC domain. If your application requires a redirect URL, use the one you just copied.
Warning: For an existing application, don't overwrite existing redirect URLs. If you remove the redirect URLs when you add the provided redirect URL, it can disrupt your existing SSO connection.
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Return to Blackbaud's Configure OIDC connection screen, and in the Metadata URL field, enter the URL for the OIDC metadata document that contains information that is required during sign-in, such as the URLs to use and the location of the service's public signing keys. The metadata document is always located at an endpoint that ends in ".well-known/openid-configuration."
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In the Response type field, select a response type. This determines the type of information that is sent back in the initial call to the authorization endpoint of your IdP.
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To pass a token directly, select "ID Token." The ID token handles the generation of the client secret for SSO.
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To pass a code that can then be exchanged for a token, select "Code." This does not handle the client secret generation, so you'll need to provide the client secret during configuration and then remember to update it before it expires.
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In the Client ID field, enter the client ID for your OIDC project.
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If you set the response type to "Code," enter the client secret for your OIDC project in the Client secret field.
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In the fields under Confirm how your IdP identifies the following, specify where you store the data that your IdP uses to identify your organization's users. Enter field names or unique identifiers.
Warning: You can only pass mapping fields if they are included under "claims_supported" in the OIDC metadata document that you provided in the Metadata URL field. That document, which ends in ".well-known/openid-configuration," contains information that is required during sign-in, such as the fields where you store data that identifies your users.
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In the NameID field, specify where you store the unique IDs that your IdP uses to identify your users. The field for this data varies depending on your IdP, but the values are typically not email addresses or employee IDs. Instead, the values should be unique IDs that your IdP creates to distinguish users across all accounts.
We recommend against using email addresses to identify users. If you identify users by email address and need to change a user's email address, then you must re-invite the user at the new email address, which means you lose all history associated with the original one.
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In the Email address field, specify where you store user email addresses.
For successful connections, email addresses must be unique.
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In the First name field, specify where you store first names.
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In the Last name field, specify where you store last names.
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Select I acknowledge these changes can take up to 30 minutes to take effect. We recommend waiting 30 minutes before you test your SSO connection.
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Select Save.
When you save your configuration settings, test mode is turned on automatically. At least one user must successfully sign in using test mode before you can enable your SSO connection.
To verify that your organization can use your identity provider (IdP) to sign in to Blackbaud solutions, select Learn about testing SSO under Test connection. Copy the URL under Blackbaud ID redirect and then test your connection in a in a private or incognito browser. For more information, see Test Mode.
Note: If a consent screen appears in test mode, then that means your IdP is configured to require admin approval before users authenticate. This consent screen is for the Blackbaud SSO application and is not requesting new permissions or access. It is seeking read-access to the user information that you already configured as part of your SSO setup. To proceed, follow the instructions on your IdP's consent screen.
To complete the connection to your IdP, select Turn on SSO under Turn on. Then on the Connect your OIDC SSO screen, select Connect with OIDC.
After you turn on SSO, users are redirected to your IdP when they sign in to their Blackbaud IDs with one of your claimed domains. After they authenticate through your IdP, their Blackbaud IDs:
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Automatically redirect them to your organization's login for future sign-ins.
After users sign in through your organization's login, they are redirected to their Blackbaud ID profiles unless you edit the redirect to specify a Blackbaud solution. For more information, see Redirect Settings.
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Use your IdP for password updates, lockouts, and other authentication management.
Note: After you enable SSO, resend any pending invitations.
After you save your SSO configuration settings and turn off test mode, an Erase all single sign-on settings option appears after the SSO configuration steps. This option allows you to clear your configuration settings and start over. For example, you can select Erase all single sign-on settings if you need to select a different connection method or start over after you troubleshoot an issue. The option is only available after you save your configuration settings in step 2 and turn off test mode in step 3. When you turn on SSO, the option is no longer available, but you can turn off SSO to make it available again. For more information, see Single Sign-on Setup
Tip: For a visual reference of the OIDC setup that uses Okta as the IdP, see OIDC setup.