Get Started: Federated Authentication

Easily onboard new users that have JumpCloud managed devices by integrating your existing Identity Provider (IdP) with JumpCloud. This allows your users to securely access their devices by logging in with their IdP credentials.

Prerequisites

• You need to have JumpCloud set up as an OIDC app in your IdP with the appropriate settings enabled to continue setting up Federated Authentication for your org, see our IdP configuration documentation to learn more:
  • Configure Okta as an Identity Provider
  • Configure Entra ID as an Identity Provider
  • Configure Google Workspace as an Identity Provider
• You need to have Admin with Billing permissions to configure an IdP. 
• You need to have an existing IdP managing your users to benefit from federated authentication.
• All JumpCloud users must have unique company email addresses, and the email of the JumpCloud user and external IdP email used for Federation have to match. 

Considerations

• Federated IdP authentication doesn’t capture the user’s IdP password. If Device Password Sync is set to NO, then users will be prompted to create a local passcode (password) on Mac or local PIN on Windows. If Device Password Sync is set to Yes, then JumpCloud will sync the JumpCloud password to the device and set it for the user account on the device.
• Federation does not currently support authenticating with JumpCloud Go. 
• Federation does not currently support JumpCloud Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for users in addition to external IdP authentication. However, MFA may be applied at the IdP.
• Features like device provisioning and local self service password reset is currently not supported on Linux.

Externally Managed Passwords

Externally managed passwords prevent password changes within JumpCloud, both by users and admins. When users are set to Password Externally Managed, they will no longer receive password expiration notifications and password expirations will no longer apply to them.

Use this setting when a user’s password is being managed by an upstream integration or when they’re authenticating with an external identity provider (IdP).

Workflow

1. Prepare your IdP to configure with JumpCloud.
   • You will need to add JumpCloud as an application to your IdP with the appropriate settings enabled to continue setting up Federated Authentication for your org, see our IdP configuration documentation:
     • Configure Okta as an Identity Provider
     • Configure Entra ID as an Identity Provider
     • Configure Google Workspace as an Identity Provider
2. Configure your IdP in JumpCloud.
   • Verify that you want to enable Federated Device Authentication for your users’ login.
     • This will require all users to authenticate with their IdP.
3. Automatically bind users to devices by configuring Self Service Account Provisioning, or Automated Device Enrollment, based on whichever OS you’re provisioning, see Provision New Users on Device Login to learn more. 
   • Users logging into their device for the first time will use their IdP credentials to sign in. This also creates a local user on the device.
   • By default, any new users that are associated with the device will automatically have their JumpCloud password synced to their device password. You can disable this so that any new user to device associations will not have their JumpCloud password synced to their device. Instead, the user will enter a local password to log into their device. See Device Password Sync to learn more.
   • The JumpCloud account will be automatically bound to the JumpCloud device upon successful user login to the external IdP.
4. Optionally, restrict your user’s password in JumpCloud.
   • Users won’t be able to set or update a password in JumpCloud. Users won’t receive any password related communication or emails.
   • Admins won’t be able to set or update a user’s password in JumpCloud either. 
   • Passwords can continue being synced from any SCIM or REST integration for this user.

Device Management Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 1: Device Management with an External IdP

Identity management is kept in your existing IdP. Identities are synced into JumpCloud for the purpose of IdP login. New users will set up and maintain a local passcode on their device. Existing users will maintain their existing passwords after they become managed by JumpCloud. If the user forgets this passcode, it may be reset with an external IdP login. The passcode is stored locally on the device, reducing the risk of compromise and allowing for offline authentication. The user can log in to any web-based resources (like JumpCloud’s User Portal, SSO apps, local account provisioning flows, etc.) with their IdP login.

1. User identities live, and are managed in an existing, external IdP like Azure AD, Google Workspace, or Okta.
2. Sync the user identities into JumpCloud using a Cloud Directory, or SCIM integration.
3. Once the users are synced, and are logging into their device for the first time, they’ll be redirected to authenticate to the external IdP via JumpCloud federation.
4. The local user account will then be created on the device, and become managed by JumpCloud. 
5. The user will create a local passcode to access their device. This passcode can be reset from the login window by authenticating through the external IdP.

Device password: Local credentials

Zero Trust Controls: IdP

MFA: IdP

Scenario 2: Device Management with IdP Password Sync

Identity management is kept within your existing IdP. Identities are synced into JumpCloud for the purpose of IdP login. Passwords are also synced from your IdP into JumpCloud outside of the OIDC IdP login flow (which doesn’t capture the password). This password is synced to the user’s device, resulting in the IdP password, and the device password being in sync. Optionally, an IdP object can be configured allowing users to log in with their IdP credentials for web-based logins. 

1. User identities live, and are managed in an existing, external IdP like Okta. 
2. Sync the user identities into JumpCloud using a Cloud Directory, or SCIM integration. 
3. Once the users are synced, and are logging into their device for the first time, they’ll be redirected to authenticate to the external IdP via JumpCloud federation. 
4. The local user account will then be created on the device, and become managed by JumpCloud. 
5. The user’s password is managed by the external IdP, and then synced to the JumpCloud account. 
6. User password changes, and resets have to be done in the IdP.

Device password: IdP

Zero Trust Controls: IdP

MFA: IdP

Scenario 3: Device Management with JumpCloud Password Sync and External IdP Login

In this scenario, identity management is kept within your existing IdP. Identities are synced to JumpCloud for the purpose of IdP login. Users are also associated to a Cloud Directory integration. This enables JumpCloud to own the password, but your IdP to own the identity. Users can change their password from their device, allowing the password to be synced to JumpCloud, and to their IdP. The user will log in with their IdP for web-based logins with the password that’s managed by JumpCloud. Any Zero Trust, MFA, etc. controls will be enforced at the IdP login.

1. User identities live, and are managed in an existing, external IdP like Azure AD, or Google Workspace. 
2. Sync the user identities into JumpCloud using a Cloud Directory, or SCIM integration. 
3. Once the users are synced, and are logging into their device for the first time, they’ll be redirected to authenticate to the external IdP via JumpCloud federation. 
4. The local user account will then be created on the device, and become managed by JumpCloud. 
5. The user’s password is managed by JumpCloud, or on the device itself, and then synced to the IdP.

Device password: JumpCloud

Zero Trust Controls: IdP

MFA: IdP

FAQ