Daniel Bachhuber

Chris Reynolds

John Spellman

Pantheon Systems

Josh Koenig

Anais Pantheor

SAML authentication for WordPress, using the bundled OneLogin SAML library or optionally installed <a href="https://simplesamlphp.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">SimpleSAMLphp</a>. OneLogin provides a SAML authentication bridge; SimpleSAMLphp provides SAML plus a variety of other authentication mechanisms. This plugin acts as a bridge between WordPress and the authentication library.
If your organization uses Google Apps, <a href="https://pantheon.io/docs/wordpress-google-sso/" rel="nofollow ugc">integrating Google Apps with WP SAML Auth</a> takes just a few steps.
The standard user flow looks like this:
<ul>
<li>User can log in via SAML using a button added to the standard WordPress login view.</li>
<li>When the button is clicked, the user is handed off to the authentication library. With OneLogin, the user is redirected to the SAML identity provider. With SimpleSAMLphp, the user is redirected to the SimpleSAMLphp install.</li>
<li>Once the user is authenticated with the identity provider, they’re redirected back to WordPress and signed in to their account. A new WordPress user will be created if none exists (although this behavior can be disabled).</li>
<li>When the user logs out of WordPress, they are also logged out of the identity provider.</li>
</ul>
A set of configuration options allow you to change the plugin’s default behavior. For instance, <code>permit_wp_login=>false</code> will force all authentication to go through the SAML identity provider, bypassing <code>wp-login.php</code>. Similiarly, <code>auto_provision=>false</code> will disable automatic creation of new WordPress users.
See installation instructions for full configuration details.
<h3>Installing SimpleSAMLphp</h3>
The plugin supports both SimpleSAMLphp v1.x and v2.x. The autoloader is automatically detected:
SimpleSAMLphp v2.x uses <code>vendor/autoload.php</code> 
SimpleSAMLphp v1.x uses <code>lib/_autoload.php</code>
<h4>Default Search Paths</h4>
The plugin automatically searches for SimpleSAMLphp in these locations: 
* <code>ABSPATH . 'simplesaml'</code> 
* <code>ABSPATH . 'private/simplesamlphp'</code> 
* <code>ABSPATH . 'simplesamlphp'</code> 
* <code>ABSPATH . 'vendor/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp'</code> (Composer installation) 
* <code>plugin_dir_path . 'simplesamlphp'</code>
For each path, the plugin checks for both <code>vendor/autoload.php</code> (v2.x) and <code>lib/_autoload.php</code> (v1.x).
This means Composer installations work automatically! If you run <code>composer require simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp</code> in your site root, the plugin will find it without any additional configuration.
<h4>Composer Installation (Advanced)</h4>
If you install SimpleSAMLphp via Composer to a custom location (not the standard <code>vendor/simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp</code>), you can specify the autoloader path:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'wp_saml_auth_option', function( $value, $option_name ) {
 if ( 'simplesamlphp_autoload' === $option_name ) {
 // Point to your custom Composer vendor autoloader
 return '/custom/path/vendor/autoload.php';
 }
 return $value;
}, 10, 2 );
</code></pre>
<h4>Custom Installation Paths</h4>
If SimpleSAMLphp is installed in a non-default location, you can set custom search paths with the <code>wp_saml_auth_simplesamlphp_path_array</code> filter:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'wp_saml_auth_simplesamlphp_path_array', function( $simplesamlphp_path_array ) {
 // Override default paths with custom paths
 return [ '/custom/path/to/simplesamlphp' ];
} );
</code></pre>
Or define an explicit autoloader path with the <code>wp_saml_auth_ssp_autoloader</code> filter:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'wp_saml_auth_ssp_autoloader', function( $ssp_autoloader ) {
 return ABSPATH . 'path/to/simplesamlphp/vendor/autoload.php';
} );<h3>WP-CLI Commands</h3>
</code></pre>
This plugin implements a variety of <a href="https://wp-cli.org" rel="nofollow ugc">WP-CLI</a> commands. All commands are grouped into the <code>wp saml-auth</code> namespace.
<pre><code>$ wp help saml-auth

NAME

 wp saml-auth

DESCRIPTION

 Configure and manage the WP SAML Auth plugin.

SYNOPSIS

 wp saml-auth <command>

SUBCOMMANDS

 scaffold-config Scaffold a configuration filter to customize WP SAML Auth usage.
</code></pre>
Use <code>wp help saml-auth <command></code> to learn more about each command.
Note: The <code>scaffold-config</code> command generates a configuration function with default values. The <code>simplesamlphp_autoload</code> option is not included in the scaffolded output because the plugin auto-detects SimpleSAMLphp installations. Only add this option manually if SimpleSAMLphp is in a non-standard location.
<h3>Contributing</h3>
See <a href="https://github.com/pantheon-systems/wp-saml-auth/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md" rel="nofollow ugc">CONTRIBUTING.md</a> for information on contributing.

WP SAML Auth

secureparrot

SecurePie SSO SAML is a SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On (SSO) plugin for WordPress that provides enterprise SSO login, SAML login, and federated login via any SAML 2.0 Identity Provider — including Azure AD (Entra ID), Okta, Google Workspace, OneLogin, ADFS, Auth0, PingFederate, and Keycloak.
Whether you need SAML SSO for an intranet, an enterprise SSO portal for customers, or federated authentication for your team, this plugin turns your WordPress site into a SAML Service Provider with zero external dependencies.
SecurePie SSO SAML allows you to configure your WordPress site as a SAML 2.0 Service Provider (SP), enabling Single Sign-On with any SAML 2.0 compliant Identity Provider (IdP) such as Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace, OneLogin, ADFS, and more.
This is a zero-dependency plugin — it uses only PHP’s built-in <code>dom</code>, <code>openssl</code>, and <code>zlib</code> extensions. No Composer, no external libraries, no conflicts with other plugins.
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Full SAML 2.0 SSO — AuthnRequest generation, Response validation, user provisioning</li>
<li>SP Metadata Endpoint — Auto-generated metadata XML for easy IdP configuration</li>
<li>IdP Metadata Parsing — Import IdP settings from a metadata URL or XML file</li>
<li>XML Digital Signature Verification — RSA-SHA256 and RSA-SHA1 support</li>
<li>Security Hardened — XXE prevention, signature wrapping attack protection, replay prevention, audience validation</li>
<li>Attribute Mapping — Map SAML attributes to WordPress user fields (username, email, first name, last name, display name)</li>
<li>Role Mapping — Assign WordPress roles based on IdP group/role attributes</li>
<li>Auto User Provisioning — Automatically create WordPress users on first SSO login</li>
<li>SSO Login Button — Customizable SSO button on the WordPress login page</li>
<li>Force SAML Login — Optionally redirect all login attempts through the IdP</li>
<li>Single Logout (SLO) — Send LogoutRequest to the IdP when users log out of WordPress</li>
<li>Test Configuration — Validate your SSO setup and see returned attributes before going live</li>
<li>HTTP-Redirect and HTTP-POST Bindings — Support for both SAML binding types</li>
<li>Clean Admin Interface — Professional tabbed settings page with copy-to-clipboard functionality</li>
</ul>
<h4>Use Cases</h4>
<ul>
<li>Enterprise SSO — Centralize WordPress login through your corporate Identity Provider so employees use one set of credentials.</li>
<li>SAML Login for Customer Portals — Let B2B customers sign in to your WordPress site using their own SAML SSO identity.</li>
<li>Federated Login Across Sites — Use a single SAML IdP to federate authentication across multiple WordPress installs.</li>
<li>SSO Authentication for Membership Sites — Replace WordPress’s default signin flow with SAML SSO login from Azure AD, Okta, or Google Workspace.</li>
<li>Intranet Single Sign-On — Add WordPress to your existing SSO ecosystem alongside other SAML 2.0 enabled apps.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Supported Identity Providers</h4>
<ul>
<li>Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Entra ID)</li>
<li>Okta</li>
<li>Google Workspace</li>
<li>OneLogin</li>
<li>Salesforce</li>
<li>Auth0</li>
<li>PingFederate</li>
<li>Shibboleth</li>
<li>ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services)</li>
<li>Keycloak</li>
<li>Any SAML 2.0 compliant IdP</li>
</ul>
<h4>Setting up SAML SSO with Azure AD (Entra ID)</h4>
Connecting WordPress to Azure AD / Entra ID for SAML SSO with SecurePie takes about ten minutes:
<ol>
<li>In the WordPress admin, open SecurePie SSO → Service Provider and copy the SP Entity ID and ACS URL.</li>
<li>In Azure, create a new Enterprise Application of type “Non-gallery application” and open its Single sign-on → SAML blade.</li>
<li>Paste the SP Entity ID into Azure’s Identifier (Entity ID) field and the ACS URL into the Reply URL (Assertion Consumer Service URL) field.</li>
<li>Under “SAML Signing Certificate”, download the Federation Metadata XML (or copy the Login URL and certificate).</li>
<li>Back in WordPress, open Identity Provider → Quick Setup and either upload the metadata XML or paste the metadata URL. SecurePie auto-fills Entity ID, Login URL and X.509 Certificate.</li>
<li>Assign your Azure users / groups to the Enterprise Application, then run Test Configuration in WordPress to confirm attributes flow through correctly before enabling the SSO button on the login page.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Setting up SAML SSO with Okta</h4>
Okta-to-WordPress SAML SSO with SecurePie follows the same pattern:
<ol>
<li>In the WordPress admin, open SecurePie SSO → Service Provider and copy the SP Entity ID, ACS URL and Single Logout URL.</li>
<li>In the Okta admin, go to Applications → Create App Integration → SAML 2.0, give the app a name, and continue to step 2 of Okta’s wizard.</li>
<li>Paste the SP Entity ID into Okta’s Audience URI (SP Entity ID) field and the ACS URL into the Single Sign-on URL field.</li>
<li>Configure Okta’s attribute statements to send <code>email</code>, <code>firstName</code>, <code>lastName</code>, and optionally a <code>groups</code> claim for role mapping.</li>
<li>After saving, open the Okta Sign On tab, click View SAML setup instructions, and copy the Identity Provider Single Sign-On URL, Identity Provider Issuer and the X.509 Certificate.</li>
<li>Back in WordPress, paste these into Identity Provider Setup (or use Okta’s metadata URL). Run Test Configuration to verify the SAML assertion before going live.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>PHP 7.4 or higher</li>
<li>PHP extensions: <code>dom</code>, <code>openssl</code>, <code>zlib</code> (enabled by default on most hosts)</li>
<li>WordPress 5.8 or higher</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
This plugin implements the SAML 2.0 protocol, which requires communication with an external Identity Provider (IdP) that is configured by the site administrator. No data is sent to any external service without the administrator explicitly configuring the connection.
<h4>Identity Provider Communication</h4>
When a user initiates SSO login, the plugin redirects the user’s browser to the Identity Provider’s SAML Login URL (configured by the administrator). The following data is sent as part of the standard SAML 2.0 AuthnRequest:
<ul>
<li>The Service Provider Entity ID (your site’s identifier)</li>
<li>The Assertion Consumer Service URL (your site’s callback URL)</li>
<li>A unique request ID for replay prevention</li>
</ul>
The Identity Provider then authenticates the user and sends a SAML Response back to your site containing the user’s identity attributes (such as email, name, and group membership).
This communication is entirely between your WordPress site and the IdP that you configure. No data is sent to SecurePie or any other third party.
The terms of service and privacy policy for the Identity Provider depend on which provider you choose to configure (e.g., Microsoft Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace). Please consult your Identity Provider’s documentation for their specific terms.
<h4>IdP Metadata Import (Optional)</h4>
The plugin can optionally fetch Identity Provider metadata from a URL provided by the administrator. This is a one-time server-to-server request to retrieve the IdP’s public configuration (Entity ID, Login URL, X.509 Certificate). No user data is sent during this request.
<h4>SAML Attribute Namespace URIs</h4>
The plugin references standard SAML attribute namespace URIs (e.g., <code>http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddress</code>) as identifiers within SAML assertions. These are XML namespace strings used for attribute identification and are not HTTP requests to external services.

SecurePie SSO SAML — Single Sign-On, SAML Login & Enterprise SSO for WordPress

SAML 2.0 SSO for WordPress. Enterprise login with Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace, OneLogin, ADFS & any SAML 2.0 Identity Provider.

WP SAML Auth vs SecurePie SSO SAML — Single Sign-On, SAML Login & Enterprise SSO for WordPress