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Integrate with Zendesk

Use JumpCloud SAML Single Sign On (SSO) to give your users convenient but secure access to all their web applications with a single set of credentials.

Read this article to learn how to configure the Zendesk connector.

Prerequisites

  • A JumpCloud administrator account
  • JumpCloud SSO Package or higher or SSO add-on feature
  • A Zendesk user account with administrator permissions
  • Your Zendesk organization name and a Zendesk Plus or Enterprise plan

Creating a new JumpCloud Application Integration

  1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.

Important:

If your data is stored outside of the US, check which login URL you should be using depending on your region, see JumpCloud Data Centers to learn more.

  1. Go to Access > SSO Applications.
  2. Click + Add New Application.
  3. You can also enter the name of the application in the Search field and select it.
  4. You can either select an application from the available list or select Custom Application, and click Next.
  5. Select the required options from the Select Options page and click Next. The Enter General Info page is displayed.
  6. On the Enter General Info page, you can customize the display label, description and how the application displays:
    • Description - add a description that users will see in their user portal
    • User Portal Image - choose Logo or Color Indicator
    • Show in User Portal - select to ensure the app is visible in the user portal
  7. Optionally, expand the Advanced Settings section and customize the IdP URL:
    • Enter a custom value to replace the default application name in the SSO IdP URL endpoint ( https://sso.jumpcloud.com/saml2/{custom_value})

Warning:

The SSO IdP URL is not editable after the application is created. If you need to change this URL later, you must delete and recreate the connector.

  1. Click Save Application.
  2. Next, click:
    • Configure Application and go to the next section
    • Close to configure your new application at a later time

Configuring the SSO Integration

To configure JumpCloud

  1. Create a new application or select it from the Configured Applications list.
  2. Select the SSO tab.
  3. Replace any instances of ACCOUNTNAME with your Zendesk organization name.
  4. Optionally, configure:
MFA Claims

Note:

The Authentication Methods References (AMR) is automatically included in the SAML assertion by default. No additional configuration is required to enable this.

Complete the MFA Claim Configuration to define how the authentication context is sent in the SAML assertion.

  1. Under Auth Context, choose one of the following options based on your SP's requirements:
    • Send a single value for all successful MFA factors - select if the Service Provider accepts a generic confirmation for any MFA login. Enter the single URL or URN they accept
    • Send specific factors - select this option to map individual JumpCloud MFA methods to distinct values. In the Factor Mapping table, add each MFA factor enabled in your organization and enter the corresponding value required by the Service Provider
    • Send single value and specific factors - select to send both a generic identifier and specific factor details in the assertion

Tip:

Refer to your Service Provider's documentation to determine the specific URN or URL values required (e.g., Salesforce Session Security Levels). The values entered in this configuration must exactly match what the Service Provider expects.

MFA Factor Service Provider Notes
Password Reference your Service Providers's documentation for the values they expect for each factor
TOTP
WebAuthN
Push Notification JumpCloud Protect or other authenticator application
Duo Security
Device Trust
Device Trust + User Verification JumpCloud Go
API Key
External Identity Provider
Attributes

Configure User Attributes to be sent to the SP in assertions. User attributes are unique to each user. You can include attributes for standard user detail attributes or for custom attributes. For example, you can include standard attributes for users’ employee ID and department, or you can include a custom attribute for users’ application ID. Standard attributes are configured in the User Panel Details tab's User Information and Employee Information sections.

Unlike user attributes, a Constant Attribute can be sent for every user in a specific group or application profile.

Note:

If required attributes are present, they are not editable.

  1. Under User Attributes, click add attribute:
    • Service Provider Attribute Name - enter the service provider’s name for the attribute
    • JumpCloud Attribute Name - select the corresponding attribute from the drop down list
  2. Repeat these steps for any desired user or custom attributes.
  3. Under Constant Attributes, click add attribute:
    • Service Provider Attribute Name - enter the service provider’s name for the attribute
    • Value - enter the corresponding attribute in JumpCloud
  4. If groups are supported, select Include Group Attribute.

Learn More

  1. Click Save.

Download the certificate

  1. If you closed the application, find it in the Configured Applications list and click anywhere in the row to reopen its configuration window.
  2. Click Actions > Download Certificate.

Tip:

The certificate.pem will download to your local Downloads folder.

To configure Zendesk

  1. Log into Zendesk Admin Center.
  2. Go to Account > Security > Single sign-on.
  3. Click Create SSO configuration then select SAML.
  4. Enter the following information:
    • Configuration name - enter a unique name
    • SAML SSO URL - enter the JumpCloud IDP URL
    • Certificate fingerprint - enter the SHA-256 Certificate fingerprint from the certificate downloaded in the previous section
    • (Optional) Remote logout URL - enter a logout URL where users should be redirected after they sign out of Zendesk
      • Use https://console.jumpcloud.com/userconsole/ if you would like users to return to their user portal when they logout
    • (Optional) IP ranges - enter a list of IP ranges if you want to redirect users to the appropriate sign-in option.
  5. Select Show button when users sign in to add a Continue with SSO button to the Zendesk sign-in page.
  6. Click Save.

Tip:

By default, enterprise SSO configurations are inactive. You must assign the SSO configuration to users to activate it.

Note:
  • You can only select one external authentication option for end users. When you select SAML for Single Sign On for end users, it automatically deselects Zendesk Authentication if it's enabled.  
  • Staff members can have multiple external authentication options. If SSO and Zendesk Authentication are enabled for Staff members, they can use both. 
  • Deselect the Zendesk Authentication option to make SSO the only authentication method for end users and staff members. This permanently deletes all Zendesk passwords within 24 hours. 
  • If Zendesk passwords are disabled or deleted, consider allowing an account owner or admin to bypass SSO with a password in the event the identity pr
    • To set these permissions:
      • Go to Advanced > Authentication, then select an SSO bypass option.  

Assign the SSO connector to end users and team members

  1. In the Zendesk Admin portal, go to Team member authentication or End user authentication, and select External authentication.
  2. Click Single sign-on (SSO) and then SAML. select the name(s) of the JumpCloud configuration(s) you want to use.
  3. Select how you'd like to allow users to sign in. See Giving users different ways to sign into Zendesk.
  4. Click Save.  

Authorizing User SSO Access

Users are implicitly denied access to applications. After you connect an application to JumpCloud, you need to authorize user access to that application. You can authorize user access from the Applications, Users List or User Groups page. 

To authorize user access from the Application’s page

  1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.

Important:

If your data is stored outside of the US, check which login URL you should be using depending on your region, see JumpCloud Data Centers to learn more.

  1. Go to Access > SSO Applications, then select the application to which you want to authorize user access.
  2. Select the User Groups tab. If you need to create a new group of users, see Get Started: User Groups.
  3. Select the check box next to the desired group of users to which you want to give access.
  4. Click Save. 

To learn how to authorize user access from the Users or User Groups pages, see Authorize Users to an SSO Application.

Validating SSO user authentication workflow(s)

IdP-initiated user workflow

  • Access the JumpCloud User Console
  • Go to Applications and click an application tile to launch it
  • JumpCloud asserts the user's identity to the SP and is authenticated without the user having to log in to the application

SP-initiated user workflow

  • Go to the SP application login - generally, there is either a special link or an adaptive username field that detects the user is authenticated through SSO

Note:

This varies by SP.

  • Login redirects the user to JumpCloud where the user enters their JumpCloud credentials
  • After the user is logged in successfully, they are redirected back to the SP and automatically logged in

Using JIT Provisioning

Additional attributes are required to use JIT provisioning. JIT required attributes are prepopulated and are on by default to enable JIT provisioning. You can’t edit the JIT required service provider attributes. You can customize the JumpCloud attribute name and the constant value for JIT required attributes. Toggle off the attributes to opt out of sending the attributes in the SAML assertion.

To complete the provisioning process

  1. Authorize a user’s access to the application in JumpCloud.  
  2. Have the user log in to the application using SSO. The SAML assertion passes from JumpCloud to the service provider, and gives the service provider the information it needs to create the user account.

Removing the SSO Integration

Important:

These are steps for removing the integration in JumpCloud. Consult your SP's documentation for any additional steps needed to remove the integration in the SP. Failure to remove the integration successfully for both the SP and JumpCloud may result in users losing access to the application.

To deactivate the SSO Integration

  1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.

Important:

If your data is stored outside of the US, check which login URL you should be using depending on your region, see JumpCloud Data Centers to learn more.

  1. Go to Access > SSO Applications.
  2. Search for the application that you’d like to deactivate and click to open its details panel. 
  3. Select the SSO tab.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the configuration.
  5. Click Deactivate SSO. 
  6. Click Save. 
  7. If successful, you will receive a confirmation message.

To delete the application

  1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.

Important:

If your data is stored outside of the US, check which login URL you should be using depending on your region, see JumpCloud Data Centers to learn more.

  1. Go to Access > SSO Applications.
  2. Search for the application that you’d like to delete.
  3. Check the box next to the application to select it.
  4. Click Delete.
  5. Enter the number of the applications you are deleting
  6. Click Delete Application.
  7. If successful, you will see an application deletion confirmation notification.
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