Overview

Stack Overflow for Teams Basic and Business integrate with Duo Security for SAML 2.0 authentication. You can learn more about SAML in our SAML 2.0 Overview document.

To configure Duo Security authentication, you'll first need to have configured a SAML Identity Provider to provide primary authentication for Duo Single Sign-On. Learn more about configuring the SAML Identity Provider with Duo Single Sign-On.

When setting up SAML authentication, you'll configure your Stack Overflow for Teams site and Duo Security in a back-and-forth process. We recommend having a browser tab or window open to each site.

This document is for Stack Overflow for Teams Basic and Business plans only. Stack Overflow for Teams Enterprise users should read this article. Not sure what Stack Overflow for Teams plan you're using? Find your plan.

NOTE: Stack Overflow for Teams Free does not offer SSO authentication.

Protect an application in Duo Security

Sign in to your Duo Security administration panel.
On the left-hand side of the screen, click Applications then Protect an Application.
Enter "generic SAML" in the search bar. Locate the "Generic SAML Service Provider" option and click Protect.

The main SAML configuration screen will appear. It includes the Entity ID and Single Sign-On URL fields you'll enter later into Stack Overflow for Teams.

Configure settings in Stack Overflow for Teams

In a separate browser tab or window, log into Stack Overflow for Teams as an admin. Click Admin settings in the left-hand menu, then Authentication. Select Single sign-on (SSO).

SAML 2.0 settings

On the SAML 2.0 settings page, enter the following information.

Single sign-on service URL Copy the Single Sign-On URL value from Duo Security and paste it here.
Issuer Copy the Entity ID value from Duo Security and paste it here.
Audience restriction Enter any value (we suggest StackOverflow). You'll enter this into Duo Security in a later step.

Configure settings in Duo Security

Service provider

Next, you'll configure settings in the Service Provider section in Duo Security.

Metadata Discovery Leave set to None.
Entity ID Copy the Stack Overflow for Teams Audience Restriction value you created earlier (for example: StackOverflow) and paste it here.
Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URL Copy the preset Assertion Consumer Service URL value from your Stack Overflow for Teams site and paste it here.

Leave the remaining fields from this section blank.

SAML response

In the SAML Response section of the page, set the following values.

NameID format Set this to the option that ends in :persistent (for example: urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistent).
NameID attribute Enter a user identifier that will never change (for example: login or uid). Email address is not a good choice for the user identifier, as email addresses can change.
Signature algorithm Select SHA256.
Signing options Select Sign response and Sign assertion.
Assertion encryption Leave this unselected.

SAML attributes

In SAML 2.0, attributes (also called "assertions") are the fields that carry user information. Stack Overflow for Teams requires one attribute for the user's email address and another for display name.

Use the green (+) button to add <Display Name> and <Email Address> attributes in the IdP Attribute column.
In the corresponding SAML Response Attribute fields, enter displayname and email.
To make the login process clearer to your users, assign a name to the application (for example: Stack Overflow). Users with Duo Push two-factor authentication will see the application name.
Click Save at the bottom of the page to complete the Duo Security configuration.

Finalize Stack Overflow for Teams setup

SAML attributes

In Stack Overflow for Teams, copy and paste the SAML response attributes from Duo into the corresponding Display name assertion and Email address assertion fields.

Certificate

From the Downloads section in Duo Security, click Download certificate. Your browser will download a .crt file.
Open the .crt with a text editor (such as Notepad).
Copy the entire text of the certificate, including "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----" and "-----END CERTIFICATE-----".
In Stack Overflow for Teams, click Add certificate and paste the copied text into the text box.
Click Validate certificate to check that the certificate is valid. You should see a green box with a success message.
Click Save Settings to save the SAML configuration.

When saving settings, Stack Overflow for Teams will first perform an authentication test. If the test succeeds, Stack Overflow for Teams will apply your new authentication settings. Logged-in users stay logged in, as all active user sessions remain valid.

If the test fails, Stack Overflow for Teams will not apply the authentication settings. You'll stay on the SAML settings page so you can troubleshoot and correct problems.

This test acts as a safety net to keep invalid authentication settings from locking users (yourself included) out of your site. If you do find your users locked out of your site, reach out to Stack Overflow product support for help.

You can also click Test currently saved SAML configuration to display technical details about your SAML authentication. You'll find these helpful for understanding what information your IdP and Stack Overflow for Teams exchange. This is also useful when troubleshooting.

Users should now be able to log in to your Stack Overflow for Teams site with their SSO credentials.

Need help? Submit an issue or question through our support portal.