Skip to main content

Integrate with Knocknoc

Support level: Community

What is Knocknoc?​

Knocknoc links your single sign-on experience to existing network access controls. It can dynamically orchestrate network access controls (e.g., managing firewall rules in real-time without exposing target machines) or function as an identity-aware gateway.

-- https://knocknoc.io/

Preparation​

The following placeholders are used in this guide:

  • knocknoc.company is the FQDN of the Knocknoc installation.
  • authentik.company is the FQDN of the authentik installation.
info

This documentation lists only the settings that you need to change from their default values. Be aware that any changes other than those explicitly mentioned in this guide could cause issues accessing your application.

authentik configuration​

To support the integration of Knocknoc with authentik, create three SAML property mappings and an application/provider pair in authentik.

Create property mappings in authentik​

  1. Log in to authentik as an administrator and open the authentik Admin interface.
  2. Navigate to Customization > Property Mappings and click Create. Create the following SAML Provider Property Mapping entries:

    • Real name mapping:

      • Name: SAML to Knocknoc realName

      • SAML Attribute Name: realName

      • Expression:

        return user.name

    • Groups mapping:

      • Name: SAML to Knocknoc groups

      • SAML Attribute Name: groups

      • Expression:

        for group in user.groups.all():
            yield group.name

    • Session duration mapping:

      • Name: SAML to Knocknoc session duration

      • SAML Attribute Name: sessionDuration

      • Expression:

        return 540
Group names

Knocknoc users are created automatically after SAML login, but their group membership must match an existing Knocknoc group or Knoc definition before they receive access. Ensure the group names sent by authentik match the group names configured in Knocknoc.

Create an application and provider in authentik​

  1. Log in to authentik as an administrator and open the authentik Admin interface.

  2. Navigate to Applications > Applications and click New Application to open the application wizard.

    • Application: provide a descriptive name, an optional group for the type of application, the policy engine mode, and optional UI settings.
    • Choose a Provider type: select SAML Provider as the provider type.
    • Configure Provider: provide a name (or accept the auto-provided name), the authorization flow to use for this provider, and the following required configurations.
      • Protocol settings:
        • ACS URL: https://knocknoc.company/api/saml/acs
        • Audience: https://knocknoc.company/api/saml/metadata
      • Advanced protocol settings:
        • Select any available Signing Certificate.
        • Add the three property mappings you created in the previous section to Selected User Property Mappings.
        • Set NameID Property Mapping to authentik default SAML Mapping: Username.
    • Configure Bindings (optional): you can create a binding (policy, group, or user) to manage the listing and access to applications on a user's Application Dashboard page.

  3. Click Submit to save the new application and provider.

Copy the metadata URL of the Knocknoc provider​

  1. Navigate to Applications > Providers and click the name of the Knocknoc provider (e.g. Provider for Knocknoc).
  2. In the Related objects section, under Metadata, click Copy download URL. This SAML metadata URL is required in the Knocknoc configuration.

Knocknoc configuration​

  1. Log in to the Knocknoc admin interface and navigate to Settings.
  2. Configure the following settings:
    • Public URL: https://knocknoc.company
    • Metadata URL: paste the metadata URL copied from authentik.
  3. Click Generate new keypair.
  4. Click Save.
Manual keypair generation

If you want to generate the Knocknoc keypair manually instead, run the following command on a Linux host and upload the generated certificate and key files in Knocknoc.

openssl req -new -x509 -days 3650 -nodes -subj /CN=Knocknoc/ -out <certificate_filename>.crt -keyout <certificate_key_filename>.key

Configuration verification​

To confirm that authentik is properly configured with Knocknoc, log out and open Knocknoc. Click SSO Login and authenticate with authentik.

Resources​