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Duo Single Sign-On for Cisco Webex (with Control Hub)

Last Updated: October 11th, 2022

Add two-factor authentication and flexible security policies to Cisco Webex SAML 2.0 logins with Duo Single-Sign On. Our cloud-hosted SSO identity provider offers inline user enrollment, self-service device management, and support for a variety of authentication methods — such as passkeys and security keys, Duo Push, or Verified Duo Push — in the Universal Prompt.

If your administrator login URL is https://admin.webex.com/login continue below. If your administrator login URL for Cisco Webex is https://yourdomain.webex.com/admin, please see our generic service provider application.

These Webex clients support Trusted Endpoints:

  • Webex Meetings on Windows and macOS
  • Webex Teams 3.0.12427.0 and later on macOS with the Duo Certifier for macOS installed
  • Webex Teams 3.0.12427.0 and later on Windows

Overview

As business applications move from on-premises to cloud hosted solutions, users experience password fatigue due to disparate logons for different applications. Single sign-on (SSO) technologies seek to unify identities across systems and reduce the number of different credentials a user has to remember or input to gain access to resources.

While SSO is convenient for users, it presents new security challenges. If a user's primary password is compromised, attackers may be able to gain access to multiple resources. In addition, as sensitive information makes its way to cloud-hosted services it is even more important to secure access by implementing two-factor authentication and zero-trust policies.

About Duo Single Sign-On

Duo Single Sign-On is our cloud-hosted SSO product which layers Duo's strong authentication and flexible policy engine on top of Webex logins. Duo Single Sign-On acts as an identity provider (IdP), authenticating your users using existing on-premises Active Directory (AD) or another SSO IdP. Duo SSO prompts users for two-factor authentication and performs endpoint assessment and verification before permitting access to Webex.

Duo Single Sign-On is available in Duo Premier, Duo Advantage, and Duo Essentials plans, which also include the ability to define policies that enforce unique controls for each individual SSO application. For example, you can require that Salesforce users complete two-factor authentication at every login, but only once every seven days when accessing Webex. Duo checks the user, device, and network against an application's policy before allowing access to the application.

Configure Single Sign-On

Before configuring Webex with Duo SSO using Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 2.0 authentication you'll first need to enable Duo Single Sign-On for your Duo account and configure a working authentication source.

Once you have your SSO authentication source working, continue to the next step of creating the Webex application in Duo.

Download your Cisco Webex metadata file

  1. Log into Control Hub as an administrative user.

  2. Click on Settings in the left-hand navigation bar.

  3. Next to "Authentication" click Modify. A pop-up will appear with new options.

  4. On the "Single Sign-On" page select Integrate a 3rd-party identity provider. (Advanced) and click Next.

  5. On the "Export Directory Metadata" page click Download Metadata File. You'll need this file later.

  6. Leave this page open in a tab, you'll return to it later.

Create the Webex Application in Duo

  1. Log on to the Duo Admin Panel and navigate to Applications.

  2. Click Protect an Application and locate the entry for Cisco Webex (with Control Hub) with a protection type of "2FA with SSO hosted by Duo (Single Sign-On)" in the applications list. Click Protect to the far-right to start configuring Cisco Webex (with Control Hub). See Protecting Applications for more information about protecting applications in Duo and additional application options. You'll need the information on the Cisco Webex (with Control Hub) page under Metadata later.

  3. Upload the metadata file you downloaded earlier to the XML File section.

  4. Webex uses the Mail attribute when authenticating. We've mapped the <Email Address> bridge attribute to Duo Single Sign-On supported authentication source attributes as follows:

    Bridge Attribute Active Directory SAML IdP
    <Email Address> mail Email

    If you are using a non-standard email attribute for your authentication source, check the Custom attributes box and enter the name of the attribute you wish to use instead.

    Duo Webex Application Settings
  5. You can adjust additional settings for your new SAML application at this time — like changing the application's name from the default value, enabling self-service, or assigning a group policy.

  6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save button. Leave this page open as you'll need this information later.

  7. The XML File section should now display a green checkmark showing that it is configured. You can upload a new XML file in the future to override the existing one.

Duo Universal Prompt

The new Universal Prompt provides a simplified and accessible Duo login experience for web-based applications, offering a redesigned visual interface with security and usability enhancements.

Universal Prompt Traditional Prompt
 Duo Push in Universal Prompt  Duo Push in Traditional Prompt

We've already updated the Duo Cisco Webex application hosted in Duo's service to support the Universal Prompt, so there's no action required on your part to update the application itself. You can activate the Universal Prompt experience for users of new and existing Duo Cisco Webex applications from the Duo Admin Panel.

Before you activate the Universal Prompt for your application, it's a good idea to read the Universal Prompt Update Guide for more information about the update process and the new login experience for users.

Activate Universal Prompt

Activation of the Universal Prompt is a per-application change. Activating it for one application does not change the login experience for your other Duo applications.

The "Universal Prompt" area of the application details page shows that this application is "Ready to activate", with these activation control options:

  • Show traditional prompt: (Default) Your users experience Duo's traditional prompt via redirect when logging in to this application.
  • Show new Universal Prompt: Your users experience the Universal Prompt via redirect when logging in to this application.

Universal Prompt Info - Application Ready for Universal Prompt

Enable the Universal Prompt experience by selecting Show new Universal Prompt, and then scrolling to the bottom of the page to click Save.

Once you activate the Universal Prompt, the application's Universal Prompt status shows "Activation complete" here and on the Universal Prompt Update Progress report.

Universal Prompt Info - Universal Prompt Activation Complete

Should you ever want to roll back to the traditional prompt, you can return to this setting and change it back to Show traditional prompt. However, this will still deliver the Duo prompt via redirect, not in an iframe.

Universal Update Progress

Click the See Update Progress link to view the Universal Prompt Update Progress report. This report shows the update availability and migration progress for all your Duo applications. You can also activate the new prompt experience for multiple supported applications from the report page instead of visiting the individual details pages for each application.

Configure Webex SSO in Control Hub

  1. Return to Control Hub as an administrative user.

  2. Continuing from where you were earlier on the "Export Directory Metadata" page click Next.

  3. On "Import IdP Metadata" under "Signing of Metadata" select Allow self-signed certificate in Metadata.

  4. Click Download XML next to the "IdP Metadata file" button on the Webex application's page in the Duo Admin Panel under Downloads to download the Duo Single Sign-On XML file. On the Webex administrative page upload the XML metadata file you downloaded from Duo. Click Next.

  5. On the "Test SSO Setup" page click Test SSO Connection. A new page will open and you’ll be redirected to login with Duo Single Sign-On by completing primary authentication and Duo second-factor. Upon successful login you’ll be taken to a page that says "Single Sign-on succeeded." Close this window and return to the Control Hub page.

  6. As long as the authentication was successful select The test was successful. Enable Single Sign On. and click Next. If it was not successful, double-check instructions and settings. Do not continue until you get a successful test authentication.

  7. Once the settings successfully save you’ll return to the "Settings" page and SSO will be enabled for Webex.

    Webex Single Sign-On Setting Edit

Learn more about Webex SSO at Webex Help.

Verify SSO

You can log on by navigating to Webex Login. Type your e-mail address the text field and click Next. This redirects you to Duo Single Sign-On to begin authentication.

Active Directory Login

With Active Directory as the Duo SSO authentication source, enter the primary username (email address) on the Duo SSO login page and click or tap Next.

Duo Single Sign-On Login

Enter the AD primary password and click or tap Log in to continue.

Duo Single Sign-On Password

Enable Duo Passwordless to log in to Duo SSO backed by Active Directory authentication without entering a password in the future.

SAML Login

With another SAML identity provider as the Duo SSO authentication source, Duo SSO immediately redirects the login attempt to that SAML IdP for primary authentication. Users do not see the Duo SSO primary login screen.

Duo Authentication

Successful verification of your primary credentials by Active Directory or a SAML IdP redirects back to Duo. Complete Duo two-factor authentication when prompted and then you'll return to Webex to complete the login process.

Duo Universal Prompt

* Universal Prompt experience shown.

Users can also log in using their desktop and mobile app clients for Webex Meetings and Webex Teams.

You can also log into Webex using Duo Central, our cloud-hosted portal which allows users to access all of their applications in one spot. Link to Webex in Duo Central by adding it as an application tile. Once the tile has been added, log into Duo Central and click the tile for IdP-initiated authentication to Webex.

Congratulations! Your Webex users now authenticate using Duo Single Sign-On.

See the full user login experience, including expired password reset (available for Active Directory authentication sources) in the Duo End User Guide for SSO.

Enable Remembered Devices

To minimize additional Duo two-factor prompts when switching between Webex and your other Duo Single Sign-On SAML applications, be sure to apply a shared "Remembered Devices" policy to your SAML applications.

Troubleshooting

Need some help? Try searching our Knowledge Base articles or Community discussions. For further assistance, contact Support.