ProtocolSoup

Metadata Exchange

SAML 2.0 Metadata enables automated trust establishment between Identity Providers and Service Providers (SAML Metadata §2). Each party publishes an XML EntityDescriptor document describing their endpoints, supported bindings, certificates, and capabilities. This eliminates manual configuration and enables dynamic federation.

XML-Based

Sequence Diagram

Click any step for details

SPIdP1SP Publishes Metadata2IdP Publishes Metadata3Metadata Exchange4SP Processes IdP Metadata5IdP Processes SP Metadata6Trust Established
Request
Response
Redirect
Internal

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1
SP Publishes Metadata
Service Provider → Service Provider
2
IdP Publishes Metadata
Identity Provider → Identity Provider
3
Metadata Exchange
Service Provider → Identity Provider
4
SP Processes IdP Metadata
Service Provider → Service Provider
5
IdP Processes SP Metadata
Identity Provider → Identity Provider
6
Trust Established
Service Provider → Identity Provider

Token Inspector

Specs for this flow

Sections of the protocol that normatively define this flow, plus the security considerations that apply to it.

Core specs

· The specifications that define this protocol.

Security & privacy

· Dedicated security and privacy considerations.
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