Pre authentication context

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Pre Authentication Context

    The pre authentication context establishes how and when a login policy is enforced before users see the login screen. It allows you to control access based on specific policies before users enter their credentials.

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    Key Features

    • Policy Execution: Policies are evaluated before user login, allowing or denying access based on defined criteria.
    • Static Fields: The name of the policy context is fixed and cannot be altered.
    • Default Policy Options:
      • Allow Policy: Denies access by default, only allowing access when specified conditions are met.
      • Deny Policy: Grants access by default, denying access only when certain conditions apply.
    • Filters: Only IP Filter, Trusted Mobile App Filter, and Location Filter criteria can be utilized within this context.

    Key Outcomes

    By configuring the pre authentication context, you can effectively manage user access to your instance based on location and device filters, ensuring that only authorized users can log in. It is crucial to validate all inputs to avoid blocking legitimate access, especially for administrators working outside trusted networks.

    The pre authentication policy context defines how and when a policy is enforced during the login process. The policy used in this context executes before your users see a login screen.

    Pre authentication context record

    Policies in the pre authentication context execute when a user first accesses the instance, before they see a login screen.

    You can use the pre authentication context to allow or deny access before your users are prompted for login credentials based on your selected policy. Because these policies evaluate before a user enters any information, those policies can’t take criteria such as a user's roles or groups into account.

    Use the fields in the Pre Authentication policy context record to define how your instance uses your policy.

    Table 1. Pre Authentication context form
    Field Description
    Name Name of the policy context. This field is static and cannot be changed.
    Description Description of the context
    Default Policy Defines the default behavior of this context when evaluating the policy. Select from the following options.
    Allow Policy
    Denies access to all users by default, and only allows access when the conditions the policy selected in the Allow Policy field evaluate to true.
    Deny Policy
    Allows access to all users by default, and only denies access when the conditions the policy selected in the Deny Policy field evaluate to true.
    Allow Policy The policy used for this context uses. This field appears only when the Default Policy field is set to Allow Policy.
    Deny Policy The policy used for this context uses. This field appears only when the Default Policy field is set to Deny Policy.
    Note:

    You can only use the IP Filter, Trusted Mobile App Filter, and Location Filter criteria in the Pre Authentication Policy Context.

    Policy inputs and conditions

    The Policy Input and Policy Conditions tabs display the inputs and conditions of the policy selected in the Allow Policy or Deny Policy field. These tabs serve as a reference, but can’t be used to change the policy inputs or conditions. To modify your policy, navigate to the policy using the reference icon (Reference icon) next to the Allow Policy or Deny Policy field.

    This example shows a pre authentication policy context record configured to deny access by default. The context uses a policy called Deny access policy. That policy has a set of inputs and conditions that are displayed in the Policy Input and Policy Condition tabs.
    Note:
    • Only IP-Based filters, Location based filters, or Trusted Mobile App filter can be used in the pre authentication policy context.
    • Whenever there's a pre authentication set with non absolute conditions or filter criteria, you're displayed with an error message stating that the policy or context can’t be configured. It's recommended to validate all the inputs for the pre authentication context before executing it to the instance.

      For example: If the administrator is outside the trusted network and configures pre authentication context with IP ranges, if the IP ranges are mismatched with the current session of the admin, the admin is blocked.

    Figure 1. Pre authentication policy context form
    Pre-authentication policy context record