---
title: Overview of the SSO flow
description: The following figure illustrates an example user sign-on flow using the Azure AD Password Credential Validator:
component: azure
page_id: azure:azure_ad_password_credential_validator:pf_azuread_pcv_overview_of_the_sso_flow
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/integrations/azure/azure_ad_password_credential_validator/pf_azuread_pcv_overview_of_the_sso_flow.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/integrations/azure/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: September 18, 2025
section_ids:
  processing-steps: Processing Steps
---

# Overview of the SSO flow

The following figure illustrates an example user sign-on flow using the Azure AD Password Credential Validator:

![azure ad pcv sso flow overview](_images/azure_ad_pcv_sso_flow_overview.png)

## Processing Steps

1. The user initiates SSO.

2. Microsoft Graph validates the user's credentials. Upon successful authentication, user attributes and group memberships are retrieved from Microsoft Graph.

3. The PingFederate IdP server generates an assertion containing the user's attributes and passes it to the SP application through the browser.