Release Notes
These release notes summarize the changes in current and previous PingCentral product updates.
PingCentral 1.14 (September 2023)
New features and improvements in PingCentral 1.14.
Disable environments when down for maintenance or offline
New PASS-6666/PASS-6683
PingCentral administrators can now disable referenced PingFederate environments for any reason, such as PingFederate being unavailable due to maintenance tasks. Additionally, we added a new environment status bar that indicates if an environment is offline. In such cases, application owners will receive a notification indicating that the environment is disabled or offline rather than encountering a UI error. For more information, see step 1 of the Updating environments tab in Managing environments.
Import SAML Connection to PingCentral from PingFederate with attributes mapped to data source
New PASS-6667
All attributes defined in a SAML SP connection are now integrated into the PingCentral application. This enhancement eliminates a limitation and is expected to enhance usability significantly. For more information, see step 3 in Using SAML 2.0 templates.
Additional synchronization capabilities
New PASS-6696
We added the ability to effortlessly initiate an application synchronization in PingCentral. Now, when you make external modifications to an application configuration, you can seamlessly update the application information within PingCentral. This removes the need to manually update application information and introduces a more streamlined and efficient process. For more information, see step 2 in Updating applications.
Other improvements
New
We also updated the following bundled components and third-party dependencies:
-
Apache Commons Text 1.10
H2 database migration when the installation path has any spaces
Fixed PASS-6591
We resolved an issue where H2 database migration fails during an upgrade if there are spaces in the installation path for the existing or new instance.
SSO inactivity sign off
Fixed PASS-6690
We fixed an issue where utilizing single sign-on (SSO) to access the PingCentral console incorrectly triggered a timeout based on an ID token’s lifetime.
Multi-APC connection synchronization
Issue PASS-6705
Previously, PingCentral was unable to handle a service provider (SP) connection with multiple Authentication Policy Contracts (APC) mapped within it. The PingCentral 1.14 release enables users to select from multiple mapped contracts when adding an application as a managed application or a template.
However, due to a known synchronization limitation, if you update an existing single APC SP connection already managed by PingCentral to include a second APC and subsequently synchronize the application, you won’t find an option to specify your preferred APC.
To simplify your workflow and mitigate potential challenges, we recommend refraining from using synchronization to modify multi-APC connections. Instead, consider creating a new SP connection that aligns with your desired APC configuration. This approach grants you control over APC selection, ensuring a smoother and more efficient process.
Configure APC mappings for OIDC applications in PingFederate
Issue PASS-3613 PingFederate
PingCentral promotes access token mappings and authentication policy contracts (APCs) with OIDC applications, but the APC mappings that link the APCs to the access token managers are not currently promoted with them. If the APC mappings do not already exist in the target PingFederate environments, applications do not function as expected.
When new APCs are promoted in PingCentral, access token mapping referencing the APC is created, but persistent grant mapping is not established, so the configurations are invalid.
To resolve these issues, configure the APC mappings within PingFederate.
Promoting applications with authentication challenge policies
Issue PASS-4948 PingAccess
Customized authentication challenge responses, which support single-page applications, are available in PingAccess 6.2 or later. Applications with this type of policy can be added to PingCentral but cannot be promoted to another environment unless the authentication challenge policy, with the same UUID, also exists in the target environment.
SP certificates and assertion encryption certificates must be different
Issue PASS-5663 PingAccess
When promoting SAML applications, PingFederate does not allow you to use the same certificate as both a service provider (SP) certificate and an assertion encryption certificate. Instead of preventing the promotion to continue, you receive a message similar to the following:
Environment'staging': {pingfed}. This certificate either has the same ID or the same content as the certificate with index 0.
To continue the promotion, ensure that the SP certificate and the assertion encryption certificate are different.
Update truststore path if PingCentral fails to start
Issue PASS-5977
After upgrading to 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, or 1.11, PingCentral fails to start if $\{pingcentral.home}
is used in the trust store path. To prevent this from happening, change the home path to be the absolute trust store path and delete the Certificates table in the database.
PingCentral 1.12 (June 2023)
New features and improvements in PingCentral 1.12.
Approval workflow
New PASS-6479
Previously, PingCentral did not allow an administrator to require approval for a non-administrator to promote an application to an environment. As of now, administrators can use Spring Expression Language (SpEL) based rules to trigger an approval requirement if an expression is or isn’t met. Administrators will find a bell icon indicating active approval requests, and developers are informed when their requests are approved. For more information, see Managing approvals (administrators).
Client secret management enhancements
Improved PASS-6500
Administrators can now enforce a strong client secret for applications by requiring that PingCentral generate the client secret. With this feature enabled, when developers promote an application, they won’t be able to create a client secret manually. This avoids the usage of weak client secrets. For more information, see Managing environments.
Multiple SLO Service URLs
New PASS-6609
When promoting SAML applications, developers can adjust and configure single logout (SLO) URLs. This adds flexibility and removes the need to manage multiple SAML applications only because different SLO URLs are required. For more information, see Promoting SAML applications.
SAML metadata export
Fixed PASS-5630
To set up a service provider (SP) connection, PingCentral now accepts SAML metadata files exported from other SP connections. These files are used to extract the following information: entity IDs, ACS URLs, SLO service URLs, certificates, and attributes.
Configure APC mappings for OIDC applications in PingFederate
Issue PASS-3613 PingFederate
PingCentral promotes access token mappings and authentication policy contracts (APCs) with OIDC applications, but the APC mappings that link the APCs to the access token managers are not currently promoted with them. If the APC mappings do not already exist in the target PingFederate environments, applications do not function as expected.
When new APCs are promoted in PingCentral, access token mapping referencing the APC is created, but persistent grant mapping is not established, so the configurations are invalid.
To resolve these issues, configure the APC mappings within PingFederate.
Promoting applications with authentication challenge policies
Issue PASS-4948 PingAccess
Customized authentication challenge responses, which support single-page applications, are available in PingAccess 6.2 or later. Applications with this type of policy can be added to PingCentral but cannot be promoted to another environment unless the authentication challenge policy, with the same UUID, also exists in the target environment.
SP certificates and assertion encryption certificates must be different
Issue PASS-5663 PingAccess
When promoting SAML applications, PingFederate does not allow you to use the same certificate as both a service provider (SP) certificate and an assertion encryption certificate. Instead of preventing the promotion to continue, you receive a message similar to the following:
Environment'staging': {pingfed}. This certificate either has the same ID or the same content as the certificate with index 0.
To continue the promotion, ensure that the SP certificate and the assertion encryption certificate are different.
Update truststore path if PingCentral fails to start
Issue PASS-5977
After upgrading to 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, or 1.11, PingCentral fails to start if $\{pingcentral.home}
is used in the trust store path. To prevent this from happening, change the home path to be the absolute trust store path and delete the Certificates table in the database.
PingCentral 1.11 (March 2023)
For the best possible experience, review these notes before using PingCentral 1.11.
Updated client secret generation to produce client secrets compatible with PingFederate
New
When creating a new client, PingCentral now generates OAuth client secrets compatible with PingFederate. For more information, see Promoting OAuth and OIDC applications.
Multiple ACS URLs
New
You can now configure multiple Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URLs during SAML application creation. This new feature simplifies application development since the same application can use different URLs simultaneously. For more information, see Using SAML 2.0 templates.
Set application name
New
When promoting an application between environments, you can now configure an application name for OAuth and OpenID Connect (OIDC) clients, SAML connections, and PingAccess applications. For more information, see Promoting applications.
Deleting an application in PingCentral also deletes it in other environments
Improved
You can now choose to delete applications from PingFederate or PingAccess in addition to PingCentral. This feature is flexible because you can select which environments to delete the application from. For more information, see Managing applications.
Configure OAuth credentials for use instead of username and password to connect to PingFederate or PingAccess
Improved
Instead of using administrator credentials for basic authentication, you can now configure PingCentral to use OAuth client credentials to connect to PingFederate or PingAccess. PingCentral will request an access_token
to use whenever it connects to PingFederate or PingAccess. For more information, see Configuring PingFederate and PingAccess for SSO.
Upgraded from v1 H2 database to v2
Security
Along with other dependencies (libraries), we’ve upgraded the H2 database from v1 to v2. For more information, see Upgrading PingCentral.
Configure APC mappings for OIDC applications in PingFederate
Issue PASS-3613 PingFederate
PingCentral promotes access token mappings and authentication policy contracts (APCs) with OIDC applications, but the APC mappings that link the APCs to the access token managers are not currently promoted with them. If the APC mappings do not already exist in the target PingFederate environments, applications do not function as expected.
When new APCs are promoted in PingCentral, access token mapping referencing the APC is created, but persistent grant mapping is not established, so the configurations are invalid.
To resolve these issues, configure the APC mappings within PingFederate.
Promoting applications with authentication challenge policies
Issue PASS-4948 PingAccess
Customized authentication challenge responses, which support single-page applications, are available in PingAccess 6.2 or later. Applications with this type of policy can be added to PingCentral but cannot be promoted to another environment unless the authentication challenge policy, with the same UUID, also exists in the target environment.
SP certificates and assertion encryption certificates must be different
Issue PASS-5663 PingAccess
When promoting SAML applications, PingFederate does not allow you to use the same certificate as both a service provider (SP) certificate and an assertion encryption certificate. Instead of preventing the promotion to continue, you receive a message similar to the following:
Environment’staging': PingFederate. This certificate either has the same ID or the same content as the certificate with index 0.
To continue the promotion, ensure that the SP certificate and the assertion encryption certificate are different.
Update truststore path if PingCentral fails to start
Issue PASS-5977
After upgrading to 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, or 1.11, PingCentral fails to start if $\{pingcentral.home}
is used in the trust store path. To prevent this from happening, change the home path to be the absolute trust store path and delete the Certificates table in the database.
PingCentral 1.10 (June 2022)
For the best possible experience, review these notes before using PingCentral 1.10.
Update OAuth and OIDC template grant types, scopes, and policy contracts and revert to previous versions
New PASS-2017
If you are an administrator, you can now update the grant types, scopes, and policy contracts in OAuth and OpenID Connect (OIDC) templates to further customize them to meet your needs.The history of these templates is also available to review and compare with previous versions. You can see which administrator modified the template configuration or policy contract, when it was modified, and details regarding these modifications. You can also revert templates to previous versions, if necessary. See OAuth and OIDC templates for details.
Update applications with the latest template version available
New PASS-6007
If an application is based on an outdated template, an Outdated Template icon now displays next to its name in the applications list. Edit the template and click the Update Template button. See Updating applications for details.
Use SSO to access PingFederate and PingAccess from PingCentral
New PASS-5202 and PASS-6018
You can now use SSO to access PingFederate and PingAccess from PingCentral. For details, see Configuring PingFederate and PingAccess for SSO.
Account lockout mechanisms added to mitigate password guessing
Improved PASS-6388
Account lockout mechanisms that prevent users from accessing the application or API after a specified number of failed sign-on attempts were added to this release. Specify the number of failed attempts that are allowed before users are locked out and the lockout period in the application.yaml
file.
Cannot update or revert templates created in version 1.2 or earlier
Issue PASS-6466
Templates created in version 1.2 or earlier do not store the environment ID, so you cannot update their grant types, scopes, or policy contracts, nor can you revert them to previous versions.
Resolved a potential security vulnerability
Security PASS-6387 and PASS-6378
Resolved a potential security vulnerability that is described in security bulletin SECBL022 (requires sign-on).
Configure APC mappings for OIDC applications in PingFederate
Issue PASS-3613 PingFederate
PingCentralpromotes access token mappings and authentication policy contracts (APCs) with OIDC applications, but the APC mappings that link the APCs to the access token managers are not currently promoted with them. If the APC mappings do not already exist in the target PingFederate environments, applications do not function as expected.When new APCs are promoted in PingCentral, access token mapping referencing the APC is created, but persistent grant mapping is not established, so the configurations are invalid.To resolve these issues, configure the APC mappings within PingFederate.
SP certificates and assertion encryption certificates must be different
Issue PASS-5663 PingFederate
When promoting SAML applications, PingFederate does not allow you to use the same certificate as both a service provider (SP) certificate and an assertion encryption certificate. Instead of preventing the promotion to continue, you receive a message similar to the following:Environment’staging': PingFederate. This certificate either has the same ID or the same content as the certificate with index 0.
To continue the promotion, ensure that the SP certificate and the assertion encryption certificate are different.
Promoting applications with authentication challenge policies
Issue PASS-4948 PingAccess
Customized authentication challenge responses, which support single-page applications, are available in PingAccess 6.2 or later. Applications with this type of policy can be added to PingCentral, but cannot be promoted to another environment unless the authentication challenge policy, with the same UUID, also exists in the target environment.
Update truststore path if PingCentral fails to start
Issue PASS-5977
After upgrading to 1.8, 1.9, or 1.10, PingCentral fails to start if $\{pingcentral.home}
is used in the trust store path. To prevent this from happening, change the home path to be the absolute trust store path and delete the Certificates table in the database.
Adding SAML applications through the API
Issue PASS-5009
If you attempt to add a SAML application to PingCentral from an existing application through the API, and the connection JSON contains identity attribute names and placeholders, you receive an error message advising you to nullify the Names field. However, even if you nullify this field, you still receive an error message because the JSON contains placeholders. Remove these placeholders before you proceed.
Managing environments through the API
Issue PASS-5001 and PASS-5002
When creating, updating, or validating an environment through the API, you receive a server error message if the environment Name or Password fields are null or missing. API requests cannot be processed without this information, so ensure that these fields contain valid values.You will also receive a misleading error message if the PingAccess Password field is null. Rather than informing you that the information in this field is invalid, it informs you that you cannot connect to the PingFederateadministrative console, which is misleading.Requests to connect PingAccess to a PingCentral environment cannot be processed without this information, so ensure that this field contains a valid value.