Release Notes
These release notes summarize the changes in current and previous PingCentral product updates. Updated June 17, 2024.
PingCentral 2.0.2 (April 2024)
Upgrade processes now work as expected
Fixed PASS-6905
Previously, if PingCentral had at least one SP connection or one PingAccess template, upgrades from version 1.14 to 2.0 would fail. This issue has been resolved and upgrades now work as expected.
Expressions can now be added or updated in SAML applications
Fixed PASS-6906
Previously, if applications were created from SAML templates that contained at least 1 OGNL expression, the expressions could not be updated, nor could new expressions be added for attribute mapping. This issue has been resolved and expressions can now be added and updated as needed.
PingCentral 2.0.1 (January 2024)
Approval window now displays most recently promoted version
Fixed PASS-6865
Previously, when administrators reviewed application promotion requests and compared the submitted JSON to the most recently promoted version, the original version was displayed instead of the most recently promoted version. This issue has been resolved and the most recently promoted version now displays in the approval window.
Updated JSON for OIDC applications now displays in PingFederate after promotion
Fixed PASS-6900
Previously, if application owners updated the underlying application JSON in their OIDC applications, and administrator approval was required to promote them, the updated JSON was not reflected in PingFederate. This issue has been resolved and the updated JSON now displays in PingFederate as expected.
Application synchronization now works as expected for OIDC applications
Fixed PASS-6901
Previously, when OIDC applications were synchronized to the most up-to-date configurations available, they were saved as OAuth applications. This issue has been resolved and the synchronization process now works as expected.
PingCentral 2.0 (December 2023)
New features and improvements in PingCentral 2.0.
Template synchronization now available for SAML and PingAccess applications
New PASS-6730
Administrators can now synchronize OAuth, OIDC, SAML, and PingAccess templates to ensure that their templates are based on the most up-to-date configurations available. Applications based on out-of-date templates have Outdated Template icons displayed next to them, which inform application owners that newer versions of the templates are available.
Administrators can also now revert SAML SP connections and PingAccess application templates to previous versions. See the Reverting templates to previous versions tab on the SAML 2.0 and PingAccess templates page for details.
Note that when you upgrade to PingCentral 2.0, SAML and PingAccess application templates will have base revisions created for them. OAuth and OIDC templates created prior to version 2.0 cannot be synced with the most recent configurations available. Recreate the template in version 2.0 to use the sync feature going forward.
Application owners can now edit application JSON themselves
New PASS-6670
To accommodate a wide variety of promotion needs, application owners can now edit the application JSON for their applications when they promote them.
Note that providing application owners with this ability can be risky, so it’s highly recommended that approvals are enabled for the environment. Administrators can review the submitted application JSON and compare it to the original application JSON before approving the promotion request.
Also note that:
-
This functionality is not yet available for PingAccess applications.
-
Applications cannot be reverted to a promotion that uses JSON editing.
-
Be aware that the JSON review window compares against the original application JSON and not the most recently promoted JSON.
Prevent application owners from deleting applications
New PASS-6731
To prevent application owners from accidentally deleting applications from PingFederate (and PingAccess, when applicable) environments, you can enable a new option that allows only administrators to delete applications from the environment.
Hide inactive promotion approvals
Improved PASS-6733
To help manage promotion approvals, both administrators and application owners can now hide promotion approvals that are in a canceled, promoted, or rejected status that display on the Promotion Approvals page when the Visible filter is used, which is enabled by default.
Approval expressions drag and drop enhancement
Improved PASS-6732
Administrators can add multiple approval expressions for an environment, which are evaluated sequentially from top to bottom in an IF/ELSE chain. Now, administrators can change the order in which these expressions display in the list by dragging and dropping them into different locations within the list instead of copying and pasting them between fields.
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 1.14 (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:
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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.