Custom Identity Provider

Template for pushing IdP domain, user, and group metadata

Use this template to model authorization metadata for custom identity providers using the Open Authorization API.

This document includes an example template and notes for designing and publishing a model of your IdP.

• domain

• users

• groups

• apps

• identity_mapping_configuration

A custom property definition can define additional properties, used to add supplemental metadata to entities in the payload.

Veza will handle federated identities just as those in supported IdPs such as Okta or Entra ID, enabling search and access review for OAA entities alongside the rest of your data catalog.

Sample Template and Features

The metadata payload describes the Identity Provider domain, users, and groups to add to the Veza authorization graph:

Simple Custom Identity Provider

{
  "name": "My IdP",
  "idp_type": "custom_idp",
  "domains": [
    {
      "name": "example.com",
      "tags": [],
    }
  ],
  "users": [
    {
      "name": "m_richardson",
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "identity": "m_richardson",
      "full_name": "Michelle Richardson",
      "department": null,
      "is_active": true,
      "is_guest": false,
      "groups": [
        {
          "identity": "everyone"
        },
        {
          "identity": "developers"
        }
      ],
      "assumed_role_arns": [
        {
          "identity": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/role001"
        },
        {
          "identity": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/role002"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [],
    },
    {
      "name": "evargas",
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "identity": "evargas",
      "full_name": "Elizabeth Vargas",
      "department": null,
      "is_active": true,
      "is_guest": false,
      "groups": [
        {
          "identity": "everyone"
        },
        {
          "identity": "developers"
        },
        {
          "identity": "sec-ops"
        }
      ],
      "assumed_role_arns": [],
      "tags": [],
    },
    {
      "name": "willis",
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "identity": "c_williams",
      "full_name": null,
      "department": null,
      "is_active": true,
      "is_guest": false,
      "groups": [
        {
          "identity": "everyone"
        }
      ],
      "assumed_role_arns": [],
      "tags": []
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "name": "developers",
      "identity": "developers",
      "full_name": null,
      "is_security_group": null,
      "tags": []
    },
    {
      "name": "sec-ops",
      "identity": "sec-ops",
      "full_name": null,
      "is_security_group": null,
      "tags": []
    },
    {
      "name": "everyone",
      "identity": "everyone",
      "full_name": "All Company Employees",
      "is_security_group": null,
      "tags": []
    }
  ],
  "identity_mapping_configuration": {
    "mappings": [
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "GITHUB_USERS",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "UNIQUE_ID"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "SQL_SERVER",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "EMAIL"
          }
        ],
        "transformations": [
          "IGNORE_DOMAIN"
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Modeling Assumable Amazon Web Services Roles

For cases where federated IdP entities are granted AWS permissions via IAM roles, the template supports defining assumable roles per-user. Binding a custom IdP user or group to an AWS role or group ARN enables Veza to parse and display the resource-level actions permitted within AWS.

{
      "name": "Custom User",
      "assumed_role_arns": {
        "identity": [
          "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"
          ]
        },
    }

Custom IdP users and groups can be assigned permissions in other OAA applications by setting the principal type to idp in identity_to_permissions in the custom application payload.

Source Identity Assignments

For use cases where a custom IdP is federated with another identity provider user identities can be linked between the two. Authorizations granted to the user will also be granted the source identity. The link is created by providing the unique identity ID and provider type as part of the user entry.

{
  "name": "Custom User",
  "identity": "00001",
  "source_identity": {
    "identity": "[e-mail]",
    "provider_type": "okta"
  }
}

For provider_type the following values are accepted:

Provider	provider_type string
Active Directory	active_directory
Any	any
AzureAD	azure_ad
OAA	custom
Google Workspace	google_workspace
Okta	okta
One Login	one_login

Resource Manager Assignments

New in Veza release 2022.2.1

To assign an IdP user or group as the manager of any resource Veza has discovered, list the node type and node id in the entities_owned field, for example:

{
  "name": "Custom User",
  "identity": "000011",
  "entities_owned": [
    {
      "node_type": "S3Bucket",
      "id": "arn:aws:s3:::amazon-connect-53f87966654d"
    }
  ]
}

When parsing the payload, resources in the data catalog will be updated with a SYSTEM_resource_managers tag to enable entitlement reviews. The owner(s) will be suggested as reviewers for Veza Workflows that target an individual named resource with the correct tag.

Manager Assignments

Users and groups can be mapped to the identity of another user they report to. When configured, the manager will be suggested as a review for Workflow certifications where the assigned reporter is the single query target "named entity."

{
  "name": "Custom User",
  "identity": "000013",
  "manager_id": "000011"
}

Custom Properties and Tags

Custom Properties are the recommended method for adding additional metadata to custom identities and resources.

Additionally, Veza tags can be applied to the IdP domain, users, and groups:

"tags": [
  {
    "key": "Tag1key",
    "value": "optional_Tag1Val"
  }
]

Use incremental updates to remove tags: Resubmitting a payload with different tags will apply any new tags, but not remove existing ones. To remove a tag already applied to an entity, you will need to use the incremental update remove_tag operation.

Incremental Updates

After the initial metadata push (which must contain the full payload), you can modify, add, or remove the domain, users, and groups without resubmitting other entities. An incremental update is enabled by setting "incremental_change": true in the json_data push payload, and specifying the update operation for each entity to change.

Custom Identity Provider definition

The identity provider object models one instance of the custom IdP:

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Name to associate with the provider in Veza.
custom_property_definition	Custom Property Definition	Defines the key and types for properties that can be applied to other objects in the push payload
idp_type	string	Type descriptor for IdP, can be unique or share across multiple IdP (for example ldap, IPA)
idp_description	string	Any notes to add as entity details (optional)
domains	IdP Domain	Domain model
users	IdP Users	Dictionary of CustomIdPUser class instances
groups	IdP Group	Dictionary of CustomIdPGroup class instances
incremental_change	boolean	When true, enables incremental update operations (optional).
identity_mapping_configuration	Identity Mapping Configuration	Configuration for mapping identities between IdP User and other User types from external data sources

IdP Domain

One domain is supported for each custom IdP. Users and groups are mapped to the IdP domain, and connected in Veza Search:

Field	Type	Description
name	string	IdP Domain name
custom_properties	Custom Properties	Each element of the push payload can have property_values, validated against the custom_property_definition.
dynamic_properties	Dynamic Properties	Up to 5 attributes to apply to the domain (deprecated, use custom properties instead)
tags	Veza Tags list	Any tags to create and apply to the domain.
operation	enum	For incremental updates, the operation to use.

IdP Users

Each IdP user object contains the display name, login email, and identity, along with other identity-related properties:

{
      "name": "willis",
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "identity": "000001",
      "full_name": "Charles Willis",
      "department": "Sales",
      "is_active": true,
      "is_guest": false,
      "groups": [
        {
          "identity": "everyone"
        }
      ],
      "assumed_role_arns": {
        "identity": [
          "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"
          ]
      },
      "source_identity": {
        "identity": "[e-mail]",
        "provider_type": "okta"
      },
      "tags": [],
      "custom_properties": {},
      "manager_id": "string",
      "entities_owned": {
        "node_type": "S3Bucket",
        "id": "arn:aws:s3:::amazon-connect-53f87966654d"
        }
    }

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Primary ID for user
email	string	Optional email for user
identity	string	Optional unique identifier for user
groups	string list	Assign groups memberships by group identity (optional)
full_name	string	Full name to display in Veza
department	string list	Any departments to apply as a searchable property (optional).
is_active	boolean	If available, will be applied to the entity as a searchable property (optional).
is_guest	boolean	If available, will be applied to the entity as a searchable property (optional).
assumed_role_arns	array	AWS IAM roles that can be assumed by the IdP user, in the format {"identity": ["arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"]} (optional).
tags	Veza Tags list	Any tags to create and apply to the user.
dynamic_properties	Dynamic Properties	Up to 5 attributes to apply to the user (deprecated, use custom properties instead)
custom_properties	Custom Properties	Each element of the push payload can have property_values, validated against the custom_property_definition.
manager_id	string	If the same as another user's identity, that user will be recommended for governance reviews. Entity details for the user will be updated on push to include the manager as a searchable property.
entities_owned	Entities Owned array	If another resource is specified by entity type and entity id, a Veza tag will be created on the resource to indicate the owner.
operation	enum	For incremental updates, the operation to use (optional).
source_identity	Source Identity	Optionally link IdP user to user from another IdP for federation use cases.

IdP Groups

Add a group by name in the groups section of the template to enable mapping IdP users to those groups:

"groups": [
  {
    "name": "developers",
    "identity": "developers",
    "full_name": null,
    "is_security_group": null,
    "assumed_role_arns": {
      "identity": ["arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"]
    },
    "tags": [],
    "groups": [
      { "group_1_identity": "parent" },
      { "group_2_identity": "parent" }
    ],
    "custom_properties": {}
  }
]

Field	Type	Description
name	string	IdP group name.
identity	string	Unique ID used for user-group assignments.
full_name	string	Optional display name for group
groups	string list	other custom IdP groups this group is a member of
is_security_group	boolean	Sets the is security group searchable property for the entity in Veza (optional).
tags	Veza Tags list	Any tags to create and apply to the group.
custom_properties	Custom Properties	Each element of the push payload can have property_values, validated against the custom_property_definition.
dynamic_properties	Dynamic Properties	Up to 5 attributes to apply to the domain. (deprecated, use custom properties instead)
operation	enum	For incremental updates, the operation to use (optional).
assumed_role_arns	array	AWS IAM roles the group can assume, in the format {"identity": ["arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"]} (optional).

IdP entities can be granted permissions on custom applications in the identity_to_permissions section of the custom app metadata payload.

IdP Apps

Use the apps section to define any applications used to manage access within the identity provider. Apps can be associated with users and groups to model application assignments across your organization.

  "apps": [
    {
      "id": "app1",
      "name": "Application 1",
      "description": "This is a sample application",
      "assumed_role_arns": [
        {
          "identity": "arn:aws:iam::1234567890:role/DevAppRole"
        }
      ],
      "custom_properties": {
        "owner_org": "engineering"
      },
      "tags": []
    }
  ]

Field	Type	Description
id	string	App unique identifier.
name	string	IdP app name.
description	string	Description for the App (optional).
assumed_role_arns	array	AWS IAM roles the app can assume, in the format {"identity": ["arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access"]} (optional).
custom_properties	Custom Properties	Each element of the payload can have property_values, validated against the custom_property_definition.
tags	Veza Tags list	Any tags to create and apply to the group.
operation	enum	For incremental updates, the operation to use (optional).

Users and Groups can be assigned to an application by setting the app_assignments in the user or group.

    {
      "name": "willis",
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "identity": "cwilliams",
      "groups": [
        {
          "identity": "everyone"
        }
      ],
      "custom_properties": {
        "region": "NorthAmerica",
        "is_contractor": true
      },
      "app_assignments": [
        {
          "id": "assignment1",
          "name": "Assignment",
          "app_id": "app1",
          "custom_properties": {
            "assigned_on": "2024-12-05T12:42:25+00:00"
          }
        }
      ]
    }

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Assignment unique identifier.
name	string	Display name for the assignment.
app_id	string	Unique ID of the App to assign the identity to.
custom_properties	Custom Properties	Each element of the payload can have property_values, validated against the custom_property_definition.

Creating and Updating a Custom Identity Provider

The steps to add a custom IdP are the same as for any other OAA provider: you will need to register the new provider and data source, and then push the domain, user, and group descriptions in a JSON payload.

Register a custom identity provider

To create a new custom provider using the identity_provider template, POST the name and template type to /providers/custom:

curl -X POST 'https://<veza_url>/api/v1/providers/custom' \
-H 'authorization: Bearer '<access_token> \
--data-binary '{"name":"SimpleIdP","custom_template":"identity_provider"}'

The response will return the custom IdP ID, which you will need when pushing the metadata payload:

{
  "value": {
    "id": "532f6fe3-189f-4576-afdf-8913088961e4",
    "name": "Simple IdP",
    "custom_template": "identity_provider",
    "state": "ENABLED",
    "application_types": [],
    "resource_types": [],
    "idp_types": []
  }
}

Push a data source for the custom identity provider

curl -X POST 'https://<veza_url>/api/v1/providers/custom/532f6fe3-189f-4576-afdf-8913088961e4/datasources' \
-H 'authorization: Bearer '<access_token> \
--data-binary '{"id":"532f6fe3-189f-4576-afdf-8913088961e4", "name":"SimpleDataSource"}'

Note that the provider id is required in both the path and body of the request. The response will include the new data source ID.

{"value":{"id":"b6a32af6-b854-47e1-8325-e5984f78bb4d","name":"SimpleDataSource"}}

Push metadata for the data source

curl -X POST 'https://<veza_url>/api/v1/providers/custom/532f6fe3-189f-4576-afdf-8913088961e4/datasources/b6a32af6-b854-47e1-8325-e5984f78bb4d:push' \
-H 'authorization: Bearer '<access_token> \
--compressed --data-binary @payload.json

The payload file must contain the provider and data source ID, and the authorization metadata as a single string, for example:

payload.json

{
  "id": "532f6fe3-189f-4576-afdf-8913088961e4",
  "data_source_id": "b6a32af6-b854-47e1-8325-e5984f78bb4d",
  "json_data": "{\n\"name\":\"CustomIdentityProvider\",\n\"idp_type\": ... "
}

Identity Mapping Configuration

The identity_mapping_configuration parameter defines rules for connecting users in a custom IdP to users from other data sources in the Veza graph.

This is useful when:

• The connected data source does not natively support returning information about external identities

• A correlation between IdP identities and local users can be assumed based on values like username, email, or another property value.

The identity_mapping_configuration is a top-level property of the Custom IDP submission, and is optional. The mapping configuration can include multiple mappings to connect IDP users to users from different data source types, each based on its own mappings.

{
  "identity_mapping_configuration": {
    "mappings": [
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "OKTA",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "EMAIL"
          }
        ],
        "transformations": [
          "IGNORE_SPECIAL"
        ]
      },
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "AZURE_AD",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "EMAIL"
          }
        ],
        "transformations": [
          "IGNORE_DOMAIN"
        ]
      },
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "GITHUB_USERS",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "UNIQUE_ID"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Incremental Identity Mapping Updates

You can update just the identity mappings without resubmitting the entire provider payload by using an incremental update. This is useful when you need to modify only the mapping configuration while leaving other provider data unchanged.

Example: Incremental Identity Mapping Update

Set "incremental_change": true and use "operation": "modify" in the identity_mapping_configuration to update mapping rules without affecting other aspects of the provider.

{
  "incremental_change": true,
  "identity_mapping_configuration": {
    "operation": "modify",
    "mappings": [
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "GITHUB_USERS",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "UNIQUE_ID"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "destination_datasource_type": "SQL_SERVER",
        "property_matchers": [
          {
            "source_property": "EMAIL",
            "destination_property": "EMAIL"
          }
        ],
        "transformations": [
          "IGNORE_DOMAIN"
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Example curl command to apply the incremental identity mapping update:

curl --location 'https://<veza_url>/api/v1/providers/custom/816d6e51-6d6a-4279-ba41-2e7c732be880/datasources/716026b5-4b84-4b2f-a805-b41a6ec69cf3:push' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>' \
--data '{
    "id": "816d6e51-6d6a-4279-ba41-2e7c732be880",
    "data_source_id": "716026b5-4b84-4b2f-a805-b41a6ec69cf3",
    "json_data": "{\"incremental_change\":true,\"identity_mapping_configuration\":{\"operation\":\"modify\",\"mappings\":[{\"destination_datasource_type\":\"GITHUB_USERS\",\"property_matchers\":[{\"source_property\":\"EMAIL\",\"destination_property\":\"UNIQUE_ID\"}]},{\"destination_datasource_type\":\"SQL_SERVER\",\"property_matchers\":[{\"source_property\":\"EMAIL\",\"destination_property\":\"EMAIL\"}],\"transformations\":[\"IGNORE_DOMAIN\"]}]}}"
}'

Identity Mapping Configuration

Field	Type	Description
mappings	IdentityMappingSubmission	List of mappings to create between IDP Users and external data sources
operation	enum	For incremental updates, the operation to use.

Identity Mapping Submission

Field	Type	Description
destination_datasource_type	string	Veza Type for the destination data source, GITHUB_USERS, SQL_SERVER, CUSTOM_APPLICATION
destination_datasource_oaa_app_type	string	Optional specifically for mapping to OAA Custom Application to provide a specific App Type
property_matchers	IdentityMappingPropertyMatchersSubmission	List of properties to match on
transformations	list enum	Optional transformations to perform on the property values, available values: ignore_special, ignore_domain

Supported transformations:

• IGNORE_SPECIAL: Ignore special characters (_, -, .) when matching identities

• IGNORE_DOMAIN: Match identities after removing domain portions (e.g., "@example.com")

IdentityMappingPropertyMatchersSubmission

Field	Type	Description
source_property	enum	IDP User property to match on, unique_id, email, property or custom_property
destination_property	enum	Destination User property to match on, unique_id, email, property or custom_property
custom_source_property	string	When using property or custom_propert the property name to match on
custom_destination_property	string	When using property or custom_propert the property name to match on