Securing Kubernetes dashboard with Okta SAML integration

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To secure a Kubernetes dashboard with Okta SAML integration, you need to perform a series of actions such as configuring Okta as a SAML Identity Provider (IdP), creating necessary resources on the Kubernetes cluster to support SAML authentication, and setting up the Kubernetes dashboard to use SAML for authentication.

Below is a guide on how to use Pulumi to accomplish this, followed by a TypeScript program that demonstrates how you would define your infrastructure as code using the necessary Pulumi providers, such as `okta` to create the SAML application and likely `kubernetes` to configure the cluster resources.

### Explanation

First, you'll create an Okta application of type SAML to represent your Kubernetes dashboard in Okta's ecosystem. This entails setting up various SAML-related settings, such as SSO URL, Audience URI (SP Entity ID), and Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URLs.

Next, you'll use Pulumi's Kubernetes provider to define the necessary Kubernetes resources to protect your dashboard with authentication. This typically involves deploying an Identity Provider proxy service within the Kubernetes cluster, like Dex or Gangway that can work with external IdPs and configure the Kubernetes API server to trust this intermediary for user authentication.

Finally, you'll configure the Kubernetes dashboard to work with the Identity Provider by specifying the URL and using RBAC policies to control access based on SAML assertions.

### Pulumi TypeScript Program

Below is a basic Pulumi program that sets up an Okta SAML application. The Kubernetes part of the solution would need to be tailored to the specific setup and tools you've chosen for integrating with Okta SAML, which may be an in-cluster component like Dex.

Please note that because the configuration of a Kubernetes cluster and dashboard can vary greatly from one setup to another, the following provides only the Okta configuration part using Pulumi's Okta provider.

```typescript
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as okta from "@pulumi/okta";

// Initialize a new Pulumi project with okta as a required provider.
// This is a basic configuration, you will need to fill in the details specific to your environment.

const samlApp = new okta.app.Saml("k8sDashboardSamlApp", {
    label: "Kubernetes Dashboard",
    // The SSO URL, this will point to your SAML Identity Provider URL (such as Dex or any other service you're using in the cluster).
    ssoUrl: "https://your-saml-identity-provider/sso",
    // The issuer's URI for your SAML Identity Provider.
    spIssuer: "http://kubernetes-dashboard",
    // Assertion Consumer Service URL where the SAML assertions are sent. Typically the URL of your Kubernetes dashboard.
    acsEndpoints: [{
        binding: "HTTP-POST",
        type: "INSTANCE",
        url: "https://kubernetes-dashboard/acs",
    }],
    // Your Okta app settings and other configuration as needed.
});

// Output the Okta application's details
export const appId = samlApp.id;
export const appLabel = samlApp.label;
export const appSsoUrl = samlApp.ssoUrl;
```

This code creates a new Okta SAML application resource that represents your Kubernetes dashboard. You will need to replace placeholder URLs with the actual endpoints of your SAML Identity Provider and Kubernetes Dashboard. The `acsEndpoints` array specifies where SAML assertions will be posted, which should be the URL to your Kubernetes dashboard's ACS endpoint.

### Next Steps
After creating the Okta application, you would:

- Set up your Kubernetes cluster's authentication mechanism to work with SAML.
- Configure an in-cluster service to handle the SAML assertions and translate them into Kubernetes credentials.
- Adjust the Kubernetes API server and Dashboard deployments to require SAML-based authentication and potentially integrate with a proxy like Dex or Gangway.
- Define RBAC roles and role bindings in your Kubernetes cluster to assign permissions to different groups or users based on SAML assertions.

Each of these steps will involve additional Pulumi resources or manual configuration outside of Pulumi if necessary. Always ensure that you review and tailor your provider configurations to adhere to your security requirements.