Okta Auth Method

The okta auth method allows authentication using Okta and user/password credentials. This allows Vault to be integrated into environments using Okta.

The mapping of groups in Okta to Vault policies is managed by using the users and groups APIs.

Authentication

Via the CLI

The default path is /okta. If this auth method was enabled at a different path, specify -path=/my-path in the CLI.

$ vault login -method=okta username=my-username

Via the API

The default endpoint is auth/okta/login. If this auth method was enabled at a different path, use that value instead of okta.

$ curl \
    --request POST \
    --data '{"password": "MY_PASSWORD"}' \
    http://127.0.0.1:8200/v1/auth/okta/login/my-username

The response will contain a token at auth.client_token:

{
  "auth": {
    "client_token": "abcd1234-7890...",
    "policies": ["admins"],
    "metadata": {
      "username": "mitchellh"
    }
  }
}

MFA

Okta Verify Push and TOTP MFA methods are supported during login. For TOTP, the current passcode may be provided via the totp parameter:

$ vault login -method=okta username=my-username totp=123456

If totp is not set and MFA Push is configured in Okta, a Push will be sent during login.

The auth method uses the Okta Authentication API. It does not manage Okta sessions for authenticated users. This means that if MFA Push is configured, it will be required during both login and token renewal.

Note that this MFA support is integrated with Okta Auth and is limited strictly to login operations. It is not related to Enterprise MFA.

Configuration

Auth methods must be configured in advance before users or machines can authenticate. These steps are usually completed by an operator or configuration management tool.

Via the CLI

1. Enable the Okta auth method:

$ vault auth enable okta

1. Configure Vault to communicate with your Okta account:

$ vault write auth/okta/config \
   base_url="okta.com" \
   org_name="dev-123456" \
   api_token="00abcxyz..."

For the complete list of configuration options, please see the API documentation.

1. Map an Okta group to a Vault policy:

$ vault write auth/okta/groups/scientists policies=nuclear-reactor

In this example, anyone who successfully authenticates via Okta who is a member of the "scientists" group will receive a Vault token with the "nuclear-reactor" policy attached.

1. It is also possible to add users directly:

$ vault write auth/okta/groups/engineers policies=autopilot
$ vault write auth/okta/users/tesla groups=engineers

This adds the Okta user "tesla" to the "engineers" group, which maps to the "autopilot" Vault policy.

API

The Okta auth method has a full HTTP API. Please see the Okta Auth API for more details.