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Pass-through Authentication

Pass-through Authentication is an Angelfish feature that lets you create a direct link to a Profile's reports, bypassing the login screen. When the link is clicked, a script handles authentication and the User is sent to the reports for a single Profile.

The primary use case for Pass-through Authentication is when the User has already authenticated to the Page that contains the direct report link.

Global Admins can enable Pass-through Authentication in the General tab in Configure - Global - Settings. Once enabled, the generated key must be used to generate the Auth Signature.

OVERVIEW

Enable Pass-through Authentication
Generate the Auth Signature
Send POST request

ENABLE PASS-THROUGH AUTHENTICATION

Navigate to the General tab in Configure - Global - Settings
Click the Generate button in the Pass-through Authentication field
A key will appear in the field: use this key to generate the Auth Signature

GENERATE THE AUTH SIGNATURE

Concatenate the profile ID and time the request is made:

PROFILE_ID + '-' + TIME

Create an MD5 HMAC hash (base64 encoded) of the concatenated string

Use the generated key to hash the string

SEND POST REQUEST

Send the POST to this URL: (use https if enabled):

http://SERVER:PORT/reports/#!/PROFILE_ID

SERVER: the hostname of the Angelfish Server
PORT: the TCP port of the Angelfish Server
PROFILE_ID: the ID of the Profile

Example:

http://10.11.12.13:9000/reports/#!/42

The POST also requires a few parameters:

p - the ID of the Profile to view
t - the timestamp of the request in GMT epoch seconds
sig - the Auth Signature

Once authenticated, a "ptsession" cookie is created, restricting the User's access to the specified profile ID.

RESTRICTIONS

The difference between the request timestamp and the server time cannot exceed 10 seconds
The Auth Signature is linked to the Profile ID: to view a different Profile, a new Auth Signature must be created

EXAMPLE SCRIPT (PHP)

<?php
// Pass-through KEY generated from Angelfish UI
$PASSTHROUGH_KEY = "3x4mP13k3Y";

// Location of Angelfish Server
$ANGELFISH = "http://10.1.1.15:9000";

// Capture Profile ID
$profile_id = $_GET["p"];

// Capture current epoch seconds
$time = time();

// Sign the data
$sig = base64_encode(hash_hmac("md5", $profile_id . "-" . $time, $PASSTHROUGH_KEY, true));
?>

// POST data

<form action="<?php echo $ANGELFISH; ?>/reports/#!/<?php echo $_GET["p"]; ?>/" method="post" name="frm" style="display:none;">
 <input type="hidden" name="p" value="<?php echo $_GET["p"]; ?>" />
 <input type="hidden" name="t" value="<?php echo $time; ?>" />
 <input type="hidden" name="sig" value="<?php echo $sig; ?>" />
</form>
<script type="text/javascript">
 document.frm.submit();
</script>

Creation date: 4/18/2022 10:49 PM Updated: 6/27/2023 9:33 PM