Skip to Content
Version 8.8 by Agnease on 2026/05/25 12:50
Hide last authors
Agnease 1.2 1 {{velocity}}
2 #set ($discard = $xwiki.ssx.use('PublicWebSite.WebHome'))
3 {{html clean="false"}}
4 ## PAGE HEADER
5 <section class="hero hero-centered service-hero" aria-labelledby="hero-title">
6 <div class="container hero-inner">
7 <div class="hero-kicker">
8 <i class="fa fa-lock" aria-hidden="true"></i>
9 XWiki authentication and access control
10 </div>
11
12 <h1 id="hero-title">Secure XWiki access, authentication and permissions</h1>
13
14 <p class="lead">
Agnease 8.3 15 Secure XWiki access with LDAP, Active Directory, SSO, OIDC, SAML, MFA, user synchronization,
16 group management and maintainable permission policies.
Agnease 1.2 17 </p>
18
19 <div class="hero-actions">
20 <a class="btn btn-primary" href="$xwiki.getURL('contact.WebHome')">Discuss access control needs</a>
21 <a class="btn btn-secondary" href="#access-control-process">See the approach</a>
22 </div>
23 </div>
24 </section>
Agnease 8.4 25 ## WHY ACCESS CONTROL CARDS
26 #set ($accessControlItems = [{
27 'title': 'Connect users securely',
28 'icon': 'sign-in',
29 'content': 'Integrate XWiki with your identity provider so users can access the platform with familiar credentials.',
30 'items': [
31 'LDAP and Active Directory',
32 'OIDC, SAML and SSO',
33 'MFA and authentication extensions'
34 ]
35 },{
36 'title': 'Manage groups clearly',
37 'icon': 'users',
38 'content': 'Keep user and group synchronization understandable, scalable and aligned with the way permissions are used.',
39 'items': [
40 'User synchronization',
41 'Group mapping and filtering',
42 'Large directory considerations'
43 ]
44 },{
45 'title': 'Control access safely',
46 'icon': 'key',
47 'content': 'Review and structure rights so spaces, pages and applications can be maintained without accidental exposure.',
48 'items': [
49 'Wiki and page permissions',
50 'Admin and script rights awareness',
51 'Rights model cleanup'
52 ]
53 }])
Agnease 1.2 54
55 <section aria-labelledby="why-access-title">
56 <div class="container">
57 <h2 id="why-access-title">Access control is central to a reliable XWiki platform</h2>
58 <p class="section-intro">
59 XWiki often contains internal knowledge, procedures, project information, customer data, controlled documents
60 and business workflows. Authentication and permissions need to be configured carefully so users can access
61 what they need without exposing sensitive information or making administration too complex.
62 </p>
63 <div class="pathways">
Agnease 8.4 64 #foreach ($entry in $accessControlItems)
65 <article class="pathway-card">
66 <div class="card-heading">
67 <div class="pathway-icon">
68 <i class="fa fa-$entry.icon" aria-hidden="true"></i>
69 </div>
70 <h3>$entry.title</h3>
71 </div>
72 <p>$entry.content</p>
73 <ul>
74 #foreach ($item in $entry.items)
75 <li>$item</li>
76 #end
77 </ul>
78 </article>
79 #end
Agnease 1.2 80 </div>
81 </div>
82 </section>
83
84 ## COMMON NEEDS
Agnease 8.6 85 #set ($accessNeedsItems = [{
86 'title': 'LDAP and Active Directory integration',
87 'icon': 'address-book',
88 'content': 'Configuration, troubleshooting and optimization of LDAP/AD authentication, user creation and group synchronization.'
89 },{
90 'title': 'SSO, OIDC and SAML',
91 'icon': 'sign-in',
92 'content': 'Integration with identity providers, single sign-on flows and authentication extensions used in enterprise environments.'
93 },{
94 'title': 'Multi-factor authentication',
95 'icon': 'shield',
96 'content': 'MFA setup, licensing, configuration, troubleshooting and review of authentication-related user experience.'
97 },{
98 'title': 'User and group synchronization',
99 'icon': 'users',
100 'content': 'Review of synchronization strategy, group mapping, large-directory behavior and performance implications.'
101 },{
102 'title': 'Rights model review',
103 'icon': 'key',
104 'content': 'Review and cleanup of space, page, group and application permissions to reduce confusion and access risks.'
105 },{
106 'title': 'Access-related troubleshooting',
107 'icon': 'warning',
108 'content': 'Investigation of login failures, missing users, group sync issues, unexpected permissions or denied access.'
109 }])
110
Agnease 1.2 111 <section class="services" aria-labelledby="access-needs-title">
112 <div class="container">
113 <h2 id="access-needs-title">Common authentication and access control needs</h2>
114
115 <p class="section-intro">
116 Authentication and permissions often become more complex as XWiki grows. The right setup depends on your
117 identity provider, group structure, security expectations, user volume and internal administration model.
118 </p>
119
120 <div class="services-grid">
Agnease 8.6 121 #foreach ($entry in $accessNeedsItems)
122 <article class="service">
123 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
124 <i class="fa fa-$entry.icon"></i>
125 </div>
Agnease 1.2 126
Agnease 8.6 127 <div class="service-body">
128 <h4>$entry.title</h4>
129 <p>$entry.content</p>
130 </div>
131 </article>
132 #end
Agnease 1.2 133 </div>
134 </div>
135 </section>
136
Agnease 8.7 137 ## ACCESS CONTROL PROCESS
138 #set ($accessProcessItems = [{
139 'title': 'Review the current access setup',
140 'content': 'Authentication method, user directory, groups, synchronization behavior, rights configuration and known issues.'
141 },{
142 'title': 'Clarify the target model',
143 'content': 'Expected login flow, user provisioning, group mapping, administration model and permission boundaries.'
144 },{
145 'title': 'Validate configuration safely',
146 'content': 'Test authentication, synchronization and rights behavior before applying changes to production when needed.'
147 },{
148 'title': 'Apply controlled changes',
149 'content': 'Update configuration, extensions, rights or group mappings with attention to rollback and administrator access.'
150 },{
151 'title': 'Document the result',
152 'content': 'Provide practical notes about the final configuration, assumptions, risks and future maintenance actions.'
153 }])
154
Agnease 1.2 155 <section id="access-control-process" class="split-section" aria-labelledby="process-title">
156 <div class="container">
157 <div class="split-grid">
158 <div class="split-copy">
159 <h2 id="process-title">A practical access control approach</h2>
160
161 <p>
162 Authentication and permissions should be handled with care because small configuration mistakes can affect
163 access to the entire platform. The goal is to understand the current setup, clarify the expected access
164 model and apply changes in a controlled way.
165 </p>
166
167 <p>
168 When possible, authentication and rights changes should first be validated in a staging or temporary clone
169 of the instance, especially when directory synchronization, group mappings, SSO or custom rights logic are involved.
170 </p>
171 </div>
172
173 <ol class="process-list">
Agnease 8.7 174 #foreach ($entry in $accessProcessItems)
175 <li>
176 <strong>$entry.title</strong>
177 $entry.content
178 </li>
179 #end
Agnease 1.2 180 </ol>
181 </div>
182 </div>
183 </section>
184
185 ## SPECIFIC AREAS
Agnease 8.8 186 #set ($accessAreasItems = [{
187 'title': 'Directory configuration',
188 'icon': 'server',
189 'content': 'LDAP/AD connection settings, bind users, search bases, user filters, group filters and synchronization behavior.'
190 },{
191 'title': 'Group mapping',
192 'icon': 'random',
193 'content': 'Mapping external groups into XWiki groups while avoiding unnecessary complexity and performance issues.'
194 },{
195 'title': 'Permission structure',
196 'icon': 'lock',
197 'content': 'Space and page rights, inheritance, administrative access, edit rights, view rights and application permissions.'
198 },{
199 'title': 'Security-sensitive rights',
200 'icon': 'user-secret',
201 'content': 'Review of powerful rights such as admin, programming, script and edit rights where they affect security.'
202 }])
203
Agnease 1.2 204 <section aria-labelledby="areas-title">
205 <div class="container">
206 <h2 id="areas-title">Specific areas we can review</h2>
207
208 <p class="section-intro">
209 Access control in XWiki is not limited to the login page. It includes the full chain from identity provider
210 to user synchronization, group membership, page permissions and application-level rules.
211 </p>
212
213 <div class="widgets">
Agnease 8.8 214 #foreach ($entry in $accessAreasItems)
215 <article class="widget">
216 <div class="icon" aria-hidden="true">
217 <i class="fa fa-$entry.icon"></i>
218 <h4>$entry.title</h4>
219 </div>
Agnease 1.2 220
Agnease 8.8 221 <p>$entry.content</p>
222 </article>
223 #end
Agnease 1.2 224 </div>
225 </div>
226 </section>
227
228 ## IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
229 <section class="services" aria-labelledby="considerations-title">
230 <div class="container">
231 <h2 id="considerations-title">Important considerations</h2>
232
233 <p class="section-intro">
234 Authentication and access control should be designed for both security and usability. A setup that is too
235 permissive creates risk, while a setup that is too complex becomes hard to operate and troubleshoot.
236 </p>
237
238 <div class="services-grid">
239 <article class="service">
240 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
241 <i class="fa fa-tachometer"></i>
242 </div>
243 <div class="service-body">
244 <h4>Large directory performance</h4>
245 <p>
246 Large numbers of users and groups can create synchronization, login-time or permission-management challenges.
247 </p>
248 </div>
249 </article>
250
251 <article class="service">
252 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
253 <i class="fa fa-eye"></i>
254 </div>
255 <div class="service-body">
256 <h4>Visibility of groups and users</h4>
257 <p>
258 Group display, permission screens and administration workflows should remain usable even with many directory groups.
259 </p>
260 </div>
261 </article>
262
263 <article class="service">
264 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
265 <i class="fa fa-user-plus"></i>
266 </div>
267 <div class="service-body">
268 <h4>User provisioning strategy</h4>
269 <p>
270 Decide when users are created, how profiles are updated and how synchronization behaves after first login.
271 </p>
272 </div>
273 </article>
274
275 <article class="service">
276 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
277 <i class="fa fa-unlock-alt"></i>
278 </div>
279 <div class="service-body">
280 <h4>Administrator access safety</h4>
281 <p>
282 Authentication changes should preserve reliable administrator access and avoid accidental lockouts.
283 </p>
284 </div>
285 </article>
286
287 <article class="service">
288 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
289 <i class="fa fa-refresh"></i>
290 </div>
291 <div class="service-body">
292 <h4>Upgrade compatibility</h4>
293 <p>
294 Authentication extensions, configuration keys and security behavior should be reviewed during XWiki upgrades.
295 </p>
296 </div>
297 </article>
298
299 <article class="service">
300 <div class="service-icon" aria-hidden="true">
301 <i class="fa fa-file-text-o"></i>
302 </div>
303 <div class="service-body">
304 <h4>Documentation and handover</h4>
305 <p>
306 Access rules, configuration decisions and operational assumptions should be documented for future maintenance.
307 </p>
308 </div>
309 </article>
310 </div>
311 </div>
312 </section>
313
314 ## RELATED SERVICES
315 <section class="resource-strip" aria-labelledby="related-title">
316 <div class="container">
317 <h2 id="related-title">Related XWiki services</h2>
318
319 <p class="section-intro">
320 Authentication and access control often connect with maintenance, upgrades and security review.
321 </p>
322
323 <div class="resource-grid">
324 <article class="resource-card">
325 <h4>XWiki Support &amp; Maintenance</h4>
326 <p>
327 Ongoing support for production environments, including troubleshooting, maintenance planning and operational review.
328 </p>
329 <a href="$xwiki.getURL('services.xwiki-maintenance-support')">View support services</a>
330 </article>
331
332 <article class="resource-card">
333 <h4>XWiki Security Review</h4>
334 <p>
335 Security-aware review of versions, extensions, rights, scripting, authentication and upgrade exposure.
336 </p>
337 <a href="$xwiki.getURL('services.xwiki-security-review')">View security review</a>
338 </article>
339 </div>
340 </div>
341 </section>
342
343 ## CTA
344 <section class="cta-section" aria-labelledby="cta-title">
345 <div class="container">
346 <div class="cta-panel">
347 <h2 id="cta-title">Need help with XWiki authentication or permissions?</h2>
348
349 <p>
350 Send a short description of your authentication setup, identity provider, current XWiki version,
351 user/group volume and the access control issue or improvement you want to address.
352 </p>
353
354 <a class="btn btn-primary" href="$xwiki.getURL('contact.WebHome')">Discuss access control needs</a>
355 </div>
356 </div>
357 </section>
358
359 {{/html}}
360 {{/velocity}}