How to fix users getting logged out after two minutes when using SiteMinder

Problem

If your end users report the behavior of being logged out or receiving a timeout dialog shortly after logging in, and you are using SiteMinder or a similar SAML-based SSO provider, your Identity Provider (IDP) configuration may need adjusting.

The symptoms include seeing the attribute SessionNotOnOrAfter in your SAML assertions when debugging as described in our SAML documentation or using a SAML tracer. The full authentication statement causing this might look like this, indicating there is a very short amount of time between authentication and session expiration time.

CODE

<ns2:AuthnStatement AuthnInstant="2022-01-20T19:55:23Z" SessionIndex="iCOpSprLm+RFlKUuSRQXGFZka+s=gOdlag==" SessionNotOnOrAfter="2022-01-20T19:56:53Z">

Solution

In certain SiteMinder versions, the default setting for session length is to match Assertion Validity, which can be as short as two minutes.

Verify with your SiteMinder team that the settings are as follows

Go to your SiteMinder Administrative Interface
Find the SSO configuration section that contains the Recommended SP Session Duration
Ensure this is set to Customize
Then either use Omit (the default timeout on the platform is 60 minutes) or set a Custom length that is appropriate for your IT teams security needs.
Save your changes

Problem

Solution

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