Camunda LDAP Integration – Complete Guide (Configuration, Common Issues & Best Practices)

 Integrating Camunda BPM with LDAP / Active Directory is a very common enterprise requirement for centralized user authentication and authorization.

While Camunda provides built-in LDAP support, misconfiguration often leads to login failures, missing groups, or authorization issues in production.

This blog explains:

  • How Camunda LDAP integration works

  • Where to configure LDAP

  • A working configuration example

  • Common problems and their fixes

  • Production best practices

1️⃣ Why Integrate Camunda with LDAP?

LDAP integration allows Camunda to:

  • Authenticate users against Active Directory / LDAP

  • Synchronize users and groups

  • Apply group-based authorizations

  • Avoid local Camunda user management

👉 Almost all enterprise Camunda deployments use LDAP.

2️⃣ Where to Configure LDAP in Camunda 7

LDAP configuration is done in:

📄 bpm-platform.xml

(Location depends on app server: Tomcat / WildFly / JBoss)

Example (Tomcat):

$CAMUNDA_HOME/conf/bpm-platform.xml

⚠️ Do NOT configure LDAP in application code.
It must be configured at platform level.

3️⃣ Basic LDAP Configuration Example (Camunda 7)

<plugin>
  <class>org.camunda.bpm.identity.impl.ldap.plugin.LdapIdentityProviderPlugin</class>

  <properties>
    <property name="serverUrl">ldap://ldap.company.com:389</property>
    <property name="managerDn">cn=ldapadmin,dc=company,dc=com</property>
    <property name="managerPassword">password</property>

    <property name="baseDn">dc=company,dc=com</property>

    <property name="userSearchBase">ou=users</property>
    <property name="userSearchFilter">(sAMAccountName={0})</property>

    <property name="groupSearchBase">ou=groups</property>
    <property name="groupSearchFilter">(member={0})</property>

    <property name="userIdAttribute">sAMAccountName</property>
    <property name="userFirstnameAttribute">givenName</property>
    <property name="userLastnameAttribute">sn</property>
    <property name="userEmailAttribute">mail</property>

    <property name="groupIdAttribute">cn</property>
    <property name="groupNameAttribute">cn</property>

    <property name="authorizationCheckEnabled">true</property>
  </properties>
</plugin>

4️⃣ How Authentication Works

  1. User logs into Camunda Cockpit / Tasklist

  2. Camunda validates credentials via LDAP

  3. User & group info is fetched from LDAP

  4. Authorization is applied based on Camunda groups

👉 Users are NOT stored in Camunda DB (read-only from LDAP).

5️⃣ Mapping LDAP Groups to Camunda Authorizations

After LDAP sync:

  • Groups appear automatically in Camunda

  • You must assign authorizations manually

Example:

  • Group: camunda-admins

  • Permission: ALL on Authorization, ProcessDefinition, Task

💡 Best practice:

  • Create LDAP groups like:

    • camunda-admins

    • camunda-users

    • camunda-operators

6️⃣ Most Common LDAP Integration Issues (And Fixes)

❌ Login fails but LDAP credentials are correct

✔ Check:

  • userSearchFilter

  • Attribute names (sAMAccountName, uid, etc.)

  • Base DN correctness

❌ User can login but sees no tasks

✔ Cause:

  • Group not authorized in Camunda

✔ Fix:

  • Assign task/process permissions to LDAP group in Admin

❌ Groups not visible in Camunda

✔ Check:

  • groupSearchBase

  • groupSearchFilter

  • Group membership attribute (member, uniqueMember)

❌ Performance issues on login

✔ Fix:

  • Narrow userSearchBase

  • Optimize LDAP filters

  • Avoid deep base DN searches

7️⃣ LDAP vs Camunda Internal Users

FeatureCamunda InternalLDAP
AuthenticationLocal DBCentralized
User managementManualIT-controlled
ScalabilityLimitedEnterprise-ready
SecurityBasicStrong

👉 LDAP is recommended for production.

8️⃣ Security Best Practices

✅ Use LDAPS (SSL)
✅ Never store passwords in plain text
✅ Restrict manager DN permissions
✅ Do not expose LDAP directly to internet
✅ Log LDAP authentication issues

9️⃣ LDAP Integration in Camunda 8 (Important Note)

Camunda 8 does NOT use the same LDAP plugin.

  • Identity handled via Keycloak

  • LDAP configured inside Keycloak

  • Camunda connects to Keycloak (OIDC)

👉 Camunda 7 LDAP ≠ Camunda 8 LDAP

This is a major migration consideration.

🔑 Key Takeaway

Camunda LDAP integration is stable and powerful — if configured correctly at platform level.

Most issues arise due to:

  • Wrong search filters

  • Incorrect base DN

  • Missing group authorizations

🔟 LDAP Integration Scenario Using default.yml (Camunda BPM Run 7.23.0)

When using Camunda BPM Run (7.23.0), LDAP integration is not configured in bpm-platform.xml.
Instead, it is done via default.yml, which makes configuration simpler and cloud-friendly.

This approach is widely used in:

  • Local setups

  • POCs

  • Dockerized environments

  • Lightweight production deployments

📁 Folder Structure (Camunda BPM Run)

After extracting camunda-bpm-run-7.23.0.zip:

camunda-bpm-run-7.23.0/
 ├── configuration/
 │    └── default.yml
 ├── start.bat
 └── start.sh

👉 LDAP configuration goes inside configuration/default.yml

🔹 Scenario: Integrate Camunda BPM Run with LDAP / Active Directory

Assumptions

  • LDAP Server: ldap.company.com

  • Users OU: ou=users,dc=company,dc=com

  • Groups OU: ou=groups,dc=company,dc=com

  • Login attribute: sAMAccountName

🔹 Sample default.yml LDAP Configuration

camunda:
  bpm:
    authorization:
      enabled: true
    admin-user:
      id: demo
      password: demo

    identity:
      ldap:
        enabled: true

        server-url: ldap://ldap.company.com:389
        manager-dn: cn=ldapadmin,dc=company,dc=com
        manager-password: password

        base-dn: dc=company,dc=com

        user-search-base: ou=users
        user-search-filter: (sAMAccountName={0})

        user-id-attribute: sAMAccountName
        user-firstname-attribute: givenName
        user-lastname-attribute: sn
        user-email-attribute: mail

        group-search-base: ou=groups
        group-search-filter: (member={0})

        group-id-attribute: cn
        group-name-attribute: cn

🔹 How This Works at Runtime

  1. User opens Camunda Cockpit / Tasklist

  2. Credentials are validated against LDAP

  3. User details are fetched dynamically

  4. Groups are resolved from LDAP

  5. Camunda applies group-based authorizations

👉 No users or passwords are stored in Camunda DB.

🔹 Common Issues with default.yml LDAP Setup

❌ Login Fails Immediately

✔ Check:

  • Indentation in YAML (very strict!)

  • LDAP URL & port

  • user-search-filter correctness

❌ User Can Login but Sees Nothing

✔ Cause:

  • No Camunda authorization assigned to LDAP group

✔ Fix:

  • Go to Admin → Groups

  • Assign permissions to LDAP groups

❌ Groups Not Visible

✔ Verify:

  • group-search-base

  • group-search-filter

  • Group membership attribute (member vs uniqueMember)

🔹 Performance Tip (IMPORTANT)

Avoid this:

user-search-base: dc=company,dc=com

Prefer:

user-search-base: ou=users

👉 Narrow search bases drastically improve login performance.

🔹 LDAP + BPM Run vs App Server (Key Difference)

SetupConfig File
Tomcat / WildFlybpm-platform.xml
Camunda BPM Rundefault.yml

👉 This is why many teams get confused.

🔹 Production Best Practices for BPM Run + LDAP

✅ Use LDAPS (ldaps://)
✅ Externalize passwords using env variables
✅ Restrict manager DN permissions
✅ Enable debug logs during setup

logging:
  level:
    org.camunda.bpm.identity: DEBUG

🔑 Key Takeaway (BPM Run Users)

For Camunda BPM Run, LDAP integration is YAML-based, simpler, and ideal for modern deployments — but YAML indentation mistakes are the #1 cause of failures.

 

💼 Professional Support Available

If you need:

  • Camunda LDAP / AD integration

  • Production troubleshooting

  • Security review

  • Migration planning (Camunda 7 → 8)

I provide paid consulting and enterprise support.

📧 Contact: ishikhanirankari@gmail.com | info@realtechnologiesindia.com

🌐 Website : IT Trainings | Digital metal podium


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

jBPM Installation Guide: Step by Step Setup

  jBPM Installation Guide – Step by Step for Beginners If you are starting with jBPM (Java Business Process Management) , the first step is to set up your environment. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to install jBPM, configure it, and run your first business process. 🔎 What is jBPM? Before we dive into installation, a quick recap: jBPM is an open-source Business Process Management (BPM) suite , written in Java, that allows you to model, execute, and monitor workflows using BPMN 2.0 standards. It can run standalone , embedded in applications , or deployed on a Java EE server . 🖥️ Prerequisites Before installing jBPM, make sure you have: Java JDK 11 or later (Java 17 is commonly used) Maven 3.x (for building and managing dependencies) Git (optional, if you want to clone sample projects) A Database (H2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Oracle) – jBPM ships with H2 for testing At least 4GB RAM (8GB recommended for Workbench & KIE Server) 📦 Download ...
Read more

Scopes of Signal in jBPM

Image
💡 Introduction Signals in jBPM 7 are a core part of event-driven workflow design. They allow asynchronous communication between process instances, making it possible to start , interrupt , or coordinate processes without direct linking. However, signals can have different scopes , which define how far the signal travels and who receives it . Let’s explore the four available scopes in detail: 🔹 Process Scope 🔹 Default Scope 🔹 External Scope 🔹 Project Instance Scope 🧩 1️⃣ Process Scope 📘 Definition Process scope signals are local to a single process instance or its child subprocesses . They are not visible outside that instance hierarchy. 📋 Use Case Used for communication inside the same process , like triggering subprocesses or event sub-processes. 🖼️ Process Scope Example Below is an example of a simple process-scoped signal. Only this process (or its subprocess) will catch this signal. ⚙️ 2️⃣ Default Scope 📘 Definition The default scope ...
Read more

OOPs Concepts in Java | English | Object Oriented Programming Explained

Image
🔹OOPS (Object Oriented Programming System) in Java Object-Oriented Programming (OOPS) is a programming paradigm that uses classes and objects to design software. It simplifies development and maintenance by applying key concepts: 📌 Class: Class   is a user-defined data type which defines its properties and its functions. Class is the only logical representation of the data. For example, Human beings in an organisation is a class like Employee. The age, name, department, salary etc. of a human being/employee are its properties, and the jobs performed by the employees in an organisation are known as functions.  The class does not occupy any memory space till the time an object is instantiated. A class is a user-defined data type that defines properties and functions. For example: Class: Employee Properties: name, age, salary Functions: work(), attendMeeting() A class does not occupy memory until an object is created. ...
Read more