OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiators

OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiators allow you to remotely log out users from their applications based on session termination events. OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiators work across protocols—for example, an identity provider-initiated (IdP-initiated) SAML logout request—and are unaffected by third-party cookie restrictions.

This feature is an extension to the standard OIDC back-channel specification. You can configure it to initiate an OIDC Back-Channel Logout request for specific session termination events, such as a password change or session expiration, or for all session termination events.

Administrators can enable this feature for specific applications with the Auth0 Management API.

Initiators bind an OIDC Back-Channel Logout response to a session termination event. They capture the event and use it to trigger an OIDC logout token in all applications associated with the given session.

The following diagram illustrates how an OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiator works for a password change event:

You can configure OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiators with the Auth0 Management API.

You can configure the OIDC Back-Channel Logout Initiators for an application with the Management API by using the Update a Client endpoint.

1. Get an Management API access token with the update:clients scope.

2. Call the Update a Client endpoint with the appropriate configuration data in the payload. For example, to log out an application after a password change event, provide the following:

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   PATCH /api/v2/clients/{yourClientId}
   {
     ...
     "oidc_logout": {
       "backchannel_logout_urls": ["https://example.com/cb"]
       "backchannel_logout_initiators": {
         "mode":"custom",
         "selected_initiators": ["rp-logout", "idp-logout", "password-changed"]
       }
     }
     ...
   }

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The backchannel_logout_initiators object supports the following properties:

The mode property determines the configuration method for enabling initiators.

By default, it is set to custom, which allows you to specify which initiators you want to enable. If you want your application to logout anytime the IdP session ends, set it to all.

The mode property supports the following values:

The selected_initiators property contains the list of initiators to be enabled for the given application.

The selected_initiators property supports the following values:

PATCH /api/v2/clients/{yourClientId}

{
  ...
  "oidc_logout": {
    "backchannel_logout_urls": ["https://example.com/cb"]
    "backchannel_logout_initiators": {
      "mode":"all"
    }
  }
  ...
}

PATCH /api/v2/clients/{yourClientId}

{
  ...
  "oidc_logout": {
    "backchannel_logout_urls": ["https://example.com/cb"]
    "backchannel_logout_initiators": {
      "mode":"custom",
      "selected_initiators": ["rp-logout", "idp-logout", "password-changed"]
    }
  }
  ...
}

PATCH /api/v2/clients/{yourClientId}

{
  ...
  "oidc_logout": {
	  "backchannel_logout_urls": ["https://example.com/cb"]
  }
  ...
}

OpenID Connect Back-Channel Logout can be configured alongside the rest of your application settings. This feature automatically activates once a Back-Channel Logout URI is provided.

Only the required initiators (rp-logout and idp-logout) will be subscribed to by default. Any additional initiators, including any added in the future, must first be selected before they can initiate a logout from your application.

Select this option if you want your application to log out only for initiators you select.

All supported initiators, including any added in the future, will be subscribed to by default.

Select this option if you want your application to log out any time the IdP session ends.