Initial Admin Identity (New NiFi Instance)

If you are setting up a secured NiFi instance for the first time, you must manually designate an "Initial Admin Identity" in the 'authorizers.xml' file. This initial admin user is granted access to the UI and given the ability to create additional users, groups, and policies. The value of this property could be a DN (when using certificates or LDAP) or a Kerberos principal. If you are the NiFi administrator, add yourself as the "Initial Admin Identity".

Here is an example LDAP entry using the name John Smith:

<authorizers>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>file-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Users File">./conf/users.xml</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Initial User Identity 1">cn=John Smith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com</property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <accessPolicyProvider>
        <identifier>file-access-policy-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileAccessPolicyProvider</class>
        <property name="User Group Provider">file-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="Authorizations File">./conf/authorizations.xml</property>
        <property name="Initial Admin Identity">cn=John Smith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Node Identity 1"></property>
    </accessPolicyProvider>
    <authorizer>
        <identifier>managed-authorizer</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.StandardManagedAuthorizer</class>
        <property name="Access Policy Provider">file-access-policy-provider</property>
    </authorizer>
</authorizers>

Here is an example Kerberos entry using the name John Smith and realm NIFI.APACHE.ORG:

<authorizers>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>file-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Users File">./conf/users.xml</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Initial User Identity 1">johnsmith@NIFI.APACHE.ORG</property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <accessPolicyProvider>
        <identifier>file-access-policy-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileAccessPolicyProvider</class>
        <property name="User Group Provider">file-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="Authorizations File">./conf/authorizations.xml</property>
        <property name="Initial Admin Identity">johnsmith@NIFI.APACHE.ORG</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Node Identity 1"></property>
    </accessPolicyProvider>
    <authorizer>
        <identifier>managed-authorizer</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.StandardManagedAuthorizer</class>
        <property name="Access Policy Provider">file-access-policy-provider</property>
    </authorizer>
</authorizers>

After you have edited and saved the 'authorizers.xml' file, restart NiFi. The "Initial Admin Identity" user and administrative policies are added to the 'users.xml' and 'authorizations.xml' files during restart. Once NiFi starts, the "Initial Admin Identity" user is able to access the UI and begin managing users, groups, and policies.

For a brand new secure flow, providing the "Initial Admin Identity" gives that user access to get into the UI and to manage users, groups and policies. But if that user wants to start modifying the flow, they need to grant themselves policies for the root process group. The system is unable to do this automatically because in a new flow the UUID of the root process group is not permanent until the flow.xml.gz is generated. If the NiFi instance is an upgrade from an existing flow.xml.gz or a 1.x instance going from unsecure to secure, then the "Initial Admin Identity" user is automatically given the privileges to modify the flow.

Here is an example loading users and groups from LDAP. Group membership will be driven through the member attribute of each group. Authorization will still use file based access policies:

dn: cn=User 1,ou=users,o=nifi
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: top
cn: User 1
sn: User1
uid: user1

dn: cn=User 2,ou=users,o=nifi
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: top
cn: User 2
sn: User2
uid: user2

dn: cn=admins,ou=groups,o=nifi
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
cn: admins
member: cn=User 1,ou=users,o=nifi
member: cn=User 2,ou=users,o=nifi

<authorizers>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>ldap-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.ldap.tenants.LdapUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Authentication Strategy">ANONYMOUS</property>

        <property name="Manager DN"></property>
        <property name="Manager Password"></property>

        <property name="TLS - Keystore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Client Auth"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Protocol"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Shutdown Gracefully"></property>

        <property name="Referral Strategy">FOLLOW</property>
        <property name="Connect Timeout">10 secs</property>
        <property name="Read Timeout">10 secs</property>

        <property name="Url">ldap://localhost:10389</property>
        <property name="Page Size"></property>
        <property name="Sync Interval">30 mins</property>

        <property name="User Search Base">ou=users,o=nifi</property>
        <property name="User Object Class">person</property>
        <property name="User Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="User Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="User Identity Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute"></property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute - Referenced Group Attribute"></property>

        <property name="Group Search Base">ou=groups,o=nifi</property>
        <property name="Group Object Class">groupOfNames</property>
        <property name="Group Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="Group Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="Group Name Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute">member</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute - Referenced User Attribute"></property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <accessPolicyProvider>
        <identifier>file-access-policy-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileAccessPolicyProvider</class>
        <property name="User Group Provider">ldap-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="Authorizations File">./conf/authorizations.xml</property>
        <property name="Initial Admin Identity">John Smith</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Node Identity 1"></property>
    </accessPolicyProvider>
    <authorizer>
        <identifier>managed-authorizer</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.StandardManagedAuthorizer</class>
        <property name="Access Policy Provider">file-access-policy-provider</property>
    </authorizer>
</authorizers>

The 'Initial Admin Identity' value would have loaded from the cn from John Smith's entry based on the 'User Identity Attribute' value.

Here is an example loading users and groups from LDAP. Group membership will be driven through the member attribute of each group. Authorization will still use file based access policies:

dn: uid=User 1,ou=Users,dc=local
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: shadowAccount
uid: user1
cn: User 1

dn: uid=User 2,ou=Users,dc=local
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: shadowAccount
uid: user2
cn: User 2

dn: cn=Managers,ou=Groups,dc=local
objectClass: posixGroup
cn: Managers
memberUid: user1
memberUid: user2

<authorizers>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>ldap-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.ldap.tenants.LdapUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Authentication Strategy">ANONYMOUS</property>

        <property name="Manager DN"></property>
        <property name="Manager Password"></property>

        <property name="TLS - Keystore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Client Auth"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Protocol"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Shutdown Gracefully"></property>

        <property name="Referral Strategy">FOLLOW</property>
        <property name="Connect Timeout">10 secs</property>
        <property name="Read Timeout">10 secs</property>

        <property name="Url">ldap://localhost:10389</property>
        <property name="Page Size"></property>
        <property name="Sync Interval">30 mins</property>

        <property name="User Search Base">ou=Groups,dc=local</property>
        <property name="User Object Class">posixAccount</property>
        <property name="User Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="User Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="User Identity Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute"></property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute - Referenced Group Attribute"></property>

        <property name="Group Search Base">ou=Groups,dc=local</property>
        <property name="Group Object Class">posixGroup</property>
        <property name="Group Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="Group Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="Group Name Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute">memberUid</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute - Referenced User Attribute">uid</property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <accessPolicyProvider>
        <identifier>file-access-policy-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileAccessPolicyProvider</class>
        <property name="User Group Provider">ldap-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="Authorizations File">./conf/authorizations.xml</property>
        <property name="Initial Admin Identity">John Smith</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Node Identity 1"></property>
    </accessPolicyProvider>
    <authorizer>
        <identifier>managed-authorizer</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.StandardManagedAuthorizer</class>
        <property name="Access Policy Provider">file-access-policy-provider</property>
    </authorizer>
</authorizers>

Here is an example composite implementation loading users and groups from LDAP and a local file. Group membership will be driven through the member attribute of each group. The users from LDAP will be read only while the users loaded from the file will be configurable in UI.

<authorizers>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>file-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Users File">./conf/users.xml</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Initial User Identity 1">cn=nifi-node1,ou=servers,dc=example,dc=com</property>
        <property name="Initial User Identity 2">cn=nifi-node2,ou=servers,dc=example,dc=com</property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>ldap-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.ldap.tenants.LdapUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Authentication Strategy">ANONYMOUS</property>

        <property name="Manager DN"></property>
        <property name="Manager Password"></property>

        <property name="TLS - Keystore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Keystore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Password"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Truststore Type"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Client Auth"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Protocol"></property>
        <property name="TLS - Shutdown Gracefully"></property>

        <property name="Referral Strategy">FOLLOW</property>
        <property name="Connect Timeout">10 secs</property>
        <property name="Read Timeout">10 secs</property>

        <property name="Url">ldap://localhost:10389</property>
        <property name="Page Size"></property>
        <property name="Sync Interval">30 mins</property>

        <property name="User Search Base">ou=users,o=nifi</property>
        <property name="User Object Class">person</property>
        <property name="User Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="User Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="User Identity Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute"></property>
        <property name="User Group Name Attribute - Referenced Group Attribute"></property>

        <property name="Group Search Base">ou=groups,o=nifi</property>
        <property name="Group Object Class">groupOfNames</property>
        <property name="Group Search Scope">ONE_LEVEL</property>
        <property name="Group Search Filter"></property>
        <property name="Group Name Attribute">cn</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute">member</property>
        <property name="Group Member Attribute - Referenced User Attribute"></property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <userGroupProvider>
        <identifier>composite-user-group-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.CompositeConfigurableUserGroupProvider</class>
        <property name="Configurable User Group Provider">file-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="User Group Provider 1">ldap-user-group-provider</property>
    </userGroupProvider>
    <accessPolicyProvider>
        <identifier>file-access-policy-provider</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.FileAccessPolicyProvider</class>
        <property name="User Group Provider">composite-user-group-provider</property>
        <property name="Authorizations File">./conf/authorizations.xml</property>
        <property name="Initial Admin Identity">John Smith</property>
        <property name="Legacy Authorized Users File"></property>

        <property name="Node Identity 1">cn=nifi-node1,ou=servers,dc=example,dc=com</property>
        <property name="Node Identity 2">cn=nifi-node2,ou=servers,dc=example,dc=com</property>
    </accessPolicyProvider>
    <authorizer>
        <identifier>managed-authorizer</identifier>
        <class>org.apache.nifi.authorization.StandardManagedAuthorizer</class>
        <property name="Access Policy Provider">file-access-policy-provider</property>
    </authorizer>
</authorizers>

In this example, the users and groups are loaded from LDAP but the servers are managed in a local file. The 'Initial Admin Identity' value came from an attribute in a LDAP entry based on the 'User Identity Attribute'. The 'Node Identity' values are established in the local file using the 'Initial User Identity' properties.

​Initial Admin Identity (New NiFi Instance)

Initial Admin Identity (New NiFi Instance)