question Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala in Support Questions

how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

tableau — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 22:19:27 GMT

I have a cdp 7.3.1 instance, and I want to hookup okta authentication to the impala service, so that when tableau connects to the impala, it will trigger authentication / call back with a okta server(I already have admin controls of it, and have scope/application etc).

on this instance, I already enabled kerberos, knox and not sure if I need to enable ssl as well, I can't find any documentation for it, can some one walk me through the setup? I mostly rely on chapgpt, and had some issues.

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

DianaTorres — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 21:49:52 GMT

Hi @jAnshula @ChethanYM @Boris G @Saurabhatiyal Hello team
Do you have any insights here? Thanks!

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

jAnshula — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 08:42:56 GMT

Hi @tableau

The Impala ODBC/JDBC drivers don’t natively support SAML authentication.
You need to use Apache Knox as the SAML Service Provider (SP). Knox handles authentication with Okta (IdP) and then proxies the authenticated session to Impala using Kerberos delegation.

Okta → SAML → Knox SSO (Gateway) → Kerberos delegation → Impala

SSL (HTTPS) is required for SAML authentication to work securely.
Please refer to the following Cloudera documentation for setup details:

https://docs.cloudera.com/cdp-private-cloud-base/7.3.1/knox-authentication/topics/security-knox-authe-saml.html

https://docs.cloudera.com/cdp-private-cloud-base/7.3.1/knox-authentication/topics/security-knox-tls-mutual-authentication.html

Let us know if you have any questions on the same.

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

DanielR — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:09:00 GMT

You can use oauth which is available in Impala now

See: https://docs.cloudera.com/cdp-private-cloud-base/7.1.9/impala-secure/topics/impala-oauth.html

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

DianaTorres — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 21:03:44 GMT

@tableau Has the reply helped resolve your issue? If so, please mark the appropriate reply as the solution, as it will make it easier for others to find the answer in the future. Thanks.

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

tableau — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:11:32 GMT

I need time to test the flow, and if there is a more detailed tutorial on how it is done, please send it my way. Thanks.

Re: how to setup okta authentication with cdh impala

tableau — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:52:52 GMT

I have a okta server and application / scope information, and I need guidance on how to implement the okta provider in the knox setup. The current documentation talks more about ldap, and not helpful on okta setup.