KB-1460 ADFS replies with status code "responder" when trying to authenticate

Symptoms

When attempting to authenticate on ADFS via SAML, ADFS responds with a SAML status code of responder and authentication fails.

The following can be seen in the SAML response body:

 <samlp:Status>
     <samlp:StatusCode Value="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:status:Responder" />
 </samlp:Status>

Cause

This is indicative of an error occurring on the ADFS side during the authentication attempt. One common cause is that the Service Provider signing certificate used by Appian is not trusted by the IDP.

Action

Examine the logs on the ADFS side to investigate why the error is occurring.

Affected Versions

This article applies to all versions of Appian using ADFS as an Identity Provider.

Last Reviewed: January 2018