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Interview question · Identity, OAuth & Access Control

How do SAML single sign-on and Kerberos work at a high level, and where is trust anchored?

Two enterprise workhorses with very different designs. The scored answer explains each flow, where the trust lives, and the attacks that follow from it.

mediumNewPreparation tags: Microsoft, Google, MetaUpdated Nov 2026

Two enterprise workhorses with very different designs. The scored answer explains each flow, where the trust lives, and the attacks that follow from it.

Make your first attempt

What would you say before reading the answer?

  1. 01 State the assumptions your answer depends on.
  2. 02 Explain the mechanism and choose a control.
  3. 03 Name a condition that would change your decision.

The worked answer includes an approach, scoring criteria and follow-up questions. Compare the reasoning with your own.

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What if · the follow-ups in this answer

The answer works through 6 follow-ups like an interviewer would

An interviewer asks you to compare SAML, OpenID Connect and Kerberos for single sign-on in a company with Active Directory and many SaaS apps.

  1. How does SAML SSO work, and what anchors trust?
  2. How does OIDC compare?
  3. How does Kerberos work?
  4. What if the identity provider's signing key is stolen?
  5. Which would you use where?
  6. How would you summarise the comparison?

Each rung has a nudge, a model answer, the principle that carries over and the weak answer to avoid. Premium opens every answer and ladder.

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