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Keycloak Security and Configuration Best Practices Guide ​

Congratulations on setting up your first Keycloak deployment, whether on-premises or with the Cloud-IAM SaaS solution!

This Keycloak best practices guide outlines essential steps to secure and optimize your deployment. Following these recommendations ensures high availability, strong security, and scalable user management.

Why Following Keycloak Best Practices Matters ​

Implementing Keycloak best practices ensures that your deployment is secure, stable, and easy to manage over time.

By applying these recommendations, you will:

  • Strengthen security of your Keycloak deployment.
  • Increase resilience and reliability of your setup.
  • Avoid common configuration mistakes.
  • Protect sensitive user data and credentials.
  • Ensure resilient authentication and authorization across all your applications.
  • Simplify administration and prepare for future scaling and upgrades.

Keycloak Best Practices Summary ​

Action to PerformPriorityEffort
Secure the Admin Accounts🔴 High⚡ Quick win
Apply Password Policy for Admins🔴 High⚡ Quick win
Apply Password Blacklist for Admins🟠 Medium⚡ Quick win
Activate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Admins🔴 High⚡ Quick win
Configure Brute Force Detection on Admin Realm🔴 High⚡ Quick win
Restrict Admin Access by IP🔴 High⚡ Quick win
Monitor Logs & Security Events🟠 Medium⏳ Requires setup
Configure SMTP🟠 Medium⏳ Requires setup

Secure the Admin Accounts ​

The Admin Accounts are the foundation of Keycloak configuration.
If they are left unprotected, attackers could compromise your entire system.

  • Why it matters: Admins control all realms, users, and security policies.
  • Priority: 🔴 High
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to secure the Admin accounts (step-by-step)

Apply Password Policy for Admins ​

From the Master Realm settings, apply strong password policies to secure admin accounts.

  • Why it matters: Prevents attackers from exploiting weak passwords.
  • Priority: 🔴 High
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to apply Password Policy

Apply Password Blacklist for Admins ​

Configure a password blacklist to block the use of common or compromised passwords.

  • Why it matters: Reduces the risk of credential stuffing attacks.
  • Priority: 🟠 Medium
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to configure password blacklist

Activate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Admins ​

From the Master Realm settings, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all admin accounts.

  • Why it matters: Adds a critical second layer of security beyond passwords.
  • Priority: 🔴 High
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to configure Multi-Factor Authentication

Configure Brute Force Detection on Admin Realm ​

Enable brute force attack detection in the Master Realm to block repeated failed login attempts.

  • Why it matters: Protects against automated password guessing attacks.
  • Priority: 🔴 High
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to configure Brute force detection

Restrict Admin Access by IP ​

Limit access to the Admin Console by allowing only specific IP addresses.

  • Why it matters: Reduces the attack surface of sensitive endpoints.
  • Priority: 🔴 High
  • Effort: ⚡ Quick win

Tutorial: How to allow lists

Monitor Logs & Security Events ​

Enable logging and event monitoring to track suspicious behavior and failed login attempts.

  • Why it matters: Helps detect intrusions or misconfigurations early.
  • Priority: 🟠 Medium
  • Effort: ⏳ Requires setup

Tutorial:

Configure SMTP ​

Configure SMTP settings so Keycloak can send important notifications, such as password resets or login alerts.

  • Why it matters: Ensures users and admins receive timely security notifications.
  • Priority: 🟠 Medium
  • Effort: ⏳ Requires setup

Tutorial: How to configure SMTP

Conclusion - Secure, Optimize, and Scale Your Keycloak Deployment ​

Following these Keycloak best practices helps you secure, optimize, and manage your deployment with confidence.

Keycloak is a powerful tool, but its security and performance depend on how you configure and manage it. It is important to understand that you are responsible for your Keycloak configuration. These guides do not cover all security best practices required for a complete setup. Regularly review your settings, stay updated with new releases, and follow community and vendor recommendations.

If you have a dedicated Keycloak deployment, you can use our Keycloak Security Advisor. It generates a detailed report of your configuration and highlights potential improvements.

For expert guidance or hands-on support, Cloud-IAM consulting team is ready to help you optimize and secure your Keycloak deployment. Contact us here.

External References and Resources ​

For further reading and advanced configuration tips, consult the following trusted resources: