Question
Answer and Explanation
An iFrame login error in Apache Superset usually stems from security restrictions implemented by web browsers and Superset’s own configuration. Here are the common reasons and solutions:
1. `X-Frame-Options` Header:
- The `X-Frame-Options` header is a security measure used to indicate whether or not a browser should be allowed to render a page in a `<frame>`, `<iframe>` or `<object>`. When Superset sends the response headers back with this value configured, you could get blocked.
- Problem: If your Superset server includes `X-Frame-Options: DENY` or `X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN`, your Superset instance will refuse to be embedded inside an `<iframe>`, which will lead to a login error. A browser usually reports “Refused to display because an ancestor violates the following Content Security Policy directive: "frame-ancestors” as part of its message.
- Solution: In Superset’s configuration file (`superset_config.py`), set `X_FRAME_OPTIONS` to 'ALLOW' to permit framing:
X_FRAME_OPTIONS = "ALLOW"
- Note, using 'ALLOW' may pose security issues so be sure that your setup meets your security guidelines before implementing it.
2. Content Security Policy (CSP):
- CSP headers give fine-grained control over resources the browser is allowed to load for a page.
- Problem: A strict CSP policy might block the iframe if the `frame-ancestors` or `default-src` directives don't explicitly allow your page's origin or URL.
- Solution: Update the `CONTENT_SECURITY_POLICY` configuration in Superset's `superset_config.py` file to include your origin or a wildcard in the `frame-ancestors` directives or, for the short term, you could disable this policy by using an empty dictionary.
CONTENT_SECURITY_POLICY = {
"frame-ancestors":" 'self' YOUR_HOST",
'default-src': " 'self' YOUR_HOST " }
# or
CONTENT_SECURITY_POLICY = {}
- Remember to replace `YOUR_HOST` with your website's actual domain or hostname.
3. Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) Errors:
- CORS controls which domains can make requests from an HTTP context like javascript.
- Problem: If the domain hosting your application is not included in the CORS setting, your server might be returning CORS related headers which cause an error while loading the Superset iframe or its resources.
- Solution: Configure `CORS_ALLOW_HEADERS`, `CORS_ALLOW_METHODS` and `CORS_ALLOW_ORIGINS` settings inside of the `superset_config.py` to accept your target URL, with specific HTTP verbs and additional headers. A simpler setting to enable access for testing is CORS_ALLOW_ALL_ORIGINS = True.
CORS_ALLOW_ALL_ORIGINS = True # testing or quick workaround (not recommended for production).
# OR
CORS_ALLOW_HEADERS = [ 'x-xsrf-token', 'authorization','content-type'] # specific set of headers to permit
CORS_ALLOW_METHODS = ['GET', 'HEAD', 'POST', 'OPTIONS', 'PUT', 'DELETE']
CORS_ALLOW_ORIGINS = ['http://yourwebsite.com','https://yourwebsite.com']
- Replace the sample URLs with the domain name of where you are running your application and need to show your Superset frame.
4. Incorrect Authentication Cookies/Headers:
- If the Superset instance relies on cookies or authentication tokens, ensure the application loading it shares that authentication mechanism (for example SAML SSO settings) . A domain configuration or token mismatch, missing authentication cookie when accessing the embedded content will trigger a login redirection/page in the embedded content.
Solution: Make sure you access the main instance of Superset using the main browser page for establishing the valid auth cookies. If possible use HTTP authorization mechanisms instead (ex. jwt header).
5. Session management problems:
- Incompatible cross site session/cookies rules could impact the communication and the user identity while loading your dashboards in iFrames. Ensure you use cookies configuration suitable to your system and deployment setup.
After changing these settings remember to restart your Superset instance for them to be effective.
By reviewing and updating your configuration based on these points you can normally debug iFrame issues in your setup.