Published Release Notes

Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type

Pega Platform™ now supports the OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type, which allows Pega Platform to act as an OAuth 2.0 access token provider for native applications on mobile and other devices. By using the authorization code grant type for mobile clients, you no longer need to implement a variety of standards for various authentication providers. The authorization code grant type also supports the Proof Key for Code Exchange standard (PKCE) for securing public clients.

For more information, see Creating and configuring an OAuth 2.0 client registration.

Use client-based access control to support EU GDPR requirements

You can use client-based access control (CBAC) to satisfy the data privacy requirements of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar regulations. By using client-based access control, you can identify the personal data of clients and automatically process requests to view, update, or remove the data in a secure manner. You can also enforce restrictions on the use of this data in application functions.

For more information, see Client-based access control.

Enhanced Wait shape

Pega Platform™ now supports the enhanced Wait shape that configures the case to wait for the resolution of all child cases instead of only the child cases of a specific type. When you set up the Wait shape to stop a case until it reaches a certain status, you can decide whether the shape considers statuses from a whole case life cycle, or only the statuses after the wait begins. The enhanced Wait shape provides you with greater control over resolution of your cases. 

For more information, see Pausing and resuming processes in cases in Dev Studio, Pausing and resuming processes in cases in App Studio.

Support for the JSON Web Token Bearer grant type for accessing external APIs

You can now access external APIs by using the new OAuth 2.0 JSON Web Token (JWT) Bearer grant type, in an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile. To use the JWT Bearer grant type as a client assertion, source the JWT from an active SSO session, a token profile, or a property reference. You can use JWTs that you obtain during an OpenID Connect SSO in connectors, to achieve user impersonation flows, such as the On-Behalf-Of (OBO) flow. The OAuth 2.0 type authentication profile now also supports authentication of client applications by using Private Key JWTs.

Instances of the OAuth 2.0 provider are now deprecated. As a best practice, use the new, unified authentication profile configuration instead.

For more information, see Configuring an OAuth 2.0 authentication profile.

Upgrade impact

After an upgrade to Pega Platform 8.4 and later, Authentication Profiles can take advantage of the new JWT based OAuth 2.0 grant type and client authentication features. To take advantage of this and other new security features, you must update any existing Authentication Profiles formats must to use those in Pega Platform 8.4 and later.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

Since these features are available only for profiles created in Pega Platform 8.4 and later, clients must open and then save existing 'Authentication Profile' instances to ensure that the configuration is compatible with the latest authentication formats.

Sign and encrypt signatures and content with additional algorithms

You can now authenticate using JSON Web Token (JWT) token profiles to symmetrically and asymmetrically encrypt both signatures and content. All algorithms in the Nimbus JWT library are supported, including nested tokens. Custom key identifier headers (kid) are also supported. Use token profiles to securely propagate identities and transfer data between systems.

For more information, see Creating a processing JSON Web token profile.

For more information, see Creating a generation JSON Web token profile.

Case tags for improved case search

Pega Platform™ now supports enhanced tagging for case types so that you can search cases by tags. As a result, tagging is more consistent because you can define a set of suggested tags that users can add to their posts and cases. When users search for cases, they can apply several filters, for example, recently added or most frequently used tags.

For more information about tags, see Tagging cases in Dev Studio, Tagging cases in App Studio.

Set the status of a case on stage entry

You can now set the status of a case when it enters a stage. By setting the status of a case on stage entry, you can communicate to stakeholders how close a stage is to resolution. For example, if a case is in the approval stage, you can set the status of the case to "Under review" when the case enters the stage.

For more information, see:

• App Studio – Changing the status of a case
• Dev Studio – Changing the status of a case

Resolve child cases with the parent case

You can now configure a stage to resolve open child cases when the parent case is resolved. Resolving child cases on the resolution of the parent case ensures that no child cases are left open when the parent case reaches the end of its life cycle.

For more information, see:

• App Studio – Configuring case resolution
• Dev Studio – Configuring case resolution

Conditionally skip a stage

You can now define a condition in App Studio and build an expression in Dev Studio that causes a case to skip a stage. The system evaluates the condition or expression at run time and skips the stage if a true value is returned. By skipping the current stage when it is not relevant, you can resolve a case more quickly by moving the case to the next stage in the sequence.

For more information, see:

• App Studio – Requiring conditions for stage entry
• Dev Studio – Requiring conditions for stage entry

Conditionally start a process

You can now define a condition that causes a case to start a process in a stage. When the condition evaluates to false, the case skips the process. You can resolve cases more quickly by moving a case to the next process in the sequence when the current process is not relevant.

For more information, see:

• App Studio – Conditionally starting a process by using a condition
• Dev Studio – Conditionally starting a process by using a when condition