An apparatus comprises a processing device configured to receive, from a given client at a single sign-on manager coupled to a database cluster comprising a plurality of databases, an access request comprising an identifier of a given one of the plurality of databases in the database cluster and single sign-on credentials for the given client to access the database cluster. The processing device is also configured to authenticate, at the single sign-on manager, the single sign-on credentials in the access request and, responsive to authenticating the single sign-on credentials in the access request, to establish a connection between the given client and the given one of the plurality of databases in the database cluster utilizing a session established between the single sign-on manager and the given one of the plurality of databases in the database cluster.