waf-setup

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WAF Setup

Protect web applications with Web Application Firewalls.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Deploying a public-facing web application that needs attack protection
Meeting compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, SOC2) for web application security
Blocking OWASP Top 10 attack categories (SQLi, XSS, CSRF, etc.)
Protecting APIs from abuse, injection, and rate-based attacks
Adding a virtual patching layer while application code is being fixed

Prerequisites

Web application behind a load balancer or reverse proxy
AWS account for AWS WAF, or Cloudflare account for Cloudflare WAF
Nginx with ModSecurity module compiled for self-hosted WAF
Access to application logs to tune rules and identify false positives
Understanding of HTTP request/response structure

AWS WAF

Create Web ACL with Managed Rules

bash

# Create Web ACL with AWS managed rules
aws wafv2 create-web-acl \
  --name production-waf \
  --scope REGIONAL \
  --default-action Allow={} \
  --visibility-config SampledRequestsEnabled=true,CloudWatchMetricsEnabled=true,MetricName=production-waf \
  --rules file://waf-rules.json

AWS WAF Rules Configuration

json

[
  {
    "Name": "AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet",
    "Priority": 1,
    "Statement": {
      "ManagedRuleGroupStatement": {
        "VendorName": "AWS",
        "Name": "AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet",
        "ExcludedRules": []
      }
    },
    "OverrideAction": { "None": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "AWSCommonRules"
    }
  },
  {
    "Name": "AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet",
    "Priority": 2,
    "Statement": {
      "ManagedRuleGroupStatement": {
        "VendorName": "AWS",
        "Name": "AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
      }
    },
    "OverrideAction": { "None": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "AWSSQLiRules"
    }
  },
  {
    "Name": "AWSManagedRulesKnownBadInputsRuleSet",
    "Priority": 3,
    "Statement": {
      "ManagedRuleGroupStatement": {
        "VendorName": "AWS",
        "Name": "AWSManagedRulesKnownBadInputsRuleSet"
      }
    },
    "OverrideAction": { "None": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "AWSBadInputRules"
    }
  },
  {
    "Name": "RateLimitRule",
    "Priority": 4,
    "Statement": {
      "RateBasedStatement": {
        "Limit": 2000,
        "AggregateKeyType": "IP"
      }
    },
    "Action": { "Block": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "RateLimit"
    }
  },
  {
    "Name": "GeoBlockRule",
    "Priority": 5,
    "Statement": {
      "GeoMatchStatement": {
        "CountryCodes": ["KP", "IR", "SY"]
      }
    },
    "Action": { "Block": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "GeoBlock"
    }
  },
  {
    "Name": "BlockBadUserAgents",
    "Priority": 6,
    "Statement": {
      "ByteMatchStatement": {
        "SearchString": "sqlmap",
        "FieldToMatch": { "SingleHeader": { "Name": "user-agent" } },
        "TextTransformations": [{ "Priority": 0, "Type": "LOWERCASE" }],
        "PositionalConstraint": "CONTAINS"
      }
    },
    "Action": { "Block": {} },
    "VisibilityConfig": {
      "SampledRequestsEnabled": true,
      "CloudWatchMetricsEnabled": true,
      "MetricName": "BadUserAgent"
    }
  }
]

Associate WAF with ALB

bash

# Associate with Application Load Balancer
aws wafv2 associate-web-acl \
  --web-acl-arn arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789:regional/webacl/production-waf/abc123 \
  --resource-arn arn:aws:elasticloadbalancing:us-east-1:123456789:loadbalancer/app/my-alb/abc123

# Associate with API Gateway
aws wafv2 associate-web-acl \
  --web-acl-arn arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789:regional/webacl/production-waf/abc123 \
  --resource-arn arn:aws:apigateway:us-east-1::/restapis/abc123/stages/prod

AWS WAF Terraform

hcl

resource "aws_wafv2_web_acl" "main" {
  name        = "production-waf"
  scope       = "REGIONAL"
  description = "Production WAF with OWASP protections"

  default_action {
    allow {}
  }

  rule {
    name     = "AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet"
    priority = 1

    override_action { none {} }

    statement {
      managed_rule_group_statement {
        name        = "AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet"
        vendor_name = "AWS"

        rule_action_override {
          name = "SizeRestrictions_BODY"
          action_to_use { count {} }
        }
      }
    }

    visibility_config {
      cloudwatch_metrics_enabled = true
      metric_name                = "AWSCommonRules"
      sampled_requests_enabled   = true
    }
  }

  rule {
    name     = "RateLimit"
    priority = 10

    action { block {} }

    statement {
      rate_based_statement {
        limit              = 2000
        aggregate_key_type = "IP"
      }
    }

    visibility_config {
      cloudwatch_metrics_enabled = true
      metric_name                = "RateLimit"
      sampled_requests_enabled   = true
    }
  }

  visibility_config {
    cloudwatch_metrics_enabled = true
    metric_name                = "production-waf"
    sampled_requests_enabled   = true
  }
}

resource "aws_wafv2_web_acl_association" "alb" {
  resource_arn = aws_lb.main.arn
  web_acl_arn  = aws_wafv2_web_acl.main.arn
}

Cloudflare WAF

API Configuration

bash

# List available WAF rulesets
curl -s "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${ZONE_ID}/rulesets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${CF_TOKEN}" | jq '.result[] | {id, name, phase}'

# Create a custom WAF rule
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${ZONE_ID}/rulesets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${CF_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Custom WAF Rules",
    "kind": "zone",
    "phase": "http_request_firewall_custom",
    "rules": [
      {
        "action": "block",
        "expression": "(http.request.uri.query contains \"union select\" or http.request.uri.query contains \"1=1\")",
        "description": "Block SQL injection patterns in query string"
      },
      {
        "action": "block",
        "expression": "(http.request.uri.path contains \"..%2f\" or http.request.uri.path contains \"..%5c\")",
        "description": "Block path traversal attempts"
      },
      {
        "action": "challenge",
        "expression": "(cf.threat_score gt 30)",
        "description": "Challenge high threat score visitors"
      },
      {
        "action": "block",
        "expression": "(http.request.headers[\"user-agent\"] contains \"sqlmap\" or http.request.headers[\"user-agent\"] contains \"nikto\")",
        "description": "Block known attack tools"
      }
    ]
  }'

# Configure rate limiting
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${ZONE_ID}/rulesets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${CF_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Rate Limiting",
    "kind": "zone",
    "phase": "http_ratelimit",
    "rules": [
      {
        "action": "block",
        "ratelimit": {
          "characteristics": ["ip.src"],
          "period": 60,
          "requests_per_period": 100,
          "mitigation_timeout": 600
        },
        "expression": "(http.request.uri.path matches \"^/api/\")",
        "description": "Rate limit API endpoints"
      }
    ]
  }'

Cloudflare Terraform

hcl

resource "cloudflare_ruleset" "waf_custom" {
  zone_id = var.zone_id
  name    = "Custom WAF Rules"
  kind    = "zone"
  phase   = "http_request_firewall_custom"

  rules {
    action      = "block"
    expression  = "(http.request.uri.query contains \"union select\")"
    description = "Block SQL injection in query string"
  }

  rules {
    action      = "managed_challenge"
    expression  = "(cf.threat_score gt 30)"
    description = "Challenge suspicious visitors"
  }
}

ModSecurity with Nginx

Installation

bash

# Install ModSecurity for Nginx (Ubuntu)
apt install -y libmodsecurity3 libmodsecurity-dev nginx libnginx-mod-http-modsecurity

# Or compile from source
git clone https://github.com/SpiderLabs/ModSecurity /opt/modsecurity
cd /opt/modsecurity
git submodule init && git submodule update
./build.sh && ./configure && make && make install

Nginx Configuration

nginx

# /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
load_module modules/ngx_http_modsecurity_module.so;

http {
    modsecurity on;
    modsecurity_rules_file /etc/nginx/modsec/main.conf;

    server {
        listen 443 ssl http2;
        server_name example.com;

        # ModSecurity can also be enabled per-location
        location /api/ {
            modsecurity on;
            modsecurity_rules_file /etc/nginx/modsec/api-rules.conf;
            proxy_pass http://backend;
        }
    }
}

ModSecurity Main Configuration

bash

# /etc/nginx/modsec/main.conf
Include /etc/nginx/modsec/modsecurity.conf

# Set to DetectionOnly first, switch to On after tuning
SecRuleEngine On

# Request body handling
SecRequestBodyAccess On
SecRequestBodyLimit 13107200
SecRequestBodyNoFilesLimit 131072

# Response body handling
SecResponseBodyAccess On
SecResponseBodyMimeType text/plain text/html text/xml application/json

# Logging
SecAuditEngine RelevantOnly
SecAuditLogRelevantStatus "^(?:5|4(?!04))"
SecAuditLogParts ABIJDEFHZ
SecAuditLogType Serial
SecAuditLog /var/log/modsec/modsec_audit.log

# Include OWASP Core Rule Set
Include /etc/nginx/modsec/crs/crs-setup.conf
Include /etc/nginx/modsec/crs/rules/*.conf

OWASP Core Rule Set Setup

bash

# Download and install OWASP CRS
cd /etc/nginx/modsec
git clone https://github.com/coreruleset/coreruleset crs
cp crs/crs-setup.conf.example crs/crs-setup.conf

# Customize CRS settings
cat >> crs/crs-setup.conf << 'EOF'

# Set paranoia level (1-4, higher = more strict)
SecAction "id:900000, phase:1, pass, t:none, nolog, setvar:tx.paranoia_level=2"

# Set anomaly score thresholds
SecAction "id:900110, phase:1, pass, t:none, nolog, \
  setvar:tx.inbound_anomaly_score_threshold=5, \
  setvar:tx.outbound_anomaly_score_threshold=4"

# Exclude known false positives
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /api/upload" \
  "id:1001,phase:1,pass,nolog,ctl:ruleRemoveById=920420"
EOF

# Create rule exclusions file
cat > /etc/nginx/modsec/crs/RESPONSE-999-EXCLUSION-RULES-AFTER-CRS.conf << 'EOF'
# Exclude rules that cause false positives on specific paths
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /api/webhook" \
  "id:1000001,phase:1,pass,nolog,ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById=942100;ARGS:payload"

# Exclude rules for specific parameters
SecRule ARGS_NAMES "^content$" \
  "id:1000002,phase:1,pass,nolog,ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById=941100;ARGS:content"
EOF

Custom ModSecurity Rules

bash

# /etc/nginx/modsec/custom-rules.conf

# Block requests with known attack tool user agents
SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:User-Agent "@pm sqlmap nikto nmap masscan dirbuster" \
  "id:10001,phase:1,deny,status:403,log,msg:'Blocked attack tool'"

# Block requests to sensitive paths
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx /(\.git|\.env|\.svn|wp-admin|phpmyadmin|adminer)" \
  "id:10002,phase:1,deny,status:404,log,msg:'Blocked sensitive path access'"

# Rate limit by IP (10 requests/second)
SecRule IP:REQUEST_RATE "@gt 10" \
  "id:10003,phase:1,deny,status:429,log,msg:'Rate limit exceeded',\
  setvar:IP.request_rate=+1,expirevar:IP.request_rate=1"

# Block oversized cookies (potential overflow attack)
SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Cookie "@gt 4096" \
  "id:10004,phase:1,deny,status:400,log,msg:'Oversized cookie header'"

# Virtual patch: block specific CVE exploit pattern
SecRule ARGS:filename "@contains ../../" \
  "id:10005,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'Path traversal blocked (virtual patch CVE-XXXX-XXXX)'"

# Require Content-Type on POST requests
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq POST" \
  "id:10006,phase:1,chain,deny,status:400,log,msg:'POST without Content-Type'"
SecRule &REQUEST_HEADERS:Content-Type "@eq 0" ""

WAF Tuning Workflow

bash

#!/bin/bash
# waf-tune.sh - Analyze WAF logs for false positives

AUDIT_LOG="/var/log/modsec/modsec_audit.log"
TIMEFRAME="24h"

echo "=== WAF Tuning Report ==="
echo "Analyzing last ${TIMEFRAME} of audit logs"
echo ""

# Top blocked rules
echo "--- Top 10 triggered rules ---"
grep -oP 'id "\K[0-9]+' "$AUDIT_LOG" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

echo ""
echo "--- Top blocked URIs ---"
grep -oP 'REQUEST_URI: \K[^\s]+' "$AUDIT_LOG" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

echo ""
echo "--- Top blocked IPs ---"
grep -oP 'client \K[0-9.]+' "$AUDIT_LOG" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

echo ""
echo "--- False positive candidates (high-frequency blocks on common paths) ---"
grep -oP 'id "\K[0-9]+' "$AUDIT_LOG" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | \
  while read count rule_id; do
    if [ "$count" -gt 100 ]; then
      echo "  Rule $rule_id triggered $count times - review for false positive"
    fi
  done

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
Legitimate requests blocked	False positives from CRS rules	Set `SecRuleEngine DetectionOnly` first; review audit log; add exclusions
WAF not blocking attacks	Rules in detection-only mode	Switch `SecRuleEngine On` after tuning period
High latency with WAF enabled	Response body inspection overhead	Disable `SecResponseBodyAccess` if not needed; reduce `paranoia_level`
AWS WAF rules not matching	Rule priority order wrong	Lower priority number = evaluated first; reorder rules
ModSecurity crashes nginx	Memory exhaustion on large requests	Increase `SecRequestBodyLimit`; adjust `SecPcreMatchLimit`
Cloudflare WAF blocks API calls	Expression too broad	Narrow expression with path or method conditions
CRS update breaks application	New rules trigger on existing traffic	Pin CRS version; test updates in staging first

Best Practices

Start in detection/log mode, switch to blocking after tuning
Tune rules for at least 1-2 weeks before enforcement
Monitor blocked requests daily during tuning phase
Update managed rule sets and CRS regularly
Create custom rules for application-specific attack patterns
Use virtual patching to protect against known CVEs while code is being fixed
Set appropriate rate limits per endpoint
Maintain exclusion rules documentation with justifications
Test WAF rules with known attack payloads before deploying
Keep audit logs for at least 90 days for forensic analysis

Related Skills

dast-scanning - Web security testing
ssl-tls-management - HTTPS configuration
firewall-config - Network-level firewalling

WAF Setup

When to Use This Skill

Prerequisites

AWS WAF

Create Web ACL with Managed Rules

AWS WAF Rules Configuration

Associate WAF with ALB

AWS WAF Terraform

Cloudflare WAF

API Configuration

Cloudflare Terraform

ModSecurity with Nginx

Installation

Nginx Configuration

ModSecurity Main Configuration

OWASP Core Rule Set Setup

Custom ModSecurity Rules

WAF Tuning Workflow

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Related Skills

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