patterns/waf_patterns/traefik/README.md

Traefik WAF Configuration

This directory contains Traefik WAF configuration files generated from OWASP CRS rules. You can use these middleware configurations to enhance security in your Traefik setup.

Prerequisites

• Traefik v2.x or higher
• Basic understanding of Traefik middleware

Configuration Files

The generated configuration includes:

• Middleware definitions for request filtering
• Regular expression patterns for attack detection
• Bad bot/User-Agent blocking rules

Usage

Option 1: File Provider (Recommended)

1. Copy the generated configuration files to your Traefik configuration directory:

   cp waf_patterns/traefik/*.toml /etc/traefik/dynamic/
   # or to your custom config directory
   

2. Configure Traefik to load dynamic configuration from files.

   In your traefik.yml or traefik.toml:

   providers:
     file:
       directory: "/etc/traefik/dynamic"
       watch: true
   

3. Apply the middleware to your routes by referencing it in your service configuration:

   http:
     routers:
       my-router:
         rule: "Host(`example.com`)"
         service: my-service
         middlewares:
           - waf-middleware
   

Option 2: Docker Labels

If you're using Docker, you can apply the middleware via labels:

services:
  my-service:
    image: my-app:latest
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.my-router.rule=Host(`example.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.my-router.middlewares=waf-middleware@file"

Option 3: Kubernetes IngressRoute

For Kubernetes deployments:

apiVersion: traefik.containo.us/v1alpha1
kind: Middleware
metadata:
  name: waf-middleware
spec:
  plugin:
    # Reference your WAF plugin configuration here

Configuration Details

The middleware includes protection against:

• SQL Injection (SQLi) attacks
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attempts
• Remote Code Execution (RCE) patterns
• Local File Inclusion (LFI) attempts
• Malicious bots and crawlers

Testing

Test the WAF is working by sending a malicious request:

curl -H "User-Agent: AhrefsBot" http://yourserver.com
# Should be blocked if bot protection is working

curl "http://yourserver.com/?id=1' OR '1'='1"
# Should be blocked if SQLi protection is working

Monitoring

Monitor blocked requests in Traefik logs:

# Docker
docker logs traefik 2>&1 | grep -i "blocked\|forbidden"

# Standard installation
tail -f /var/log/traefik/access.log | grep -i "403"

Customization

You can customize the middleware behavior by:

1. Editing the generated .toml files
2. Adjusting regex patterns for your specific needs
3. Modifying response codes and error pages
4. Adding custom headers for blocked requests

Performance Considerations

• Regular expression matching can impact performance under high load
• Consider using caching middleware in combination with WAF
• Monitor CPU usage and adjust rules if needed
• Use Traefik's built-in rate limiting for additional protection

Notes

• Rules are updated daily via GitHub Actions
• Blocked requests typically return 403 Forbidden or 400 Bad Request
• Middleware is applied at the router level
• Compatible with other Traefik middlewares (chain them as needed)

Resources

• Traefik Documentation
• Traefik Middleware
• OWASP CRS