NGINX App Protect WAF Administration Guide

Overview

F5 NGINX App Protect WAF provides web application firewall (WAF) security protection for your web applications, including OWASP Top 10; response inspection; Meta characters check; HTTP protocol compliance; evasion techniques; disallowed file types; JSON & XML well-formedness; sensitive parameters & Data Guard. Refer to Supported Security Policy Features section for a more detailed description.

This guide explains how to deploy NGINX App Protect WAF as well as upgrade App Protect and the App Protect signature sets.

Using NGINX App Protect with NGINX Management Suite

NGINX Management Suite provides centralized configuration management and visibility for your NGINX App Protect WAF fleet. After completing the NGINX App Protect WAF installation, refer to the NGINX Management Suite Installation Guide for the deployment instructions.

Prerequisites

NGINX App Protect WAF is available to customers as a downloadable dynamic module at an additional cost. To purchase or add NGINX App Protect WAF to an existing NGINX Plus subscription, contact the NGINX sales team.

NGINX Plus Release 22 and later supports NGINX App Protect WAF.

NGINX App Protect WAF supports the following operating systems:

The NGINX App Protect WAF package has the following dependencies:

  1. nginx-plus-module-appprotect - NGINX Plus dynamic module for App Protect
  2. app-protect-engine - The App Protect enforcement engine
  3. app-protect-plugin - The App Protect connector API between the engine and the NGINX Plus dynamic module
  4. app-protect-compiler - The App Protect enforcement engine compiler agent
  5. app-protect-common - The App Protect shared libraries package
  6. app-protect-geoip - The App Protect geolocation update package
  7. app-protect-graphql - The App Protect shared library package for GraphQL protection
  8. app-protect-attack-signatures - The App Protect attack signatures update package
  9. app-protect-threat-campaigns - The App Protect threat campaigns update package
  10. app-protect-bot-signatures - The App Protect bot signatures update package
  11. app-protect-selinux - The prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (optional dependency)

See the NGINX Plus full list of prerequisites for more details. NGINX App Protect WAF can be installed as a module to an existing NGINX Plus installation or as a complete NGINX Plus with App Protect installation in a clean environment.

Storage I/O Performance

When deploying App Protect on NGINX Plus take into consideration the performance of storage on which it is going to be installed. The storage performance may greatly affect the time it takes NGINX Plus to reload whenever there is a configuration change, especially when NGINX App Protect WAF policies are being added or updated. In order to assess the storage performance you can use a tool called fio. An example of usage follows: (you may need to use sudo):

fio --filename=/opt/tst --size=100MB --direct=1 --rw=randrw --bs=4k --ioengine=libaio --iodepth=256 --runtime=120 --numjobs=4 --time_based --group_reporting --name=iops-test-job --eta-newline=1

The output fields relevant in this context are: read: IOPS= and write: IOPS=. Below is a table showing how many seconds it takes a reload to complete, when NGINX Plus is reloaded with an updated policy of an average size, in environments of varying I/O performance, and comparable CPU/memory specs:

Read IOPS Write IOPS Reload Time
675 678 18
1575 1575 12
13400 13400 8

Platform Security Considerations

When deploying App Protect on NGINX Plus take the following precautions to secure the platform. This avoids the risk of causing a Denial of Service condition or compromising the platform security.

  • Restrict permissions to the files on the NGINX App Protect WAF platform to user nginx and group nginx, especially for the sensitive areas containing the configuration.
  • Remove unnecessary remote access services on the platform.
  • Configure a Syslog destination on the same machine as App Protect and proxy to an external destination. This avoids eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks on the Syslog channel.
  • Regularly update the Operating System (OS) to avoid known OS vulnerabilities which may impact the service.

User Permissions

If a user other than nginx is to be used, note the following:

  • If nginx user creation is disallowed on the platform, the following warning may be seen during installation:

    warning: user nginx does not exist - using root
    
  • After first installation, upgrade, or security update installation, perform the following steps before starting/restarting/reloading NGINX:

    • Modify user permissions on all installed NGINX App Protect WAF files:

      chown -R <user>:<group> /usr/share/ts /var/log/app_protect /opt/app_protect /etc/app_protect
      
    • Modify user of NGINX App Protect WAF processes:

      For service startup modify the User in the following files on your platform:

      nginx-app-protect.service

      For docker deployment, modify the entrypoint.sh script to use the correct user instead of nginx when starting up the bd-socket-plugin process.

CentOS 7.4+ Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages on your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the CentOS server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo yum install ca-certificates epel-release wget
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-*.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file nginx-plus-7.4.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  9. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo yum install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo yum install app-protect-24+3.639.0
    
  10. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  11. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  12. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  13. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo yum install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  14. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  15. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

RHEL 7.4+ Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the RHEL server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo yum install ca-certificates wget
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-*.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file nginx-plus-7.4.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  9. Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:

    Download the file dependencies.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo
    

    If you have a RHEL subscription:

    sudo yum-config-manager --enable rhui-REGION-rhel-server-optional rhui-REGION-rhel-server-releases rhel-7-server-optional-rpms
    

    If you don’t have a RHEL subscription, you can pull the dependencies from the CentOS repository: Create a new repository centos.repo in /etc/yum.repos.d/ with the content:

    [centos]
    name=CentOS-7
    baseurl=http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/centos/7/os/x86_64/
    enabled=1
    gpgcheck=1
    gpgkey=http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/centos/7/os/x86_64/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-7
    
  10. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo yum install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo yum install app-protect-24+3.639.0
    
  11. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  12. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  13. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  14. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo yum install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  15. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  16. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

RHEL 8.1+ Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the RHEL server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo dnf install ca-certificates wget
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-8.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file nginx-plus-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-8.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
    
  9. Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:

    Download the file dependencies.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo
    

    Enable codeready-builder repository through subscription manager:

    sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms
    
  10. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo dnf install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-31+4.641.0
    
  11. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  12. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  13. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  14. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo dnf install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  15. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  16. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

RHEL 9+ Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the RHEL server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo dnf install ca-certificates wget
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/plus-*.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file plus-9.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/plus-9.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-9.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
    
  9. Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:

    Download the file dependencies.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo
    

    Enable codeready-builder repository through subscription manager:

    sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms
    
  10. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo dnf install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-31+4.641.0
    
  11. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  12. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  13. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  14. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo dnf install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  15. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  16. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

Oracle Linux 8.1+ Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the Oracle Linux server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo dnf install ca-certificates wget yum-utils
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-*.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file nginx-plus-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-8.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
    
  9. Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:

    Download the file dependencies.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo
    

    Enable ol8_codeready_builder repository:

    dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol8_codeready_builder
    
  10. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo dnf install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-26+3.890.0
    
  11. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  12. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  13. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  14. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo dnf install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  15. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  16. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

Amazon Linux 2 LTS Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the Amazon Linux server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo amazon-linux-extras enable epel
    sudo yum clean metadata
    sudo yum install ca-certificates epel-release wget
    
  6. Remove any previously downloaded NGINX Plus repository file from /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-7.repo
    
  7. Add NGINX Plus repository by downloading the file nginx-plus-7.4.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo
    
  8. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repository by downloading the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  9. Install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo yum install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, you can use the following command to list available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect
    

    Then, install a specific version from the output of the command above. For example:

    sudo yum install app-protect-24+3.639.0
    
  10. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  11. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  12. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf file:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  13. Optionally, install a prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (or configure SELinux as appropriate per your organization’s security policies):

    sudo yum install app-protect-selinux
    

    If you encounter any issues, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

  14. To enable the NGINX/App Protect WAF service start at boot, run the command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
    
  15. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    

Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12 Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and change the directory to the SSL certificate directory after creating the folder:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    cd /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the Debian server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2
    
    Note:
    In case the apt installation or database update fails due to release info change, run the below command before you install.
    sudo apt-get update --allow-releaseinfo-change
    
  6. Download and add the NGINX signing keys:

    wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | gpg --dearmor | \
    sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
    
    wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | gpg --dearmor | \
    sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  7. Remove any previous NGINX Plus repository and apt configuration files:

    sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list
    sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*app-protect*.list
    sudo rm /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/90pkgs-nginx
    
  8. Add NGINX Plus repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list
    
  9. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list
    
    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  10. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  11. Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, to install a specific version, use the following commands to update and list available versions:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect
    
    Note:
    When installing an older version of NGINX App Protect WAF, the dependent packages have to be installed manually, as shown in the command above. The following script can be used to find out the dependent packages for a specific version of NGINX App Protect WAF.
    findDeps () { local pkgs=$(apt show $1 2>/dev/null | grep Depends: | grep -oE "(nginx-plus-module|app-protect)-[a-z]+ *\(= *[0-9\+\.-]+~`lsb_release -cs`\)" | tr -d ' ()'); for p in ${pkgs[@]}; do echo $p; findDeps $p; done; }
    findDeps app-protect=24+3.639.0-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    

    Finally, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo apt-get install -y app-protect-compiler=8.7.4-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-plugin=3.639.0-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    nginx-plus-module-appprotect=24+3.639.0-1~[OS_CODENAME]\
    app-protect-engine=8.7.4-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect=24+3.639.0-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-common=8.7.4-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    

    Replace the [OS_CODENAME] in the above example with: buster for Debian 10, bullseye for Debian 11 and bookworm for Debian 12.

  12. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  13. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf file:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  14. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf via:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  15. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    
Note:
Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12 activates AppArmor by default, but NGINX App Protect WAF will run in unconfined mode after being installed as it is shipped with no AppArmor profile. To benefit from AppArmor access control capabilities for NGINX App Protect WAF, you will have to write your own AppArmor profile for NGINX App Protect WAF executables found in /opt/app_protect/bin such that it best suits your environment.

Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04 Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx
    
  3. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  4. Copy the above two files to the Ubuntu server’s /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory. Use an SCP client or another secure file transfer tool to perform this task.

  5. Install prerequisite packages:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2
    
  6. Download and add the NGINX signing keys:

    wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
    
    wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  7. Remove any previous NGINX Plus repository and apt configuration files:

    sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list
    sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*app-protect*.list
    sudo rm /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/90pkgs-nginx
    
  8. Add NGINX Plus repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list
    
  9. Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list
    
    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  10. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  11. Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install app-protect
    

    Alternatively, to install a specific version, use the following commands to update and list available versions:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect
    

    Finally, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo apt-get install -y app-protect-compiler=5.9.4-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-plugin=3.263.0-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    nginx-plus-module-appprotect=23+3.263.0-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-engine=5.9.4-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect=23+3.263.0-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    

    Replace the [OS_CODENAME] in above the example with: bionic for Ubuntu 18.04, focal for Ubuntu 20.04, jammy for Ubuntu 22.04 and noble for Ubuntu 24.04.

    Note:
    When installing an older version of NGINX App Protect WAF, the dependent packages have to be installed manually, as shown in the command above. The following script can be used to find out the dependent packages for a specific version of NGINX App Protect WAF.
    findDeps () { local pkgs=$(apt show $1 2>/dev/null | grep Depends: | grep -oE "(nginx-plus-module|app-protect)-[a-z]+ *\(= *[0-9\+\.-]+~`lsb_release -cs`\)" | tr -d ' ()'); for p in ${pkgs[@]}; do echo $p; findDeps $p; done; }
    findDeps app-protect=23+3.263.0-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    
  12. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  13. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf file:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  14. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf via:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  15. Start the NGINX service:

    sudo systemctl start nginx
    
Note:
Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04 activates AppArmor by default, but NGINX App Protect WAF will run in unconfined mode after being installed as it is shipped with no AppArmor profile. To benefit from AppArmor access control capabilities for NGINX App Protect WAF, you will have to write your own AppArmor profile for NGINX App Protect WAF executables found in /opt/app_protect/bin such that it best suits your environment.

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17 Installation

  1. If you already have NGINX packages in your system, back up your configs and logs:

    sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
    sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup
    
  2. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  3. Upload nginx-repo.key to /etc/apk/cert.key and nginx-repo.crt to /etc/apk/cert.pem. Make sure that files do not contain other certificates and keys, as Alpine Linux does not support mixing client certificates for different repositories.

  4. Add the NGINX public signing key to the directory /etc/apk/keys:

    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub  https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub
    
    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub
    
  5. Remove any previously configured NGINX Plus repository:

    sed "/plus-pkgs.nginx.com/d" /etc/apk/repositories
    
  6. Add the NGINX Plus repository to /etc/apk/repositories file:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
  7. Add the NGINX App Protect WAF repository to /etc/apk/repositories file:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
  8. We recommend removing all community-supported NGINX packages. Note that all NGINX modules will be removed as well.

    sudo apk del -r app-protect
    sudo apk del -r nginx
    
  9. Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX Plus and NGINX App Protect WAF:

    sudo apk update
    sudo apk add app-protect
    

    Alternatively, use the following commands to install the most recent version of NGINX App Protect WAF for NGINX Plus R28:

    sudo apk update
    sudo apk add app-protect
    

    Alternatively, use the following commands to list available versions:

    sudo apk update
    sudo apk info app-protect
    

    Finally, install a specific version from the output of command above. For example:

    sudo apk add app-protect=30.4.457.0-r1
    
  10. Check the NGINX binary version to ensure that you have NGINX Plus installed correctly:

    sudo nginx -v
    
  11. Load the NGINX App Protect WAF module on the main context in the nginx.conf file:

    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
  12. Enable NGINX App Protect WAF on an http/server/location context in the nginx.conf via:

    app_protect_enable on;
    
  13. Start the App Protect and NGINX services:

    sudo service nginx-app-protect start
    sudo service nginx start
    

Docker Deployment

General Docker Deployment Instructions

  1. Create a Dockerfile (see examples below) which copies the following files into the docker image:

    • nginx.conf: User defined nginx.conf with app-protect enabled
    • entrypoint.sh: Docker startup script which spins up all App Protect processes, must have executable permissions
    • custom_log_format.json: Optional user-defined security log format file (if not used - remove its references from the nginx.conf and Dockerfile)
  2. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  3. Copy the files to the directory where the Dockerfile is located.

  4. Optionally, create custom_log_format.json in the same directory, for example:

    {
        "filter": {
            "request_type": "all"
        },
        "content": {
            "format": "splunk",
            "max_request_size": "any",
            "max_message_size": "10k"
        }
    }
    
  5. In the same directory create an nginx.conf file with the following contents:

    user nginx;
    
    worker_processes auto;
    load_module modules/ngx_http_app_protect_module.so;
    
    error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log debug;
    
    events {
        worker_connections 10240;
    }
    
    http {
        include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
        default_type application/octet-stream;
        sendfile on;
        keepalive_timeout 65;
    
        upstream app_backend_com {
            server 192.168.0.1:8000;
            server 192.168.0.1:8001;
        }
        server {
            listen 80;
            server_name app.example.com;
            proxy_http_version 1.1;
    
            app_protect_enable on;
            app_protect_security_log_enable on;
            app_protect_security_log "/etc/nginx/custom_log_format.json" syslog:server=127.0.0.1:514;
    
            location / {
                client_max_body_size 0;
                default_type text/html;
                # set your backend here
                proxy_pass http://app_backend_com;
                proxy_set_header Host $host;
            }
        }
    }
    
    Important:
    Make sure to replace upstream and proxy pass directives in this example with relevant application backend settings.
  6. In the same directory create an entrypoint.sh file with the following content:

    #!/bin/sh
    
    /bin/su -s /bin/sh -c "/usr/share/ts/bin/bd-socket-plugin tmm_count 4 proc_cpuinfo_cpu_mhz 2000000 total_xml_memory 307200000 total_umu_max_size 3129344 sys_max_account_id 1024 no_static_config 2>&1 >> /var/log/app_protect/bd-socket-plugin.log &" nginx
    /usr/sbin/nginx -g 'daemon off;'
    
  7. Create a Docker image:

    • For CentOS/Oracle Linux/Debian/Ubuntu/Alpine/Amazon Linux:

      DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --no-cache --secret id=nginx-crt,src=nginx-repo.crt --secret id=nginx-key,src=nginx-repo.key -t app-protect .
      

      The DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 enables docker build to recognize the --secret flag which allows the user to pass secret information to be used in the Dockerfile for building docker images in a safe way that will not end up stored in the final image. This is a recommended practice for the handling of the certificate and private key for NGINX repository access (nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key files). More information here.

    • For RHEL:

      podman build --no-cache --secret id=nginx-crt,src=nginx-repo.crt --secret id=nginx-key,src=nginx-repo.key -t app-protect .
      

    Notes:

    • The --no-cache option tells Docker/Podman to build the image from scratch and ensures the installation of the latest version of NGINX Plus and NGINX App Protect WAF 4.x. If the Dockerfile was previously used to build an image without the --no-cache option, the new image uses versions from the previously built image from the cache.
    • For RHEL:
      The subscription-manager is disabled when running inside containers based on Red Hat Universal Base images. You will need a registered and subscribed RHEL system.
  8. Verify that the app-protect image was created successfully with the docker images command:

    docker images app-protect
    
  9. Create a container based on this image, for example, my-app-protect container:

    docker run --name my-app-protect -p 80:80 -d app-protect
    
  10. Verify that the my-app-protect container is up and running with the docker ps command:

    docker ps
    

CentOS 7.4 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For CentOS 7:
FROM centos:7.4.1708

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates epel-release

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    yum -y install app-protect \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

RHEL UBI7 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi7:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi7/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm \
    && yum clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    yum install --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-extras-rpms --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-optional-rpms --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-rpms -y app-protect \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

RHEL UBI8 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi8:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-8.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf install --enablerepo=codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms -y app-protect \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

RHEL UBI9 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi9:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/plus-9.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf install --enablerepo=codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms -y app-protect \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Oracle Linux 8 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Oracle Linux 8:
FROM oraclelinux:8

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates yum-utils

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-8.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo

# Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:
RUN dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol8_codeready_builder \
    && wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf -y install app-protect \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Amazon Linux 2 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Amazon Linux 2:
FROM amazonlinux:2

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN amazon-linux-extras enable epel
RUN yum clean metadata
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates epel-release shadow-utils

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-7.4.repo

# Add NGINX App-protect repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    yum -y install app-protect \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Debian 10 (Buster) / 11 (Bullseye) / 12 (Bookworm) Docker Deployment Example

ARG OS_CODENAME
# Where OS_CODENAME can be: buster/bullseye/bookworm
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Debian 10 / 11 / 12:
FROM debian:${OS_CODENAME}

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null

# Add NGINX Plus repository:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list

# Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list

# Download the apt configuration to `/etc/apt/apt.conf.d`:
RUN wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    apt-get update && apt-get install -y app-protect

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Ubuntu 18.04 (Bionic) / 20.04 (Focal) / 22.04 (Jammy) / 24.04 (Noble) Docker Deployment Example

ARG OS_CODENAME
# Where OS_CODENAME can be: bionic/focal/jammy/noble
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Ubuntu 18.04 / 20.04 /22.04 / 24.04:
FROM ubuntu:${OS_CODENAME}

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null

# Add NGINX Plus repository:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list

# Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list

# Download the apt configuration to `/etc/apt/apt.conf.d`:
RUN wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y app-protect

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17 Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Alpine 3.16 / 3.17:
FROM alpine:3.16/3.17

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -O /etc/apk/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub \
 && wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub

# Add NGINX Plus repository:
RUN printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories

# Add NGINX App Protect repository:
RUN printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories \
 && printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF package (which includes NGINX Plus):
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/apk/cert.pem,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/apk/cert.key,mode=0644 \
    apk update && apk add app-protect

# Forward request logs to Docker log collector:
RUN ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Copy configuration files:
COPY nginx.conf custom_log_format.json /etc/nginx/
COPY entrypoint.sh /root/

CMD ["sh", "/root/entrypoint.sh"]

Converter Tool Docker Image

This section explains how to build a Docker image for the purpose of converting policy files from other F5 WAF products to NGINX App Protect WAF JSON declarative format. For more details regarding this feature refer to Converter Tools.

Converter Docker Deployment Instructions

You need root permissions to execute the following steps.

  1. Create a Dockerfile (see examples below).

  2. Log in to the Customer Portal and download the following two files:

    nginx-repo.key
    nginx-repo.crt
    
  3. Create a Docker image:

    • For CentOS/Oracle Linux/Debian/Ubuntu/Alpine/Amazon Linux:

      DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --no-cache --secret id=nginx-crt,src=nginx-repo.crt --secret id=nginx-key,src=nginx-repo.key -t app-protect-converter .
      

      The DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 enables docker build to recognize the --secret flag which allows the user to pass secret information to be used in the Dockerfile for building docker images in a safe way that will not end up stored in the final image. This is a recommended practice for the handling of the certificate and private key for NGINX repository access (nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key files). More information here.

    • For RHEL:

      podman build --no-cache --secret id=nginx-crt,src=nginx-repo.crt --secret id=nginx-key,src=nginx-repo.key -t app-protect-converter .
      

    Notes:

    • The --no-cache option tells Docker/Podman to build the image from scratch and ensures the installation of the latest version of NGINX Plus and NGINX App Protect WAF 4.x. If the Dockerfile was previously used to build an image without the --no-cache option, the new image uses versions from the previously built image from the cache.
    • For RHEL:
      The subscription-manager is disabled when running inside containers based on Red Hat Universal Base images. You will need a registered and subscribed RHEL system.
  4. Create a temporary folder and copy your XML policy file(s) to it:

    mkdir /tmp/convert
    cp policy.xml /tmp/convert/
    
  5. Run the docker image with the temporary folder as a mounted volume on the container, and run the policy converter script:

    docker run -v /tmp/convert:/tmp/convert app-protect-converter /opt/app_protect/bin/convert-policy -i /tmp/convert/policy.xml -o /tmp/convert/policy.json | jq
    

    Output:

    {
        "completed_successfully": true,
        "file_size": 20604,
        "warnings": [
            "Default header '*-bin' cannot be deleted.",
            "Traffic Learning, Policy Building, and staging are unsupported",
            "/general/enableEventCorrelation must be '0' (was '1').",
            "Element '/websocket-urls' is unsupported.",
            "/signature-sets/learn value 1 is unsupported",
            "Element '/redirection-protection' is unsupported.",
            "/protocolIndependent must be '1' (was '0').",
            "Element '/gwt-profiles' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_ASM_COOKIE_HIJACKING' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_BLOCKING_CONDITION' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_BRUTE_FORCE' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_CONVICTION' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_CROSS_ORIGIN_REQUEST' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_CSRF' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_CSRF_EXPIRED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_DYNAMIC_SESSION' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_FLOW' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_FLOW_DISALLOWED_INPUT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_FLOW_ENTRY_POINT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_FLOW_MANDATORY_PARAMS' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_GEOLOCATION' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_GWT_FORMAT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_GWT_MALFORMED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_HOSTNAME_MISMATCH' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_LOGIN_URL_BYPASSED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_LOGIN_URL_EXPIRED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_MALICIOUS_DEVICE' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_MALICIOUS_IP' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_PARAMETER_DYNAMIC_VALUE' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_PLAINTEXT_FORMAT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_REDIRECT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_SESSION_AWARENESS' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_VIRUS' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_BAD_REQUEST' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_BINARY_MESSAGE_LENGTH' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_BINARY_MESSAGE_NOT_ALLOWED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_EXTENSION' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_FRAMES_PER_MESSAGE_COUNT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_FRAME_LENGTH' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_FRAME_MASKING' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_FRAMING_PROTOCOL' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_TEXT_MESSAGE_NOT_ALLOWED' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_WEBSOCKET_TEXT_NULL_VALUE' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_XML_SCHEMA' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_XML_SOAP_ATTACHMENT' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_XML_SOAP_METHOD' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/violations/name value 'VIOL_XML_WEB_SERVICES_SECURITY' is unsupported.",
            "/blocking-settings/http-protocols/description value 'Unparsable request content' is unsupported.",
            "Element '/plain-text-profiles' is unsupported."
        ],
        "filename": "/tmp/convert/policy-ubuntu.json"
    }
    
  6. Once completed, the newly exported JSON policy file should reside in the same folder as the source XML policy file:

    ls -l /tmp/convert/
    total 848
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  20604 Dec 20 12:33 policy.json    # Exported JSON policy file
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 841818 Dec 20 11:10 policy.xml     # Original XML policy file
    

CentOS 7 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For CentOS 7:
FROM centos:7

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates epel-release

# Add NGINX Plus repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF Compiler package:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    yum -y install app-protect-compiler \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

RHEL UBI7 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi7:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi7/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm \
    && yum clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
     yum install --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-extras-rpms --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-optional-rpms --enablerepo=rhel-7-server-rpms -y app-protect-compiler \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

RHEL UBI8 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi8:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf install --enablerepo=codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms -y app-protect-compiler \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

RHEL UBI9 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For RHEL ubi9:
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/ubi

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates

# Add NGINX App-protect & dependencies repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf install --enablerepo=codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms -y app-protect-compiler \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

Oracle Linux 8 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Oracle Linux 8:
FROM oraclelinux:8

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN dnf -y install wget ca-certificates yum-utils

# Add NGINX App-protect repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo

# Enable Yum repositories to pull App Protect dependencies:
RUN dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol8_codeready_builder \
    && wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/dependencies.repo \
    # You can use either of the dependencies or epel repo
    # && rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm \
    && dnf clean all

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    dnf install -y app-protect-compiler \
    && dnf clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf

Amazon Linux 2 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Amazon Linux 2:
FROM amazonlinux:2

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN amazon-linux-extras enable epel
RUN yum clean metadata
RUN yum -y install wget ca-certificates epel-release shadow-utils

# Add NGINX App-protect repo to Yum:
RUN wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo

# Install NGINX App Protect WAF:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    yum -y install app-protect-compiler \
    && yum clean all \
    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum

Debian 10 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Debian 10:
FROM debian:buster

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key && apt-key add nginx_signing.key \
    && wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key && apt-key add app-protect-security-updates.key

# Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:
RUN printf "deb https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list \
    && printf "deb https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list

# Download the apt configuration to `/etc/apt/apt.conf.d`:
RUN wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90nginx

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF Compiler package:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    apt-get update && apt-get install -y app-protect-compiler

CMD ["sh"]

Debian 11 / Debian 12 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Debian 11:
FROM debian:bullseye/bookworm

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null

# Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list 
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list

# Download the apt configuration to `/etc/apt/apt.conf.d`:
RUN wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF Compiler package:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y app-protect-compiler

Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04 Converter Docker Deployment Example

ARG OS_CODENAME
# Where OS_CODENAME can be: bionic/focal/jammy/noble
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Ubuntu 18.04 / 20.04 /22.04 / 24.04:
FROM ubuntu:${OS_CODENAME}

# Install prerequisite packages:
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
RUN wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null

# Add NGINX App Protect WAF repositories:
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-app-protect.list 
RUN printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \ 
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list

# Download the apt configuration to `/etc/apt/apt.conf.d`:
RUN wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF Compiler package:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
    apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y app-protect-compiler

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17 Converter Docker Deployment Example

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# For Alpine 3.16/3.17:
FROM alpine:3.16/3.17

# Download and add the NGINX signing keys:
RUN wget -O /etc/apk/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub \
 && wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub

# Add NGINX Plus repository:
RUN printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories \
 && printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories

# Update the repository and install the most recent version of the NGINX App Protect WAF Compiler package:
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-crt,dst=/etc/apk/cert.pem,mode=0644 \
    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-key,dst=/etc/apk/cert.key,mode=0644 \
    apk update && apk add app-protect-compiler

Offline Installation

To perform an offline installation of NGINX App Protect WAF you can use a host with access to the NGINX repository to download all the packages (including dependencies) to your local repository.

Example Deployment for CentOS/RHEL

Add the NGINX App Protect WAF Packages to an Internal Repository

On a host with access to the NGINX App Protect WAF repository:

  1. Install the downloadonly plugin for Yum:

    yum -y install yum-plugin-downloadonly
    
  2. Download all NGINX App Protect WAF packages, including all dependencies:

    mkdir -p /etc/packages/
    yum install --downloadonly --downloaddir=/etc/packages/ app-protect
    
  3. Download the epel-release dependency package:

    For CentOS:

    yum install --downloadonly --downloaddir=/etc/packages/ epel-release
    

    For RHEL 7:

    wget -P /etc/packages https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm
    

    For RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+:

    wget -P /etc/packages https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
    

    For RHEL 9+:

    wget -P /etc/packages https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm
    
  4. Add the packages in /etc/packages to your local repository.

Install NGINX App Protect WAF from an Internal Repository

On an offline host:

  1. Add your internal repository configuration.

  2. Install NGINX App Protect WAF:

    yum -y install app-protect
    

Example Deployment for Debian/Ubuntu

Add the NGINX App Protect WAF Packages to an Internal Repository

On a host with access to the NGINX App Protect WAF repository:

  1. Download all NGINX App Protect WAF packages, including all dependencies:

    mkdir -p /etc/packages/
    cd /etc/packages/
    apt-get update
    for i in $(apt-cache depends --recurse --no-recommends --no-suggests --no-conflicts --no-breaks --no-replaces --no-enhances app-protect | grep "^\w" | sort -u); do apt-get download $i 2>>errors.txt; done
    
  2. Add the packages in /etc/packages to your local repository.

Install NGINX App Protect WAF from an Internal Repository

On an offline host:

  1. Add your internal repository configuration.

  2. Install NGINX App Protect WAF:

    apt-get update
    apt-get install -y app-protect
    

Post-Installation Checks

You can run the following commands to ensure that NGINX App Protect WAF enforcement is operational.

  1. Check that the three processes needed for NGINX App Protect WAF are running using ps aux:

    • bd-socket-plugin
    • nginx: master process
    • nginx: worker process
    USER       PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND
    root         8  1.3  2.4 3486948 399092 ?      Sl   09:11   0:02 /usr/share/ts/bin/bd-socket-plugin tmm_count 4 proc_cpuinfo_cpu_mhz 2000000 total_xml_memory 307200000 total_umu_max_size 3129344 sys_max_account_id 1024 no_static_config
    root        14  0.0  0.1  71060 26680 ?        S    09:11   0:00 nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -c /tmp/policy/test_nginx.conf -g daemon off;
    root        26  0.0  0.3  99236 52092 ?        S    09:12   0:00 nginx: worker process
    root        28  0.0  0.0  11788  2920 pts/0    Ss   09:12   0:00 bash
    root        43  0.0  0.0  47460  3412 pts/0    R+   09:14   0:00 ps aux
    
  2. Verify that there are no NGINX errors in the /var/log/nginx/error.log and that the policy compiled successfully:

    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: APP_PROTECT { "event": "configuration_load_start", "configSetFile": "/opt/f5waf/config/config_set.json" }
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: APP_PROTECT policy 'app_protect_default_policy' from: /etc/app_protect/conf/NginxDefaultPolicy.json compiled successfully
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: APP_PROTECT { "event": "configuration_load_success", "software_version": "1.1.1", "attack_signatures_package":{"revision_datetime":"2019-07-16T12:21:31Z"},"completed_successfully":true}
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: using the "epoll" event method
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: nginx/1.17.6 (nginx-plus-r20)
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: built by gcc 4.8.5 20150623 (Red Hat 4.8.5-36) (GCC)
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: OS: Linux 3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 402#402: getrlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE): 1048576:1048576
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 406#406: start worker processes
    2020/05/10 13:21:04 [notice] 406#406: start worker process 407
    
  3. Check that sending an attack signature in a request returns a response block page containing a support ID:

    Request:
    http://10.240.185.211/?a=<script>
    
    Response:
    The requested URL was rejected. Please consult with your administrator.
    
    Your support ID is: 9847191526422998597
    
    [Go Back]
    
  4. In case your policy includes JSON/XML profiles, please check /var/log/app_protect/bd-socket-plugin.log and make sure there aren’t any errors by running:

    grep '|ERR' /var/log/app_protect/bd-socket-plugin.log
    

    If you see an error similar to:

    ... Cannot allocate 196744 more bytes for XML parser. current memory size 307089520 (in bytes) ...
    

    Increase the bd-socket-plugin process command line variable total_xml_memory in the startup.sh script or in the nginx-app-protect.service file.

    The NGINX App Protect’s unit file can be modified with the following command:

    sudo systemctl edit --full nginx-app-protect.service
    

    The file itself is located at /lib/systemd/system/ in deb packages, at /usr/lib/systemd/system/ in rpm packages.

    The number 471859200 should be enough for most use cases, you may need to use a bigger number if the number of profiles is large, or large json/xml schemas are used in the policy.

  5. If there are additional problems, refer to the Troubleshooting Guide.

Attack Signatures Dependency Change in NGINX App Protect WAF

Starting with release 3.12 there is a change in dependency of the Attack Signatures package. Until release 3.11, NGINX App Protect WAF used pre-packaged Attack Signatures that did not provide the latest Attack Signatures.

From version 3.12, when the user performs the clean install (installing NGINX App Protect WAF for the first time), it will install the latest Attack Signatures package. This will keep the customers up to date with the latest Attack Signatures and provide protection against the latest threats.

The way to achieve the goal of better protection will use the package dependency mechanism so the app protect package will be dependent on the signatures package thus ensuring that the latest signatures package is deployed once the app protect release is deployed for the first time.

In case the user has an older version of NGINX App Protect WAF and never installed the Attack Signatures package, upgrading NGINX App Protect WAF will install the latest Attack Signatures. However, if they have installed Attack Signatures package previously at any point in time, NGINX App Protect WAF will not install the latest Attack Signatures.

Note:
The user can upgrade or downgrade the Attack Signatures regardless of the installed version of NGINX App Protect WAF.

Attack Signatures Package

The attack signature package is named: app-protect-attack-signatures-2022.08.04. The version number for this package reflects the date the package was released. The format is: YYYY.MM.DD where:

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year
  • MM is the month
  • DD is the day in the month

Example: app-protect-attack-signatures-2022.08.04

Updating App Protect Attack Signatures

Attack Signatures updates are released at higher frequency than App Protect, therefore they are released in their own package, separate from the App Protect package. You can update the attack signatures without updating the App Protect release, and conversely, you can update App Protect without changing the attack signature package, unless you move to a new NGINX Plus release.

Installing Attack Signature Update

After having updated the Attack Signature package you have to reload the configuration in order for the new version of the Signatures to take effect. Until then App Protect will run with the old version. That is useful when creating an environment with a specific tested version of the Attack Signatures.

CentOS / RHEL 7.4+ / Amazon Linux 2

  1. To add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository, download the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  2. Update the attack signatures:

    sudo yum install app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo yum install app-protect-attack-signatures-2020.04.30
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo yum downgrade app-protect-attack-signatures-2019.07.16
    

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+

  1. To add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository, download the file app-protect-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
    
  2. Update the attack signatures:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-attack-signatures-2021.12.30
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf downgrade app-protect-attack-signatures-2019.07.16
    

RHEL 9+

  1. To add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository, download the file app-protect-9.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
    
  2. Update the attack signatures:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-attack-signatures-2023.12.11
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf downgrade app-protect-attack-signatures-2023.12.11
    

Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12

  1. Add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF signatures signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update the attack signatures:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Debian 10:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.04.30-1~buster
    

    For Debian 11:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.04.30-1~bulleye
    

    For Debian 12:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.04.30-1~bookworm
    

Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04

  1. Add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF signatures signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update the attack signatures:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Ubuntu 18.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.07.16-1~bionic
    

    For Ubuntu 20.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.07.16-1~focal
    

    For Ubuntu 22.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.07.16-1~jammy
    

    For Ubuntu 24.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2020.07.16-1~noble
    

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
  2. If not already downloaded, download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates signing key:

    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub
    
  3. Update the attack signatures:

    To install the latest version, first update the packages:

    sudo apk update && sudo apk add app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apk search app-protect-attack-signatures
    

    Finally, install the latest version from the output:

    sudo apk add app-protect-attack-signatures=2023.08.03-r1
    

Attack Signatures When Upgrading NGINX App Protect WAF

Upgrading App Protect does not install new Attack Signatures. You will get the same Attack Signature release after upgrading App Protect. If you want to also upgrade the Attack Signatures, you will have to explicitly update them by the respective command above.

Threat Campaigns Dependency Change in NGINX App Protect WAF

Starting with release 3.12 there is a change in dependency of the Threat Campaigns package. Until release 3.11, App Protect installation did not come with a built-in Threat Campaigns package like Attack Signatures.

From version 3.12, when the user performs the clean install (installing NGINX App Protect WAF for the first time), it will install the latest Threat Campaigns package. This will keep the customers up to date with the latest Threat Campaigns and provide protection against the latest threats.

The way to achieve the goal of better protection will use the package dependency mechanism so the app protect package will be dependent on the Threat Campaigns package thus ensuring that the latest Threat Campaigns package is deployed once the app protect release is deployed for the first time.

In case the user has an older version of NGINX App Protect WAF and never installed the Threat Campaigns package, upgrading NGINX App Protect will install the latest Threat Campaigns. However, if they have installed Threat Campaigns package previously at any point in time, NGINX App Protect WAF will not install the latest Threat Campaigns.

Note:
The user can upgrade or downgrade the Threat Campaigns regardless of the installed version of NGINX App Protect WAF.

Installing Threat Campaigns Update

Until release 3.11 App Protect installation did not come with a built-in Threat Campaigns package like Attack Signatures. Threat Campaigns Updates are released periodically whenever new campaigns and vectors are discovered, so you might want to update your Threat Campaigns from time to time. You can upgrade the Threat Campaigns by updating the package any time after installing App Protect. We recommend you upgrade to the latest Threat Campaigns version right after installing App Protect.

After having updated the Threat Campaigns package you have to reload the configuration in order for the new version of the Threat Campaigns to take effect. Until then App Protect will run with the old version, if one exists. This is useful when creating an environment with a specific tested version of the Threat Campaigns.

Updating App Protect Threat Campaigns

The Threat Campaigns feature is described here.

The Threat Campaigns package is named: app-protect-threat-campaigns-2022.07.21. The version number for this package reflects the date the package was released. The format is: YYYY.MM.DD where:

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year
  • MM is the month
  • DD is the day in the month

Example: app-protect-threat-campaigns-2022.07.21

CentOS / RHEL 7.4+ / Amazon Linux 2

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  2. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo yum install app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo yum install app-protect-threat-campaigns-2022.07.21
    

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
    
  2. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-threat-campaigns-2022.07.21
    

RHEL 9+

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-9.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
    
  2. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-threat-campaigns-2023.12.11
    

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
  2. If not already downloaded, download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates signing key:

    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub
    
  3. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo apk update && sudo apk add app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apk search app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    Finally, install the latest version from the output:

    sudo apk add app-protect-threat-campaigns=2023.08.09-r1
    

Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Threat Campaigns signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Debian 10:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.06.25-1~buster
    

    For Debian 11:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.06.25-1~bullseye
    

    For Debian 12:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.06.25-1~bookworm
    

Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Threat Campaigns signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update Threat Campaigns:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-threat-campaigns
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Ubuntu 18.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.08.05-1~bionic
    

    For Ubuntu 20.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.08.05-1~focal
    

    For Ubuntu 22.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-threat-campaigns=2020.08.05-1~jammy
    

    For Ubuntu 24.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-attack-signatures=2024.06.26-1~noble
    

Updating App Protect Bot Signatures

The App Protect Bot Signatures feature is described here.

The App Protect Bot Signatures is named: app-protect-bot-signatures and it is a dependency similar to attack signatures and threat campaigns and can be updated more often. The version number for this package reflects the date the package was released. For example: app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.11.14, where the format for app protect bot signatures is: YYYY.MM.DD.

CentOS / RHEL 7.4+ / Amazon Linux 2

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-7.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-7.repo
    
  2. Update bot signatures:

    sudo yum install app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo yum --showduplicates list app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo yum install app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.11.14
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo yum downgrade app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.11.14
    

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-8.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-8.repo
    
  2. Update Bot Signatures:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.11.14
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf downgrade app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.11.14
    

RHEL 9+

  1. If not already configured, add NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository by downloading the file app-protect-9.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/app-protect-9.repo
    
  2. Update Bot Signatures:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo dnf --showduplicates list app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To upgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf install app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.12.11
    

    To downgrade to a specific version:

    sudo dnf downgrade app-protect-bot-signatures-2023.12.11
    

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
    
  2. If not already downloaded, download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates signing key:

    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.rsa.pub
    
  3. Update Bot Signatures:

    sudo apk update && sudo apk add app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apk search app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    Finally, install the latest version from the output:

    sudo apk add app-protect-bot-signatures=2023.11.14
    

Debian 11 / Debian 12

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Bot Signatures signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update Bot Signatures:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Debian 11:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures=2023.11.14~bullseye
    

    For Debian 12:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures=2023.11.14~bookworm
    

Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04

  1. If not already configured, add the NGINX App Protect WAF Security Updates repository:

    printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg] \
    https://pkgs.nginx.com/app-protect-security-updates/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/app-protect-security-updates.list
    
  2. Download and add the NGINX App Protect WAF Bot Signatures signing key:

    sudo wget https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/app-protect-security-updates.key | \
    gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/app-protect-security-updates.gpg >/dev/null
    
  3. Download the apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx
    
  4. Update Bot Signatures:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    To install a specific version, list the available versions:

    sudo apt-cache policy app-protect-bot-signatures
    

    Install a specific version:

    For Ubuntu 20.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures=2023.11.14~focal
    

    For Ubuntu 22.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures=2023.11.14~jammy
    

    For Ubuntu 24.04:

    sudo apt-get install app-protect-bot-signatures=2024.06.23~noble
    

Upgrading App Protect

You can upgrade to the latest NGINX Plus and App Protect 4.x versions by downloading and installing the latest NGINX App Protect WAF 4.x package. When upgrading from this package, App Protect will be uninstalled and reinstalled. The old default security policy is deleted and the new default security policy is installed. If you have created a custom security policy, the policy persists and you will need to update nginx.conf and point to the custom security policy by referencing the json file (using the full path).

After upgrading the NGINX App Protect WAF version, restart NGINX manually:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

In case of using the prebuilt SELinux policy module for NGINX App Protect WAF (app-protect-selinux) - upgrade it by installing the latest 4.x available version.

Uninstall App Protect

You can uninstall the App Protect in below Operating Systems by using the following commands:

CentOS 7.4+ / RHEL 7.4+ / Amazon Linux 2

sudo yum remove app-protect \
app-protect-compiler \
app-protect-plugin \
app-protect-engine \
app-protect-graphql \
app-protect-geoip \
app-protect-common \
app-protect-attack-signatures \
app-protect-threat-campaigns \
app-protect-bot-signatures \
app-protect-selinux

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+ / RHEL 9+

sudo dnf remove app-protect app-protect-selinux

Debian 11 / Debian 12 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04

sudo apt-get remove app-protect \
app-protect-plugin \
app-protect-engine \
app-protect-graphql \
app-protect-geoip \
app-protect-compiler \
app-protect-common \
app-protect-attack-signatures \
app-protect-threat-campaigns \
app-protect-bot-signatures

Alpine 3.16 / Alpine 3.17

sudo apk del app-protect \
app-protect-plugin \
app-protect-engine \
app-protect-graphql \
app-protect-geoip \
app-protect-compiler \
app-protect-common \
app-protect-attack-signatures \
app-protect-threat-campaigns \
app-protect-bot-signatures

Upgrading App Protect to a Specific Version

CentOS / RHEL 7.4.x / Amazon Linux 2

  1. Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the specific version:

    sudo yum -y update app-protect-27+3.1088.0-1
    

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+ / Rhel 9+

  1. Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the specific version:

    sudo dnf -y update app-protect-27+3.1088.0-1
    

Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12

  1. Get the dependencies and their versions to be upgraded to by using the command:

    findDeps () { local pkgs=$(apt show $1 2>/dev/null | grep Depends: | grep -oE "(nginx-plus-module|app-protect)-[a-z]+ *\(= *[0-9\+\.-]+~`lsb_release -cs`\)" | tr -d ' ()'); for p in ${pkgs[@]}; do echo $p; findDeps $p; done; }
    findDeps app-protect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    
  2. Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the specific version:

    sudo apt-get update && apt-get install -y app-protect-common=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    app-protect-compiler=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-plugin=3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    nginx-plus-module-appprotect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-engine=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    

    Note: Replace the [OS_CODENAME] in the above command with: buster for Debian 10, bullseye for Debian 11 and bookworm for Debian 12.

Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04

  1. Get the dependencies and their versions to be upgraded to by using the command:

    findDeps () { local pkgs=$(apt show $1 2>/dev/null | grep Depends: | grep -oE "(nginx-plus-module|app-protect)-[a-z]+ *\(= *[0-9\+\.-]+~`lsb_release -cs`\)" | tr -d ' ()'); for p in ${pkgs[@]}; do echo $p; findDeps $p; done; }
    findDeps app-protect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    
  2. Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the specific version:

    sudo apt-get update && apt-get install -y app-protect-common=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    app-protect-compiler=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-plugin=3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    nginx-plus-module-appprotect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect-engine=10.139.2-1~[OS_CODENAME] \
    app-protect=27+3.1088.2-1~[OS_CODENAME]
    

    Note: Replace the [OS_CODENAME] in the above command with: bionic for Ubuntu 18.04, focal for Ubuntu 20.04, jammy for Ubuntu 22.04 and noble for Ubuntu 24.04.

Upgrading App Protect to the latest version

CentOS / RHEL 7.4.x / Amazon Linux 2

  • Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the latest 4.x version:

    sudo yum -y update app-protect
    

RHEL 8.1+ / Oracle Linux 8.1+ / RHEL 9+

  • Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the latest 4.x version:

    sudo dnf -y update app-protect
    

Debian 10 / Debian 11 / Debian 12 / Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 20.04 / Ubuntu 22.04

  • Upgrade the NGINX App Protect WAF to the latest 4.x version:

    sudo apt-get update && apt-get install -y app-protect
    

SELinux Configuration

The default settings for Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) on modern Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and related distros can be very strict, erring on the side of security rather than convenience.

Although the NGINX App Protect WAF provides an optional package with prebuilt SELinux policy module - app-protect-selinux, your specific configuration might be blocked unless you adjust the policy or modify file labels.

Modifying File Labels

For example, if you plan to store your security policy files in /etc/security_policies - you should change the default SELinux file context for this directory:

semanage fcontext -a -t nap-compiler_conf_t /etc/security_policies
restorecon -Rv /etc/security_policies

Syslog to Custom Port

If you want to send logs to some unreserved port, you can use semanage to add the desired port (here, 35514) to the syslogd_port_t type:

semanage port -a -t syslogd_port_t -p tcp 35514

Review the syslog ports by entering the following command:

semanage port -l | grep syslog

If there are additional problems, refer to the Troubleshooting Guide.


Last modified November 6, 2024