What is WAF? & Secret Techniques to Bypass It

WAF (Web Application Firewall): A tool designed to filter and monitor HTTP/HTTPS traffic, preventing attacks on web applications at the application layer.WAF Limitations: While effective, WAFs are part of a broader security framework and should be used in conjunction with other security tools.

Key Functions of a WAF:

Application Layer Protection: Operates at the application layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model to protect web applications.Traffic Filtering: Inspects incoming and outgoing HTTP/HTTPS requests, blocking harmful requests while allowing legitimate traffic.Rule-based Detection: Uses predefined rules or patterns (like regular expressions) to detect malicious payloads, signatures, or abnormal behaviors.Real-time Decision Making: Determines whether to allow, block, or log the traffic based on predefined security policies.Defense Against Web Exploits: Mitigates common web vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, file inclusion, and other OWASP Top 10 threats.

Types of WAF:

Network-based WAF: Deployed at the edge of the network for high-speed, low-latency protection.Host-based WAF: Integrated into the web server…