About ModSecurity
ModSecurity is an open source web application firewall engine. It is now under the OWASP foundation and is used by many businesses, governments and internet service providers.
What it does
ModSecurity examines web traffic and applies rules to spot and stop attacks. It includes a rules language and an API so defenders can write their own protections. Paired with the OWASP Core Rule Set, it gives broad coverage against common HTTP attacks, and it can also log full HTTP traffic for analysis.
Key features
- Inspects HTTP traffic for attack patterns
- Rule language and API for custom protections
- Full HTTP traffic logging
- Passive mode for monitoring without blocking
- Pairs with the OWASP Core Rule Set
Who it's for
ModSecurity suits sysadmins, security engineers and developers who run their own web servers. Teams that want a managed service with vendor support may prefer a hosted web application firewall.
Pricing and good to know
ModSecurity is open source under the Apache-2.0 license and is free to use. The project publishes releases in more than one line, so check which version matches your web server. The project has documentation, a Slack community and GitHub repositories for help and contributions.
Highlights
- Inspects HTTP traffic for attack patterns
- Rule language and API for custom protections
- Full HTTP traffic logging
- Passive mode for monitoring without blocking
- Pairs with the OWASP Core Rule Set
