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Recommendations for a safe node upgrade process

This document describes recommendations and associated risks for a safe update of Wallarm filtering node up to 3.6.

Breaking changes and recommendations for different node type upgrade

  • If upgrading Wallarm node 2.18 or lower, please note that version 3.x contains breaking changes. Before upgrading the modules of 2.18 and lower up to 3.6, please carefully review the list of Wallarm node changes and consider a possible configuration change.
  • We recommend to upgrade both the regular (client) and multi-tenant nodes up to version 3.6. It allows to stay up to date with Wallarm releases and prevent installed module deprecation.

Common recommendations

  • Carefully plan and monitor the filtering node update process. Estimated release dates for new versions of Wallarm nodes are published in the Wallarm node versioning policy.

  • If your infrastructure has multiple Wallarm nodes installed, update them gradually. After updating the first node, monitor the node modules operation within a day and gradually update other Wallarm nodes if the first node operates correctly.

  • For the model with separated development and production environments, update the filtering node gradually. First, apply and test new version in non-production environments, then in production environments. Detailed recommendations are described in the instructions for configuring Wallarm nodes for separated environments.

  • Before upgrading the filtering node, disable traffic routing through the node using any method available to you (e.g. by setting traffic filtration mode to off).

  • Once filtering node module is upgraded, set the node filtration mode to monitoring. If all modules work correctly and there is no abnormal number of new false positives in the monitoring mode for a day, then put the filtering node in the block mode.

  • Update NGINX to the latest version available before applying Wallarm node updates. If your infrastructure needs to use a specific version of NGINX, please contact the Wallarm technical support to build the Wallarm module for a custom version of NGINX.

Possible risks

Below are the risks that may occur when updating the filtering node. To reduce the impact of the risks, please follow the appropriate guidelines when updating.

Changed functionality

Wallarm node 3.x is totally incompatible with Wallarm node of version 2.18 and lower. If upgrading the node 2.x, please consider possible configuration changes.

Set of changes in Wallarm node upgraded from version 3.4 or 3.2 to version 3.6

Open the list on a separate page

When upgrading node 3.4

There are the following changes available in Wallarm node 3.6:

  • Wallarm Ingress controller based on the latest version of Community Ingress NGINX Controller, 1.1.3.

    Instructions on migrating to the Wallarm Ingress controller 3.6 →

  • Added support for AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux 8.x instead of the deprecated CentOS 8.x.

    Wallarm node packages for the alternative operating systems will be stored in the CentOS 8.x repository.

  • New layout and customization options of the sample blocking page /usr/share/nginx/html/wallarm_blocked.html. In the new node version, you can customize the logo and support email displayed on the page.

    More details on the blocking page setup →

  • The following NGINX directives and Envoy parameters have been renamed:

    Parameters with previous names are still supported but will be deprecated in future releases. The parameter logic has not changed.

  • The Ingress annotation nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/wallarm-instance has been renamed to nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/wallarm-application.

    The annotation with the previous name is still supported but will be deprecated in future releases. The annotation logic has not changed.

  • The file with the custom ruleset build /etc/wallarm/lom has been renamed to /etc/wallarm/custom_ruleset. In the file system of new node versions, there is only the file with the new name.

    Default values of the NGINX directive wallarm_custom_ruleset_path and Envoy parameter custom_ruleset have been changed appropriately. New default value is /etc/wallarm/custom_ruleset.

  • The following node statistics parameters have been renamed:

    • lom_apply_time → custom_ruleset_apply_time

    • lom_id → custom_ruleset_id

    In new node versions, the http://127.0.0.8/wallarm-status endpoint temporarily returns both the deprecated and new parameters. The deprecated parameters will be removed from the service output in future releases.

    More details on the statistics service →

  • The collectd metric gauge-lom_id has been renamed to gauge-custom_ruleset_id.

    In new node versions, the collectd service collects both the deprecated and new metrics. The deprecated metric collection will be stopped in future releases.

    All collectd metrics →

  • New environment variable NGINX_PORT to be passed to the Wallarm NGINX‑based Docker container.

    This variable sets a port that NGINX will use inside the Docker container. This allows avoiding port collision when using this Docker container as a sidecar container within a pod of Kubernetes cluster.

    Instructions on deploying the Wallarm NGINX‑based Docker container →

When upgrading node 3.2

Wallarm node 3.6 provides all changes listed above as well as the following:

Set of changes in Wallarm node upgraded from version 2.18 or lower to version 3.6

Open the list on a separate page

Supported installation options

  • Wallarm Ingress controller based on the latest version of Community Ingress NGINX Controller, 1.1.3.

    Instructions on migrating to the Wallarm Ingress controller 3.6 →

  • Added support for AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux 8.x instead of the deprecated CentOS 8.x.

    Wallarm node packages for the alternative operating systems will be stored in the CentOS 8.x repository.

  • Added support for CloudLinux OS 6.x

  • Added support for Debian 11 Bullseye
  • Dropped support for the operating system Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (xenial)
  • Version of Envoy used in Wallarm Envoy-based Docker image has been increased to 1.18.4

See the full list of supported installation options →

System requirements for the filtering node installation

Starting with version 3.x, the filtering node supports IP address allowlisting, denylisting, and graylisting. Wallarm Console allows adding both single IPs and countries or data centers to any IP list type.

The Wallarm node downloads an actual list of IP addresses registered in allowlisted, denylisted, or graylisted countries, regions or data centers from GCP storage. By default, access to this storage can be restricted in your system. Allowing access to GCP storage is a new requirement for the virtual machine to install the filtering node.

Range of GCP IP addresses that should be allowed →

Filtration modes

  • New safe blocking filtration mode.

    This mode enables a significant reduction of false positive number by blocking only malicious requests originating from graylisted IP addresses.

  • Analysis of request sources is now performed only in the safe_blocking and block modes.

    • If the Wallarm node operating in the off or monitoring mode detects the request originating from the denylisted IP, it does not block this request.

    • Wallarm node operating in the monitoring mode uploads all the attacks originating from the allowlisted IP addresses to the Wallarm Cloud.

More details on Wallarm node modes →

Request source control

The following parameters for request source control have been deprecated:

There are the following new features for request source control:

  • Wallarm Console section for full IP address allowlist, denylist and graylist control.

  • Support for new filtration mode safe_blocking and IP address graylists.

    The safe blocking mode enables a significant reduction of false positive number by blocking only malicious requests originating from graylisted IP addresses.

    For automatic IP address graylisting there is a new trigger Add to graylist released.

  • Automated allowlisting of Wallarm Vulnerability Scanner IP addresses. Manual allowlisting of Scanner IP addresses is no longer required.

  • Ability to allowlist, denylist, or graylist a subnet, Tor network IPs, VPN IPs, a group of IP addresses registered in a specific country, region or data center.

  • Ability to allowlist, denylist, or graylist request sources for specific applications.

  • New NGINX directive and Envoy parameter disable_acl to disable request origin analysis.

    Details on the disable_acl NGINX directive →

    Details on the disable_acl Envoy parameter →

Details on adding IPs to the allowlist, denylist, and graylist →

New module for API inventory discovery

New Wallarm nodes are distributed with the module API Discovery automatically identifying the application API. The module is disabled by default.

Details on the API Discovery module →

Support of the libdetection library in the Envoy-based nodes

The libdetection library is now supported in the Envoy-based Wallarm nodes. This library additionally validates the SQL Injection attacks to confirm detected malicious payloads. If the payload is not confirmed by the libdetection library, the request is considered to be legitimate. This library reduces the number of false positives among the SQL Injection attacks.

By default, the library libdetection is disabled. To improve the attack detection, we recommend enabling it.

Details on the libdetection library →

New blocking page

The sample blocking page /usr/share/nginx/html/wallarm_blocked.html has been updated. In the new node version, it has new layout and supports the logo and support email customization.

More details on the blocking page setup →

New parameters for basic node setup

Renamed parameters, files and metrics

  • The following NGINX directives and Envoy parameters have been renamed:

    Parameters with previous names are still supported but will be deprecated in future releases. The parameter logic has not changed.

  • The Ingress annotation nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/wallarm-instance has been renamed to nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/wallarm-application.

    The annotation with the previous name is still supported but will be deprecated in future releases. The annotation logic has not changed.

  • The file with the custom ruleset build /etc/wallarm/lom has been renamed to /etc/wallarm/custom_ruleset. In the file system of new node versions, there is only the file with the new name.

    Default values of the NGINX directive wallarm_custom_ruleset_path and Envoy parameter custom_ruleset have been changed appropriately. New default value is /etc/wallarm/custom_ruleset.

  • The collectd metric gauge-lom_id has been renamed to gauge-custom_ruleset_id.

    In new node versions, the collectd service collects both the deprecated and new metrics. The deprecated metric collection will be stopped in future releases.

    All collectd metrics →

Parameters of the statistics service

  • The number of requests originating from denylisted IPs is now displayed in the statistic service output, in the new parameter blocked_by_acl and in the existing parameters requests, blocked.

  • The following node statistics parameters have been renamed:

    • lom_apply_time → custom_ruleset_apply_time

    • lom_id → custom_ruleset_id

    In new node versions, the http://127.0.0.8/wallarm-status endpoint temporarily returns both the deprecated and new parameters. The deprecated parameters will be removed from the service output in future releases.

Details on the statistics service →

New false positives

We improve the traffic analysis with each new version of the filtering node. This means that the number of false positives decreases with each new version. However, each protected application has its own specificities, so we recommend analyzing the work of the new version of the filtering node in the monitoring mode before enabling the blocking mode (block).

To analyze the number of new false positives after the update:

  1. Deploy the new version of the filtering node in the monitoring mode and send the traffic to the filtering node.

  2. After some time, open the Wallarm Console → Events section and analyze the number of requests that are mistakenly recognized as attacks.

  3. If you find abnormal growth in the number of false positives, please contact the Wallarm technical support.

Increased amount of used resources

Usage of some new filtering node features may cause changes in the amount of used resources. Information about changes in the amount of used resources is highlighted in the What is new section.

Also, it is recommended to monitor the filtering node operation: if you find significant differences in the actual amount of used resources and in the amount specified in the documentation, please contact the Wallarm technical support.

Update process

The Wallarm node update process depends on the platform and installation forms. Please select the installation form and follow the appropriate instructions: