Upgrading EOL Wallarm NGINX modules¶

These instructions describe the steps to upgrade the end‑of‑life Wallarm NGINX modules (version 3.6 and lower) to version 5.0. Wallarm NGINX modules are the modules installed in accordance with one of the following instructions:

• Individual packages for NGINX stable

• Individual packages for NGINX Plus

• Individual packages for distribution-provided NGINX

Inform Wallarm technical support that you are upgrading EOL node¶

If upgrading the end‑of‑life Wallarm NGINX modules (version 3.6 and lower) to version 5.0, inform Wallarm technical support about that and ask for assistance.

Besides any other help, ask to enable new IP lists logic for your Wallarm account. When new IP lists logic is enabled, please open Wallarm Console and ensure that the section IP lists is available.

Requirements¶

• Access to the account with the Administrator role in Wallarm Console for the US Cloud or EU Cloud.

• Access to https://meganode.wallarm.com to download all-in-one Wallarm installer. Ensure the access is not blocked by a firewall.

• Access to https://us1.api.wallarm.com for working with US Wallarm Cloud or to https://api.wallarm.com for working with EU Wallarm Cloud. If access can be configured only via the proxy server, then use the instructions.

• Executing all commands as a superuser (e.g. root).

• Access to the IP addresses below for downloading updates to attack detection rules and API specifications, as well as retrieving precise IPs for your allowlisted, denylisted, or graylisted countries, regions, or data centers.

  US CloudEU Cloud

  34.96.64.17
  34.110.183.149
  35.235.66.155
  34.102.90.100
  34.94.156.115
  35.235.115.105
  

  34.160.38.183
  34.144.227.90
  34.90.110.226
  

Upgrade procedure¶

• If filtering node and postanalytics modules are installed on the same server, then follow the instructions below to upgrade all.

  You will need to run a node of the newer version using all-in-one installer on a clean machine, test that it works well and stop the previous one and configure traffic to flow through the new machine instead of the previous one.

• If filtering node and postanalytics modules are installed on different servers, first upgrade the postanalytics module and then the filtering module following these instructions.

Step 1: Disable the Active threat verification module (if upgrading node 2.16 or lower)¶

If upgrading Wallarm node 2.16 or lower, please disable the Active threat verification module in Wallarm Console → Vulnerabilities → Configure.

The module operation can cause false positives during the upgrade process. Disabling the module minimizes this risk.

Step 2: Prepare clean machine¶

When upgrading modules with all-in-one installer, you cannot upgrade an old package installation - instead you need to use a clean machine. Thus, as step 1, prepare a machine with one of the supported OS:

• Debian 10, 11 and 12.x

• Ubuntu LTS 18.04, 20.04, 22.04

• CentOS 7, 8 Stream, 9 Stream

• Alma/Rocky Linux 9

• RHEL 8.x

• RHEL 9.x

• Oracle Linux 8.x

• Redox

• SuSe Linux

• Others (the list is constantly widening, contact Wallarm support team to check if your OS is in the list)

Using new clean machine will lead to that at some moment you will have both old and new node, which is good: you can test the new one working properly without stopping the old one.

Step 3: Install NGINX and dependencies¶

Install the latest NGINX version of:

• NGINX stable - see how to install it in the NGINX documentation.

• NGINX Mainline (the latest supported version is v1.25.5) - see how to install it in the NGINX documentation.

• NGINX Plus - see how to install it in the NGINX documentation.

• Distribution-Provided NGINX - to install, use the following commands:

  Debian 10.x (buster)Debian 11.x (bullseye)Ubuntu LTS 20.04, 22.04CentOS 7.xAlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or Oracle Linux 8.xRHEL 8.x

  sudo apt-get update 
  sudo apt -y install --no-install-recommends nginx
  

  sudo apt update 
  sudo apt -y install --no-install-recommends nginx
  

  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install nginx
  

  sudo yum -y update 
  sudo yum install -y nginx
  

  sudo yum -y update 
  sudo yum install -y nginx
  

  sudo yum -y update 
  sudo yum install -y nginx
  

Step 4: Prepare Wallarm token¶

To install node, you will need a Wallarm token of the appropriate type. To prepare a token:

Step 5: Download all-in-one Wallarm installer¶

Wallarm suggests all-in-one installations for the following processors:

• x86_64

• ARM64 (beta)

To download all-in-one Wallarm installation script, execute the command:

curl -O https://meganode.wallarm.com/5.0/wallarm-5.0.3.x86_64-glibc.sh

curl -O https://meganode.wallarm.com/5.0/wallarm-5.0.3.aarch64-glibc.sh

Step 6: Run all-in-one Wallarm installer¶

Filtering node and postanalytics on the same server¶

1. Run downloaded script:

   API tokenNode token

   # If using the x86_64 version:
   sudo env WALLARM_LABELS='group=<GROUP>' sh wallarm-5.0.3.x86_64-glibc.sh
   
   # If using the ARM64 version:
   sudo env WALLARM_LABELS='group=<GROUP>' sh wallarm-5.0.3.aarch64-glibc.sh
   

   The WALLARM_LABELS variable sets group into which the node will be added (used for logical grouping of nodes in the Wallarm Console UI).

   # If using the x86_64 version:
   sudo sh wallarm-5.0.3.x86_64-glibc.sh
   
   # If using the ARM64 version:
   sudo sh wallarm-5.0.3.aarch64-glibc.sh
   

2. Select US Cloud or EU Cloud.

3. Enter Wallarm token.

Filtering node and postanalytics on different servers¶

1. Upgrade postanalytics module following these instructions.

2. Upgrade filtering node:

   API tokenNode token

   # If using the x86_64 version:
   sudo env WALLARM_LABELS='group=<GROUP>' sh wallarm-5.0.3.x86_64-glibc.sh filtering
   
   # If using the ARM64 version:
   sudo env WALLARM_LABELS='group=<GROUP>' sh wallarm-5.0.3.aarch64-glibc.sh filtering
   

   The WALLARM_LABELS variable sets group into which the node will be added (used for logical grouping of nodes in the Wallarm Console UI).

   # If using the x86_64 version:
   sudo sh wallarm-5.0.3.x86_64-glibc.sh filtering
   
   # If using the ARM64 version:
   sudo sh wallarm-5.0.3.aarch64-glibc.sh filtering
   

Step 7: Migrate allowlists and denylists from the previous Wallarm node version to 5.0 (only if upgrading node 2.18 or lower)¶

If upgrading node 2.18 or lower, migrate allowlist and denylist configuration from previous Wallarm node version to the latest version.

Step 8: Transfer NGINX and postanalytics configuration from old node machine to new¶

Transfer node-related NGINX configuration and postanalytics configuration from the configuration files on the old machine to the files on a new machine. You can do that by copying the required directives.

Source files

On an old machine, depending on OS and NGINX version, the NGINX configuration files may be located in different directories and have different names. Most common are the following:

• /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf with NGINX settings

• /etc/nginx/conf.d/wallarm-status.conf with Wallarm node monitoring settings. Detailed description is available within the link

Also, the configuration of the postanalytics module (Tarantool database settings) is usually located here:

• /etc/default/wallarm-tarantool or

• /etc/sysconfig/wallarm-tarantool

Target files

As all-in-one installer works with different combinations of OS and NGINX versions, on your new machine, the target files may have different names and be located in different directories.

When transferring configuration, you need to perform steps listed below.

Rename deprecated NGINX directives¶

Rename the following NGINX directives if they are explicitly specified in configuration files:

• wallarm_instance → wallarm_application

• wallarm_local_trainingset_path → wallarm_custom_ruleset_path

• wallarm_global_trainingset_path → wallarm_protondb_path

• wallarm_ts_request_memory_limit → wallarm_general_ruleset_memory_limit

We only changed the names of the directives, their logic remains the same. Directives with former names will be deprecated soon, so you are recommended to rename them before.

Update the node logging variables¶

In the new node version the following changes to the node logging variables have been implemented:

• The wallarm_request_time variable has been renamed to wallarm_request_cpu_time.

  We only changed the variable name, its logic remains the same. The old name is temporarily supported as well, but still it is recommended to rename the variable.

• The wallarm_request_mono_time variable has been added – place it in the configuration of the logging format if you need log information about total time being the sum of:

  • Time in the queue
  • Time in seconds the CPU spent processing the request

Adjust Wallarm node filtration mode settings to changes released in the latest versions¶

1. Ensure that the expected behavior of settings listed below corresponds to the changed logic of the off and monitoring filtration modes:

   • Directive wallarm_mode
   • General filtration rule configured in Wallarm Console
   • Endpoint-targeted filtration rules configured in Wallarm Console

2. If the expected behavior does not correspond to the changed filtration mode logic, please adjust the filtration mode settings to released changes using the instructions.

Transfer the overlimit_res attack detection configuration from directives to the rule¶

Starting from the version 3.6, you can fine-tune the overlimit_res attack detection using the rule in Wallarm Console.

Earlier, the wallarm_process_time_limit and wallarm_process_time_limit_block NGINX directives have been used. The listed directives are considered to be deprecated with the new rule release and will be deleted in future releases.

If the overlimit_res attack detection settings are customized via the listed directives, it is recommended to transfer them to the rule as follows:

1. Open Wallarm Console → Rules and proceed to the Fine-tune the overlimit_res attack detection rule setup.

2. Configure the rule as done via the NGINX directives:

   • The rule condition should match the NGINX configuration block with the wallarm_process_time_limit and wallarm_process_time_limit_block directives specified.
   • The time limit for the node to process a single request (milliseconds): the value of wallarm_process_time_limit.

   • Request processing: the Stop processing option is recommended.

     Risk of running out of system memory

     The high time limit and/or continuation of request processing after the limit is exceeded can trigger memory exhaustion or out-of-time request processing.

   • Register the overlimit_res attack: the Register and display in the events option is recommended.

     If the wallarm_process_time_limit_block or process_time_limit_block value is off, choose the Do not create attack event option.

   • The rule does not have the explicit equivalent option for the wallarm_process_time_limit_block directive. If the rule sets Register and display in the events, the node will either block or pass the overlimit_res attack depending on the node filtration mode:

     • In the monitoring mode, the node forwards the original request to the application address. The application has the risk to be exploited by the attacks included in both processed and unprocessed request parts.
     • In the safe blocking mode, the node blocks the request if it is originated from the graylisted IP address. Otherwise, the node forwards the original request to the application address. The application has the risk to be exploited by the attacks included in both processed and unprocessed request parts.
     • In the block mode, the node blocks the request.

3. Delete the wallarm_process_time_limit and wallarm_process_time_limit_block NGINX directives from the NGINX configuration file.

   If the overlimit_res attack detection is fine-tuned using both the directives and the rule, the node will process requests as the rule sets.

Update the wallarm-status.conf file contents¶

Update the /etc/nginx/conf.d/wallarm-status.conf contents as follows:

server {
  listen 127.0.0.8:80;
  server_name localhost;

  allow 127.0.0.0/8;   # Access is only available for loopback addresses of the filter node server  
  deny all;

  wallarm_mode off;
  disable_acl "on";   # Checking request sources is disabled, denylisted IPs are allowed to request the wallarm-status service. https://docs.wallarm.com/admin-en/configure-parameters-en/#disable_acl
  access_log off;

  location ~/wallarm-status$ {
    wallarm_status on;
  }
}

More details on the statistics service configuration

Update the Wallarm blocking page¶

In new node version, the Wallarm sample blocking page has been changed. The logo and support email on the page are now empty by default.

If the page &/usr/share/nginx/html/wallarm_blocked.html was configured to be returned in response to blocked requests, copy and customize the new version of a sample page.

Step 9: Update API port¶

Starting with version 4.0, the filtering node uploads data to the Cloud using the us1.api.wallarm.com:443 (US Cloud) and api.wallarm.com:443 (EU Cloud) API endpoints instead of us1.api.wallarm.com:444 and api.wallarm.com:444.

If you upgrade the node from the version 3.x or lower and your server with the deployed node has a limited access to the external resources and the access is granted to each resource separately, then after upgrade the synchronization between the filtering node and the Cloud will stop.

To restore the synchronization, in your configuration, change port 444 to 443 for API endpoint for each resource.

Step 10: Re-enable the Active threat verification module (only if upgrading node 2.16 or lower)¶

Learn the recommendation on the Active threat verification module setup and re-enable it if required.

After a while, ensure the module operation does not cause false positives. If discovering false positives, please contact the Wallarm technical support.

Step 11: Restart NGINX¶

Restart NGINX using the following command:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 12: Test Wallarm node operation¶

To test the new node operation:

1. Send the request with test SQLI and XSS attacks to the protected resource address:

   curl http://localhost/?id='or+1=1--a-<script>prompt(1)</script>'
   

2. Open the Wallarm Console → Attacks section in the US Cloud or EU Cloud and ensure attacks are displayed in the list.

3. As soon as your Cloud stored data (rules, IP lists) is synchronized to the new node, perform some test attacks to make sure your rules work as expected.

Step 13: Configure sending traffic to Wallarm node¶

Depending on the deployment approach being used, perform the following settings:

Step 14: Remove old node¶

1. Delete old node in Wallarm Console → Nodes by selecting your node and clicking Delete.

2. Confirm the action.

   When the node is deleted from Cloud, it will stop filtration of requests to your applications. Deleting the filtering node cannot be undone. The node will be deleted from the list of nodes permanently.

3. Delete machine with the old node or just clean it from Wallarm node components:

   DebianUbuntuCentOS or Amazon Linux 2.0.2021x and lowerAlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or Oracle Linux 8.xRHEL 8.x

   sudo apt remove wallarm-node nginx-module-wallarm
   

   sudo apt remove wallarm-node nginx-module-wallarm
   

   sudo yum remove wallarm-node nginx-module-wallarm
   

   sudo yum remove wallarm-node nginx-module-wallarm
   

   sudo yum remove wallarm-node nginx-module-wallarm
   

Settings customization¶

The Wallarm modules are updated to version 5.0. Previous filtering node settings will be applied to the new version automatically. To make additional settings, use the available directives.

Common customization options:

• Configuration of the filtration mode

• Logging Wallarm node variables

• Using the balancer of the proxy server behind the filtering node

• Limiting the single request processing time in the directive wallarm_process_time_limit

• Limiting the server reply waiting time in the NGINX directive proxy_read_timeout

• Limiting the maximum request size in the NGINX directive client_max_body_size

• Configuring dynamic DNS resolution in NGINX

Was this page helpful?

How can we improve this article? (Optional)

Information is unclear or confusing

Insufficient information

Outdated or incorrect information

0/240

Send