HTTP DDoS Attack Protection parameters
Configure the HTTP DDoS Attack Protection Managed Ruleset to change the action applied to a given attack or modify the sensitivity level of the detection mechanism. You can configure the Managed Ruleset in the Cloudflare dashboard or define overrides via Rulesets API .
The available parameters are the following:
Action
API property name: "action".
The action that will be performed for requests that match specific rules of Cloudflare’s DDoS mitigation services. The available actions are:
-
Log
- API value:
"log". - Only available on Enterprise plans. Logs requests that match the expression of a rule detecting HTTP DDoS attacks. Recommended for validating a rule before committing to a more severe action.
- API value:
-
Block
- API value:
"block". - Blocks HTTP requests that match the rule expression.
- API value:
-
Legacy CAPTCHA
- API value:
"challenge". - Presents a CAPTCHA challenge to the clients making HTTP requests that match a rule expression.
- API value:
-
Force Connection Close
-
API value: N/A (internal rule action that you cannot use in overrides).
-
Closes ongoing HTTP connections. This action does not block a request, but it forces the client to reconnect.
-
The performed action depends on the HTTP version:
- – HTTP/1: set the
Connectionheader toclose. - – HTTP/2: send a
GOAWAYframe to the client.
- – HTTP/1: set the
-
-
DDoS Dynamic
- API value: N/A (internal rule action that you cannot use in overrides).
- Performs a specific action according to a set of internal guidelines defined by Cloudflare. The executed action can be one of the above or an undisclosed mitigation action.
Sensitivity Level
API property name: "sensitivity_level".
Defines how sensitive a rule is. Affects the thresholds used to determine if an attack should be mitigated. A higher sensitivity level means having a lower threshold, while a lower sensitivity level means having a higher threshold.
The available sensitivity levels are:
| UI value | API value |
|---|---|
| High | "default" |
| Medium | "medium" |
| Low | "low" |
| Essentially Off | "eoff" |
You cannot increase the sensitivity level beyond High ("default").
In most cases, when you select the Essentially Off sensitivity level the rule will not trigger for any of the selected actions, including Log. However, if the attack is extremely large, Cloudflare’s protection systems will still trigger the rule’s mitigation action to protect Cloudflare’s network.