> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.material.security/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.material.security/learn-more/administration/security/web-application-firewall.md).

# Web Application Firewall

## Overview

Material uses a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect your instance. The WAF provides two key capabilities:

* **Block malicious traffic** before it reaches the Material API, using the proven [Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Common Rule Set (CRS)](https://owasp.org/www-project-modsecurity-core-rule-set/).
* **Rate-limit excessive traffic** to prevent it from overwhelming the Material API, which could result in a denial-of-service (DoS).

Material uses [Google Cloud Armor](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/identity-security/new-waf-capabilities-in-cloud-armor) for our WAF, with individual rules that have been tuned to the Material API.

### Blocking Malicious Traffic

Any traffic that the WAF deems to be malicious will be blocked with an HTTP 403 “Forbidden” response. If you experience this, either in the Material console or using the Material API, please reach out to our Support team.

### Rate-limiting Excessive Traffic

Any traffic that exceeds the rate limit will be blocked with an HTTP 429 “Too Many Requests” response. If you experience this, either in the Material console or using the Material API, please reach out to our Support team.

Rate-limiting occurs when a specific client (identified by IP address) exceeds the allowed number of requests in a given time interval. Traffic is divided into two buckets:

1. Unknown routes: any route that does not match a valid Material API base path (example: `/phpmyadmin/index.php`). These are rate-limited more aggressively.
2. Known routes: any route that matches a valid Material API base path (example: `/api/...`). These are allowed a higher limit.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.material.security/learn-more/administration/security/web-application-firewall.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.