WAF policies
Policy modes and actions
Enforce, Detect, Simulate, Test—and what each action does.
Goal
Choose the right mode and action so you can roll out WAF rules safely.
Modes
| Mode | Live traffic behavior |
|---|---|
| Enforce | Applies blocking / redirect / ban actions |
| Detect | Evaluates and logs; allows the request |
| Simulate | Similar learning/logging posture; allows |
| Test | Skipped on the live request path |
Learning tip: start new rule packs in Detect or Simulate, watch Analytics / security events, then flip to Enforce.
Actions
Common actions:
Allow,Block,LogOnly,Redirect,RewriteIncreaseThreatScoreRateLimit,TemporaryBan,PermanentBanChallenge,CaptchaHookCustomPluginAction
Action parameters are JSON (for example temporary ban duration, rate-limit policy id).
Steps
- Open Security → Policies.
- Create or edit a rule; pick mode and action.
- Attach an expression (see JSON AST rules).
- Save; prefer Detect first in production tenants.
Verify
- Detect mode: security events appear without user-facing blocks.
- Enforce mode: blocked requests return the configured deny behavior.