Glossary
WAF (Web Application Firewall)
A WAF inspects incoming HTTP traffic and blocks malicious requests like SQL injection and XSS before they reach your web application.
A WAF (Web Application Firewall) filters, monitors, and blocks malicious HTTP traffic before it reaches a web application. Where a network firewall works at the connection level, a WAF understands web requests and their payloads.
What it protects against
- SQL injection targeting your
mysqldatabase. - Cross-site scripting (XSS) and request forgery.
- Bad bots, credential stuffing, and known exploit patterns (e.g. the OWASP Top 10).
Where it runs
- At the network edge as part of a
cdn(cloud WAF). - On the server as a module (e.g. ModSecurity on
apacheornginx).
Why it matters for hosting
Popular targets like wordpress benefit enormously from a WAF, which patches the gap between a vulnerability's disclosure and your applying the fix. Many managed-hosting plans and CDNs include a WAF alongside ddos protection as part of their security stack.
See also
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)
A DDoS attack floods a server with traffic from many sources to overwhelm it and knock a website offline; mitigation absorbs or filters the flood.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A CDN is a worldwide network of edge servers that cache and serve your site close to visitors, cutting latency and absorbing traffic spikes.
WordPress
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system, powering a large share of websites with themes, plugins, and a PHP/MySQL stack.
Managed Hosting
Managed hosting is a service where the provider handles server administration, updates, security, and backups so you can focus on your site.