Azure Web Application Firewall Skill
This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Web Application Firewall. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.
How to Use This Skill
IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g.,
L35-L120), useread_filewith the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g.,[security.md](security.md)), useread_fileon the linked reference file
IMPORTANT for Agent: If
metadata.generated_atis more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. Ifmcp_microsoftdocstools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide
This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:
- Preferred: Use
mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetchwith query stringfrom=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown. - Fallback: Use
fetch_webpagewith query stringfrom=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.
Category Index
| Category | Lines | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | L37-L42 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure WAF issues on Front Door and Application Gateway, including rule matches, false positives, blocked requests, and configuration or logging problems. |
| Best Practices | L43-L51 | Best practices for configuring, tuning, and hardening Azure WAF on Front Door and Application Gateway, including rule tuning, exclusions, geomatch rules, and deployment security. |
| Decision Making | L52-L58 | Guidance on planning and migrating from legacy WAF configs to full WAF policies, and managing the lifecycle, upgrades, and versions of Azure WAF managed rule sets. |
| Architecture & Design Patterns | L59-L63 | Architectural guidance for designing DDoS-resistant web apps using Azure WAF with Front Door, including traffic flow, protection layers, and best-practice deployment patterns. |
| Limits & Quotas | L64-L68 | Configuring WAF request body and file upload size limits on Application Gateway, including max size settings, constraints, and how to safely adjust them. |
| Security | L69-L76 | Configuring Front Door WAF security: IP allow/deny rules, managed DRS rule groups, exclusion lists, and enforcing WAF settings and compliance with Azure Policy. |
| Configuration | L77-L117 | Configuring Azure WAF (Front Door & App Gateway): policies, custom/managed rules, rate limiting, geo/IP filters, bot/CAPTCHA, exclusions, logging/scrubbing, and custom block responses. |
| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L118-L128 | Using WAF with other Azure services: integrating logs with Sentinel/Log Analytics, automating incident response, investigating events, and protecting APIM/Azure OpenAI via Front Door WAF. |
| Deployment | L129-L134 | How to deploy and provision Azure Application Gateway WAF v2 using Bicep, ARM templates, or Terraform, including required resources, parameters, and configuration structure. |
Troubleshooting
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Troubleshoot Azure Front Door WAF behavior and rules | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-faq |
| Resolve common Azure Application Gateway WAF issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/application-gateway-waf-faq |
Best Practices
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Implement best practices for Front Door WAF | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-best-practices |
| Tune Azure Front Door WAF rules and exclusions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-tuning |
| Apply best practices for Application Gateway WAF | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/best-practices |
| Apply geomatch WAF rules to strengthen web app security | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/geomatch-custom-rules-examples |
| Secure and harden Azure Web Application Firewall deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/secure-web-application-firewall |
Decision Making
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Migrate Azure Application Gateway WAF configs to full policies | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/migrate-policy |
| Plan upgrade from WAF configuration to WAF policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/upgrade-ag-waf-policy |
| Plan Azure WAF managed ruleset lifecycle and upgrades | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ruleset-support-policy |
Architecture & Design Patterns
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Design application DDoS protection with Azure WAF and Front Door | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/shared/application-ddos-protection |
Limits & Quotas
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Configure WAF request and file upload size limits on Application Gateway | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/application-gateway-waf-request-size-limits |
Security
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Configure IP restriction rules in Front Door WAF | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-configure-ip-restriction |
| Understand Azure WAF Front Door DRS rule groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-drs |
| Configure WAF exclusion lists for Azure Front Door | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-exclusion |
| Enforce WAF governance using Azure Policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/shared/waf-azure-policy |
Configuration
Integrations & Coding Patterns
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Automate WAF incident response with Microsoft Sentinel | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/automated-detection-response-with-sentinel |
| Protect APIM-hosted APIs with Front Door WAF | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/protect-api-hosted-apim-by-waf |
| Secure Azure OpenAI endpoints using Front Door WAF | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/protect-azure-open-ai |
| Analyze Application Gateway WAF logs with Log Analytics | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/log-analytics |
| Investigate Azure WAF events with Security Copilot | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/waf-copilot |
| Detect new web threats using WAF and Sentinel | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/waf-new-threat-detection |
| Integrate Azure WAF logs with Microsoft Sentinel | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/waf-sentinel |
Deployment
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Deploy Azure Application Gateway WAF v2 using Bicep | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/quick-create-bicep |
| Deploy Azure Application Gateway WAF v2 via ARM template | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/quick-create-template |
| Provision Application Gateway WAF v2 with Terraform | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/quickstart-web-application-firewall-terraform |