detecting-sql-injection-via-waf-logs

name	detecting-sql-injection-via-waf-logs
description	Analyze WAF (ModSecurity/AWS WAF/Cloudflare) logs to detect SQL injection attack campaigns. Parses ModSecurity audit logs and JSON WAF event logs to identify SQLi patterns (UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, SLEEP(), BENCHMARK()), tracks attack sources, correlates multi-stage injection attempts, and generates incident reports with OWASP classification.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	security-operations
tags	["waf-log-analysis","sql-injection-detection","modsecurity","aws-waf","cloudflare-waf","web-application-security"]
version	1.0
author	mahipal
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["DE.CM-01","RS.MA-01","GV.OV-01","DE.AE-02"]
mitre_attack	["T1190","T1505.003","T1059.007"]

Detecting SQL Injection via WAF Logs

When to Use

• When investigating security incidents that require detecting sql injection via waf logs
• When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
• When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
• When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with security operations concepts and tools
• Access to a test or lab environment for safe execution
• Python 3.8+ with required dependencies installed
• Appropriate authorization for any testing activities

Instructions

1. Install dependencies: pip install requests
2. Collect WAF logs (ModSecurity audit log, AWS WAF JSON logs, or Cloudflare firewall events).
3. Run the agent to parse and analyze:
   • Detect SQLi payloads via 15+ regex patterns
   • Classify attacks by OWASP injection type (classic, blind, time-based, UNION-based)
   • Identify persistent attackers by IP clustering
   • Correlate multi-request injection campaigns
   • Calculate attack success probability based on response codes

python scripts/agent.py --log-file /var/log/modsec_audit.log --format modsecurity --output sqli_report.json

Examples

ModSecurity SQLi Detection

Rule 942100 triggered: SQL Injection Attack Detected via libinjection
URI: /api/users?id=1' UNION SELECT username,password FROM users--
Source IP: 203.0.113.42 (47 requests in 5 minutes)
Classification: UNION-based SQLi campaign