| 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
- Install dependencies:
pip install requests
- Collect WAF logs (ModSecurity audit log, AWS WAF JSON logs, or Cloudflare firewall events).
- 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
