azure-web-application-firewall

name	azure-web-application-firewall
description	Expert knowledge for Azure Web Application Firewall development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when configuring Front Door/App Gateway WAF rules, rate limits, bot/CAPTCHA, Sentinel logging, or IaC deployments, and other Azure Web Application Firewall related development tasks. Not for Azure Application Gateway (use azure-application-gateway), Azure Front Door (use azure-front-door), Azure Firewall (use azure-firewall), Azure DDos Protection (use azure-ddos-protection).
compatibility	Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata	{"generated_at":"2026-04-19","generator":"docs2skills/1.0.0"}

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), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools 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_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L37-L42	Diagnosing and fixing common Azure WAF issues on Front Door and Application Gateway, including false positives, blocked requests, rule tuning, and investigating WAF logs.
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 executing migration from legacy WAF configs to full WAF policies, and choosing/upgrading the appropriate Azure WAF managed rulesets.
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-L75	Details on WAF security rules (Front Door DRS), bot protection on Application Gateway, and enforcing WAF configurations and governance using Azure Policy.
Configuration	L76-L122	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	L123-L133	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	L134-L139	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
Resolve common Azure Front Door WAF questions	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
Choose and upgrade Azure WAF managed rulesets	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
Understand Azure WAF Front Door DRS rule groups	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-drs
Understand bot protection capabilities on Application Gateway WAF	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/bot-protection-overview
Enforce WAF governance using Azure Policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/shared/waf-azure-policy

Configuration

Topic	URL
Configure CAPTCHA challenges in Azure Front Door WAF	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/captcha-challenge
Configure custom block responses for Front Door WAF	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-configure-custom-response-code
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
Create and attach a WAF policy in Azure Front Door	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-create-portal
Define custom WAF rules for Azure Front Door	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-custom-rules
Configure Azure Front Door WAF custom and managed rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-custom-rules-powershell
Configure exclusion lists for Front Door WAF policies	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-exclusion
Set up WAF exclusion rules on Azure Front Door	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-exclusion-configure
Configure geo-filtering rules in Azure Front Door WAF	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/web-application-firewall/afds/waf-front-door-geo-filtering
Configure monitoring and logging for Front Door WAF

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