Add an exception via API
To add a managed rules exception via API, create a rule with skip
action in a phase entry point ruleset of the http_request_firewall_managed
phase. You can define exceptions at the account level and at the zone level. Exceptions are also called skip rules.
To configure the exception, define the action_parameters
object according to the exception type. Refer to the following examples:
- Skip all remaining rules
- Skip the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset
- Skip one or more rules of WAF managed rulesets
For more information on creating exceptions via API, refer to Create an exception in the Ruleset Engine documentation.
The following example adds a rule that skips all remaining rules in the entry point ruleset for requests matching the dev.example.com
hostname.
-
Invoke the Get a zone entry point ruleset operation to obtain the current configuration of the entry point ruleset of the
http_request_firewall_managed
phase.Request curl https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/phases/http_request_firewall_managed/entrypoint \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>"Example response {"result": {"id": "060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c", // entry point ruleset ID"name": "default","description": "","source": "firewall_managed","kind": "zone","version": "3","rules": [// (...)],"last_updated": "2024-01-20T14:29:00.190643Z","phase": "http_request_firewall_managed"},"success": true,"errors": [],"messages": []}Save the entry point ruleset ID (060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c) for the next step.
-
Invoke the Create a zone ruleset rule operation (a
POST
request) to add an exception (or skip rule) at the beginning of the rules list, since a skip rule applies only to rules listed after it. The exact rule location is defined in theposition
object.Request curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/{entry_point_ruleset_id}/rules" \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>" \--header "Content-Type: application/json" \--data '{"expression": "(http.host eq \"dev.example.com\")","description": "Skip managed rules for dev.example.com","action": "skip","action_parameters": {"ruleset": "current"},"position": {"before": ""}}'
For more information on skipping all remaining rules via API, refer to Create an exception in the Ruleset Engine documentation.
The following example adds a rule that skips the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset for requests matching the dev.example.com
hostname.
-
Invoke the Get a zone entry point ruleset operation to obtain the current configuration of the entry point ruleset of the
http_request_firewall_managed
phase.Request curl https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/phases/http_request_firewall_managed/entrypoint \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>"Example response {"result": {"id": "060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c", // entry point ruleset ID"name": "default","description": "","source": "firewall_managed","kind": "zone","version": "3","rules": [// (...){"id": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7", // `execute` rule ID"version": "1","action": "execute","expression": "true","last_updated": "2024-01-20T14:21:28.643979Z","ref": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7","enabled": true,"action_parameters": {"id": "efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee", // "Cloudflare Managed Ruleset" ID"version": "latest"}},// (...)],"last_updated": "2024-01-20T14:29:00.190643Z","phase": "http_request_firewall_managed"},"success": true,"errors": [],"messages": []}Identify the rule deploying the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset by searching for an
execute
rule withaction_parameters
>id
equal to efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee (the managed ruleset ID).Save the following IDs for the next step:
- The ID of the entry point ruleset (060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c in this example)
- The ID of the
execute
rule deployment the managed ruleset (1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7 in this example)
-
Invoke the Create a zone ruleset rule operation (a
POST
request) to add an exception (or skip rule) immediately before theexecute
rule deploying the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset, since a skip rule applies only to rules listed after it. The exact rule location is defined in theposition
object.Request curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/{entry_point_ruleset_id}/rules" \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>" \--header "Content-Type: application/json" \--data '{"expression": "(http.host eq \"dev.example.com\")","description": "Skip the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset for dev.example.com","action": "skip","action_parameters": {"rulesets": ["efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee"]},"position": {"before": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7"}}'
For more information on skipping one or more managed rulesets via API, refer to Create an exception in the Ruleset Engine documentation.
The following example adds a rule that skips a particular rule of the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset for requests matching the dev.example.com
hostname.
-
Invoke the Get a zone ruleset operation to obtain a list of rules in the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset (ruleset ID efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee).
You can get the managed ruleset details using the account-level endpoint (Get an account ruleset) or the zone-level endpoint (Get a zone ruleset).Request curl https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>"Example response {"result": {"id": "efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee","name": "Cloudflare Managed Ruleset","description": "Created by the Cloudflare security team, this ruleset is designed to provide fast and effective protection for all your applications. It is frequently updated to cover new vulnerabilities and reduce false positives.","source": "firewall_managed","kind": "managed","version": "180","rules": [// (...){"id": "d9e350f1b72d4730899c8a420e48a85d", // ID of rule to skip"version": "180","action": "block","categories": ["file-inclusion","october-cms"],"description": "October CMS - File Inclusion","last_updated": "2024-02-05T07:12:54.565276Z","ref": "adb550873eb92d32372ed08514d33241","enabled": true},// (...)],"last_updated": "2024-02-05T07:12:54.565276Z","phase": "http_request_firewall_managed"},"success": true,"errors": [],"messages": []}Take note of the ID of the rule you want to skip (d9e350f1b72d4730899c8a420e48a85d in this example).
-
Invoke the Get a zone entry point ruleset operation to obtain the current configuration of the entry point ruleset of the
http_request_firewall_managed
phase.Request curl https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/phases/http_request_firewall_managed/entrypoint \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>"Example response {"result": {"id": "060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c", // entry point ruleset ID"name": "default","description": "","source": "firewall_managed","kind": "zone","version": "3","rules": [// (...){"id": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7", // `execute` rule ID"version": "1","action": "execute","expression": "true","last_updated": "2024-01-20T14:21:28.643979Z","ref": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7","enabled": true,"action_parameters": {"id": "efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee", // "Cloudflare Managed Ruleset" ID"version": "latest"}},// (...)],"last_updated": "2024-01-20T14:29:00.190643Z","phase": "http_request_firewall_managed"},"success": true,"errors": [],"messages": []}Identify the rule deploying the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset by searching for an
execute
rule withaction_parameters
>id
equal to efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee (the managed ruleset ID).Save the following IDs for the next step:
- The ID of the entry point ruleset (060013b1eeb14c93b0dcd896537e0d2c in this example)
- The ID of the
execute
rule deploying the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset (1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7 in this example)
You will also use the following IDs:
- The ID of the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset (efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee)
- The ID of the rule to skip (d9e350f1b72d4730899c8a420e48a85d in this example)
-
Invoke the Create a zone ruleset rule operation (a
POST
request) to add an exception (or skip rule) immediately before theexecute
rule deploying the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset, since a skip rule applies only to rules listed after it.Request curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/rulesets/{entry_point_ruleset_id}/rules" \--header "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>" \--header "Content-Type: application/json" \--data '{"expression": "(http.host eq \"dev.example.com\")","description": "Skip a single rule for dev.example.com","action": "skip","action_parameters": {"rules": {"efb7b8c949ac4650a09736fc376e9aee": ["d9e350f1b72d4730899c8a420e48a85d"]}},"position": {"before": "1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7"}}'The
action_parameters
>rules
object contains the ID of the Cloudflare Managed Ruleset with an associated list of rule IDs to skip (in this case, only one rule). Theposition
object defines the exact rule placement in the entry point ruleset (before rule 1bdb49371c1f46958fc8b985efcb79e7).
For more information on skipping one or more rules of managed rulesets via API, refer to Create an exception in the Ruleset Engine documentation.