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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe reliable layout is a three-tier Compose stack: a ModSecurity container running the OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS) is the only service published to the internet; an internal Nginx container serves WordPress and passes PHP requests to PHP-FPM; and the database is reachable only on a private Compose network. The WAF’s BACKEND variable points to Nginx by its Compose service name, not to localhost or directly to PHP-FPM.
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Run the rules in detection mode first. Watch normal front-end, login, block-editor, plugin-update and XML-RPC traffic, add narrow exclusions for confirmed false positives, and only then enable blocking. In CRS v4, use BLOCKING_PARANOIA and DETECTION_PARANOIA; the older PARANOIA variable is not the correct setting.
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What the request path should look like
A browser should never be able to connect directly to WordPress, Nginx, PHP-FPM or MariaDB. Publish one port from the WAF and keep every other service on an internal network:
- The client connects to the host’s published HTTP or HTTPS port.
- The WAF evaluates the request with ModSecurity and OWASP CRS.
- If the request is allowed, the WAF proxies it to
http://nginx:80. Docker’s internal DNS resolvesnginxto the Nginx service. - Nginx serves static files from the WordPress volume and forwards
.phprequests towordpress:9000, the PHP-FPM listener. - WordPress uses the database service on the same private network.
This separation matters because a firewall rule is not a substitute for network isolation. Even if a rule is bypassed, an attacker should not find a database port or an unfiltered application port exposed on the host.
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Components and prerequisites
Required containers
- WAF: an OWASP CRS ModSecurity image with its Nginx proxy. The CRS project publishes official Docker images from the
coreruleset/modsecurity-crs-dockerrepository. Confirm the image’s current tag and supported environment variables before deploying. - Nginx: an internal web server that serves WordPress files and passes PHP to FPM.
- WordPress: a PHP-FPM WordPress image, sharing the application volume with Nginx.
- MariaDB or MySQL: internal database storage with a persistent volume.
Host and DNS requirements
- A Linux host or VM with Docker Engine and the Compose v2 plugin.
- A DNS record pointing your site name to the host, if the site will be public.
- Persistent storage for the WordPress files and database.
- Enough memory for PHP, the database, Nginx and ModSecurity rule processing; exact requirements depend on traffic and enabled plugins.
Use a version-pinned image or immutable digest after checking the current CRS release page. Version numbers found in secondary search results have conflicted, so do not copy an unverified CRS version into production.
Compose layout with private networking
The following is a starting layout. The WAF image tag and variable names must be checked against the image documentation you have selected. The example deliberately publishes only the WAF.
services:
waf:
image: owasp/modsecurity-crs:nginx-alpine
depends_on:
- nginx
ports:
- "80:8080"
environment:
PORT: "8080"
BACKEND: http://nginx:80
BLOCKING_PARANOIA: "1"
DETECTION_PARANOIA: "2"
networks:
- public
- internal
nginx:
image: nginx:alpine
expose:
- "80"
depends_on:
- wordpress
volumes:
- wordpress_files:/var/www/html
- ./nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
networks:
- internal
wordpress:
image: wordpress:php8.3-fpm
environment:
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: ${WORDPRESS_DB_NAME}
WORDPRESS_DB_USER: ${WORDPRESS_DB_USER}
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD}
volumes:
- wordpress_files:/var/www/html
networks:
- internal
db:
image: mariadb:latest
environment:
MARIADB_DATABASE: ${WORDPRESS_DB_NAME}
MARIADB_USER: ${WORDPRESS_DB_USER}
MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD}
MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
volumes:
- db_data:/var/lib/mysql
networks:
- internal
networks:
public:
internal:
internal: true
volumes:
wordpress_files:
db_data:For production, replace floating tags such as latest with versions you have tested and then pin them by digest where practical. Keep the database credentials in a protected .env file or Docker secrets, not in a repository. The internal: true network prevents external routing to Nginx, PHP-FPM and the database; the WAF is attached to both networks so it can receive public traffic and reach Nginx.
Nginx configuration for PHP-FPM
The WordPress PHP-FPM image does not serve HTTP by itself. Nginx needs a server block that points its document root at the shared volume and sends PHP scripts to the FPM service.
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server {
listen 80;
server_name _;
root /var/www/html;
index index.php index.html;
client_max_body_size 64m;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
location ~ .php$ {
try_files $uri =404;
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param HTTP_PROXY "";
fastcgi_pass wordpress:9000;
}
location ~* /. {
deny all;
}
}The upload limit must be large enough for your legitimate media and plugin packages, but it should be bounded at every layer. If the WAF image or its bundled Nginx has a lower request-body limit, increasing only the application Nginx limit will not help.
Configure the WAF in the right order
1. Confirm the upstream name
BACKEND is the key routing variable. Set it to the protocol, Compose service name and port that actually serve HTTP: http://nginx:80 in this layout. Do not use 127.0.0.1; inside the WAF container that address refers to the WAF itself. Do not point it at wordpress:9000, because PHP-FPM speaks FastCGI rather than HTTP.
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Detection mode lets ModSecurity record a rule match without rejecting the request. The exact switch is image-dependent: some images expose a rule-engine environment variable, while others require a mounted ModSecurity configuration file. Follow the selected image’s documented setting and verify in the startup log that the engine reports DetectionOnly (or its equivalent). Leave BLOCKING_PARANOIA at the baseline level and use DETECTION_PARANOIA to test a higher level without enforcing it.
In CRS v4, the names are:
| Setting | Purpose | Safe initial use |
|---|---|---|
BLOCKING_PARANOIA |
Paranoia level whose matching rules can block when the engine is disruptive. | Keep at 1 while learning the site. |
DETECTION_PARANOIA |
Additional paranoia level evaluated for logging and testing without blocking. | Set to 2 only after reviewing log volume. |
PARANOIA |
Legacy name seen in older examples. | Do not rely on it for a CRS v4 deployment. |
3. Exercise the complete WordPress workflow
Load the home page, search, a post, media uploads, the login form, the dashboard, the block editor, plugin and theme updates, the REST API and any XML-RPC clients you actually use. A rule that never sees normal traffic cannot be tuned safely. Watch the WAF logs while performing these actions:
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docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f wafAlso inspect Nginx, PHP and WordPress logs. A 403 from the WAF, a 404 from Nginx and a 500 from PHP have different remedies; do not create an exclusion until you know which layer generated the response.
4. Move to blocking gradually
After a representative test period, enable disruptive blocking at the chosen paranoia level. Re-test publishing, authentication, uploads and updates. Keep a rollback path: changing the engine back to detection mode or restoring the previous configuration should be a one-command deployment, not an emergency edit inside a running container.
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Testing the proxy and rule engine
Basic reachability
curl -i http://localhost/
curl -i http://localhost/wp-login.phpThe response should come from the WordPress site through the WAF. From the host, a direct connection to the Nginx container should not be possible because it has no published port.
Benign and suspicious requests
Use a harmless query first, then a test string that your security team has approved for WAF validation. For example:
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curl -i 'http://localhost/?probe=normal'
curl -i 'http://localhost/?probe=%3Cscript%3Ealert(1)%3C/script%3E'In detection mode, the second request should be logged as a rule match while still reaching the application. In blocking mode, the expected result is a WAF denial, commonly an HTTP 403. Rule IDs, anomaly scores and the request path in the log are essential when tuning; a generic “blocked” message is not enough.
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WordPress generates complex, legitimate requests that can resemble attacks. Common hotspots include administration screens, block-editor requests, plugin or theme updates, large JSON payloads and XML-RPC. Treat every alert as a specific exception to investigate, not a reason to turn off an entire CRS rule group.
A narrow exclusion workflow
- Record the exact URI, HTTP method, authenticated context, CRS rule ID and anomaly score.
- Reproduce the request with the same plugin or editor action while detection logging is enabled.
- Check whether the payload is expected and whether the plugin can be configured to avoid it.
- Exclude only the affected rule ID, parameter or path, using the exclusion mechanism supported by your CRS image.
- Retest the original action and an unrelated attack simulation to ensure the exclusion did not broaden protection.
- Document the reason, owner and review date for each exception.
A path-wide or global rule-group disablement may silence the alert, but it also removes protection from unrelated requests that share the same path. Keep exclusions in version-controlled configuration so an image update does not silently erase them.
Production hardening checklist
- Terminate TLS at the WAF or at a deliberately configured edge proxy, and pass the original host and scheme headers consistently.
- Publish only the WAF port. Remove temporary Nginx, PHP-FPM and database port mappings before going live.
- Pin all image versions and review changelogs before updating ModSecurity, CRS, Nginx, PHP or the database.
- Back up both the database volume and the WordPress files; test restoring them on a separate Compose project.
- Use non-default database credentials, least-privilege database users and protected secret storage.
- Set request-body, upload and timeout limits at the WAF and Nginx layers.
- Limit administrative access with WordPress authentication controls and, where appropriate, a separate network or VPN policy.
- Ship WAF logs to durable storage and alert on repeated blocks, sudden 5xx responses and configuration changes.
- Keep WordPress core, plugins and themes updated. A WAF reduces exposure to known request patterns but cannot repair vulnerable PHP code.
Troubleshooting by symptom
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 502 or 504 from the WAF | Wrong BACKEND, Nginx not ready, or an internal DNS/network error. |
Resolve nginx from the WAF container, inspect Nginx logs and verify that Nginx listens on port 80. |
| 502 from Nginx for PHP URLs | FPM is unavailable or the upstream name/port is wrong. | Check that wordpress:9000 resolves and that the PHP-FPM process is running. |
| WordPress installer cannot connect to the database | Incorrect database host, credentials or startup timing. | Use db:3306, verify the environment variables, and add a database healthcheck before declaring the app ready. |
| Every request returns 403 | Blocking was enabled before normal traffic was reviewed, or a broad rule is matching. | Return to detection mode, identify the rule ID and URI, then create the smallest justified exclusion. |
| Uploads fail with 413 or timeout | Request-body limits or proxy timeouts are too low. | Align limits and timeouts at the WAF, Nginx and PHP layers; keep the limits bounded rather than removing them. |
| Direct access to the app still works | A temporary host port or an alternate reverse proxy is exposing Nginx. | Inspect docker compose ps and the host firewall, then remove all non-WAF port publications. |
When this design is the right fit
This Compose pattern suits a single WordPress deployment or a small group of sites where you control the host and want the CRS rules close to the application. It gives you transparent, version-controlled configuration and an internal trust boundary.
It also creates operational responsibilities: you must monitor rule changes, tune false positives, patch every container and preserve logs and backups. If you cannot maintain those tasks, placing a managed edge service in front of an otherwise private Compose stack may be safer, but that is a different architecture and does not remove the need to secure WordPress itself.
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