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PASSEDvendor / sophos_xg_waf_rule_blocking
Sophos XG WAF Rule Blocking Customer Portal
A Sophos XG 330 web application protection rule blocks legitimate customer portal traffic by flagging JSON API payloads as SQL injection attempts, preventing all customer-facing operations.
Pattern
UNKNOWN
Severity
CRITICAL
Confidence
95%
Remediation
Remote Hands
Test Results
| Metric | Expected | Actual | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern Recognition | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN | |
| Severity Assessment | CRITICAL | CRITICAL | |
| Incident Correlation | Yes | 21 linked | |
| Cascade Escalation | N/A | No | |
| Remediation | — | Remote Hands — Corax contacts on-site support via call, email, or API |
Scenario Conditions
Sophos XG 330 with WAF module. Customer portal behind WAF reverse proxy. New WAF signature update triggers false positive on JSON API bodies containing SQL-like syntax. 5000 customers affected.
Injected Error Messages (2)
sophos XG web application protection blocking customer portal API — sophos web application rule ID 942100 (SQL injection detection) triggering on legitimate JSON API payloads, all POST/PUT requests to portal.company.com/api/* returning sophos block page, customer portal read-only (GET requests pass), 5000 customers unable to submit orders or update accounts
sophos XG 330 web application protection false positive storm — 18000 block events in last hour for 'SQL Injection — libinjection analysis', sophos signature update 2026.03.28 introduced overly broad SQL pattern match, legitimate JSON fields like 'SELECT plan_type FROM dropdown' triggering detection, sophos XG web server protection log flooded, customer portal functionally broken
Neural Engine Root Cause Analysis
The Sophos XG web application firewall is incorrectly flagging legitimate JSON API payloads as SQL injection attacks via rule ID 942100. This false positive is blocking all POST/PUT requests to the customer portal API endpoints, effectively making the portal read-only and preventing 5000 customers from performing critical business operations. The WAF rule requires tuning or temporary bypass to restore full functionality.
Remediation Plan
1. Immediately create a WAF exception rule for portal.company.com/api/* to bypass rule ID 942100 for legitimate API traffic. 2. Alternatively, temporarily disable rule 942100 globally if WAF management access allows. 3. Monitor traffic patterns and API payload structure to identify specific JSON patterns triggering the false positive. 4. Fine-tune the SQL injection rule to exclude legitimate JSON API patterns while maintaining security posture. 5. Test thoroughly before re-enabling full protection. 6. Document the exception for future reference and security audit compliance.
Tested: 2026-03-30Monitors: 2 | Incidents: 2Test ID: cmnck71d40785obqe4otb09gn