Open Source Web Application Firewall with Zero-Day Detection and Bot Protection

From zero-day exploits to large-scale bot attacks — the demand for a powerful, self-hosted, and user-friendly web application security solution has never been greater.

SafeLine is currently the most starred open-source Web Application Firewall (WAF) on GitHub, with over 16.4K stars and a rapidly growing global user base.

This walkthrough covers what SafeLine is, how it works, and why it’s becoming the go-to solution over cloud-based WAFs.

What is SafeLine WAF?

SafeLine is a self-hosted web application firewall that acts as a reverse proxy, filtering and monitoring HTTP/HTTPS traffic to block malicious requests before they reach your backend web applications. Unlike cloud-based WAFs, SafeLine runs entirely on your own servers—giving you unmatched visibility and data sovereignty.

Key Features of SafeLine WAF

Comprehensive Attack Prevention

SafeLine effectively blocks a wide range of common and advanced web attacks, including SQL injection(SQLi), cross-site scripting (XSS), OS command injection, CRLF injection, XML External Entity (XXE) attacks, Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF), and directory traversal, etc.

Zero-Day Detection via Semantic Analysis

Unlike traditional signature-based WAFs, SafeLine uses a patented semantic analysis engine that deeply parses HTTP traffic semantics.

This approach enables it to detect complex and zero-day attacks with high accuracy, resulting in an industry-leading detection rate of 99.45% and an ultra-low false positive rate of 0.07%. (The chart below compares SafeLine with the two versions of a globally recognized open-source WAF.)

Robust Bot Protection

SafeLine delivers comprehensive, multi-layered defenses against automated bot attacks, a growing threat vector responsible for credential stuffing, malicious scraping, inventory hoarding, and vulnerability scanning.

It combines several out-of-box powerful mechanisms:

CAPTCHA Challenges: Dynamically issued to distinguish human users from automated clients, especially in suspicious or high-risk traffic scenarios.
Dynamic Protection: Randomly encrypts and obfuscates frontend code, such as HTML and JavaScript, before delivering it to the client. This prevents bots from reliably parsing page structures or interacting with DOM elements, rendering automated scripts ineffective.
Anti-Replay Mechanisms: Detect and block reuse of tokens, headers, or payloads often leveraged in scripted attacks or credential stuffing campaigns.

HTTP Flood DDoS Mitigation

HTTP flood DDoS attacks attempt to overwhelm servers by sending massive volumes of HTTP requests in a short period of time. These attacks can exhaust server resources, degrade performance, or take applications offline entirely.

To counter this, SafeLine implements rate limiting to cap request frequency and mitigate abuse. These measures are highly configurable, allowing defenders to tailor thresholds based on real-world traffic patterns.

For sudden traffic spikes—whether legitimate or malicious—SafeLine provides a virtual waiting room mechanism. This ensures service availability by queuing excess users and releasing them gradually, preventing backend overload while maintaining a fair and orderly access experience.

Authentication Challenges

SafeLine is also designed with Zero Trust principles in mind—never trust, always verify. It offers configurable visitor authentication to secure access to protected applications, enhancing security through enforced identity checks.

As a built-in identity gateway, it supports modern authentication protocols such as OIDC and integrates seamlessly with identity providers like GitHub and others.

SafeLine also supports Single Sign-On (SSO) to streamline user authentication and simplify login experience in the meantime.

Best of all, these enterprise-grade identity features are included for free.

Simple Deployment in Minutes

SafeLine is designed for quick setup and easy management. It requires the following environment to be installed and run:

Operating System: Linux (x86_64 or arm64)
Dependencies: Docker (version 20.10.14 or higher) and Docker Compose (version 2.0.0 or higher)
Minimum System Requirements: 1 CPU core, 1 GB of RAM, and 5 GB of available disk space

Once the environment is ready, installation takes just a few minutes with a single command.

bash -c “$(curl -fsSLk https://waf.chaitin.com/release/latest/manager.sh)” — –en

A user-friendly, wizard-based interface guides you through configuration. Full documentation is available here.

Why Choose SafeLine Over Cloud-Based WAFs?

Unlike traditional cloud-based WAFs that route your traffic through third-party infrastructure, SafeLine offers complete deployment autonomy. Here are the advantages:

Full Data Control: Sensitive traffic and logs remain on-premises, reducing exposure to third-party cloud risks.
Cost Efficiency: Avoids recurring subscription fees common with cloud WAFs, especially beneficial for high-traffic environments.
Free and Out-of-Box Enterprise Features: Advanced threat detection, bot protection, identity authentication, and more—typically gated behind “premium” tiers elsewhere—are out-of-box and included for free.

Use Cases Ideal for SafeLine

SafeLine is a versatile solution built for a wide range of web application security needs. It’s particularly well-suited for:

Organizations with strict data privacy or regulatory compliance requirements
Teams Targeted by Sophisticated Bots and Automated Threats
Small and medium-sized businesses seeking affordable, enterprise-grade protection
DevOps and Security Teams Requiring Full Deployment Control and Customization
Projects requiring rapid deployment and easy maintenance

Final Words

SafeLine stands out as a powerful, open-source alternative to traditional cloud-based WAFs. With cutting-edge zero-day detection, robust bot mitigation, and zero trust–aligned identity features—all bundled into a self-hosted, easy-to-deploy package—SafeLine empowers developers, security teams, and organizations of all sizes to take control of their web security.