WAFW00F Firewall DetectorStep-by-step reference: fingerprint web firewalls with WAFW00F before lab tests. Lab use only.FAQ

What is WAFW00F?

WAFW00F is a free, open-source WAF fingerprinter in Python by Sandro Gauci. It sends benign-but-telling probes and matches responses against 70+ firewall signatures from Cloudflare to ModSecurity.

Is using WAFW00F legal?

WAFW00F itself is legitimate open-source software. Probing sites without explicit written permission is prohibited and may trip defenses. Run it only on lab apps or signed-engagement targets.

How do I install WAFW00F?

It ships with Kali. Elsewhere run pipx install wafw00f or sudo apt install wafw00f -y, then verify with wafw00f --version.

How do I fingerprint a lab app?

Run wafw00f against the authorized URL. A positive names the product and betraying probe; a negative means no known firewall answered.

What do I do after naming the WAF?

Build a product-specific test plan: which encodings it normalizes, which payloads it blocks, and what pacing avoids lockout. Group follow-up tests by firewall, not by guess.

Why no detection on a protected app?

Outdated signatures, custom rulesets, or single-probe verdicts on stacked defenses. Update, retry with --force, and confirm manually.

How is WAFW00F different from Nmap WAF scripts?

Nmap scripts guess from headers and quirks. WAFW00F fires a purpose-built probe battery against a large signature set — faster and far more precise.

Will fingerprinting get me blocked?

Possibly — full batteries log loudly. Fingerprint once inside the agreed window, then test evasions deliberately instead of re-scanning.

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