/waf

Setting Up Logging and Request Sampling

Overview

Domain expertise for getting AWS WAF logging and request sampling working before any rule is enabled, so Count-mode tuning has data to read. Covers the destination choice (Amazon CloudWatch Logs, Amazon S3, or Amazon Data Firehose) and its traps (the aws-waf-logs- naming prefix, the CloudFront-logs-in-us-east-1 rule), redacting sensitive fields, and confirming logs flow before rules go on.

Does not cover the rules themselves; those are separate references. This reference is the prerequisite the tuning workflows assume.

Execute commands using the AWS MCP server when connected (sandboxed execution, audit logging, observability). Fall back to the AWS CLI otherwise.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Workflow
• Decision: logging destination
• Naming and Region constraints
• Redact sensitive fields
• Confirm logs are flowing before enabling rules
• Troubleshooting
• Procedure
• Security Considerations
• Additional Resources

Workflow

To set up logging and sampling end to end, follow the procedure exactly. See the Procedure section below.

The procedure covers:

• Choosing a logging destination and meeting its naming and Region constraints
• Redacting sensitive fields before logging is enabled
• Enabling logging on the web ACL and confirming logs flow
• Confirming request sampling is on

Decision: logging destination

Constraints:

• You SHOULD match the destination to the customer's need: CloudWatch Logs for real-time review, S3 for retention and query, Firehose for streaming to a SIEM

Naming and Region constraints

The destination has naming and Region traps that cause logs to silently never arrive.

Constraints:

• You MUST give the log destination a name carrying the aws-waf-logs- prefix; without it, logs fail silently
• You MUST send a CloudFront web ACL's logs to a destination in us-east-1
• You SHOULD confirm the destination's resource policy allows AWS WAF log delivery before enabling
• You MUST include aws:SourceArn and aws:SourceAccount condition keys in the log destination's resource policy to restrict delivery to the specific web ACL and account and prevent confused-deputy attacks
• You MUST enable encryption at rest on the log destination (CloudWatch Logs, Amazon S3, or Amazon Data Firehose, ideally with a customer-managed KMS key), since the logs can capture sensitive fields
• You MUST ensure the log destination accepts delivery only over encrypted channels: CloudWatch Logs delivery uses HTTPS, the S3 bucket policy MUST enforce aws:SecureTransport, and Firehose MUST use HTTPS

Redact sensitive fields

Logging full requests can capture credentials and session cookies in plain text.

Constraints:

• You MUST redact sensitive fields such as the authorization header and cookie before enabling logging, so secrets are not written to the destination
• You SHOULD confirm with the customer which fields carry sensitive data for their application

Confirm logs are flowing before enabling rules

Customers assume logging works, enable rules, and find the destination was misconfigured and captured nothing during the tuning window.

Constraints:

• You MUST confirm logs are arriving at the destination before any rule is enabled
• You SHOULD confirm request sampling is on (it is part of the web ACL visibility config) so sampled requests are available for tuning

Troubleshooting

No logs arrive at the destination

The destination name is missing the aws-waf-logs- prefix, or its resource policy does not allow AWS WAF delivery. Fix the name or policy (Naming and Region constraints).

A CloudFront web ACL produces no logs

The destination is not in us-east-1. Create a destination there (Naming and Region constraints).

Sensitive fields appear in logs

No redaction is configured. Add redacted fields for authorization and cookie (Redact sensitive fields).

Procedure

Overview

This procedure chooses a logging destination, applies redaction, enables logging on the web ACL, and confirms logs flow, then surfaces the console link.

Parameters

• web_acl_arn (required): The ARN of the web ACL to log.
• scope (required): CLOUDFRONT or REGIONAL.
• destination_arn (required): The ARN of the log destination, its name carrying the aws-waf-logs- prefix.
• redacted_fields (required): The fields to redact (for example authorization, cookie).

Constraints for parameter acquisition:

• You MUST ask for all required parameters upfront in a single prompt
• You MUST confirm a CloudFront web ACL's destination is in us-east-1

Steps

1. Verify dependencies

Constraints:

• You MUST confirm credentials with aws sts get-caller-identity

• You MUST confirm the destination name carries the aws-waf-logs- prefix

• You MUST verify or enable encryption at rest on the log destination before enabling logging, since WAF logs can capture credentials and session data. Use the mechanism for the destination type:

  # CloudWatch Logs: attach a KMS key to the log group
  aws logs associate-kms-key --log-group-name {log_group_name} --kms-key-id {kms_key_arn} --region {region}
  # Amazon S3: confirm default SSE (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) is set on the bucket
  aws s3api get-bucket-encryption --bucket {bucket_name}
  # Amazon Data Firehose: confirm server-side encryption is enabled on the stream
  aws firehose describe-delivery-stream --delivery-stream-name {stream_name} --region {region}

2. Enable logging with redaction

Constraints:

• You MUST put the logging configuration with the redacted fields, passing the whole --logging-configuration as one JSON string (mixing CLI shorthand with inline JSON fails to parse, and LogDestinationConfigs is a list):

  aws wafv2 put-logging-configuration \
    --logging-configuration '{"ResourceArn":"{web_acl_arn}","LogDestinationConfigs":["{destination_arn}"],"RedactedFields":[{"SingleHeader":{"Name":"authorization"}},{"SingleHeader":{"Name":"cookie"}}]}' \
    --region {region}

3. Confirm logs are flowing

Constraints:

• You MUST confirm log records are arriving at the destination before any rule is enabled
• You MUST confirm SampledRequestsEnabled is true on the web ACL visibility config

4. Surface the console link

Constraints:

• You MUST present the web ACL console link and tell the customer to open the Logging and metrics tab to confirm logging is enabled:

  https://us-east-1.console.aws.amazon.com/wafv2/homev2/web-acls?region={region}

Example

Example input

{
  "web_acl_arn": "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:111122223333:regional/webacl/example-webacl/abc",
  "scope": "REGIONAL",
  "destination_arn": "arn:aws:logs:us-east-1:111122223333:log-group:aws-waf-logs-example",
  "redacted_fields": ["authorization", "cookie"]
}

Example output

Enabled logging for web ACL example-webacl to aws-waf-logs-example, redacting authorization and cookie.
Confirmed log records are arriving and request sampling is on.
Logging is ready — Count-mode tuning now has data to read.
Open the web ACL Logging and metrics tab to confirm:
https://us-east-1.console.aws.amazon.com/wafv2/homev2/web-acls?region=us-east-1

Troubleshooting

No logs arrive

The destination name lacks the aws-waf-logs- prefix or its policy blocks delivery (Step 1).

A CloudFront web ACL produces nothing

The destination is not in us-east-1 (Step 1).

Security Considerations

This procedure modifies a security control, so misconfiguration directly weakens the application's defenses.

• Least-privilege IAM. You MUST grant only the specific wafv2: actions a task needs (for example wafv2:GetWebACL and wafv2:UpdateWebACL) rather than wafv2:* or the AWSWAFFullAccess managed policy.
• Ephemeral credentials. You MUST use IAM roles with temporary credentials (such as an EC2 instance profile, SSO session, or aws sts assume-role) rather than long-lived IAM user access keys when running these WAF CLI commands.
• Monitor configuration changes. You SHOULD enable AWS CloudTrail on wafv2 management events and set CloudWatch alarms on critical web ACL configuration changes (such as DeleteWebACL and UpdateWebACL rule removals) and on the web ACL's BlockedRequests and CountedRequests metrics, so rule changes and sudden spikes in blocked or counted traffic are detected.
• Protect log destinations. Logs can capture credentials and session data. You MUST redact sensitive fields (such as the authorization header and cookie) and MUST enable encryption at rest on the log destination (CloudWatch Logs, Amazon S3, or Amazon Data Firehose).

Additional Resources

• Logging AWS WAF web ACL traffic (AWS WAF Developer Guide)
• Testing and tuning your AWS WAF protections (AWS WAF Developer Guide)