Nginx security practices in production environment

In modern web application development, Nginx has become a popular web server and reverse proxy server. In modern web application architecture, container-based cloud platforms are more suitable for using Nginx’s lightweight, high-performance and low resource consumption features. However, in practical applications, the risks faced by Nginx also bring us certain challenges. In this article, we will introduce some security practices of Nginx in a production environment.

1. Minimize system privileges
   Regarding the system's minimized privilege allocation, Nginx should run with very low privileges. This philosophy is called the "principle of least privilege" and plays an important role in system security. We should run Nginx in an environment with only the necessary permissions to minimize potential security threats in the system. To enforce this principle, we can adopt some routine security best practices, such as running a process with the same privilege level as Nginx in the Nginx container. In addition, we can also use Linux namespaces to minimize permissions in the container and ensure that Nginx only runs with a small number of privileges.
2. Determine the number and type
   One of the important steps in introducing security standards in Nginx is to determine its number and type. Typically, these standards vary depending on the type of service hosted in the Nginx server. For example, a simple web server will require many security standards without supporting the SSL/TLS connection security protocol. In contrast, an online store requires SSL/TLS protocol to protect users' personal data. In addition, make sure that the number of programs running in Nginx is minimal so that Nginx security can be maximized.
3. Best practices for configuration files
   The configuration file of the Nginx server must follow best practices. To ensure security, it is best to disable all HTTP TRACE requests in the configuration file. If we fail to do this, by doing so with Curl or a similar tool, we may leak some sensitive information, such as authentication credentials. Another configuration file best practice is to decrypt all HTTP request headers. This prevents data transmitted over HTTPS from being tampered with and also better protects our HTTP transmissions.
4. Usage of SSL/TLS
   Nginx is commonly used to provide SSL/TLS protocol and encrypted communication security. However, this requires following best practices. One of the best practices is to choose our SSL/TLS version so that we avoid known vulnerabilities and stay up to date with security patches. Additionally, we need to update certificates regularly and ensure they are configured correctly. Otherwise, our certificate will be considered untrusted.
5. DDOS and Buffer Overflow Protection
   Nginx can be used to limit DDOS attack traffic from Windows platforms and Linux. This can be accomplished by using the "upstream directive", which routes HTTP request traffic through a forward protection layer of the proxy server. Similarly, buffer overflow is a serious security risk and is a basic attack mode using the Nginx reverse proxy server. This can be done by limiting the size and duration of Nginx caches, as well as disabling specific strings and HTTP protocols or methods in HTTP requests.

Conclusion
As mentioned above, Nginx needs to carefully consider security in a production environment. There are a number of best practices we can adopt to reduce the risk of attackers exploiting this. The methods and techniques introduced in this article can help us ensure the security of Nginx and ensure that our web applications provide optimal performance and functionality while protecting the security of important data.

The above is the detailed content of Nginx security practices in production environment. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!