HowTo: Nginx Block User Agent

Posted on in Categories last updated June 27, 2012

How do I block a http user agent or a software agent using Nginx web server under Linux or Unix like operating systems?

You can block any http user agents with GET / POST requests that scrape your content or try to exploit software vulnerability. Use the following syntax. Edit /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf file, enter:
# vi /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf
In this example, block http user agent called wget:

## Block http user agent - wget ##
if ($http_user_agent ~* (Wget) ) {
   return 403;
}
 
## Block Software download user agents ##
     if ($http_user_agent ~* LWP::Simple|BBBike|wget) {
            return 403;
     }

Save and close the file. Reload nginx web server, enter:
# service nginx reload
OR
# /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx -s reload

How do I block multiple http user agents?

Use the following syntax:

if ($http_user_agent ~ (agent1|agent2|Foo|Wget|Catall Spider|AcoiRobot) ) {
    return 403;
}

Case insensitive blocking: ~* vs ~

Please note the ~* makes it case insensitive as opposed to just a ~:

### case sensitive http user agent blocking  ###
if ($http_user_agent ~ (Catall Spider|AcoiRobot) ) {
    return 403;
}
### case insensitive http user agent blocking  ###
if ($http_user_agent ~* (foo|bar) ) {
    return 403;
}

See also:

Posted by: Vivek Gite

The author is the creator of nixCraft and a seasoned sysadmin and a trainer for the Linux operating system/Unix shell scripting. He has worked with global clients and in various industries, including IT, education, defense and space research, and the nonprofit sector. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+.

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8 comment

  1. How do you put another condition instead of return? can you deny all and only allow a certain ip/subnet with those user agents to go through?

  2. How do you put another condition instead of return? can you deny all and only allow a certain ip/subnet with those user agents to go through? any example?

  3. i get the following error : “nginx: [emerg] “if” directive is not allowed here in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:”
    any thoughts?

  5. What is server block meaning ?
    I got the same problem nginx: [emerg] “if” directive is not allowed here

  6. Question, is how to block a block that spoofs its user-agent, where it’s clear that the user agent is spoofed by the Comments token.
    i.e. the following user-agent string:
    “Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ACHE/Unknown Version; +https://github.com/ViDA-NYU/ache; )”
    Where we don’t want to be blocking by Mozilla/5.0, but rather want to be blocking by the entire string. (i.e. how to make the instruction look for “ACHE/Unknown Version” within the comments token of the user string.)

    1. Thats the real question, what’s the point of blocking useragent when every bot uses Mozilla/5.0, and after that some random shi.t

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