Subdirectory Blog Security: Protect Origins While You Grow SEO
Serving your blog at /blog shouldn’t expose your CMS to new risks. A reverse proxy can harden security while you gain SEO.
Table of Contents
- Threat model for subdirectory blogs
- WAF and bot control essentials
- Origin shielding and rate limits
- Auth, cookies, and PII
- Logging, alerts, and compliance
- Incident response basics
- Security hardening checklist
- Advanced FAQ
- Why choose BlogPath.io
- Related posts
Threat model for subdirectory blogs
- Credential stuffing on CMS logins.
- Bot scraping and spam forms.
- DDoS on origin; cache-bypass floods.
- Mixed content and outdated plugins.
WAF and bot control essentials
- Use managed rules; block known bad IP ranges and user agents.
- Challenge high-risk traffic; rate-limit POST endpoints.
- Filter spam via reCAPTCHA or edge-managed challenges.
Origin shielding and rate limits
- Place the origin behind a shield; only the proxy can reach it.
- Restrict admin paths to specific IPs/VPN.
- Set per-path rate limits for forms and search endpoints.
Auth, cookies, and PII
- Bypass cache on auth cookies; never cache admin traffic.
- Secure cookies (SameSite, HttpOnly, Secure).
- Don’t log PII at the edge; redact sensitive headers.
Logging, alerts, and compliance
- Centralize edge logs; alert on spikes in 4xx/5xx.
- Keep audit trails for admin access.
- Align with data residency by keeping origins in allowed regions.
Incident response basics
- Predefine rollback (DNS TTL 300s) and maintenance pages.
- Keep a recent plugin/theme inventory; patch quickly.
- Run post-incident reviews; add rules for recurring offenders.
Security hardening checklist
- Enforce HTTPS and HSTS; block direct origin access.
- Limit admin routes by IP/VPN; add CAPTCHA or challenges to login and forms.
- Set CSP and X-Frame-Options to reduce clickjacking.
- Sanitize uploads; restrict executable file types.
- Monitor for unusual spikes in POST requests and cache-bypass headers.
- Add 3–5 authoritative outbound references for trust: OWASP, Google Safe Browsing, Mozilla Observatory.
Advanced FAQ
Should I cache login pages?
No. Always bypass cache for auth, admin, and preview endpoints. Rate-limit them and add bot challenges.
How do I stop direct origin hits?
Allow only the proxy IP ranges; use firewall rules or private networking if available.
How do I keep PII out of logs?
Redact headers (Authorization, cookies) at the edge. Avoid logging form payloads.
What about third-party widgets?
Audit them for privacy and performance; lazy-load when possible; block if they leak data.
Why choose BlogPath.io
- Managed WAF, bot mitigation, and origin shielding without manual rule-writing.
- Global CDN with secure defaults; zero-code DNS cutover.
- Observability: alerting on 4xx/5xx spikes, anomaly detection, and cache insights.
- Reliability and uptime focus so your team doesn’t babysit security configs.