---
title: "WEB-NGX-006 nginx Request Limits Not Configured"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-NGX-006.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-NGX-006.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# WEB-NGX-006 nginx Request Limits Not Configured

nginx sets no client_max_body_size, limit_req_zone or limit_conn_zone, so request size and rate rely on defaults alone.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: Info
- Control category: Secure Configuration
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 16.7
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-770, CWE-307
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A05:2021, A07:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 11.1.4
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SC-5, AC-7
- Benchmark topic: Web server request limits (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

Explicit limits bound what one client can upload or how fast it can call login and search pages. They are an availability and brute-force control, informational here because the right values depend on the application.

## How It Detects

Reads the configuration tree for client_max_body_size, limit_req_zone and limit_conn_zone. Reports Info when none is present.

## How to Fix

Set  client_max_body_size  to what the application needs (the default is 1m) and add  limit_req_zone  for login and API locations with a sensible rate. See the nginx limit_req and limit_conn module documentation.

## How to Verify

```
nginx -T | grep -nE 'client_max_body_size|limit_(req|conn)_zone'
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P18 Web Server Hardening: nginx and Apache](https://openvapt.com/academy/p18.md)
- [P25 Availability Without Load Testing](https://openvapt.com/academy/p25.md)

## References

- [nginx documentation, ngx_http_limit_req_module](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_limit_req_module.html)
- [nginx documentation, ngx_http_core_module](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_core_module.html)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/web/serverconf.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-NGX-006`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-NGX-006`.

---

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