chaitin/SafeLine - Detailed Review#

1. Overview & GitHub Stats#

• URL: https://github.com/chaitin/SafeLine
• Stars: 17515

2. Project Description#

SafeLine is a robust, self-hosted Web Application Firewall (WAF) and reverse proxy solution designed to safeguard web applications from a wide range of cyber threats and exploits. Developed by Chaitin, this open-source tool provides real-time protection against common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other OWASP Top 10 risks. It is built for flexibility, allowing deployment in various environments without relying on third-party services.

3. What Software Does It Replace?#

SafeLine serves as a competitive alternative to both commercial and open-source WAF solutions, including:

• Commercial WAFs: Imperva, Cloudflare WAF, F5 Advanced WAF
• Open-source alternatives: ModSecurity, NAXSI, Coraza WAF

4. Core Functionality#

Key features of SafeLine include:

• Real-time threat detection and blocking
• Reverse proxy capabilities for load balancing and SSL termination
• Custom rule sets for tailored security policies
• Detailed logging and analytics for attack analysis
• Support for Docker-based deployment for easy scalability
• Integration with existing web servers like Nginx

5. Pros and Cons#

Pros:

• Open-source and free to use, reducing operational costs.
• Self-hosted, ensuring data privacy and full control over security configurations.
• Lightweight and efficient, with minimal performance overhead.
• Active community and regular updates.

Cons:

• Requires technical expertise for setup and maintenance.
• Limited official support compared to enterprise commercial solutions.
• May need customization for complex use cases.

6. Detailed Installation Guide (Self-host)#

Follow these steps to deploy SafeLine on an Ubuntu server:

1
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
2
sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y
3
sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker

1
git clone https://github.com/chaitin/SafeLine.git
2
cd SafeLine

1
sudo docker-compose up -d

1
sudo docker ps