Kong Gateway WAF vs NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

Kong Gateway WAF

Model: Tiered (Plus per-gateway + Enterprise custom)

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NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

Model: Custom / Quote-based

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Kong Gateway WAF

• Gateway-Embedded WAF

  WAF runs as a plugin inside the Kong Gateway process, inspecting API traffic at the same layer where routing, authentication, and rate limiting occur. No separate WAF appliance or additional proxy hop needed.

• OWASP Top 10 Protection

  Built-in protection against common web application attacks including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, command injection, and path traversal at the API gateway layer.

• Plugin Ecosystem

  Over 100 plugins for security, traffic control, authentication, and observability. WAF works alongside bot detection, IP restriction, CORS, ACL, and rate limiting plugins in a configurable execution chain.

• Third-Party WAF Integrations

  Open plugin architecture supports third-party WAF engines including open-appsec (ML-driven detection) and Wallarm (API security). Teams can choose the WAF engine that fits their threat model.

• Kubernetes-Native Deployment

  Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Kubernetes Operator provide native Kubernetes integration. WAF policies can be managed declaratively through Kubernetes CRDs alongside gateway configuration.

• Hybrid Mode

  Cloud-managed control plane with self-hosted data planes. WAF policies are centrally managed and distributed to data planes running in any environment, including air-gapped networks.

• AI Gateway

  Dedicated AI gateway capabilities including LLM proxy, token-based rate limiting, semantic caching, PII sanitization, prompt guardrails, and MCP server proxy. WAF protects AI endpoints alongside traditional APIs.

• Declarative Configuration

  Gateway and WAF configuration can be managed as code through declarative YAML/JSON, enabling GitOps workflows and CI/CD pipeline integration for security policy changes.

• Advanced Rate Limiting

  Enterprise-grade rate limiting with sliding window counters, consumer groups, and cluster-wide synchronization. Works in conjunction with WAF to prevent both application-layer attacks and abuse.

NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

• Semantic Analysis Engine

  Uses semantic analysis to understand and detect complex web attacks beyond simple pattern matching, reducing false positives and catching evasion attempts.

• API Security

  Comprehensive API asset management with real-time shadow API discovery, parameter oversight, and sensitive data identification across regional deployments.

• Dynamic Bot Traffic Protection

  Distinguishes between human and machine traffic using dynamic tokens to prevent replay attacks, unauthorized access, and information scraping.

• Virtual Patching

  Virtually patch vulnerabilities in web applications without requiring the application to be updated, providing immediate protection for known CVEs.

• Threat Intelligence Integration

  Deep integration with NSFOCUS Threat Intelligence (NTI) for real-time threat feeds and actionable intelligence to protect against emerging attacks.

• Layered Detection System

  Multi-layered defense with traffic pre-filtering, customizable detection criteria, and sophisticated logical combinations for precise rule enforcement.