nginx
A fast web server and reverse proxy.
Where It Sits
The small stack marks its layer. Beside it, each related technology links to its own page.
- App
- Framework
- Web Servernginx
- Runtime
- Containers
- OS
- Hypervisor
- Firmware
- Hardware
- Data
About
nginx is a fast web server often used as a reverse proxy, which sits in front of an application and passes requests to it. It commonly sits ahead of a Node.js app, or of an app server such as Gunicorn, Puma or PHP-FPM that runs the Python, Ruby or PHP code. It never runs the application's code itself, and it usually runs on Linux.
How to Spot It
These are signs that a system runs nginx, seen from outside without signing in, such as a response header, a cookie, a path or a default port. They help you find where it runs across your own estate. A version shown to the world also tells anyone scanning which flaws might apply, so it is worth hiding.
- Response header
Server: nginx/1.24.0- Page source
Welcome to nginx!
If It Has a Flaw
nginx only passes requests on, so a flaw in it does not run code in the apps behind it. It does put their traffic at risk, because whoever holds the flaw could read or change every request that passes through.
Rivals
Rivals do the same job on the same layer, so a system usually runs one of them in any one place. A flaw in a rival does not reach nginx.
Stacks and Code
nginx is part of the common stacks below, and each stack's page shows who runs every layer. Its code arrives from the sources listed, and each source's page says how bad code could get in through it.
- Its Code Comes From
- OS Packages