Schema Validation Policy

Policy Name

Summary

Validates incoming traffic against a supplied API schema

Category

Security

First Flex Gateway version available

v1.4.0

Returned Status Codes

400 - The request properties do not comply with the API specifications.

Summary

The Schema Validation policy only supports REST APIs and currently only supports OpenAPI Specification 3.0 (OAS3) schema validations.

Applications processing REST API requests are susceptible to attacks such as header injection and payload injection. Additional vulnerabilities can lead to the access of sensitive information. The Schema Validation policy protects against such attacks and vulnerabilities by validating traffic against a supplied API specification.

There are many ways to upload REST API specifications, but using Exchange is the easiest way. To upload an API specification to Exchange, see Create an Exchange Asset.

Flex Gateway supports schemas defined in JSON or YAML, contained in a single file.

The Schema Validation policy validates request headers, queries, or path parameters.

Requests only include support for JSON format with content type application/json.

You configure the policy to perform one of the following actions:

Block the request, and then return the 400 error status code.
Allow the request, log the error, and then return the status code of the request.

You can validate content against:

The presence of all required properties.
The presence or absence of additional properties.
The types of all properties.

For example, if a schema specifies a property as an integer, the request must include an integer and not another type, such as a string.
The format of the properties.

For example, if the pattern keyword is specified, the policy validates the property as a regular expression.

Configuring Policy Parameters

Flex Gateway Local Mode

In Local Mode, you apply the Schema Validation policy to your API via declarative configuration files. Refer to the following policy definition and table of parameters:

- policyRef:
    name: spec-validation-flex
  config:
    source: <string> // REQUIRED
    spec: <string> // REQUIRED
    apiBasePath: <string> // OPTIONAL
    blockOperation: <boolean> // REQUIRED
    strictParamsValidation: <boolean> // OPTIONAL

Parameter Required or Optional Default Value Description

Parameter	Required or Optional	Default Value	Description
`source`	Required	`context`	Determines if the schema is specified in this YAML resource, or if it’s specified in the API Context from Exchange (Connected Mode only). Supported values: `inline` or `context`. You must specify `inline` when configuring the policy in Local Mode.
`spec`	Required	`""`	The actual inline specification. You must provide this when configuring the policy in Local Mode.
`apiBasePath`	Optional	`"/"`	The base path of the API. You must provide this value when configuring the policy in Local Mode.
`blockOperation`	Required	`true`	If `true`, the policy blocks an invalid spec validation. If `false`, the policy only logs an error.
`strictParamsValidation`	Optional	`false`	Determines whether to validate query parameters not defined in specification.

source

Required

context

Determines if the schema is specified in this YAML resource, or if it’s specified in the API Context from Exchange (Connected Mode only). Supported values: inline or context. You must specify inline when configuring the policy in Local Mode.

spec

Required

""

The actual inline specification. You must provide this when configuring the policy in Local Mode.

apiBasePath

Optional

"/"

The base path of the API. You must provide this value when configuring the policy in Local Mode.

blockOperation

Required

true

If true, the policy blocks an invalid spec validation. If false, the policy only logs an error.

strictParamsValidation

Optional

false

Determines whether to validate query parameters not defined in specification.

Resource Configuration Example

- policyRef:
    name: spec-validation-flex
  config:
    source: "inline"
    apiBasePath: "/"
    blockOperation: true
    strictParamsValidation: false
    spec: |
      {
        "openapi": "3.0.2",
        ...
      }

Flex Gateway Connected Mode

When you apply the Schema Validation policy to your API from the UI, the following parameters are displayed:

Field	Description	Default	Required
Block request	Select to block an incoming request that does not conform to the API specification. Selecting not to block only logs the request. Choosing to block invalid requests returns a 400 status when the request is invalid.	Block enabled	No
Strict query parameters validation	Restricts API calls from query parameters not defined in the API Specification	No	No
Advanced options
	Policy version	Version of the applied policy	Latest
Yes	Rule of application	Configures the runtimes the policy is applied to. Schema Validation is currently only available for Flex Gateway. Applying the policy to all runtimes only applies the policy to Flex Gateway APIs.	All runtimes

Field

Description

Default

Required

Block request

Select to block an incoming request that does not conform to the API specification. Selecting not to block only logs the request. Choosing to block invalid requests returns a 400 status when the request is invalid.

Block enabled

Strict query parameters validation

Restricts API calls from query parameters not defined in the API Specification

Advanced options

Policy version

Version of the applied policy

Latest

Yes

Rule of application

Configures the runtimes the policy is applied to. Schema Validation is currently only available for Flex Gateway. Applying the policy to all runtimes only applies the policy to Flex Gateway APIs.

All runtimes