How to block Zendesk Webhook
Operated by Zendesk. Webhooks for development of Zendesk ticketing system and apps.
How it identifies itself
Zendesk Webhook
nginx
In the server block, then reload.
nginx
# In the server block. 403 rather than 444: a closed connection tells the
# operator nothing, and an agent that gets a status code can log it.
if ($http_user_agent ~* "(Zendesk Webhook)") {
return 403;
}
Apache
In .htaccess or the vhost.
Apache
BrowserMatchNoCase "Zendesk Webhook" bad_bot
<RequireAll>
Require all granted
Require not env bad_bot
</RequireAll>
Cloudflare
Security → WAF → Custom rules.
Cloudflare
# Security → WAF → Custom rules, action: Block (http.user_agent contains "Zendesk Webhook")
WordPress
A child theme's functions.php, or a small plugin.
WordPress
// functions.php of a child theme, or a small plugin. Runs before WordPress
// builds the page, so a blocked agent costs one PHP process and no queries.
add_action('init', function () {
$agent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] ?? '';
foreach (['Zendesk Webhook'] as $needle) {
if (stripos($agent, $needle) !== false) {
status_header(403);
exit('Blocked: Zendesk Webhook');
}
}
});
A rule on the user agent is a rule on a string it chose
The server rules match on a header the requester sets, which stops the agent that says who it is and not the one that copies somebody else's name. Botscope verifies identity against DNS and published address ranges, records which check decided each request, and shows you the ones that lied.