Configure IP Reputation Service

Published April 5, 2023 | Last modified October 20, 2026

Objective

This guide provides instructions on how to enable the IP Reputation Service from within F5® Distributed Cloud Console (Console). This feature enables you to allow or deny IP addresses based on a threat category or a threat score. The threat categories are configured from within your load balancer configuration, and the threat scores are configured using a service policy. The IP Reputation Service includes a database of known malicious IP addresses. This database is updated continuously.

To learn more about security and load balancing concepts, see Security and Load Balancing and Service Mesh.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites apply:

An F5 Distributed Cloud Account. If you do not have an account, see Getting Started with Console.
An HTTP load balancer. For instructions on how to create an HTTP load balancer, see HTTP Load Balancer.

Configuration

You can enable detection using a basic method (threat categories) or a more advanced method (label selectors with threat categories and IP scores).

Note: You can only use one method per load balancer. You cannot use both the basic and advanced methods together.

Basic method: Using single or multiple IP threat categories. The categories include the following:
- Spam Sources: Includes Tunneling Spam messages through proxy, anomalous SMTP activities, and Forum Spam activities.
- Mobile Threats: Includes IP addresses of malicious and unwanted mobile applications.
- Network Attacks: Includes IP addresses that are known to attack networks.
- Windows Exploits: Includes active IP addresses offering or distributing malware, shell code, rootkits, worms, or viruses.
- Web Attacks: Includes cross-site scripting, iFrame injection, SQL injection, cross domain injection, or domain password brute force.
- Botnets: Includes botnet command and control channels and infected zombie machines controlled by the botnet controller.
- Scanners: Includes all reconnaissance, such as probes, host scan, domain scan, and password brute force.
- Denial of service: Includes DoS, DDoS, anomalous SYN flood, and anomalous traffic detection.
- Reputation: When enabled, denies access to IP addresses currently known to be infected with malware or to contact malware distribution points.
- Phishing: Includes IP addresses hosting phishing sites or other kinds of fraud activities, such as click fraud or gaming fraud.
- Anonymous Proxies/Tor Proxy: Includes IP addresses providing proxy and anonymization services, as well as The Onion Router (Tor) anonymizer addresses.
Advanced method: Using a label selector with two label options: reputation.ves.io/ip-trustscore and reputation.ves.io/ip-threat-category. You can use one or the other, or you can use both labels together in expressions. The lower the score, the higher the risk is for that particular IP address.

This table provides the score and corresponding score levels:

Score Range	Score	Risk
1-50	Low	High
51-80	Medium	Medium
81-100	High	Low

This guide provides both methods for configuring the IP Reputation Service: (1) deny malicious IP addresses using a load balancer and (2) deny malicious IP addresses based on scores using a service policy. This guide also assumes you are using an existing HTTP load balancer.

Note: No steps are shown for applying a service policy for a load balancer. Once a service policy is made active, it is automatically applied on a load balancer by default.

Deny Malicious IPs Using IP Threat Categories

You can configure your load balancer to deny IP addresses based on known IP threat categories.

Step 1: Navigate to load balancers in Console.

From the Console homepage, click Multi-Cloud App Connect.
Select the desired namespace.
Click Manage > Load Balancers > HTTP Load Balancers.

Figure: List of Load Balancers

Find your load balancer and click ... > Manage Configuration.

Figure: Manage Configuration

Click Edit Configuration.

Step 2: Enable the IP Reputation Service feature.

In the load balancer configuration form, scroll to the Common Security Controls section.
From the IP Reputation menu, select Enable.
From the List of IP Threat Categories to choose menu, select an IP threat category. You can choose more than one category.

Step 3: Complete configuration and save the new settings.

Complete the rest of the configuration for the required settings, if needed.
After you finish, click Save and Exit.

Step 4: Verify the operation.

After you configure your load balancer, send a test request from a client IP address. If there is no match for an IP address, the request will be allowed. If the IP address matches, then the request will be denied.

Deny Malicious IPs Using Label Selectors

You can configure your service policy to deny an IP address based on its reputation score. Note that the lower the score attached to a particular IP address, the higher the malicious risk with that IP address. Note that this is a more advanced method than the one shown above for load balancers.

Step 1: Navigate to service policies in Console.

From the Console homepage, click Web App & API Protection.
Click Manage > Service Policies > Service Policies.

Figure: List of Service Policies

Step 2: Create custom rule using label selector.

Click Add Service Policy.
In the Rules section, from the Select Policy Rules menu, ensure Custom Rule List is selected.
Click Configure.

Figure: Configuration

Click Add Item.

Figure: Add Rule

In the Name field, enter a name for this new rule.
In the Rule Specification field, click View Configuration.

Figure: Add Rule Name

In the Clients section, select Group of Clients by Label Selector from the Client Selection menu.
From the Selector Expression menu, click Add label:
To use an IP score:
- Select the reputation.ves.io/ip-trustscore label selector.
- Select the IN operator.
- Select from the three options available. To block IP addresses that pose the highest risk, select LOW.
- Click Apply.

Figure: Use IP Score Label

To use an IP threat category:
- Select the reputation.ves.io/ip-threat-category label selector.
- Select the IN operator.
- Select a category from the options available. You can select more than one option.
- Click Apply.

Figure: Use IP Category Label

Click Apply.
Click Apply.
Click Apply.

Step 3: Complete configuration and save the new settings.

Complete the rest of the configuration for the required settings.
After you finish, click Save and Exit.

Step 4: Create a default rule to allow all other IP addresses.

To allow all other IPs by default, you must create a default allow rule within the same service policy.

Figure: Allow All Other IP Addresses

Step 5: Verify the operation.

After you configure the service policies for your load balancer, send a test request from a client IP address. If there is no match for an IP address, the request will be allowed. If the IP address matches, then the request will be denied.

Verify Security Events in Console

If an IP address is in the threat categories or threat scores, a security event will be generated and available for you to view.

Step 1: Navigate to your load balancer.

In Console, navigate to Distributed Apps > Load Balancers > HTTP Load Balancers to select your load balancer.

Step 2: View security events.

Select the Security Monitoring tab.
Click the Security Events tab or Requests tab to view traffic for your load balancer.
Expand the information for the specific event using the > symbol.

Figure: View Security Events