Resolving AWS WAF 403 Errors
AWS WAF uses cryptographic puzzles to verify requests. When requests lack a valid aws-waf-token cookie, servers return 403 errors with an embedded JavaScript challenge. MeshPrivacy solves these puzzles server-side and returns valid tokens with 5-10 minute TTL.
Error Codes
| Code | Meaning | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| 403 | Challenge required or token invalid | Generate valid aws-waf-token via API |
| 200 | Challenge HTML with JavaScript puzzle | Solve embedded cryptographic challenge |
Token TTL: 5-10 minutes depending on WAF configuration.
Challenge Parameters
key - Encryption key for puzzleiv - Initialization vectorcontext - Challenge context identifiergokuProps - Configuration objectThese parameters are encrypted with AES and require computational solving.
Cookie Format
- URL-safe Base64 encoded
- Contains encrypted challenge solution
- Session-specific binding
- Expiration timestamp included
Integration Example
// Submit AWS WAF task to MeshPrivacy
const response = await fetch('https://api.meshprivacy.com/v1/tasks/submit', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'X-API-Key': API_KEY
},
body: JSON.stringify({
service: 'aws', // AWS WAF service identifier
url: 'https://target-site.com/',
script_url: 'https://target-site.com/aws-waf/challenge.js', // WAF challenge script
proxy_config: 'http://user:pass@ip:port', // Your proxy
user_agent: 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36...'
})
});
const { task_id } = await response.json();
// Poll for result
const result = await fetch(`https://api.meshprivacy.com/v1/tasks/result/${task_id}`, {
headers: { 'X-API-Key': API_KEY }
});
const { cookies } = await result.json();
// Use cookies['aws-waf-token'] - valid for 5-10 minutesFAQ
AWS WAF requires solving an AES-encrypted computational puzzle. The challenge parameters (key, iv, context) are extracted from the response and used to compute the valid token.
AWS WAF administrators can configure token lifetimes from 5 to 10 minutes. MeshPrivacy returns the actual expiration time with the token so you can manage refresh timing.
AWS WAF primarily uses cryptographic challenges rather than behavioral analysis. This makes it easier to work with than systems like DataDome or PerimeterX that rely on fingerprinting.