Cloudflare Interfering with RSS Feed for thePros Discourse Forum
What are the steps to reproduce the issue?
I’m experiencing an issue where Cloudflare seems to be interfering with RSS feed requests for my Discourse forum, thePros. I’m hoping to get some guidance on understanding why this is happening and how to resolve it.
Issue Description:
I have two Discourse forums, both using Cloudflare as the DNS manager. One forum (Mamapedia) has fully functional RSS feeds, while the other (thePros) has RSS feeds that are being intercepted by Cloudflare, preventing proper validation and retrieval.
Comparison:
Working RSS Feed (Mamapedia Forum):
Forum: Mamapedia
RSS Feed URL: https:// forum .mamapedia. com/latest.rss
Error Message: The validator returns Cloudflare-generated content instead of the expected RSS feed.
Observed Behavior: When opening the RSS link in a browser, it shows Cloudflare code instead of the feed, meaning Cloudflare is intercepting the request.
Key Question:
Both forums use Cloudflare as a DNS manager, yet only thePros forum’s RSS feeds are blocked or intercepted. What Cloudflare settings could be causing this difference?
I appreciate any insights or suggestions from the community. Thanks in advance!
I checked the Security Events Log, and it looks like RSS requests are being blocked under Managed Challenge. The feed URLs are triggering this, but I’m not sure which specific Cloudflare setting is causing it.
Both of my forums use Cloudflare as a DNS manager, but only thePros has this issue. Do you know which settings I should adjust to allow RSS requests without disabling security for the whole site?
I checked the Firewall Event logs, and here’s a screenshot of a sample log entry where the RSS request was blocked under Managed Challenge. Can you help me understand which rule is causing this and how to adjust it?
I’m thrilled to report that the RSS feed issue on forum.get.it has been completely resolved, and I couldn’t have done it without the incredible assistance of Laudian!
The problem, as many of you know, was that Cloudflare’s Super Bot Fight Mode was aggressively blocking my RSS feed requests, classifying them as “Definitely Automated.” This was causing all sorts of headaches, as my feed was completely inaccessible.
Laudian’s guidance was absolutely spot-on. They patiently walked me through the process of creating a targeted WAF rule, which was the key to unlocking the solution. Here’s a quick recap:
We created a WAF rule that specifically targeted requests to forum.get.it ending in .rss.
We set the action to “Skip” and selected “Super Bot Fight Mode” to be bypassed.
This allowed the RSS feeds to function perfectly, while maintaining the security of the rest of the site.
Laudian, I truly appreciate your expertise and your willingness to help. Your clear explanations and patient troubleshooting made a potentially frustrating process incredibly smooth. You didn’t just give me the answer; you helped me understand the underlying issue, which is invaluable. Your contribution has made a significant difference, and I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you again for your outstanding support!
