Setting Up ‘Upgrade-Insecure-Requests’ in Nginx

Setting up the “Upgrade-Insecure-Requests” header in Nginx is a straightforward process. This tutorial will guide you through the steps. The Upgrade-Insecure-Requests header is a mechanism by web browsers to signal the server that it prefers to receive secure (HTTPS) resources. Adding this header can help in upgrading insecure requests to secure ones on supported browsers.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of Nginx configuration.
• Access to the server running Nginx.
• Proper permissions to edit Nginx configuration files.
• Ensure you have a backup of your Nginx configuration before making changes.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setup ‘Upgrade-Insecure-Requests’ in Nginx

Step 1: Access the Server

1. Log in to your server where Nginx is installed.
2. Locate Nginx Configuration File
   • The main Nginx configuration file is typically located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.
   • Site-specific configurations are usually found in /etc/nginx/sites-available/.

Step 2: Edit the Configuration File

Open the relevant Nginx configuration file in a text editor. For example,

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf 

Navigate to the server block where you want to apply this setting. It might be under the http or server context.

Step 3: Add the Header

Inside the server block, add the following line:

add_header Upgrade-Insecure-Requests 1;

This line instructs Nginx to add the Upgrade-Insecure-Requests header with a value of 1 to every response. A sample nginx configuration file may look like below:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html;

    # Add the Upgrade-Insecure-Requests header
    add_header Upgrade-Insecure-Requests 1;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    # Additional configuration settings like error pages or logging can be added here
    # For example, error logs specific to this server block:
    # error_log  /var/log/nginx/example.com_error.log;
    # access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com_access.log;
}

Step 4: Check Configuration for Errors

Before restarting Nginx, it’s good practice to check for syntax errors. Use the command:

sudo nginx -t 

This command will let you know if there are any syntax errors in your configuration files.

Step 5: Reload Nginx

If the configuration test is successful, reload Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl reload nginx 

This command will reload the configuration without stopping the server.

Step 6: Verify the Header

1. After reloading Nginx, you can verify if the header is being sent correctly.
2. Use tools like browser’s developer tools or curl to check the response headers. For curl, use:

   curl -I http://yourwebsite.com 
   

3. Look for `Upgrade-Insecure-Requests: 1` in the response headers.

Notes

• This setting is mainly beneficial if your website is served over HTTPS and you want to ensure that all requests from the client are upgraded to secure requests.
• Be cautious with global changes in the nginx.conf file, as they will affect all sites served by Nginx.

Conclusion

Setting up the Upgrade-Insecure-Requests header in Nginx helps in promoting a more secure web by upgrading insecure requests to secure ones. Remember to always test your configuration changes to avoid any downtime.