[GH-ISSUE #152] waf_captcha parameter 'max_fails' option 'refreshes/tries' appears to always be 20 #109

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opened 2026-03-04 12:18:59 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-04 12:18:59 +03:00

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Originally created by @altCensored on GitHub (Aug 14, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/ADD-SP/ngx_waf/issues/152

thank-you for some great software that allows us to serve captchas as necessary.

when using the parameter 'max_fails' for waf_captcha, it appears that the 'refreshes/tries' option is always 20, regardless of the value i use. the 'time' option changes per the value i use and works as expected:

waf_captcha on prov=hCaptcha secret=xxx file=/opt/xxx/hCaptcha_english.html max_fails=20:60m zone=waf:captcha;

is working the same for me as:

waf_captcha on prov=hCaptcha secret=xxx file=/opt/xxx/hCaptcha_english.html max_fails=3:60m zone=waf:captcha;

txs again

Originally created by @altCensored on GitHub (Aug 14, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/ADD-SP/ngx_waf/issues/152 thank-you for some great software that allows us to serve captchas as necessary. when using the parameter 'max_fails' for waf_captcha, it appears that the 'refreshes/tries' option is always 20, regardless of the value i use. the 'time' option changes per the value i use and works as expected: waf_captcha on prov=hCaptcha secret=xxx file=/opt/xxx/hCaptcha_english.html max_fails=20:60m zone=waf:captcha; is working the same for me as: waf_captcha on prov=hCaptcha secret=xxx file=/opt/xxx/hCaptcha_english.html max_fails=3:60m zone=waf:captcha; txs again

kerem commented

2026-03-04 12:19:00 +03:00

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@ADD-SP commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2025):

Did you use nginx -s reload to try the new max_fails parameters? Since the nginx -s reload keeps the original content of shared memory, the old counter will not be reset after reloading.

Could you try nginx -s stop?

@ADD-SP commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2025): Did you use `nginx -s reload` to try the new `max_fails` parameters? Since the `nginx -s reload` keeps the original content of shared memory, the old counter will not be reset after reloading. Could you try `nginx -s stop`?

kerem commented

2026-03-04 12:19:00 +03:00

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@altCensored commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2025):

i normally use systemctl restart nginx.

i just tried:

nginx -s stop
systemctl start nginx

with the same result.

@altCensored commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2025): i normally use systemctl restart nginx. i just tried: nginx -s stop systemctl start nginx with the same result.