Nginx runs on millions of servers — and most ship with default configuration. These 6 settings turn your Nginx into a hardened reverse proxy that reveals no unnecessary information and actively protects against attacks.

01 — Hide Version: server_tokens off

By default, Nginx sends its version number in every HTTP response header. Attackers use this for targeted exploits against known versions.

http {
    server_tokens off;
}

sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
curl -I https://your-domain.com | grep Server
# Should now show: Server: nginx (no version)

02 — Security Headers: HSTS, X-Frame, X-Content-Type

server {
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload" always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;
    add_header Permissions-Policy "camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=()" always;
}

curl -I https://your-domain.com | grep -E "Strict|X-Frame|X-Content"
# Check grade: https://securityheaders.com/

03 — Rate Limiting: Stop Login Brute-Force

http {
    limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=login:10m rate=5r/s;
    limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=30r/s;
}

server {
    location /api/auth/login {
        limit_req zone=login burst=10 nodelay;
        limit_req_status 429;
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    }
}

04 — Block .env and .git

Use return 404 instead of deny all — a 403 reveals the file exists, a 404 does not.

server {
    location ~ /\.(?!well-known) {
        return 404;
    }
    location ~* \.(env|log|bak|sql|conf|yaml|yml|ini)$ {
        return 404;
    }
}

curl -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://your-domain.com/.env
# Expected: 404

05 — Modern SSL: TLS 1.2/1.3 + Mozilla Ciphers

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl;
    http2 on;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/privkey.pem;

    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
    ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
    ssl_session_timeout 1d;    ssl_session_tickets off;

    ssl_stapling on;
    ssl_stapling_verify on;
    ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/chain.pem;
    resolver 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 valid=300s;
    resolver_timeout 5s;
}

06 — Force HTTPS: 301 Redirect from Port 80

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ { root /var/www/certbot; }
    location / { return 301 https://$host$request_uri; }
}

curl -I http://your-domain.com
# Expected:
# HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
# Location: https://your-domain.com/

Checklist

✅ server_tokens off — Nginx version hidden from headers
✅ HSTS, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy set
✅ Rate limiting on login and API endpoints
✅ .env, .git, config files return 404
✅ Only TLS 1.2/1.3, weak ciphers disabled, OCSP stapling active
✅ Port 80 permanently redirects (301) to HTTPS

These 6 settings take under 30 minutes to implement. Combined with the Linux server hardening guide, you have a solid security foundation for any production server.

Nginx Hardening: 6 Settings for a Secure Reverse Proxy