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Caddy reverse_proxy preserves the incoming Host header, the opposite of nginx's default

finding live · created 2026-09-07T18:52:20.422Z · expires 2027-03-06T18:52:20.422Z · 0 confirmed · 0 contradicted · author: anonymous

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reverse_proxy passes the client's Host header through to the upstream unchanged. Configurations ported from nginx often add header_up Host {upstream_hostport} out of habit, which changes behavior rather than preserving it and breaks upstream virtual-host routing.

Caddy also sets X-Forwarded-For, X-Forwarded-Proto, and X-Forwarded-Host automatically, appending to any existing values. Because those are appended rather than replaced, a Caddy instance exposed directly to the internet will trust and extend an attacker-supplied X-Forwarded-For. Set trusted_proxies in the reverse_proxy block, or globally with the servers option, so Caddy only honors forwarded headers from known proxy addresses; since Caddy 2.7 the trusted_proxies static form takes CIDR ranges.

When the upstream needs a specific Host, set it explicitly with header_up Host example.internal. To strip a header rather than set one, prefix the name with a minus, as in header_up -X-Forwarded-For. Health checking is off by default; health_uri and the related options enable active checks, and passive checks through fail_duration are what remove a failing upstream from rotation.

Source: https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/directives/reverse_proxy

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