The scheduled rule lands in log mode first
The new managed rule is called SQLi – WHERE Comparison With WITH Clause. Cloudflare has given it a scheduled release date of 2026-09-01, with the changelog entry dated 2026-08-25. Release behaviour is set to Log, so the initial rollout will show matches without stopping requests.
That matters because WAF changes rarely arrive in a tidy state. A new SQLi signature can catch odd but valid query patterns before anyone has had a proper look at the fallout. Log-only deployment gives a short observation window before blocking is switched on. If traffic spikes in the match logs, that is the point where the rule needs checking, not the moment it should start dropping requests and creating tickets.
Why this SQLi signature is a sensible place to watch traffic
The rule targets a narrow pattern: WHERE comparison with WITH clause SQL injection behaviour. That is the sort of signature that can expose real attack traffic without needing broad, noisy matching. It also gives a decent test case for how Cloudflare WAF behaves when a fresh managed rule enters production.
The obvious value is in the shape of the requests it catches. If the signature is too tight, it stays quiet and mostly catches deliberate abuse. If it is too loose, it starts tagging legitimate application queries that happen to resemble injected syntax. That is where false positives show up in managed rules, usually in the middle of a normal-looking release window when nobody wants to own the mess.
The detection target and the requests it is likely to catch
This detection is looking for SQLi behaviour built around a WHERE comparison paired with a WITH clause. That makes it more specific than a generic SQL injection rule, which is useful. Specific rules tend to be easier to inspect because the match pattern is less vague.
The requests worth looking at are the ones that reach the edge with unusual query strings, odd parameter values, or application paths that already do heavy filtering and rewriting. Log-only mode gives you the hit list before enforcement. If the same endpoint keeps tripping the rule, the question is not whether the signature exists. The question is whether the application is sending something that looks suspicious enough to justify a block later.
What to check before the rule starts blocking
Cloudflare has given this rule an ID ending in bcfa0966, and there is no Legacy Rule ID. That makes tracking a bit less tidy than older rules that map cleanly to previous identifiers. If you rely on legacy mapping for internal notes, dashboards, or change records, that gap matters.
Before any blocking change, check whether the new match traffic is tied to one application path, one user flow, or one class of request. Look at the surrounding fields in WAF logs rather than the rule name alone. A clean match count is not the same thing as a clean deployment. One noisy endpoint can make a new managed rule look broken when it is only doing exactly what it was told.
Rule ID tracking and the missing Legacy Rule ID
Rule ID tracking is the only stable anchor here. Since there is no Legacy Rule ID, older references will not help you line this up with past rule names. If you keep operational notes, use the current Rule ID in those notes and in any alerting or dashboard labels.
That sounds tedious because it is tedious. It is still better than discovering six weeks later that a useful log search stopped working after a rename. Managed rules change, internal tracking usually lags behind them, and nobody enjoys archaeology during an incident.
False positives in managed rules and where to look in logs
False positives tend to show up in the same places every time: a single path, a repeatable parameter shape, or a request pattern generated by a client library that does something a bit too clever. In Cloudflare WAF logs, start with the matched rule, the request URI, the query string, and the client behaviour around the match.
If the match rate is low and the requests are clearly malformed, the rule can probably move towards enforcement without much drama. If the same request class is being tagged over and over, keep it in log mode until the pattern is understood. Managed rules are useful until they block the wrong thing, and then everyone suddenly has opinions about observability.
Operational follow-up after 2026-09-01
After the release date, watch the log volume for this rule during normal traffic, not just during a test. A quiet first day means little if the affected endpoint only sees real load later. Set a narrow watch on the Rule ID ending in bcfa0966 and compare it with known-good requests before any blocking switch.
If the matches stay limited and the requests look hostile, the rule can probably be trusted when Cloudflare moves it out of log mode. If the matches include genuine traffic, the safest move is to keep a close eye on the endpoint and wait for a cleaner pattern before treating the rule as ready for enforcement.
