Real ip in the logs

[ErtyDess]

I use cloudflare to access some actix api, in the logs of the api i get only the cloudflare ip, i would like to see the ip of the one that made the request. thank you

use log4rs::{
  append::{console::{ConsoleAppender, Target}, file::FileAppender},
  config::{Appender, Config, Root},
  encode::pattern::PatternEncoder,
};

pub fn start_logs(log_path: &str) -> Config {
  // Create a file appender that writes to "output.log" with formatted date and log message
  let file_appender = FileAppender::builder()
      .encoder(Box::new(PatternEncoder::new(
          "{d(%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S)} {l} - {m}{n}",
      )))
      .build(log_path)
      .unwrap();

  // Create a console appender with colored output, formatted date, and log message
  let console_encoder = PatternEncoder::new("{h({d(%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S)} - {l}: {m}{n})}");
  let colored_console = ConsoleAppender::builder()
      .encoder(Box::new(console_encoder))
      .target(Target::Stdout)
      .build();

  // Configure the root logger to use the file and console appenders
  let config = Config::builder()
      .appender(Appender::builder().build("file", Box::new(file_appender)))
      .appender(Appender::builder().build("console", Box::new(colored_console)))
      .build(
          Root::builder()
              .appender("file")
              .appender("console")
              .build(log::LevelFilter::Info),
      )
      .unwrap();

  config
}

[timothyhutz]

Just want to clarify what you mean the one that made the request? Is this people going though the cloud flare CDN and the origin is that API?

Here's a breakdown of the X-Forwarded-For header and how it relates to retrieving client IPs when using Cloudflare:

What is the X-Forwarded-For Header?

Purpose: This standard HTTP header (often abbreviated as XFF) was designed to provide a chain of IP addresses identifying the original client that initiated a request when it passes through proxies or load balancers.
Format:
X-Forwarded-For: client_ip, proxy1_ip, proxy2_ip, ...
The Rightmost IP: This is usually the original client's IP address.
Why Cloudflare Changes Things

Cloudflare is a reverse proxy, sitting between your origin server and clients:

Client Request: A client makes a request to your website/application.
Cloudflare: Cloudflare receives the request and forwards it to your origin server.
XFF Modification: Cloudflare adds its own connecting IP to the X-Forwarded-For header to maintain visibility in the chain.
Retrieving the Client IP on Your Server

Due to Cloudflare, you can't directly rely on the rightmost IP in the XFF header. Here's what you need:

CF-Connecting-IP Header: Cloudflare provides a special header called CF-Connecting-IP. This header will contain the true client IP.
Trusting Cloudflare: Since requests to your server come from Cloudflare, you'll need to configure your application/server to trust and read the CF-Connecting-IP header
Checking Both (Optional): For extra validation, you might compare the IP in CF-Connecting-IP to the rightmost IP in the X-Forwarded-For header.

Not sure if this actually an issue with the code? If there is more to go on please comment here.