Bypassing Wildcard Restrictions With Cloudflare's Proxy

Published: 2022-11-02
Updated: 2022-11-02

Introduction

In the realm of web security and performance optimization, Cloudflare stands out as a leading provider of content delivery, DDoS mitigation, and domain management services. However, users of Cloudflare’s free and lower-tier plans may find themselves limited by certain restrictions, such as the inability to use wildcard proxies. In this blog post, we’ll explore how Cloudflare’s wildcard proxy limitation on non-enterprise plans can be circumvented through a clever workaround.

Understanding Cloudflare’s Wildcard Proxy Limitations

Cloudflare’s wildcard proxying is a feature reserved for its enterprise-level customers. This means that users on the free and lower-tier plans cannot enjoy the benefits of wildcard proxies, which allow all subdomains of a domain to be proxied through Cloudflare’s global network.

The Challenge

For users who are on non-enterprise plans and wish to proxy subdomains using a wildcard, this restriction poses a challenge. However, there’s a workaround that involves leveraging Cloudflare’s features in a creative way.

The Clever Workaround

The workaround involves creating a Proxied record on the same Cloudflare account and CNAME-ing to it using a wildcard.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Create a Proxied Record:
  • Log in to your Cloudflare account.
  • Navigate to your domain’s DNS settings.
  • Create a new DNS record for the subdomain you want to proxy.
  • Ensure that the proxy status is set to Proxied (orange cloud icon).
  1. Obtain the Proxied Record’s CNAME:
  • Find the CNAME value associated with the Proxied record you just created.
  1. Create a Wildcard CNAME Record:
  • Add a new DNS record with a wildcard (*) as the subdomain.
  • Set the record type to CNAME.
  • Set the value to the CNAME obtained from the Proxied record.
  1. Verify the Configuration:
  • Wait for DNS propagation, and then verify that the wildcard subdomain is now proxied through Cloudflare.

Conclusion

While Cloudflare’s wildcard proxy feature is exclusive to enterprise plans, the workaround described above provides a viable solution for users on free and lower-tier plans. By creatively leveraging Cloudflare’s existing features, users can achieve the desired wildcard proxying effect without the need for an enterprise-level subscription.

This workaround showcases the flexibility and ingenuity that users can employ to overcome certain limitations, making Cloudflare a more versatile solution for a broader range of users.