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Re: [EP-tech] Advice on mitigating bot attacks targeting Advanced Search in EPrints

We've been experimenting with Anubis (essentially a specialised WAF) configured to perform proof of work on all searches and stats page requests.

It's still early days, but initial results are promising. The ingredient and instructions are here: https://github.com/eprints/anubis

Luke Wallin
EPrints Services
Working days: Mon-Thurs
From: eprints-tech-request@ecs.soton.ac.uk <eprints-tech-request@ecs.soton.ac.uk> on behalf of NOORHAFIZAH BINTI MOHD AKIL . <noorhafizah_ma@iium.edu.my>
Sent: 08 July 2026 09:13
To: eprints-tech@ecs.soton.ac.uk <eprints-tech@ecs.soton.ac.uk>
Subject: [EP-tech] Advice on mitigating bot attacks targeting Advanced Search in EPrints
 
CAUTION: This e-mail originated outside the University of Southampton.
CAUTION: This e-mail originated outside the University of Southampton.
Hello.

Dear all,

We are experiencing repeated bot attacks targeting the Advanced Search functionality on our EPrints repository. The bots generate a large number of requests to /cgi/search/archive/advanced, causing high server load and affecting our repository's availability.

As an immediate mitigation, we have:

  • Placed the repository behind a Web Application Firewall (WAF).
  • Temporarily disabled the Advanced Search feature.

Our repository is now accessible again, but we would like to know whether anyone in the community has experienced a similar issue.

We would appreciate any recommendations on any best practices for protecting the Advanced Search endpoint from bots, etc.

Thank you in advance.