Cloudflare problems with Modular DS and how to fix them

Does your site use Cloudflare and you can't connect it to Modular DS, it shows as down in the Uptime Monitor even though it isn't, or it's connected but you're not receiving all its data?

In these cases, the most common reason is that your Cloudflare configuration is blocking Modular DS connections. We'll explain how to fix it depending on your case.

Why Cloudflare may block Modular DS

Modular DS is verified as a known bot (Known Bot) in Cloudflare, so under normal conditions our traffic passes through without issues.

Even so, sometimes Modular DS traffic or your own site's traffic gets affected. This usually happens because of custom rules you've created or security levels that are set too high.

This happens in two different ways:

• Blocks the Modular DS bot that connects to your site from the outside. This is what causes the site not to connect or to appear as down in the Uptime Monitor.
• Blocks loopbacks (the calls your site makes to itself to run background tasks). This is what causes the site to be connected but not receive all its data.

In both cases the solution is to create a rule in Cloudflare. All rules are created from "Security" > "Security rules" > "Create new custom rule".

Your site won't connect or appears as down in the Uptime Monitor

When Cloudflare blocks the Modular DS bot, your site may fail to connect or show as down in the Uptime Monitor even though it's working normally.

To fix this, create a rule that lets verified bots through.

Create a rule to allow known bots

1. Go to "Security" > "Security rules" > "Create new custom rule" in your Cloudflare dashboard.
2. Enter a descriptive name for the rule, for example "Allow Known Bots".
3. Select the "Known Bots" field in "When incoming requests match" and turn it on. The expression preview will show (cf.client.bot).
4. Choose the "Skip" action in "Then take action".
5. Turn on the "Log matching requests" option.
6. Check "All remaining custom rules" and "All Super Bot Fight Mode Rules" in "WAF components to skip".
7. Select the "First" order in "Place at". It's important for the rule to be evaluated before the others so that no other rule blocks it.
8. Save the changes with "Save".

This rule doesn't only allow the Modular DS bot: it works for any bot verified by Cloudflare.

If you create new custom rules later on, make sure this one stays placed first.

If you have "Under Attack" mode active

The rule above is usually enough. But if you have "Under Attack" mode active in Cloudflare, you need to add one more exclusion.

Within the same rule, open the "More components to skip" dropdown and check "Security Level".

If you use Super Bot Fight Mode

If you use Super Bot Fight Mode, you have an alternative to the rule above.

Go to "Security" > "Settings", filter by "Bot traffic" and, within Super Bot Fight Mode, set the "Verified bots" group to "Allow".

This way, verified bots like the Modular DS one will pass through without being blocked.

If traffic still gets blocked, create the rule to allow known bots from the previous section.

By skipping the Super Bot Fight Mode rules, that rule also resolves these cases.

Your site is connected but receives no data or only some

Why it happens

WordPress makes calls to itself (known as loopbacks) to run the CRON, the REST API, and other background tasks.

Modular DS relies on these tasks to complete backups, updates, and health reports.

If your site is behind Cloudflare, these calls pass through its filter and may get blocked.

When that happens, the site stays connected to Modular DS, but some tasks don't complete and the data arrives incomplete or doesn't arrive at all.

Create a rule to allow loopbacks

So that these calls aren't blocked, create a rule similar to the previous one, but this time authorize your server's IP instead of the Modular DS bot.

1. Go to "Security" > "Security rules" > "Create new custom rule".
2. Enter a descriptive name for the rule, for example "Allow loopbacks".
3. Select the "IP Source Address" field with the "is in" operator and enter your server's IP. The expression preview will show (ip.src in {…}).
4. Choose the "Skip" action and check the same components as in the previous rule.
5. Select the "First" order in "Place at".
6. Save the changes with "Save".

If none of this works

If you still have problems after creating the rules, audit your traffic to identify the rule that's blocking Modular DS.

Go to "Security" > "Events" in Cloudflare and try to locate the traffic coming from Modular DS. To identify it, you can search by the Modular DS IPs.

Once you find the rule blocking it, adjust it or add the Modular DS IPs to your allowlist.

Also check that the Cloudflare proxy (the orange cloud) is active in your DNS records.

If you still can't resolve it, email us at help@modulards.com with your site's URL and we'll look into it with you.

Updated on: 20/08/2026