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Python / Uvicorn Fundamentals Interview Questions

What are proxy headers in Uvicorn and how do you configure trusted proxies?

When Uvicorn runs behind a reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy, a load balancer), the proxy forwards requests on behalf of the original client. Without proxy header support, Uvicorn would see the proxy's IP as the client address and the internal scheme (http) rather than the original (https). The --proxy-headers flag tells Uvicorn to trust X-Forwarded-For and X-Forwarded-Proto headers from trusted proxies.

# Enable proxy headers (enabled by default, trusts only 127.0.0.1)
uvicorn main:app --proxy-headers

# Trust a specific proxy IP
uvicorn main:app --proxy-headers --forwarded-allow-ips 10.0.0.1

# Trust multiple proxy IPs or a subnet
uvicorn main:app \
    --proxy-headers \
    --forwarded-allow-ips "10.0.0.0/8,172.16.0.0/12"

# Trust ALL proxies (use ONLY on trusted internal networks!)
uvicorn main:app --proxy-headers --forwarded-allow-ips "*"

# Disable proxy headers (if no reverse proxy in front)
uvicorn main:app --no-proxy-headers

# Set via environment variable:
export FORWARDED_ALLOW_IPS="10.0.0.1,10.0.0.2"
uvicorn main:app --proxy-headers

Security warning: setting --forwarded-allow-ips "*" trusts ALL connecting IPs to set forwarded headers. This means a malicious client could spoof their IP address by sending a fake X-Forwarded-For header. Only trust IPs of known, controlled proxy servers.

Proxy header configuration
SettingWhen to use
--forwarded-allow-ips 127.0.0.1 (default)Reverse proxy on the same machine
--forwarded-allow-ips Known proxy IP (e.g. internal load balancer)
--forwarded-allow-ips "*"Trust everything - only on fully controlled internal networks
--no-proxy-headersUvicorn exposed directly (no reverse proxy)
What is the security risk of setting --forwarded-allow-ips '*' in Uvicorn?
Which environment variable can be used to configure trusted proxy IPs for Uvicorn?

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