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How to add X-Frame-Options on AWS CloudFront

Last updated · Reviewed by a CISSP-certified security practitioner

To add X-Frame-Options on AWS CloudFront, set the header in Response headers policy with the value DENY. Prevents your site being embedded in iframes (clickjacking). Attach the policy to the distribution's cache behavior and wait for deployment. Then confirm it with curl -I or a free FixSecurityHeaders scan.

What does X-Frame-Options do?

X-Frame-Options (or the modern CSP frame-ancestors) tells browsers whether other sites may put your pages inside an iframe.

Risk if missing: Attackers can overlay your page invisibly and trick users into clicking buttons (clickjacking) — e.g. changing settings or confirming payments.

What is the AWS CloudFront configuration?

Add this to Response headers policy:

Response headers policy
// aws cloudfront create-response-headers-policy --response-headers-policy-config file://policy.json
{
  "Name": "fixsecurityheaders-policy",
  "SecurityHeadersConfig": {
    "FrameOptions": {
      "Override": true,
      "FrameOption": "DENY"
    }
  },
  "CustomHeadersConfig": {
    "Quantity": 0,
    "Items": []
  }
}

How do I add it step by step?

  1. Open Response headers policy.
  2. Paste the X-Frame-Options configuration shown below.
  3. Attach the policy to the distribution's cache behavior and wait for deployment.
  4. Run curl -I https://yourdomain.com and look for the x-frame-options line.
  5. Scan your site on FixSecurityHeaders to confirm the grade improved.

How do I verify it worked?

terminal
curl -sI https://yourdomain.com | grep -i "x-frame-options"
# expected:
# x-frame-options: DENY

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What are the common mistakes?

  • Use SAMEORIGIN if your own site frames its pages.
  • ALLOW-FROM is obsolete; use CSP frame-ancestors for allow-lists.
  • If CSP frame-ancestors is present, modern browsers ignore X-Frame-Options.
  • AWS provides a managed SecurityHeadersPolicy, but a custom policy lets you set CSP.
  • Enable Override so origin headers don't win.

Quick reference

HeaderX-Frame-Options
Recommended valueDENY
StackAWS CloudFront
WhereResponse headers policy
ComplianceOWASP ASVS V14.4.7, NIST 800-171 3.13.1, CMMC SC.L2-3.13.1

FAQ

What value should I use for X-Frame-Options?

A safe default is DENY. Use SAMEORIGIN if your own site frames its pages.

Why isn't X-Frame-Options showing up on AWS CloudFront?

AWS provides a managed SecurityHeadersPolicy, but a custom policy lets you set CSP. Also clear any CDN or page cache, and check you edited the config that actually serves your domain.

Does X-Frame-Options affect SEO or performance?

No measurable performance cost — it's a few bytes per response. It doesn't affect rankings directly, but a misconfigured policy can break page resources, so test before enforcing.

Which compliance frameworks reference X-Frame-Options?

OWASP ASVS V14.4.7, NIST 800-171 3.13.1, CMMC SC.L2-3.13.1.

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