---
title: Protocol validation rules
description: How Protocol validation rules works in Gateway.
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/zt-preview.png
---

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# Protocol validation rules

Cloudflare Network Firewall can validate [Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) ↗](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2543) traffic — the protocol used to set up voice and video calls over IP networks (VoIP). This lets you inspect whether SIP packets are properly formatted and enforce a positive security model (only allow well-formed SIP traffic, block everything else).

You can use the `sip` field when creating a rule to check whether packets contain valid SIP data, a Layer 7 (L7) protocol. The `sip` field evaluates to `true` for well-formed SIP packets. Refer to [Cloudflare Network Firewall fields](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-network-firewall/reference/network-firewall-fields/), specifically the `sip` field, for more information on this topic.

Currently, SIP is the only protocol supported for deep validation. Contact your account manager if you need Cloudflare Network Firewall to support additional protocols.

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