diff --git a/internal/ingress/controller/template/template.go b/internal/ingress/controller/template/template.go
index 5db9fd3ec..e5be1490a 100644
--- a/internal/ingress/controller/template/template.go
+++ b/internal/ingress/controller/template/template.go
@@ -1537,6 +1537,11 @@ func buildModSecurityForLocation(cfg config.Configuration, location *ingress.Loc
 `, location.ModSecurity.TransactionID))
 	}
 
+	if !isMSEnabled && location.ModSecurity.Snippet == "" {
+		buffer.WriteString(`modsecurity_rules_file /etc/nginx/modsecurity/modsecurity.conf;
+`)
+	}
+
 	if !cfg.EnableOWASPCoreRules && location.ModSecurity.OWASPRules {
 		buffer.WriteString(`modsecurity_rules_file /etc/nginx/owasp-modsecurity-crs/nginx-modsecurity.conf;
 `)