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A significant technical issue at Cloudflare recently triggered widespread internet problems, rendering numerous popular websites inaccessible. Users attempting to visit platforms like X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, and the film review hub Letterboxd encountered error messages, clearly pointing to underlying Cloudflare network failures.
Massive Internet Disruption: Cloudflare Outage Hits Major Platforms
The global disruption unfolded on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, sending shockwaves across the digital landscape. Affected users were met with unsettling messages indicating an “internal server error on Cloudflare’s network,” often requesting them to “please try again in a few minutes.” Even Down Detector, a service designed to monitor such outages, was temporarily impacted before reflecting a dramatic surge in reported problems.
Understanding Cloudflare’s Critical Role
Cloudflare functions as a vital backbone of modern internet infrastructure, providing essential technologies that power a vast array of online experiences. Its services are crucial for protecting websites from cyber threats, mitigating distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and ensuring sites remain stable and accessible even under extreme traffic loads. With a reach extending to roughly 30% of Fortune 100 companies, its operational stability is paramount for a significant portion of the web.
Cloudflare’s Apology and Cause of the Outage
Initially, Cloudflare confirmed it was “aware of, and investigating an issue which potentially impacts multiple customers,” promising further details. Later, Dane Knecht, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, issued a direct apology, stating that Cloudflare had “failed” its customers and the broader internet. He acknowledged the “unacceptable” impact caused by the incident.
Knecht explained the root cause: “a latent bug in a service underpinning our bot mitigation capability started to crash after a routine configuration change we made.” This technical malfunction then “cascaded into a broad degradation to our network and other services,” confirming it was an internal issue and not a cyberattack. He labeled the impact and resolution time “unacceptable,” vowing measures to prevent recurrence and rebuild customer trust.
Expert Insight: The ‘Gatekeeper’ Effect and Internet Reliance
Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert from the University of Surrey, shed light on the widespread impact of the Cloudflare disruption. He described Cloudflare as an “internet shield,” offering protection against attacks and bot traffic, alongside serving as a global content delivery network for major clients including X, Spotify, and Zoom.
Professor Woodward highlighted the inherent risk of such centralization: “The downside of being a gatekeeper and distribution network for such big brands is that if this vital system fails, no one can use your service.” He underscored how incidents like this, mirroring previous Amazon Web Services (AWS) outages, reveal the internet’s profound reliance on a handful of major infrastructure providers. While these entities offer necessary scale and global reach, their failures can lead to significant, cascading disruptions across the web.
Resolution and Ongoing Monitoring
Following hours of downtime, Cloudflare announced that a “fix has been implemented,” expressing belief that the primary incident was resolved. Anecdotal reports quickly confirmed that previously affected websites, including X and ChatGPT, were largely back online.
However, Cloudflare later clarified that while the immediate fix was in place, the team continued “to focus on restoring service post-fix,” acknowledging the need to mitigate “several issues that remain post-deployment.” This suggests a phased recovery as services fully stabilize across their vast network.
Beyond Today’s Downtime: A Look at Recent Major Outages
While today’s Cloudflare disruption was certainly impactful and felt dramatic to users worldwide, experts note that it falls short of some of the largest internet outages in recent memory. This incident, however, serves as another stark reminder of the fragile interconnectedness of modern digital infrastructure and the potential for single points of failure to create widespread chaos, similar to previous outages like the Amazon Web Services (AWS) incident that also significantly affected online services.