The Cloudflare outage: the internet's single points of failure
For a few hours, a configuration problem at one infrastructure company made big parts of the web unreachable. It was the second major internet outage in a month.
By the Xuru Technologies team · 19 November 2025
Key takeaways
- On 18 November 2025 a Cloudflare outage disrupted many websites and services, including X and ChatGPT.
- Cloudflare said the cause was an oversized configuration file for its bot management system, not an attack.
- The CEO apologised and committed to preventing a repeat.
- Concentration on a few providers creates shared risk; plan communication and fallbacks.
Cloudflare protects and speeds up a large share of websites. When it stumbles, many unrelated businesses go down at once.
What happened
Gigazine and American Bazaar covered the outage and Cloudflare's explanation.
What it means for businesses
- Providers are still worth using. CDNs improve speed and security far more often than they fail.
- Communication channels outside your website help during outages.
- Know your stack. Which providers sit between customers and your site?
- Critical sites may justify failover options.
Practical steps
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Map providers | Domain, DNS, CDN, hosting, booking, payments |
| Alternative contact | Google profile, social and email ready for updates |
| Monitoring | External uptime checks with alerts |
| Review | After each incident, note what you'd improve |
Frequently asked questions
Should we stop using Cloudflare?
Not necessarily. Weigh the security and speed benefits against rare outages, and plan fallbacks for critical services.
Can small sites have redundancy?
Some redundancy is possible with DNS and hosting choices, but for most small sites good monitoring and communication are the practical priorities.
Was it a cyber attack?
Cloudflare said the outage was caused by an internal configuration issue, not an attack.
Know your stack. Have a plan B.
We document your website's providers, set up monitoring and prepare fallback communication plans.
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