Cloudflare Outage Disrupts X, ChatGPT, and Downdetector Services
Cloudflare, a vital provider of DDoS protection and content delivery services, faced a significant outage that impacted numerous websites. This incident occurred on Tuesday morning and affected popular platforms such as X, ChatGPT, and Downdetector.
Outage Details
The disruption began at approximately 6:20 AM ET. Many users encountered error messages while trying to access affected sites. One notable message read, “Please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.”
Cause of the Outage
According to Cloudflare spokesperson Jackie Dutton, the outage was caused by a malfunction in a configuration file that manages threat traffic. This file unexpectedly exceeded its size limit, leading to a crash of the software system managing Cloudflare’s services. Dutton clarified that there was “no evidence” to suggest any malicious activity or attacks linked to this disruption.
Resolution and Response
Cloudflare updated its status page at 9:42 AM ET, announcing that a fix had been implemented. They confirmed that monitoring would continue to ensure services reverted to normal operations. Cloudflare’s Chief Technology Officer, Dane Knecht, acknowledged the failure to meet customers’ expectations and explained that a latent bug within their bot mitigation system triggered the crash following a routine configuration change.
Wider Impact
Many additional online services also experienced complications during the outage. Affected platforms included:
- Indeed
- Grindr
- Uber
- Canva
- Spotify
- NJ Transit
- League of Legends
- Archive of Our Own
Moreover, several digital news outlets like Axios, The Information, and Politico also faced accessibility issues. The incident highlights the interconnectedness of online platforms and the reliance on cloud services for their operations.
