Internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare experienced a significant outage on November 18, 2025, that knocked several major websites offline globally. Users began reporting issues around 11:20 UTC, with platforms such as X, ChatGPT, ClaudeAI, Discord, and Spotify among those affected.
According to a statement from Cloudflare, engineers observed a “spike in unusual traffic” hitting one of its services, which led to widespread errors across its network. The company stressed that it is still investigating the root cause of the traffic surge but confirmed that the disruption was not linked to a severed cable or a state-sponsored cyberattack.
Thousands of users flooded Downdetector and social media platforms to complain about outages, with many unable to log in or load content. The incident highlighted the fragility of centralized internet infrastructure, as Cloudflare provides critical services such as web security, content delivery, and traffic management for countless websites worldwide.
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the company had mobilized “all hands on deck” to restore services and ensure traffic was served without errors. By mid-afternoon, most affected platforms reported partial recovery, though some users continued to experience intermittent issues.
This outage follows a recent major disruption at Amazon Web Services (AWS), raising concerns about the resilience of global internet infrastructure. Analysts note that as more companies rely on a handful of providers like Cloudflare, AWS, and Akamai, the risks of cascading failures increase.
For businesses and users alike, the incident serves as a reminder of the dependence on centralized providers and the need for diversified infrastructure to mitigate future disruptions.
