A massive internet outage swept across the globe on the morning of November 18, 2025, disrupting access to some of the world’s most popular digital platforms. A critical failure at Cloudflare, a leading content delivery network (CDN) and web security provider, caused widespread service interruptions for X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Canva, Discord, and thousands of other websites.
If you encountered a “500 Internal Server Error” or a message asking you to “unblock challenges.cloudflare.com”, you were not alone. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of what happened, which services were affected, and the current status of the recovery.
What Happened: The Cloudflare “500 Error” Crisis
Starting around 6:00 AM ET (4:30 PM IST), internet users worldwide began reporting an inability to access major websites. The issue was traced back to Cloudflare, a backbone infrastructure service that powers a significant portion of the modern web.
Cloudflare’s systems experienced what the company described as “internal service degradation,” leading to failures in its dashboard, API, and traffic routing protocols. This resulted in a “cascading effect,” where websites relying on Cloudflare for security and speed became inaccessible to end-users.
Key Technical Symptoms:
- Error 500: A generic “Internal Server Error” displayed on affected sites.
- Challenge Loops: Users were stuck on security check screens (“Checking if the site connection is secure”).
- API Failures: Third-party apps integrating with these services stopped functioning.
List of Major Services Affected
Because Cloudflare provides DNS and DDoS protection for millions of businesses, the outage hit a diverse range of sectors, from social media to government portals.
Top Platforms Impacted:
- Social Media: X (Twitter), Discord, Grindr
- AI & Productivity: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Canva, Gemini
- Gaming: League of Legends, Minecraft servers
- E-Commerce & Finance: Shopify, Coinbase, PayPal (intermittent issues)
- Services: Uber, Spotify, Dropbox, NJ Transit
- Government: Official e-Visa portals for Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and Thailand
Note: Even Downdetector, the site used to track outages, struggled to load because it also relies on Cloudflare’s infrastructure.
What Caused the Outage?
While a full technical post-mortem is pending, Cloudflare has released preliminary details regarding the root cause:
- Unusual Traffic Spikes: Cloudflare engineers detected a massive spike in “unusual traffic” targeting specific services, which may have triggered defensive mechanisms that inadvertently blocked legitimate traffic.
- Support Portal Failure: The issue initially surfaced with Cloudflare’s support portal provider before spreading to broader network services.
- Maintenance Collision: There was scheduled maintenance occurring in data centers in Tahiti, Los Angeles, and Santiago at the time. While not confirmed as the primary cause, the timing coincided with the global disruptions.
Timeline of the Outage (November 18, 2025)
- 06:00 AM ET: First reports of connectivity issues surface on social media.
- 06:40 AM ET: Cloudflare acknowledges the issue, stating they are investigating “Widespread 500 errors.”
- 07:20 AM ET: Cloudflare confirms “internal service degradation” and mobilizes engineering teams.
- 08:00 AM ET: A fix is implemented. Cloudflare announces that services are “recovering” but warns that high error rates may persist during the remediation phase.
- Current Status: Most services, including X and ChatGPT, have come back online, though some users may still experience intermittent latency.
Official Statements
Cloudflare Status Page Update:
“We are seeing services recover, but customers may continue to observe higher-than-normal error rates as we continue remediation efforts. We are all hands on deck to make sure all traffic is served without errors.”
OpenAI (ChatGPT) Update:
“We are currently investigating elevated error rates on ChatGPT. This appears to be linked to an upstream provider issue.”
Why Does Cloudflare Matter?
This event highlights the “fragility” of the centralized internet. Cloudflare acts as a “gatekeeper” for nearly 20% of the web. It protects sites from cyberattacks (like DDoS) and speeds up loading times. When a central pillar like Cloudflare wobbles, it takes a massive chunk of the internet down with it, reminding us of our reliance on a few key infrastructure providers.
Is the Internet Back?
Yes. For the vast majority of users, access has been restored. If you are still facing issues, try clearing your browser cache or flushing your DNS settings.
Would you like me to set up an alert to notify you if a full technical post-mortem is released by Cloudflare in the next 24 hours?
