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Cloudflare Platform and Services Outage – How is it possible that 20% of the internet went down?
What?
On November 18, 2025, a global infrastructure failure occurred at Cloudflare , one of the world's key network service providers. The systemic error caused hundreds of services, including online stores, marketplaces, payment systems, and AI tools, to cease functioning.
Why?
The cause was an internal error in the bot management module – the definitions file exceeded the maximum size allowed, which led to the overload and halting of many services.
Who is it for?
For online store owners, SaaS operators, e-commerce platforms, IT teams, digital infrastructure managers, and all companies operating in the digital world.
Background:
Cloudflare operates a network infrastructure used by millions of websites—from news portals to online stores. A configuration error in the Bot Management file led to a series of service outages. Within hours, internet users worldwide reported problems with login, payments, chatbot operation, and access to key platforms—including ChatGPT, X (Twitter), Shopify, Stripe, and Discord.
How did the Cloudflare outage impact the digital world?
Not only customers but also online businesses felt the effects of the outage. Downtime in online stores, incorrect page loading, and inability to log in or process payments were just some of the problems. With upcoming sales (Black Friday, Cyber Monday), every hour of downtime could mean millions in losses. Cloudflare admitted that the problem stemmed from a system error—it wasn't a cyberattack, although it's true that no one can be certain what actually happened.
What are the real consequences for online stores?
- Loss of revenue – especially during the peak shopping season
- Damage to reputation – customers expect constant availability of services, lack of trust may result in loss of loyalty
- Increase in operating costs – the need to handle complaints, returns, and the costs of alternative contact channels
- SEO problems – prolonged unavailability can lower the website's position in search results
- Need for corrective action – need to conduct system audits and strengthen security
What can companies do to reduce the risk of similar events?
- Implement monitoring systems – continuous tracking of service availability allows you to react faster
- Use fault-tolerant architecture – e.g., multi-CDN or load balancing solutions
- Establish a crisis communications plan – email templates, text message alerts, social media updates
- Perform periodic resilience tests – so-called IT infrastructure stress tests
- Diversify your services – use more than one DNS or cloud provider
Why is it worth drawing conclusions from this failure?
The Cloudflare outage on November 18th is a wake-up call for the entire industry. It shows that even world leaders can fail , and relying on a single partner is risky. Companies that invest now in agility, redundancy, and digital resilience will gain a real advantage in the future, especially in the digital world, where every second of availability translates into sales and customer loyalty. This outage, along with the recent AWS (Amazon Web Services) server outage, demonstrates that it's probably not a good thing that individual corporations have such a large share of the "internet"...
In addition, Cloudflare released an official apology and a detailed technical report. The company assured that it is implementing additional security measures to prevent similar outages in the future. Meanwhile, many companies—especially online retailers—are analyzing their own dependencies on third-party vendors and considering additional investments in system resilience.
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Marcin Stadnik
e-commerce advisor
The author is a manager with extensive experience in e-commerce, sales strategy, and content marketing. He is a digital practitioner and consultant with over 15 years of experience in e-commerce projects, sales strategy, and online business development, as well as 25 years of experience in broadly defined distribution (offline and online). He specializes in creating and implementing effective solutions for online stores, supporting companies in developing their digital presence. He co-creates appropriate strategies for e-businesses, conducts audits, and oversees marketing activities—always combining analytical knowledge with market practice. He is the author and co-author of content published on the swiatcyfrowy.pl website—based on his many years of consulting, analytical, and operational experience. The materials created are intended to provide reliable, valuable knowledge that truly supports the development of online businesses. The content here is designed to address the real challenges and needs of companies operating in the e-commerce environment (the digital world).
