'Hidden bug' in Cloudflare's system caused major outage: Report
On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, a hidden bug in Cloudflare's bot protection system took down big names like X, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Claude.
This wasn't an isolated glitch—major outages have hit AWS and Microsoft this year too, showing just how fragile the internet can be behind the scenes.
What actually happened?
Cloudflare's CTO Dane Knecht explained that a routine update accidentally triggered a long-hidden software bug. This set off failures across their network but wasn't due to any cyberattack.
The team has brought services back online and is still ironing out some leftover issues.
Why does this keep happening?
Just last month, AWS went dark for 15 hours because of a DNS system error—affecting everything from Snapchat to Xbox.
Microsoft Azure had its own DNS meltdown soon after, disrupting Microsoft 365 and even airlines.
Turns out, even the biggest tech giants are still vulnerable to small bugs causing big headaches.