Rate Limiting / Possible DDoS

429 Too Many Requests: Traffic Spike or DDoS Attack?

Seeing 429 errors? Learn whether it's normal traffic or a bot/DDoS attack and how to handle it.

Signature Log Pattern

server.log
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests

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What Is a Rate Limiting / Possible DDoS?

A 429 status code means the server is rejecting requests because too many are being sent in a short period.

This could be caused by legitimate traffic spikes or automated bots overwhelming your server.

If the requests come from a limited set of IPs, it may indicate a bot attack.

How to Defend Against This Threat

  • Implement rate limiting at the server or CDN level.

  • Use services like Cloudflare to filter bot traffic.

  • Block suspicious IP addresses.

  • Enable caching to reduce server load.

  • Monitor traffic patterns for anomalies.

Related Threats

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