Blogs›Cloudflare›HTTP Request Loop Prevention
Cloudflare's approach to preventing HTTP request loops has evolved from implementing RFC 7230 compliant 'Via' header checks to actively addressing non-compliant proxy services that strip or modify these headers. This involves educating the industry and collaborating on solutions to ensure robust protection against resource exhaustion and denial of service attacks caused by such loops.
1/21/2016
This post details the 'Via' header mechanism for preventing HTTP request loops, explains how Cloudflare implements it, and highlights the vulnerability introduced by non-compliant proxy services that strip or modify these headers. It calls for industry-wide adoption of RFC 7230 compliance to prevent these attacks.