508 Loop Detected

HTTP response status code 508 is a server error message that is relevant to either WebDAV and alternatively to Cloudflare.

For WebDAV, 508 Loop Detected indicates that the server has terminated the directory tree request because an infinite loop has been detected.

For Cloudflare, 508 Resource Limit Reached indicates that the client account is exceeding one of the allocated resource limits.

Usage specific to WebDAV

When the 508 Loop Detected status code is received, it is because the client has submitted a WebDAV request for an entire directory and as part of the result, it creates a target somewhere in the same tree. As such, an infinite request/response loop is created and the server responds with Depth: Infinity. Consequently, the entire operation fails.

Usage specific to Cloudflare

When the 508 Resource Limit Reached status code is received, it is an error that is generated on the origin server indicating that one of the resource limits has been exceeded. Examples of resource limits include CPU usage, physical memory, and the number of processes.

Code references

.NET

HttpStatusCode.LoopDetected

Rust

http::StatusCode::LOOP_DETECTED

Rails

:loop_detected

Go

http.StatusLoopDetected

Symfony

Response::HTTP_LOOP_DETECTED

Python3.5+

http.HTTPStatus.LOOP_DETECTED

Apache HttpComponents Core

org.apache.hc.core5.http.HttpStatus.SC_LOOP_DETECTED

Angular

@angular/common/http/HttpStatusCode.LoopDetected

Takeaway

The 508 status code generated by WebDAV indicates that an infinite loop has been discovered while attempting to display a directory tree, whereas, with Cloudflare, the 508 status code indicates that a resource limit has been reached, as reported by the origin server.

See also

Last updated: June 29, 2022