Rate Limiting Not Enforced on API Endpoint
API has no rate limiting. Malicious users can spam endpoints with thousands of requests, causing DoS attack. Legitimate requests are throttled. API was designed but rate limiting was deferred as 'optimization' and never implemented.
No mechanism exists to slow down or reject excessive requests from single client.
Error Messages You Might See
Common Causes
- Rate limiting not implemented at all, feature deferred
- Rate limiting framework installed but not activated
- Rate limit too high, effectively no limit
- Limit applies globally instead of per-IP or per-user
- No storage of request counts (memory resets, limit doesn't persist)
How to Fix It
Implement rate limiting: library (spring-cloud-gateway, express-rate-limit) or custom middleware. Limit by IP: 100 requests per minute. Limit by user: 1000 per day. Store counts in Redis for persistence across restarts. Return 429 Too Many Requests when limit exceeded. Include Retry-After header indicating when to retry.
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Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
What's a reasonable rate limit?
Public APIs: 100-1000 per hour per IP. Authenticated: 10000+ per hour per user. Adjust based on use cases.
How to implement with Redis?
Redis INCR + EXPIRE on keys like rate_limit:ip:192.168.1.1. Increment on each request, check if > limit.
Should rate limit reset?
Yes. Common: per minute, per hour, per day. Use EXPIRE in Redis: EXPIRE key 60 (expires after 60 seconds).