HTTP 508 Loop Detected — Infinite Redirect or Binding Loop

Overview

HTTP 508 Loop Detected means the server detected an infinite loop while processing a request with Depth: infinity, commonly in WebDAV operations.

Key Details

• Defined in RFC 5842 for WebDAV Binding Extensions
• Server detected an infinite loop during a Depth: infinity operation
• Can occur with circular symbolic links or resource bindings
• The server terminates the operation to prevent infinite resource consumption
• Similar concept to infinite redirect loops but at the resource binding level

Common Causes

• Circular symbolic links in WebDAV-mounted directories
• Circular resource bindings in WebDAV collections
• Recursive directory structures creating infinite depth
• Misconfigured redirect rules creating loops (though typically 301/302 loops)

Steps

1. 1Check for circular symbolic links: find /path -type l -ls
2. 2Remove or fix circular bindings in WebDAV resource configuration
3. 3Limit recursion depth in your WebDAV client requests
4. 4Check server redirect rules for circular patterns
5. 5Use Depth: 1 instead of Depth: infinity for WebDAV operations

Tags

More in 5xx Server Error

Frequently Asked Questions