414 Request-URI Too Long

Takeaways

1. The server is refusing to service the request because the request-target is longer than the server is willing to interpret.
2. This rare condition is only likely to occur when a client has improperly converted a POST request to a GET request with long query information.
3. I.e. when the client has descended into a "black hole" of redirection (e.g., a redirected URI prefix that points to a suffix of itself) or when the server is under attack by a client attempting to exploit potential security holes.

Information

The HTTP 414 URI Too Long response status code indicates that the URI requested by the client is longer than the server is willing to interpret.

There are a few rare conditions when this might occur:

• when a client has improperly converted a POST request to a GET request with long query information,
• when the client has descended into a loop of redirection (for example, a redirected URI prefix that points to a suffix of itself),
• or when the server is under attack by a client attempting to exploit potential security holes.

A 414 response is cacheable by default; i.e., unless otherwise indicated by the method definition or explicit cache controls.