FiveM DDoS Protection Guide: What Actually Matters for Uptime
When your FiveM server grows, it becomes a target. Sometimes it is random. Sometimes it is competitors. Sometimes it is just bored people.
The point is not to be scared. The point is to host in a way where attacks do not take you offline.
Table of Contents
- What DDoS looks like in FiveM
- Why “protected” often means nothing
- Signs your host cannot handle attacks
- What to ask before you buy
- Stability basics
1. What DDoS looks like in FiveM
Sometimes the server is fine, then everyone gets lag at once, then the server disconnects. That pattern is common.
2. Why “protected” often means nothing
Many providers claim protection, but only protect basic traffic.
Game traffic and weird patterns need real mitigation.
3. Signs your host cannot handle attacks
Frequent outages, no clear mitigation, and support that blames you.
4. What to ask before you buy
Ask if protection is included, what type it is, and how they handle attacks at peak time.
5. Stability basics
Even with protection, good hosting matters.
See /fivem-hosting.
What FiveM servers actually get hit with
Three attack patterns dominate FiveM in 2026:
- Volumetric UDP floods on game port (30120) - the oldest trick, easy to filter.
- OneSync / netcode amplification - crafted packets that make the server CPU spike.
- HTTP floods on the CFX server list endpoint - exhausts the public-facing API.
Volumetric attacks are mitigated upstream (datacenter scrubbing). Netcode attacks need server-side defenses. HTTP floods need rate-limiting at the panel level.
Layer 1: pick a host with real DDoS protection
| Provider | Type | Capacity | FiveM-aware |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVH Game Range | volumetric + L7 | 17 Tbps | yes |
| Path.net | scrubbing for game | 10+ Tbps | yes |
| Hetzner | volumetric only | varies | partial |
| Most "DDoS protected VPS" cheap | basic blackhole | low | no |
If your provider's defense is "we'll null-route the IP", that's not protection - it's surrender. Players get IP-changed and your server name disappears from the CFX list during the attack.
Layer 2: nft / iptables hardening
# rate-limit incoming UDP per source
nft add table inet fivem
nft add chain inet fivem input { type filter hook input priority 0 \; }
nft add rule inet fivem input udp dport 30120 \
meter ratemeter { ip saddr limit rate over 200/second } drop
# drop fragments (rarely legitimate on game UDP)
nft add rule inet fivem input ip frag-off != 0 drop
200 packets/sec per source IP is generous for normal players. Real clients sit at 30-60 pps.
Layer 3: server.cfg settings
sv_endpointPrivacy true
sv_authMaxVariance 1
sv_authMinTrust 5
# txAdmin only via SSH tunnel
sv_listingHostOverride "" # don't advertise actual IP if you front-proxy
sv_endpointPrivacy true blocks scrapers from harvesting player IPs through the public CFX server list API. Without it, anyone can hit Cfx.re's API, get a player list, and target individual players.
Layer 4: hide the real IP behind a proxy
For high-value servers under repeated attack, put a Path.net or similar proxy in front. Players connect to the proxy IP; the proxy forwards UDP to your real server over a private link. Attackers can attack the proxy all day; your origin stays clean.
players -> proxy.example.com:30120 -> origin (private IP)
(DDoS protected)
What doesn't work
- "DDoS protected" Cloudflare for game UDP - Cloudflare Spectrum exists but is enterprise-priced; the free tier doesn't protect game traffic.
- Pterodactyl panel-level rate-limiting - it doesn't see UDP traffic.
- Random "DDoS scripts" from forums - either snake oil or actively harmful.
Detection
Set up Prometheus + node_exporter and alert on:
- Inbound bandwidth > 80 % of provisioned for 1 minute.
- UDP packet rate > 10x baseline.
- CPU per core > 95 % for 5 minutes (netcode attack symptom).
If you can detect within a minute and alert your provider, mitigation is fast. If you find out from players the next morning, you've already lost the day.
