DDoS (Distributed DoS) is characterised by floods creating a DoS (in all available definitions). A single node causing a flood successfully is kind of rare. But DoS can be caused by a broad range of triggers. [CVSS even has an example of a software crash classified as DoS for you:][1] > Due to a flaw in the handler function for RPC commands, it is possible > to manipulate data pointers within the Virtual Machine Executable > (VMX) process. This vulnerability may allow a user in a Guest Virtual > Machine to **crash** the VMX process resulting in a **Denial of Service** > (DoS) on the host or potentially execute code on the host. [empasis mine] [And from Wiki][2]: > Denial-of-service attacks are characterized by an explicit attempt by > attackers to prevent legitimate use of a service. There are two > general forms of DoS attacks: **those that crash services** and those that > flood services. The most serious attacks are distributed. So, yes, a simple crash is a DoS. [1]: https://www.first.org/cvss/examples [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack