diff --git a/backend/server.js b/backend/server.js
index a251bbc..38950c5 100644
--- a/backend/server.js
+++ b/backend/server.js
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 // CVE Management Backend API
 // Install: npm install express pg multer cors dotenv bcryptjs cookie-parser
 
+// Force IPv4-first DNS resolution globally — must be set before any network modules load.
+// card.charter.com has IPv6 AAAA records that are unreachable from this network.
+require('dns').setDefaultResultOrder('ipv4first');
+
 require('dotenv').config();
 
 const express = require('express');