Suped

Summary

When DKIM/SPF fails due to potential spoofing attempts, a multi-faceted approach is necessary. The initial step involves verifying the legitimacy of the email source to determine whether it's a valid application requiring authentication or a malicious spoofing attempt. Analyzing DMARC reports is crucial to pinpoint the failure's origin, distinguishing between a legitimate sender with misconfigured authentication and a malicious actor. Subsequently, enforcing a DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' instructs receiving mail servers on how to handle unauthenticated emails, mitigating the impact of spoofing. Proper SPF configuration, including correct syntax and avoiding common errors like exceeding DNS lookup limits or using multiple SPF records, is also vital. In addition, email headers need reviewing to identify the source IP and the domain used for SPF authentication. Finally, continuously monitoring DMARC reports allows ongoing identification and response to spoofing threats.

Key findings

  • Legitimacy Verification: Verify if the email source is legitimate, needing authentication, or a spoofing attempt.
  • DMARC Report Analysis: Analyze DMARC reports to identify the source of SPF/DKIM failures and alignment issues.
  • DMARC Policy Enforcement: Enforce a DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' to mitigate the impact of spoofing.
  • SPF Configuration Review: Review and correct SPF records, avoiding common errors like exceeding DNS lookup limits.
  • Header Analysis: Review email headers to identify the source IP address and domain used for SPF authentication.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor DMARC reports to identify and respond to ongoing spoofing threats.

Key considerations

  • Email Gateway Issues: Email gateways like Mimecast/Proofpoint can cause SPF/DKIM failures for automated emails.
  • DKIM Alignment Importance: Lacking DKIM and relying only on SPF alignment can lead to issues with email forwarding and rewriting.
  • Potential DNS Glitches: Random DNS glitches can occasionally cause SPF/DKIM failures.
  • SPF Record Best Practices: Avoid common SPF record errors, like multiple records or incorrect syntax, by validating the DNS records.
  • RFC 7208 Adherence: SPF record syntax should adhere to RFC 7208.
  • Hard Fail vs. Soft Fail: Weigh the implications of a Hard Fail vs. Soft Fail SPF policy. Hard Fail will reject non-authenticated emails, but take caution to not reject wanted emails.
  • SPF Record Limitations: Be aware of the SPF record lookup limit of 10 DNS lookups when configuring SPF.
  • Authentication Validation: For legitimate sources experiencing SPF/DKIM failures, prioritize fixing the authentication issues, by ensuring their IP addresses are in the SPF Record.

What email marketers say

8 marketer opinions

When DKIM/SPF fails due to spoofing attempts, the primary steps involve investigation, mitigation, and continuous monitoring. Initial actions include analyzing DMARC reports to determine the source of the failure, distinguishing between legitimate sending sources requiring authentication and actual spoofing attempts. Implementing or adjusting DMARC policies to 'quarantine' or 'reject' is crucial for handling unauthenticated emails. Reviewing and correcting SPF records, ensuring proper syntax and avoiding common errors like exceeding DNS lookup limits or using multiple SPF records, is essential. Employing online tools to validate SPF configurations and monitoring DMARC reports continuously helps in identifying and responding to ongoing spoofing threats.

Key opinions

  • DMARC Analysis: Analyzing DMARC reports is critical to identify the source and nature of SPF/DKIM failures.
  • DMARC Policy: Implementing a 'quarantine' or 'reject' DMARC policy is crucial for mitigating spoofing impact.
  • SPF Configuration: Proper SPF record configuration, avoiding common errors like exceeding DNS lookup limits, is vital.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of DMARC reports is essential to identify and respond to ongoing spoofing attempts.

Key considerations

  • Email Gateways: Email gateways can sometimes cause SPF/DKIM failures due to automated emails.
  • DKIM Alignment: Lacking DKIM with only SPF alignment can lead to issues with email forwarding and rewriting.
  • DNS Issues: DNS glitches can occasionally cause SPF/DKIM failures.
  • SPF Record Errors: Avoid common SPF record errors, such as multiple records or incorrect syntax, by validating the DNS records.
  • Soft vs Hard Fail: Use SPF Hard Fail (-all) to instruct receiving servers to reject unauthenticated mail, but be cautious of legitimate mail sources failing.

Marketer view

Email marketer from EasyDMARC shares that implement DMARC with a policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' to instruct receiving mail servers on how to handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. This helps prevent spoofed emails from reaching the inbox.

11 May 2024 - EasyDMARC

Marketer view

Email marketer from URIports explains to continuously monitor DMARC reports to identify and respond to spoofing attempts. These reports provide valuable information about the source of failing emails and allow you to adjust your SPF and DKIM settings accordingly.

7 Apr 2024 - URIports

What the experts say

4 expert opinions

When DKIM/SPF fails due to potential spoofing, initial steps involve verifying the legitimacy of the source, distinguishing between a rogue application needing authentication and actual spoofing attempts. Analysis of failure reports is crucial to pinpoint the source, identifying if it's a legitimate sender with misconfigured authentication or a malicious actor. Enforcing a DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' is then key to instruct receiving servers on handling unauthenticated emails, thereby mitigating the impact of spoofing. Random DNS glitches should also be considered as a potential cause of occasional failures.

Key opinions

  • Legitimacy Check: Verify if the source is a legitimate application requiring authentication or an actual spoofing attempt.
  • Failure Report Analysis: Analyze failure reports to identify the source of the SPF/DKIM failure.
  • DMARC Policy Enforcement: Enforce a DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' to mitigate spoofing.

Key considerations

  • DNS Glitches: Random DNS glitches can occasionally cause SPF/DKIM failures.
  • Authentication Fix: If the source is legitimate, focus on fixing the authentication issues.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains to make sure the spoofing is legitimate and not a rogue application needing authentication. If legitimate, fix authentication; otherwise, let it fail.

7 Jun 2024 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that when spoofing attempts are detected via SPF/DKIM failures, enforcing a DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' is crucial. This instructs receiving mail servers to handle unauthenticated emails, mitigating the impact of spoofing.

22 Jul 2024 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says

5 technical articles

When DKIM/SPF fails due to suspected spoofing, several steps should be taken. Firstly, analyze email headers to identify the source IP and domain used for SPF authentication and verify if the sending server is authorized. Secondly, ensure the SPF record syntax is correct, properly published in DNS, and includes authorized sending servers using mechanisms like 'include', 'ip4', and 'ip6'. Be mindful of the SPF record lookup limit of 10 DNS lookups. Analyzing DMARC failure reports provides insights into spoofing attempts and SPF/DKIM alignment issues. Update DNS SPF records following RFC 7208 syntax, including all legitimate sending sources using 'ip4:' and 'ip6:'.

Key findings

  • Header Analysis: Review email headers to identify the source IP and domain for SPF authentication.
  • SPF Record Syntax: Ensure SPF record syntax is correct and properly published in DNS.
  • Authorized Servers: Confirm authorized sending servers are included in the SPF record using mechanisms like 'include', 'ip4', and 'ip6'.
  • DMARC Reports: Analyze DMARC failure reports to identify spoofing attempts and alignment issues.

Key considerations

  • SPF Lookup Limit: Be aware of the SPF record lookup limit of 10 DNS lookups.
  • RFC 7208: SPF record syntax should adhere to RFC 7208.
  • Hard Fail: Update SPF records to include all legitimate sending sources to prevent SPF Hard Fail errors.

Technical article

Documentation from RFC Editor explains that SPF record syntax should follow RFC 7208 and include mechanisms like 'a', 'mx', 'ip4', 'ip6', 'include', and 'all' to define authorized sending sources. Understanding the syntax is key to configuring SPF correctly.

12 Sep 2021 - RFC Editor

Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that to troubleshoot SPF failures, check the SPF record syntax and ensure it's correctly published in DNS. Confirm the sending server is listed in the SPF record using 'include:' or 'ip4:'/'ip6:' mechanisms. Also, be aware of SPF record lookup limits (10 DNS lookups) which can cause SPF to fail.

17 Jul 2023 - Microsoft Learn

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