DNS Pentesting Skill

A comprehensive skill for performing DNS security assessments, enumeration, and vulnerability testing.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Enumerating DNS servers and discovering domain information
• Testing for zone transfer vulnerabilities
• Discovering subdomains through brute force or enumeration
• Checking DNSSEC configuration and validation
• Assessing DNS server security posture
• Performing Active Directory DNS enumeration
• Validating DNS record types and configurations

Quick Start

For rapid DNS enumeration, use the bundled scripts:

# Full DNS enumeration suite
./scripts/dns-enumerate.sh <target-ip> <domain>

# Zone transfer attempts
./scripts/dns-zone-transfer.sh <target-ip> <domain>

# Subdomain discovery
./scripts/dns-subdomain-brute.sh <domain> <target-ip>

# DNSSEC validation checks
./scripts/dns-sec-check.sh <domain>

DNS Enumeration Workflow

1. Initial Reconnaissance

Start with basic DNS information gathering:

# Check DNS server version (banner grabbing)
dig version.bind CHAOS TXT @<DNS_IP>

# Get all available record types
dig any <domain> @<DNS_IP>

# Query specific record types
dig A <domain> @<DNS_IP>       # IPv4 addresses
dig AAAA <domain> @<DNS_IP>    # IPv6 addresses
dig MX <domain> @<DNS_IP>      # Mail servers
dig NS <domain> @<DNS_IP>      # Name servers
dig TXT <domain> @<DNS_IP>     # Text records (SPF, DKIM, etc.)
dig SOA <domain> @<DNS_IP>     # Start of Authority

2. Zone Transfer Testing

Zone transfers (AXFR) can expose all DNS records for a domain:

# Try zone transfer without specifying domain
dig axfr @<DNS_IP>

# Try zone transfer with domain
dig axfr <domain> @<DNS_IP>

# Use fierce for automated zone transfer attempts
fierce --domain <domain> --dns-servers <DNS_IP>

Security Note: Zone transfers should only be allowed between authoritative name servers. If successful, this is a misconfiguration.

3. Subdomain Discovery

Discover subdomains through various methods:

# Using dnsenum
dnsenum --dnsserver <DNS_IP> --enum -p 0 -s 0 -o subdomains.txt -f <wordlist> <domain>

# Using dnsrecon
dnsrecon -D <wordlist> -d <domain> -n <DNS_IP>

# Manual brute force with dig
for sub in $(cat <wordlist>); do
  dig $sub.<domain> @<DNS_IP> | grep -v 'SOA' | grep $sub
done

4. Reverse DNS Enumeration

Map IP addresses back to hostnames:

# Reverse lookup for single IP
dig -x <IP_ADDRESS> @<DNS_IP>

# Reverse brute force on IP range
dnsrecon -r <IP_RANGE>/24 -n <DNS_IP>

# Example: scan entire /24
dnsrecon -r 192.168.1.0/24 -n <DNS_IP>

5. Active Directory DNS Enumeration

Discover AD infrastructure through DNS:

# Query for AD service records
dig -t _gc._tcp.<domain>
dig -t _ldap._tcp.<domain>
dig -t _kerberos._tcp.<domain>
dig -t _kpasswd._tcp.<domain>

# Using nslookup
nslookup -type=srv _kerberos._tcp.<domain>

# Using nmap
nmap --script dns-srv-enum --script-args "dns-srv-enum.domain='<domain>'" <IP>

6. DNSSEC Validation

Check DNSSEC configuration and validation:

# Check for DNSSEC records
dig <domain> DNSKEY +dnssec
dig <domain> DS +short
dig <domain> CDS +short
dig <domain> CDNSKEY +short

# Test DNSSEC validation
dig @8.8.8.8 <domain> A +dnssec

# Check NSEC enumeration (if enabled)
nmap -sSU -p53 --script dns-nsec-enum --script-args "dns-nsec-enum.domains=<domain>" <DNS_IP>

7. DNS Server Security Checks

Assess DNS server security posture:

# Check if recursion is enabled (potential DDoS amplification)
dig google.com A @<DNS_IP>
# Look for "ra" (recursion available) flag in response

# Nmap DNS vulnerability scan
nmap -n --script "(default and *dns*) or fcrdns or dns-srv-enum or dns-random-txid or dns-random-srcport" <IP>

# Check EDNS and TCP fallback
dig <domain> DNSKEY +dnssec +bufsize=1232
dig <domain> DNSKEY +dnssec +tcp

8. Advanced DNS Checks

NS Delegation Integrity

# Get NS records
dig <domain> NS +short

# Verify each NS answers authoritatively
for ns in $(dig +short <domain> NS); do
  dig @${ns%?} <domain> SOA +short
done

Modern DNS Records (HTTPS/SVCB)

dig <domain> HTTPS +short
dig <domain> SVCB +short
dig www.<domain> HTTPS +short
dig www.<domain> SVCB +short

TTL Analysis

# Check TTL values on critical records
dig <domain> A +ttlid
dig <domain> AAAA +ttlid
dig <domain> MX +ttlid
dig <domain> NS +ttlid

CAA Records (Certificate Authority Authorization)

dig <domain> CAA +short

# Check certificate transparency logs
curl -s "https://crt.sh/?q=%25.<domain>&output=json" | head

Post-Exploitation DNS Checks

If you have access to a compromised system, check DNS configuration files:

# DNS configuration files to examine
/etc/resolv.conf
/etc/host.conf
/etc/bind/named.conf
/etc/bind/named.conf.local
/etc/bind/named.conf.options
/etc/bind/named.conf.log

Key BIND parameters to check:

• allow-transfer

  - Who can perform zone transfers

• allow-recursion

  - Who can send recursive requests

• allow-query

  - Who can query the server

Tools Reference

dig

nslookup

dnsrecon

dnsenum

fierce

nmap

fpdns

Nmap DNS Scripts

# Comprehensive DNS scan
nmap -n --script "(default and *dns*) or fcrdns or dns-srv-enum or dns-random-txid or dns-random-srcport" <IP>

# DNS service enumeration
nmap --script dns-srv-enum --script-args "dns-srv-enum.domain='<domain>'" <IP>

# DNS NSEC enumeration
nmap -sSU -p53 --script dns-nsec-enum --script-args "dns-nsec-enum.domains=<domain>" <DNS_IP>

Metasploit DNS Modules

# DNS enumeration
use auxiliary/gather/enum_dns

# DNS amplification
use auxiliary/scanner/dns/dns_amp

Common DNS Record Types

Best Practices

1. Always test zone transfers - This is a common misconfiguration
2. Check for recursion - Can be abused for DDoS amplification
3. Enumerate subdomains - Often reveals internal infrastructure
4. Validate DNSSEC - Check for proper configuration
5. Review NS delegation - Look for lame delegations
6. Check TTL values - Low TTLs can accelerate malicious changes
7. Examine CAA records - Overly permissive CAA increases cert abuse risk

Output Interpretation

Recursion Available (ra flag)

• Present: Server allows recursive queries (potential DDoS risk)
• Absent: Server only answers authoritative queries (more secure)

Zone Transfer Success

• Success: Misconfiguration - all DNS records exposed
• Refused: Properly configured

Low TTL Values

• < 300 seconds: Very low - changes propagate quickly
• 300-3600 seconds: Normal range
• > 3600 seconds: High - slower propagation

References

• HackTricks DNS Pentesting
• Myra Security DNS Knowledge Hub
• Book: Network Security Assessment 3rd edition

Script Usage

See the bundled scripts in

scripts/

• dns-enumerate.sh

  - Complete DNS enumeration suite

• dns-zone-transfer.sh

  - Zone transfer testing

• dns-subdomain-brute.sh

  - Subdomain discovery

• dns-sec-check.sh

  - DNSSEC validation checks