1 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        M. Andrews   
    2 Request for Comments: 8906                                     R. Bellis   
    3 BCP: 231                                                             ISC   
    4 Category: Best Current Practice                           September 2020   
    5 ISSN: 2070-1721                                                            
    6                                                                            
    7                                                                            
    8   A Common Operational Problem in DNS Servers: Failure to Communicate      
    9                                                                            
   10 Abstract                                                                   
   11                                                                            
   12    The DNS is a query/response protocol.  Failing to respond to queries,   
   13    or responding incorrectly, causes both immediate operational problems   
   14    and long-term problems with protocol development.                       
   15                                                                            
   16    This document identifies a number of common kinds of queries to which   
   17    some servers either fail to respond or respond incorrectly.  This       
   18    document also suggests procedures for zone operators to apply to        
   19    identify and remediate the problem.                                     
   20                                                                            
   21    The document does not look at the DNS data itself, just the structure   
   22    of the responses.                                                       
   23                                                                            
   24 Status of This Memo                                                        
   25                                                                            
   26    This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.                  
   27                                                                            
   28    This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force       
   29    (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has     
   30    received public review and has been approved for publication by the     
   31    Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on     
   32    BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.                             
   33                                                                            
   34    Information about the current status of this document, any errata,      
   35    and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at                    
   36    https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8906.                                
   37                                                                            
   38 Copyright Notice                                                           
   39                                                                            
   40    Copyright (c) 2020 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the         
   41    document authors.  All rights reserved.                                 
   42                                                                            
   43    This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal           
   44    Provisions Relating to IETF Documents                                   
   45    (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of        
   46    publication of this document.  Please review these documents            
   47    carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect   
   48    to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must    
   49    include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of      
   50    the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as         
   51    described in the Simplified BSD License.                                
   52                                                                            
   53 Table of Contents                                                          
   54                                                                            
   55    1.  Introduction                                                        
   56    2.  Consequences                                                        
   57    3.  Common Kinds of Queries That Result in No or Bad Responses          
   58      3.1.  Basic DNS Queries                                               
   59        3.1.1.  Zone Existence                                              
   60        3.1.2.  Unknown/Unsupported Type Queries                            
   61        3.1.3.  DNS Flags                                                   
   62        3.1.4.  Unknown DNS Opcodes                                         
   63        3.1.5.  TCP Queries                                                 
   64      3.2.  EDNS Queries                                                    
   65        3.2.1.  EDNS Queries: Version Independent                           
   66        3.2.2.  EDNS Queries: Version Specific                              
   67        3.2.3.  EDNS Options                                                
   68        3.2.4.  EDNS Flags                                                  
   69        3.2.5.  Truncated EDNS Responses                                    
   70        3.2.6.  DO=1 Handling                                               
   71        3.2.7.  EDNS over TCP                                               
   72    4.  Firewalls and Load Balancers                                        
   73    5.  Packet Scrubbing Services                                           
   74    6.  Whole Answer Caches                                                 
   75    7.  Response Code Selection                                             
   76    8.  Testing                                                             
   77      8.1.  Testing: Basic DNS                                              
   78        8.1.1.  Is the server configured for the zone?                      
   79        8.1.2.  Testing Unknown Types                                       
   80        8.1.3.  Testing Header Bits                                         
   81        8.1.4.  Testing Unknown Opcodes                                     
   82        8.1.5.  Testing TCP                                                 
   83      8.2.  Testing: Extended DNS                                           
   84        8.2.1.  Testing Minimal EDNS                                        
   85        8.2.2.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation                            
   86        8.2.3.  Testing Unknown EDNS Options                                
   87        8.2.4.  Testing Unknown EDNS Flags                                  
   88        8.2.5.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with Unknown EDNS          
   89                Flags                                                       
   90        8.2.6.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with Unknown EDNS          
   91                Options                                                     
   92        8.2.7.  Testing Truncated Responses                                 
   93        8.2.8.  Testing DO=1 Handling                                       
   94        8.2.9.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with DO=1                  
   95        8.2.10. Testing with Multiple Defined EDNS Options                  
   96      8.3.  When EDNS Is Not Supported                                      
   97    9.  Remediation                                                         
   98    10. Security Considerations                                             
   99    11. IANA Considerations                                                 
  100    12. References                                                          
  101      12.1.  Normative References                                           
  102      12.2.  Informative References                                         
  103    Acknowledgements                                                        
  104    Authors' Addresses                                                      
  105                                                                            
  106 1.  Introduction                                                           
  107                                                                            
  108    The DNS [RFC1034] [RFC1035] is a query/response protocol.  Failing to   
  109    respond to queries or responding incorrectly causes both immediate      
  110    operational problems and long-term problems with protocol               
  111    development.                                                            
  112                                                                            
  113    Failure to respond to a query is indistinguishable from packet loss     
  114    without doing an analysis of query-response patterns.  Additionally,    
  115    failure to respond results in unnecessary queries being made by DNS     
  116    clients and introduces delays to the resolution process.                
  117                                                                            
  118    Due to the inability to distinguish between packet loss and             
  119    nameservers or middleboxes dropping Extension Mechanisms for DNS        
  120    (EDNS) [RFC6891] queries, packet loss is sometimes misclassified as     
  121    lack of EDNS support, which can lead to DNSSEC validation failures.     
  122                                                                            
  123    The existence of servers that fail to respond to queries results in     
  124    developers being hesitant to deploy new standards.  Such servers need   
  125    to be identified and remediated.                                        
  126                                                                            
  127    The DNS has response codes that cover almost any conceivable query      
  128    response.  A nameserver should be able to respond to any conceivable    
  129    query using them.  There should be no need to drop queries because a    
  130    nameserver does not understand them.                                    
  131                                                                            
  132    Unless a nameserver is under attack, it should respond to all DNS       
  133    requests directed to it.  When a nameserver is under attack, it may     
  134    wish to drop packets.  A common attack is to use a nameserver as an     
  135    amplifier by sending spoofed packets.  This is done because response    
  136    packets are bigger than the queries and large amplification factors     
  137    are available, especially if EDNS is supported.  Limiting the rate of   
  138    responses is reasonable when this is occurring, and the client should   
  139    retry.  However, this only works if legitimate clients are not being    
  140    forced to guess whether or not EDNS queries are accepted.  As long as   
  141    there is still a pool of servers that don't respond to EDNS requests,   
  142    clients have no way to know if the lack of response is due to packet    
  143    loss, EDNS packets not being supported, or rate limiting due to the     
  144    server being under attack.  Misclassification of server behaviour is    
  145    unavoidable when rate limiting is used until the population of          
  146    servers that fail to respond to well-formed queries drops to near       
  147    zero.                                                                   
  148                                                                            
  149    Nameservers should respond to queries even if the queried name is not   
  150    for any name the server is configured to answer for.  Misconfigured     
  151    nameservers are a common occurrence in the DNS, and receiving queries   
  152    for zones that the server is not configured for is not necessarily an   
  153    indication that the server is under attack.  Parent zone operators      
  154    are advised to regularly check that the delegating NS records are       
  155    consistent with those of the delegated zone and to correct them when    
  156    they are not (Section 4.2.2 of [RFC1034], Paragraph 3).  Doing this     
  157    regularly should reduce the instances of broken delegations.            
  158                                                                            
  159    This document does not try to identify all possible errors nor does     
  160    it supply an exhaustive list of tests.                                  
  161                                                                            
  162 2.  Consequences                                                           
  163                                                                            
  164    Failure to follow the guidance in relevant DNS RFCs has multiple        
  165    adverse consequences.  Some are caused directly by the non-compliant    
  166    behaviour and others as a result of workarounds forced on recursive     
  167    servers.  Addressing known issues now will reduce future                
  168    interoperability issues as the DNS protocol continues to evolve and     
  169    clients make use of newly introduced DNS features.  In particular,      
  170    the base DNS specification [RFC1034] [RFC1035] and the EDNS             
  171    specification [RFC6891], when implemented, need to be followed.         
  172                                                                            
  173    Some examples of known consequences include the following:              
  174                                                                            
  175    *  The AD (Authenticated Data) bit in a response cannot be trusted to   
  176       mean anything, as some servers incorrectly copy the flag bit from    
  177       the request to the response [RFC1035] [RFC4035].  The use of the     
  178       AD bit in requests is defined in [RFC6840].                          
  179                                                                            
  180    *  Widespread non-response to EDNS queries has led to recursive         
  181       servers having to assume that EDNS is not supported and that         
  182       fallback to plain DNS is required, potentially causing DNSSEC        
  183       validation failures.                                                 
  184                                                                            
  185    *  Widespread non-response to EDNS options requires recursive servers   
  186       to decide whether to probe to see if it is the specific EDNS         
  187       option or the use of EDNS in general that is causing the non-        
  188       response.  In the limited amount of time required to resolve a       
  189       query before the client times out, this is not possible.             
  190                                                                            
  191    *  Incorrectly returning FORMERR to an EDNS option being present        
  192       leads to the recursive server not being able to determine if the     
  193       server is just broken in the handling of the EDNS option or if it    
  194       doesn't support EDNS at all.                                         
  195                                                                            
  196    *  Mishandling of unknown query types has contributed to the            
  197       abandonment of the transition of the SPF type.                       
  198                                                                            
  199    *  Mishandling of unknown query types has slowed up the development     
  200       of DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) and resulted    
  201       in additional rules being specified to reduce the probability of     
  202       interacting with a broken server when making TLSA queries.           
  203                                                                            
  204    The consequences of servers not following the RFCs will only grow if    
  205    measures are not put in place to remove non-compliant servers from      
  206    the ecosystem.  Working around issues due to non-compliance with RFCs   
  207    is not sustainable.                                                     
  208                                                                            
  209    Most (if not all) of these consequences could have been avoided if      
  210    action had been taken to remove non-compliant servers as soon as        
  211    people were aware of them, i.e., to actively seek out broken            
  212    implementations and servers and inform their developers and operators   
  213    that they need to fix their servers.                                    
  214                                                                            
  215 3.  Common Kinds of Queries That Result in No or Bad Responses             
  216                                                                            
  217    This section is broken down into Basic DNS requests and EDNS            
  218    requests.                                                               
  219                                                                            
  220 3.1.  Basic DNS Queries                                                    
  221                                                                            
  222 3.1.1.  Zone Existence                                                     
  223                                                                            
  224    If a zone is delegated to a server, that server should respond to a     
  225    SOA query for that zone with an SOA record.  Failing to respond at      
  226    all is always incorrect, regardless of the configuration of the         
  227    server.  Responding with anything other than an SOA record in the       
  228    answer section indicates a bad delegation.                              
  229                                                                            
  230 3.1.2.  Unknown/Unsupported Type Queries                                   
  231                                                                            
  232    Some servers fail to respond to unknown or unsupported types.  If a     
  233    server receives a query for a type that it doesn't recognise, or        
  234    doesn't implement, it is expected to return the appropriate response    
  235    as if it did recognise the type but does not have any data for that     
  236    type, i.e., either NOERROR or NXDOMAIN.  The exceptions to this are     
  237    queries for Meta-RR types, which may return NOTIMP.                     
  238                                                                            
  239 3.1.3.  DNS Flags                                                          
  240                                                                            
  241    Some servers fail to respond to DNS queries with various DNS flags      
  242    set, regardless of whether they are defined or still reserved.  At      
  243    the time of writing, there are servers that fail to respond to          
  244    queries with the AD flag set to 1 and servers that fail to respond to   
  245    queries with the last reserved flag set.                                
  246                                                                            
  247    Servers should respond to such queries.  If the server does not know    
  248    the meaning of a flag, it must not copy it to the response              
  249    (Section 4.1.1 of [RFC1035]).  If the server does not understand the    
  250    meaning of a request, it should reply with a FORMERR response with      
  251    unknown flags set to zero.                                              
  252                                                                            
  253 3.1.3.1.  Recursive Queries                                                
  254                                                                            
  255    A non-recursive server is supposed to respond to recursive queries as   
  256    if the Recursion Desired (RD) bit is not set [RFC1034].                 
  257                                                                            
  258 3.1.4.  Unknown DNS Opcodes                                                
  259                                                                            
  260    The use of previously undefined opcodes is to be expected.  Since the   
  261    DNS was first defined, two new opcodes have been added, UPDATE and      
  262    NOTIFY.                                                                 
  263                                                                            
  264    NOTIMP is the expected rcode to an unknown or unimplemented opcode.     
  265                                                                            
  266       |  NOTE: while new opcodes will most probably use the current        
  267       |  layout structure for the rest of the message, there is no         
  268       |  requirement that anything other than the DNS header match.        
  269                                                                            
  270 3.1.5.  TCP Queries                                                        
  271                                                                            
  272    All DNS servers are supposed to respond to queries over TCP             
  273    [RFC7766].  While firewalls should not block TCP connection attempts,   
  274    those that do should cleanly terminate the connection by sending TCP    
  275    RESET or sending ICMP/ICMPv6 Administratively Prohibited messages.      
  276    Dropping TCP connections introduces excessive delays to the             
  277    resolution process.                                                     
  278                                                                            
  279 3.2.  EDNS Queries                                                         
  280                                                                            
  281    EDNS queries are specified in [RFC6891].                                
  282                                                                            
  283 3.2.1.  EDNS Queries: Version Independent                                  
  284                                                                            
  285    Identifying servers that fail to respond to EDNS queries can be done    
  286    by first confirming that the server responds to regular DNS queries,    
  287    followed by a series of otherwise identical queries using EDNS, then    
  288    making the original query again.  A series of EDNS queries is needed,   
  289    as at least one DNS implementation responds to the first EDNS query     
  290    with FORMERR but fails to respond to subsequent queries from the same   
  291    address for a period until a regular DNS query is made.  The EDNS       
  292    query should specify a UDP buffer size of 512 bytes to avoid false      
  293    classification of not supporting EDNS due to response packet size.      
  294                                                                            
  295    If the server responds to the first and last queries but fails to       
  296    respond to most or all of the EDNS queries, it is probably faulty.      
  297    The test should be repeated a number of times to eliminate the          
  298    likelihood of a false positive due to packet loss.                      
  299                                                                            
  300    Firewalls may also block larger EDNS responses, but there is no easy    
  301    way to check authoritative servers to see if the firewall is            
  302    misconfigured.                                                          
  303                                                                            
  304 3.2.2.  EDNS Queries: Version Specific                                     
  305                                                                            
  306    Some servers respond correctly to EDNS version 0 queries but fail to    
  307    respond to EDNS queries with version numbers that are higher than       
  308    zero.  Servers should respond with BADVERS to EDNS queries with         
  309    version numbers that they do not support.                               
  310                                                                            
  311    Some servers respond correctly to EDNS version 0 queries but fail to    
  312    set QR=1 when responding to EDNS versions they do not support.  Such    
  313    responses may be discarded as invalid (as QR is not 1) or treated as    
  314    requests (when the source port of the original request was port 53).    
  315                                                                            
  316 3.2.3.  EDNS Options                                                       
  317                                                                            
  318    Some servers fail to respond to EDNS queries with EDNS options set.     
  319    The original EDNS specification left this behaviour undefined           
  320    [RFC2671], but the correct behaviour was clarified in [RFC6891].        
  321    Unknown EDNS options are supposed to be ignored by the server.          
  322                                                                            
  323 3.2.4.  EDNS Flags                                                         
  324                                                                            
  325    Some servers fail to respond to EDNS queries with EDNS flags set.       
  326    Servers should ignore EDNS flags they do not understand and must not    
  327    add them to the response [RFC6891].                                     
  328                                                                            
  329 3.2.5.  Truncated EDNS Responses                                           
  330                                                                            
  331    Some EDNS-aware servers fail to include an OPT record when a            
  332    truncated response is sent.  An OPT record is supposed to be included   
  333    in a truncated response [RFC6891].                                      
  334                                                                            
  335    Some EDNS-aware servers fail to honour the advertised EDNS UDP buffer   
  336    size and send oversized responses [RFC6891].  Servers must send UDP     
  337    responses no larger than the advertised EDNS UDP buffer size.           
  338                                                                            
  339 3.2.6.  DO=1 Handling                                                      
  340                                                                            
  341    Some nameservers incorrectly only return an EDNS response when the      
  342    DNSSEC OK (DO) bit [RFC3225] is 1 in the query.  Servers that support   
  343    EDNS should always respond to EDNS requests with EDNS responses.        
  344                                                                            
  345    Some nameservers fail to copy the DO bit to the response despite        
  346    clearly supporting DNSSEC by returning an RRSIG records to EDNS         
  347    queries with DO=1.  Nameservers that support DNSSEC are expected to     
  348    copy the DO bit from the request to the response.                       
  349                                                                            
  350 3.2.7.  EDNS over TCP                                                      
  351                                                                            
  352    Some EDNS-aware servers incorrectly limit the TCP response sizes to     
  353    the advertised UDP response size.  This breaks DNS resolution to        
  354    clients where the response sizes exceed the advertised UDP response     
  355    size despite the server and the client being capable of sending and     
  356    receiving larger TCP responses, respectively.  It effectively defeats   
  357    setting TC=1 in UDP responses.                                          
  358                                                                            
  359 4.  Firewalls and Load Balancers                                           
  360                                                                            
  361    Firewalls and load balancers can affect the externally visible          
  362    behaviour of a nameserver.  Tests for conformance should to be done     
  363    from outside of any firewall so that the system is tested as a whole.   
  364                                                                            
  365    Firewalls and load balancers should not drop DNS packets that they      
  366    don't understand.  They should either pass the packets or generate an   
  367    appropriate error response.                                             
  368                                                                            
  369    Requests for unknown query types are normal client behaviour and        
  370    should not be construed as an attack.  Nameservers have always been     
  371    expected to be able to handle such queries.                             
  372                                                                            
  373    Requests for unknown query classes are normal client behaviour and      
  374    should not be construed as an attack.  Nameservers have always been     
  375    expected to be able to handle such queries.                             
  376                                                                            
  377    Requests with unknown opcodes are normal client behaviour and should    
  378    not be construed as an attack.  Nameservers have always been expected   
  379    to be able to handle such queries.                                      
  380                                                                            
  381    Requests with unassigned flags set (DNS or EDNS) are expected client    
  382    behaviour and should not be construed as an attack.  The behaviour      
  383    for unassigned flags is to ignore them in the request and to not set    
  384    them in the response.  Dropping DNS/EDNS packets with unassigned        
  385    flags makes it difficult to deploy extensions that make use of them     
  386    due to the need to reconfigure and update firewalls.                    
  387                                                                            
  388    Requests with unknown EDNS options are expected client behaviour and    
  389    should not be construed as an attack.  The correct behaviour for        
  390    unknown EDNS options is to ignore their presence when constructing a    
  391    reply.                                                                  
  392                                                                            
  393    Requests with unknown EDNS versions are expected client behaviour and   
  394    should not be construed as an attack.  The correct behaviour for        
  395    unknown EDNS versions is to return BADVERS along with the highest       
  396    EDNS version the server supports.  Dropping EDNS packets breaks EDNS    
  397    version negotiation.                                                    
  398                                                                            
  399    Firewalls should not assume that there will only be a single response   
  400    message to a request.  There have been proposals to use EDNS to         
  401    signal that multiple DNS messages be returned rather than a single      
  402    UDP message that is fragmented at the IP layer.                         
  403                                                                            
  404    DNS, and EDNS in particular, are designed to allow clients to be able   
  405    to use new features against older servers without having to validate    
  406    every option.  Indiscriminate blocking of messages breaks that          
  407    design.                                                                 
  408                                                                            
  409    However, there may be times when a nameserver mishandles messages       
  410    with a particular flag, EDNS option, EDNS version field, opcode, type   
  411    or class field, or combination thereof to the point where the           
  412    integrity of the nameserver is compromised.  Firewalls should offer     
  413    the ability to selectively reject messages using an appropriately       
  414    constructed response based on all these fields while awaiting a fix     
  415    from the nameserver vendor.  Returning FORMERR or REFUSED are two       
  416    potential error codes to return.                                        
  417                                                                            
  418 5.  Packet Scrubbing Services                                              
  419                                                                            
  420    Packet scrubbing services are used to filter out undesired traffic,     
  421    including but not limited to denial-of-service traffic.  This is        
  422    often done using heuristic analysis of the traffic.                     
  423                                                                            
  424    Packet scrubbing services can affect the externally visible behaviour   
  425    of a nameserver in a similar way to firewalls.  If an operator uses a   
  426    packet scrubbing service, they should check that legitimate queries     
  427    are not being blocked.                                                  
  428                                                                            
  429    Packet scrubbing services, unlike firewalls, are also turned on and     
  430    off in response to denial-of-service attacks.  One needs to take care   
  431    when choosing a scrubbing service.                                      
  432                                                                            
  433    Ideally, operators should run these tests against a packet scrubbing    
  434    service to ensure that these tests are not seen as attack vectors.      
  435                                                                            
  436 6.  Whole Answer Caches                                                    
  437                                                                            
  438    Whole answer caches take a previously constructed answer and return     
  439    it to a subsequent query for the same question.  However, they can      
  440    return the wrong response if they do not take all of the relevant       
  441    attributes of the query into account.                                   
  442                                                                            
  443    In addition to the standard tuple of <qname,qtype,qclass>, a non-       
  444    exhaustive set of attributes that must be considered include: RD, AD,   
  445    CD, OPT record, DO, EDNS buffer size, EDNS version, EDNS options, and   
  446    transport.                                                              
  447                                                                            
  448 7.  Response Code Selection                                                
  449                                                                            
  450    Choosing the correct response code when responding to DNS queries is    
  451    important.  Response codes should be chosen considering how clients     
  452    will handle them.                                                       
  453                                                                            
  454    For unimplemented opcodes, NOTIMP is the expected response code.        
  455    Note: newly implemented opcodes may change the message format by        
  456    extending the header, changing the structure of the records, etc.       
  457    Servers are not expected to be able to parse these and should respond   
  458    with a response code of NOTIMP rather than FORMERR (which would be      
  459    expected if there was a parse error with a known opcode).               
  460                                                                            
  461    For unimplemented type codes, and in the absence of other errors, the   
  462    only valid response is NOERROR if the qname exists and NXDOMAIN         
  463    otherwise.  For Meta-RRs, NOTIMP may be returned instead.               
  464                                                                            
  465    If a zone cannot be loaded because it contains unimplemented type       
  466    codes that are not encoded as unknown record types according to         
  467    [RFC3597], then the expected response is SERVFAIL, as the whole zone    
  468    should be rejected (Section 5.2 of [RFC1035]).  If a zone loads, then   
  469    Section 4.3.2 of [RFC1034] applies.                                     
  470                                                                            
  471    If the server supports EDNS and receives a query with an unsupported    
  472    EDNS version, the correct response is BADVERS [RFC6891].                
  473                                                                            
  474    If the server does not support EDNS at all, FORMERR is the expected     
  475    error code.  That said, a minimal EDNS server implementation requires   
  476    parsing the OPT records and responding with an empty OPT record in      
  477    the additional section in most cases.  There is no need to interpret    
  478    any EDNS options present in the request, as unsupported EDNS options    
  479    are expected to be ignored [RFC6891].  Additionally, EDNS flags can     
  480    be ignored.  The only part of the OPT record that needs to be           
  481    examined is the version field to determine if BADVERS needs to be       
  482    sent or not.                                                            
  483                                                                            
  484 8.  Testing                                                                
  485                                                                            
  486    Testing is divided into two sections: "Basic DNS", which all servers    
  487    should meet, and "Extended DNS", which should be met by all servers     
  488    that support EDNS (a server is deemed to support EDNS if it gives a     
  489    valid EDNS response to any EDNS query).  If a server does not support   
  490    EDNS, it should still respond to all the tests, albeit with error       
  491    responses.                                                              
  492                                                                            
  493    These tests query for records at the apex of a zone that the server     
  494    is nominally configured to serve.  All tests should use the same        
  495    zone.                                                                   
  496                                                                            
  497    It is advisable to run all of the tests below in parallel so as to      
  498    minimise the delays due to multiple timeouts when the servers do not    
  499    respond.  There are 16 queries directed to each nameserver (assuming    
  500    no packet loss) testing different aspects of Basic DNS and Extended     
  501    DNS.                                                                    
  502                                                                            
  503    The tests below use dig from BIND 9.11.0 [ISC].  Replace $zone with     
  504    the name of the zone being used for testing.  Replace $server with      
  505    the name or address of the server being tested.                         
  506                                                                            
  507    When testing, recursive servers set RD=1 and choose a zone name that    
  508    is known to exist and is not being served by the recursive server.      
  509    The root zone (".") is often a good candidate, as it is DNSSEC          
  510    signed.  RD=1, rather than RD=0, should be present in the responses     
  511    for all test involving the opcode QUERY.  Non-authoritative answers     
  512    (AA=0) are expected when talking to a recursive server.  AD=1 is only   
  513    expected if the server is validating responses and one or both AD=1     
  514    or DO=1 is set in the request, otherwise AD=0 is expected.              
  515                                                                            
  516 8.1.  Testing: Basic DNS                                                   
  517                                                                            
  518    This first set of tests cover Basic DNS server behaviour and all        
  519    servers should pass these tests.                                        
  520                                                                            
  521 8.1.1.  Is the server configured for the zone?                             
  522                                                                            
  523    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  524    with no DNS flag bits set and without EDNS.                             
  525                                                                            
  526    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  527    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the Authoritative Answer   
  528    (AA) and Query/Response (QR) bits to be set in the header; the          
  529    Recursion Available (RA) bits may also be set [RFC1034].  We do not     
  530    expect an OPT record to be returned [RFC6891].                          
  531                                                                            
  532    Verify the server is configured for the zone:                           
  533                                                                            
  534    dig +noedns +noad +norec soa $zone @$server                             
  535                                                                            
  536    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  537    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  538    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  539    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  540    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  541    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  542                                                                            
  543 8.1.2.  Testing Unknown Types                                              
  544                                                                            
  545    Identifying servers that fail to respond to unknown or unsupported      
  546    types can be done by making an initial DNS query for an A record,       
  547    making a number of queries for an unallocated type, then making a       
  548    query for an A record again.  IANA maintains a registry of allocated    
  549    types [IANA-DNS].                                                       
  550                                                                            
  551    If the server responds to the first and last queries but fails to       
  552    respond to the queries for the unallocated type, it is probably         
  553    faulty.  The test should be repeated a number of times to eliminate     
  554    the likelihood of a false positive due to packet loss.                  
  555                                                                            
  556    Ask for the TYPE1000 RRset at the configured zone's name.  This query   
  557    is made with no DNS flag bits set and without EDNS.  TYPE1000 has       
  558    been chosen for this purpose, as IANA is unlikely to allocate this      
  559    type in the near future and it is not in a range reserved for private   
  560    use [RFC6895].  Any unallocated type code could be chosen for this      
  561    test.                                                                   
  562                                                                            
  563    We expect no records to be returned in the answer section, the rcode    
  564    to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be set in the header;   
  565    RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We do not expect an OPT record to be     
  566    returned [RFC6891].                                                     
  567                                                                            
  568    Check that queries for an unknown type work:                            
  569                                                                            
  570    dig +noedns +noad +norec type1000 $zone @$server                        
  571                                                                            
  572    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  573    expect: an empty answer section.                                        
  574    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  575    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  576    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  577    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  578                                                                            
  579 8.1.3.  Testing Header Bits                                                
  580                                                                            
  581 8.1.3.1.  Testing CD=1 Queries                                             
  582                                                                            
  583    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  584    with only the CD DNS flag bit set, with all other DNS bits clear, and   
  585    without EDNS.                                                           
  586                                                                            
  587    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  588    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  589    set in the header.  We do not expect an OPT record to be returned.      
  590                                                                            
  591    If the server supports DNSSEC, CD should be set in the response         
  592    [RFC4035]; otherwise, CD should be clear [RFC1034].                     
  593                                                                            
  594    Check that queries with CD=1 work:                                      
  595                                                                            
  596    dig +noedns +noad +norec +cd soa $zone @$server                         
  597                                                                            
  598    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  599    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  600    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  601    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  602    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  603    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  604                                                                            
  605 8.1.3.2.  Testing AD=1 Queries                                             
  606                                                                            
  607    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  608    with only the AD DNS flag bit set, with all other DNS bits clear, and   
  609    without EDNS.                                                           
  610                                                                            
  611    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  612    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  613    set in the header.  We do not expect an OPT record to be returned.      
  614    The purpose of this query is to detect blocking of queries with the     
  615    AD bit present, not the specific value of AD in the response.           
  616                                                                            
  617    Check that queries with AD=1 work:                                      
  618                                                                            
  619    dig +noedns +norec +ad soa $zone @$server                               
  620                                                                            
  621    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  622    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  623    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  624    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  625    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  626                                                                            
  627    AD use in queries is defined in [RFC6840].                              
  628                                                                            
  629 8.1.3.3.  Testing Reserved Bit                                             
  630                                                                            
  631    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  632    with only the final reserved DNS flag bit set, with all other DNS       
  633    bits clear, and without EDNS.                                           
  634                                                                            
  635    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  636    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  637    set in the header; RA may be set.  The final reserved bit must not be   
  638    set [RFC1034].  We do not expect an OPT record to be returned           
  639    [RFC6891].                                                              
  640                                                                            
  641    Check that queries with the last unassigned DNS header flag work and    
  642    that the flag bit is not copied to the response:                        
  643                                                                            
  644    dig +noedns +noad +norec +zflag soa $zone @$server                      
  645                                                                            
  646    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  647    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  648    expect: MBZ to NOT be in the response (see below)                       
  649    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  650    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  651    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  652    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  653                                                                            
  654    MBZ (Must Be Zero) is a dig-specific indication that the flag bit has   
  655    been incorrectly copied.  See Section 4.1.1 of [RFC1035]:               
  656                                                                            
  657    "Z  Reserved for future use.  Must be zero in all queries and           
  658       responses."                                                          
  659                                                                            
  660 8.1.3.4.  Testing Recursive Queries                                        
  661                                                                            
  662    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  663    with only the RD DNS flag bit set and without EDNS.                     
  664                                                                            
  665    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  666    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA, QR and RD bits     
  667    to be set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We do not       
  668    expect an OPT record to be returned [RFC6891].                          
  669                                                                            
  670    Check that recursive queries work:                                      
  671                                                                            
  672    dig +noedns +noad +rec soa $zone @$server                               
  673                                                                            
  674    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  675    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  676    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  677    expect: flag: rd to be present                                          
  678    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  679    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  680                                                                            
  681 8.1.4.  Testing Unknown Opcodes                                            
  682                                                                            
  683    Construct a DNS message that consists of only a DNS header with         
  684    opcode set to 15 (currently not allocated), no DNS header bits set,     
  685    and empty question, answer, authority, and additional sections.         
  686                                                                            
  687    Check that new opcodes are handled:                                     
  688                                                                            
  689    dig +noedns +noad +opcode=15 +norec +header-only @$server               
  690                                                                            
  691    expect: status: NOTIMP                                                  
  692    expect: opcode: 15                                                      
  693    expect: all sections to be empty                                        
  694    expect: flag: aa to NOT be present                                      
  695    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  696    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  697    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  698                                                                            
  699 8.1.5.  Testing TCP                                                        
  700                                                                            
  701    Whether a server accepts TCP connections can be tested by first         
  702    checking that it responds to UDP queries to confirm that it is up and   
  703    operating, then attempting the same query over TCP.  An additional      
  704    query should be made over UDP if the TCP connection attempt fails to    
  705    confirm that the server under test is still operating.                  
  706                                                                            
  707    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  708    with no DNS flag bits set and without EDNS.  This query is to be sent   
  709    using TCP.                                                              
  710                                                                            
  711    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  712    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  713    set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We do not expect an   
  714    OPT record to be returned [RFC6891].                                    
  715                                                                            
  716    Check that TCP queries work:                                            
  717                                                                            
  718    dig +noedns +noad +norec +tcp soa $zone @$server                        
  719                                                                            
  720    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  721    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  722    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  723    expect: flag: rd to NOT be present                                      
  724    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  725    expect: the OPT record to NOT be present                                
  726                                                                            
  727    The requirement that TCP be supported is defined in [RFC7766].          
  728                                                                            
  729 8.2.  Testing: Extended DNS                                                
  730                                                                            
  731    The next set of tests cover various aspects of EDNS behaviour.  If      
  732    any of these tests succeed (indicating at least some EDNS support),     
  733    then all of them should succeed.  There are servers that support EDNS   
  734    but fail to handle plain EDNS queries correctly, so a plain EDNS        
  735    query is not a good indicator of lack of EDNS support.                  
  736                                                                            
  737 8.2.1.  Testing Minimal EDNS                                               
  738                                                                            
  739    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  740    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 0 is used without any EDNS     
  741    options or EDNS flags set.                                              
  742                                                                            
  743    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  744    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  745    set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an OPT      
  746    record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in the    
  747    response.  The EDNS version field should be 0, and there should be no   
  748    EDNS options present [RFC6891].                                         
  749                                                                            
  750    Check that plain EDNS queries work:                                     
  751                                                                            
  752    dig +nocookie +edns=0 +noad +norec soa $zone @$server                   
  753                                                                            
  754    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  755    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  756    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  757    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  758    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  759    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  760                                                                            
  761    +nocookie disables sending an EDNS COOKIE option, which is otherwise    
  762    enabled by default in BIND 9.11.0 (and later).                          
  763                                                                            
  764 8.2.2.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation                                   
  765                                                                            
  766    Ask for the SOA record of a zone the server is nominally configured     
  767    to serve.  This query is made with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS          
  768    version 1 is used without any EDNS options or EDNS flags set.           
  769                                                                            
  770    We expect the SOA record for the zone to NOT be returned in the         
  771    answer section with the extended rcode set to BADVERS and the QR bit    
  772    to be set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an    
  773    OPT record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in    
  774    the response.  The EDNS version field should be 0 in the response, as   
  775    no other EDNS version has as yet been specified [RFC6891].              
  776                                                                            
  777    Check that EDNS version 1 queries work (EDNS supported):                
  778                                                                            
  779    dig +nocookie +edns=1 +noednsneg +noad +norec soa $zone @$server        
  780                                                                            
  781    expect: status: BADVERS                                                 
  782    expect: the SOA record to NOT be present in the answer section          
  783    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  784    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  785    expect: flag: aa to NOT be present                                      
  786    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  787                                                                            
  788    +noednsneg has been set, as dig supports EDNS version negotiation,      
  789    and we want to see only the response to the initial EDNS version 1      
  790    query.                                                                  
  791                                                                            
  792 8.2.3.  Testing Unknown EDNS Options                                       
  793                                                                            
  794    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  795    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 0 is used without any EDNS     
  796    flags.  An EDNS option is present with a value that has not yet been    
  797    assigned by IANA.  We have picked an unassigned code of 100 for the     
  798    example below.  Any unassigned EDNS option code could have been         
  799    chosen for this test.                                                   
  800                                                                            
  801    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  802    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  803    set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an OPT      
  804    record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in the    
  805    response.  The EDNS version field should be 0, as EDNS versions other   
  806    than 0 are yet to be specified, and there should be no EDNS options     

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  807    present, as unknown EDNS options are supposed to be ignored by the      
  808    server (Section 6.1.1 of [RFC6891]).                                    
  809                                                                            
  810    Check that EDNS queries with an unknown option work (EDNS supported):   
  811                                                                            
  812    dig +nocookie +edns=0 +noad +norec +ednsopt=100 soa $zone @$server      
  813                                                                            
  814    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  815    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  816    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  817    expect: OPT=100 to NOT be present                                       
  818    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  819    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  820    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  821                                                                            
  822 8.2.4.  Testing Unknown EDNS Flags                                         
  823                                                                            
  824    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  825    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 0 is used without any EDNS     
  826    options.  An unassigned EDNS flag bit is set (0x40 in this case).       
  827                                                                            
  828    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  829    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  830    set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an OPT      
  831    record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in the    
  832    response, as unknown EDNS flags are supposed to be ignored.  The EDNS   
  833    version field should be 0, and there should be no EDNS options          
  834    present [RFC6891].                                                      
  835                                                                            
  836    Check that EDNS queries with unknown flags work (EDNS supported):       
  837                                                                            
  838    dig +nocookie +edns=0 +noad +norec +ednsflags=0x40 soa $zone @$server   
  839                                                                            
  840    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  841    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  842    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  843    expect: MBZ not to be present                                           
  844    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  845    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  846    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  847                                                                            
  848    MBZ (Must Be Zero) is a dig-specific indication that a flag bit has     
  849    been incorrectly copied, as per Section 6.1.4 of [RFC6891].             
  850                                                                            
  851 8.2.5.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with Unknown EDNS Flags           
  852                                                                            
  853    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  854    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 1 is used without any EDNS     
  855    options.  An unassigned EDNS flag bit is set (0x40 in this case).       
  856                                                                            
  857    We expect the SOA record for the zone to NOT be returned in the         
  858    answer section with the extended rcode set to BADVERS and the QR bit    
  859    to be set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an    
  860    OPT record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in    
  861    the response, as unknown EDNS flags are supposed to be ignored.  The    
  862    EDNS version field should be 0, as EDNS versions other than 0 are yet   
  863    to be specified, and there should be no EDNS options present            
  864    [RFC6891].                                                              
  865                                                                            
  866    Check that EDNS version 1 queries with unknown flags work (EDNS         
  867    supported):                                                             
  868                                                                            
  869    dig +nocookie +edns=1 +noednsneg +noad +norec +ednsflags=0x40 soa \     
  870        $zone @$server                                                      
  871                                                                            
  872    expect: status: BADVERS                                                 
  873    expect: SOA record to NOT be present                                    
  874    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  875    expect: MBZ not to be present                                           
  876    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  877    expect: flag: aa to NOT be present                                      
  878    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  879                                                                            
  880 8.2.6.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with Unknown EDNS Options         
  881                                                                            
  882    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  883    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 1 is used.  An unknown EDNS    
  884    option is present.  We have picked an unassigned code of 100 for the    
  885    example below.  Any unassigned EDNS option code could have been         
  886    chosen for this test.                                                   
  887                                                                            
  888    We expect the SOA record for the zone to NOT be returned in the         
  889    answer section with the extended rcode set to BADVERS and the QR bit    
  890    to be set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an    
  891    OPT record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in    
  892    the response.  The EDNS version field should be 0, as EDNS versions     
  893    other than 0 are yet to be specified, and there should be no EDNS       
  894    options present [RFC6891].                                              
  895                                                                            
  896    Check that EDNS version 1 queries with unknown options work (EDNS       
  897    supported):                                                             
  898                                                                            
  899    dig +nocookie +edns=1 +noednsneg +noad +norec +ednsopt=100 soa \        
  900        $zone @$server                                                      
  901                                                                            
  902    expect: status: BADVERS                                                 
  903    expect: SOA record to NOT be present                                    
  904    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  905    expect: OPT=100 to NOT be present                                       
  906    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  907    expect: flag: aa to NOT be present                                      
  908    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
  909                                                                            
  910 8.2.7.  Testing Truncated Responses                                        
  911                                                                            
  912    Ask for the DNSKEY records of the configured zone, which must be a      
  913    DNSSEC signed zone.  This query is made with no DNS flag bits set.      
  914    EDNS version 0 is used without any EDNS options.  The only EDNS flag    
  915    set is DO.  The EDNS UDP buffer size is set to 512.  The intention of   
  916    this query is to elicit a truncated response from the server.  Most     
  917    signed DNSKEY responses are bigger than 512 bytes.  This test will      
  918    not give a valid result if the zone is not signed.                      
  919                                                                            
  920    We expect a response, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and    
  921    QR bits to be set.  AD may be set in the response if the server         
  922    supports DNSSEC; otherwise it should be clear; TC and RA may also be    
  923    set [RFC1035] [RFC4035].  We expect an OPT record to be present in      
  924    the response.  There should be no EDNS flags other than DO present in   
  925    the response.  The EDNS version field should be 0, and there should     
  926    be no EDNS options present [RFC6891].                                   
  927                                                                            
  928    If TC is not set, it is not possible to confirm that the server         
  929    correctly adds the OPT record to the truncated responses or not.        
  930                                                                            
  931    dig +norec +dnssec +bufsize=512 +ignore dnskey $zone @$server           
  932    expect: NOERROR                                                         
  933    expect: OPT record with version set to 0                                
  934                                                                            
  935 8.2.8.  Testing DO=1 Handling                                              
  936                                                                            
  937    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone, which does not need to   
  938    be DNSSEC signed.  This query is made with no DNS flag bits set.        
  939    EDNS version 0 is used without any EDNS options.  The only EDNS flag    
  940    set is DO.                                                              
  941                                                                            
  942    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  943    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  944    set in the response.  AD may be set in the response if the server       
  945    supports DNSSEC, otherwise it should be clear; RA may also be set       
  946    [RFC1034].  We expect an OPT record to be returned.  There should be    
  947    no EDNS flags other than DO present in the response, which should be    
  948    present if the server supports DNSSEC.  The EDNS version field should   
  949    be 0, and there should be no EDNS options present [RFC6891].            
  950                                                                            
  951    Check that DO=1 queries work (EDNS supported):                          
  952                                                                            
  953    dig +nocookie +edns=0 +noad +norec +dnssec soa $zone @$server           
  954                                                                            
  955    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
  956    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
  957    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  958    expect: DO=1 to be present if an RRSIG is in the response               
  959    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  960    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
  961                                                                            
  962 8.2.9.  Testing EDNS Version Negotiation with DO=1                         
  963                                                                            
  964    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone, which does not need to   
  965    be DNSSEC signed.  This query is made with no DNS flag bits set.        
  966    EDNS version 1 is used without any EDNS options.  The only EDNS flag    
  967    set is DO.                                                              
  968                                                                            
  969    We expect the SOA record for the zone NOT to be returned in the         
  970    answer section, the extended rcode to be set to BADVERS, and the QR     
  971    bit to be set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect   
  972    an OPT record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags other      
  973    than DO present in the response, which should be there if the server    
  974    supports DNSSEC.  The EDNS version field should be 0, and there         
  975    should be no EDNS options present [RFC6891].                            
  976                                                                            
  977    Check that EDNS version 1, DO=1 queries work (EDNS supported):          
  978                                                                            
  979    dig +nocookie +edns=1 +noednsneg +noad +norec +dnssec soa \             
  980        $zone @$server                                                      
  981                                                                            
  982    expect: status: BADVERS                                                 
  983    expect: SOA record to NOT be present                                    
  984    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
  985    expect: DO=1 to be present if the EDNS version 0 DNSSEC query test      
  986            returned DO=1                                                   
  987    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
  988    expect: flag: aa to NOT be present                                      
  989                                                                            
  990 8.2.10.  Testing with Multiple Defined EDNS Options                        
  991                                                                            
  992    Ask for the SOA record of the configured zone.  This query is made      
  993    with no DNS flag bits set.  EDNS version 0 is used.  A number of        
  994    defined EDNS options are present (NSID [RFC5001], DNS COOKIE            
  995    [RFC7873], EDNS Client Subnet [RFC7871], and EDNS Expire [RFC7314]).    
  996                                                                            
  997    We expect the SOA record for the zone to be returned in the answer      
  998    section, the rcode to be set to NOERROR, and the AA and QR bits to be   
  999    set in the header; RA may also be set [RFC1034].  We expect an OPT      
 1000    record to be returned.  There should be no EDNS flags present in the    
 1001    response.  The EDNS version field should be 0.  Any of the requested    
 1002    EDNS options supported by the server and permitted server               
 1003    configuration may be returned [RFC6891].                                
 1004                                                                            
 1005    Check that EDNS queries with multiple defined EDNS options work:        
 1006                                                                            
 1007    dig +edns=0 +noad +norec +cookie +nsid +expire +subnet=0.0.0.0/0 \      
 1008        soa $zone @$server                                                  
 1009                                                                            
 1010    expect: status: NOERROR                                                 
 1011    expect: the SOA record to be present in the answer section              
 1012    expect: an OPT record to be present in the additional section           
 1013    expect: EDNS Version 0 in response                                      
 1014    expect: flag: aa to be present                                          
 1015    expect: flag: ad to NOT be present                                      
 1016                                                                            
 1017 8.3.  When EDNS Is Not Supported                                           
 1018                                                                            
 1019    If EDNS is not supported by the nameserver, we expect a response to     
 1020    each of the above queries.  That response may be a FORMERR error        
 1021    response, or the OPT record may just be ignored.                        
 1022                                                                            
 1023    Some nameservers only return an EDNS response when a particular EDNS    
 1024    option or flag (e.g., DO=1) is present in the request.  This            
 1025    behaviour is not compliant behaviour and may hide other incorrect       
 1026    behaviour from the above tests.  Retesting with the triggering          
 1027    option/flag present will expose this misbehaviour.                      
 1028                                                                            
 1029 9.  Remediation                                                            
 1030                                                                            
 1031    Nameserver operators are generally expected to test their own           
 1032    infrastructure for compliance to standards.  The above tests should     
 1033    be run when new systems are brought online and should be repeated       
 1034    periodically to ensure continued interoperability.                      
 1035                                                                            
 1036    Domain registrants who do not maintain their own DNS infrastructure     
 1037    are entitled to a DNS service that conforms to standards and            
 1038    interoperates well.  Registrants who become aware that their DNS        
 1039    operator does not have a well-maintained or compliant infrastructure    
 1040    should insist that their service provider correct issues and switch     
 1041    providers if they do not.                                               
 1042                                                                            
 1043    In the event that an operator experiences problems due to the           
 1044    behaviour of nameservers outside their control, the above tests will    
 1045    help in narrowing down the precise issue(s), which can then be          
 1046    reported to the relevant party.                                         
 1047                                                                            
 1048    If contact information for the operator of a misbehaving nameserver     
 1049    is not already known, the following methods of communication could be   
 1050    considered:                                                             
 1051                                                                            
 1052    *  the RNAME of the zone authoritative for the name of the              
 1053       misbehaving server                                                   
 1054                                                                            
 1055    *  the RNAME of zones for which the offending server is authoritative   
 1056                                                                            
 1057    *  administrative or technical contacts listed in the registration      
 1058       information for the parent domain of the name of the misbehaving     
 1059       server or for zones for which the nameserver is authoritative        
 1060                                                                            
 1061    *  the registrar or registry for such zones                             
 1062                                                                            
 1063    *  DNS-specific, operational fora (e.g., mailing lists)                 
 1064                                                                            
 1065    Operators of parent zones may wish to regularly test the                
 1066    authoritative nameservers of their child zones.  However, parent        
 1067    operators can have widely varying capabilities in terms of              
 1068    notification or remediation depending on whether they have a direct     
 1069    relationship with the child operator.  Many Top-Level Domain (TLD)      
 1070    registries, for example, cannot directly contact their registrants      
 1071    and may instead need to communicate through the relevant registrar.     
 1072    In such cases, it may be most efficient for registrars to take on the   
 1073    responsibility for testing the nameservers of their registrants,        
 1074    since they have a direct relationship.                                  
 1075                                                                            
 1076    When notification is not effective at correcting problems with a        
 1077    misbehaving nameserver, parent operators can choose to remove NS        
 1078    record sets (and glue records below) that refer to the faulty server    
 1079    until the servers are fixed.  This should only be done as a last        
 1080    resort and with due consideration, as removal of a delegation can       
 1081    have unanticipated side effects.  For example, other parts of the DNS   
 1082    tree may depend on names below the removed zone cut, and the parent     
 1083    operator may find themselves responsible for causing new DNS failures   
 1084    to occur.                                                               
 1085                                                                            
 1086 10.  Security Considerations                                               
 1087                                                                            
 1088    Testing protocol compliance can potentially result in false reports     
 1089    of attempts to attack services from Intrusion Detection Services and    
 1090    firewalls.  All of the tests are well-formed (though not necessarily    
 1091    common) DNS queries.  None of the tests listed above should cause any   
 1092    harm to a protocol-compliant server.                                    
 1093                                                                            
 1094    Relaxing firewall settings to ensure EDNS compliance could              
 1095    potentially expose a critical implementation flaw in the nameserver.    
 1096    Nameservers should be tested for conformance before relaxing firewall   
 1097    settings.                                                               
 1098                                                                            
 1099    When removing delegations for non-compliant servers, there can be a     
 1100    knock-on effect on other zones that require these zones to be           
 1101    operational for the nameservers addresses to be resolved.               
 1102                                                                            
 1103 11.  IANA Considerations                                                   
 1104                                                                            
 1105    This document has no IANA actions.                                      
 1106                                                                            
 1107 12.  References                                                            
 1108                                                                            
 1109 12.1.  Normative References                                                
 1110                                                                            
 1111    [RFC1034]  Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - concepts and facilities",   
 1112               STD 13, RFC 1034, DOI 10.17487/RFC1034, November 1987,       
 1113               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1034>.                   
 1114                                                                            
 1115    [RFC1035]  Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and          
 1116               specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, DOI 10.17487/RFC1035,      
 1117               November 1987, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1035>.    
 1118                                                                            
 1119    [RFC3225]  Conrad, D., "Indicating Resolver Support of DNSSEC",         
 1120               RFC 3225, DOI 10.17487/RFC3225, December 2001,               
 1121               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3225>.                   
 1122                                                                            
 1123    [RFC4035]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.      
 1124               Rose, "Protocol Modifications for the DNS Security           
 1125               Extensions", RFC 4035, DOI 10.17487/RFC4035, March 2005,     
 1126               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4035>.                   
 1127                                                                            
 1128    [RFC6840]  Weiler, S., Ed. and D. Blacka, Ed., "Clarifications and      
 1129               Implementation Notes for DNS Security (DNSSEC)", RFC 6840,   
 1130               DOI 10.17487/RFC6840, February 2013,                         
 1131               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6840>.                   
 1132                                                                            
 1133    [RFC6891]  Damas, J., Graff, M., and P. Vixie, "Extension Mechanisms    
 1134               for DNS (EDNS(0))", STD 75, RFC 6891,                        
 1135               DOI 10.17487/RFC6891, April 2013,                            
 1136               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6891>.                   
 1137                                                                            
 1138    [RFC6895]  Eastlake 3rd, D., "Domain Name System (DNS) IANA             
 1139               Considerations", BCP 42, RFC 6895, DOI 10.17487/RFC6895,     
 1140               April 2013, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6895>.       
 1141                                                                            
 1142    [RFC7766]  Dickinson, J., Dickinson, S., Bellis, R., Mankin, A., and    
 1143               D. Wessels, "DNS Transport over TCP - Implementation         
 1144               Requirements", RFC 7766, DOI 10.17487/RFC7766, March 2016,   
 1145               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7766>.                   
 1146                                                                            
 1147 12.2.  Informative References                                              
 1148                                                                            
 1149    [IANA-DNS] IANA, "Domain Name System (DNS) Parameters",                 
 1150               <https://www.iana.org/assignments/dns-parameters/>.          
 1151                                                                            
 1152    [ISC]      "Internet Systems Consortuim", <https://www.isc.org/>.       
 1153                                                                            
 1154    [RFC2671]  Vixie, P., "Extension Mechanisms for DNS (EDNS0)",           
 1155               RFC 2671, DOI 10.17487/RFC2671, August 1999,                 
 1156               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2671>.                   
 1157                                                                            
 1158    [RFC3597]  Gustafsson, A., "Handling of Unknown DNS Resource Record     
 1159               (RR) Types", RFC 3597, DOI 10.17487/RFC3597, September       
 1160               2003, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3597>.             
 1161                                                                            
 1162    [RFC5001]  Austein, R., "DNS Name Server Identifier (NSID) Option",     
 1163               RFC 5001, DOI 10.17487/RFC5001, August 2007,                 
 1164               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5001>.                   
 1165                                                                            
 1166    [RFC7314]  Andrews, M., "Extension Mechanisms for DNS (EDNS) EXPIRE     
 1167               Option", RFC 7314, DOI 10.17487/RFC7314, July 2014,          
 1168               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7314>.                   
 1169                                                                            
 1170    [RFC7871]  Contavalli, C., van der Gaast, W., Lawrence, D., and W.      
 1171               Kumari, "Client Subnet in DNS Queries", RFC 7871,            
 1172               DOI 10.17487/RFC7871, May 2016,                              
 1173               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7871>.                   
 1174                                                                            
 1175    [RFC7873]  Eastlake 3rd, D. and M. Andrews, "Domain Name System (DNS)   
 1176               Cookies", RFC 7873, DOI 10.17487/RFC7873, May 2016,          
 1177               <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7873>.                   
 1178                                                                            
 1179 Acknowledgements                                                           
 1180                                                                            
 1181    The contributions of Matthew Pounsett and Tim Wicinski are gratefully   
 1182    acknowledged.                                                           
 1183                                                                            
 1184 Authors' Addresses                                                         
 1185                                                                            
 1186    M. Andrews                                                              
 1187    Internet Systems Consortium                                             
 1188    PO Box 360                                                              
 1189    Newmarket, NH 03857                                                     
 1190    United States of America                                                
 1191                                                                            
 1192    Email: marka@isc.org                                                    
 1193                                                                            
 1194                                                                            
 1195    Ray Bellis                                                              
 1196    Internet Systems Consortium                                             
 1197    PO Box 360                                                              
 1198    Newmarket, NH 03857                                                     
 1199    United States of America                                                
 1200                                                                            
 1201    Email: ray@isc.org                                                      
 1202                                                                            
line-807 Mukund Sivaraman(Editorial Erratum #6783) [Verified]
based on outdated version
   present, as unknown EDNS options are supposed to be ignored by the
   server (Section 6.1.1 of [RFC6891]).
It should say:
   present, as unknown EDNS options are supposed to be ignored by the
   server (Section 6.1.12 of [RFC6891]).

Reference to the section in RFC 6891 is incorrect. There's no information on what to do with unknown options in RFC 6891 section 6.1.1.