Possible qualifiers are: ModifierĪ “pass” result means the client is authorized to inject mail with the given identity. Mechanisms listed in the SPF record have an implicit pass (i.e. This makes fine-grainedĭecisions possible at the level of the user and client IP address. For example, suppose publishes the record: v=spf1 exists:% -all If any A record is returned, this mechanism matches.ĭomains can use this mechanism to specify arbitrarily complex The resulting domain name is used for a DNS A RR lookup (even when the connection type is Involving arbitrary parts of the mail envelope to determine what is This mechanism is used to construct an arbitrary domain name that is Stops processing the SPF record, and continues at the specified domain’s SPF record (including the all modifier!) Includes the SPF record from the domain after the colon (it does not include the all modifier, if any) The IP addresses listed in the A/AAA records of The IP addresses listed in the domains’ own A/AAAA records The servers listed in the mx records of ĭescribes the servers listed in the A and/or AAAA records of the domain. The servers listed in the mx records of its own domain Mechanismĭescribes an ipv4 address or CIDR block of addresses.ĭescribes an ipv6 address or block of addresses.ĭescribes the servers listed in the mx record of the domain.
Just make sure you are using ~all in your SPF record. If the vendor supports DKIM signing, you can rely on that to pass DMARC, even if the sender is not in your SPF record. You might not even need to include every vendor in your SPF records anyway. For example, you could send newsletters from, and invoices from. Each subdomain needs its own SPF record and has its own set of limits for that record. To work around this limit, send email from different subdomains.
Any SPF record that would require more than 10 DNS lookups to resolve is invalid! This is a common mistake to make when deploying SPF. SPF has a maximum DNS lookup limit of 10, including any included records. Some mechanisms like a, mx, include, and redirect use additional DNS lookups to work. A domain or subdomain can only have one SPF record, but each subdomain can have its own SPF record.
From there, mechanisms are used to describe mail servers are allowed (or not allowed) to send email as that domain or subdomain. This SPF record describes which servers are authorized to send as that domain by using mechanisms to identify authorized IP addresses and hostnames, or even include the SPF records of other domains.Įvery SPF record is a TXT record at the root of a domain or subdomain that starts with v=spf1. It works by checking for a specially formatted DNS TXT record in the domain of the mail from header in the SMTP transaction. For example, Gmail/G-Site/Google will throttle incoming emails from domains that do not have a valid SPF record. Despite its limitations in preventing spoofing, most email recipients expect you to have it deployed on your domain. SPF was the first widely adopted standard for combating email spoofing. These standards help ensure that a message came from a server related to the domain owner and was not spoofed. Modern email authentication relies on a combination of three standards: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office Online.
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Part mythbusting, part implementation guide, this post explains the shortcomings of SPF and DKIM, what DMARC is, how to deploy DMARC properly, and how to respond to DMARC reports – all without the need for an additional vendor, thanks to open source software! However, complexity and misconceptions deter many organizations from ever deploying it. DMARC can stop spoofed spam and phishing from reaching you and your customers, protecting your information security and your brand.