• Log In
  • Sign Up
  • Contact Us
PowerDMARC
  • Features
    • PowerDMARC
    • Hosted DKIM
    • PowerSPF
    • PowerBIMI
    • PowerMTA-STS
    • PowerTLS-RPT
    • PowerAlerts
  • Services
    • Deployment Services
    • Managed Services
    • Support Services
    • Service Benefits
  • Pricing
  • Power Toolbox
  • Partners
    • Reseller Program
    • MSSP Program
    • Technology Partners
    • Industry Partners
    • Find a partner
    • Become a Partner
  • Resources
    • DMARC: What is it and How does it Work?
    • Datasheets
    • Case Studies
    • DMARC in Your Country
    • DMARC by Industry
    • Support
    • Blog
    • DMARC Training
  • About
    • Our company
    • Clients
    • Contact us
    • Book a demo
    • Events
  • Menu Menu

Fix SPF Permerror: Overcome SPF Too Many DNS Lookups Limit

Blogs
SPF Permerror - SPF Too many DNS lookups

To fix SPF Permerror domain owners need to ensure they are limiting SPF too many DNS lookups to 10, maintaining the optimal character length, and checking their SPF record for syntax and configuration errors. Once the Permerror issue is resolved, you can bypass false negatives and protocol breakage.

What is SPF Permerror?

SPF=Permerror indicates that there is a fundamental problem with the SPF record, making it impossible to determine if the sending server is authorized or not. SPF Permerror or SPF permanent error is encountered during the evaluation of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records for email authentication. It could be caused by various reasons, such as syntax errors, exceeding the SPF record limit, or incorrect DNS configuration.

What is the difference between SPF fail and Permerror?

The difference between SPF fail and Permerror lies in the nature of the errors encountered during the evaluation of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records for email authentication:

  1. SPF Fail: When an email server checks the SPF record of a sender’s domain and determines that the sending server is not authorized to send emails on behalf of that domain, it results in an SPF fail. 
  2. SPF Permerror: SPF Permerror, short for SPF permanent error, occurs when there is a fundamental problem with the SPF record that prevents it from being properly evaluated. A Permerror indicates that the SPF record cannot be processed accurately, making it impossible to determine if the sending server is authorized or not. 

When is SPF Permerror Result returned by ESPs?

When an email server receives a message, it checks the SPF record of the sender’s domain to verify if the server sending the email is authorized. If there is an issue with the SPF record that prevents it from being properly evaluated, a Permerror (permanent error) occurs.

Receiving servers may treat SPF Permerror differently. Some servers may consider it a soft fail, treating the email as potentially suspicious but not outright rejecting it. Other servers may treat it as a hard fail, causing the email to be rejected or flagged as spam.

It is important to fix SPF Permerrors to ensure proper email delivery and maintain email security.

What is the 10 DNS lookup limit?

The 10 DNS lookup limit is a restriction imposed on Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records which means that when an email server receives an incoming email, it can only perform up to 10 DNS lookups to retrieve SPF records associated with the sending domain.

This limitation helps prevent excessive DNS queries and potential performance issues during email delivery. If a domain’s SPF record exceeds the 10 DNS lookup limit, some email servers may treat the SPF as invalid or reject the email altogether. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully manage and optimize the number of DNS lookups within an SPF record to ensure proper email delivery and SPF validation.

Why does RFC specify this stringent SPF DNS lookup limit for domains?

While the SPF record limit can appear to be quite an unwanted SPF limitation, it isn’t necessarily so. The SPF DNS lookup limit has been put in place to block Denial-of-Service attacks (as mentioned under RFC 7208).

For example, a threat actor creates an SPF record on a fake domain with reference to a legitimate corporate domain to send emails in bulk to various receiving servers. Owing to the SPF record limit of 10 DNS lookups allowed (i.e. an ESP can query the sender’s DNS a total of 10 times per SPF check), can help mitigate Denial-of-Service attacks on the receiver’s side in these situations.

What can cause SPF Permerror?

SPF Permerror can be caused by a variety of factors like SPF too many DNS lookup that exceeds the SPF limit, syntax errors and configuration issues. Let’s explore what they are: 

Syntax Errors

Incorrect formatting or syntax within the SPF record can trigger a Permerror. Missing or misplaced characters, such as quotes or colons, can lead to parsing issues.

DNS Configuration Issues

Incorrect or incomplete DNS configuration, invalid SPF record location, or incorrect association with the corresponding domain can lead to evaluation failures.

DNS Lookup Limits

If an SPF record exceeds the 10 DNS lookup limit or SPF void lookup limit of 2, it can result in SPF Permerror.

Oversized SPF Records

Some DNS providers impose character limits for SPF records (e.g., 255 characters).

If the SPF record exceeds this limit due to excessive entries or redundant mechanisms, SPF Permerrors can occur.

How do too many DNS lookups impact your emails?

If there are too many DNS lookups involved in the SPF record, it can have unprecedented impacts on your emails like inconsistencies in deliverability, and trigger SPF Permerror. 

1. It May Cause Delivery Delays

Excessive DNS lookups can increase the time it takes to process SPF records. This can cause delays in email delivery, as the receiving server needs to wait for responses from multiple DNS servers.

2. May Lead to Timeout Errors 

DNS lookups involve communication between the receiving server and DNS servers. Too many DNS lookups increase the likelihood of timeout errors, resulting in SPF evaluation failures or prolonged delivery times.

3. May Increase Risk of SPF Permerror

If the SPF record exceeds these lookup limits, it can trigger a Permerror, indicating that the SPF record cannot be processed accurately. The email can be flagged as suspicious or potentially rejected.

4. May Result in Incomplete SPF Evaluation

If the receiving server encounters a DNS lookup limit or timeout error due to SPF too many DNS lookups, it may prematurely terminate SPF evaluation. 

Am I exceeding SPF Too Many DNS Lookups limit? 

If you are worried about exceeding the lookup limit for SPF, you can check your record instantly using our SPF record checker tool. The best part – it’s free! Our tool effectively summarizes everything that is wrong with your SPF record so you can troubleshoot issues faster. If you are exceeding the DNS lookup limit – it will let you know! 

How to fix SPF Permerror?

To resolve SPF Permerror ensure efficient lookup utilization through SPF flattening so that you can optimize your SPF record to stay under the 10 DNS lookup limit during checks. 

Fix Permerror by Manually Reducing Lookups

You can replace your SPF “include” and/or “redirect” mechanisms with IP addresses. While this will fix SPF Permerror, it’s not an ideal solution. This is because the length of your record after the long list of IPs are added, may exceed the character limit and trigger more errors. 

Use an Automatic SPF Flattening Tool

A more effective way to avoid SPF errors is to deploy an SPF flattening tool that is automatic and hassle-free – like PowerSPF! This not only ensures that you stay within the 10 DNS lookup limit, it also keeps you updates on any changes made by your email service providers and vendors who often add or change their IP addresses. 

Fix SPF errors to improve your email deliverability

Fixing SPF errors is of utmost importance due to several reasons. It significantly impacts email deliverability as SPF errors can lead to legitimate emails being marked as spam or rejected by receiving mail servers, resulting in a decreased chance of reaching recipients’ inboxes. Moreover, SPF serves as a vital sender authentication mechanism, enabling email recipients to verify the legitimacy of the sender’s domain. 

By resolving SPF errors, you ensure that your legitimate emails are properly authenticated, reducing the risk of your domain being exploited for email spoofing or phishing attacks. Addressing SPF errors helps safeguard your brand reputation, as consistent delivery failures and spam markings can harm the perception of your brand’s trustworthiness and credibility.

spf permerror

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Ahona Rudra
Digital Marketing & Content Writer Manager at PowerDMARC
Ahona works as a Digital Marketing and Content Writer Manager at PowerDMARC. She is a passionate writer, blogger, and marketing specialist in cybersecurity and information technology.
Latest posts by Ahona Rudra (see all)
  • Cyber Security in Banking: Top Threats and Best Ways to Prevent Them - September 25, 2023
  • How to Check if Your Email Sources are Reliable? - September 25, 2023
  • How to Protect Your Passwords from AI - September 20, 2023
May 30, 2023/by Ahona Rudra
Tags: permerror spf permanent error too many dns lookups, SPF error, SPF permanent error, SPF PermError, SPF record limit, spf too many dns lookups, spf=permerror
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
You might also like
spf limitHow to fix “SPF exceeds maximum character limit”?
no multiple spf recordMultiple SPF Records
spf optimization blogHow to Optimize SPF Record?
How to fix 550 5.7 0 email rejected per SPF policyHow to Fix “550 5.7 0 Email Rejected Per SPF Policy”
fix spf authenticationWhy SPF authentication fails? How to fix SPF Failure?
Understanding the limitations of SPF in email authenticationUnderstanding the Limitations of SPF in Email Authentication

Secure Your Email

Stop Email Spoofing and Improve Email Deliverability

15-day Free trial!


Categories

  • Blogs
  • News
  • Press Releases

Latest Blogs

  • Cyber-Security-in-Banking.-Top-Threats-and-Best-Ways-to-Prevent-Them
    Cyber Security in Banking: Top Threats and Best Ways to Prevent ThemSeptember 25, 2023 - 10:47 am
  • How to check if your email sources are reliable
    How to Check if Your Email Sources are Reliable?September 25, 2023 - 10:40 am
  • How-to-protect-your-Password-from-AI
    How to Protect Your Passwords from AISeptember 20, 2023 - 1:12 pm
  • What are Identity-based attacks and how to stop them_
    What are Identity-based Attacks and How to Stop Them?September 20, 2023 - 1:03 pm
logo footer powerdmarc
SOC2 GDPR PowerDMARC GDPR comliant crown commercial service
global cyber alliance certified powerdmarc csa

Knowledge

What is Email Authentication?
What is DMARC?
What is DMARC Policy?
What is SPF?
What is DKIM?
What is BIMI?
What is MTA-STS?
What is TLS-RPT?
What is RUA?
What is RUF?
AntiSpam vs DMARC
DMARC Alignment
DMARC Compliance
DMARC Enforcement
BIMI Implementation Guide
Permerror
MTA-STS & TLS-RPT Implementation Guide

Tools

Free DMARC Record Generator
Free DMARC Record Checker
Free SPF Record Generator
Free SPF Record Lookup
Free DKIM Record Generator
Free DKIM Record Lookup
Free BIMI Record Generator
Free BIMI Record Lookup
Free FCrDNS Record Lookup
Free TLS-RPT Record Checker
Free MTA-STS Record Checker
Free TLS-RPT Record Generator

Product

Product Tour
Features
PowerSPF
PowerBIMI
PowerMTA-STS
PowerTLS-RPT
PowerAlerts
API Documentation
Managed Services
Email Spoofing Protection
Brand Protection
Anti Phishing
DMARC for Office365
DMARC for Google Mail GSuite
DMARC for Zimbra
Free DMARC Training

Try Us

Contact Us
Free Trial
Book Demo
Partnership
Pricing
FAQ
Support
Blog
Events
Feature Request
Change Log
System Status

  • Français
  • Dansk
  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch
  • Русский
  • Polski
  • Español
  • Italiano
  • 日本語
  • 中文 (简体)
  • Português
  • Norsk
  • Svenska
  • 한국어
© PowerDMARC is a registered trademark.
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Contact us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Security Policy
  • Compliance
  • GDPR Notice
  • Sitemap
Top 5 Cybersecurity Managed Services in 2023Top 5 Cybersecurity Managed Services in 2023How to fix “DKIM none message not signed”Fix “DKIM none message not signed”- Troubleshooting Guide
Scroll to top