Email Authentication Warnings regarding SPF and DomainKeys

[dwinans]

We have an account that is displaying the following warnings when enabling SPF and Domain Keys.

Status: Enabled, WARNING: DomainKeys cannot be used because this server is not a DNS server for domain.com

Status: Enabled, WARNING: SPF cannot be used because this server is not a DNS server for domain.com

We are running a DNS cluster setup.

SPF and DomainKeys are properly setup. The zone file was edited as it should be and the propagation took place as expected. Things are great there. However these warnings still remain within cPanel. I've attempted to disable/re-enable SPF and DomainKeys, no difference. The warnings still remain.

Other accounts setup the exact same way are not having this problem. Using the same name-servers. I see no difference there. So there isn't a mis-configuration in the DNS settings that I can see.

When creating an account there is an option you can check that says the following.

"Use the nameservers specified at the Domain's Registrar (ignore locally specified nameservers)"

I can see this changes the name-server records in the DNS zone to use whatever the registrar has specified. But through my testing this doesn't look to be the culprit. The name-servers that are specified in the zone file are the correct ones. (I also might add the ones at the registrar level are the same as the ones at the local level)

I've searched online for any information regarding resolution to this error but I've found nothing. Any ideas on further things to check?

 

[cPanelDon]

We have an account that is displaying the following warnings when enabling SPF and Domain Keys.

Status: Enabled, WARNING: DomainKeys cannot be used because this server is not a DNS server for domain.com

Status: Enabled, WARNING: SPF cannot be used because this server is not a DNS server for domain.com

We are running a DNS cluster setup.

SPF and DomainKeys are properly setup. The zone file was edited as it should be and the propagation took place as expected. Things are great there. However these warnings still remain within cPanel. I've attempted to disable/re-enable SPF and DomainKeys, no difference. The warnings still remain.

Other accounts setup the exact same way are not having this problem. Using the same name-servers. I see no difference there. So there isn't a mis-configuration in the DNS settings that I can see.

When creating an account there is an option you can check that says the following.

"Use the nameservers specified at the Domain's Registrar (ignore locally specified nameservers)"

I can see this changes the name-server records in the DNS zone to use whatever the registrar has specified. But through my testing this doesn't look to be the culprit. The name-servers that are specified in the zone file are the correct ones. (I also might add the ones at the registrar level are the same as the ones at the local level)

I've searched online for any information regarding resolution to this error but I've found nothing. Any ideas on further things to check?

What is the full cPanel version number?

Does the domain use any DNS/name servers that are not controlled by the cPanel DNS Clustering configuration?

Does the server that hosts the domain serve as one of the registered DNS/name servers for the domain name?

Is the domain name setup on a dedicated IP address?

 

[dwinans]

What is the full cPanel version number?

11.25.0-EDGE_42335

Does the domain use any DNS/name servers that are not controlled by the cPanel DNS Clustering configuration?

No, but it may appear that way. We have setup custom name-servers for the reseller. These custom name-servers are setup as aliases on our clustered DNS servers. Any changes to zone files on any local WHM/cPanel server get propagated to our DNS cluster servers.

The client is hosting 9 domains on the same server. 2 of them have this issue, the rest do not show this warning. All of them via the whois point to the same set of custom name-servers.

Does the server that hosts the domain serve as one of the registered DNS/name servers for the domain name?

We do not run DNS locally on each WHM/cPanel server. However the domain they are using for the custom name-servers is hosted on the same server. DNS is handled by our clustered DNS servers.

Is the domain name setup on a dedicated IP address?

There are 2/9 accounts experiencing the issue. One is on a dedicated IP, one is not. These 2 domains are on separate packages as well.

 

[dwinans]

FYI, I've submitted a ticket on this. I'll give an update once the problem is resolved.

 

[cPanelDon]

What is the full cPanel version number?

11.25.0-EDGE_42335

Does the domain use any DNS/name servers that are not controlled by the cPanel DNS Clustering configuration?

No, but it may appear that way. We have setup custom name-servers for the reseller. These custom name-servers are setup as aliases on our clustered DNS servers. Any changes to zone files on any local WHM/cPanel server get propagated to our DNS cluster servers.

The client is hosting 9 domains on the same server. 2 of them have this issue, the rest do not show this warning. All of them via the whois point to the same set of custom name-servers.

Does the server that hosts the domain serve as one of the registered DNS/name servers for the domain name?

We do not run DNS locally on each WHM/cPanel server. However the domain they are using for the custom name-servers is hosted on the same server. DNS is handled by our clustered DNS servers.

Is the domain name setup on a dedicated IP address?

There are 2/9 accounts experiencing the issue. One is on a dedicated IP, one is not. These 2 domains are on separate packages as well.

FYI, I've submitted a ticket on this. I'll give an update once the problem is resolved.

Thank you for the detailed information. When possible, please PM me the support request ID number from the ticket submission so I may review the details and follow-up internally.

 

[jackal]

Did this ever get resolved, we are also seeign this on a few servers.

Joey

 

[cPanelDon]

Did this ever get resolved, we are also seeign this on a few servers.

Joey

Regarding the original inquiry in the thread I did not receive a ticket number for further investigation.

To confirm, what is the full cPanel version of the affected servers? If a support request was submitted it will help greatly to also provide the ticket number so I may review the details involved.

 

[cPanelDon]

Regarding the original inquiry in the thread I did not receive a ticket number for further investigation.

I believe I found the ticket information. The noted details indicate it may be related to an active internal case, ID #4891; this could be referenced if a support request is submitted. Depending on the circumstances involved it may or may not depend on further examination and resolution in the aforementioned case.

 

[l00ph0le]

Be advised, I am running 11.25 and I am gettign this when using external dns servers..

The DNS servers are listed in cpanel as the name servers for the server..However, I keep getting these warnings on the server.

 

[cPanelDon]

Be advised, I am running 11.25 and I am gettign this when using external dns servers..

The DNS servers are listed in cpanel as the name servers for the server..However, I keep getting these warnings on the server.

If the issue persists I would consider escalation via a ticket so that the issue may be properly diagnosed and thoroughly investigated while inspecting the affected system. For reference, the links in my forums signature may be used to initiate a ticket submission, such as via the following: Support Options; when available, please send me a PM me referencing this thread and your new ticket ID number so I may follow-up internally.

 

[hbidad]

I had the same issue. However, oddly enough there was a Key already in place. I manually removed the entry and it started to work the cPanel. This has happened a few times now.

Hope it helps for you guys.

 

[Kent Brockman]

Hi there. I'm experiencing the same issue as dwinans since some months ago. I cannot recall with what cPanel update started, but I remember that something related to email processing was upgraded in that version (maybe courier, maybe exim, etc). It's obvious that something weird was included in one of those upgrades.

I didn't mess with my DNS nor the people at the datacenter, so this is weird. But I've noticed that the headers in outgoing emails are containing the correct SPF and DomainKeys strings, so this alerts in control panels should be a bug from cPanel.

I've learnt to get over this, although it has generated tickets from my customers, worried about the alert. So this issue should be reviewed and/or corrected.

Anybody from cPanel please?

 

[cPanelDon]

Hi there. I'm experiencing the same issue as dwinans since some months ago. I cannot recall with what cPanel update started, but I remember that something related to email processing was upgraded in that version (maybe courier, maybe exim, etc). It's obvious that something weird was included in one of those upgrades.

I didn't mess with my DNS nor the people at the datacenter, so this is weird. But I've noticed that the headers in outgoing emails are containing the correct SPF and DomainKeys strings, so this alerts in control panels should be a bug from cPanel.

I've learnt to get over this, although it has generated tickets from my customers, worried about the alert. So this issue should be reviewed and/or corrected.

Anybody from cPanel please?

The discussed warning messages may be triggered by different, unique root causes involving any number of varying circumstances; to properly investigate we will need direct access to the affected systems. Please escalate the issue by submitting a support request so that we may thoroughly inspect the server configuration and verify the behavior being experienced in your server environment. To help expedite the issue please mention case 4891 and provide a link to this forums thread within your ticket submission.

When available, please send me a private message (PM) or reply in this thread including your new ticket ID number so that we may follow-up internally.

 

[cPanelDavidG]

Case 4891 has been addressed in 11.31.2.9. To see if this version (or later) has propagated to your update tier, visit Downloads - cPanel Inc.