Unclaimed DNS Record
An Unclaimed DNS record is a DNS entry that points to a resource (such as a website or a cloud service) that is no longer active or controlled by its original owner and has not been claimed or re-registered by anyone else. This can happen when a company shuts down a service, migrates to a new platform, or simply forgets to renew a domain name, leaving the associated DNS records pointing to a void.
How an Unclaimed DNS Record Can Lead to Subdomain Takeover
Resource Decommissioning or Expiration: A company shuts down a service hosted on a third-party platform (e.g., a cloud service provider) or lets a domain name expire.
DNS Record Remains: The DNS record pointing to this deactivated or expired resource is not updated or deleted, leaving it "unclaimed."
Attacker Identification: A malicious actor discovers this unclaimed DNS record and realizes the associated resource is up for grabs.
Resource Recreation: The attacker creates a new resource on the same platform (using the same name or configuration as the original resource).
Takeover: The unclaimed DNS record now inadvertently points to the attacker's newly created resource.
Malicious Activity: The attacker has effectively taken control of the subdomain and can now host malicious content, perform phishing attacks, or redirect traffic to harmful websites.
Key Points:
CNAME records are particularly susceptible to subdomain takeovers because they directly reference another domain or hostname.
Regular DNS audits and prompt cleanup of unused records are essential to prevent subdomain takeovers.
Subdomain takeovers can severely damage a company's reputation, lead to data breaches, and result in financial losses.
An unclaimed DNS record is like an open door inviting malicious actors to take control of a subdomain. Organizations must maintain proper DNS hygiene to prevent these risks.
ThreatNG employs a comprehensive approach to mitigate the risks associated with unclaimed DNS records by integrating various susceptibility and exposure assessments into its analysis. This approach includes:
External Discovery and Assessment:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG continuously scans DNS records to identify entries that point to inactive or non-responsive resources. This includes analyzing subdomains, SSL certificate statuses, and other relevant factors to determine the likelihood of a subdomain takeover. For example, it can detect if a CNAME record points to a decommissioned cloud service or an expired domain, which an attacker could easily claim.
Archived Web Pages: ThreatNG analyzes archived web pages to find references to old or discontinued services, which could reveal unclaimed DNS records. This helps uncover potential vulnerabilities not apparent from current DNS data alone.
Certificate Intelligence: ThreatNG checks for expired or mismatched SSL certificates, which can indicate an unclaimed or vulnerable subdomain. This helps identify potential targets for subdomain takeovers.
Susceptibility and Exposure Assessments:
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the likelihood of a subdomain takeover by analyzing DNS records, SSL certificates, and other relevant factors. This helps organizations prioritize remediation efforts based on the risk of a successful attack.
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: ThreatNG analyzes the external attack surface of web applications to identify potential entry points for attackers. This helps organizations understand how their web applications could be exploited through unclaimed DNS records.
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the likelihood of Business Email Compromise (BEC) and phishing attacks by analyzing domain intelligence, dark web presence, and sentiment and financials findings. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could be used to launch these types of attacks.
Brand Damage Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the potential for brand damage by analyzing attack surface intelligence, digital risk intelligence, ESG, sentiment and financials, and domain intelligence. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could impact their brand reputation.
Data Leak Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the likelihood of data leaks by analyzing cloud and SaaS exposure, dark web presence, domain intelligence, and sentiment and financials. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could lead to data breaches.
Cyber Risk Exposure: ThreatNG assesses the overall cyber risk exposure by considering various factors, including certificates, subdomain headers, vulnerabilities, and sensitive ports. This helps organizations understand their overall security posture and prioritize remediation efforts.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG assesses the exposure of cloud services and SaaS solutions, including the risk of cloud service impersonations and open exposed cloud buckets. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could impact their cloud infrastructure.
Supply Chain & Third Party Exposure: ThreatNG assesses the exposure of supply chains and third parties by analyzing domain intelligence, technology stack, and cloud and SaaS exposure. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could impact their relationships with partners and vendors.
Breach & Ransomware Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the likelihood of breaches and ransomware attacks by analyzing domain intelligence, dark web presence, sentiment, and financials. This helps organizations understand how unclaimed DNS records could increase their risk of these types of attacks.
Continuous Monitoring and Reporting:
Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors all DNS records and subdomains for any changes or signs of potential takeover. This includes monitoring for newly registered domains that match patterns of known attacker infrastructure, changes in DNS records for sensitive subdomains, and suspicious activity like unexpected traffic redirects.
Reporting: ThreatNG provides various reports, including technical reports with detailed findings and executive reports summarizing key risks. These reports include information on all the susceptibility and exposure assessments, helping organizations understand their DNS security posture and prioritize remediation efforts.
DNS Intelligence: ThreatNG provides detailed DNS record analysis, including IP identification, vendor and technology identification, and subdomain takeover susceptibility. This helps security teams understand the potential impact of an unclaimed DNS record and prioritize their response.
Subdomain Intelligence: ThreatNG analyzes subdomains for various factors, including HTTP responses, header analysis, server headers, and content identification. This helps identify potentially vulnerable subdomains and assess the risk of takeover.
WHOIS Intelligence: ThreatNG provides WHOIS analysis to identify other domains owned by the same entity, which can help uncover related unclaimed DNS records.
Dark Web Presence: ThreatNG monitors the dark web for mentions of the organization and its associated domains, which can help identify potential threats related to unclaimed DNS records.
Compromised Credentials: ThreatNG identifies leaked credentials that could grant access to DNS management systems, which could be used to create or manipulate unclaimed records.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
Vulnerability Scanners: ThreatNG can correlate its findings with vulnerability scanners to pinpoint subdomains with exploitable weaknesses. This helps prioritize patching efforts based on the risk of subdomain takeover.
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): ThreatNG can help configure WAF rules to block traffic to or from suspicious subdomains. This helps prevent attackers from exploiting unclaimed DNS records.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG can feed subdomain takeover alerts into SIEM systems for centralized monitoring and incident response.
By incorporating these susceptibility and exposure assessments, ThreatNG provides a comprehensive view of an organization's DNS security posture, enabling them to proactively identify and address unclaimed DNS records and prevent subdomain takeovers.
