DNS Settings Discovery via IP-Address Domain Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack the ability to discover and store the association between a user agent's IP address and its DNS settings, preventing servers from validating or denying access based on DNS configurations, which is crucial for security and service management.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that enables an entity to receive a request with an IP address, generate a domain name to locate a DNS server, and store or forward DNS information, allowing correlation and validation of DNS settings, thereby enabling servers to manage and validate DNS configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no protocol specifies including DNS settings in HTTP requests, then the system maintains simplicity and compatibility, but servers cannot learn or validate client DNS settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mediator entity (server) that receives HTTP requests from user agents and extracts DNS settings information from these requests. The mediator then performs DNS validation by comparing the client's DNS settings against approved lists, acting as an intermediary between the client and the validation process without requiring changes to the underlying HTTP protocol
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary validation of DNS settings before granting access to network resources. By validating DNS configurations in advance of actual resource access, the system can block potentially malicious clients before they can exploit DNS-based attacks, improving security without affecting the core protocol
2Reliability
If servers cannot access client DNS settings, then client privacy and system simplicity are maintained, but security validation and access control based on DNS configuration are impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having the server send validation results back to the client. After validating the DNS settings against approved lists, the server communicates whether the client's DNS configuration is approved or blocked, providing feedback that enables security enforcement while maintaining information flow control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts DNS settings information from HTTP requests by analyzing environment variables and headers that contain DNS configuration data. This extraction process retrieves necessary validation information without requiring clients to explicitly transmit sensitive DNS settings, balancing information access with privacy preservation
3Productivity
If DNS settings are not validated, then system operation is simple and fast, but unauthorized or malicious DNS configurations can compromise network security
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs DNS validation as a preliminary action before allowing resource access. By validating DNS settings in advance and maintaining approval lists, the system can quickly determine whether to allow or block requests without performing complex validation during each transaction, preserving processing speed while ensuring security
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial validation by focusing only on critical DNS settings that pose security risks, rather than validating entire DNS configurations. This selective approach validates only the necessary elements (such as nameserver addresses and domain resolutions) to prevent DNS-based attacks while avoiding excessive validation overhead
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system and apparatus including receiving a request from a network device, the request including an IP address of said network device, generating and sending to the network device a domain name for locating a device configured to process a DNS query, the domain name corresponding to the IP address, the network device generating and sending a DNS query including the domain name and at least one local DNS setting of the network device to the device configured to the process the DNS query, and the device processing an association between the IP address and the at least one local DNS setting of the network device.