DNStasons

DNStasons refers to a security vulnerability that affects the Domain Name System (DNS). Specifically, it targets DNS resolvers and involves the abuse of DNS record caching mechanisms. The core of the attack lies in manipulating the Time-To-Live (TTL) values of DNS records. TTL dictates how long a DNS resolver should cache a particular record. Attackers can exploit this by sending specially crafted DNS queries that trick a resolver into caching a falsified record with an extremely short TTL.

When the attacker later controls the IP address associated with the legitimate domain name, they can then send a query for that domain. If the resolver has recently cached the falsified record with a short TTL, it might still be in its cache. The attacker can then send the actual DNS query for the domain, and the resolver, instead of querying the authoritative DNS server, might return the cached, falsified information. This can lead to DNS cache poisoning, where users are directed to malicious websites instead of the intended ones. The impact can range from website defacement to phishing attacks and malware distribution. Mitigation strategies involve careful configuration of DNS resolvers, such as disabling recursion for untrusted clients and implementing DNSSEC validation.