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Aviv Cohen
Aviv Cohen

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Enable DNSSEC Support in Your Node.js Application

#node #security #webdev #programming

The Internet Relies on DNS – and That’s Where the Problem Begins

Every visit to a website, every time an app communicates with a server – it all starts with a simple but critical step: translating a domain name into an IP address. The DNS system is the phone book of the Internet. Without DNS, we’d be stuck typing long IP numbers instead of easy-to-remember names like example.com.

But DNS was born in a different era. In the 1980s, the Internet was still a small academic network. Nobody imagined it would become a global infrastructure supporting banks, governments, e-commerce, and billions of users. As a result, DNS was designed without cryptographic security. In simple terms: when you get an answer from DNS – who guarantees it’s really correct?

Here lies the problem: an attacker can intercept your query or inject a fake answer, tricking you into visiting a malicious site. This isn’t theoretical – such attacks, known as DNS Spoofing or Cache Poisoning, have happened many times. A user thinks they are visiting bank.com, but in reality ends up on a fraudulent server.

“But I Have SSL – Isn’t That Enough?”

This is a common misconception. For years the world has moved to HTTPS with SSL/TLS certificates. Shouldn’t that guarantee security?

The truth is more nuanced:

  • SSL/TLS protects communication between the user and the server – but only after the user has reached the correct server.
  • DNSSEC protects the step before that – ensuring the user even gets to the right server in the first place.

In other words:

  • DNSSEC makes sure the phone book isn’t lying.
  • TLS ensures the conversation with the right number is encrypted.

In reality, there have been cases where Certificate Authorities (CAs) were compromised, issuing fraudulent certificates. If the user reached the wrong server in the first place, TLS couldn’t save them. That’s where DNSSEC comes in – preventing that initial deception.

The Challenges and Developments in DNSSEC

Although DNSSEC has existed for two decades, adoption is still limited. There are several reasons: existing tools are complex and require deep expertise (like BIND or PowerDNS), awareness among developers is low, support from some TLDs and registrars is incomplete, and business pressure is often lacking – even major sites and banks sometimes don’t implement DNSSEC.

That said, the tide is shifting. Services like Google Public DNS and Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 validate DNSSEC by default. Governments around the world are beginning to require public-sector domains to be signed. Organizations like ICANN and the IETF continue to push new policies and standards. Research shows steady growth in the number of signed domains, though not yet at a sufficient pace.

The importance of DNSSEC in 2025 is clear: threats are increasing – from attacks on databases, to widespread use of insecure public WiFi, to society’s total dependence on the Internet. DNSSEC has gone from a “nice-to-have” to a critical layer of defense. It doesn’t replace SSL – it complements it. SSL secures communication with the server, while DNSSEC ensures the user actually reached the right server. Together, they complete the trust chain.

Business and Reputational Benefits of DNSSEC

Beyond the technical advantages, DNSSEC also has reputational and business value:

  • ✅ Message to customers: A DNSSEC-signed site signals seriousness and responsibility.
  • ✅ Competitive advantage: Few sites adopt it, so those who do stand out.
  • ✅ Potential SEO impact: In the past, Google gradually removed non-SSL sites from search results. It’s possible the same could happen with DNSSEC in the future. The more security measures your site implements, the more you signal – both to people and to algorithms – that you’re authoritative and trustworthy.
  • ✅ Regulatory readiness: Many governments are beginning to mandate DNSSEC for public institutions. Businesses that adopt it early will be prepared.

A New Open-Source Library for DNSSEC in Node.js

When I looked for a way to run DNSSEC in a Node.js project, I found no simple tools. Existing libraries like dns-packet can only parse DNS messages – not sign them. Serious solutions exist in other languages, but they require heavy installations.

And this is no small issue: Node.js has become a critical foundation for countless Internet services, applications, and websites. When managing a large app with dozens of services, it’s far more convenient and efficient to keep everything inside Node.js – rather than adding external servers just for DNSSEC. The lack of a native Node.js solution is one reason adoption has been so slow.

By the way, since this library runs directly on Node.js, you can also manage complementary DevOps services in the same codebase you already use to build and maintain your systems. This centralizes management and reduces reliance on external tools that require extra learning and maintenance – something most developers don’t have the time or attention for.

A new open-source project called dnssec-server was released to fill this gap:

  • 📦 An open-source Node.js library with a simple API.
  • 🔐 Real-time signing of every DNS record.
  • ⚡ Lightweight and fast – run it as a script without external daemons.
  • 🌍 Supports multiple domains and dynamic zones.
  • 🛠 Designed for developers – run locally, test, and integrate into your projects.

Dynamic DNS Responses with Node.js

An important point is that this library isn’t just about DNSSEC. It also allows you to generate dynamic responses based on the incoming query. In traditional setups, most DNS servers behave like static HTML websites: they always return the same answer for the same record. With dnssec-server, you can behave more like a dynamic PHP site – adjusting responses on the fly depending on context, logic, or external data sources.

This opens the door to advanced use cases: geo‑based answers, load balancing logic, conditional records, or even integrating with other Node.js services in real time – all with DNSSEC signing included.

Basic Usage Example 

const fs = require('fs');
const tls = require('tls');
const DNSServer = require('dnssec-server');

DNSServer.createServer({
  tls: { // enable DNS over TLS (DoT) on port 853 by default
    SNICallback: function (servername, cb) {
      cb(null, tls.createSecureContext({
        key: fs.readFileSync('key.pem'),
        cert: fs.readFileSync('cert.pem')
      }));
    }
  }
}, function (req, res) {
  console.log(`[${req.transport}] from ${req.remoteAddress}:${req.remotePort}  q=${req.name} ${req.type} ${req.class}  DO=${req.flag_do}  ECS=${req.ecsAddress||'-'}/${req.ecsSourcePrefixLength||'-'}`);

  if (req.name === 'example.com.' && req.type === 'A') {
    res.answers.push({
      name: 'example.com.',
      type: 'A',
      class: 'IN',
      ttl: 300,
      data: { address: '200.10.10.1' }
    });
    res.send();
  } else {
    res.header.rcode = 3; // NXDOMAIN
    res.authority.push({
      name: 'example.com.',
      type: 'SOA',
      class: 'IN',
      ttl: 300,
      data: {
        mname: 'ns1.example.com.',
        rname: 'hostmaster.example.com.',
        serial: 2025081001,
        refresh: 3600,
        retry: 600,
        expire: 604800,
        minimum: 300
      }
    });
    res.send();
  }
});
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Check with a DNS client (depending on transport):

  • Classic UDP/TCP on port 53: 
 dig @127.0.0.1 example.com +dnssec
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  • DNS over TLS (DoT) on port 853 (e.g., with kdig): 
 kdig +tls @127.0.0.1 -p 853 example.com A +dnssec
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You’ll get a response with an RRSIG signature when DNSSEC is enabled, proving the data is authentic and hasn’t been altered.

Feels Like Handling HTTP Requests

Notice how similar this is to returning responses for HTTP requests:

  • req carries details about the incoming DNS query (name, type, class, transport, EDNS flags).
  • res is your response builder: you push answers/authority/additional sections and call res.send().
  • You can plug in your own logic, read from databases/APIs, implement georouting or A/B switching, and emit different records dynamically — with DNSSEC signing layered on top.
  • DoT via tls + SNICallback mirrors the familiar TLS setup developers already use in web servers.

This programming model lowers the barrier for Node.js teams: the same patterns you use for HTTP services apply to DNS — in code you control, alongside the rest of your stack.

Conclusion

The Internet can’t keep relying on unsigned DNS. More and more organizations – including global DNS providers and governments – are pushing DNSSEC adoption. Yet most websites, even those handling sensitive financial data, still don’t use it.

The lack of easy Node.js tools has been a major barrier. dnssec-server was built to address this gap and let developers integrate DNSSEC naturally into the Node.js systems they already manage.

🔗 GitHub – dnssec-server

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