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theonion.com

Name: theonion.com Email Security Posture Assessment
Creator: RacterMX

Posture Score: 81/100

Scanned May 10, 2026 at 5:07 AM UTC

Score History

Identity

Attack Surface

Reputation

Identity Findings

Weak DKIM RSA key (~1296 bits) for selector 'default'

RSA keys shorter than 2048 bits are considered weak. Current key is approximately 1296 bits.

💡 Generate a new 2048-bit (or larger) RSA key pair and update the DKIM record.

high

Weak DKIM RSA key (~1296 bits) for selector 'google'

RSA keys shorter than 2048 bits are considered weak. Current key is approximately 1296 bits.

💡 Generate a new 2048-bit (or larger) RSA key pair and update the DKIM record.

high

No MTA-STS record found

Without MTA-STS, mail transport encryption cannot be enforced and is vulnerable to downgrade attacks.

💡 Publish a _mta-sts TXT record and host a policy file at https://mta-sts.theonion.com/.well-known/mta-sts.txt

medium

STARTTLS without MTA-STS or DANE protection

STARTTLS alone is vulnerable to downgrade attacks. Neither MTA-STS nor DANE is configured to enforce encryption.

💡 Deploy MTA-STS and/or DANE to protect against STARTTLS stripping attacks.

medium

No CAA records found

No CAA records are configured. Any certificate authority can issue certificates for this domain.

💡 Add CAA records to restrict certificate issuance. Example: 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

medium

DMARC percentage is 50% (not fully enforced)

Only 50% of messages are subject to the DMARC policy. The remaining messages are treated as p=none.

💡 Increase pct to 100 once confident in SPF/DKIM alignment.

low

No TLS-RPT record found

Without TLS-RPT, you will not receive reports about TLS negotiation failures.

💡 Publish a _smtp._tls TXT record (e.g. "v=TLSRPTv1; rua=mailto:tls-reports@theonion.com").

low

NS TTL mismatch between parent and authoritative zone

The NS record TTL in the parent zone (~7182s) differs significantly from the authoritative zone (~86400s).

💡 Align NS record TTLs between the parent zone delegation and the authoritative zone.

low

SPF record is valid

The SPF record is properly configured with valid syntax and within lookup limits.

pass

SPF record length OK (139 bytes)

SPF record is within safe DNS packet size limits.

pass

DKIM cryptographic configuration is compliant

No RFC 8301 compliance issues detected in DKIM key configuration.

pass

DKIM key strength indicates modern key management

All DKIM keys use RSA-2048+ or Ed25519, consistent with current best practices.

pass

All external report destinations authorized

External DMARC report destinations have valid authorization records per RFC 7489 §7.1.

pass

Subdomains protected (sp=quarantine)

DMARC subdomain policy enforces quarantine or reject on unauthenticated subdomain mail.

pass

5 MX records with 5 unique IPs

Multiple MX records provide mail delivery redundancy.

pass

ARC support likely available

MX server software appears to support ARC headers for authentication preservation.

pass

Meets bulk sender authentication requirements

Domain has SPF, DKIM, and DMARC — meeting Google/Yahoo 2024 bulk sender requirements for email authentication.

pass

SMTP security checks passed

No open relay, VRFY/EXPN, or banner disclosure issues detected.

pass

SMTP RFC 5321 compliance checks passed

The mail server accepts postmaster@ and abuse@ and uses a valid FQDN in EHLO.

pass

IPv6 readiness is good

IPv6 records are present and properly configured.

pass

NS delegation is properly configured

All nameservers are responsive, consistent, and properly secured.

pass

DNS responses are consistent across all nameservers

All authoritative nameservers return consistent answers with proper AA flags.

pass

DKIM2 not detected

No DKIM key record with v=2 was found across common selectors. DKIM2 is an emerging standard and not yet widely deployed.

informational

DMARC alignment: adkim=r, aspf=r

DKIM alignment is relaxed, SPF alignment is relaxed.

informational

DMARCbis np tag absent

The DMARC record does not include the np (non-existent subdomain policy) tag. Consider adding np=reject to protect non-existent subdomains under DMARCbis.

informational

Deprecated DMARCbis tags found: pct

The DMARC record contains tags deprecated in DMARCbis: pct. Consider removing these for forward compatibility.

informational

DMARCbis psd tag absent

The DMARC record does not include the psd (public suffix domain) indicator. Consider adding psd=n to explicitly identify this as an organizational domain.

informational

Shared/free email hosting detected: aspmx.l.google.com

The MX record points to a known shared or free email hosting provider.

informational

Shared/free email hosting detected: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com

The MX record points to a known shared or free email hosting provider.

informational

Shared/free email hosting detected: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com

The MX record points to a known shared or free email hosting provider.

informational

Shared/free email hosting detected: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com

The MX record points to a known shared or free email hosting provider.

informational

Shared/free email hosting detected: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com

The MX record points to a known shared or free email hosting provider.

informational

REQUIRETLS not advertised

The primary MX does not advertise REQUIRETLS (RFC 8689). This is an emerging standard — MTA-STS and DANE provide adequate TLS enforcement for most deployments.

informational

No DANE/TLSA records found

DANE is not configured for any MX server. This is optional but provides strong certificate binding.

informational

No BIMI record found

BIMI is not configured. Your brand logo will not display in supporting email clients.

informational

Open mail ports on aspmx.l.google.com

Detected open mail-related ports: 25

informational

RFC 8058 one-click unsubscribe assessment

DKIM signing is configured. RFC 8058 compliance depends on List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers being included in outbound messages and DKIM signatures.

informational

MX IP network diversity

MX IPs span 5 different /16 networks, providing good diversity.

informational

SOA record parameters

Serial: 2026031802, Refresh: 86400s, Retry: 3600s, Expire: 2592000s, Min TTL: 172800s

informational

Attack Surface Findings

DNS ANY query returns 24 record(s)

The DNS server responds to ANY queries with 24 record(s), creating significant DNS amplification risk.

💡 Configure the DNS server to refuse or minimize ANY query responses per RFC 8482.

medium

DNSSEC is not enabled

No DNSKEY or DS records were found. DNS responses are not cryptographically authenticated.

💡 Enable DNSSEC by generating DNSKEY records and publishing DS records at the registrar.

medium

Domain enumerability: low

The domain has low enumerability. Proper NSEC3 configuration and limited CT exposure reduce the attack surface.

low

All MX records resolve correctly

No dangling MX records detected — all MX hostnames resolve to valid IP addresses.

pass

Explicit MX records present

The domain has explicit MX records — no implicit A-record fallback delivery.

pass

No internal information leakage detected

No non-routable IP addresses or internal references were found in public DNS records.

pass

1 subdomain(s) discovered for theonion.com

Subdomains were enumerated via Certificate Transparency logs, DNS wordlist brute-forcing, and DNS record analysis.

informational

0 certificate(s) found in CT logs

Certificate Transparency logs contain 0 certificate(s) for theonion.com and its subdomains. Each certificate reveals subdomain names.

informational

Wildcard DNS record detected

A wildcard DNS record exists for *.theonion.com, resolving to 192.0.66.48. Wildcard records make subdomain brute-forcing less effective but may mask misconfigurations.

informational

Microsoft Autodiscover endpoint detected

The Autodiscover endpoint at autodiscover.theonion.com responded with HTTP 404.

informational

Reputation Findings

SMTP banner mismatch: mx.google.com

The SMTP banner identifies as 'mx.google.com' but the MX hostname is 'aspmx.l.google.com' and PTR resolves to 'dh-in-f26.1e100.net'. Microsoft and other receivers flag this mismatch as suspicious infrastructure.

💡 Configure the SMTP server banner to match the MX hostname or PTR record (aspmx.l.google.com).

high

Missing Strict-Transport-Security on theonion.com

The Strict-Transport-Security header is not set on https://theonion.com.

💡 Add the Strict-Transport-Security header with a max-age of at least 31536000 (1 year) and include the includeSubDomains directive.

medium

Missing Strict-Transport-Security on webmail.theonion.com

The Strict-Transport-Security header is not set on https://webmail.theonion.com.

💡 Add the Strict-Transport-Security header with a max-age of at least 31536000 (1 year) and include the includeSubDomains directive.

medium

security.txt present

Found security.txt at https://theonion.com/.well-known/security.txt.

pass

TLS certificate valid for 77 days

Certificate for theonion.com expires on 2026-07-26.

pass

Certificate issued by E7

The certificate for theonion.com is issued by a third-party CA.

pass

Signature algorithm: ecdsa-with-sha384

The certificate for theonion.com uses an acceptable signature algorithm.

pass

ECC key: 256 bits

The certificate for theonion.com uses an adequate ECC key of 256 bits.

pass

SCTs present in certificate

The certificate for theonion.com contains Signed Certificate Timestamps.

pass

No weak ciphers detected

No known weak cipher suites detected on theonion.com.

pass

Domain valid for 315 days

Domain theonion.com expires on 2027-03-22.

pass

Domain transfer and delete locks enabled

Domain theonion.com has clientTransferProhibited and clientDeleteProhibited locks.

pass

TLD has good reputation

The .com TLD is not on known abuse watchlists.

pass

DMARC reporting destinations look legitimate

DMARC rua/ruf addresses do not point to known URL shortener services.

pass

MX records point to stable infrastructure

No MX records point to known dynamic DNS service domains.

pass

Strong TLS configuration on primary MX

Primary MX (aspmx.l.google.com) uses TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 including Forward Secrecy.

pass

Google Safe Browsing DNS check — no flag detected

DNS-based Safe Browsing lookup returned no results. Full verification requires the Google Safe Browsing API key.

informational

Abuse contact lookup failed

Could not query abuse contact information.

informational

PhishTank — API key required

PhishTank phishing database check requires an API key.

informational

Sender Score — API key required

Sender Score reputation check requires an API key.

informational

Cisco Talos — API key required

Cisco Talos IP reputation check requires an API key.

informational

WHOIS registration data

Registrar: MarkMonitor Inc. | Created: 1995-03-21 | Expires: 2027-03-22 | Updated: 2024-10-14

informational

WHOIS privacy protection not detected

Domain theonion.com does not appear to have WHOIS privacy protection. Registrant details may be publicly visible.

informational

Typosquat detected: thonion.com (has MX!), tehonion.com (has MX!), theonoin.com (has MX!), thronion.com (has MX!), thenion.com

7 registered lookalike domain(s) that could be used for phishing against your brand. Showing top 5 of 7. Domains with MX records can send and receive email, making them high-risk phishing vectors.

informational

Dependency Chains

DMARC Authentication Chain (SPF)

DMARC uses SPF to verify that emails come from authorized servers

SPF Record SPF record found and configured → DMARC Policy DMARC policy: quarantine

DMARC Authentication Chain (DKIM)

DMARC uses DKIM to verify that emails have not been tampered with

DKIM Signature DKIM signature configured → DMARC Policy DMARC policy: quarantine

Mail Server Identity: aspmx.l.google.com

PTR record proves mail server legitimacy

MX: aspmx.l.google.com Mail server at 209.85.203.26 → PTR Record Reverse DNS: dh-in-f26.1e100.net

Mail Server Identity: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com

PTR record proves mail server legitimacy

MX: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com Mail server at 173.194.76.26 → PTR Record Reverse DNS: ws-in-f26.1e100.net

Mail Server Identity: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com

PTR record proves mail server legitimacy

MX: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com Mail server at 142.250.102.27 → PTR Record Reverse DNS: rb-in-f27.1e100.net

Mail Server Identity: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com

PTR record proves mail server legitimacy

MX: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com Mail server at 192.178.213.27 → PTR Record Reverse DNS: yugrqzs-in-f27.1e100.net

Mail Server Identity: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com

PTR record proves mail server legitimacy

MX: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com Mail server at 142.251.127.27 → PTR Record Reverse DNS: lcfrai-in-f27.1e100.net

Mail Server Reputation: aspmx.l.google.com