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DNS leak test showing USA cloudflare addresses instead of local NextDNS?

Hi there, I have been using the service for about a week now and have been enjoying the local fast queries and speeds. When I first got my service up and running I had 2 local dns servers powered by nextdns. Now when I am testing for dns leaks I am seeing entries for Cloudflare addresses back to USA - 172.70.37.108

Being in Aus this creates a noticable difference going from <10ms to ~330ms ping response times. Is this a cause of a setting ticked under the performance section in the settings? Again just seeking some clarity about what is causing this. Thanks.

Edit: I have just performed another leak test, no neither NextDNS servers are showing and am getting multiple Cloudflare addresses. I run a PiHole setup and force all traffic through it using the 2x servers provided under my https://my.nextdns.io/ page.

119 replies

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    • Chris.6
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    And for https://cmdns.dev.dns-oarc.net, I get a C result (while getting an A without NextDNS enabled).

      • Mike_Brust
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Chris Also I got a C rating with NextDNS, if I use Quad9 directly I get an A.

      I am almost certain in earlier days the NextDNS rating was better

      Safari & Chrome on latest MacOS

      • NextDNs
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Mike Brust it’s because of the way our ultra low latency solution work. Try with anycast.dns.nextdns.io ans you’ll get an A. This rating is meaningless anyway.

      • Mike_Brust
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      NextDNS thank you

      • Pro subscriber ✓
      • DynamicNotSlow
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      NextDNS doesn't help for me in Edge.

      (i clear OS & Browser DNS cache)

    • Chris.6
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    On https://browserleaks.com/dns I sometimes also get Google DNS results in addition to the NextDNS one. The example below was with the NextDNS profile running, so it's not just the app I'm seeing this with. Reloading that page 20-30 times will usually trigger it.

    • Chris.6
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    And I can now also see it on https://www.dnsleaktest.com.

    • Chris.6
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    https://ipx.ac/run now also shows those DNS leaks.

    • benot
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    example nextdns leaking to another resolver did not happen with quad9

    nextdns leaking to cloudflare https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ao_cI16Qge_xa3J2wGVU4q-EEj4

    quad9 no leaking https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ao_cI16Qge_xbLJM4djQP7oyM20

    • Kummas
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    @Nextdns is there anyone from nextdns looking into this DNs leak issue ? I have similar issues posted in another thread-

    https://help.nextdns.io/t/m1h16c3/block-public-dns-like-google-and-other-malware-dns

    • Shadow_Colossus
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I have a theory and I would like to ask everyone what are the main browsers you guys use, I for example use Brave and I noticed that several who are having DNS Leak are doing it for Brave and by the looks of it, Brave, well, it contacts Cloudflare and Google servers from time to time, which may be the cause of the mega leak we're noticing:

    If you’re on Linux curl the static1 link. curl --head static1.brave.com, if you want proof of even further telemetry: it lists cloudfare and google, two unnecessary domains, but most importantly telemetry domains.

    Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/privacytoolsIO/comments/nvz9tl/brave_is_not_private/

    I'm asking this, because I decided to change to another DNS provider (ControlD) and the leak hasn't stopped, like, it's gone down, there are no more dozens of servers, at most, only three (All from Cloudflare), but it still goes on, so I decided it would be good to ask which browser you are using and if the leak problem seems to be worse on some specifics than others, as those who seem to use Firefox aren't getting the same level of leaks as those who auditioned for Brave. So, I think it would be good to do this comparison, as it might not be a NextDNS problem, but a browser issue (Since at least for me, I'm testing another Provider and the problem hasn't stopped, but the leak has decreased a lot).

      • Chris.6
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Shadow Colossus I only ever use Safari and Firefox (on macOS Big Sur) and the tests I posted above were all done with those two browsers, so I don't think it's specific to Brave/Chromium.

      • Shadow_Colossus
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Chris I didn't say specific, I said that on some browsers the leak seems to be worse than on others. For example, from what I've seen, the leak looks worse in Brave than in Firefox, but there's still a leak, you know? so my theory is that something is happening inside browsers that is causing DNS leaks. Or it could be a problem that is affecting these two providers in particular for some reason, I just know that before using ControlD, I was using NextDNS through YogaDNS in the recommended documentation settings and there was a huge leak to Google and Cloudflare, so, I thought Brave can be worse because they contact the servers of these two constantly differently from other browsers. But well, as I said, it's a theory, nothing concrete.

      • Chris.6
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Shadow Colossus I can say that I have not seen any differences between Firefox and Safari and get between 3 and 87 additional DNS servers listed, usually from Cloudflare and Google, tested on 3-4 different sites listed above.  

      • Kummas
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Shadow Colossus  I have a python code that runs on time to time, the leaks do appear and I have it configured as per the nextdns documentation in my router.

      • Shadow_Colossus
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Kummas 

      So I throw my theory in the trash. I honestly have no idea what else it might be. Has anyone here thought of trying to post about these leak issues on privacytoolsIO? Because of what kind, in the situation we're finding ourselves in, the only reason we know these leaks are happening is because people here do periodic DNS leak tests from what I understand, imagine how many people who might be going through that and don't know because they don't do the dns leak tests periodically?

      Honestly, I don't use NextDNS for privacy, but for security, but there are people who use NextDNS together with VPN and I think NextDNS is very wrong to know of a problem involving massive leak for more than a month without giving any official statement at least warning people who use their service along with VPN about the huge leak that is happening for them to take appropriate action until the problem is fixed. So, I'm actually going to wait a few more days before deciding whether or not I should post about it on Reddit myself, because honestly, it certainly shouldn't be an issue on our side considering that every day a new person appears with the same problem.

      • Pro subscriber ✓
      • DynamicNotSlow
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Shadow Colossus Edge on Windows, Safari on iOS: no leaks

      • Rounak_Kabir
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Shadow Colossus And interestingly it doesn't happen with some other ones like Quad9, BlahDNS, Cloudfare, CZ.NIC or AdGuard DNS. This easily outweighs the similarities you found between NextDNS and ControlID.

      I'd really like to see if someone with a paid plan faces this. I don't suspect anything fishy but I want to be absolutely sure that this problem has hit many indefinitely.

      And it's really sad to see NextDNS sit quietly on this issue for so long. Just like you said they could've issued a public warning or at least communicated that they're looking into this issue. 

      • Chris.6
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Rownan I've been using the paid plan since day 1 and have this issue. 

      • Shadow_Colossus
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Rownan You know, the worst thing about what's going on is that they've been accused of a leak issue before involving Email and it took a guy to post on Privacy's Reddit for NextDNS to publicly speak about the possible issue : https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/jswghu/nextdns_is_leaking_your_email_address_to/ - They already have a history involving this type of issue, which makes the situation even worse, as you would expect they would have learned the first time something like this rebounded and got really bad for them that they didn't talk or respond on the subject until it reached a level they could no longer ignore. Honestly, the way it's going, I believe it's a matter of time before someone decides to do the same thing this guy did to try to get NextDNS to inform their users about it if they continue to be silent. Thank you for your contribution.

    • SLCW
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view
    Myth0ne said:
    So for your paid service is it just the logging and blocking functionalities for infinite queries that are enabled?

    Yeah. The paid plan gives you unlimited full-service queries. For $2/mo, it's one of the better deals on the internet.

    • Rounak_Kabir
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Same here, I tried using all DNS providers known to me from BlahDNS to Google and in all usual configurations. Tested on multiple websites.

    None of them leaked except for NextDNS. Another interesting point to note is that after testing with other DNS providers when I switch to NextDNS, some of servers from the previous tests show up on https://browserleaks.com/dns , such as WoodyNet of Quad9 or Cloudfare, Ashburn (which is very frequent in the results) . However, this is not true for other providers, when switched to say BlahDNS I only see the servers that I saw previous month.

    I'll be adding pictures once I redo the tests later since I forgot to take some screenshots.

    However, something is wrong NextDNS's side for sure. It maybe a bug given how frequent it is with other users as well.

    • Kummas
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Here are my DNS leaks -

     [United States of America, AS701 MCI Communications Services Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business]

    You use 20 DNS servers:
    2a00:1450:400c:c08::110
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c0d::101
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a0b:4342:1a32:f:5054:ff:fe48:d17f
     [United States of America, AS35487 Misaka Network Inc.]
    2a00:1450:400c:c00::104
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c0d::107
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c08::105
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c00::107
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c01::108
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c1b::105
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c00::105
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c0a::107
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c1b::10c
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    2a00:1450:400c:c0a::109
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.47.11
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.47.130
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.47.155
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.73.70
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.73.77
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    74.125.73.82
     [Belgium, AS15169 Google LLC]
    199.119.65.94
     [United States of America, AS57695 Misaka Network Inc.]

      • NextDNs
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Kummas what is your platform? How is nextdns setup? Are you using a VPN? 

      • Kummas
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      NextDNS OpenWRT router with Dnsmasq . The leaks are determined through the crontab python script that hits an API from bash.ws. Like I said on the other posts, the leak happens on time to time. There are instances that my home network was compromised with the ring alarm by hijacking nextdns by blocking “ring.solutions”. The workaround was just adding ring.solutions to the allow list.

      • Kummas
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      NextDNS Forgot to mention, no VPN used.

Content aside

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