Debugging DNS Resolution and Understanding Hosting Mismatch
👉 Topic: DNS + infrastructure debugging (your real website work)
🎯 Goal
Understand why a domain was not resolving correctly and learn how DNS interacts with hosting services.
🔄 Context Switch
Shifted from Git workflow issues to network-level troubleshooting, focusing on DNS and website configuration.
🛠 What I Did
While working on a website, I encountered an error:
"Domain does not resolve to the GitHub Pages server"
I used:
dig cucurbitacee.com
and discovered that DNS records were pointing elsewhere (likely another service like Lovable).
🔗 Key Cybersecurity Connections
DNS misconfigurations can lead to:
- service outages
- domain hijacking risks
- phishing infrastructure opportunities
🔍 Investigation Questions
- Where does the domain currently resolve?
- Are DNS records aligned with hosting provider?
- Is traffic being misrouted?
🚨 Detection Opportunities
- monitor DNS record changes
- detect unexpected IP resolution
- alert on anomalies in domain behavior
🧭 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
- T1565 — Data Manipulation
- T1584 — Compromise Infrastructure
⚠ Challenges
Understanding that:
- DNS configuration must match hosting setup
- multiple services (GitHub Pages vs Lovable) can conflict
📚 What I Learned
- DNS is the source of truth for domain routing
- incorrect A records break site availability
- verification must be done with tools like
dig
➡ Next Steps
- explore DNSSEC
- understand domain security best practices
🧠 Reflection
Infrastructure issues are often subtle but critical.
Small misconfigurations can completely break services.
🧩 Lessons Learned
What worked
Using real network tools to validate configuration.
What broke
Mismatch between DNS and hosting.
Why it broke
Multiple services were involved.
Fix / takeaway
Always validate infrastructure from the network perspective.
📈 Skill Progression Context
This strengthens networking fundamentals essential for SOC investigations and infrastructure security.