Diana performed a command during a pentest that indicates a DNS zone transfer. What does this indicate?

Diana performed a command during a pentest that indicates a DNS zone transfer. What does this indicate?

• A. DNS zone transfer
• B. DNS query
• C. This is a DNS zone transfer
• D. DNS cache probe

Answer: (C)

A DNS zone transfer is when a DNS server copies the entire zone data (all records) to another server, typically for replication to a secondary server. In a pentest, spotting a command or traffic that targets a zone transfer means the tester is attempting to pull the full set of DNS records for the domain, which can reveal many hostnames and IP mappings. The best interpretation of the observed activity is that this is a DNS zone transfer — it directly identifies the event that the command signals. It’s not just a single record lookup (DNS query) or a check of cached records (DNS cache probe), which are different, more limited actions.

A DNS zone transfer is when a DNS server copies the entire zone data (all records) to another server, typically for replication to a secondary server. In a pentest, spotting a command or traffic that targets a zone transfer means the tester is attempting to pull the full set of DNS records for the domain, which can reveal many hostnames and IP mappings.

The best interpretation of the observed activity is that this is a DNS zone transfer — it directly identifies the event that the command signals. It’s not just a single record lookup (DNS query) or a check of cached records (DNS cache probe), which are different, more limited actions.