DMARC in a nutshell
It is important to note that DMARC errors do not always indicate malicious activity. It is also possible for legitimate emails to be incorrectly flagged as DMARC errors, due to configuration errors or technical issues. A thorough review and analysis can help identify and resolve potential causes of DMARC errors.
DMARC validation uses the results of SPF checking, DKIM validation, and matching of the addresses in the envelope-from and header-from of the email (SPF matching) and the domains in the header-from and DKIM signature (DKIM matching) to determine how to proceed with the email.
Checking the email headers
- Open the Control Panel
- Search for the affected email in Email Live Tracking
- Select the email and display the header under Info:
- In the first lines of our view, you can find the results of the analysis. (Authentication Results:)
Use our DMARC decision matrix to determine how to handle each outcome.
| SPF-check | DKIM-validation | SPF-allignment | DKIM-allignment | DMARC-result | Action |
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Zustellen |
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | Zustellen |
| Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | Pass | Zustellen |
| Pass | Pass | Fail | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Pass | Fail | Pass | Pass | Pass | Zustellen |
| Pass | Fail | Pass | Fail | Pass | Zustellen |
| Pass | Fail | Fail | Pass | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Pass | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Zustellen |
| Fail | Pass | Pass | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Pass | Fail | Pass | Pass | Zustellen |
| Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Fail | Pass | Pass | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Fail | Fail | Pass | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
| Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | Als Spam in Quarantäne speichern oder ablehnen |
For a positive DMARC result, both the SPF check or DKIM validation and the corresponding matching (SPF matching or DKIM matching) must be successful. If the DMARC result is positive, the email is delivered. Otherwise, depending on the settings in the Email Authentication module in the Control Panel, the email is either saved as spam in the quarantine or rejected.