Delete the CNAME that points at a name that does not exist

Why it matters

A CNAME in your zone points at a name that does not resolve, so the subdomain is broken and the record is clutter. If the target later becomes available to someone else, it can also turn into a takeover risk.

The fix

1. Find the CNAME in the zone, using the name from the finding, and decide whether the subdomain is still wanted.
2. If not, delete the record. If it is, point it at the correct current target.
3. Check for references to the subdomain in your site, email links and monitoring, and update them.
4. Review the zone for other records that point at names that no longer exist.

# replace sub with the subdomain named in the finding
dig CNAME sub.example.com +short
dig sub.example.com

The examples use example.com. Replace it with your own domain.

Read the documentation ↗(opens in a new tab)

Related

• Reported by the Dangling CNAMEs check
• Delete the CNAME that points at an unregistered domain
• Remove or reclaim the CNAME to a deprovisioned service
• Move the CNAME to an internal name out of public DNS
• Fix the wildcard CNAME that points at a missing name