# Bulk Domain Security Audit – SSL/TLS, DNS, SPF & DMARC (`obligate_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit`) Actor

Audit the security posture of hundreds of domains in a single run. For every domain you get one clear report covering the SSL/TLS certificate, TLS protocol versions, SPF, DMARC, DKIM, MX, CAA and DNS records, with a 0–100 score, an A–F grade and ready-to-apply recommendations.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/obligate\_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit.md
- **Developed by:** [Yoann TUQUET](https://apify.com/obligate_castle) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 domain auditeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Bulk Domain Security Audit – SSL/TLS, DNS, SPF & DMARC

Audit the security posture of hundreds of domains in a single run. For every domain you get **one clear report** covering the **SSL/TLS certificate**, TLS protocol versions, **SPF**, **DMARC**, DKIM, MX, CAA and DNS records, with a **0–100 score**, an **A–F grade** and **ready-to-apply recommendations**.

Everything is measured directly over the TLS and DNS protocols (a real TLS handshake and real DNS queries). No scraping, no third-party API, no login, no personal data.

### Why use it

- ✅ **One row per domain**: certificate, TLS and email-authentication checks in the same report, instead of juggling five different tools.
- ✅ **Actionable**: every issue comes with a concrete fix (for example "Publish \_dmarc TXT v=DMARC1; p=quarantine…").
- ✅ **Built for lists**: paste 10 or 10,000 domains or URLs. Duplicates are removed, and invalid entries are skipped and never billed.
- ✅ **Lightweight and polite**: at most 2 requests per second to any given domain, comparable to a browser visit.
- ✅ **Pay only for results**: one charge per audited domain, nothing for failed or invalid inputs.

### Use cases

1. **Agencies and MSPs**: audit every client domain each month and catch expiring certificates, missing DMARC or permissive SPF before they cause an outage or a spoofing incident.
2. **Security and compliance teams**: inventory the domains you own (or your suppliers' domains) and track TLS and email-authentication hygiene over time.
3. **Email deliverability**: check SPF, DMARC and DKIM before a campaign, since Gmail and Yahoo now require authenticated senders.
4. **Sales and due diligence**: screen a list of prospects or acquisition targets and rank them by security score.

### How to use it

1. Click **Try for free**, paste your domains (or full URLs) into **Domains**.
2. Optionally add the **DKIM selectors** used by your mail providers (for example `google`, `selector1`, `selector2`).
3. Click **Start**. When the run finishes, export the results as **JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML**, or fetch them through the Apify API.

Tip: create a **Schedule** to re-run the audit every week or month and get alerted when a score drops.

### What is checked

| Area | Details |
|---|---|
| TLS certificate | Validity dates, days remaining, expiry, issuer, SANs, hostname match, trust chain, self-signed, key type and size, chain length, SHA-256 fingerprint |
| TLS protocols | Negotiated protocol and cipher, acceptance of deprecated TLS 1.0 and 1.1 |
| SPF | Record, `all` policy (strict, soft, neutral, open), recursive DNS lookup count against the RFC 7208 limit of 10, duplicate records |
| DMARC | Policy (`p`, `sp`), `pct`, presence of aggregate and forensic report addresses (the addresses themselves are never returned) |
| DKIM | Active keys for the selectors you supply (revoked keys with an empty `p=` are ignored) |
| DNS | A, AAAA, NS, MX (null MX handled), CAA |

### Score and grade

Each domain starts at 100 points; every issue removes points according to its severity (for example an expired certificate, missing DMARC on a domain that receives mail, or TLS 1.0 still enabled).

| Grade | Score |
|---|---|
| A | 90–100 |
| B | 75–89 |
| C | 60–74 |
| D | 40–59 |
| F | 0–39 |

Email checks are weighted by context: a missing SPF or DMARC record costs more on a domain that has MX records (it receives mail) than on a domain that does not.

### Input

```json
{
  "items": ["example.com", "github.com", "https://expired.badssl.com/"],
  "port": 443,
  "timeoutSecs": 8,
  "dkimSelectors": ["default", "google", "selector1", "selector2"]
}
```

| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| `items` | Domains or URLs (only the hostname is used) | required |
| `port` | Port used for the TLS handshake | `443` |
| `timeoutSecs` | Network timeout per TLS connection and DNS lookup | `8` |
| `dkimSelectors` | DKIM selectors to look for; leave empty to skip DKIM | `[]` |

### Output

One dataset item per domain (abridged):

```json
{
  "target": "expired.badssl.com",
  "domain": "expired.badssl.com",
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-18T10:00:00.000Z",
  "score": 47,
  "grade": "D",
  "tls": {
    "reachable": true,
    "protocol": "TLSv1.2",
    "trusted": false,
    "trustError": "CERT_HAS_EXPIRED",
    "hostnameMatches": true,
    "issuer": "COMODO CA Limited",
    "validTo": "2015-04-12T23:59:59.000Z",
    "daysRemaining": -4178,
    "expired": true,
    "keyType": "rsa",
    "keyBits": 2048,
    "chainLength": 2,
    "legacyProtocols": ["TLSv1", "TLSv1.1"]
  },
  "dns": {
    "a": ["104.154.89.105"],
    "mx": [],
    "caa": [],
    "dkimSelectorsFound": [],
    "spf": { "present": false, "policy": "none" },
    "dmarc": { "present": false }
  },
  "issues": [
    "Certificate expired",
    "Deprecated protocols accepted: TLSv1, TLSv1.1",
    "No SPF record",
    "No DMARC record"
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    "Renew the certificate immediately.",
    "Disable TLS 1.0 and 1.1 (RFC 8996).",
    "Publish a TXT record \"v=spf1 ... -all\".",
    "Publish _dmarc TXT \"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=...\" then move to p=reject."
  ]
}
```

`issues` and `recommendations` are aligned: the recommendation at index *n* fixes the issue at index *n*.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.004 per audited domain**, which is **$4 per 1,000 domains**. Invalid and duplicate entries are not charged. You can cap your spending with the maximum charge setting of each run.

### Integrations

- **API**: start runs and download results from any language with the Apify API or clients.
- **Schedules and webhooks**: run the audit periodically and trigger a webhook when it finishes.
- **Make, Zapier, n8n**: send results to Google Sheets, Slack or your ticketing tool.
- **AI agents**: callable as a tool through the Apify MCP server.

### FAQ

**Is this intrusive or legal to run on third-party domains?**
The Actor only performs what any visitor does: a TLS handshake on the public port and public DNS lookups. It does not scan ports, test vulnerabilities or send email. Still, only audit domains you own or have a legitimate reason to assess.

**Why is DKIM "not found" for my domain?**
DKIM keys live under a selector chosen by your mail provider and cannot be listed from DNS. Add your selectors in **DKIM selectors** (for example `google` for Google Workspace, `selector1` and `selector2` for Microsoft 365).

**What happens if a domain does not answer?**
The report is still produced, with `tls.reachable: false` and the error message, and the score reflects it.

**How fast is it?**
Several domains are audited in parallel; a typical domain takes a few seconds, depending on its DNS and TLS response times.

### Limitations

- Only the port you specify is tested (443 by default); other services (SMTP, IMAP) are not audited.
- Detection of TLS 1.0 and 1.1 depends on the TLS library of the runtime and is best effort.
- DKIM can only be verified for the selectors you provide.

# Actor input Schema

## `items` (type: `array`):

Domains to audit (e.g. example.com). URLs are accepted, only the hostname is used. One result is billed per domain.

## `port` (type: `integer`):

Port used for the TLS handshake.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Network timeout applied to each TLS connection and DNS lookup.

## `dkimSelectors` (type: `array`):

DKIM selectors to look for (\_domainkey). Leave empty to skip DKIM detection.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "items": [
    "example.com",
    "github.com",
    "expired.badssl.com"
  ],
  "port": 443,
  "timeoutSecs": 8,
  "dkimSelectors": [
    "default",
    "google",
    "selector1",
    "selector2"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Score, grade, certificate expiry and issues for each domain.

## `results` (type: `string`):

Complete report per domain, including all TLS and DNS details.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "items": [
        "example.com",
        "github.com",
        "expired.badssl.com"
    ],
    "dkimSelectors": [
        "default",
        "google",
        "selector1",
        "selector2"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("obligate_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "items": [
        "example.com",
        "github.com",
        "expired.badssl.com",
    ],
    "dkimSelectors": [
        "default",
        "google",
        "selector1",
        "selector2",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("obligate_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "items": [
    "example.com",
    "github.com",
    "expired.badssl.com"
  ],
  "dkimSelectors": [
    "default",
    "google",
    "selector1",
    "selector2"
  ]
}' |
apify call obligate_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,obligate_castle/bulk-domain-security-audit"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ykyGobtt3M1dgzQc2/builds/Ggmwwsae2g01vdGEe/openapi.json