sqlmapproject/sqlmap · error · SqlmapGenericException

there was an error while setting up DNS server instance ('%s

Error message

there was an error while setting up DNS server instance ('%s')

What it means

Error "there was an error while setting up DNS server instance ('%s')" thrown in sqlmapproject/sqlmap.

Source

Thrown at lib/core/option.py:2669

            raise SqlmapGenericException(errMsg)

        infoMsg = "using interactsh DNS collector (exfiltration domain '%s')" % conf.dnsDomain
        logger.info(infoMsg)
        return

    infoMsg = "setting up DNS server instance"
    logger.info(infoMsg)

    isAdmin = runningAsAdmin()

    if isAdmin:
        try:
            conf.dnsServer = DNSServer()
            conf.dnsServer.run()
        except socket.error as ex:
            errMsg = "there was an error while setting up "
            errMsg += "DNS server instance ('%s')" % getSafeExString(ex)
            raise SqlmapGenericException(errMsg)
    else:
        errMsg = "you need to run sqlmap as an administrator "
        errMsg += "if you want to perform a DNS data exfiltration attack "
        errMsg += "as it will need to listen on privileged UDP port 53 "
        errMsg += "for incoming address resolution attempts"
        raise SqlmapMissingPrivileges(errMsg)

def _setProxyList():
    if not conf.proxyFile:
        return

    conf.proxyList = []
    # Note: preserve an explicit scheme and any 'user:pass@' credentials (entries use the same format
    # as --proxy); otherwise a SOCKS proxy is silently downgraded to HTTP and proxy auth is dropped
    for match in re.finditer(r"(?i)((http[^:\s]*|socks[^:\s]*)://)?(?:([^:@\s/]+:[^@\s/]*)@)?([\w\-.]+):(\d+)", readCachedFileContent(conf.proxyFile)):
        _, type_, cred, address, port = match.groups()
        conf.proxyList.append("%s://%s%s:%s" % (type_ or "http", ("%s@" % cred) if cred else "", address, port))

View on GitHub (pinned to 0a35b20e39)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/core/option.py:2669 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of sqlmapproject/sqlmap@0a35b20e39 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7b548cc6e3061211. Report an issue: GitHub.