DNS Proxy Bypass for Zero-Trust Agents

Problem Context

DevOps and security teams run Node.js agents (like OpenClaw) in zero-trust sandboxes to call external APIs. The agent’s built-in SSRF-Guard blocks all local DNS requests, but the sandbox also blocks egress DNS, creating a deadlock. The agent crashes before reaching the proxy, breaking critical workflows like API calls or data syncs.

Pain Points

Teams try manual workarounds like editing /etc/hosts, but Undici ignores these changes. Disabling SSRF-Guard is unsupported and risky. Vendor patches (e.g., NVIDIA) take months, leaving agents down. Each crash wastes hours of debugging and causes lost revenue from broken API dependencies.

Impact

Downtime from crashes directly impacts revenue (e.g., missed API calls = failed transactions). Security teams face compliance risks if agents can’t verify external endpoints. DevOps teams waste time manually restarting agents or waiting for vendor fixes, diverting resources from other critical tasks.

Urgency

This is a blocking issue—agents crash before any work is done, stopping revenue-generating processes. Teams can’t wait for vendor patches and need a immediate, supported fix. The problem repeats daily/weekly in production, making it a top priority for stability.

Target Audience

DevOps/SRE engineers in zero-trust environments, security teams using OpenClaw/NemoClaw, and Node.js/Undici users in restricted networks (e.g., finance, healthcare, cloud providers). Any team running agents behind strict DNS-blocking firewalls will face this.

Solution Approach

A lightweight tool that intercepts Undici’s DNS requests before SSRF-Guard blocks them. It forces direct proxy resolution by injecting a temporary DNS override for the target domain, bypassing the sandbox’s restrictions. The tool works without admin rights (browser extension + config file) and auto-recoveres if the agent crashes.

Key Features

1. *Proxy Forcing:- Injects a temporary IP override for the target domain (e.g., api.search.brave.com) to route traffic through the proxy.
2. *Auto-Recovery:- Monitors agent health and retries failed connections with fallback IPs.
3. Zero-Touch Setup: Installs via browser extension + config file—no admin rights or OS changes needed.

User Experience

Users install the browser extension, add their proxy config to a simple JSON file, and restart the agent. The tool runs silently in the background, ensuring DNS requests bypass the sandbox. If the agent crashes, it auto-recoveres without manual intervention. Teams get a dashboard to monitor bypass status and connection retries.

Differentiation

No existing tool solves this exact problem. Vendor patches are slow/nonexistent, and manual workarounds (e.g., disabling SSRF-Guard) are unsupported. This tool is the only supported, low-code solution that works within zero-trust constraints without requiring admin access or OS modifications.

Scalability

Starts with a freemium model (free for 1 domain; $49/mo for unlimited). Enterprise plans ($99/mo/seat) add team monitoring, SLAs, and support. Expand by adding support for other proxies (e.g., Squid, Nginx) as add-ons (+$20/mo each). Grow with the user’s team size via seat-based pricing.

Expected Impact

Eliminates agent crashes, restoring uptime for revenue-critical API calls. Reduces debugging time from hours to minutes. Security teams regain compliance by ensuring agents verify external endpoints. DevOps teams save time and focus on higher-value work instead of manual restarts.