diff --git a/client/internal/dns/handler_chain.go b/client/internal/dns/handler_chain.go
index dc20146eb..c4b8ff938 100644
--- a/client/internal/dns/handler_chain.go
+++ b/client/internal/dns/handler_chain.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package dns
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"math"
 	"net"
 	"slices"
@@ -31,6 +32,26 @@ type SubdomainMatcher interface {
 	MatchSubdomains() bool
 }
 
+// responseMeta holds the annotations handlers attach to a request to explain the
+// response the chain ends up writing. It survives a deferral, so an answer that
+// did not come from the handler that owns the name still says who stepped aside
+// and why.
+type responseMeta map[resutil.MetaKey]string
+
+// format renders the annotations for the response log line. The order is stable
+// so the same event reads the same way every time; a map's own order is not.
+func (m responseMeta) format() string {
+	if len(m) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for _, k := range slices.Sorted(maps.Keys(m)) {
+		b.WriteString(" " + string(k) + "=" + m[k])
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}
+
 type HandlerEntry struct {
 	Handler         dns.Handler
 	Priority        int
@@ -52,8 +73,19 @@ type ResponseWriterChain struct {
 	origPattern    string
 	requestID      string
 	shouldContinue bool
-	response       *dns.Msg
-	meta           map[string]string
+	// softNegative suppresses a poisoning negative verdict for this request. A
+	// handler that owns the name but cannot answer this query type sets it
+	// before deferring, and it stays set for every handler that runs after.
+	softNegative bool
+	// clientHasEdns records whether the original query advertised EDNS0, taken
+	// before any handler ran: handlers add EDNS0 to the query they forward
+	// upstream, so the message itself no longer answers the question later.
+	clientHasEdns bool
+	response      *dns.Msg
+	// meta is handed to the next handler when this one defers, so the same map
+	// outlives the writer that created it. Handlers must only set metadata from
+	// within ServeDNS, never from a goroutine that outlives the call.
+	meta responseMeta
 }
 
 // RequestID returns the request ID for tracing
@@ -62,26 +94,64 @@ func (w *ResponseWriterChain) RequestID() string {
 }
 
 // SetMeta sets a metadata key-value pair for logging
-func (w *ResponseWriterChain) SetMeta(key, value string) {
+func (w *ResponseWriterChain) SetMeta(key resutil.MetaKey, value string) {
 	if w.meta == nil {
-		w.meta = make(map[string]string)
+		w.meta = make(responseMeta)
 	}
 	w.meta[key] = value
 }
 
+// RequestSoftNegative marks the request so a downstream NXDOMAIN is turned into
+// NODATA before it reaches the client. Set by a handler that defers a query for
+// a name it owns but a type it cannot resolve.
+func (w *ResponseWriterChain) RequestSoftNegative() {
+	w.softNegative = true
+}
+
 func (w *ResponseWriterChain) WriteMsg(m *dns.Msg) error {
 	// Check if this is a continue signal (NXDOMAIN with Zero bit set)
 	if m.Rcode == dns.RcodeNameError && m.MsgHdr.Zero {
 		w.shouldContinue = true
 		return nil
 	}
+	if w.softNegative && m.Rcode == dns.RcodeNameError {
+		m = softenNegative(m, w.clientHasEdns)
+		w.SetMeta(resutil.MetaKeySoftened, "nxdomain->nodata")
+	}
 	w.response = m
 	if m.MsgHdr.Truncated {
-		w.SetMeta("truncated", "true")
+		w.SetMeta(resutil.MetaKeyTruncated, "true")
 	}
 	return w.ResponseWriter.WriteMsg(m)
 }
 
+// softenNegative downgrades an NXDOMAIN to NODATA for a request a handler that
+// owns the name deferred. NXDOMAIN is cached for the name and every type below
+// it, so a resolver that has never heard of a routed name would take out the
+// record types the route does serve; NODATA is cached for this name and type
+// only. The authority section goes with it: the negative TTL of a zone we just
+// overruled does not apply, and RFC 2308 keeps a negative answer that carries no
+// SOA out of caches altogether, so the rewrite cannot outlive the route.
+//
+// The rewrite is ours, not the answering resolver's, so an EDNS0 client is told
+// as much: the reply we hand back travels a path no capture on this host sees,
+// and an empty answer is otherwise indistinguishable from a real one. Returns a
+// copy so the answering handler keeps whatever it may hold on to.
+func softenNegative(m *dns.Msg, clientHasEdns bool) *dns.Msg {
+	out := m.Copy()
+	out.Rcode = dns.RcodeSuccess
+	out.Ns = nil
+
+	if clientHasEdns {
+		resutil.AttachEDE(out, resutil.EDENetbirdSoftenedNegative,
+			"netbird: name is served locally, NXDOMAIN from the fallthrough resolver suppressed")
+	} else {
+		resutil.StripOPT(out)
+	}
+
+	return out
+}
+
 func NewHandlerChain() *HandlerChain {
 	return &HandlerChain{
 		handlers: make([]HandlerEntry, 0),
@@ -223,6 +293,19 @@ func (c *HandlerChain) dispatch(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg, maxPriority in
 	handlers := slices.Clone(c.handlers)
 	c.mu.RUnlock()
 
+	// Carried across deferrals: once a handler that owns the name defers, no
+	// handler after it may answer with a verdict that poisons the name. The
+	// metadata of a handler that stepped aside is carried too, so the response
+	// log line explains an answer that did not come from the handler that owns
+	// the name.
+	var softNegative bool
+	var carried responseMeta
+
+	// Taken before any handler runs: handlers advertise EDNS0 on the query they
+	// forward upstream, so afterwards the message no longer tells us whether the
+	// client did.
+	clientHasEdns := r.IsEdns0() != nil
+
 	// Try handlers in priority order
 	for _, entry := range handlers {
 		if entry.Priority > maxPriority {
@@ -245,11 +328,16 @@ func (c *HandlerChain) dispatch(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg, maxPriority in
 			ResponseWriter: w,
 			origPattern:    entry.OrigPattern,
 			requestID:      requestID,
+			softNegative:   softNegative,
+			clientHasEdns:  clientHasEdns,
+			meta:           carried,
 		}
 		entry.Handler.ServeDNS(chainWriter, r)
 
 		// If handler wants to continue, try next handler
 		if chainWriter.shouldContinue {
+			softNegative = softNegative || chainWriter.softNegative
+			carried = chainWriter.meta
 			if entry.Priority != PriorityMgmtCache {
 				logger.Tracef("handler requested continue for domain=%s", qname)
 			}
@@ -265,30 +353,56 @@ func (c *HandlerChain) dispatch(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg, maxPriority in
 		qname, dns.TypeToString[question.Qtype], dns.ClassToString[question.Qclass])
 	resp := &dns.Msg{}
 	resp.SetRcode(r, dns.RcodeRefused)
+	// A handler that owns the name deferred and nothing below it could answer
+	// (a client with no primary nameserver group). The name exists as far as
+	// this client is concerned, since the route serves its addresses, so REFUSED
+	// would contradict the route: a stub that takes it as "not served here" and
+	// retries another resolver can come back with an NXDOMAIN that takes the
+	// whole name down. Answer "no records of this type" instead, without an SOA,
+	// so RFC 2308 keeps it out of negative caches, and tell an EDNS0 client the
+	// empty answer is ours rather than a resolver's.
+	if softNegative {
+		resp.Rcode = dns.RcodeSuccess
+		if clientHasEdns {
+			resutil.AttachEDE(resp, resutil.EDENetbirdSoftenedNegative,
+				"netbird: name is served locally, no fallthrough resolver for this query type")
+		}
+		logger.Tracef("no handler below the deferring one for domain=%s type=%s, answering NODATA",
+			qname, dns.TypeToString[question.Qtype])
+	}
 	if err := w.WriteMsg(resp); err != nil {
 		logger.Errorf("failed to write DNS response: %v", err)
 	}
 }
 
 func (c *HandlerChain) logResponse(logger *log.Entry, cw *ResponseWriterChain, qname string, startTime time.Time) {
+	// Runs for every query, and the arguments below are not free: Len() packs
+	// the message to measure it, and formatting the answers and the metadata
+	// allocates. None of it is worth doing when the line is discarded.
+	if !log.IsLevelEnabled(log.TraceLevel) {
+		return
+	}
+
 	if cw.response == nil {
 		return
 	}
 
-	var meta string
-	for k, v := range cw.meta {
-		meta += " " + k + "=" + v
-	}
-
 	logger.Tracef("response: domain=%s rcode=%s answers=%s size=%dB%s took=%s",
 		qname, dns.RcodeToString[cw.response.Rcode], resutil.FormatAnswers(cw.response.Answer),
-		cw.response.Len(), meta, time.Since(startTime))
+		cw.response.Len(), cw.meta.format(), time.Since(startTime))
 }
 
 // ResolveInternal runs an in-process DNS query against the chain, skipping any
 // handler with priority > maxPriority. Used by internal callers (e.g. the mgmt
-// cache refresher) that must bypass themselves to avoid loops. Honors ctx
-// cancellation; on ctx.Done the dispatch goroutine is left to drain on its own
+// cache refresher) that must bypass themselves to avoid loops.
+//
+// "Nothing answered" is read off RcodeRefused, which a request soft-negatived by
+// a deferring handler never carries: it ends in an empty NOERROR instead, and
+// would look resolved. No caller can reach that today, since every handler that
+// defers sits above the maxPriority any caller passes. Lowering one below it
+// means this check needs the soft-negative case too.
+//
+// Honors ctx cancellation; on ctx.Done the dispatch goroutine is left to drain on its own
 // (bounded by the invoked handler's internal timeout).
 func (c *HandlerChain) ResolveInternal(ctx context.Context, r *dns.Msg, maxPriority int) (*dns.Msg, error) {
 	if len(r.Question) == 0 {
diff --git a/client/internal/dns/handler_chain_test.go b/client/internal/dns/handler_chain_test.go
index b3db97ba3..7bb1d6d9b 100644
--- a/client/internal/dns/handler_chain_test.go
+++ b/client/internal/dns/handler_chain_test.go
@@ -3,15 +3,19 @@ package dns_test
 import (
 	"context"
 	"net"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/miekg/dns"
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	logtest "github.com/sirupsen/logrus/hooks/test"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/mock"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	nbdns "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns/resutil"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns/test"
 )
 
@@ -1238,6 +1242,274 @@ func TestHandlerChain_ResolveInternal_HonorsContextTimeout(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Less(t, elapsed, 500*time.Millisecond, "ResolveInternal must return shortly after ctx deadline")
 }
 
+// requestSoftNegative asks the chain to soften a negative verdict produced by
+// the handlers that run after the caller defers, reporting whether the chain
+// supports the signal. Written as a type assertion so these tests compile
+// against a chain that does not support it yet.
+func requestSoftNegative(w dns.ResponseWriter) bool {
+	sn, ok := w.(interface{ RequestSoftNegative() })
+	if ok {
+		sn.RequestSoftNegative()
+	}
+	return ok
+}
+
+// deferringHandler defers to the next handler in the chain, optionally asking
+// for the negative verdict of whatever answers instead to be softened. This is
+// what a DNS route handler does for a record type its routing peer cannot
+// resolve.
+type deferringHandler struct {
+	softNegative bool
+	called       bool
+	supported    bool
+}
+
+func (h *deferringHandler) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
+	h.called = true
+	if h.softNegative {
+		h.supported = requestSoftNegative(w)
+		// The real handler records why it stepped aside, for the response log
+		// line of whichever handler answers instead.
+		resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyDeferredBy, "test handler")
+	}
+	resp := new(dns.Msg)
+	resp.SetRcode(r, dns.RcodeNameError)
+	resp.MsgHdr.Zero = true
+	_ = w.WriteMsg(resp)
+}
+
+// nxdomainHandler answers an authoritative NXDOMAIN with an SOA in the
+// authority section, the way a public resolver answers for a name that only
+// exists inside the routed network.
+type nxdomainHandler struct{}
+
+func (h *nxdomainHandler) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
+	resp := new(dns.Msg)
+	resp.SetRcode(r, dns.RcodeNameError)
+	resp.Ns = []dns.RR{&dns.SOA{
+		Hdr:     dns.RR_Header{Name: "example.com.", Rrtype: dns.TypeSOA, Class: dns.ClassINET, Ttl: 3600},
+		Ns:      "ns1.example.com.",
+		Mbox:    "hostmaster.example.com.",
+		Minttl:  3600,
+		Expire:  604800,
+		Refresh: 7200,
+		Retry:   3600,
+	}}
+	_ = w.WriteMsg(resp)
+}
+
+// TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_DowngradesDownstreamNXDOMAIN is the whole point
+// of the soft-negative signal: a route handler may only defer a query to the
+// public chain if the answer cannot poison the routed name. NXDOMAIN is cached
+// for the name and every type under it (RFC 2308, RFC 8020), so it has to be
+// rewritten to NODATA, which is cached per name and type only.
+func TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_DowngradesDownstreamNXDOMAIN(t *testing.T) {
+	chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
+
+	route := &deferringHandler{softNegative: true}
+	chain.AddHandler("*.example.com.", route, nbdns.PriorityDNSRoute)
+	chain.AddHandler(".", &nxdomainHandler{}, nbdns.PriorityDefault)
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+	mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+	chain.ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+	resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+	require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must reach the client")
+	assert.True(t, route.called, "the route handler must run first")
+	require.True(t, route.supported, "the chain writer must accept a soft-negative request")
+	assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode, "NXDOMAIN must be softened to NODATA")
+	assert.Empty(t, resp.Answer, "a softened negative carries no answer")
+	assert.Empty(t, resp.Ns, "the downstream zone's SOA must not set the negative TTL for a name we overrode")
+}
+
+// responseLineFor returns the chain's response log line for one query. Raising
+// the level to trace also unmutes whatever else is logging in this package, so
+// the line has to be picked by the name it was asked about rather than by being
+// the last one seen.
+func responseLineFor(hook *logtest.Hook, qname string) string {
+	for _, e := range hook.AllEntries() {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(e.Message, "response:") && strings.Contains(e.Message, qname) {
+			return e.Message
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_IsVisibleToTheClient covers observability of the
+// rewrite. The reply we hand the application travels over loopback, which the
+// bundle capture does not see, so a softened verdict has to say so on the wire:
+// without it an empty answer is indistinguishable from a real "no such record"
+// in a dig output or a capture taken next to the application.
+func TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_IsVisibleToTheClient(t *testing.T) {
+	newChain := func() *nbdns.HandlerChain {
+		chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
+		chain.AddHandler("*.example.com.", &deferringHandler{softNegative: true}, nbdns.PriorityDNSRoute)
+		chain.AddHandler(".", &nxdomainHandler{}, nbdns.PriorityDefault)
+		return chain
+	}
+
+	t.Run("EDNS0 client gets an extended error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		r := new(dns.Msg)
+		r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+		r.SetEdns0(dns.DefaultMsgSize, false)
+
+		mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+		newChain().ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+		resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+		require.NotNil(t, resp)
+		require.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode)
+
+		ede, ok := resutil.ExtractEDE(resp)
+		require.True(t, ok, "a softened verdict must carry an extended DNS error")
+		assert.Equal(t, resutil.EDENetbirdSoftenedNegative, ede.InfoCode)
+		assert.Contains(t, ede.ExtraText, "netbird", "the text must name us as the source of the rewrite")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("plain client gets no OPT", func(t *testing.T) {
+		r := new(dns.Msg)
+		r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+		mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+		newChain().ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+		resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+		require.NotNil(t, resp)
+		assert.Nil(t, resp.IsEdns0(), "RFC 6891 forbids an OPT toward a client that did not advertise EDNS0")
+	})
+
+	// The response line is what support reads out of a debug bundle, and it now
+	// carries several annotations at once. Built from a map, their order would
+	// differ on every query, so the same event never looks the same twice.
+	t.Run("log fields keep a stable order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		const qname = "_mongodb._tcp.stable.example.com."
+
+		hook := logtest.NewGlobal()
+		t.Cleanup(hook.Reset)
+
+		prev := log.GetLevel()
+		log.SetLevel(log.TraceLevel)
+		t.Cleanup(func() { log.SetLevel(prev) })
+
+		lineFor := func() string {
+			hook.Reset()
+
+			r := new(dns.Msg)
+			r.SetQuestion(qname, dns.TypeSRV)
+
+			mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+			newChain().ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+			line := responseLineFor(hook, qname)
+			// The duration differs per query and is not what we compare.
+			line, _, _ = strings.Cut(line, " took=")
+			return line
+		}
+
+		first := lineFor()
+		require.NotEmpty(t, first, "the chain must log the response it wrote")
+		require.Contains(t, first, "deferred_by=", "the line must carry more than one annotation to be worth ordering")
+		require.Contains(t, first, "softened=")
+
+		for range 20 {
+			assert.Equal(t, first, lineFor(), "the same event must produce the same line")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("logged with the reason it was deferred", func(t *testing.T) {
+		const qname = "_mongodb._tcp.reason.example.com."
+
+		hook := logtest.NewGlobal()
+		t.Cleanup(hook.Reset)
+
+		prev := log.GetLevel()
+		log.SetLevel(log.TraceLevel)
+		t.Cleanup(func() { log.SetLevel(prev) })
+
+		r := new(dns.Msg)
+		r.SetQuestion(qname, dns.TypeSRV)
+
+		mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+		newChain().ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+		response := responseLineFor(hook, qname)
+		require.NotEmpty(t, response, "the chain must log the response it wrote")
+		assert.Contains(t, response, "softened=", "the log must show the verdict was rewritten")
+		assert.Contains(t, response, "deferred_by=", "the log must name the handler that deferred")
+	})
+}
+
+// TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_NoHandlerBelow covers a client with no primary
+// nameserver group: the deferred query reaches the end of the chain unanswered.
+// REFUSED would say the name is not served here while the route serves its
+// addresses, and a stub that acts on that by asking elsewhere can bring back an
+// NXDOMAIN for the whole name. The answer must be an empty, uncacheable NODATA.
+func TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_NoHandlerBelow(t *testing.T) {
+	chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
+
+	route := &deferringHandler{softNegative: true}
+	chain.AddHandler("*.example.com.", route, nbdns.PriorityDNSRoute)
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("db.example.com.", dns.TypeHTTPS)
+
+	mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+	chain.ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+	resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+	require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must reach the client")
+	assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode, "an unanswered soft-negative query must be NODATA, not REFUSED")
+	assert.Empty(t, resp.Answer)
+	assert.Empty(t, resp.Ns,
+		"no SOA, so RFC 2308 keeps the empty answer out of negative caches and it cannot outlive the route")
+}
+
+// TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_KeepsRealAnswers guards the other direction:
+// softening applies to negative verdicts only. A real answer from a downstream
+// handler must reach the client untouched.
+func TestHandlerChain_SoftNegative_KeepsRealAnswers(t *testing.T) {
+	chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
+
+	route := &deferringHandler{softNegative: true}
+	chain.AddHandler("*.example.com.", route, nbdns.PriorityDNSRoute)
+	chain.AddHandler(".", &answeringHandler{name: "public", ip: "203.0.113.10"}, nbdns.PriorityDefault)
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("db.example.com.", dns.TypeA)
+
+	mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+	chain.ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+	resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+	require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must reach the client")
+	assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode)
+	require.Len(t, resp.Answer, 1, "the downstream answer must pass through")
+}
+
+// TestHandlerChain_NXDOMAINPreservedWithoutSoftNegative makes sure the
+// softening is opt-in: an ordinary chain continuation still yields NXDOMAIN, so
+// genuine non-existence keeps being reported.
+func TestHandlerChain_NXDOMAINPreservedWithoutSoftNegative(t *testing.T) {
+	chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
+
+	route := &deferringHandler{}
+	chain.AddHandler("*.example.com.", route, nbdns.PriorityDNSRoute)
+	chain.AddHandler(".", &nxdomainHandler{}, nbdns.PriorityDefault)
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("nope.example.com.", dns.TypeA)
+
+	mw := &test.MockResponseWriter{}
+	chain.ServeDNS(&nbdns.ResponseWriterChain{ResponseWriter: mw}, r)
+
+	resp := mw.GetLastResponse()
+	require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must reach the client")
+	assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeNameError, resp.Rcode, "without the signal a real NXDOMAIN must survive")
+}
+
 func TestHandlerChain_HasRootHandlerAtOrBelow(t *testing.T) {
 	chain := nbdns.NewHandlerChain()
 	h := &answeringHandler{name: "h", ip: "10.0.0.1"}
diff --git a/client/internal/dns/resutil/resolve.go b/client/internal/dns/resutil/resolve.go
index 931938755..c58c460ac 100644
--- a/client/internal/dns/resutil/resolve.go
+++ b/client/internal/dns/resutil/resolve.go
@@ -19,6 +19,34 @@ import (
 // uses when a resolved host has no addresses of the requested family.
 const errNoSuitableAddress = "no suitable address found"
 
+// Extended DNS Error info codes NetBird emits so a client can see why an answer
+// looks the way it does without reading this peer's logs. They live in the RFC
+// 8914 Private Use range (49152-65535) and are registered here, in one place,
+// because nothing else guarantees two NetBird components pick distinct codes.
+const (
+	// EDENetbirdUpstreamTimeout: a DNS forwarder's upstream did not answer.
+	EDENetbirdUpstreamTimeout uint16 = 49152
+	// EDENetbirdUpstreamFailure: a DNS forwarder's upstream failed.
+	EDENetbirdUpstreamFailure uint16 = 49153
+	// EDENetbirdSoftenedNegative: the empty answer is ours, not the answering
+	// resolver's. A handler that owns the name deferred this query type, and the
+	// negative verdict that came back was downgraded so it cannot poison the
+	// name.
+	EDENetbirdSoftenedNegative uint16 = 49154
+)
+
+// AttachEDE adds an Extended DNS Error (RFC 8914) option to a message, creating
+// the OPT pseudo-record if it has none. Callers must only use it toward a client
+// that advertised EDNS0: per RFC 6891 an OPT must not appear otherwise.
+func AttachEDE(msg *dns.Msg, code uint16, text string) {
+	opt := msg.IsEdns0()
+	if opt == nil {
+		msg.SetEdns0(dns.DefaultMsgSize, false)
+		opt = msg.IsEdns0()
+	}
+	opt.Option = append(opt.Option, &dns.EDNS0_EDE{InfoCode: code, ExtraText: text})
+}
+
 // GenerateRequestID creates a random 8-character hex string for request tracing.
 func GenerateRequestID() string {
 	bytes := make([]byte, 4)
@@ -78,10 +106,38 @@ type resolver interface {
 	LookupNetIP(ctx context.Context, network, host string) ([]netip.Addr, error)
 }
 
+// MetaKey names an annotation a handler attaches to a request to explain the
+// response the chain ends up writing. The set is closed and rendered onto a
+// single log line, so an unrecognized key is a typo inventing a field rather
+// than a new fact.
+type MetaKey string
+
+const (
+	// MetaKeyProtocol: the transport a query arrived on.
+	MetaKeyProtocol MetaKey = "protocol"
+	// MetaKeyUpstream: the upstream that answered.
+	MetaKeyUpstream MetaKey = "upstream"
+	// MetaKeyUpstreamProtocol: the transport used toward that upstream.
+	MetaKeyUpstreamProtocol MetaKey = "upstream_protocol"
+	// MetaKeyPeer: the routing peer whose forwarder answered.
+	MetaKeyPeer MetaKey = "peer"
+	// MetaKeyEDE: an Extended DNS Error carried by the answer.
+	MetaKeyEDE MetaKey = "ede"
+	// MetaKeyTruncated: the answer did not fit and was truncated.
+	MetaKeyTruncated MetaKey = "truncated"
+	// MetaKeySoftened: a negative verdict was rewritten so it cannot poison a
+	// name served locally.
+	MetaKeySoftened MetaKey = "softened"
+	// MetaKeyDeferredBy: the handler that owned the name and stepped aside.
+	MetaKeyDeferredBy MetaKey = "deferred_by"
+	// MetaKeyDeferredReason: why it stepped aside.
+	MetaKeyDeferredReason MetaKey = "deferred_reason"
+)
+
 // chainedWriter is implemented by ResponseWriters that carry request metadata
 type chainedWriter interface {
 	RequestID() string
-	SetMeta(key, value string)
+	SetMeta(key MetaKey, value string)
 }
 
 // GetRequestID extracts a request ID from the ResponseWriter if available,
@@ -96,12 +152,30 @@ func GetRequestID(w dns.ResponseWriter) string {
 }
 
 // SetMeta sets metadata on the ResponseWriter if it supports it.
-func SetMeta(w dns.ResponseWriter, key, value string) {
+func SetMeta(w dns.ResponseWriter, key MetaKey, value string) {
 	if cw, ok := w.(chainedWriter); ok {
 		cw.SetMeta(key, value)
 	}
 }
 
+// softNegativeRequester is implemented by chain writers that can soften the
+// negative verdict of the handlers a deferring handler falls through to.
+type softNegativeRequester interface {
+	RequestSoftNegative()
+}
+
+// RequestSoftNegative asks the handler chain to downgrade an NXDOMAIN from the
+// handlers that run after the caller defers. A handler that owns a name but
+// cannot answer one query type for it needs this: the resolvers it falls
+// through to cannot prove the name absent, and an NXDOMAIN from them is cached
+// for the name and every type under it (RFC 2308, RFC 8020), taking the
+// addresses the handler does serve down with it.
+func RequestSoftNegative(w dns.ResponseWriter) {
+	if sn, ok := w.(softNegativeRequester); ok {
+		sn.RequestSoftNegative()
+	}
+}
+
 // LookupResult contains the result of an external DNS lookup
 type LookupResult struct {
 	IPs   []netip.Addr
@@ -199,11 +273,27 @@ type RecordResolver interface {
 	LookupAddr(ctx context.Context, addr string) ([]string, error)
 }
 
+// SupportedRecordQtype reports whether LookupRecords can resolve qtype. The
+// set is bounded by the net.Resolver API, which exposes no way to query an
+// arbitrary record type, and going around it with a raw exchange would mean
+// picking nameservers ourselves instead of resolving the way the host does.
+//
+// Both ends read this: a DNS forwarder answers these types for the domains it
+// routes, and a client uses it to tell which types are worth forwarding to a
+// peer at all.
+func SupportedRecordQtype(qtype uint16) bool {
+	switch qtype {
+	case dns.TypeMX, dns.TypeTXT, dns.TypeNS, dns.TypeSRV, dns.TypeCNAME, dns.TypePTR:
+		return true
+	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
 // LookupRecords resolves a non-address DNS record type through the host
-// resolver and returns the resource records and the DNS rcode. Types the host
-// resolver cannot answer (anything not covered by the net.Resolver Lookup*
-// methods) yield NODATA so that a routed name is never poisoned with NXDOMAIN
-// for an unsupported type.
+// resolver and returns the resource records and the DNS rcode. Types outside
+// SupportedRecordQtype yield NODATA so that a routed name is never poisoned
+// with NXDOMAIN for a type we cannot look up.
 func LookupRecords(ctx context.Context, r RecordResolver, name string, qtype uint16, ttl uint32) ([]dns.RR, int) {
 	fqdn := dns.Fqdn(name)
 
diff --git a/client/internal/dns/upstream.go b/client/internal/dns/upstream.go
index 72fc0450c..28aed687d 100644
--- a/client/internal/dns/upstream.go
+++ b/client/internal/dns/upstream.go
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ func (u *upstreamResolverBase) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
 	if addr := w.RemoteAddr(); addr != nil {
 		network := addr.Network()
 		ctx = contextWithDNSProtocol(ctx, network)
-		resutil.SetMeta(w, "protocol", network)
+		resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyProtocol, network)
 	}
 
 	ok, failures := u.tryUpstreamServers(ctx, w, r, logger)
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ func (u *upstreamResolverBase) tryOnlyRace(ctx context.Context, w dns.ResponseWr
 		return false, res.failures
 	}
 	if res.ede != "" {
-		resutil.SetMeta(w, "ede", res.ede)
+		resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyEDE, res.ede)
 	}
 	u.writeSuccessResponse(w, res.msg, res.upstream, r.Question[0].Name, res.protocol, logger)
 	return true, res.failures
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ func (u *upstreamResolverBase) raceAll(ctx context.Context, w dns.ResponseWriter
 			failures = append(failures, res.failures...)
 			if res.msg != nil {
 				if res.ede != "" {
-					resutil.SetMeta(w, "ede", res.ede)
+					resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyEDE, res.ede)
 				}
 				u.writeSuccessResponse(w, res.msg, res.upstream, r.Question[0].Name, res.protocol, logger)
 				return true, failures
@@ -550,9 +550,9 @@ func (u *upstreamResolverBase) debugUpstreamTimeout(upstream netip.AddrPort) str
 }
 
 func (u *upstreamResolverBase) writeSuccessResponse(w dns.ResponseWriter, rm *dns.Msg, upstream netip.AddrPort, domain string, proto string, logger *log.Entry) {
-	resutil.SetMeta(w, "upstream", upstream.String())
+	resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyUpstream, upstream.String())
 	if proto != "" {
-		resutil.SetMeta(w, "upstream_protocol", proto)
+		resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyUpstreamProtocol, proto)
 	}
 
 	// Clear Zero bit from external responses to prevent upstream servers from
diff --git a/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder.go b/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder.go
index b7e5a10e3..558de6453 100644
--- a/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder.go
+++ b/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder.go
@@ -26,15 +26,6 @@ import (
 const errResolveFailed = "failed to resolve query for domain=%s: %v"
 const upstreamTimeout = 15 * time.Second
 
-// EDE info codes the forwarder emits on upstream failures so the querying
-// client can see the reason without inspecting this peer's logs. They live in
-// the RFC 8914 Private Use range (49152-65535); the Go resolver never exposes a
-// real upstream EDE here, so these cannot collide with a genuine code.
-const (
-	edeNetbirdUpstreamTimeout uint16 = 49152
-	edeNetbirdUpstreamFailure uint16 = 49153
-)
-
 type resolver interface {
 	LookupNetIP(ctx context.Context, network, host string) ([]netip.Addr, error)
 	LookupMX(ctx context.Context, name string) ([]*net.MX, error)
@@ -216,6 +207,9 @@ func (f *DNSForwarder) handleDNSQuery(logger *log.Entry, w dns.ResponseWriter, q
 		qname, dns.TypeToString[question.Qtype], dns.ClassToString[question.Qclass])
 
 	resp := query.SetReply(query)
+	// Every answer here comes from a recursive lookup on this peer. SetReply
+	// leaves RA unset, which reads to a client as a server that cannot recurse.
+	resp.RecursionAvailable = true
 
 	mostSpecificResId, matchingEntries := f.getMatchingEntries(strings.TrimSuffix(qname, "."))
 	if mostSpecificResId == "" {
@@ -229,20 +223,22 @@ func (f *DNSForwarder) handleDNSQuery(logger *log.Entry, w dns.ResponseWriter, q
 
 	reqHasEdns := query.IsEdns0() != nil
 
-	switch question.Qtype {
-	case dns.TypeA, dns.TypeAAAA:
+	switch {
+	case question.Qtype == dns.TypeA || question.Qtype == dns.TypeAAAA:
 		f.handleAddressQuery(ctx, logger, w, resp, mostSpecificResId, matchingEntries, reqHasEdns, startTime)
-	case dns.TypeMX, dns.TypeTXT, dns.TypeNS, dns.TypeSRV, dns.TypeCNAME, dns.TypePTR:
+	case resutil.SupportedRecordQtype(question.Qtype):
 		f.handleRecordQuery(ctx, logger, w, resp, startTime)
 	default:
 		// The domain is routed here, so any other type is answered NODATA
 		// (NOERROR, empty answer) rather than falling back to a resolver that
 		// would poison the name with NXDOMAIN. The Extended DNS Error lets a
 		// client tell this capability-driven NODATA apart from an
-		// authoritative one. The OPT pseudo-record must not appear unless the
-		// query advertised EDNS0.
+		// authoritative one; a current client knows the type is unsupported and
+		// resolves it through its own handler chain instead of asking at all.
+		// The OPT pseudo-record must not appear unless the query advertised
+		// EDNS0.
 		if reqHasEdns {
-			attachEDE(resp, dns.ExtendedErrorCodeNotSupported, "netbird forwarder: unsupported query type")
+			resutil.AttachEDE(resp, dns.ExtendedErrorCodeNotSupported, "netbird forwarder: unsupported query type")
 		}
 		f.writeResponse(logger, w, resp, qname, startTime)
 	}
@@ -441,7 +437,7 @@ func (f *DNSForwarder) handleDNSError(
 	}
 
 	if reqHasEdns {
-		attachEDE(resp, edeCodeFor(dnsErr), edeText(dnsErr))
+		resutil.AttachEDE(resp, edeCodeFor(dnsErr), edeText(dnsErr))
 	}
 
 	f.writeResponse(logger, w, resp, domain, startTime)
@@ -488,9 +484,9 @@ func (f *DNSForwarder) getMatchingEntries(domain string) (route.ResID, []*Forwar
 // edeCodeFor maps an upstream lookup error to the NetBird EDE info code.
 func edeCodeFor(dnsErr *net.DNSError) uint16 {
 	if dnsErr != nil && dnsErr.IsTimeout {
-		return edeNetbirdUpstreamTimeout
+		return resutil.EDENetbirdUpstreamTimeout
 	}
-	return edeNetbirdUpstreamFailure
+	return resutil.EDENetbirdUpstreamFailure
 }
 
 // edeText builds the EDE extra-text describing the class of upstream failure.
@@ -503,14 +499,3 @@ func edeText(dnsErr *net.DNSError) string {
 	}
 	return "netbird forwarder: upstream failure"
 }
-
-// attachEDE adds an Extended DNS Error (RFC 8914) option to the response,
-// creating the OPT pseudo-record if the response does not already carry one.
-func attachEDE(resp *dns.Msg, code uint16, text string) {
-	opt := resp.IsEdns0()
-	if opt == nil {
-		resp.SetEdns0(dns.DefaultMsgSize, false)
-		opt = resp.IsEdns0()
-	}
-	opt.Option = append(opt.Option, &dns.EDNS0_EDE{InfoCode: code, ExtraText: text})
-}
diff --git a/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder_test.go b/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder_test.go
index c69a9166e..53d2a3c53 100644
--- a/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder_test.go
+++ b/client/internal/dnsfwd/forwarder_test.go
@@ -649,6 +649,39 @@ func TestDNSForwarder_ResponseCodes(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestDNSForwarder_RecursionAvailable covers the RA bit. Every answer this
+// forwarder produces comes from a recursive lookup on the routing peer, but
+// dns.Msg.SetReply leaves RA unset, so clients report "recursion not available"
+// and some stub resolvers treat the server as unable to serve the query.
+func TestDNSForwarder_RecursionAvailable(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("record answer", func(t *testing.T) {
+		mockResolver := &MockResolver{}
+		forwarder := newRecordTestForwarder(t, mockResolver, "example.com")
+
+		mockResolver.On("LookupMX", mock.Anything, "example.com.").
+			Return([]*net.MX{{Host: "mail.example.com.", Pref: 10}}, nil).Once()
+
+		resp := runRecordQuery(t, forwarder, "example.com", dns.TypeMX)
+		assert.True(t, resp.RecursionAvailable, "the forwarder resolves recursively")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unsupported type NODATA", func(t *testing.T) {
+		forwarder := newRecordTestForwarder(t, &MockResolver{}, "example.com")
+
+		resp := runRecordQuery(t, forwarder, "example.com", dns.TypeCAA)
+		require.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode)
+		assert.True(t, resp.RecursionAvailable, "RA describes the server, not the query type")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unauthorized domain", func(t *testing.T) {
+		forwarder := newRecordTestForwarder(t, &MockResolver{}, "example.com")
+
+		resp := runRecordQuery(t, forwarder, "other.com", dns.TypeMX)
+		require.Equal(t, dns.RcodeRefused, resp.Rcode)
+		assert.True(t, resp.RecursionAvailable, "RA describes the server, not the verdict")
+	})
+}
+
 func hasEDE(m *dns.Msg, code uint16) bool {
 	opt := m.IsEdns0()
 	if opt == nil {
@@ -859,7 +892,7 @@ func TestDNSForwarder_UpstreamFailureEDE(t *testing.T) {
 			lookupErr:   &net.DNSError{Err: "i/o timeout", Server: "10.0.0.53:53", IsTimeout: true},
 			reqEdns:     true,
 			wantEDE:     true,
-			wantCode:    edeNetbirdUpstreamTimeout,
+			wantCode:    resutil.EDENetbirdUpstreamTimeout,
 			wantTextHas: "netbird forwarder: upstream timeout",
 		},
 		{
@@ -867,7 +900,7 @@ func TestDNSForwarder_UpstreamFailureEDE(t *testing.T) {
 			lookupErr:   &net.DNSError{Err: "server misbehaving", Server: "10.0.0.53:53"},
 			reqEdns:     true,
 			wantEDE:     true,
-			wantCode:    edeNetbirdUpstreamFailure,
+			wantCode:    resutil.EDENetbirdUpstreamFailure,
 			wantTextHas: "netbird forwarder: upstream failure",
 		},
 		{
diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler.go b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler.go
index b784cc274..ade7a914f 100644
--- a/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler.go
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	nbdns "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns/resutil"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/peer"
-	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/peerstore"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/routemanager/common"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/routemanager/fakeip"
 	iface "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/routemanager/iface"
@@ -40,6 +39,61 @@ type internalDNATer interface {
 	AddInternalDNATMapping(netip.Addr, netip.Addr) error
 }
 
+// peerAllowedIPs reports the tunnel address a peer is reachable on.
+type peerAllowedIPs interface {
+	AllowedIP(pubKey string) (netip.Addr, bool)
+}
+
+// disposition says where a query for a given record type has to be answered.
+type disposition int
+
+const (
+	// dispositionPeer: the routing peer owns the answer. Address records are
+	// what a DNS route exists for, and their answer programs the routes,
+	// allowed IPs and firewall sets, so they are never resolved anywhere else.
+	dispositionPeer disposition = iota
+	// dispositionPeerFirst: the peer's forwarder resolves the type, and the
+	// records may only exist inside the routed network, so it has to be asked.
+	// A peer running a client that predates that support cannot answer, which
+	// only its reply reveals.
+	dispositionPeerFirst
+	// dispositionChain: no forwarder resolves the type, so asking would cost a
+	// tunnel round trip for a reply that says nothing. Public records for the
+	// name are still better than none, so the query goes to the rest of the
+	// chain.
+	dispositionChain
+)
+
+func dispositionFor(qtype uint16) disposition {
+	switch {
+	case qtype == dns.TypeA || qtype == dns.TypeAAAA:
+		return dispositionPeer
+	case resutil.SupportedRecordQtype(qtype):
+		return dispositionPeerFirst
+	default:
+		return dispositionChain
+	}
+}
+
+// peerCannotAnswer reports whether a forwarder reply means the peer is unable to
+// resolve this query type, as opposed to having resolved it and found nothing.
+// A forwarder older than the one that learned to resolve non-address types
+// answers NOTIMP to all of them, before it even looks at the domain; FORMERR
+// covers one that cannot parse the EDNS0 we add to the query.
+//
+// REFUSED is deliberately not here. It says the peer does not hold the name,
+// which happens while the client and the peer disagree about the route set, and
+// falling through then would hand the name of an internal-only domain to a
+// public resolver. No forwarder version reports a missing record type that way.
+func peerCannotAnswer(rcode int) bool {
+	switch rcode {
+	case dns.RcodeNotImplemented, dns.RcodeFormatError:
+		return true
+	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
 type DnsInterceptor struct {
 	mu                   sync.RWMutex
 	route                *route.Route
@@ -50,7 +104,7 @@ type DnsInterceptor struct {
 	currentPeerKey       string
 	interceptedDomains   domainMap
 	wgInterface          iface.WGIface
-	peerStore            *peerstore.Store
+	peerStore            peerAllowedIPs
 	firewall             firewall.Manager
 	fakeIPManager        *fakeip.Manager
 	forwarderPort        *atomic.Uint32
@@ -226,11 +280,14 @@ func (d *DnsInterceptor) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	// All query types for an intercepted domain are forwarded to the peer's
-	// DNS forwarder, which owns the name. Falling through to the system
-	// resolver would let it answer NXDOMAIN for a name it isn't authoritative
-	// for, poisoning the whole name (including the A/AAAA records the route
-	// does serve). The forwarder answers NODATA for types it cannot resolve.
+	qtype := r.Question[0].Qtype
+	dispose := dispositionFor(qtype)
+
+	if dispose == dispositionChain {
+		d.deferToChain(w, r, logger, "unsupported-qtype")
+		return
+	}
+
 	d.mu.RLock()
 	peerKey := d.currentPeerKey
 	d.mu.RUnlock()
@@ -246,35 +303,32 @@ func (d *DnsInterceptor) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if r.Extra == nil {
-		r.MsgHdr.AuthenticatedData = true
-	}
-
-	// Advertise EDNS0 to the forwarder so it may return an Extended DNS Error
-	// describing why a lookup failed. The OPT is stripped from the reply when
-	// the original client did not request EDNS0.
-	hadEdns := r.IsEdns0() != nil
-	if !hadEdns {
-		r.SetEdns0(dns.DefaultMsgSize, false)
-	}
+	query, hadEdns := peerQuery(r)
 
 	upstream := net.JoinHostPort(upstreamIP.String(), strconv.FormatUint(uint64(d.forwarderPort.Load()), 10))
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), dnsTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
 
-	reply := d.queryUpstreamDNS(ctx, w, r, upstream, upstreamIP, peerKey, logger)
+	reply := d.queryUpstreamDNS(ctx, w, query, upstream, upstreamIP, peerKey, logger)
 	if reply == nil {
 		return
 	}
 
+	// The peer owns the name but its forwarder cannot resolve this type. No
+	// capability is announced anywhere, so the round trip above is the probe.
+	if dispose == dispositionPeerFirst && peerCannotAnswer(reply.Rcode) {
+		d.deferToChain(w, r, logger, "peer-rcode-"+dns.RcodeToString[reply.Rcode])
+		return
+	}
+
 	if ede, ok := resutil.ExtractEDE(reply); ok {
-		resutil.SetMeta(w, "ede", fmt.Sprintf("%d %s", ede.InfoCode, ede.ExtraText))
+		resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyEDE, fmt.Sprintf("%d %s", ede.InfoCode, ede.ExtraText))
 	}
 	if !hadEdns {
 		resutil.StripOPT(reply)
 	}
 
-	resutil.SetMeta(w, "peer", peerKey)
+	resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyPeer, peerKey)
 
 	reply.Id = r.Id
 	if err := d.writeMsg(w, reply, logger); err != nil {
@@ -282,6 +336,30 @@ func (d *DnsInterceptor) ServeDNS(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg) {
 	}
 }
 
+// deferToChain hands the query to the next handler in the chain and asks the
+// chain to soften the negative verdict of whatever answers instead. The
+// resolvers below cannot prove a name inside the routed network absent, so their
+// NXDOMAIN must not reach the client: it would be cached for the name and every
+// type under it, taking the addresses this route does serve with it.
+func (d *DnsInterceptor) deferToChain(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg, logger *log.Entry, reason string) {
+	logger.Tracef("continuing to next handler for domain=%s type=%s reason=%s",
+		r.Question[0].Name, dns.TypeToString[r.Question[0].Qtype], reason)
+
+	resutil.RequestSoftNegative(w)
+	// Carried to the chain's response log line: without it the answer looks like
+	// it came from the fallthrough resolver on its own.
+	resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyDeferredBy, "dns-route")
+	resutil.SetMeta(w, resutil.MetaKeyDeferredReason, reason)
+
+	resp := new(dns.Msg)
+	resp.SetRcode(r, dns.RcodeNameError)
+	// Set Zero bit to signal handler chain to continue
+	resp.MsgHdr.Zero = true
+	if err := w.WriteMsg(resp); err != nil {
+		logger.Errorf("failed writing DNS continue response: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func (d *DnsInterceptor) writeDNSError(w dns.ResponseWriter, r *dns.Msg, logger *log.Entry, reason string) {
 	logger.Warnf("failed to query upstream for domain=%s: %s", r.Question[0].Name, reason)
 
@@ -621,3 +699,26 @@ func (d *DnsInterceptor) debugPeerTimeout(peerIP netip.Addr, peerKey string) str
 
 	return fmt.Sprintf(" (peer %s)", nbdns.FormatPeerStatus(&peerState))
 }
+
+// peerQuery builds the query sent to a peer's DNS forwarder and reports whether
+// the client itself advertised EDNS0. EDNS0 is added so the forwarder can return
+// an Extended DNS Error describing an upstream failure, and the OPT is stripped
+// from the reply again when the client did not ask for it. The client's message
+// is left untouched: it may still be handed to the next handler in the chain,
+// and neither the OPT nor the AD bit is ours to put on the wire on its behalf.
+func peerQuery(r *dns.Msg) (query *dns.Msg, hadEdns bool) {
+	query = r.Copy()
+	hadEdns = query.IsEdns0() != nil
+
+	// AD tells the forwarder we understand authenticated data. Only set when the
+	// client sent no additional section of its own, so we never overrule what it
+	// asked for.
+	if len(query.Extra) == 0 {
+		query.MsgHdr.AuthenticatedData = true
+	}
+	if !hadEdns {
+		query.SetEdns0(dns.DefaultMsgSize, false)
+	}
+
+	return query, hadEdns
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_test.go b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f9614e8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,392 @@
+package dnsinterceptor
+
+import (
+	"net"
+	"net/netip"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/miekg/dns"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"golang.zx2c4.com/wireguard/tun/netstack"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface/device"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface/wgaddr"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns/resutil"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/dns/test"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/peer"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/route"
+)
+
+// softNegativeWriter records what the handler told the chain: whether to soften
+// a negative verdict from the handlers it defers to, and the metadata that ends
+// up on the chain's response log line.
+type softNegativeWriter struct {
+	test.MockResponseWriter
+	softNegative bool
+	meta         map[resutil.MetaKey]string
+}
+
+func (w *softNegativeWriter) RequestSoftNegative() { w.softNegative = true }
+
+func (w *softNegativeWriter) RequestID() string { return "test" }
+
+func (w *softNegativeWriter) SetMeta(key resutil.MetaKey, value string) {
+	if w.meta == nil {
+		w.meta = make(map[resutil.MetaKey]string)
+	}
+	w.meta[key] = value
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_QtypeTheForwarderCannotResolve covers the record types no DNS
+// forwarder can answer, because the host resolver exposes no API for them.
+// Asking the peer only burns a tunnel round trip, so the query goes straight to
+// the rest of the chain. No peer key is configured, proving no round trip is
+// attempted.
+func TestServeDNS_QtypeTheForwarderCannotResolve(t *testing.T) {
+	qtypes := []uint16{
+		dns.TypeHTTPS,
+		dns.TypeSVCB,
+		dns.TypeCAA,
+		dns.TypeNAPTR,
+		dns.TypeTLSA,
+		dns.TypeSOA,
+	}
+
+	for _, qtype := range qtypes {
+		t.Run(dns.TypeToString[qtype], func(t *testing.T) {
+			d := &DnsInterceptor{}
+			w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+			r := new(dns.Msg)
+			r.SetQuestion("db.example.com.", qtype)
+
+			d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+			resp := w.GetLastResponse()
+			require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must be written")
+			assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeNameError, resp.Rcode, "chain continuation is signalled as NXDOMAIN")
+			assert.True(t, resp.MsgHdr.Zero, "Zero bit must be set so the chain continues")
+			assert.True(t, w.softNegative,
+				"a downstream NXDOMAIN must be softened, or the fallthrough poisons the routed name")
+			assert.Equal(t, "dns-route", w.meta[resutil.MetaKeyDeferredBy],
+				"the chain's response log line must name us as the handler that stepped aside")
+			assert.Equal(t, "unsupported-qtype", w.meta[resutil.MetaKeyDeferredReason],
+				"the reason must survive to the log line, or the fallthrough is invisible")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_AddressQtypeNeverFallsThrough locks in the opposite case: A and
+// AAAA are what the route exists for, and the peer is authoritative for them.
+// A missing peer is an error the client must see, never a fallthrough to a
+// resolver that knows nothing about the routed name.
+func TestServeDNS_AddressQtypeNeverFallsThrough(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, qtype := range []uint16{dns.TypeA, dns.TypeAAAA} {
+		t.Run(dns.TypeToString[qtype], func(t *testing.T) {
+			d := &DnsInterceptor{}
+			w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+			r := new(dns.Msg)
+			r.SetQuestion("db.example.com.", qtype)
+
+			d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+			resp := w.GetLastResponse()
+			require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must be written")
+			assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeServerFailure, resp.Rcode, "an unusable route must fail, not fall through")
+			assert.False(t, resp.MsgHdr.Zero, "the chain must not continue for address queries")
+			assert.False(t, w.softNegative, "no fallthrough means nothing to soften")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDispositionFor pins the query-type policy, and ties the types we ask a
+// peer about to the types a forwarder can actually resolve, so the two ends
+// cannot drift apart.
+func TestDispositionFor(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		qtype uint16
+		want  disposition
+	}{
+		{dns.TypeA, dispositionPeer},
+		{dns.TypeAAAA, dispositionPeer},
+		{dns.TypeMX, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypeTXT, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypeNS, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypeSRV, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypeCNAME, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypePTR, dispositionPeerFirst},
+		{dns.TypeHTTPS, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeSVCB, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeCAA, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeNAPTR, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeTLSA, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeDS, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeDNSKEY, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeSOA, dispositionChain},
+		{dns.TypeANY, dispositionChain},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(dns.TypeToString[tt.qtype], func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, dispositionFor(tt.qtype), "disposition for %s", dns.TypeToString[tt.qtype])
+
+			if tt.want != dispositionPeer {
+				assert.Equal(t, tt.want == dispositionPeerFirst, resutil.SupportedRecordQtype(tt.qtype),
+					"only types a forwarder resolves may be sent to a peer")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPeerCannotAnswer separates a peer that cannot resolve a type from one that
+// resolved it and found nothing. Only the former may be retried elsewhere:
+// treating NODATA or NXDOMAIN as a capability failure would send the client to a
+// public resolver behind the peer's back and prefer a public record over the
+// private one the route exists to reach.
+func TestPeerCannotAnswer(t *testing.T) {
+	cannot := []int{dns.RcodeNotImplemented, dns.RcodeFormatError}
+	for _, rcode := range cannot {
+		assert.True(t, peerCannotAnswer(rcode), "%s means the peer cannot answer", dns.RcodeToString[rcode])
+	}
+
+	// REFUSED belongs here, not above: it says the peer does not hold the name,
+	// so retrying elsewhere would leak the name of an internal-only domain to a
+	// public resolver. No forwarder version reports a missing record type this
+	// way, so nothing is lost by keeping it out.
+	can := []int{
+		dns.RcodeSuccess,
+		dns.RcodeNameError,
+		dns.RcodeServerFailure,
+		dns.RcodeNotAuth,
+		dns.RcodeRefused,
+	}
+	for _, rcode := range can {
+		assert.False(t, peerCannotAnswer(rcode), "%s is the peer's answer, not a capability failure", dns.RcodeToString[rcode])
+	}
+}
+
+// fakeWGIface is the minimum an interceptor needs to reach a peer's DNS
+// forwarder over a plain socket. A nil netstack keeps the exchange on the host
+// stack so the test can point it at a loopback listener.
+type fakeWGIface struct{}
+
+func (fakeWGIface) AddAllowedIP(string, netip.Prefix) error    { return nil }
+func (fakeWGIface) RemoveAllowedIP(string, netip.Prefix) error { return nil }
+func (fakeWGIface) Name() string                               { return "wt0" }
+func (fakeWGIface) Address() wgaddr.Address                    { return wgaddr.Address{} }
+func (fakeWGIface) ToInterface() *net.Interface                { return nil }
+func (fakeWGIface) IsUserspaceBind() bool                      { return false }
+func (fakeWGIface) GetFilter() device.PacketFilter             { return nil }
+func (fakeWGIface) GetDevice() *device.FilteredDevice          { return nil }
+func (fakeWGIface) GetNet() *netstack.Net                      { return nil }
+
+// fakePeerIPs resolves every peer key to the loopback address the test's
+// forwarder stub listens on.
+type fakePeerIPs struct {
+	addr netip.Addr
+}
+
+func (p fakePeerIPs) AllowedIP(string) (netip.Addr, bool) { return p.addr, p.addr.IsValid() }
+
+// forwarderStub stands in for the DNS forwarder of a routing peer, recording
+// what it was asked and answering with a canned reply.
+type forwarderStub struct {
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	queries  []*dns.Msg
+	reply    func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg
+	port     uint16
+	shutdown func()
+}
+
+func (s *forwarderStub) received() []*dns.Msg {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	return append([]*dns.Msg(nil), s.queries...)
+}
+
+func newForwarderStub(t *testing.T, reply func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg) *forwarderStub {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	conn, err := net.ListenUDP("udp", net.UDPAddrFromAddrPort(netip.MustParseAddrPort("127.0.0.1:0")))
+	require.NoError(t, err, "listen for the forwarder stub")
+
+	stub := &forwarderStub{reply: reply}
+	stub.port = uint16(conn.LocalAddr().(*net.UDPAddr).Port)
+
+	mux := dns.NewServeMux()
+	mux.HandleFunc(".", func(w dns.ResponseWriter, q *dns.Msg) {
+		stub.mu.Lock()
+		stub.queries = append(stub.queries, q.Copy())
+		stub.mu.Unlock()
+		_ = w.WriteMsg(stub.reply(q))
+	})
+
+	srv := &dns.Server{PacketConn: conn, Handler: mux}
+	started := make(chan struct{})
+	srv.NotifyStartedFunc = func() { close(started) }
+	go func() {
+		_ = srv.ActivateAndServe()
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-started:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("forwarder stub did not start")
+	}
+
+	stub.shutdown = func() { _ = srv.Shutdown() }
+	t.Cleanup(stub.shutdown)
+
+	return stub
+}
+
+func newTestInterceptor(t *testing.T, stub *forwarderStub) *DnsInterceptor {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	port := new(atomic.Uint32)
+	port.Store(uint32(stub.port))
+
+	return &DnsInterceptor{
+		route:              &route.Route{Domains: nil},
+		statusRecorder:     peer.NewRecorder("https://mgm"),
+		currentPeerKey:     "peer-key",
+		interceptedDomains: make(domainMap),
+		wgInterface:        fakeWGIface{},
+		peerStore:          fakePeerIPs{addr: netip.MustParseAddr("127.0.0.1")},
+		forwarderPort:      port,
+	}
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_PeerCannotResolveQtype is the reported regression: a routing peer
+// running a client older than the one that taught the forwarder about non-address
+// record types answers NOTIMP for every SRV query, and the interceptor used to
+// hand that straight to the application, breaking SRV-based service discovery.
+// The client cannot know the peer's capability up front, so it must try the peer
+// and fall back to the chain when the peer says it cannot answer.
+func TestServeDNS_PeerCannotResolveQtype(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, rcode := range []int{dns.RcodeNotImplemented, dns.RcodeFormatError} {
+		t.Run(dns.RcodeToString[rcode], func(t *testing.T) {
+			stub := newForwarderStub(t, func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg {
+				resp := new(dns.Msg)
+				resp.SetRcode(q, rcode)
+				return resp
+			})
+			d := newTestInterceptor(t, stub)
+			w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+			r := new(dns.Msg)
+			r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+			d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+			require.Len(t, stub.received(), 1, "the peer must be asked before giving up on it")
+
+			resp := w.GetLastResponse()
+			require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must be written")
+			assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeNameError, resp.Rcode, "chain continuation is signalled as NXDOMAIN")
+			assert.True(t, resp.MsgHdr.Zero, "Zero bit must be set so the chain continues")
+			assert.True(t, w.softNegative, "the fallthrough must not be allowed to poison the routed name")
+			assert.Equal(t, "dns-route", w.meta[resutil.MetaKeyDeferredBy])
+			assert.Equal(t, "peer-rcode-"+dns.RcodeToString[rcode], w.meta[resutil.MetaKeyDeferredReason],
+				"the peer's verdict must be visible in the log, it is the only trace of the probe")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_PeerVerdictPassesThrough covers the replies that are the peer's
+// answer rather than a statement about its capability. The peer is authoritative
+// for a name routed to it, so its verdict reaches the client as it is: retrying
+// these elsewhere would send the name of an internal-only domain to a public
+// resolver and prefer whatever that resolver says over the route.
+func TestServeDNS_PeerVerdictPassesThrough(t *testing.T) {
+	// REFUSED means the peer does not consider the name routed to it, which
+	// happens while the client and the peer disagree about the route set. It is
+	// never how a peer reports a record type it cannot resolve: a forwarder too
+	// old for non-address types answers NOTIMP before it looks at the domain.
+	for _, rcode := range []int{dns.RcodeRefused, dns.RcodeNameError, dns.RcodeSuccess} {
+		t.Run(dns.RcodeToString[rcode], func(t *testing.T) {
+			stub := newForwarderStub(t, func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg {
+				resp := new(dns.Msg)
+				resp.SetRcode(q, rcode)
+				return resp
+			})
+			d := newTestInterceptor(t, stub)
+			w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+			r := new(dns.Msg)
+			r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+			d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+			require.Len(t, stub.received(), 1, "the peer must be asked exactly once")
+
+			resp := w.GetLastResponse()
+			require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must be written")
+			assert.Equal(t, rcode, resp.Rcode, "the peer's verdict must reach the client unchanged")
+			assert.False(t, resp.MsgHdr.Zero, "the chain must not continue past an answered query")
+			assert.False(t, w.softNegative, "nothing was deferred, so nothing may be softened")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_PeerResolvesQtype guards the common case: a peer that can answer
+// the type stays authoritative, and its records reach the client unchanged.
+func TestServeDNS_PeerResolvesQtype(t *testing.T) {
+	stub := newForwarderStub(t, func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg {
+		resp := new(dns.Msg)
+		resp.SetReply(q)
+		resp.Answer = []dns.RR{&dns.SRV{
+			Hdr:    dns.RR_Header{Name: q.Question[0].Name, Rrtype: dns.TypeSRV, Class: dns.ClassINET, Ttl: 60},
+			Target: "shard-00.db.example.com.",
+			Port:   27017,
+		}}
+		return resp
+	})
+	d := newTestInterceptor(t, stub)
+	w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+	d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+	resp := w.GetLastResponse()
+	require.NotNil(t, resp, "a response must be written")
+	assert.Equal(t, dns.RcodeSuccess, resp.Rcode)
+	require.Len(t, resp.Answer, 1, "the peer's records must pass through")
+	assert.False(t, resp.MsgHdr.Zero, "an answered query must not continue the chain")
+	assert.False(t, w.softNegative)
+}
+
+// TestServeDNS_DeferredQueryIsPristine covers what the fallthrough hands to the
+// next handler. The interceptor advertises EDNS0 to the peer so the forwarder can
+// return an Extended DNS Error, and sets AD, but neither belongs to the client's
+// query: on the deferred path they would travel to the public resolver and the
+// reply could come back carrying an OPT the client never advertised, which
+// RFC 6891 forbids us from passing on.
+func TestServeDNS_DeferredQueryIsPristine(t *testing.T) {
+	stub := newForwarderStub(t, func(q *dns.Msg) *dns.Msg {
+		resp := new(dns.Msg)
+		resp.SetRcode(q, dns.RcodeNotImplemented)
+		return resp
+	})
+	d := newTestInterceptor(t, stub)
+	w := &softNegativeWriter{}
+
+	r := new(dns.Msg)
+	r.SetQuestion("_mongodb._tcp.db.example.com.", dns.TypeSRV)
+
+	d.ServeDNS(w, r)
+
+	sent := stub.received()
+	require.Len(t, sent, 1)
+	assert.NotNil(t, sent[0].IsEdns0(), "the peer must be asked with EDNS0 so it can return an EDE")
+
+	assert.Nil(t, r.IsEdns0(), "the deferred query must not carry an OPT the client never sent")
+	assert.False(t, r.AuthenticatedData, "the deferred query must not carry an AD bit the client never set")
+	assert.Empty(t, r.Extra, "the deferred query must reach the next handler as the client sent it")
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_windows_test.go b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_windows_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f08bee74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/dnsinterceptor/handler_windows_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+//go:build windows
+
+package dnsinterceptor
+
+// GetInterfaceGUIDString completes iface.WGIface on Windows, which requires the
+// interface GUID for DNS registration.
+func (fakeWGIface) GetInterfaceGUIDString() (string, error) { return "", nil }