Mismatch in SPF/DMARC and DKIM within smartermail/spamfoo

Problem reported by Brian - 9/6/2026 at 7:10 AM

Not A Problem

This is the header in the email. Spf missing.

This is spamfoo dashboard.

Am I missing something in a setting or is this by design?

4 Replies

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Derek Curtis Replied

9/10/2026 at 4:51 AM

Employee Post

So, I asked SpamFoo about this. According to them this is more of a display issue. Since, based on the header, DMARC passed they say the SPF and DKIM boxes probably aren't necessary because DMARC overrides SPF and DKIM.

Derek Curtis

CCO

SmarterTools Inc.

www.smartertools.com

Brian Replied

9/10/2026 at 5:17 AM

I understand this may be a UI decision, but in my case either SPF or DKIM is failing while DMARC passes.

That is precisely why I need the individual results visible...

DMARC does not override SPF or DKIM. It evaluates them. A DMARC pass therefore does not make the underlying authentication results irrelevant.

From an administrator’s perspective, hiding SPF and DKIM removes valuable diagnostic information.

I should be able to see at a glance not only the final DMARC outcome, but also what is actually failing underneath it.

Brian Replied

9/10/2026 at 6:12 AM

But ultimately... there is a descrepancy between spamfoo reporting and the logs.

Thats whats interesting here :)

Derek Curtis Replied

9/10/2026 at 8:34 AM

Employee Post

I asked for clarification, and the issue is that my condensing (or maybe even interpreting) their original reply was a bit misleading.

The issue isn't that SpamFoo missed the SPF fail in the header. The issue is a bug where, if DMARC passed, the status of SPF and DKIM could be displayed incorrectly. (Hence, the "display issue" I mentioned.) I should have made that clearer.

Regarding DMARC, SpamFoo doesn't care HOW the email is verified, just that it IS verified. So since DMARC passed, the message was considered verified. If DMARC wasn't present, then SPF and DKIM would be verified on their own, not together with a DMARC policy. However, if a DMARC policy exists, it takes precedence over individual SPF and DKIM checks.

Derek Curtis

CCO

SmarterTools Inc.

www.smartertools.com

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