UDP over SOCKS5 for Residential Proxies

UDP support is available for Geonode Residential Proxies when using the SOCKS5 protocol.

This guide explains how to enable UDP support, configure your proxy, understand how UDP works over SOCKS5, and verify your setup using a simple DNS test.

Availability

UDP support is available for Geonode Residential Proxies when using the SOCKS5 protocol.

To enable UDP support, the proxy username must include the following flag:

-requireUdp-true

Use your normal proxy password. Do not change the password format.

Configure Your Proxy

Use the following proxy settings:

Protocol: SOCKS5
Host: proxy.geonode.io
Port: 12000
Username: <proxy-username>-requireUdp-true
Password: <proxy-password>

Example:

socks5://<proxy-username>-requireUdp-true:<proxy-password>@proxy.geonode.io:12000

How UDP Works

Geonode supports UDP over SOCKS5 using the standard SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE command.

This is not a direct raw UDP connection between the client and the destination server. Instead, the client first establishes a standard SOCKS5 TCP connection with the proxy. After authentication, the client requests the proxy to create a UDP relay.

The communication flow is:

1. Client connects to the Geonode SOCKS5 proxy over TCP.
2. Client authenticates using the proxy username and password.
3. Client sends a SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE request.
4. The proxy returns a UDP relay IP address and port.
5. Client sends UDP packets to the relay.
6. The proxy forwards the UDP packets to the destination server.
7. UDP responses return through the relay back to the client.

The TCP control connection must remain open while UDP traffic is active. If the TCP connection closes, the UDP association may also terminate.

Test UDP with DNS

DNS is one of the simplest ways to verify UDP support because standard DNS queries commonly use UDP port 53.

You can use any SOCKS5 client, library, or tool that supports the SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE command.

Some SOCKS5 clients only support TCP proxying. Those tools can verify SOCKS5 authentication but cannot verify UDP support.

For example, send a DNS query through the SOCKS5 UDP relay:

DNS Server: 1.1.1.1
Port: 53
Domain: example.com

If a DNS response is returned, UDP over SOCKS5 is working correctly.

DNS Test Workflow

A typical DNS test follows these steps:

1. Open a SOCKS5 TCP connection to proxy.geonode.io:12000.
2. Authenticate using the proxy username and password.
3. Send a SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE request.
4. Receive a UDP relay IP address and port.
5. Send a UDP DNS query through the relay to 1.1.1.1:53.
6. Confirm that a DNS response is received.

Expected Output

A successful test should produce results similar to the following:

SOCKS5 TCP connection: successful
SOCKS5 authentication: successful
UDP ASSOCIATE: accepted
UDP relay returned: <relay-ip>:<relay-port>
UDP DNS query sent to: 1.1.1.1:53
UDP response: received
DNS result: answer received for example.com

Result: UDP over SOCKS5 is working.

Understanding the Results

SOCKS5 authentication: successful

The proxy username and password are valid.

UDP ASSOCIATE: accepted

The proxy accepted the SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE request and created a UDP relay.

UDP response: received

The UDP packet was successfully forwarded through the proxy relay, reached the DNS server, and the response was returned to the client.

DNS result: answer received

The DNS server successfully resolved the requested domain.

Troubleshooting

If authentication fails:

Authentication failed
SOCKS5 username/password auth failed
status=1

Verify the username, password, service access, and account status. Also confirm that you are using valid Residential Proxy credentials.

If the UDP ASSOCIATE request fails:

UDP ASSOCIATE failed
Command not supported
Connection not allowed by ruleset
SOCKS5 reply code 7
SOCKS5 reply code 2

Confirm that you are using:

• Residential Proxies
• SOCKS5
• Port 12000
• The -requireUdp-true username flag

If the UDP request times out:

timed out
UDP response timeout
No UDP response received

The SOCKS5 connection may have succeeded, and the proxy may have returned a UDP relay, but the UDP packet or response did not complete.

For Geonode Residential Proxies, confirm that your username includes:

-requireUdp-true

If the flag is missing, authentication may still succeed, but the UDP relay test can time out because the session was not routed through the UDP-enabled path.

Timeouts may also occur because of firewall rules, local network restrictions, destination-side filtering, or an incorrect proxy configuration.

Summary

To use UDP with Geonode Residential Proxies, use the SOCKS5 protocol on port 12000 and include the -requireUdp-true flag in your proxy username.

Geonode implements UDP support through the SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE command, allowing the proxy to establish a UDP relay after successful authentication.

A DNS query sent through the SOCKS5 proxy is the simplest way to verify that UDP has been configured correctly.