OPNsense Forum

English Forums => 26.7 Series => Topic started by: 8b4df00d on August 24, 2026, 04:56:58 PM

Title: UDP Broadcast Relay – Blocking outbound broadcasts on specific interfaces
Post by: 8b4df00d on August 24, 2026, 04:56:58 PM
Hi everyone,

My homelab is segmented into several VLANs. Certain devices use mDNS to advertise their services across subnets (e.g., AirPlay on Apple TVs). To make these services discoverable, I am using the UDP Broadcast Relay plugin (Relay Port: 5353, Broadcast Address: 224.0.0.251, Source Address: 1.1.1.1). I have also created the necessary firewall rules on each interface allowing traffic from the local subnet to 224.0.0.251 on UDP/5353.

This setup works flawlessly, and all mDNS services are forwarded as expected.

On the WAN side of my OPNsense, I have a standard FRITZ!Box network containing shared devices (such as an AirPrint-capable printer).

Technically, I could just add the WAN interface to the UDP Broadcast Relay configuration, add the corresponding firewall rule, and the printer would become available.

However, I have security concerns: adding WAN to the relay would mean that all mDNS broadcasts from my internal VLANs would also be forwarded/exposed to the WAN network. Even though this is just a homelab, I would like to prevent internal broadcasts from leaking into the WAN (since this interface is shared with others).

What I have tried so far:

My Question:
Is there a way to selectively listen to mDNS on internal interfaces and relay them to specific VLANs, while blocking the relay from broadcasting those gathered mDNS packets out onto the WAN interface?

Thanks in advance for any insights!