diff --git a/bin/tests/system/serve-stale/tests.sh b/bin/tests/system/serve-stale/tests.sh
index dc5e7d9d9f..6dc3c20308 100755
--- a/bin/tests/system/serve-stale/tests.sh
+++ b/bin/tests/system/serve-stale/tests.sh
@@ -1649,7 +1649,7 @@ if [ $ret != 0 ]; then echo_i "failed"; fi
 status=$((status + ret))
 # Check that expired records are not dumped.
 ret=0
-grep "; expired since .* (awaiting cleanup)" ns5/named_dump.db.test$n && ret=1
+grep "; expired (awaiting cleanup)" ns5/named_dump.db.test$n && ret=1
 if [ $ret != 0 ]; then echo_i "failed"; fi
 status=$((status + ret))
 
@@ -1665,13 +1665,13 @@ status=$((status + ret))
 echo_i "check rndc dump expired data.example ($n)"
 ret=0
 awk '/; expired/ { x=$0; getline; print x, $0}' ns5/named_dump.db.test$n \
-  | grep "; expired since .* (awaiting cleanup) data\.example\..*A text record with a 2 second ttl" >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
+  | grep "; expired (awaiting cleanup) data\.example\..*A text record with a 2 second ttl" >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
 awk '/; expired/ { x=$0; getline; print x, $0}' ns5/named_dump.db.test$n \
-  | grep "; expired since .* (awaiting cleanup) nodata\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
+  | grep "; expired (awaiting cleanup) nodata\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
 awk '/; expired/ { x=$0; getline; print x, $0}' ns5/named_dump.db.test$n \
-  | grep "; expired since .* (awaiting cleanup) nxdomain\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
+  | grep "; expired (awaiting cleanup) nxdomain\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
 awk '/; expired/ { x=$0; getline; print x, $0}' ns5/named_dump.db.test$n \
-  | grep "; expired since .* (awaiting cleanup) othertype\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
+  | grep "; expired (awaiting cleanup) othertype\.example\." >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
 # Also make sure the not expired data does not have an expired comment.
 awk '/; authanswer/ { x=$0; getline; print x, $0}' ns5/named_dump.db.test$n \
   | grep "; authanswer longttl\.example.*A text record with a 600 second ttl" >/dev/null 2>&1 || ret=1
diff --git a/lib/dns/masterdump.c b/lib/dns/masterdump.c
index 9c98ffd552..7b8346320a 100644
--- a/lib/dns/masterdump.c
+++ b/lib/dns/masterdump.c
@@ -1164,15 +1164,7 @@ again:
 			if (STALE(rds)) {
 				fprintf(f, "; stale\n");
 			} else if (ANCIENT(rds)) {
-				isc_buffer_t b;
-				char buf[sizeof("YYYYMMDDHHMMSS")];
-				memset(buf, 0, sizeof(buf));
-				isc_buffer_init(&b, buf, sizeof(buf) - 1);
-				dns_time64_totext((uint64_t)rds->ttl, &b);
-				fprintf(f,
-					"; expired since %s "
-					"(awaiting cleanup)\n",
-					buf);
+				fprintf(f, "; expired (awaiting cleanup)\n");
 			}
 			result = dump_rdataset(mctx, name, rds, ctx, buffer, f);
 			if (result != ISC_R_SUCCESS) {
diff --git a/lib/dns/qpcache.c b/lib/dns/qpcache.c
index 01b8bf1321..633d527a80 100644
--- a/lib/dns/qpcache.c
+++ b/lib/dns/qpcache.c
@@ -954,15 +954,20 @@ setttl(dns_slabheader_t *header, dns_ttl_t newttl) {
 	}
 }
 
+static void
+mark_ancient(dns_slabheader_t *header) {
+	setttl(header, 0);
+	mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
+	HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+}
+
 /*
  * Caller must hold the node (write) lock.
  */
 static void
 expireheader(dns_slabheader_t *header, isc_rwlocktype_t *nlocktypep,
 	     isc_rwlocktype_t *tlocktypep, dns_expire_t reason DNS__DB_FLARG) {
-	setttl(header, 0);
-	mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-	HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+	mark_ancient(header);
 
 	if (isc_refcount_current(&HEADERNODE(header)->erefs) == 0) {
 		qpcache_t *qpdb = (qpcache_t *)header->db;
@@ -1058,7 +1063,7 @@ bindrdataset(qpcache_t *qpdb, qpcnode_t *node, dns_slabheader_t *header,
 		 * (these records should not be cached anyway).
 		 */
 
-		if (KEEPSTALE(qpdb) && stale_ttl > now) {
+		if (!ZEROTTL(header) && KEEPSTALE(qpdb) && stale_ttl > now) {
 			stale = true;
 		} else {
 			/*
@@ -1073,6 +1078,7 @@ bindrdataset(qpcache_t *qpdb, qpcnode_t *node, dns_slabheader_t *header,
 	rdataset->rdclass = qpdb->common.rdclass;
 	rdataset->type = DNS_TYPEPAIR_TYPE(header->type);
 	rdataset->covers = DNS_TYPEPAIR_COVERS(header->type);
+	rdataset->ttl = !ZEROTTL(header) ? header->ttl - now : 0;
 	rdataset->ttl = header->ttl - now;
 	rdataset->trust = header->trust;
 	rdataset->resign = 0;
@@ -1103,7 +1109,7 @@ bindrdataset(qpcache_t *qpdb, qpcnode_t *node, dns_slabheader_t *header,
 		rdataset->attributes |= DNS_RDATASETATTR_STALE;
 	} else if (!ACTIVE(header, now)) {
 		rdataset->attributes |= DNS_RDATASETATTR_ANCIENT;
-		rdataset->ttl = header->ttl;
+		rdataset->ttl = 0;
 	}
 
 	rdataset->count = atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&header->count, 1);
@@ -1270,8 +1276,7 @@ check_stale_header(qpcnode_t *node, dns_slabheader_t *header,
 				}
 				dns_slabheader_destroy(&header);
 			} else {
-				mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-				HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+				mark_ancient(header);
 				*header_prev = header;
 			}
 		} else {
@@ -2233,8 +2238,7 @@ findrdataset(dns_db_t *db, dns_dbnode_t *node, dns_dbversion_t *version,
 				 * non-zero.  This is so because 'node' is an
 				 * argument to the function.
 				 */
-				mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-				HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+				mark_ancient(header);
 			}
 		} else if (EXISTS(header) && !ANCIENT(header)) {
 			if (header->type == matchtype) {
@@ -2585,13 +2589,6 @@ qpdb_destroy(dns_db_t *arg) {
 	qpcache_detach(&qpdb);
 }
 
-static void
-mark_ancient(dns_slabheader_t *header) {
-	setttl(header, 0);
-	mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-	HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
-}
-
 /*%
  * Clean up dead nodes.  These are nodes which have no references, and
  * have no data.  They are dead but we could not or chose not to delete
@@ -3162,7 +3159,6 @@ find_header:
 			newheader->next = topheader->next;
 			newheader->down = topheader;
 			topheader->next = newheader;
-			qpnode->dirty = 1;
 			mark_ancient(header);
 			if (sigheader != NULL) {
 				mark_ancient(sigheader);
diff --git a/lib/dns/rbt-cachedb.c b/lib/dns/rbt-cachedb.c
index f449e90cfd..7a77739869 100644
--- a/lib/dns/rbt-cachedb.c
+++ b/lib/dns/rbt-cachedb.c
@@ -417,9 +417,7 @@ check_stale_header(dns_rbtnode_t *node, dns_slabheader_t *header,
 				}
 				dns_slabheader_destroy(&header);
 			} else {
-				dns__rbtdb_mark(header,
-						DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-				RBTDB_HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+				dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(header);
 				*header_prev = header;
 			}
 		} else {
@@ -1401,9 +1399,7 @@ cache_findrdataset(dns_db_t *db, dns_dbnode_t *node, dns_dbversion_t *version,
 				 * non-zero.  This is so because 'node' is an
 				 * argument to the function.
 				 */
-				dns__rbtdb_mark(header,
-						DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-				RBTDB_HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+				dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(header);
 			}
 		} else if (EXISTS(header) && !ANCIENT(header)) {
 			if (header->type == matchtype) {
@@ -1589,9 +1585,7 @@ void
 dns__cacherbt_expireheader(dns_slabheader_t *header,
 			   isc_rwlocktype_t *tlocktypep,
 			   dns_expire_t reason DNS__DB_FLARG) {
-	dns__rbtdb_setttl(header, 0);
-	dns__rbtdb_mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
-	RBTDB_HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
+	dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(header);
 
 	if (isc_refcount_current(&RBTDB_HEADERNODE(header)->references) == 0) {
 		isc_rwlocktype_t nlocktype = isc_rwlocktype_write;
diff --git a/lib/dns/rbtdb.c b/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
index a708f7b7fe..cb69d6be0c 100644
--- a/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
+++ b/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
@@ -857,8 +857,8 @@ dns__rbtdb_mark(dns_slabheader_t *header, uint_least16_t flag) {
 	}
 }
 
-static void
-mark_ancient(dns_slabheader_t *header) {
+void
+dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(dns_slabheader_t *header) {
 	dns__rbtdb_setttl(header, 0);
 	dns__rbtdb_mark(header, DNS_SLABHEADERATTR_ANCIENT);
 	RBTDB_HEADERNODE(header)->dirty = 1;
@@ -2150,7 +2150,7 @@ dns__rbtdb_bindrdataset(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, dns_rbtnode_t *node,
 		 * (these records should not be cached anyway).
 		 */
 
-		if (KEEPSTALE(rbtdb) && stale_ttl > now) {
+		if (!ZEROTTL(header) && KEEPSTALE(rbtdb) && stale_ttl > now) {
 			stale = true;
 		} else {
 			/*
@@ -2165,7 +2165,7 @@ dns__rbtdb_bindrdataset(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, dns_rbtnode_t *node,
 	rdataset->rdclass = rbtdb->common.rdclass;
 	rdataset->type = DNS_TYPEPAIR_TYPE(header->type);
 	rdataset->covers = DNS_TYPEPAIR_COVERS(header->type);
-	rdataset->ttl = header->ttl - now;
+	rdataset->ttl = !ZEROTTL(header) ? header->ttl - now : 0;
 	rdataset->trust = header->trust;
 
 	if (NEGATIVE(header)) {
@@ -2194,7 +2194,7 @@ dns__rbtdb_bindrdataset(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, dns_rbtnode_t *node,
 		rdataset->attributes |= DNS_RDATASETATTR_STALE;
 	} else if (IS_CACHE(rbtdb) && !ACTIVE(header, now)) {
 		rdataset->attributes |= DNS_RDATASETATTR_ANCIENT;
-		rdataset->ttl = header->ttl;
+		rdataset->ttl = 0;
 	}
 
 	rdataset->count = atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&header->count, 1);
@@ -2604,7 +2604,7 @@ dns__rbtdb_add(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, dns_rbtnode_t *rbtnode,
 				     topheader != NULL;
 				     topheader = topheader->next)
 				{
-					mark_ancient(topheader);
+					dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(topheader);
 				}
 				goto find_header;
 			}
@@ -2667,7 +2667,7 @@ dns__rbtdb_add(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, dns_rbtnode_t *rbtnode,
 				 * The new rdataset is better.  Expire the
 				 * ncache entry.
 				 */
-				mark_ancient(topheader);
+				dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(topheader);
 				topheader = NULL;
 				goto find_header;
 			}
@@ -3013,9 +3013,9 @@ find_header:
 				changed->dirty = true;
 			}
 			if (rbtversion == NULL) {
-				mark_ancient(header);
+				dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(header);
 				if (sigheader != NULL) {
-					mark_ancient(sigheader);
+					dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(sigheader);
 				}
 			}
 			if (rbtversion != NULL && !header_nx) {
@@ -3119,7 +3119,7 @@ find_header:
 					expireheader = newheader;
 				}
 
-				mark_ancient(expireheader);
+				dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(expireheader);
 				/*
 				 * FIXME: In theory, we should mark the RRSIG
 				 * and the header at the same time, but there is
diff --git a/lib/dns/rbtdb_p.h b/lib/dns/rbtdb_p.h
index 45ab1bcc90..1b2c7dca2e 100644
--- a/lib/dns/rbtdb_p.h
+++ b/lib/dns/rbtdb_p.h
@@ -486,6 +486,8 @@ dns__zonerbt_addwildcards(dns_rbtdb_t *rbtdb, const dns_name_t *name,
  * Cache-specific functions that are called from rbtdb.c
  */
 void
+dns__rbtdb_mark_ancient(dns_slabheader_t *header);
+void
 dns__cacherbt_expireheader(dns_slabheader_t *header,
 			   isc_rwlocktype_t *tlocktypep,
 			   dns_expire_t reason DNS__DB_FLARG);