March 2019 - dovecot - dovecot.org

[Dovecot] auth: Error: net_connect_unix(anvil-auth-penalty) failed: Permission denied
by mailing＠securitylabs.it 01 Oct '25

01 Oct '25

Hello, just upgraded one of my testing machine from dovecot 1.2.15 to 2.0.7. After some trouble with permissions now all seems working, but when I stop dovecot I have these errors in log: Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: master: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=20362 uid=0 code=kill) Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: pop3-login: Error: read(anvil) failed: EOF Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: imap-login: Error: read(anvil) failed: EOF Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: imap(mailing(a)securitylabs.it): Server shutting down. bytes=410/59361 Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: imap(mailing(a)securitylabs.it): Server shutting down. bytes=79/26605 Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: imap(mailing(a)securitylabs.it): Server shutting down. bytes=802/55708 Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: imap(mailing(a)securitylabs.it): Server shutting down. bytes=258/1242 Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: auth: Error: read(anvil-auth-penalty) failed: EOF Nov 9 17:08:07 in dovecot: auth: Error: net_connect_unix(anvil-auth-penalty) failed: Permission denied dovecot -n: # 2.0.7: /usr/local/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 2.6.32-5-xen-686 i686 Debian squeeze/sid auth_cache_negative_ttl = 2 mins auth_cache_size = 1000 M auth_cache_ttl = 2 mins auth_master_user_separator = * auth_username_chars = abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ01234567890.-_@& disable_plaintext_auth = no dotlock_use_excl = yes first_valid_uid = 100 last_valid_uid = 105 lock_method = dotlock log_timestamp = "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S " login_greeting = Server ready. mail_fsync = never mail_gid = Debian-exim mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir:INDEX=/var/indexes/%d/%n mail_privileged_group = Debian-exim mail_uid = Debian-exim managesieve_notify_capability = mailto managesieve_sieve_capability = fileinto reject envelope encoded-character vacation subaddress comparator-i;ascii-numeric relational regex imap4flags copy include variables body enotify environment mailbox date namespace { inbox = yes location = prefix = separator = / type = private } namespace { location = maildir:~/Maildir/expunged prefix = EXPUNGED/ separator = / type = private } namespace { location = maildir:~/Maildir/deleted prefix = DELETED/ separator = / type = private } namespace { location = maildir:~/Maildir/deleted/expunged prefix = DELETED/EXPUNGED/ separator = / type = private } passdb { args = /usr/local/etc/dovecot-sql.conf driver = sql } passdb { args = /usr/local/etc/passwd.masterusers driver = passwd-file master = yes pass = yes } plugin { lazy_expunge = EXPUNGED/ DELETED/ DELETED/EXPUNGED/ mail_log_events = delete expunge mail_log_group_events = quota = maildir quota_warning = storage=80%% /usr/local/bin/dovecot-quota-warning.sh 80 quota_warning2 = storage=90%% /usr/local/bin/dovecot-quota-warning.sh 90 sieve = ~/.dovecot.sieve } pop3_no_flag_updates = yes protocols = imap pop3 service auth { unix_listener auth-userdb { group = Debian-exim mode = 0600 user = Debian-exim } } service imap-login { client_limit = 256 process_limit = 128 process_min_avail = 3 service_count = 1 } service imap { drop_priv_before_exec = yes process_limit = 256 vsz_limit = 256 B } service pop3-login { client_limit = 256 process_limit = 128 process_min_avail = 3 service_count = 1 } service pop3 { drop_priv_before_exec = yes process_limit = 256 vsz_limit = 256 B } ssl_cert = </usr/local/etc/dovecot.crt ssl_key = </usr/local/etc/dovecot.key userdb { args = /usr/local/etc/dovecot-sql.conf driver = sql } protocol imap { mail_max_userip_connections = 10 mail_plugins = " notify quota imap_quota mail_log lazy_expunge" } protocol pop3 { mail_max_userip_connections = 3 mail_plugins = " notify quota mail_log" pop3_uidl_format = %08Xu%08Xv } protocol lda { mail_plugins = quota sieve postmaster_address = postmaster(a)securitylabs.it } My /usr/local/var/run/dovecot directory: 4 drwxr-sr-x 4 root staff 4096 Nov 9 17:08 . 4 drwxrwsrwx 3 root staff 4096 Nov 9 17:05 .. 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 anvil 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 anvil-auth-penalty 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 auth-client 0 srw------- 1 dovecot staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 auth-login 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 auth-master 0 srw------- 1 Debian-exim Debian-exim 0 Nov 9 17:05 auth-userdb 0 srw------- 1 dovecot staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 auth-worker 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 config 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 dict 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 director-admin 0 srw-rw-rw- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 dns-client 0 srw------- 1 root staff 0 Nov 9 17:05 doveadm-server 0 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root staff 35 Nov 9 17:05 dovecot.conf -> /usr/local/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 9 17:05 empty 4 drwxr-x--- 2 root dovenull 4096 Nov 9 17:05 login My emails are delivered as user Debian-exim and users are virtual in a MySQL DB. This system is behind a proxy (so the master user)

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postfix alias and dovecot quota
by Alexandre Ellert 28 Sep '25

28 Sep '25

Hello, Can someone tell me if it’s possible to configure dovecot to answer quota information about real mailbox when I query a postfix alias mailbox (this information is actually in a mysql database) ? Example : doveadm quota get - u alias(a)domain.com doveadm(alias(a)domain.com): Fatal: User doesn't exist doveadm quota get - u realmailbox(a)domain.com Quota name Type Value Limit % user STORAGE 2048853 2048000 100 user MESSAGE 6783 - 0 I’d like to have this result : doveadm quota get - u alias(a)domain.com Quota name Type Value Limit % user STORAGE 2048853 2048000 100 user MESSAGE 6783 - 0 doveadm quota get - u realmailbox(a)domain.com Quota name Type Value Limit % user STORAGE 2048853 2048000 100 user MESSAGE 6783 - 0 Thanks for your help. Alexandre.

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dovecot-2.3.2.1 and dovecot-pigeonhole-0.5.2 bug?
by Jan Nowak 16 Aug '24

16 Aug '24

Hello, we have a problem after updating the software with the operation of sieve scripts sending a copy of the e-mails, e-mails are not transferred. Configuration: dovecot-2.3.2.1 + dovecot-pigeonhole-0.5.2 + FreeBSD 11.2 log: Sep 06 13:28:17 lda(XXX@XXX)<38615><XXX+XXX>: Info: sieve: msgid=<XXX-XXX-XXX-7788-XXX@XXXXnet>: stored mail into mailbox 'INBOX' Sep 06 13:28:17 lda(XXX@XXX)<38615><XXX+XXX>: Info: sieve: Execution of script /usr/home/XXX/mail/XXX(a)XXX/.dovecot.sieve failed, but implicit keep was successful (user logfile /usr/home/XXX/mail/XXX(a)XXX/.dovecot.sieve.log may reveal additional details) .dovecot.sieve.log: error: msgid=<XXX-XXX-XXX-7788-XXX@XXXXnet>: failed to redirect message to <XXXXX(a)XXXXXX.com>: smtp(127.0.0.1:25): DATA failed: 552 Message header not CRLF terminated (permanent failure). On old configuration: dovecot 2.2 + dovecot-pigeonhole- 0.4 + FreeBSD 11.2 we don't have problem. Has anyone had a similar problem, knows the solution?

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[Dovecot] doveadm delete folders ?
by Robert Schetterer 19 Feb '24

19 Feb '24

Hi , is there a feature like doveadm expunge savedbefore ... for imap folder delete ? -- Best Regards MfG Robert Schetterer Germany/Munich/Bavaria

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Mailbox problem on centos O/S after some "fiddling"
by John Richards 28 May '21

28 May '21

Good day from Somerset, England Version 2.2.10 Problem after a huge centos update Data:- Server has 8 mailboxes under /var/mail/"user name" history:- After update, mail to ONE user was going into mqueue as undeliverable Had to delete and recreate the user. somewhere along the line (ME!) /var/mail/;imap var/mail/new were deleted After new user and reboot server no one could access mailboxes with password error except ONE user randomly....This created the /var/mail/.mbox folder and sub folders but with the owner as the user name. Then any mail for other users was put in the /var/new folder and just sat there. only the "owner" of this folder could get mail, everyone else was prohibited with password error. chown the folder (owner:group) to root did nothing BUT When .mbox was give PUBLIC execute permissions (771) suddenly everything works fine! I do not understand why dovecot creates this folder as we ONLY ever use pop3 (currently with plain text auth but going to secure when this sorted) for mail and also why when it writes the blank folder it "owns" it with the user accessing it (also the /var/mail/new folder takes the same owner) I have trolled everywhere and spent a whole day on this so any clues would be very gratefully accepted as do not like to leave this folder as 771 (note the folder INBOX within it is only 770 and the log file in that is 660) Is this INBOX needed at all for pop3 ? rgds John Richards UK ================= dovecot -n # 2.2.10: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 3.10.0-514.2.2.el7.x86_64 x86_64 CentOS Linux release 7.3.1611 (Core ) ext4 auth_mechanisms = plain login disable_plaintext_auth = no mail_location = mbox:/var/mail/:INBOX=/var/mail/%u mbox_write_locks = fcntl namespace inbox { inbox = yes location = mailbox Drafts { special_use = \Drafts } mailbox Junk { special_use = \Junk } mailbox Sent { special_use = \Sent } mailbox "Sent Messages" { special_use = \Sent } mailbox Trash { special_use = \Trash } prefix = } passdb { driver = shadow } protocols = pop3 service imap-login { inet_listener imap { port = 143 } inet_listener imaps { port = 993 ssl = yes } } ssl_cert = </etc/pki/tls/certs/watchetwebdesign.co.uk.crt ssl_key = </etc/pki/tls/private/watchetwebdesign.co.uk.key userdb { driver = passwd }

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[Dovecot] Doveadm sometimes failed "to iterate through some users" after upgrade to 2.2
by Alessio Cecchi 04 May '21

04 May '21

Hi, I'm running every week in cron "doveadm expunge -A mailbox Spam before 30d" and monthly "doveadm quota recalc -A". After the upgrade to dovecot 2.2.12 (from 2.1.17), "doveadm -A" sometimes exit with this error: doveadm(user(a)domain.com): Error: User listing returned failure doveadm: Error: Failed to iterate through some users # echo $? 75 If I re-run the same command the user where doveadm stops changeing (always in alphabetical order): info@ mario@ pippo@ zazza@ and finally, after 3 or 4 run, ends with success. I have enable debug (via doveadm -D and auth/mail debub in 10-logging.con) but there are no errors or difference in the log when doveadm exit with the error (error code is 75). If I run # doveadm expunge -A mailbox Spam savedbefore 30d doveadm works fine Can somebody help me? Here is my configuration: # dovecot -n # 2.2.12: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 2.6.32-5-amd64 x86_64 Debian 6.0.9 auth_debug = yes auth_master_user_separator = * auth_verbose = yes deliver_log_format = msgid=%m, from=%f, subject="%s": %$ dict { expire = mysql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext sqlquota = mysql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext } disable_plaintext_auth = no dotlock_use_excl = no first_valid_gid = 89 first_valid_uid = 89 imap_client_workarounds = delay-newmail tb-extra-mailbox-sep tb-lsub-flags imap_idle_notify_interval = 29 mins imap_logout_format = in=%i out=%o session=<%{session}> last_valid_gid = 89 last_valid_uid = 89 lda_mailbox_autocreate = yes lda_mailbox_autosubscribe = yes listen = * mail_debug = yes mail_fsync = always mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir mail_nfs_index = yes mail_nfs_storage = yes mail_plugins = quota expire maildir_very_dirty_syncs = yes managesieve_notify_capability = mailto managesieve_sieve_capability = fileinto reject envelope encoded-character subaddress comparator-i;ascii-numeric relational regex imap4flags copy include variables body enotify environment mailbox date ihave vnd.dovecot.duplicate mmap_disable = yes namespace { list = children location = maildir:%%h/Maildir:INDEX=~/Maildir/shared/%%u prefix = shared/%%n/ separator = / subscriptions = no type = shared } namespace inbox { inbox = yes location = mailbox Drafts { auto = subscribe special_use = \Drafts } mailbox Sent { auto = subscribe special_use = \Sent } mailbox "Sent Messages" { special_use = \Sent } mailbox Spam { auto = subscribe special_use = \Junk } mailbox Trash { auto = subscribe special_use = \Trash } prefix = separator = / } passdb { args = username_format=%Ld /etc/dovecot/extra/alias-domains-denylogin.txt deny = yes driver = passwd-file } passdb { args = /etc/dovecot/extra/master-users driver = passwd-file master = yes pass = yes } passdb { args = /etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql.conf.ext driver = sql } plugin { expire = Trash expire2 = Spam expire_dict = proxy::expire quota = maildir:UserQuota quota2 = dict:Quota Usage::noenforcing:proxy::sqlquota quota_grace = 10M quota_rule2 = Trash:storage=+100M quota_warning = storage=95%% quota-warning 95 %u quota_warning2 = storage=80%% quota-warning 80 %u sieve = ~/.dovecot.sieve sieve_before = /etc/dovecot/sieve/before.sieve sieve_dir = ~/sieve sieve_extensions = +vnd.dovecot.duplicate -vacation } pop3_client_workarounds = outlook-no-nuls oe-ns-eoh pop3_logout_format = top=%t/%p, retr=%r/%b, del=%d/%m, size=%s, bytes=%i/%o, session=<%{session}> protocols = imap pop3 sieve service auth-worker { process_limit = 1000 } service auth { client_limit = 5500 unix_listener auth-userdb { group = vchkpw mode = 0660 user = vpopmail } } service dict { process_limit = 300 unix_listener dict { group = vchkpw mode = 0660 user = vpopmail } } service imap-login { process_min_avail = 4 service_count = 0 } service imap { process_limit = 4000 service_count = 100 } service managesieve-login { inet_listener sieve { port = 4190 } } service pop3-login { service_count = 0 } service pop3 { process_limit = 1023 service_count = 100 } service quota-warning { executable = script /etc/dovecot/scripts/quota-warning.sh unix_listener quota-warning { user = vpopmail } user = vpopmail } ssl_cert = </etc/dovecot/ssl/wildcard-myemail.net.pem ssl_key = </etc/dovecot/ssl/wildcard-myemail.net.key submission_host = localhost userdb { args = /etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql.conf.ext driver = sql } protocol lda { mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir:INDEX=MEMORY mail_plugins = quota expire sieve } protocol imap { mail_max_userip_connections = 15 mail_plugins = quota expire imap_quota } protocol sieve { mail_max_userip_connections = 2 } protocol pop3 { mail_max_userip_connections = 5 } -- Alessio Cecchi is: @ ILS -> http://www.linux.it/~alessice/ on LinkedIn -> http://www.linkedin.com/in/alessice Assistenza Sistemi GNU/Linux -> http://www.cecchi.biz Cloud Email Hosting -> http://www.qboxmail.com @ PLUG -> ex-Presidente, adesso senatore a vita, http://www.prato.linux.it

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How to backup maildir
by Robert Moskowitz 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

I have been thinking, and reading, on how to back up my mailserver. I have not found any approach that seems ready to use. I have run years without any backup, but would really like to have something in place. I figure I can attach a USB drive and backup to that, then from there rsync to something elsewhere. Further if that USB drive is a full mailserver image, I actually have a 'hot backup' where I only have to put the backup drive into a system and boot up at the last backup. But this means properly copying all of /home/vmail and probably /home/sieve plus the /var/lib/mysql Are there good tools that nicely does this? Or do I choose a time late at night (only I am sometimes in non-US timezones) to shut down all services and just use rsync? And stopping services itself is thought provoking. What if Dovecot, amavis, mysql, or whatelse is in the middle of writing out a mail file what happens to that file and restart. Just scary stuff and, in part, why I have never tackled this in the past. thanks for all feedback

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imap doesn't like my passwd
by James 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

I spent days on this problem. I have dovecot setup to use SSL and IMAP. I also have a pop account that I had no trouble getting working. Both use PAM authentication on Linux. openssl s_client -connect localhost:993 a login test_user test_secure_password The response I got back was: a BAD Invalid characters in atom I changed the password to "abc" and it worked. The secure password used to work but it was a different architecture (x86_64 I think). The current architecture is armhf. It may be different versions of the software too. Dovecot v2.1.7

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[Dovecot] Postfixadmin/MySQL/Dovecot 2 and quota
by Matt 01 Apr '20

01 Apr '20

Hi all, I'm setting up a new email server based on the softwares list below: * Postfix * Dovecot 2.0.9 * MySQL * Postfixadmin 2.3.6 My current problem is I'm unsure whether quota feature is well configured or not. In order to test and validate, I use Roundcubemail GUI which provides percentage of the space used by the mailbox (quota should be applied per mailbox). Here, my dovecot configuration: dovecot.conf: dict { quotadict = mysql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-quota.conf } dovecot-dict-quota.conf: connect = host=localhost dbname=postfix user=postfix password=postfix map { pattern = priv/quota/storage table = quota2 username_field = username value_field = bytes } map { pattern = priv/quota/messages table = quota2 username_field = username value_field = messages } dovecot-sql.conf.ext: driver = mysql connect = host=localhost dbname=postfix user=postfix password=postfix default_pass_scheme = PLAIN-MD5 password_query = SELECT username AS user, password, \ CONCAT('*:storage=', CAST(quota AS CHAR), 'b') AS quota_rule \ FROM mailbox WHERE username = '%u' AND active='1' user_query = SELECT maildir, 89 AS uid, 12 AS gid, \ concat('dict:storage=',floor(quota/1000),'::proxy::quotadict') AS quota, \ CONCAT('*:storage=', CAST(quota AS CHAR), 'b') AS quota_rule \ FROM mailbox WHERE username = '%u' AND active='1' conf.d/90-quota.conf: plugin { quota = dict:user::proxy::quotadict quota_rule2 = Trash:storage=+10%% } conf.d/20-imap.conf: protocol imap { mail_plugins = $mail_plugins imap_quota } When I check postfixadmin GUI, I can see that quota in realtime in quota2 table, no problem. But Roundcubemail cannot get this information and shows a unknown quota. If I add this line: quota_rule = *:storage=1G in conf.d/90-quota.conf file, it works, I mean roundcubemail gets and shows information (but not the one stored in db of course). I think I'm close to the right configuration but I need your help to complete this setup. Thank you in advance for your help. Best, Matt

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intermittant passdb error
by NeuralNET 23 Jan '20

23 Jan '20

I'm having great difficulty debugging this problem.. I'm having intermittant problems connecting to dovecot. This started a couple of days ago following an apt-get update on the server. I'm running Ubuntu 14.04, dovecot 2.2.9. Here's my dovecot -n --- # 2.2.9: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 3.19.0-59-generic x86_64 Ubuntu 14.04.4 LTS auth_mechanisms = plain login mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir namespace inbox { inbox = yes location = mailbox Drafts { special_use = \Drafts } mailbox Junk { special_use = \Junk } mailbox Sent { special_use = \Sent } mailbox "Sent Messages" { special_use = \Sent } mailbox Trash { special_use = \Trash } prefix = } passdb { driver = pam } plugin { sieve_dir = ~/sieve } protocols = imap service auth { unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/auth { mode = 0666 } user = $default_internal_user } ssl = required ssl_cert = </etc/dovecot/box.neuralnet.org.uk_crt.pem ssl_key = </etc/dovecot/box.neuralnet.org.uk_key.pem ssl_protocols = !SSLv2 !SSLv3 userdb { driver = passwd } --- Pretty standard stuff. In addition disable_plaintext_auth = yes is set in 10-auth.conf This showed up in the mail.err after the reboot; --- May 17 09:04:51 server dovecot: imap-login: Error: read(anvil) failed: EOF May 17 09:04:51 server dovecot: auth: Error: read(anvil-auth-penalty) failed: EOF May 17 09:04:51 server dovecot: auth: Error: net_connect_unix(anvil-auth-penalty) failed: Permission denied --- At that point The following commands were run on the server a few minutes apart with no changes made in the interim; --- username@box /etc/dovecot $ doveadm user username field valueuserdb lookup: user username doesn't exist username@box /etc/dovecot $ doveadm user username field value uid 1000 gid 1000 home /home/username mail maildir:~/Maildir system_groups_user username --- so, passdb wasn't accessible, but now it is ? Imap logins are showing in mail.log as failing, but thunderbird is currently connected; --- May 18 12:00:58 box dovecot: imap-login: Disconnected (auth failed, 3 attempts in 19 secs): user=<username>, method=PLAIN, rip=10.0.0.3, lip=10.0.0.99, TLS, session=<********> May 18 12:08:27 box dovecot: imap-login: Disconnected (auth failed, 3 attempts in 20 secs): user=<username>, method=PLAIN, rip=10.0.0.3, lip=10.0.0.99, TLS, session=<********> May 18 12:08:50 box dovecot: imap-login: Disconnected (auth failed, 3 attempts in 12 secs): user=<username>, method=PLAIN, rip=10.0.0.3, lip=10.0.0.99, TLS, session=<********> --- do I conclude that method=plain is failing, whereas method=login succeeds ? I tried setting auth_debug_password=yes and get the following; --- May 18 12:26:42 box dovecot: auth: Debug: client in: CONT#0111#011A********== (previous base64 data may contain sensitive data) May 18 12:26:42 box dovecot: auth-worker(12214): Debug: Loading modules from directory: /usr/lib/dovecot/modules/auth May 18 12:26:42 box dovecot: auth-worker(12214): Debug: pam(expert,10.0.0.3): lookup service=dovecot May 18 12:26:42 box dovecot: auth-worker(12214): Debug: pam(expert,10.0.0.3): #1/1 style=1 msg=Password: May 18 12:26:42 box dovecot: auth-worker(12211): pam(username,10.0.0.3): pam_authenticate() failed: Authentication failure (password mismatch?) (given password: ******) May 18 12:26:44 box dovecot: auth: Debug: client passdb out: FAIL#0112#011user=username --- Any assistance debugging this further is greatly recieved! Thanks.

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