- dovecot - dovecot.org

New Member
by Jochen Becker 30 Jan '26

30 Jan '26

Hi all My name is Jochen and I have joined the list in order to get some first hand advice on my journey of migrating my SOHO mail server from 2.3 to 2.4. I set up my first server back in 2005 or so. OpenSuse and Cyrus IMAP. That went fine until all of a sudden, some 8 or 10 years ago, Suse no longer supported Cyrus directly. So I switched over to Dovecot and did not regret it. My current production server (OpenSuse Leap 16, Dovecot 2.4.2) is running fine after a recent migration. But the HW is ageing and disk usage is getting close to 80%. So I got new and larger HW. I run OpenSuse Leap 16.0 and Dovecot 2.4.2 on it. As I ran into unsurmountable problems there (could not move mail_path away from /var/mail), I decided to set up a test system under Ubuntu server 25.10. There I have got Dovecot running much better, but still, I ran into problems I could not solve for quite some time now. So here I am. I will start with questions about Dovecot on Ubuntu - my test system - because there I hope my mistakes are not as bad. Aki, thanks for taking me on board. Kind regards Jochen Mainz, Germany

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Re: Panic: file imap-sieve-storage.c: line 216 (imap_sieve_add_mailbox_event): assertion failed: (ismt->src_box == NULL || ismt->src_box == src_box)
by Jeffrey Böhm 29 Jan '26

29 Jan '26

Hi, I’m seeing the same issue after upgrading to Dovecot 2.4.2. I reproduced it with both the Alpine Linux build and the official Dovecot Docker image referenced at [1]. In my case, the crash correlates strongly with iOS devices auto-deleting older messages from the Trash folder. As Christian described, it starts after a larger number of IMAP MOVE operations. Key finding: when I disable the imap_sieve extensions, the crashes stop. Personal Sieve rules continue to work as expected, so the problem appears to be specific to imap_sieve (or its interaction with frequent MOVE operations). > sieve_plugins { > sieve_imapsieve = no > } > > protocol imap { > mail_plugins { > imap_sieve = no > imap_filter_sieve = no > } > } My configuration with the enabled imap_sieve extension is located at [2]. Kind regards Jeff [1]: https://github.com/dovecot/docker [2]: https://github.com/jeboehm/docker-mailserver/blob/7433443ebd4af1c422cb4030c…

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Migration to 2.4: Howto get the quota dict writing into a second DB
by volker.jaenisch＠inqbus.de 29 Jan '26

29 Jan '26

Dear Dovecot wizards! I have a question concerning the migration from 2.3.4 to 2.4.1. On 2.3.4 I had the following config dict { sql_store_user_quota = pgsql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql-store-user_quota.conf } With /etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql-store-user_quota.conf: connect = host=127.0.0.1 port=5433 dbname=dddd user=uuuu password=pppp: map { pattern = priv/quota/storage table = fill_user username_field = username value_field = bytes } map { pattern = priv/quota/messages table = messages_user username_field = username value_field = messages } On 2.4.1 I tried dict_map priv/quota/storage { sql_table = emailaddress_fill username_field = emailaddress dict_map_value_field quota_bytes { type = uint } } dict fill { sql_driver = pgsql pgsql pg_mc2 { parameters { dbname = dddd host = hhhh password = ppppp user = uuuuu } } } But it is doing nothing. Am sure I am missing something here (I guess howto connect these config snippets). Any help appreciated. Cheers, Volker -- =========================================================== inqbus Scientific Computing GmbH Dr. Volker Jaenisch Hungerbichlweg 3 +49 (8860) 9222 7 92 86977 Burggen https://inqbus.de ===========================================================

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Pigeonhole 2.4.2 build failure: cannot find -ldovecot-ldap even without LDAP support
by Adesh 29 Jan '26

29 Jan '26

Hi, I'm building Pigeonhole 2.4.2 (fresh tarball from https://pigeonhole.dovecot.org/releases/2.4/dovecot-pigeonhole-2.4.2.tar.gz) against Dovecot 2.4.2 compiled without LDAP support (--without-ldap during Dovecot configure, no libdovecot-ldap.so present). The build fails at linking libdovecot-sieve.la: > _CC ext-fileinto.lo_ > _CC ext-reject.lo_ > _..._ > _CC sieve.lo_ > _CCLD libdovecot-sieve.la_ > _/opt/rh/devtoolset-11/root/usr/libexec/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/11/ld: > cannot find -ldovecot-ldap_ > _collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status_ > _make[4]: *** [Makefile:757: libdovecot-sieve.la] Error 1_ NEWS confirms the fix is included: - sieve-ldap-storage: Fix compile without LDAP. Steps tried: * make distclean && ./configure --with-dovecot=/usr/local/apps/dovecot --with-ldap=no * Confirmed no openldap-devel influencing detection (or temporarily removed) * Fresh source extract, no prior build artifacts Configure output shows LDAP as disabled (or paste relevant lines if different). Is there an additional flag needed, or is this a regression/edge case in 2.4.2? Any patch or workaround would be appreciated. System: RHEL-like (devtoolset-11/gcc 11), Dovecot prefix /usr/local/apps/dovecot. -- Thanks and Regards, Adesh Rane Hi, I'm building Pigeonhole 2.4.2 (fresh tarball from [1]https://pigeonhole.dovecot.org/releases/2.4/dovecot-pigeonhole-2.4.2.tar.…) against Dovecot 2.4.2 compiled without LDAP support (--without-ldap during Dovecot configure, no libdovecot-ldap.so present). The build fails at linking libdovecot-sieve.la: CC ext-fileinto.lo CC ext-reject.lo ... CC sieve.lo CCLD libdovecot-sieve.la /opt/rh/devtoolset-11/root/usr/libexec/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/11/ld: cannot find -ldovecot-ldap collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status make[4]: *** [Makefile:757: libdovecot-sieve.la] Error 1 NEWS confirms the fix is included: - sieve-ldap-storage: Fix compile without LDAP. Steps tried: o make distclean && ./configure --with-dovecot=/usr/local/apps/dovecot --with-ldap=no o Confirmed no openldap-devel influencing detection (or temporarily removed) o Fresh source extract, no prior build artifacts Configure output shows LDAP as disabled (or paste relevant lines if different). Is there an additional flag needed, or is this a regression/edge case in 2.4.2? Any patch or workaround would be appreciated. System: RHEL-like (devtoolset-11/gcc 11), Dovecot prefix /usr/local/apps/dovecot. -- Thanks and Regards, Adesh Rane References Visible links 1. https://pigeonhole.dovecot.org/releases/2.4/dovecot-pigeonhole-2.4.2.tar.gz

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Bug-Report config handling with named filters
by Patrick Cernko 27 Jan '26

27 Jan '26

Hello Dovecot devs, I think I found a bug in Dovecot's config handling. The semantic of e.g. ssl_server { cert_file = /etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem key_file = /etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key } in a config file is slightly different to ssl_server_cert_file = /etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem ssl_server_key_file = /etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key If the directives are used in the second (flat) format, they can be overridden by doveadm (or the sieve* binaries), if the first (structured) version is used, they cannot be overridden. Even if the flat format is used in a "local" config file to override the default config as installed by the CE Debian package (which uses the structured), overriding the value of ssl_server_key_file on the doveadm cmdline is not possible. This prevents unprivileged users to use doveadm or the sieve* binaries as they cannot the tools will fail with an access error for the key file, even if the users knows and uses "-o ssl_server_key_file=''" or "-o ssl_server/key_file=''". I did not test overriding other settings in structured format, but I assume, that the issue is also present there. That means, settings that are specified in the structured format CANNOT be overridden with the "-o" cmdline option. I would like to ask you, to fix this issue in one of the next releases, please! Best regards, P.S.: It would be nice, if doveconf would also get a "-o" option to test overrides. -- Patrick Cernko <pcernko(a)mpi-klsb.mpg.de> +49 681 9325 5815 Joint Scientific IT and Technical Service Max-Planck-Institute für Informatik & Softwaresysteme

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mountpoint.c:264:33: error: implicit declaration of function ‘makedev’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
by Andrew Watkins 27 Jan '26

27 Jan '26

Hello, I am trying to build dovecot-2.4.2 on Solaris 11.4 with gcc 14.2 and getting the following error: CC module-dir.lo CC mountpoint.lo mountpoint.c: In function ‘mountpoint_iter_next’: mountpoint.c:264:33: error: implicit declaration of function ‘makedev’ [-Wimplicit-function-declaration] 264 | iter->mnt.dev = makedev(ent.ext.mnt_major, ent.ext.mnt_minor); | ^~~~~~~ *** Error code 1 The following command caused the error: echo " CC " mountpoint.lo;/bin/sh ../../libtool --silent --tag=CC --mode=compile gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I../.. -std=gnu11 -g -O2 -fstack-protector-strong -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -mfunction-return=keep -mindirect-branch=keep -Wall -W -Wmissing-prototypes -Wmissing-declarations -Wpointer-arith -Wchar-subscripts -Wformat=2 -Wbad-function-cast -fno-builtin-strftime -Wstrict-aliasing=2 -MT mountpoint.lo -MD -MP -MF .deps/mountpoint.Tpo -c -o mountpoint.lo mountpoint.c make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `mountpoint.lo' Current working directory /var/tmp/dovecot-2.4.0/src/lib *** Error code 1 I have been using dovecot for a long time and haven't seen this before. I just checked and rebuilt dovecot-2.3.21 and had no problems. Any ideas? Thanks, Andrew Hello, I am trying to build dovecot-2.4.2 on Solaris 11.4 with gcc 14.2 and getting the following error: CC module-dir.lo CC mountpoint.lo mountpoint.c: In function `mountpoint_iter_next': mountpoint.c:264:33: error: implicit declaration of function `makedev' [-Wimplicit-function-declaration] 264 | iter->mnt.dev = makedev(ent.ext.mnt_major, ent.ext.mnt_minor); | ^~~~~~~ *** Error code 1 The following command caused the error: echo " CC " mountpoint.lo;/bin/sh ../../libtool --silent --tag=CC --mode=compile gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I../.. -std=gnu11 -g -O2 -fstack-protector-strong -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -mfunction-return=keep -mindirect-branch=keep -Wall -W -Wmissing-prototypes -Wmissing-declarations -Wpointer-arith -Wchar-subscripts -Wformat=2 -Wbad-function-cast -fno-builtin-strftime -Wstrict-aliasing=2 -MT mountpoint.lo -MD -MP -MF .deps/mountpoint.Tpo -c -o mountpoint.lo mountpoint.c make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `mountpoint.lo' Current working directory /var/tmp/dovecot-2.4.0/src/lib *** Error code 1 I have been using dovecot for a long time and haven't seen this before. I just checked and rebuilt dovecot-2.3.21 and had no problems. Any ideas? Thanks, Andrew

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Blocking with RBLs
by Lefteris Tsintjelis 27 Jan '26

27 Jan '26

Hi, Is there a way to block with RBLs? I already have a really good and very trustworthy and accurate internal one that works extremely well and fast with my SMTP servers for years now. Is there a way to apply the same RBL to dovecot? Logs are really going crazy as they stopped with SMTP and started with IMAP for a while now since dovecot is wide open to these attacks. Anvil does not seem to do much here. I am looking for solutions other than fail2ban or anything similar to this. Lefteris

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Possible Bug: Dovecot LDAP userdb search ignores DN template
by Esteban Heschung 25 Jan '26

25 Jan '26

Hello Dovecot Team, I am currently using *Dovecot 2.4.1* with *Windows Active Directory* via LDAPS (self-signed certificate). I have configured a *bind DN template* for authentication. Authentication works perfectly. However, when Dovecot tries to perform the *userdb lookup*, it seems to *ignore the DN template*. Instead, it attempts to perform a search using the *ldap_base and filter* I configured... According to the documentation, the *bind DN template should be sufficient*, and Dovecot should not need to perform this search. Additionally, if I *remove the ldap_base or filter fields*, Dovecot fails with an error and cannot perform the lookup at all. This results in doveadm user failing, even though authentication succeeds. Could this be a bug in the way Dovecot handles bind_userdn for LDAP userdb lookups? I would appreciate any guidance or confirmation on this behavior. Thank you for your help. Hello Dovecot Team, I am currently using Dovecot 2.4.1 with Windows Active Directory via LDAPS (self-signed certificate). I have configured a bind DN template for authentication. Authentication works perfectly. However, when Dovecot tries to perform the userdb lookup, it seems to ignore the DN template. Instead, it attempts to perform a search using the ldap_base and filter I configured... According to the documentation, the bind DN template should be sufficient, and Dovecot should not need to perform this search. Additionally, if I remove the ldap_base or filter fields, Dovecot fails with an error and cannot perform the lookup at all. This results in doveadm user failing, even though authentication succeeds. Could this be a bug in the way Dovecot handles bind_userdn for LDAP userdb lookups? I would appreciate any guidance or confirmation on this behavior. Thank you for your help.

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YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR=11 not working
by Matthias Bodenbinder 25 Jan '26

25 Jan '26

Hi, dovecot does not work with ENCRYPT_METHOD YESCRYPT and YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR=11. I have tested with 2.4.2-4 and 2.3.21.1-4 on endeavouros. When changing YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR to 11 in /etc/login.defs and recreacting the user password for my user and restarting the dovecot service I get: # doveadm auth test matthias Password: passdb: matthias auth failed extra fields: user=matthias When reverting the change to YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR=5 it works again: # doveadm auth test matthias Password: passdb: matthias auth succeeded extra fields: user=matthias I have tested this back and forth. The culprit is definitely a high value for YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR. A value of 7 is still good but a value of 9 or 11 fails. Matthias

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Has anyone ever managed to link their AD to Dovecot?
by ByteWave 25 Jan '26

25 Jan '26

Are there any Dovecot configuration examples for linking an Active Directory? The documentation doesn't mention it, and my configuration only works for IMAP authentication; for some unknown reason, the user is then not found...

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