- dovecot - dovecot.org

update-apt-xapian-index on trixie fails
by Graham Eddy 03 Sep '25

03 Sep '25

update-apt-xapian-index relies upon module ‘imp’ that was removed from python 3.12 onwards, so fails with dovecot on trixie. updating /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/axi/indexer.py by replacing imp.load_module per https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#whatsnew312-removed-imp, plus installing module ’six’, seems to fix it. i look forward to the proper fix to xapian-index. cheers ⊣GE⊢ update-apt-xapian-index relies upon module `imp' that was removed from python 3.12 onwards, so fails with dovecot on trixie. updating /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/axi/indexer.py by replacing imp.load_module per [1]https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#whatsnew312-removed-imp, plus installing module 'six', seems to fix it. i look forward to the proper fix to xapian-index. cheers *GE* References Visible links 1. https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#whatsnew312-removed-imp

2 1

Crash in dovecot snippet when using imapc
by John van der Kamp 03 Sep '25

03 Sep '25

Hello, I've found a crash in a very specific setup. A dovecot server with imapc connection needs to receive an email with no body contents for the intent of generating a preview/snippet. It crashes somewhere deep in the jungle of istream and snapshots. I've included a script which sets up the systems to reproduce the crash. I've tested this with several versions. 2.3.16 doesn't seem to be affected, but 2.3.20 and 2.3.21 are affect. For me it produces a traceback like this, using the ubuntu version from here: https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/dovecot-core (gdb) bt #0 __pthread_kill_implementation (no_tid=0, signo=6, threadid=140530132887360) at ./nptl/pthread_kill.c:44 #1 __pthread_kill_internal (signo=6, threadid=140530132887360) at ./nptl/pthread_kill.c:78 #2 __GI___pthread_kill (threadid=140530132887360, signo=signo@entry=6) at ./nptl/pthread_kill.c:89 #3 0x00007fcfb8842476 in __GI_raise (sig=sig@entry=6) at ../sysdeps/posix/raise.c:26 #4 0x00007fcfb88287f3 in __GI_abort () at ./stdlib/abort.c:79 #5 0x00007fcfb8b37fe5 in default_fatal_finish (status=0, type=LOG_TYPE_PANIC) at ../lib/failures.c:465 #6 fatal_handler_real (ctx=<optimized out>, format=<optimized out>, args=<optimized out>) at ../lib/failures.c:477 #7 0x00007fcfb8be50d7 in i_internal_fatal_handler (ctx=<optimized out>, format=<optimized out>, args=<optimized out>) at ../lib/failures.c:879 #8 0x00007fcfb8b37eea in i_panic (format=0x7fcfb8c29020 "file %s: line %d (%s): assertion failed: (%s)") at ../lib/failures.c:530 #9 0x00007fcfb8b3387b in i_stream_header_filter_snapshot_free (_snapshot=<optimized out>) at ../lib-mail/istream-header-filter.c:663 #10 i_stream_header_filter_snapshot_free (_snapshot=0x55dabe297a60) at ../lib-mail/istream-header-filter.c:655 #11 0x00007fcfb8bf25ac in i_stream_snapshot_free (_snapshot=_snapshot@entry=0x55dabe29b0d0) at ../lib/istream.c:253 #12 0x00007fcfb8bf2654 in i_stream_unref (stream=0x7ffc16cc7fa0) at ../lib/istream.c:66 #13 0x00007fcfb8d96baa in index_mail_write_body_snippet (mail=0x55dabe292058) at index/index-mail.c:1151 #14 0x00007fcfb8d97e48 in index_mail_parse_bodystructure (mail=0x55dabe292058, field=MAIL_CACHE_BODY_SNIPPET) at index/index-mail.c:1551 #15 0x00007fcfb8d97fe2 in index_mail_fetch_body_snippet (value_r=0x7ffc16cc8050, mail=0x55dabe292058) at index/index-mail.c:1602 #16 index_mail_get_special (_mail=0x55dabe292058, field=<optimized out>, value_r=0x7ffc16cc8050) at index/index-mail.c:1730 #17 0x00007fcfb8d16ffe in mail_get_special (mail=mail@entry=0x55dabe292058, field=field@entry=MAIL_FETCH_BODY_SNIPPET, value_r=value_r@entry=0x7ffc16cc8050) at /home/ubuntu/dovecot/new/dovecot-2.3.21+dfsg1/src/lib-storage/mail.c:418 #18 0x000055dabc52645c in fetch_snippet (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, mail=0x55dabe292058, preview=0x55dabe28f1f8) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch-body.c:615 #19 0x000055dabc52b5cc in imap_fetch_more_int (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, cancel=false) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch.c:562 #20 0x000055dabc52b8ad in imap_fetch_more (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch.c:617 #21 0x000055dabc51fd07 in cmd_fetch (cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/cmd-fetch.c:382 #22 0x000055dabc528af4 in command_exec (cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/imap-commands.c:201 #23 0x000055dabc52e9e2 in client_command_input (cmd=<optimized out>) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1237 #24 0x000055dabc52ea96 in client_command_input (cmd=<optimized out>) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1307 #25 0x000055dabc52eeed in client_handle_next_command (remove_io_r=<synthetic pointer>, client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1349 #26 client_handle_input (client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1363 #27 0x000055dabc52f2c4 in client_input (client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1407 #28 0x00007fcfb8bfe27d in io_loop_call_io (io=0x55dabe26e660) at ../lib/ioloop.c:737 #29 0x00007fcfb8bff81a in io_loop_handler_run_internal (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../lib/ioloop-epoll.c:222 #30 0x00007fcfb8bff8d4 in io_loop_handler_run (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../lib/ioloop.c:789 #31 0x00007fcfb8bffa90 in io_loop_run (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../lib/ioloop.c:762 #32 0x00007fcfb8b6ce57 in master_service_run (service=0x55dabe243e20, callback=callback@entry=0x55dabc533210 <client_connected>) at ../lib-master/master-service.c:878 #33 0x000055dabc51ad37 in main (argc=<optimized out>, argv=<optimized out>) at ./src/imap/main.c:575 John Hello, I've found a crash in a very specific setup. A dovecot server with imapc connection needs to receive an email with no body contents for the intent of generating a preview/snippet. It crashes somewhere deep in the jungle of istream and snapshots. I've included a script which sets up the systems to reproduce the crash. I've tested this with several versions. 2.3.16 doesn't seem to be affected, but 2.3.20 and 2.3.21 are affect. For me it produces a traceback like this, using the ubuntu version from here: https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/dovecot-core (gdb) bt #0 __pthread_kill_implementation (no_tid=0, signo=6, threadid=140530132887360) at ./nptl/pthread_kill.c:44 #1 __pthread_kill_internal (signo=6, threadid=140530132887360) at ./nptl/ pthread_kill.c:78 #2 __GI___pthread_kill (threadid=140530132887360, signo=signo@entry=6) at ./ nptl/pthread_kill.c:89 #3 0x00007fcfb8842476 in __GI_raise (sig=sig@entry=6) at ../sysdeps/posix/ raise.c:26 #4 0x00007fcfb88287f3 in __GI_abort () at ./stdlib/abort.c:79 #5 0x00007fcfb8b37fe5 in default_fatal_finish (status=0, type=LOG_TYPE_PANIC) at ../lib/failures.c:465 #6 fatal_handler_real (ctx=<optimized out>, format=<optimized out>, args=<optimized out>) at ../lib/failures.c:477 #7 0x00007fcfb8be50d7 in i_internal_fatal_handler (ctx=<optimized out>, format=<optimized out>, args=<optimized out>) at ../lib/failures.c:879 #8 0x00007fcfb8b37eea in i_panic (format=0x7fcfb8c29020 "file %s: line %d (%s): assertion failed: (%s)") at ../lib/failures.c:530 #9 0x00007fcfb8b3387b in i_stream_header_filter_snapshot_free (_snapshot=<optimized out>) at ../lib-mail/istream-header-filter.c:663 #10 i_stream_header_filter_snapshot_free (_snapshot=0x55dabe297a60) at ../lib- mail/istream-header-filter.c:655 #11 0x00007fcfb8bf25ac in i_stream_snapshot_free (_snapshot=_snapshot@entry=0x55dabe29b0d0) at ../lib/istream.c:253 #12 0x00007fcfb8bf2654 in i_stream_unref (stream=0x7ffc16cc7fa0) at ../lib/ istream.c:66 #13 0x00007fcfb8d96baa in index_mail_write_body_snippet (mail=0x55dabe292058) at index/index-mail.c:1151 #14 0x00007fcfb8d97e48 in index_mail_parse_bodystructure (mail=0x55dabe292058, field=MAIL_CACHE_BODY_SNIPPET) at index/index-mail.c:1551 #15 0x00007fcfb8d97fe2 in index_mail_fetch_body_snippet (value_r=0x7ffc16cc8050, mail=0x55dabe292058) at index/index-mail.c:1602 #16 index_mail_get_special (_mail=0x55dabe292058, field=<optimized out>, value_r=0x7ffc16cc8050) at index/index-mail.c:1730 #17 0x00007fcfb8d16ffe in mail_get_special (mail=mail@entry=0x55dabe292058, field=field@entry=MAIL_FETCH_BODY_SNIPPET, value_r=value_r@entry=0x7ffc16cc8050) at /home/ubuntu/dovecot/new/dovecot-2.3.21+dfsg1/src/lib-storage/mail.c:418 #18 0x000055dabc52645c in fetch_snippet (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, mail=0x55dabe292058, preview=0x55dabe28f1f8) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch-body.c: 615 #19 0x000055dabc52b5cc in imap_fetch_more_int (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, cancel=false) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch.c:562 #20 0x000055dabc52b8ad in imap_fetch_more (ctx=0x55dabe26e050, cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/imap-fetch.c:617 #21 0x000055dabc51fd07 in cmd_fetch (cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/cmd- fetch.c:382 #22 0x000055dabc528af4 in command_exec (cmd=0x55dabe26de98) at ./src/imap/imap- commands.c:201 #23 0x000055dabc52e9e2 in client_command_input (cmd=<optimized out>) at ./src/ imap/imap-client.c:1237 #24 0x000055dabc52ea96 in client_command_input (cmd=<optimized out>) at ./src/ imap/imap-client.c:1307 #25 0x000055dabc52eeed in client_handle_next_command (remove_io_r=<synthetic pointer>, client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c:1349 #26 client_handle_input (client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/imap-client.c: 1363 #27 0x000055dabc52f2c4 in client_input (client=0x55dabe26d2c8) at ./src/imap/ imap-client.c:1407 #28 0x00007fcfb8bfe27d in io_loop_call_io (io=0x55dabe26e660) at ../lib/ ioloop.c:737 #29 0x00007fcfb8bff81a in io_loop_handler_run_internal (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../lib/ioloop-epoll.c:222 #30 0x00007fcfb8bff8d4 in io_loop_handler_run (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../ lib/ioloop.c:789 #31 0x00007fcfb8bffa90 in io_loop_run (ioloop=0x55dabe243fd0) at ../lib/ ioloop.c:762 #32 0x00007fcfb8b6ce57 in master_service_run (service=0x55dabe243e20, callback=callback@entry=0x55dabc533210 <client_connected>) at ../lib-master/ master-service.c:878 #33 0x000055dabc51ad37 in main (argc=<optimized out>, argv=<optimized out>) at ./src/imap/main.c:575 John

2 7

Re: "MitM" account to bypass quota
by Nick Howitt 03 Sep '25

03 Sep '25

Please can you reply to list rather than directly do me? I just know of the tool and not how to use it. It doesn't look like it supports continually running it in the background, but you can always put it in a loop in a shell script, perhaps with a delay between iterations. If you use cron, you have to be careful that it is not already running when it gets fires again. Nick On 02/09/2025 20:08, Carlos Mogas da Silva wrote: > Can doveadm-sync be configured to keep running on the background? > Can't seem to find anything related to this... > > > On 2 September 2025 20:00:01 WEST, Nick Howitt via dovecot > <dovecot(a)dovecot.org> wrote: > > How about doveadm-sync > (https://doc.dovecot.org/main/core/man/doveadm-sync.1.html) or > imapsync? On 02/09/2025 19:26, Carlos Mogas da Silva via dovecot > wrote: > > Hi list. I have an email address hosted on a server not > controlled by me which enforces quota on the accounts. No > issues there. What I want to know, is how can I use my mail > server, or in this case, dovecot, to act as a "client" to that > imap server and download all the messages from it storing them > locally (in my server) in effect, bypassing the quota > restriction. If you can point me to some documentation or give > a general idea on how I could accomplish this it would be > nice. Thanks in advance! Carlos Mogas da Silva > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > dovecot mailing list --dovecot(a)dovecot.org To unsubscribe send > an email todovecot-leave(a)dovecot.org > Please can you reply to list rather than directly do me? I just know of the tool and not how to use it. It doesn't look like it supports continually running it in the background, but you can always put it in a loop in a shell script, perhaps with a delay between iterations. If you use cron, you have to be careful that it is not already running when it gets fires again. Nick On 02/09/2025 20:08, Carlos Mogas da Silva wrote: Can doveadm-sync be configured to keep running on the background? Can't seem to find anything related to this... On 2 September 2025 20:00:01 WEST, Nick Howitt via dovecot [1]<dovecot(a)dovecot.org> wrote: How about doveadm-sync ([2]https://doc.dovecot.org/main/core/man/doveadm-sync.1.html) or imapsync? On 02/09/2025 19:26, Carlos Mogas da Silva via dovecot wrote: Hi list. I have an email address hosted on a server not controlled by me which enforces quota on the accounts. No issues there. What I want to know, is how can I use my mail server, or in this case, dovecot, to act as a "client" to that imap server and download all the messages from it storing them locally (in my server) in effect, bypassing the quota restriction. If you can point me to some documentation or give a general idea on how I could accomplish this it would be nice. Thanks in advance! Carlos Mogas da Silva -------------------------------------------------------------------------- dovecot mailing list --dovecot(a)dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email [3]todovecot-leave(a)dovecot.org References Visible links 1. mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org 2. https://doc.dovecot.org/main/core/man/doveadm-sync.1.html 3. mailto:todovecot-leave@dovecot.org

5 8

"MitM" account to bypass quota
by Carlos Mogas da Silva 02 Sep '25

02 Sep '25

Hi list. I have an email address hosted on a server not controlled by me which enforces quota on the accounts. No issues there. What I want to know, is how can I use my mail server, or in this case, dovecot, to act as a "client" to that imap server and download all the messages from it storing them locally (in my server) in effect, bypassing the quota restriction. If you can point me to some documentation or give a general idea on how I could accomplish this it would be nice. Thanks in advance! Carlos Mogas da Silva Hi list. I have an email address hosted on a server not controlled by me which enforces quota on the accounts. No issues there. What I want to know, is how can I use my mail server, or in this case, dovecot, to act as a "client" to that imap server and download all the messages from it storing them locally (in my server) in effect, bypassing the quota restriction. If you can point me to some documentation or give a general idea on how I could accomplish this it would be nice. Thanks in advance! Carlos Mogas da Silva

3 2

Dovecot 2.4.1: Domain part of user gets dropped in userdb_sql_query
by Robert Czechowski 01 Sep '25

01 Sep '25

Hi, I stumbled upon a problem where documentation and logs no longer help me. After upgrading to Debian Trixie / Dovecot 2.4.1-4 I have run into the following problem after fixing up most of my configuration. I'm using a vmail setup with user information in a mysql database and mailboxes in maildir format. Apparently %{user | domain} will not get set in my SQL query when looking up users for lmtp transport: With the setting userdb_sql_query = SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = '%{user | username}' AND domain = '%{user | domain}' I get the following debug log: dovecot: lmtp(118509): Connect from local dovecot: lmtp(robert(a)czecho.de)<118509><hXWpLOzOtGjtzgEAp35xQg>: Debug: auth-master: userdb lookup(robert(a)czecho.de): Started userdb lookup dovecot: lmtp(robert(a)czecho.de)<118509><hXWpLOzOtGjtzgEAp35xQg>: Debug: auth-master: conn unix:/var/run/dovecot//auth-userdb: Connecting dovecot: lmtp(robert(a)czecho.de)<118509><hXWpLOzOtGjtzgEAp35xQg>: Debug: auth-master: conn unix:/var/run/dovecot//auth-userdb (pid=115443,uid=0): Client connected (fd=14) dovecot: auth: Debug: conn unix:/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb (pid=118509,uid=150): Server accepted connection (fd=23) dovecot: auth: Debug: master in: USER#0111#011robert(a)czecho.de#011protocol=lmtp dovecot: auth(robert): Debug: sql: Performing userdb lookup dovecot: auth-worker(115838): Debug: conn unix:auth-worker (pid=115833,uid=109): auth-worker<7>: Handling USER request dovecot: auth-worker(robert)<115838>: request [7]: Debug: sql: Performing userdb lookup dovecot: auth-worker(robert)<115838>: request [7]: Debug: sql: SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = 'robert' AND domain = '' dovecot: auth-worker(115838): Debug: mysql(127.0.0.1): Finished query 'SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = 'robert' AND domain = ''' in 0 msecs dovecot: auth-worker(robert)<115838>: request [7]: sql: unknown user dovecot: auth-worker(robert)<115838>: request [7]: Debug: sql: Finished userdb lookup dovecot: auth-worker(115838): Debug: conn unix:auth-worker (pid=115833,uid=109): auth-worker<7>: Finished: user_unknown dovecot: auth(robert): Debug: sql: Finished userdb lookup dovecot: auth: Debug: userdb out: NOTFOUND#0111 Note the SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = 'robert' AND domain = '' Resulting in poostfix/lmtp[118495]: A7D6F5A0350: to=<robert(a)czecho.de>, relay=alyx.czecho.de[private/dovecot-lmtp], delay=0.11, delays=0.03/0.04/0.02/0.02, dsn=5.1.1, status=bounced (host alyx.czecho.de[private/dovecot-lmtp] said: 550 5.1.1 <robert(a)czecho.de> User doesn't exist: robert(a)czecho.de (in reply to RCPT TO command)) Apparently, somewhere, the domain part of the users gets lost. My current workaround is to use the query without the domain part: userdb_sql_query = SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = '%{user | username}' However this places the mail in the wrong maildir directory. I've worked around that by creating symlinks for all users, but it seems a bit more effort than necessary. Also this will break as soon as two domains have the same username. :( For completeness: # dovecot -n # 2.4.1-4 (7d8c0e5759): /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # Pigeonhole version 2.4.1-4 (0a86619f) # OS: Linux 6.12.41+deb13-amd64 x86_64 Debian 13.0 # Hostname: alyx.czecho.de # 4 default setting changes since version 2.4.0 dovecot_config_version = 2.4.0 auth_debug = yes auth_mechanisms = plain login auth_verbose = yes base_dir = /var/run/dovecot/ dovecot_storage_version = 2.4.0 first_valid_uid = 150 fts_autoindex = yes fts_autoindex_max_recent_msgs = 999 fts_search_add_missing = yes language_filters = normalizer-icu snowball stopwords language_tokenizers = generic email-address listen = * :: mail_debug = yes mail_driver = maildir mail_gid = mail mail_home = /var/vmail/%{user | domain}/%{user | username} mail_path = ~/mail mail_plugins { fts = yes fts_flatcurve = yes } mail_privileged_group = mail mail_uid = vmail protocols = imap lmtp namespace inbox { inbox = yes mailbox Drafts { special_use = "\\Drafts" } mailbox Junk { special_use = "\\Junk" } mailbox Trash { special_use = "\\Trash" } mailbox Sent { special_use = "\\Sent" } mailbox "Sent Messages" { special_use = "\\Sent" } } service imap-login { inet_listener imap { port = 143 } inet_listener imaps { port = 993 ssl = yes } } service lmtp { user = vmail unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot-lmtp { group = postfix mode = 0660 user = postfix } } service imap { } service pop3 { } service auth { unix_listener auth-userdb { group = mail mode = 0600 user = vmail } unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/auth { group = postfix mode = 0660 user = postfix } } service auth-worker { } service dict { unix_listener dict { } } ssl_server { cert_file = /etc/ssl/certs/letsencrypt/mail.scrt key_file = /etc/ssl/private/letsencrypt/mail.priv } protocol lmtp { auth_username_format = %{user | username} } language en { default = yes filters = lowercase snowball english-possessive stopwords } fts flatcurve { substring_search = yes } mysql 127.0.0.1 { dbname = vmail password = # hidden, use -P to show it user = vmail } passdb sql { default_password_scheme = SHA512-CRYPT query = SELECT username, domain, password FROM users WHERE username = '%{user | username}' AND domain = '%{user | domain}' sql_driver = mysql } userdb sql { sql_driver = mysql iterate_query = SELECT CONCAT(username, '@', domain) as user FROM users query = SELECT 150 AS uid, 8 AS gid FROM users WHERE username = '%{user | username}' }

2 2

dovecot-core: dovecot imap attempts to rmdir the configured mail_inbox_path
by pelzi＠feldner-bv.de 29 Aug '25

29 Aug '25

Package: dovecot-core Version: 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 Severity: important Dear Maintainer, after upgrading to trixie, I reconfigure dovecot - starting with the maintainer's config files due to the complete change of config syntax - and got it working again serving the existing mailboxes. I again configured /var/mail/%{user | username} as mail_inbox_path, at a separate location from all other mailboxes at some directory at user's home. All mailboxes remain in mbox format as before. When I set up a mail inbox path in shared namespace, dovecot is attempting to delete the lexicographically first user "someotheruser" who is sharing their mailboxes, whenever a user "someuser" with read access to that mailboxes is updating the mailbox list: journalctl output with mail_inbox_path setup for shared namespace ----------------------------------------------------------------- Aug 16 16:43:59 somehost systemd[1]: Started dovecot.service - Dovecot IMAP/POP3 email server. Aug 16 16:44:05 somehost dovecot[65636]: imap-login: Login aborted: Logged out (no auth attempts in 0 secs) (no_auth_attempts): user=<>, rip=some::ipv6, lip=some::ipv6, session=<xojHiXw8zKP95iU4WzA7U7on6//+m0as> Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost auth[65647]: pam_unix(dovecot:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=dovecot ruser=someuser rhost=some::ipv6 user=someuser Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost dovecot[65636]: imap-login: Logged in: user=<someuser>, method=PLAIN, rip=some::ipv6, lip=some::ipv6, mpid=65651, TLS, session=<0klNinw8fJIqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD> Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost dovecot[65636]: imap(someuser)<65651><0klNinw8fJIqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD>: Disconnected: Logged out in=98 out=1253 deleted=0 expunged=0 trashed=0 hdr_count=0 hdr_bytes=0 body_count=0 body_bytes=0 Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost auth[65647]: pam_unix(dovecot:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=dovecot ruser=someuser rhost=some::ipv6 user=someuser Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost dovecot[65636]: imap-login: Logged in: user=<someuser>, method=PLAIN, rip=some::ipv6, lip=some::ipv6, mpid=65656, TLS, session=<tE5Oinw8hpIqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD> Aug 16 16:44:14 somehost dovecot[65636]: imap(someuser)<65656><tE5Oinw8hpIqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD>: Error: rmdir(/var/mail/someotheruser) failed: Permission denied ----------------------------------------------------------------- (Note: the authentication failure listed here appears to come from a certain pam module that doesn't know someuser, but is cured by another pam module in the stack that can authenticate someuser) This otheruser's INBOX will _not_ be displayed in the folder list for someuser, whereas the INBOX of lexicographically following user is not attempted to rmdir, and _do_ show up for the authorized someuser. When, for testing purposes, I remove mail_inbox_path from the shared namespace's configuration, obviously all otheruser's INBOX'es disappear from the folder list of someuser. But now dovecat attempts to rmdir someuser's own inbox: journalctl output with no mail_inbox_path configured for shared namespace, but only for inbox namespace ---------------------------------------------------------------- Aug 16 16:34:48 mailserver systemd[1]: Started dovecot.service - Dovecot IMAP/POP3 email server. Aug 16 16:34:48 mailserver unix_chkpwd[65322]: password check failed for user (someuser) Aug 16 16:34:48 mailserver auth[65320]: pam_unix(dovecot:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=dovecot ruser=someuser rhost=some::ipv6 user=someuser Aug 16 16:34:48 mailserver dovecot[65315]: imap-login: Logged in: user=<someuser>, method=PLAIN, rip=some::ipv6 lip=some::ipv6, mpid=65324, TLS, session=<uViUaHw8psgqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD> Aug 16 16:34:48 mailserver dovecot[65315]: imap(someuser)<65324><uViUaHw8psgqAgkIAbCIAAL////+ESJD>: Error: rmdir(/var/mail/someuser) failed: Permission denied ---------------------------------------------------------------- In this case, however someuser's INBOX remains in the folder list. *** Reporter, please consider answering these questions, where appropriate *** * What led up to the situation? The upgrade to version 2.4.1 combined with a complete new configuration. -- Package-specific info: dovecot configuration --------------------- ... mail_driver = mbox mail_gid = familie mail_home = /home/%{user | username} mail_inbox_path = /var/mail/%{user | username} mail_path = ~/IMail mail_plugins { acl = yes fts = yes fts_solr = yes } mail_privileged_group = mail ... mail_shared_explicit_inbox = yes protocols { imap = yes sieve = yes } passdb pam { } userdb passwd { } namespace inbox { mail_driver = mbox mail_inbox_path = /var/mail/%{user | username} mail_path = ~/IMail inbox = yes subscriptions = yes type = private mailbox Drafts { special_use = "\\Drafts" } mailbox Junk { special_use = "\\Junk" } mailbox Trash { special_use = "\\Trash" } mailbox Sent { special_use = "\\Sent" } mailbox "Sent Messages" { special_use = "\\Sent" } } namespace shared { mail_driver = mbox # this following setting removed for 2nd test mail_inbox_path = /var/mail/%{owner_user | username } mail_index_private_path = ~/.dovecot-index/shared/%{owner_user} mail_path = %{owner_home}/IMail list = yes prefix = shared/$username/ separator = / subscriptions = no type = shared } acl_sharing_map { dict file { path = /var/lib/dovecot/db/shared-mailboxes.db } } protocol imap { mail_plugins { imap_acl = yes } } service imap-login { inet_listener imap { } inet_listener imaps { } } service lmtp { unix_listener lmtp { } } service imap { } service pop3 { } service auth { unix_listener auth-userdb { group = users mode = 0660 user = mail } unix_listener auth-exim { group = sasl mode = 0660 type = auth-legacy user = mail } } service auth-worker { } service dict { unix_listener dict { } } ssl_server { cert_file = /etc/letsencrypt/live/somedomain/fullchain.pem key_file = /etc/letsencrypt/live/somedomain/privkey.pem } service managesieve-login { inet_listener sieve { port = 4190 } inet_listener sieve_deprecated { port = 2000 } } service managesieve { } language de { default = yes } language en { } fts solr { url = http://localhost:8983/solr/dovecot/ } -- System Information: Debian Release: 13.0 APT prefers stable-security APT policy: (500, 'stable-security'), (500, 'stable') Architecture: amd64 (x86_64) Kernel: Linux 6.12.41+deb13-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU threads; PREEMPT) Kernel taint flags: TAINT_FIRMWARE_WORKAROUND, TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE Locale: LANG=de_DE.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system) Versions of packages dovecot-core depends on: ii adduser 3.152 ii dovecot-sieve 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 ii init-system-helpers 1.68 ii libapparmor1 4.1.0-1 ii libbz2-1.0 1.0.8-6 ii libc6 2.41-12 ii libcap2 1:2.75-10+b1 ii libcrypt1 1:4.4.38-1 ii libexttextcat-2.0-0 3.4.7-1+b1 ii libicu76 76.1-4 ii liblua5.4-0 5.4.7-1+b2 ii liblz4-1 1.10.0-4 ii libpam-runtime 1.7.0-5 ii libpam0g 1.7.0-5 ii libsodium23 1.0.18-1+b2 ii libssl3t64 3.5.1-1 ii libstemmer0d 2.2.0-4+b2 ii libsystemd0 257.7-1 ii libtirpc3t64 1.3.6+ds-1 ii libunwind8 1.8.1-0.1 ii libzstd1 1.5.7+dfsg-1 ii openssl 3.5.1-1 ii ssl-cert 1.1.3 ii ucf 3.0052 ii zlib1g 1:1.3.dfsg+really1.3.1-1+b1 dovecot-core recommends no packages. Versions of packages dovecot-core suggests: pn dovecot-flatcurve <none> pn dovecot-gssapi <none> ii dovecot-imapd 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-ldap <none> pn dovecot-lmtpd <none> ii dovecot-managesieved 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-mysql <none> pn dovecot-pgsql <none> pn dovecot-pop3d <none> ii dovecot-solr 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-sqlite <none> pn dovecot-submissiond <none> pn ntp <none> Versions of packages dovecot-core is related to: ii dovecot-core [dovecot-common] 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-dev <none> pn dovecot-gssapi <none> ii dovecot-imapd 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-ldap <none> pn dovecot-lmtpd <none> ii dovecot-managesieved 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-mysql <none> pn dovecot-pgsql <none> pn dovecot-pop3d <none> ii dovecot-sieve 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 pn dovecot-sqlite <none> -- Configuration Files: /etc/default/dovecot changed: ENABLED=1 ALLOW_COREDUMPS=1 -- debconf information: dovecot-core/ssl-cert-name: localhost dovecot-core/create-ssl-cert: false * dovecot-core/ssl-cert-exists:

2 5

Debian 13 with Dovecot-2.3 from dovecot repos
by Stefan G. Weichinger 29 Aug '25

29 Aug '25

I have 2 servers with Debian, set up with postfixadmin back then. So far they ran on Debian-12.x (12.11) with this as external repo.list: https://repo.dovecot.org/ce-2.3-latest/debian/bullseye/ This gives me: dovecot-core 2.3.21.1-2+debian11 Fine. Now I upgraded one of these servers to debian-13 and did NOT remove or edit the repo.list. Now I have Debian-13.0.0 with still dovecot-core 2.3.21.1-2+debian11: apt-cache policy dovecot-core dovecot-core: Installed: 2:2.3.21.1-2+debian11 Candidate: 2:2.3.21.1-2+debian11 Version table: *** 2:2.3.21.1-2+debian11 500 500 https://repo.dovecot.org/ce-2.3-latest/debian/bullseye bullseye/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 1:2.4.1+dfsg1-6 500 500 http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages 500 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages I don't mind, it's OK for me, I still have to work through the config changes needed to upgrade to dovecot-2.4 Is this combination OK, is it problematic? (for me things work so far, I can mail quite fine) I consider doing it on a customer server this evening, and hope for a quick "it's fine!" from this ml ;-) thanks all, Stefan

5 10

Supporting both "username" to username@domain.com
by Alex 26 Aug '25

26 Aug '25

Hi, I'm using dovecot-2.3.21 on fedora40 and have configured it to use only usernames without domain when logging in. Now apparently the new Outlook (1.2025.617.000) no longer supports the ability to change username for IMAP. Now what? We have other users who are using older versions of Outlook and Thunderbird and webmail that still support this login method. How can I support both? Here is my dovecot info. # 2.3.21.1 (d492236fa0): /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 6.12.6-100.fc40.x86_64 x86_64 Fedora release 40 (Forty) btrfs auth_mechanisms = plain login default_client_limit = 3000 default_process_limit = 4000 default_vsz_limit = 1 G dict { sql = mysql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext } disable_plaintext_auth = no lda_mailbox_autocreate = yes lda_mailbox_autosubscribe = yes listen = 209.216.XXX.60, 127.0.0.1 mail_gid = users mail_location = maildir:/home/%u/Maildir mail_max_userip_connections = 100 mail_plugins = " listescape last_login" mail_privileged_group = mail 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 { last_login_dict = proxy::sql last_login_key = # hidden, use -P to show it last_login_precision = ms sieve = ~/.dovecot.sieve sieve_dir = ~/sieve } protocols = pop3 imap lmtp service anvil { client_limit = 12003 } service auth-worker { client_limit = 20000 } service auth { client_limit = 20000 unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/auth { group = postfix mode = 0660 user = postfix } } service imap-login { inet_listener imaps { port = 993 ssl = yes } process_min_avail = 20 service_count = 0 vsz_limit = 1 G } service lmtp { executable = lmtp -L inet_listener lmtp { address = 127.0.0.1 port = 24 } process_min_avail = 5 unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot-lmtp { group = postfix mode = 0600 user = postfix } } ssl_ca = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/DigiCertCA-2022.crt ssl_cert = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/example-combined-2025.crt ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it userdb { driver = passwd } protocol lda { info_log_path = /var/log/dovecot-lda.log log_path = /var/log/dovecot-lda-errors.log } protocol imap { mail_max_userip_connections = 100 } protocol pop3 { pop3_uidl_format = %08Xu%08Xv } local_name example.com { ssl_cert = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/example-combined-2025.crt ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it } local_name users.example1.com { ssl_cert = </etc/letsencrypt/example1-fullchain.pem ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it } We're also using postfix to support this basic sasl username when sending. smtpd_sasl_type = dovecot smtpd_sasl_path = private/auth smtpd_sasl_auth_enable = yes smtpd_sasl_local_domain = $myhostname broken_sasl_auth_clients = yes smtpd_sasl_authenticated_header = yes smtpd_sasl_security_options = noanonymous, noplaintext smtpd_sasl_tls_security_options = noanonymous Hi, I'm using dovecot-2.3.21 on fedora40 and have configured it to use only usernames without domain when logging in. Now apparently the new Outlook (1.2025.617.000) no longer supports the ability to change username for IMAP. Now what? We have other users who are using older versions of Outlook and Thunderbird and webmail that still support this login method. How can I support both? Here is my dovecot info. # 2.3.21.1 (d492236fa0): /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf # OS: Linux 6.12.6-100.fc40.x86_64 x86_64 Fedora release 40 (Forty) btrfs auth_mechanisms = plain login default_client_limit = 3000 default_process_limit = 4000 default_vsz_limit = 1 G dict { sql = mysql:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext } disable_plaintext_auth = no lda_mailbox_autocreate = yes lda_mailbox_autosubscribe = yes listen = 209.216.XXX.60, 127.0.0.1 mail_gid = users mail_location = maildir:/home/%u/Maildir mail_max_userip_connections = 100 mail_plugins = " listescape last_login" mail_privileged_group = mail 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 { last_login_dict = proxy::sql last_login_key = # hidden, use -P to show it last_login_precision = ms sieve = ~/.dovecot.sieve sieve_dir = ~/sieve } protocols = pop3 imap lmtp service anvil { client_limit = 12003 } service auth-worker { client_limit = 20000 } service auth { client_limit = 20000 unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/auth { group = postfix mode = 0660 user = postfix } } service imap-login { inet_listener imaps { port = 993 ssl = yes } process_min_avail = 20 service_count = 0 vsz_limit = 1 G } service lmtp { executable = lmtp -L inet_listener lmtp { address = 127.0.0.1 port = 24 } process_min_avail = 5 unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot-lmtp { group = postfix mode = 0600 user = postfix } } ssl_ca = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/DigiCertCA-2022.crt ssl_cert = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/example-combined-2025.crt ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it userdb { driver = passwd } protocol lda { info_log_path = /var/log/dovecot-lda.log log_path = /var/log/dovecot-lda-errors.log } protocol imap { mail_max_userip_connections = 100 } protocol pop3 { pop3_uidl_format = %08Xu%08Xv } local_name [1]example.com { ssl_cert = </var/www/example.com-443/ssl/example-combined-2025.crt ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it } local_name [2]users.example1.com { ssl_cert = </etc/letsencrypt/example1-fullchain.pem ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it } We're also using postfix to support this basic sasl username when sending. smtpd_sasl_type = dovecot smtpd_sasl_path = private/auth smtpd_sasl_auth_enable = yes smtpd_sasl_local_domain = $myhostname broken_sasl_auth_clients = yes smtpd_sasl_authenticated_header = yes smtpd_sasl_security_options = noanonymous, noplaintext smtpd_sasl_tls_security_options = noanonymous References Visible links 1. http://example.com/ 2. http://users.example1.com/

9 14

INBOX is not part of "*" in dovecot-virtual
by Ákos Szőts 26 Aug '25

26 Aug '25

Hi everyone, I noticed that if I specify the following pattern in dovecot-virtual for my Virtual/Unseen mailbox, mails in INBOX are excluded: * -Drafts -Trash -Junk -Sent -Virtual/* UNSEEN It returns with 23 mails: a EXAMINE Virtual/Unseen * 23 EXISTS * 23 RECENT * OK [UNSEEN 1] First unseen. But when I add INBOX additionally after "*", the number grows to 42: a EXAMINE Virtual/Unseen * 42 EXISTS * 42 RECENT * OK [UNSEEN 1] First unseen. Is it expected that "*" doesn't include INBOX by default? As I see, the rest of the mailboxes within the same root (/) namespace are included by default. Config: namespace inbox { separator = / inbox = yes mail_path = %{home}/mail mail_index_path = %{home}/index/inbox mailbox INBOX { auto = subscribe } mailbox Trash { special_use = \Trash auto = subscribe } [...] } Dovecot version: 2.4.1. Thank you, Ákos

2 1

What's the difference between "UNKEYWORD \Seen" and "UNSEEN"?
by Ákos Szőts 25 Aug '25

25 Aug '25

Hi everyone, These two IMAP search commands return different values: a SEARCH UNSEEN * SEARCH 38 61 62 63 65 69 74 75 76 82 86 87 102 120 121 141 142 143 144 145 146 158 159 160 a SEARCH UNKEYWORD \Seen * SEARCH [All email IDs in the mailbox] a SEARCH KEYWORD \Seen * SEARCH [Empty] According to RFC 3501 <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3501#section-6.4.4>, in my interpretation, these two should be equal: > UNSEEN > Messages that do not have the \Seen flag set. Can you tell me what is causing this difference? I also ran force-resync on all my mails, just to be sure. Ákos Hi everyone, These two IMAP search commands return different values: a SEARCH UNSEEN * SEARCH 38 61 62 63 65 69 74 75 76 82 86 87 102 120 121 141 142 143 144 145 146 158 159 160 a SEARCH UNKEYWORD \Seen * SEARCH [All email IDs in the mailbox] a SEARCH KEYWORD \Seen * SEARCH [Empty] According to [1]RFC 3501, in my interpretation, these two should be equal: > UNSEEN > Messages that do not have the \Seen flag set. Can you tell me what is causing this difference? I also ran force-resync on all my mails, just to be sure. Akos References Visible links 1. https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3501#section-6.4.4

2 2