How should virtual users update their password?
Hi,
I now have my email system working with virtual users, using a passwd-file for passdb. Now I am at the stage where I would like to change my password and possibly add other virtual users for my friends, who should be able to add/change their password without my involvement. I had a look at the IMAP RFCs but didn't see any sort of "change password" instruction. I also looked at the Dovecot docs but didn't see any article which covered this.
What is the recommended/suggested way to do this? Is there a way to do with within the MDA/IMAP ecosystem or is it required to have an external solution e.g. entering the new password on a webpage? Thanks, Viktor
Hi, I now have my email system working with virtual users, using a passwd-file for passdb. Now I am at the stage where I would like to change my password and possibly add other virtual users for my friends, who should be able to add/change their password without my involvement. I had a look at the IMAP RFCs but didn't see any sort of "change password" instruction. I also looked at the Dovecot docs but didn't see any article which covered this. What is the recommended/suggested way to do this? Is there a way to do with within the MDA/IMAP ecosystem or is it required to have an external solution e.g. entering the new password on a webpage? Thanks, Viktor
Hi,
To solve the problem, I decided to use Postfixadmin
(https://github.com/postfixadmin/postfixadmin).
Instructions in German for integration can be found in my DokuWiki,
which I created for myself:
https://dokuwiki.tachtler.net/doku.php?id=tachtler:postfixadmin_archlinux
and
https://dokuwiki.tachtler.net/doku.php?id=tachtler:dovecot_archlinux_-_sql
Best regards, Klaus.
Hi,
I now have my email system working with virtual users, using a
passwd-file for passdb. Now I am at the stage where I would like to
change my password and possibly add other virtual users for my
friends, who should be able to add/change their password without my
involvement. I had a look at the IMAP RFCs but didn't see any sort of "change
password" instruction. I also looked at the Dovecot docs but didn't
see any article which covered this.What is the recommended/suggested way to do this? Is there a way to
do with within the MDA/IMAP ecosystem or is it required to have an
external solution e.g. entering the new password on a webpage? Thanks, Viktor
--
e-Mail : klaus@tachtler.net Homepage: https://www.tachtler.net DokuWiki: https://dokuwiki.tachtler.net
Hi Viktor,
Dovecot has nothing to do with it. You have to provide a separate mechanism for the task. It is often done within a webmail app. You need it to be able to change passwords for your specific implementation.
Piotr Szafarczyk
On 12/01/2026 16:09, vwoloszczuk--- via dovecot wrote:
Hi, I now have my email system working with virtual users, using a passwd-file for passdb. Now I am at the stage where I would like to change my password and possibly add other virtual users for my friends, who should be able to add/change their password without my involvement. I had a look at the IMAP RFCs but didn't see any sort of "change password" instruction. I also looked at the Dovecot docs but didn't see any article which covered this. What is the recommended/suggested way to do this? Is there a way to do with within the MDA/IMAP ecosystem or is it required to have an external solution e.g. entering the new password on a webpage? Thanks, Viktor
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
Hi Viktor,
I faced the same problem.
And since, I use roundcube webmail to do that. There is a nice password plugin with roundcube that integrates easily with the SQL password mechanism that I deployed. I create new user with a script that populate correctly the SQL tables with values such that a default password is assigned to new users. And then they are obliged to first modify their passwords before really accessing the mailbox. And it is only after that is done that I advise them to setup their email client (such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird) with their new passwords known only by them.
As you noticed IMAP protocol, and so dovecot, has no mechanism to modify password.
Regards,
Tshimanga
On 1/13/26 09:20, Piotr Szafarczyk via dovecot wrote:
Hi Viktor,
Dovecot has nothing to do with it. You have to provide a separate mechanism for the task. It is often done within a webmail app. You need it to be able to change passwords for your specific implementation.
Piotr Szafarczyk
On 12/01/2026 16:09, vwoloszczuk--- via dovecot wrote:
Hi, I now have my email system working with virtual users, using a passwd-file for passdb. Now I am at the stage where I would like to change my password and possibly add other virtual users for my friends, who should be able to add/change their password without my involvement. I had a look at the IMAP RFCs but didn't see any sort of "change password" instruction. I also looked at the Dovecot docs but didn't see any article which covered this. What is the recommended/suggested way to do this? Is there a way to do with within the MDA/IMAP ecosystem or is it required to have an external solution e.g. entering the new password on a webpage? Thanks, Viktor
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
participants (4)
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Klaus Tachtler
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Piotr Szafarczyk
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TSHIMANGA Minkoka
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vwoloszczuk＠tutanota.com