When exim runs deliver -m and tries to write to a directory that does not exist is causes a crash which stops the exim MTA.

Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost exim: [ID 197553 mail.info] 2010-12-09 23:20:38 1PQpmu-0007O9-OD <= dovecot-bounces+user=domain.co.uk@dovecot.org H=dovecot.org [62.236.108.70] P=esmtp S=2714 id=1291936811.2991.135.camel@kurkku.sapo.corppt.com Dec 9 23:20:38 localhost spamd[7995]: prefork: child states: II Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost dovecot: [ID 583609 mail.info] lda(user@domain.co.uk): msgid=1291936811.2991.135.camel@kurkku.sapo.corppt.com: save failed to Dovecot: Mailbox doesn't exist: Dovecot Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost dovecot: [ID 583609 mail.crit] lda(user@domain.co.uk): Panic: stream doesn't support seeking backwards Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost dovecot: [ID 583609 mail.error] lda(user@domain.co.uk): Error: Raw backtrace: 0xff13ca0c -> 0xff146f88 -> 0xff144700 -> 0xff1472fc -> 0xff1442f4 -> 0xff146314 -> 0xff1466c4 -> 0xff1442f4 -> 0xff148d9c -> 0xff1442f4 -> 0xff144b94 -> 0xff15284c -> 0xff1526c4 -> 0xff0568cc -> 0xff01c7b4 -> 0xff01c850 -> 0xff1cb1b4 -> 0xff0260d0 -> 0xff385470 -> 0x132ac -> 0x11f40 Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost exim: [ID 197553 mail.info] 2010-12-09 23:20:38 1PQpmu-0007O9-OD ** |/opt/xxxx/libexec/dovecot/deliver -d user@domain.co.uk -m Dovecot (user@domain.co.uk) user@domain.co.uk R=userforward T=address_pipe: Child process of address_pipe transport (running command "/opt/xxxx/libexec/dovecot/deliver -d user@domain.co.uk -m Dovecot") was terminated by signal 6 (Abort) Dec 9 23:20:38 mailhost exim: [ID 197553 mail.info] 2010-12-09 23:20:38 1PQpmw-0007OL-B2 <= <> R=1PQpmu-0007O9-OD U=exim P=local S=3731

When run from the command line syslog reports: save failed to missing: Mailbox doesn't exist: missing saved mail to INBOX (no crash)

Exceeding quotas also cause a "Panic: stream doesn't support seeking backwards" and a crash as reported elsewhere.

Dovecot 2.0.7 Exim 4.72

James.