[Dovecot] pop3-login: Fatal: io_loop_handle_add: epoll_ctl(1, 5):

[Mark Sapiro]

Mark Sapiro wrote:

>I have been running Dovecot 1.2.5 since Sept 14. Beginning at about
>03:28 on Sept 21 for no apparent (to me) reason and continuing through
>the present, I am seeing log messages like the following and am
>experiencing delays logging in.
>
>Sep 22 19:07:15 sbh16 dovecot: dovecot: Temporary failure in creating
>login processes, slowing down for now
>Sep 22 19:07:15 sbh16 dovecot: pop3-login: Fatal: io_loop_handle_add:
>epoll_ctl(1, 5): Operation not permitted
>Sep 22 19:07:48 sbh16 dovecot: pop3-login: Login: user=<mark>,
>method=APOP, rip=68.183.193.239, lip=72.52.113.16, TLS
>Sep 22 19:07:48 sbh16 dovecot: POP3(mark): Disconnected: Logged out
>top=0/0, retr=0/0, del=0/218, size=2550090
>Sep 22 19:08:15 sbh16 dovecot: dovecot: Created login processes
>successfully, unstalling
>Sep 22 19:08:15 sbh16 dovecot: dovecot: Temporary failure in creating
>login processes, slowing down for now
>Sep 22 19:08:15 sbh16 dovecot: dovecot: child 21735 (login) returned
>error 89 (Fatal failure)
>Sep 22 19:08:15 sbh16 dovecot: pop3-login: Fatal: io_loop_handle_add:
>epoll_ctl(1, 5): Operation not permitted
>Sep 22 19:08:21 sbh16 dovecot: pop3-login: Login: user=<mark>,
>method=APOP, rip=68.183.193.239, lip=72.52.113.16, TLS
>Sep 22 19:08:22 sbh16 dovecot: POP3(mark): Disconnected: Logged out
>top=0/0, retr=1/57566, del=0/218, size=2550090
>Sep 22 19:09:15 sbh16 dovecot: dovecot: Created login processes
>successfully, unstalling
>
>Is this a dovecot issue, some other issue or perhaps some kind of
>denial of service attack?
>
>Here's my dovecot -n
>
># 1.2.5: /usr/local/etc/dovecot.conf
># OS: Linux 2.6.18-8.1.14.el5 i686 CentOS release 5 (Final)
>protocols: pop3 pop3s imap imaps
>ssl_cert_file: /etc/postfix/sbh16-cert.pem
>ssl_key_file: /etc/postfix/sbh16-key.pem
>login_dir: /usr/local/var/run/dovecot/login
>login_executable(default): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/imap-login
>login_executable(imap): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/imap-login
>login_executable(pop3): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/pop3-login
>mail_privileged_group: mail
>mail_location: mbox:~/Mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u
>mbox_write_locks: fcntl dotlock
>mail_executable(default): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/imap
>mail_executable(imap): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/imap
>mail_executable(pop3): /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/pop3
>mail_plugin_dir(default): /usr/local/lib/dovecot/imap
>mail_plugin_dir(imap): /usr/local/lib/dovecot/imap
>mail_plugin_dir(pop3): /usr/local/lib/dovecot/pop3
>lda:
>  postmaster_address: postmaster at example.com
>auth default:
>  mechanisms: plain apop login
>  worker_max_count: 5
>  passdb:
>    driver: passwd-file
>    args: /usr/local/etc/dovecot.passwd
>  passdb:
>    driver: pam
>  userdb:
>    driver: passwd
>  socket:
>    type: listen
>    client:
>      path: /var/spool/postfix/private/auth
>      mode: 432
>      user: postfix
>      group: postfix
>[root at sbh16 ~]#


It may be too soon to know for sure, but I restarted Dovecot and that
seems to have solved the problem. However, I still don't know what may
have started the problem in the first place.

-- 
Mark Sapiro <mark at msapiro.net>        The highway is for gamblers,
San Francisco Bay Area, California    better use your sense - B. Dylan