From: Todd Lyons Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 02:21:55 +0000 (-0700) Subject: Bug 1289: Clarify host list processing failures X-Git-Tag: exim-4_82_RC3~6 X-Git-Url: https://git.exim.org/users/jgh/exim.git/commitdiff_plain/9fc5a3526034036897d836fbd373ae7af9c43bdc Bug 1289: Clarify host list processing failures Enhance explanation of +ignore_unknown. --- diff --git a/doc/doc-docbook/spec.xfpt b/doc/doc-docbook/spec.xfpt index a35fbc7d2..0d6ab9af6 100644 --- a/doc/doc-docbook/spec.xfpt +++ b/doc/doc-docbook/spec.xfpt @@ -8263,10 +8263,13 @@ apply to temporary DNS errors, whose handling is described in the next section. .cindex "&`+include_unknown`&" .cindex "&`+ignore_unknown`&" -By default, Exim behaves as if the host does not match the list. This may not -always be what you want to happen. To change Exim's behaviour, the special -items &`+include_unknown`& or &`+ignore_unknown`& may appear in the list (at -top level &-- they are not recognized in an indirected file). +Exim parses a host list from left to right. If it encounters a permanent +lookup failure in any item in the host list before it has found a match, +Exim treats it as a failure and the default behavior is as if the host +does not match the list. This may not always be what you want to happen. +To change Exim's behaviour, the special items &`+include_unknown`& or +&`+ignore_unknown`& may appear in the list (at top level &-- they are +not recognized in an indirected file). .ilist If any item that follows &`+include_unknown`& requires information that @@ -8294,6 +8297,37 @@ Both &`+include_unknown`& and &`+ignore_unknown`& may appear in the same list. The effect of each one lasts until the next, or until the end of the list. +To explain the host/ip processing logic a different way for the same ACL: + +.ilist +If you have name lookups or wildcarded host names and +IP addresses in the same host list, you should normally put the IP +addresses first. For example, in an ACL you could have: +.code +accept hosts = 10.9.8.7 : *.friend.example +.endd +The reason you normally would order it this way lies in the +left-to-right way that Exim processes lists. It can test IP addresses +without doing any DNS lookups, but when it reaches an item that requires +a host name, it fails if it cannot find a host name to compare with the +pattern. If the above list is given in the opposite order, the +&%accept%& statement fails for a host whose name cannot be found, even +if its IP address is 10.9.8.7. + +.next +If you really do want to do the name check first, and still recognize the IP +address, you can rewrite the ACL like this: +.code +accept hosts = *.friend.example +accept hosts = 10.9.8.7 +.endd +If the first &%accept%& fails, Exim goes on to try the second one. See chapter +&<>& for details of ACLs. Alternatively, you can use +&`+ignore_unknown`&, which was discussed in depth in the first example in +this section. +.endlist + + .section "Temporary DNS errors when looking up host information" &&& "SECTtemdnserr" diff --git a/doc/doc-txt/ChangeLog b/doc/doc-txt/ChangeLog index 49673117e..eb7b75572 100644 --- a/doc/doc-txt/ChangeLog +++ b/doc/doc-txt/ChangeLog @@ -246,6 +246,9 @@ TL/14 Bugzilla 1217 - Redis lookup support has been added. It is only enabled TL/15 Fix exiqsumm summary for corner case. Patch provided by Richard Hall. +TL/16 Bugzilla 1289 - Clarify host/ip processing when have errors looking up a + hostname or reverse DNS when processing a host list. Used suggestions + from multiple comments on this bug. Exim version 4.80.1