+
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
. This is the primary source of the Exim Manual. It is an xfpt document that is
. converted into DocBook XML for subsequent conversion into printable and online
. Update the Copyright year (only) when changing content.
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-.set previousversion "4.94"
+.set previousversion "4.97"
.include ./local_params
.set ACL "access control lists (ACLs)"
.set I " "
+.set drivernamemax "64"
+
.macro copyyear
-2020
+2023
.endmacro
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
. --- table with four columns. For cases when the option name is given with
. --- a space, so that it can be split, a fifth argument is used for the
. --- index entry.
+. --- Also one for multiple option def headings be grouped in a single
+. --- table (but without the split capability).
+
+.macro otable
+.itable all 0 0 4 8* left 6* center 6* center 6* right
+.endmacro
+
+.macro orow
+.row "&%$1%&" "Use: &'$2'&" "Type: &'$3'&" "Default: &'$4'&"
+.endmacro
.macro option
.arg 5
.arg -5
.oindex "&%$1%&"
.endarg
-.itable all 0 0 4 8* left 6* center 6* center 6* right
-.row "&%$1%&" "Use: &'$2'&" "Type: &'$3'&" "Default: &'$4'&"
+.otable
+.orow "$1" "$2" "$3" "$4"
+.endtable
+.endmacro
+
+.macro options
+.eacharg
+.oindex "&%$+1%&"
+.endeach 4
+.otable
+.eacharg
+.orow "$+1" "$+2" "$+3" "$+4"
+.endeach 4
.endtable
.endmacro
.itable none 0 0 2 $1 left $2 left
.endmacro
+
+. --- A macro for a plain variable, including the .vitem and .vindex
+.macro var
+.vitem $1
+.vindex $1
+.endmacro
+
+. --- A macro for a "tainted" marker, done as a one-element table
+.macro tmark
+.itable none 0 0 1 10pt left
+.row &'Tainted'&
+.endtable
+.endmacro
+
+. --- A macro for a tainted variable, adding a taint-marker
+.macro tvar
+.var $1
+.tmark
+.endmacro
+
+. --- A macro for a cmdline option, including a .oindex
+. --- 1st arg is the option name, undecorated (we do that here).
+. --- 2nd arg, optional, text (decorated as needed) to be appended to the name
+.macro cmdopt
+.vitem &%$1%&$=2+&~$2+
+.oindex &%$1%&
+.endmacro
+
. --- A macro that generates .row, but puts &I; at the start of the first
. --- argument, thus indenting it. Assume a minimum of two arguments, and
. --- allow up to four arguments, which is as many as we'll ever need.
. --- style of entry, use .scindex for the start and .ecindex for the end. The
. --- first argument of .scindex and the only argument of .ecindex must be the
. --- ID that ties them together.
+. --- The index entry points to the most-recent chapter head, section or subsection
+. --- head, or list-item.
.macro cindex
&<indexterm role="concept">&
&</indexterm>&
.endmacro
+. --- The index entry points to the most-recent chapter head, section or subsection
+. --- head, or varlist item.
+
.macro vindex
&<indexterm role="variable">&
&<primary>&$1&</primary>&
</revision></revhistory>
<copyright><year>
.copyyear
- </year><holder>University of Cambridge</holder></copyright>
+ </year><holder>The Exim Maintainers</holder></copyright>
</bookinfo>
.literal off
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-. This chunk of literal XML implements index entries of the form "x, see y" and
-. "x, see also y". However, the DocBook DTD doesn't allow <indexterm> entries
+. These implement index entries of the form "x, see y" and "x, see also y".
+. However, the DocBook DTD doesn't allow <indexterm> entries
. at the top level, so we have to put the .chapter directive first.
-
-. These do not turn up in the HTML output, unfortunately. The PDF does get them.
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
.chapter "Introduction" "CHID1"
-.literal xml
-<indexterm role="variable">
- <primary>$1, $2, etc.</primary>
- <see><emphasis>numerical variables</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>address</primary>
- <secondary>rewriting</secondary>
- <see><emphasis>rewriting</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>Bounce Address Tag Validation</primary>
- <see><emphasis>BATV</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>Client SMTP Authorization</primary>
- <see><emphasis>CSA</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>CR character</primary>
- <see><emphasis>carriage return</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>CRL</primary>
- <see><emphasis>certificate revocation list</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>delivery</primary>
- <secondary>failure report</secondary>
- <see><emphasis>bounce message</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>dialup</primary>
- <see><emphasis>intermittently connected hosts</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>exiscan</primary>
- <see><emphasis>content scanning</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>failover</primary>
- <see><emphasis>fallback</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>fallover</primary>
- <see><emphasis>fallback</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>filter</primary>
- <secondary>Sieve</secondary>
- <see><emphasis>Sieve filter</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>ident</primary>
- <see><emphasis>RFC 1413</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>LF character</primary>
- <see><emphasis>linefeed</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>maximum</primary>
- <seealso><emphasis>limit</emphasis></seealso>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>monitor</primary>
- <see><emphasis>Exim monitor</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>no_<emphasis>xxx</emphasis></primary>
- <see>entry for xxx</see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>NUL</primary>
- <see><emphasis>binary zero</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>passwd file</primary>
- <see><emphasis>/etc/passwd</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>process id</primary>
- <see><emphasis>pid</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>RBL</primary>
- <see><emphasis>DNS list</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>redirection</primary>
- <see><emphasis>address redirection</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>return path</primary>
- <seealso><emphasis>envelope sender</emphasis></seealso>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>scanning</primary>
- <see><emphasis>content scanning</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>SSL</primary>
- <see><emphasis>TLS</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>string</primary>
- <secondary>expansion</secondary>
- <see><emphasis>expansion</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>top bit</primary>
- <see><emphasis>8-bit characters</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>variables</primary>
- <see><emphasis>expansion, variables</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>zero, binary</primary>
- <see><emphasis>binary zero</emphasis></see>
-</indexterm>
-<indexterm role="concept">
- <primary>headers</primary>
- <see><emphasis>header lines</emphasis></see>
+.macro seeother
+.literal xml
+<indexterm role="$2">
+ <primary>$3</primary>
+.arg 5
+ <secondary>$5</secondary>
+.endarg
+ <$1><emphasis>$4</emphasis></$1>
</indexterm>
-
.literal off
+.endmacro
+
+. NB: for the 4-arg variant the ordering is awkward
+.macro see
+.seeother see "$1" "$2" "$3" "$4"
+.endmacro
+.macro seealso
+.seeother seealso "$1" "$2" "$3" "$4"
+.endmacro
+
+.see variable "<emphasis>$1</emphasis>, <emphasis>$2</emphasis>, etc." "numerical variables"
+.see concept address rewriting rewriting
+.see concept "Bounce Address Tag Validation" BATV
+.see concept "Client SMTP Authorization" CSA
+.see concept "CR character" "carriage return"
+.see concept CRL "certificate revocation list"
+.seealso concept de-tainting "tainted data"
+.see concept delivery "bounce message" "failure report"
+.see concept dialup "intermittently connected hosts"
+.see concept exiscan "content scanning"
+.see concept fallover fallback
+.see concept filter "Sieve filter" Sieve
+.see concept headers "header lines"
+.see concept ident "RFC 1413"
+.see concept "LF character" "linefeed"
+.seealso concept maximum limit
+.see concept monitor "Exim monitor"
+.see concept "no_<emphasis>xxx</emphasis>" "entry for xxx"
+.see concept NUL "binary zero"
+.see concept "passwd file" "/etc/passwd"
+.see concept "process id" pid
+.see concept RBL "DNS list"
+.see concept redirection "address redirection"
+.see concept "return path" "envelope sender"
+.see concept scanning "content scanning"
+.see concept SSL TLS
+.see concept string expansion expansion
+.see concept "top bit" "8-bit characters"
+.see concept variables "expansion, variables"
+.see concept "zero, binary" "binary zero"
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The following Exim mailing lists exist:
.table2 140pt
-.row &'exim-announce@exim.org'& "Moderated, low volume announcements list"
-.row &'exim-users@exim.org'& "General discussion list"
-.row &'exim-dev@exim.org'& "Discussion of bugs, enhancements, etc."
-.row &'exim-cvs@exim.org'& "Automated commit messages from the VCS"
+.row &'exim-announce@lists.exim.org'& "Moderated, low volume announcements list"
+.row &'exim-users@lists.exim.org'& "General discussion list"
+.row &'exim-users-de@lists.exim.org'& "General discussion list in German language"
+.row &'exim-dev@lists.exim.org'& "Discussion of bugs, enhancements, etc."
+.row &'exim-cvs@lists.exim.org'& "Automated commit messages from the VCS"
.endtable
You can subscribe to these lists, change your existing subscriptions, and view
.chapter "Incorporated code" "CHID2"
.cindex "incorporated code"
.cindex "regular expressions" "library"
-.cindex "PCRE"
+.cindex "PCRE2"
.cindex "OpenDMARC"
A number of pieces of external code are included in the Exim distribution.
.ilist
Regular expressions are supported in the main Exim program and in the
-Exim monitor using the freely-distributable PCRE library, copyright
-© University of Cambridge. The source to PCRE is no longer shipped with
-Exim, so you will need to use the version of PCRE shipped with your system,
+Exim monitor using the freely-distributable PCRE2 library, copyright
+© University of Cambridge. The source to PCRE2 is not longer shipped with
+Exim, so you will need to use the version of PCRE2 shipped with your system,
or obtain and install the full version of the library from
-&url(ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre).
+&url(https://github.com/PhilipHazel/pcre2/releases).
.next
.cindex "cdb" "acknowledgment"
Support for the cdb (Constant DataBase) lookup method is provided by code
.cindex "base36"
.cindex "Darwin"
.cindex "Cygwin"
-Every message handled by Exim is given a &'message id'& which is sixteen
+.cindex "exim_msgdate"
+Every message handled by Exim is given a &'message id'& which is 23
characters long. It is divided into three parts, separated by hyphens, for
-example &`16VDhn-0001bo-D3`&. Each part is a sequence of letters and digits,
+example &`16VDhn-000000001bo-D342`&. Each part is a sequence of letters and digits,
normally encoding numbers in base 62. However, in the Darwin operating
system (Mac OS X) and when Exim is compiled to run under Cygwin, base 36
(avoiding the use of lower case letters) is used instead, because the message
contains the number of seconds since the start of the epoch (the normal Unix
way of representing the date and time of day).
.next
-After the first hyphen, the next six characters are the id of the process that
-received the message.
+After the first hyphen, the next
+eleven
+characters are the id of the process that received the message.
.next
-There are two different possibilities for the final two characters:
+There are two different possibilities for the final four characters:
.olist
.oindex "&%localhost_number%&"
If &%localhost_number%& is not set, this value is the fractional part of the
-time of reception, normally in units of 1/2000 of a second, but for systems
+time of reception, normally in units of
+microseconds.
+but for systems
that must use base 36 instead of base 62 (because of case-insensitive file
-systems), the units are 1/1000 of a second.
+systems), the units are
+2 us.
.next
-If &%localhost_number%& is set, it is multiplied by 200 (100) and added to
-the fractional part of the time, which in this case is in units of 1/200
-(1/100) of a second.
+If &%localhost_number%& is set, it is multiplied by
+500000 (250000) and added to
+the fractional part of the time, which in this case is in units of 2 us (4 us).
.endlist
.endlist
pid, it is guaranteed that the time will be different. In most cases, the clock
will already have ticked while the message was being received.
+The exim_msgdate utility (see section &<<SECTexim_msgdate>>&) can be
+used to display the date, and optionally the process id, of an Exim
+Message ID.
+
.section "Receiving mail" "SECID13"
.cindex "receiving mail"
order in which they are tested. The individual configuration options are
described in more detail in chapter &<<CHAProutergeneric>>&.
-.ilist
+.olist
.cindex affix "router precondition"
The &%local_part_prefix%& and &%local_part_suffix%& options can specify that
the local parts handled by the router may or must have certain prefixes and/or
.next
If the &%domains%& option is set, the domain of the address must be in the set
of domains that it defines.
-.new
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using router domains option"
A match verifies the variable &$domain$& (which carries tainted data)
and assigns an untainted value to the &$domain_data$& variable.
Such an untainted value is often needed in the transport.
When an untainted value is wanted, use this option
rather than the generic &%condition%& option.
-.wen
.next
.vindex "&$local_part_prefix$&"
.cindex affix "router precondition"
If the &%local_parts%& option is set, the local part of the address must be in
the set of local parts that it defines.
-.new
A match verifies the variable &$local_part$& (which carries tainted data)
and assigns an untainted value to the &$local_part_data$& variable.
Such an untainted value is often needed in the transport.
When an untainted value is wanted, use this option
rather than the generic &%condition%& option.
-.wen
If &%local_part_prefix%& or
&%local_part_suffix%& is in use, the prefix or suffix is removed from the local
uses an expanded string to allow you to set up your own custom preconditions.
Expanded strings are described in chapter &<<CHAPexpand>>&.
-.new
Note that while using
this option for address matching technically works,
it does not set any de-tainted values.
for transport options.
Using the &%domains%& and &%local_parts%& options is usually the most
convenient way to obtain them.
-.wen
.endlist
.cindex "delivery" "in detail"
When a message is to be delivered, the sequence of events is as follows:
-.ilist
+.olist
If a system-wide filter file is specified, the message is passed to it. The
filter may add recipients to the message, replace the recipients, discard the
message, cause a new message to be generated, or cause the message delivery to
-.section "Temporary delivery failure" "SECID20"
+.subsection "Temporary delivery failure" SECID20
.cindex "delivery" "temporary failure"
There are many reasons why a message may not be immediately deliverable to a
particular address. Failure to connect to a remote machine (because it, or the
-.section "Permanent delivery failure" "SECID21"
+.subsection "Permanent delivery failure" SECID21
.cindex "delivery" "permanent failure"
.cindex "bounce message" "when generated"
When a message cannot be delivered to some or all of its intended recipients, a
-.section "Failures to deliver bounce messages" "SECID22"
+.subsection "Failures to deliver bounce messages" SECID22
.cindex "bounce message" "failure to deliver"
If a bounce message (either locally generated or received from a remote host)
itself suffers a permanent delivery failure, the message is left in the queue,
A C99-capable compiler will be required for the build.
-.section "PCRE library" "SECTpcre"
-.cindex "PCRE library"
-Exim no longer has an embedded PCRE library as the vast majority of
-modern systems include PCRE as a system library, although you may need to
-install the PCRE package or the PCRE development package for your operating
-system. If your system has a normal PCRE installation the Exim build
+.section "PCRE2 library" "SECTpcre"
+.cindex "PCRE2 library"
+Exim no longer has an embedded regular-expression library as the vast majority of
+modern systems include PCRE2 as a system library, although you may need to
+install the PCRE2 package or the PCRE2 development package for your operating
+system. If your system has a normal PCRE2 installation the Exim build
process will need no further configuration. If the library or the
-headers are in an unusual location you will need to either set the PCRE_LIBS
+headers are in an unusual location you will need to either set the PCRE2_LIBS
and INCLUDE directives appropriately,
-or set PCRE_CONFIG=yes to use the installed &(pcre-config)& command.
+or set PCRE2_CONFIG=yes to use the installed &(pcre-config)& command.
If your operating system has no
-PCRE support then you will need to obtain and build the current PCRE
-from &url(ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre/).
-More information on PCRE is available at &url(https://www.pcre.org/).
+PCRE2 support then you will need to obtain and build the current PCRE2
+from &url(https://github.com/PhilipHazel/pcre2/releases).
+More information on PCRE2 is available at &url(https://www.pcre.org/).
.section "DBM libraries" "SECTdb"
.cindex "DBM libraries" "discussion of"
.next
To complicate things further, there are several very different versions of the
Berkeley DB package. Version 1.85 was stable for a very long time, releases
-2.&'x'& and 3.&'x'& were current for a while, but the latest versions when Exim last revamped support were numbered 4.&'x'&.
-Maintenance of some of the earlier releases has ceased. All versions of
-Berkeley DB could be obtained from
+2.&'x'& and 3.&'x'& were current for a while,
+but the latest versions when Exim last revamped support were numbered 5.&'x'&.
+Maintenance of some of the earlier releases has ceased,
+and Exim no longer supports versions before 3.&'x'&.
+All versions of Berkeley DB could be obtained from
&url(http://www.sleepycat.com/), which is now a redirect to their new owner's
page with far newer versions listed.
It is probably wise to plan to move your storage configurations away from
.endd
Similarly, for gdbm you set USE_GDBM, and for tdb you set USE_TDB. An
error is diagnosed if you set more than one of these.
+You can set USE_NDBM if needed to override an operating system default.
At the lowest level, the build-time configuration sets none of these options,
thereby assuming an interface of type (1). However, some operating system
.code
DBMLIB = -ldb
DBMLIB = -ltdb
+DBMLIB = -lgdbm -lgdbm_compat
.endd
+The last of those was for a Linux having GDBM provide emulated NDBM facilities.
Settings like that will work if the DBM library is installed in the standard
place. Sometimes it is not, and the library's header file may also not be in
the default path. You may need to set INCLUDE to specify where the header
+.section "Running the daemon" SECTdaemonLaunch
+The most common command line for launching the Exim daemon looks like
+.code
+exim -bd -q5m
+.endd
+This starts a daemon which
+.ilist
+listens for incoming smtp connections, launching handler processes for
+each new one
+.next
+starts a queue-runner process every five minutes, to inspect queued messages
+and run delivery attempts on any that have arrived at their retry time
+.endlist
+Should a queue run take longer than the time between queue-runner starts,
+they will run in parallel.
+Numbers of jobs of the various types are subject to policy controls
+defined in the configuration.
+
+
.section "Upgrading Exim" "SECID36"
.cindex "upgrading Exim"
If you are already running Exim on your host, building and installing a new
.vlist
-.vitem &%--%&
-.oindex "--"
+.cmdopt "--" "--"
.cindex "options" "command line; terminating"
This is a pseudo-option whose only purpose is to terminate the options and
therefore to cause subsequent command line items to be treated as arguments
rather than options, even if they begin with hyphens.
-.vitem &%--help%&
-.oindex "&%--help%&"
+.cmdopt --help
This option causes Exim to output a few sentences stating what it is.
The same output is generated if the Exim binary is called with no options and
no arguments.
-.vitem &%--version%&
-.oindex "&%--version%&"
+.cmdopt --version
This option is an alias for &%-bV%& and causes version information to be
displayed.
These options are used by Sendmail for selecting configuration files and are
ignored by Exim.
-.vitem &%-B%&<&'type'&>
+.cmdopt -B <&'type'&>
.oindex "&%-B%&"
.cindex "8-bit characters"
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "8-bit characters"
This is a Sendmail option for selecting 7 or 8 bit processing. Exim is 8-bit
clean; it ignores this option.
-.vitem &%-bd%&
-.oindex "&%-bd%&"
+.cmdopt -bd
.cindex "daemon"
.cindex "SMTP" "listener"
.cindex "queue runner"
referenced from the configuration (for example, alias files) are changed,
because these are reread each time they are used.
-.vitem &%-bdf%&
-.oindex "&%-bdf%&"
+Either a SIGTERM or a SIGINT signal should be used to cause the daemon
+to cleanly shut down.
+Subprocesses handling recceiving or delivering messages,
+or for scanning the queue,
+will not be affected by the termination of the daemon process.
+
+.cmdopt -bdf
This option has the same effect as &%-bd%& except that it never disconnects
from the controlling terminal, even when no debugging is specified.
-.vitem &%-be%&
-.oindex "&%-be%&"
+.cmdopt -be
.cindex "testing" "string expansion"
.cindex "expansion" "testing"
Run Exim in expansion testing mode. Exim discards its root privilege, to
Because macros in the config file are often used for secrets, those are only
available to admin users.
-.vitem &%-bem%&&~<&'filename'&>
-.oindex "&%-bem%&"
+The word &"set"& at the start of a line, followed by a single space,
+is recognised specially as defining a value for a variable.
+The syntax is otherwise the same as the ACL modifier &"set ="&.
+
+.cmdopt -bem <&'filename'&>
.cindex "testing" "string expansion"
.cindex "expansion" "testing"
This option operates like &%-be%& except that it must be followed by the name
line, because further arguments are taken as strings to expand (just like
&%-be%&).
-.vitem &%-bF%&&~<&'filename'&>
-.oindex "&%-bF%&"
+.cmdopt -bF <&'filename'&>
.cindex "system filter" "testing"
.cindex "testing" "system filter"
This option is the same as &%-bf%& except that it assumes that the filter being
tested is a system filter. The additional commands that are available only in
system filters are recognized.
-.vitem &%-bf%&&~<&'filename'&>
-.oindex "&%-bf%&"
+.cmdopt -bf <&'filename'&>
.cindex "filter" "testing"
.cindex "testing" "filter file"
.cindex "forward file" "testing"
can be set by means of additional command line options (see the next four
options).
-.vitem &%-bfd%&&~<&'domain'&>
-.oindex "&%-bfd%&"
+.cmdopt -bfd <&'domain'&>
.vindex "&$qualify_domain$&"
This sets the domain of the recipient address when a filter file is being
tested by means of the &%-bf%& option. The default is the value of
&$qualify_domain$&.
-.vitem &%-bfl%&&~<&'local&~part'&>
-.oindex "&%-bfl%&"
+.cmdopt -bfl <&'local&~part'&>
This sets the local part of the recipient address when a filter file is being
tested by means of the &%-bf%& option. The default is the username of the
process that calls Exim. A local part should be specified with any prefix or
suffix stripped, because that is how it appears to the filter when a message is
actually being delivered.
-.vitem &%-bfp%&&~<&'prefix'&>
-.oindex "&%-bfp%&"
+.cmdopt -bfp <&'prefix'&>
.cindex affix "filter testing"
This sets the prefix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
file is being tested by means of the &%-bf%& option. The default is an empty
prefix.
-.vitem &%-bfs%&&~<&'suffix'&>
-.oindex "&%-bfs%&"
+.cmdopt -bfs <&'suffix'&>
.cindex affix "filter testing"
This sets the suffix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
file is being tested by means of the &%-bf%& option. The default is an empty
suffix.
-.vitem &%-bh%&&~<&'IP&~address'&>
-.oindex "&%-bh%&"
+.cmdopt -bh <&'IP&~address'&>
.cindex "testing" "incoming SMTP"
.cindex "SMTP" "testing incoming"
.cindex "testing" "relay control"
specialized SMTP test program such as
&url(https://www.jetmore.org/john/code/swaks/,swaks).
-.vitem &%-bhc%&&~<&'IP&~address'&>
-.oindex "&%-bhc%&"
+.cmdopt -bhc <&'IP&~address'&>
This option operates in the same way as &%-bh%&, except that address
verification callouts are performed if required. This includes consulting and
updating the callout cache database.
-.vitem &%-bi%&
-.oindex "&%-bi%&"
+.cmdopt -bi
.cindex "alias file" "building"
.cindex "building alias file"
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-bi%& option"
&%-bi%& is a no-op.
. // Keep :help first, then the rest in alphabetical order
-.vitem &%-bI:help%&
-.oindex "&%-bI:help%&"
+.cmdopt -bI:help
.cindex "querying exim information"
We shall provide various options starting &`-bI:`& for querying Exim for
information. The output of many of these will be intended for machine
synopsis of supported options beginning &`-bI:`&. Use of any of these
options shall cause Exim to exit after producing the requested output.
-.vitem &%-bI:dscp%&
-.oindex "&%-bI:dscp%&"
+.cmdopt -bI:dscp
.cindex "DSCP" "values"
This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all
recognised DSCP names.
-.vitem &%-bI:sieve%&
-.oindex "&%-bI:sieve%&"
+.cmdopt -bI:sieve
.cindex "Sieve filter" "capabilities"
This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all supported
Sieve protocol extensions on stdout, one per line. This is anticipated to be
compile-time build options, which this option will adapt to, this is the only
way to guarantee a correct response.
-.vitem &%-bm%&
-.oindex "&%-bm%&"
+.cmdopt -bm
.cindex "local message reception"
This option runs an Exim receiving process that accepts an incoming,
locally-generated message on the standard input. The recipients are given as the
preference to the address taken from the message. The caller of Exim must be a
trusted user for the sender of a message to be set in this way.
-.vitem &%-bmalware%&&~<&'filename'&>
-.oindex "&%-bmalware%&"
+.cmdopt -bmalware <&'filename'&>
.cindex "testing", "malware"
.cindex "malware scan test"
This debugging option causes Exim to scan the given file or directory
there are better tools for file-scanning. This option exists to help
administrators verify their Exim and AV scanner configuration.
-.vitem &%-bnq%&
-.oindex "&%-bnq%&"
+.cmdopt -bnq
.cindex "address qualification, suppressing"
By default, Exim automatically qualifies unqualified addresses (those
without domains) that appear in messages that are submitted locally (that
unqualified addresses in header lines are left alone.
-.vitem &%-bP%&
-.oindex "&%-bP%&"
+.cmdopt -bP
.cindex "configuration options" "extracting"
.cindex "options" "configuration &-- extracting"
If this option is given with no arguments, it causes the values of all Exim's
For the "-bP macro <name>" form, if no such macro is found
the exit status will be nonzero.
-.vitem &%-bp%&
-.oindex "&%-bp%&"
+.cmdopt -bp
.cindex "queue" "listing messages in"
.cindex "listing" "messages in the queue"
This option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue on the
complete.
-.vitem &%-bpa%&
-.oindex "&%-bpa%&"
+.cmdopt -bpa
This option operates like &%-bp%&, but in addition it shows delivered addresses
that were generated from the original top level address(es) in each message by
alias or forwarding operations. These addresses are flagged with &"+D"& instead
of just &"D"&.
-.vitem &%-bpc%&
-.oindex "&%-bpc%&"
+.cmdopt -bpc
.cindex "queue" "count of messages on"
This option counts the number of messages in the queue, and writes the total
to the standard output. It is restricted to admin users, unless
&%queue_list_requires_admin%& is set false.
-.vitem &%-bpr%&
-.oindex "&%-bpr%&"
+.cmdopt -bpi
+.cindex queue "list of message IDs"
+This option operates like &%-bp%&, but only outputs message ids
+(one per line).
+
+
+.cmdopt -bpr
This option operates like &%-bp%&, but the output is not sorted into
chronological order of message arrival. This can speed it up when there are
lots of messages in the queue, and is particularly useful if the output is
going to be post-processed in a way that doesn't need the sorting.
-.vitem &%-bpra%&
-.oindex "&%-bpra%&"
+.cmdopt -bpra
This option is a combination of &%-bpr%& and &%-bpa%&.
-.vitem &%-bpru%&
-.oindex "&%-bpru%&"
+.cmdopt -bpri
+This option is a combination of &%-bpr%& and &%-bpi%&.
+
+.cmdopt -bpru
This option is a combination of &%-bpr%& and &%-bpu%&.
-.vitem &%-bpu%&
-.oindex "&%-bpu%&"
+.cmdopt -bpu
This option operates like &%-bp%& but shows only undelivered top-level
addresses for each message displayed. Addresses generated by aliasing or
forwarding are not shown, unless the message was deferred after processing by a
router with the &%one_time%& option set.
-.vitem &%-brt%&
-.oindex "&%-brt%&"
+.cmdopt -brt
.cindex "testing" "retry configuration"
.cindex "retry" "configuration testing"
This option is for testing retry rules, and it must be followed by up to three
Retry rule: *@haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d F,1h,15m
.endd
-.vitem &%-brw%&
-.oindex "&%-brw%&"
+.cmdopt -brw
.cindex "testing" "rewriting"
.cindex "rewriting" "testing"
This option is for testing address rewriting rules, and it must be followed by
would be rewritten for each possible place it might appear. See chapter
&<<CHAPrewrite>>& for further details.
-.vitem &%-bS%&
-.oindex "&%-bS%&"
+.cmdopt -bS
.cindex "SMTP" "batched incoming"
.cindex "batched SMTP input"
This option is used for batched SMTP input, which is an alternative interface
More details of input using batched SMTP are given in section
&<<SECTincomingbatchedSMTP>>&.
-.vitem &%-bs%&
-.oindex "&%-bs%&"
+.cmdopt -bs
.cindex "SMTP" "local input"
.cindex "local SMTP input"
This option causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading SMTP commands
Exim behaves in exactly the same way as it does when receiving a message via
the listening daemon.
-.vitem &%-bt%&
-.oindex "&%-bt%&"
+.cmdopt -bt
.cindex "testing" "addresses"
.cindex "address" "testing"
This option runs Exim in address testing mode, in which each argument is taken
those conditions using &%-bt%&. The &%-N%& option provides a possible way of
doing such tests.
-.vitem &%-bV%&
-.oindex "&%-bV%&"
+.cmdopt -bV
.cindex "version number of Exim"
This option causes Exim to write the current version number, compilation
number, and compilation date of the &'exim'& binary to the standard output.
realistic testing is needed. The &%-bh%& and &%-N%& options provide more
dynamic testing facilities.
-.vitem &%-bv%&
-.oindex "&%-bv%&"
+.cmdopt -bv
.cindex "verifying address" "using &%-bv%&"
.cindex "address" "verification"
This option runs Exim in address verification mode, in which each argument is
sender when running &%-bv%& tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the
calling user at the default qualifying domain.
-.vitem &%-bvs%&
-.oindex "&%-bvs%&"
+.cmdopt -bvs
This option acts like &%-bv%&, but verifies the address as a sender rather
than a recipient address. This affects any rewriting and qualification that
might happen.
-.vitem &%-bw%&
-.oindex "&%-bw%&"
+.cmdopt -bw
.cindex "daemon"
.cindex "inetd"
.cindex "inetd" "wait mode"
If the option is given as &%-bw%&<&'time'&> then the time is a timeout, after
which the daemon will exit, which should cause inetd to listen once more.
-.vitem &%-C%&&~<&'filelist'&>
-.oindex "&%-C%&"
+.cmdopt -C <&'filelist'&>
.cindex "configuration file" "alternate"
.cindex "CONFIGURE_FILE"
.cindex "alternate configuration file"
debugging, whereas &%-d-all+filter%& selects only filter debugging. Note that
no spaces are allowed in the debug setting. The available debugging categories
are:
-.display
-&`acl `& ACL interpretation
-&`auth `& authenticators
-&`deliver `& general delivery logic
-&`dns `& DNS lookups (see also resolver)
-&`dnsbl `& DNS black list (aka RBL) code
-&`exec `& arguments for &[execv()]& calls
-&`expand `& detailed debugging for string expansions
-&`filter `& filter handling
-&`hints_lookup `& hints data lookups
-&`host_lookup `& all types of name-to-IP address handling
-&`ident `& ident lookup
-&`interface `& lists of local interfaces
-&`lists `& matching things in lists
-&`load `& system load checks
-&`local_scan `& can be used by &[local_scan()]& (see chapter &&&
- &<<CHAPlocalscan>>&)
-&`lookup `& general lookup code and all lookups
-&`memory `& memory handling
-&`noutf8 `& modifier: avoid UTF-8 line-drawing
-&`pid `& modifier: add pid to debug output lines
-&`process_info `& setting info for the process log
-&`queue_run `& queue runs
-&`receive `& general message reception logic
-&`resolver `& turn on the DNS resolver's debugging output
-&`retry `& retry handling
-&`rewrite `& address rewriting
-&`route `& address routing
-&`timestamp `& modifier: add timestamp to debug output lines
-&`tls `& TLS logic
-&`transport `& transports
-&`uid `& changes of uid/gid and looking up uid/gid
-&`verify `& address verification logic
-&`all `& almost all of the above (see below), and also &%-v%&
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.irow acl "ACL interpretation"
+.irow auth "authenticators"
+.irow deliver "general delivery logic"
+.irow dns "DNS lookups (see also resolver)"
+.irow dnsbl "DNS black list (aka RBL) code"
+.irow exec "arguments for &[execv()]& calls"
+.irow expand "detailed debugging for string expansions"
+.irow filter "filter handling"
+.irow hints_lookup "hints data lookups"
+.irow host_lookup "all types of name-to-IP address handling"
+.irow ident "ident lookup"
+.irow interface "lists of local interfaces"
+.irow lists "matching things in lists"
+.irow load "system load checks"
+.irow local_scan "can be used by &[local_scan()]& (see chapter &&&
+ &<<CHAPlocalscan>>&)"
+.irow lookup "general lookup code and all lookups"
+.irow memory "memory handling"
+.irow noutf8 "modifier: avoid UTF-8 line-drawing"
+.irow pid "modifier: add pid to debug output lines"
+.irow process_info "setting info for the process log"
+.irow queue_run "queue runs"
+.irow receive "general message reception logic"
+.irow resolver "turn on the DNS resolver's debugging output"
+.irow retry "retry handling"
+.irow rewrite "address rewriting""
+.irow route "address routing"
+.irow timestamp "modifier: add timestamp to debug output lines"
+.irow tls "TLS logic"
+.irow transport "transports"
+.irow uid "changes of uid/gid and looking up uid/gid"
+.irow verify "address verification logic"
+.irow all "almost all of the above (see below), and also &%-v%&"
+.endtable
The &`all`& option excludes &`memory`& when used as &`+all`&, but includes it
for &`-all`&. The reason for this is that &`+all`& is something that people
tend to use when generating debug output for Exim maintainers. If &`+memory`&
subprocesses that the daemon creates. Thus, it is useful for monitoring the
behaviour of the daemon without creating as much output as full debugging does.
-.vitem &%-dropcr%&
-.oindex "&%-dropcr%&"
+.cmdopt -dropcr
This is an obsolete option that is now a no-op. It used to affect the way Exim
handled CR and LF characters in incoming messages. What happens now is
described in section &<<SECTlineendings>>&.
-.vitem &%-E%&
-.oindex "&%-E%&"
+.cmdopt -E
.cindex "bounce message" "generating"
This option specifies that an incoming message is a locally-generated delivery
failure report. It is used internally by Exim when handling delivery failures
example, the &%vacation%& program uses &%-eq%&. Exim treats all options of the
form &%-e%&&'x'& as synonymous with the corresponding &%-oe%&&'x'& options.
-.vitem &%-F%&&~<&'string'&>
-.oindex "&%-F%&"
+.cmdopt -F <&'string'&>
.cindex "sender" "name"
.cindex "name" "of sender"
This option sets the sender's full name for use when a locally-generated
their &'gecos'& entries, no security considerations are involved. White space
between &%-F%& and the <&'string'&> is optional.
-.vitem &%-f%&&~<&'address'&>
-.oindex "&%-f%&"
+.cmdopt -f <&'address'&>
.cindex "sender" "address"
.cindex "address" "sender"
.cindex "trusted users"
&"From&~"& line in the message &-- see the description of &%-bm%& above &-- but
if &%-f%& is also present, it overrides &"From&~"&.
-.vitem &%-G%&
-.oindex "&%-G%&"
+.cmdopt -G
.cindex "submission fixups, suppressing (command-line)"
This option is equivalent to an ACL applying:
.code
As this affects audit information, the caller must be a trusted user to use
this option.
-.vitem &%-h%&&~<&'number'&>
-.oindex "&%-h%&"
+.cmdopt -h <&'number'&>
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-h%& option ignored"
This option is accepted for compatibility with Sendmail, but has no effect. (In
Sendmail it overrides the &"hop count"& obtained by counting &'Received:'&
headers.)
-.vitem &%-i%&
-.oindex "&%-i%&"
+.cmdopt -i
.cindex "Solaris" "&'mail'& command"
.cindex "dot" "in incoming non-SMTP message"
This option, which has the same effect as &%-oi%&, specifies that a dot on a
-line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non-SMTP message. I can find
-no documentation for this option in Solaris 2.4 Sendmail, but the &'mailx'&
-command in Solaris 2.4 uses it. See also &%-ti%&.
+line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non-SMTP message.
+Solaris 2.4 (SunOS 5.4) Sendmail has a similar &%-i%& processing option
+&url(https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19457-01/801-6680-1M/801-6680-1M.pdf),
+p. 1M-529), and therefore a &%-oi%& command line option, which both are used
+by its &'mailx'& command.
-.vitem &%-L%&&~<&'tag'&>
-.oindex "&%-L%&"
+.cmdopt -L <&'tag'&>
.cindex "syslog" "process name; set with flag"
This option is equivalent to setting &%syslog_processname%& in the config
file and setting &%log_file_path%& to &`syslog`&.
The tag should not be longer than 32 characters.
-.vitem &%-M%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-M%&"
+.cmdopt -M <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "forcing delivery"
.cindex "delivery" "forcing attempt"
.cindex "frozen messages" "forcing delivery"
produced unless there is a serious error. If you want to see what is happening,
use the &%-v%& option as well, or inspect Exim's main log.
-.vitem &%-Mar%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>&~<&'address'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mar%&"
+.cmdopt -Mar <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>&~<&'address'&>&~...
.cindex "message" "adding recipients"
.cindex "recipient" "adding"
This option requests Exim to add the addresses to the list of recipients of the
given in chapter &<<CHAPSMTP>>&. This must be the final option, and the caller
must be root or the Exim user in order to use it.
-.vitem &%-MCA%&
-.oindex "&%-MCA%&"
+.cmdopt -MCA
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the
connection to the remote host has been authenticated.
-.vitem &%-MCD%&
-.oindex "&%-MCD%&"
+.cmdopt -MCD
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the
remote host supports the ESMTP &_DSN_& extension.
-.vitem &%-MCd%&
-.oindex "&%-MCd%&"
+.cmdopt -MCd
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-d%& option
to pass on an information string on the purpose of the process.
-.vitem &%-MCG%&&~<&'queue&~name'&>
-.oindex "&%-MCG%&"
+.cmdopt -MCG <&'queue&~name'&>
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that an
alternate queue is used, named by the following argument.
-.vitem &%-MCK%&
-.oindex "&%-MCK%&"
+.cmdopt -MCK
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that a
remote host supports the ESMTP &_CHUNKING_& extension.
-.vitem &%-MCP%&
-.oindex "&%-MCP%&"
+.cmdopt -MCL
+This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
+by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the server to
+which Exim is connected advertised limits on numbers of mails, recipients or
+recipient domains.
+The limits are given by the following three arguments.
+
+.cmdopt -MCP
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the server to
which Exim is connected supports pipelining.
-.vitem &%-MCQ%&&~<&'process&~id'&>&~<&'pipe&~fd'&>
-.oindex "&%-MCQ%&"
+.cmdopt -MCp
+This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
+by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the connection
+t a remote server is via a SOCKS proxy, using addresses and ports given by
+the following four arguments.
+
+.cmdopt -MCQ <&'process&~id'&>&~<&'pipe&~fd'&>
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option when the original delivery was
started by a queue runner. It passes on the process id of the queue runner,
signals the final completion of the sequence of processes that are passing
messages through the same SMTP connection.
-.new
-.vitem &%-MCq%&&~<&'recipient&~address'&>&~<&'size'&>
-.oindex "&%-MCq%&"
+.cmdopt -MCq <&'recipient&~address'&>&~<&'size'&>
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim to implement quota checking for local users.
-.wen
-.vitem &%-MCS%&
-.oindex "&%-MCS%&"
+.cmdopt -MCS
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option, and passes on the fact that the
ESMTP SIZE option should be used on messages delivered down the existing
connection.
-.vitem &%-MCT%&
-.oindex "&%-MCT%&"
+.cmdopt -MCT
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option, and passes on the fact that the
host to which Exim is connected supports TLS encryption.
-.new
.vitem &%-MCr%&&~<&'SNI'&> &&&
&%-MCs%&&~<&'SNI'&>
.oindex "&%-MCs%&"
a TLS Server Name Indication was sent as part of the channel establishment.
The argument gives the SNI string.
The "r" variant indicates a DANE-verified connection.
-.wen
-.vitem &%-MCt%&&~<&'IP&~address'&>&~<&'port'&>&~<&'cipher'&>
-.oindex "&%-MCt%&"
+.cmdopt -MCt <&'IP&~address'&>&~<&'port'&>&~<&'cipher'&>
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option, and passes on the fact that the
connection is being proxied by a parent process for handling TLS encryption.
The arguments give the local address and port being proxied, and the TLS cipher.
-.vitem &%-Mc%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mc%&"
+.cmdopt -Mc <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "hints database" "not overridden by &%-Mc%&"
.cindex "delivery" "manually started &-- not forced"
This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message, in turn,
&%-q%& with a message id argument. A distinction between queue run deliveries
and other deliveries is made in one or two places.
-.vitem &%-Mes%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mes%&"
+.cmdopt -Mes <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>
.cindex "message" "changing sender"
.cindex "sender" "changing"
This option requests Exim to change the sender address in the message to the
is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered.
This option can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mf%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mf%&"
+.cmdopt -Mf <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "freezing messages"
.cindex "message" "manually freezing"
This option requests Exim to mark each listed message as &"frozen"&. This
attempt), their status is not altered. This option can be used only by an admin
user.
-.vitem &%-Mg%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mg%&"
+.cmdopt -Mg <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "giving up on messages"
.cindex "message" "abandoning delivery attempts"
.cindex "delivery" "abandoning further attempts"
This option requests Exim to give up trying to deliver the listed messages,
including any that are frozen. However, if any of the messages are active,
their status is not altered. For non-bounce messages, a delivery error message
-is sent to the sender, containing the text &"cancelled by administrator"&.
+is sent to the sender.
Bounce messages are just discarded. This option can be used only by an admin
user.
-.vitem &%-MG%&&~<&'queue&~name'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-MG%&"
+.cmdopt -MG <&'queue&~name'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex queue named
.cindex "named queues" "moving messages"
.cindex "queue" "moving messages"
If the messages are not currently located in the default queue,
a &%-qG<name>%& option will be required to define the source queue.
-.vitem &%-Mmad%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mmad%&"
+.cmdopt -Mmad <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "delivery" "cancelling all"
This option requests Exim to mark all the recipient addresses in the messages
as already delivered (&"mad"& for &"mark all delivered"&). However, if any
message is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not
altered. This option can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mmd%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>&~<&'address'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mmd%&"
+.cmdopt -Mmd <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'address'&>&~<&'address'&>&~...
.cindex "delivery" "cancelling by address"
.cindex "recipient" "removing"
.cindex "removing recipients"
(in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option
can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mrm%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mrm%&"
+.cmdopt -Mrm <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "removing messages"
.cindex "abandoning mail"
.cindex "message" "manually discarding"
. a bounce message.
. .wen
-.vitem &%-Mset%&&~<&'message&~id'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mset%&"
+.cmdopt -Mset <&'message&~id'&>
.cindex "testing" "string expansion"
.cindex "expansion" "testing"
This option is useful only in conjunction with &%-be%& (that is, when testing
make use of these variables. However, this option can be used only by an admin
user. See also &%-bem%&.
-.vitem &%-Mt%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
-.oindex "&%-Mt%&"
+.cmdopt -Mt <&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.cindex "thawing messages"
.cindex "unfreezing messages"
.cindex "frozen messages" "thawing"
messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used only
by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mvb%&&~<&'message&~id'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mvb%&"
+.cmdopt -Mvb <&'message&~id'&>
.cindex "listing" "message body"
.cindex "message" "listing body of"
This option causes the contents of the message body (-D) spool file to be
written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mvc%&&~<&'message&~id'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mvc%&"
+.cmdopt -Mvc <&'message&~id'&>
.cindex "message" "listing in RFC 2822 format"
.cindex "listing" "message in RFC 2822 format"
This option causes a copy of the complete message (header lines plus body) to
be written to the standard output in RFC 2822 format. This option can be used
only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mvh%&&~<&'message&~id'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mvh%&"
+.cmdopt -Mvh <&'message&~id'&>
.cindex "listing" "message headers"
.cindex "header lines" "listing"
.cindex "message" "listing header lines"
This option causes the contents of the message headers (-H) spool file to be
written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-Mvl%&&~<&'message&~id'&>
-.oindex "&%-Mvl%&"
+.cmdopt -Mvl <&'message&~id'&>
.cindex "listing" "message log"
.cindex "message" "listing message log"
This option causes the contents of the message log spool file to be written to
the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
-.vitem &%-m%&
-.oindex "&%-m%&"
-This is apparently a synonym for &%-om%& that is accepted by Sendmail, so Exim
-treats it that way too.
+.cmdopt -m
+This is a synonym for &%-om%& that is accepted by Sendmail
+(&url(https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19457-01/801-6680-1M/801-6680-1M.pdf)
+p. 1M-258), so Exim treats it that way too.
-.vitem &%-N%&
-.oindex "&%-N%&"
+.cmdopt -N
.cindex "debugging" "&%-N%& option"
.cindex "debugging" "suppressing delivery"
This is a debugging option that inhibits delivery of a message at the transport
the message, and applies to any subsequent delivery attempts that may happen
for that message.
-.vitem &%-n%&
-.oindex "&%-n%&"
+.cmdopt -n
This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean &"no aliasing"&.
For normal modes of operation, it is ignored by Exim.
When combined with &%-bP%& it makes the output more terse (suppresses
option names, environment values and config pretty printing).
-.vitem &%-O%&&~<&'data'&>
-.oindex "&%-O%&"
+.cmdopt -O <&'data'&>
This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean &`set option`&. It is ignored by
Exim.
-.vitem &%-oA%&&~<&'file&~name'&>
-.oindex "&%-oA%&"
+.cmdopt -oA <&'file&~name'&>
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-oA%& option"
This option is used by Sendmail in conjunction with &%-bi%& to specify an
alternative alias filename. Exim handles &%-bi%& differently; see the
description above.
-.vitem &%-oB%&&~<&'n'&>
-.oindex "&%-oB%&"
+.cmdopt -oB <&'n'&>
.cindex "SMTP" "passed connection"
.cindex "SMTP" "multiple deliveries"
.cindex "multiple SMTP deliveries"
be delivered down one SMTP connection, overriding the value set in any &(smtp)&
transport. If <&'n'&> is omitted, the limit is set to 1.
-.vitem &%-odb%&
-.oindex "&%-odb%&"
+.cmdopt -odb
.cindex "background delivery"
.cindex "delivery" "in the background"
This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
overrides it if &%queue_only_override%& is set true, which is the default
setting. If &%queue_only_override%& is set false, &%-odb%& has no effect.
-.vitem &%-odf%&
-.oindex "&%-odf%&"
+.cmdopt -odf
.cindex "foreground delivery"
.cindex "delivery" "in the foreground"
This option requests &"foreground"& (synchronous) delivery when Exim has
restricted configuration that never queues messages.
-.vitem &%-odi%&
-.oindex "&%-odi%&"
+.cmdopt -odi
This option is synonymous with &%-odf%&. It is provided for compatibility with
Sendmail.
-.vitem &%-odq%&
-.oindex "&%-odq%&"
+.cmdopt -odq
.cindex "non-immediate delivery"
.cindex "delivery" "suppressing immediate"
.cindex "queueing incoming messages"
conditions. This option overrides all of them and also &%-odqs%&. It always
forces queueing.
-.vitem &%-odqs%&
-.oindex "&%-odqs%&"
+.cmdopt -odqs
.cindex "SMTP" "delaying delivery"
.cindex "first pass routing"
This option is a hybrid between &%-odb%&/&%-odi%& and &%-odq%&.
configuration option has the same effect for specific domains. See also the
&%-qq%& option.
-.vitem &%-oee%&
-.oindex "&%-oee%&"
+.cmdopt -oee
.cindex "error" "reporting"
If an error is detected while a non-SMTP message is being received (for
example, a malformed address), the error is reported to the sender in a mail
is that the original message has no recipients, or 1 for any other error.
This is the default &%-oe%&&'x'& option if Exim is called as &'rmail'&.
-.vitem &%-oem%&
-.oindex "&%-oem%&"
+.cmdopt -oem
.cindex "error" "reporting"
.cindex "return code" "for &%-oem%&"
This is the same as &%-oee%&, except that Exim always exits with a non-zero
return code, whether or not the error message was successfully sent.
This is the default &%-oe%&&'x'& option, unless Exim is called as &'rmail'&.
-.vitem &%-oep%&
-.oindex "&%-oep%&"
+.cmdopt -oep
.cindex "error" "reporting"
If an error is detected while a non-SMTP message is being received, the
error is reported by writing a message to the standard error file (stderr).
.cindex "return code" "for &%-oep%&"
The return code is 1 for all errors.
-.vitem &%-oeq%&
-.oindex "&%-oeq%&"
+.cmdopt -oeq
.cindex "error" "reporting"
This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
effect as &%-oep%&.
-.vitem &%-oew%&
-.oindex "&%-oew%&"
+.cmdopt -oew
.cindex "error" "reporting"
This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
effect as &%-oem%&.
-.vitem &%-oi%&
-.oindex "&%-oi%&"
+.cmdopt -oi
.cindex "dot" "in incoming non-SMTP message"
This option, which has the same effect as &%-i%&, specifies that a dot on a
line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non-SMTP message. Otherwise, a
lines that start with a dot. This option is set by default if Exim is called as
&'rmail'&. See also &%-ti%&.
-.vitem &%-oitrue%&
-.oindex "&%-oitrue%&"
+.cmdopt -oitrue
This option is treated as synonymous with &%-oi%&.
-.vitem &%-oMa%&&~<&'host&~address'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMa%&"
+.cmdopt -oMa <&'host&~address'&>
.cindex "sender" "host address, specifying for local message"
A number of options starting with &%-oM%& can be used to set values associated
with remote hosts on locally-submitted messages (that is, messages not received
are present on the command line, the sender host IP address is taken from
whichever one is last.
-.vitem &%-oMaa%&&~<&'name'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMaa%&"
+.cmdopt -oMaa <&'name'&>
.cindex "authentication" "name, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMaa%&
option sets the value of &$sender_host_authenticated$& (the authenticator
This option can be used with &%-bh%& and &%-bs%& to set up an
authenticated SMTP session without actually using the SMTP AUTH command.
-.vitem &%-oMai%&&~<&'string'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMai%&"
+.cmdopt -oMai <&'string'&>
.cindex "authentication" "id, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMai%&
option sets the value of &$authenticated_id$& (the id that was authenticated).
where there is no default) for messages from local sources. See chapter
&<<CHAPSMTPAUTH>>& for a discussion of authenticated ids.
-.vitem &%-oMas%&&~<&'address'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMas%&"
+.cmdopt -oMas <&'address'&>
.cindex "authentication" "sender, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMas%&
option sets the authenticated sender value in &$authenticated_sender$&. It
specified on a MAIL command overrides this value. See chapter
&<<CHAPSMTPAUTH>>& for a discussion of authenticated senders.
-.vitem &%-oMi%&&~<&'interface&~address'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMi%&"
+.cmdopt -oMi <&'interface&~address'&>
.cindex "interface" "address, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMi%&
option sets the IP interface address value. A port number may be included,
using the same syntax as for &%-oMa%&. The interface address is placed in
&$received_ip_address$& and the port number, if present, in &$received_port$&.
-.vitem &%-oMm%&&~<&'message&~reference'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMm%&"
+.cmdopt -oMm <&'message&~reference'&>
.cindex "message reference" "message reference, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMm%&
option sets the message reference, e.g. message-id, and is logged during
The message reference is the message-id of the original message for which Exim
is sending the bounce.
-.vitem &%-oMr%&&~<&'protocol&~name'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMr%&"
+.cmdopt -oMr <&'protocol&~name'&>
.cindex "protocol, specifying for local message"
.vindex "&$received_protocol$&"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMr%&
one of those same names. For &%-bS%& (batched SMTP) however, the protocol can
be set by &%-oMr%&. Repeated use of this option is not supported.
-.vitem &%-oMs%&&~<&'host&~name'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMs%&"
+.cmdopt -oMs <&'host&~name'&>
.cindex "sender" "host name, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMs%&
option sets the sender host name in &$sender_host_name$&. When this option is
present, Exim does not attempt to look up a host name from an IP address; it
uses the name it is given.
-.vitem &%-oMt%&&~<&'ident&~string'&>
-.oindex "&%-oMt%&"
+.cmdopt -oMt <&'ident&~string'&>
.cindex "sender" "ident string, specifying for local message"
See &%-oMa%& above for general remarks about the &%-oM%& options. The &%-oMt%&
option sets the sender ident value in &$sender_ident$&. The default setting for
local callers is the login id of the calling process, except when &%-bh%& is
used, when there is no default.
-.vitem &%-om%&
-.oindex "&%-om%&"
+.cmdopt -om
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-om%& option ignored"
In Sendmail, this option means &"me too"&, indicating that the sender of a
message should receive a copy of the message if the sender appears in an alias
expansion. Exim always does this, so the option does nothing.
-.vitem &%-oo%&
-.oindex "&%-oo%&"
+.cmdopt -oo
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-oo%& option ignored"
This option is ignored. In Sendmail it specifies &"old style headers"&,
whatever that means.
-.vitem &%-oP%&&~<&'path'&>
-.oindex "&%-oP%&"
+.cmdopt -oP <&'path'&>
.cindex "pid (process id)" "of daemon"
.cindex "daemon" "process id (pid)"
This option is useful only in conjunction with &%-bd%& or &%-q%& with a time
without &%-bd%&, this is the only way of causing Exim to write a pid file,
because in those cases, the normal pid file is not used.
-.vitem &%-oPX%&
-.oindex "&%-oPX%&"
+.cmdopt -oPX
.cindex "pid (process id)" "of daemon"
.cindex "daemon" "process id (pid)"
This option is not intended for general use.
combination with &%-oP%&&~<&'path'&>.
It causes the pid file to be removed.
-.vitem &%-or%&&~<&'time'&>
-.oindex "&%-or%&"
+.cmdopt -or <&'time'&>
.cindex "timeout" "for non-SMTP input"
This option sets a timeout value for incoming non-SMTP messages. If it is not
set, Exim will wait forever for the standard input. The value can also be set
by the &%receive_timeout%& option. The format used for specifying times is
described in section &<<SECTtimeformat>>&.
-.vitem &%-os%&&~<&'time'&>
-.oindex "&%-os%&"
+.cmdopt -os <&'time'&>
.cindex "timeout" "for SMTP input"
.cindex "SMTP" "input timeout"
This option sets a timeout value for incoming SMTP messages. The timeout
the &%smtp_receive_timeout%& option; it defaults to 5 minutes. The format used
for specifying times is described in section &<<SECTtimeformat>>&.
-.vitem &%-ov%&
-.oindex "&%-ov%&"
+.cmdopt -ov
This option has exactly the same effect as &%-v%&.
-.vitem &%-oX%&&~<&'number&~or&~string'&>
-.oindex "&%-oX%&"
+.cmdopt -oX <&'number&~or&~string'&>
.cindex "TCP/IP" "setting listening ports"
.cindex "TCP/IP" "setting listening interfaces"
.cindex "port" "receiving TCP/IP"
in chapter &<<CHAPinterfaces>>&. When &%-oX%& is used to start a daemon, no pid
file is written unless &%-oP%& is also present to specify a pid filename.
-.new
-.vitem &%-oY%&
-.oindex &%-oY%&
+.cmdopt -oY
.cindex "daemon notifier socket"
This option controls the creation of an inter-process communications endpoint
by the Exim daemon.
given.
Normally the daemon creates this socket, unless a &%-oX%& and &*no*& &%-oP%&
option is also present.
-If this option is given then the socket will not be created. This could be
-required if the system is running multiple daemons.
+If this option is given then the socket will not be created. This is required
+if the system is running multiple daemons, in which case it should
+be used on all.
+The features supported by the socket will not be available in such cases.
The socket is currently used for
.ilist
fast ramp-up of queue runner processes
.next
+caching compiled regexes
+.next
obtaining a current queue size
.endlist
-.wen
-.vitem &%-pd%&
-.oindex "&%-pd%&"
+.cmdopt -pd
.cindex "Perl" "starting the interpreter"
This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim (see
chapter &<<CHAPperl>>&). It overrides the setting of the &%perl_at_start%&
option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to be delayed until it is
needed.
-.vitem &%-ps%&
-.oindex "&%-ps%&"
+.cmdopt -ps
.cindex "Perl" "starting the interpreter"
This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim (see
chapter &<<CHAPperl>>&). It overrides the setting of the &%perl_at_start%&
or &`s`& using this option (but that does not seem a real limitation).
Repeated use of this option is not supported.
-.vitem &%-q%&
-.oindex "&%-q%&"
+.cmdopt -q
.cindex "queue runner" "starting manually"
This option is normally restricted to admin users. However, there is a
configuration option called &%prod_requires_admin%& which can be set false to
transports are run.
Performance will be best if the &%queue_run_in_order%& option is false.
-If that is so and the &%queue_fast_ramp%& option is true then
-in the first phase of the run,
+If that is so and
+the &%queue_fast_ramp%& option is true
+and a daemon-notifier socket is available
+then in the first phase of the run,
once a threshold number of messages are routed for a given host,
a delivery process is forked in parallel with the rest of the scan.
.cindex "hints database" "remembering routing"
The hints database that remembers which messages are waiting for specific hosts
-is updated, as if delivery to those hosts had been deferred. After this is
-complete, a second, normal queue scan happens, with routing and delivery taking
-place as normal. Messages that are routed to the same host should mostly be
+is updated, as if delivery to those hosts had been deferred.
+
+After the first queue scan complete,
+a second, normal queue scan is done, with routing and delivery taking
+place as normal.
+Messages that are routed to the same host should mostly be
delivered down a single SMTP
.cindex "SMTP" "passed connection"
.cindex "SMTP" "multiple deliveries"
.cindex "multiple SMTP deliveries"
connection because of the hints that were set up during the first queue scan.
-This option may be useful for hosts that are connected to the Internet
+
+Two-phase queue runs should be used on systems which, even intermittently,
+have a large queue (such as mailing-list operators).
+They may also be useful for hosts that are connected to the Internet
intermittently.
.vitem &%-q[q]i...%&
Such a daemon listens for incoming SMTP calls, and also starts a queue runner
process every 30 minutes.
+.cindex "named queues" "queue runners"
+It is possible to set up runners for multiple named queues within one daemon,
+For example:
+.code
+exim -qGhipri/2m -q10m -qqGmailinglist/1h
+.endd
+
When a daemon is started by &%-q%& with a time value, but without &%-bd%&, no
pid file is written unless one is explicitly requested by the &%-oP%& option.
effect is to run Exim with the &%-R%& option, but it can be configured to run
an arbitrary command instead.
-.vitem &%-r%&
-.oindex "&%-r%&"
+.cmdopt -r
This is a documented (for Sendmail) obsolete alternative name for &%-f%&.
.vitem &%-S%&<&'rsflags'&>&~<&'string'&>
conditions must be met for a message to be selected. If either of the options
has &'f'& or &'ff'& in its flags, the associated action is taken.
-.vitem &%-Tqt%&&~<&'times'&>
-.oindex "&%-Tqt%&"
+.cmdopt -Tqt <&'times'&>
This is an option that is exclusively for use by the Exim testing suite. It is not
recognized when Exim is run normally. It allows for the setting up of explicit
&"queue times"& so that various warning/retry features can be tested.
-.vitem &%-t%&
-.oindex "&%-t%&"
+.cmdopt -t
.cindex "recipient" "extracting from header lines"
.chindex Bcc:
.chindex Cc:
once, it is common for the original set of &%Resent-%& headers to be renamed as
&%X-Resent-%& when a new set is added. This removes any possible ambiguity.
-.vitem &%-ti%&
-.oindex "&%-ti%&"
+.cmdopt -ti
This option is exactly equivalent to &%-t%& &%-i%&. It is provided for
compatibility with Sendmail.
-.vitem &%-tls-on-connect%&
-.oindex "&%-tls-on-connect%&"
+.cmdopt -tls-on-connect
.cindex "TLS" "use without STARTTLS"
.cindex "TLS" "automatic start"
This option is available when Exim is compiled with TLS support. It forces all
&<<CHAPTLS>>& for further details.
-.vitem &%-U%&
-.oindex "&%-U%&"
+.cmdopt -U
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&%-U%& option ignored"
Sendmail uses this option for &"initial message submission"&, and its
documentation states that in future releases, it may complain about
syntactically invalid messages rather than fixing them when this flag is not
set. Exim ignores this option.
-.vitem &%-v%&
-.oindex "&%-v%&"
+.cmdopt -v
This option causes Exim to write information to the standard error stream,
describing what it is doing. In particular, it shows the log lines for
receiving and delivering a message, and if an SMTP connection is made, the SMTP
selectors are shown with each log line. If none are shown, the logging is
unconditional.
-.vitem &%-x%&
-.oindex "&%-x%&"
+.cmdopt -x
AIX uses &%-x%& for a private purpose (&"mail from a local mail program has
National Language Support extended characters in the body of the mail item"&).
It sets &%-x%& when calling the MTA from its &%mail%& command. Exim ignores
this option.
-.vitem &%-X%&&~<&'logfile'&>
-.oindex "&%-X%&"
+.cmdopt -X <&'logfile'&>
This option is interpreted by Sendmail to cause debug information to be sent
to the named file. It is ignored by Exim.
-.vitem &%-z%&&~<&'log-line'&>
-.oindex "&%-z%&"
+.cmdopt -z <&'log-line'&>
This option writes its argument to Exim's logfile.
Use is restricted to administrators; the intent is for operational notes.
Quotes should be used to maintain a multi-word item as a single argument,
&` _DRIVER_ROUTER_* `& router drivers
&` _DRIVER_TRANSPORT_* `& transport drivers
&` _DRIVER_AUTHENTICATOR_* `& authenticator drivers
+&` _EXP_COND_* `& expansion conditions
+&` _EXP_ITEM_* `& expansion items
+&` _EXP_OP_* `& expansion operators
+&` _EXP_VAR_* `& expansion variables
&` _LOG_* `& log_selector values
&` _OPT_MAIN_* `& main config options
&` _OPT_ROUTERS_* `& generic router options
imposes a security risk (e.g. PATH). There are two lists:
&%keep_environment%& for the variables to import as they are, and
&%add_environment%& for variables we want to set to a fixed value.
-Note that TZ is handled separately, by the $%timezone%$ runtime
+Note that TZ is handled separately, by the &%timezone%& runtime
option and by the TIMEZONE_DEFAULT buildtime option.
.code
# keep_environment = ^LDAP
.chapter "Regular expressions" "CHAPregexp"
.cindex "regular expressions" "library"
-.cindex "PCRE"
+.cindex "PCRE2"
Exim supports the use of regular expressions in many of its options. It
-uses the PCRE regular expression library; this provides regular expression
+uses the PCRE2 regular expression library; this provides regular expression
matching that is compatible with Perl 5. The syntax and semantics of
regular expressions is discussed in
online Perl manpages, in
. --- to the old URL for now. 2018-09-07.
The documentation for the syntax and semantics of the regular expressions that
-are supported by PCRE is included in the PCRE distribution, and no further
-description is included here. The PCRE functions are called from Exim using
-the default option settings (that is, with no PCRE options set), except that
-the PCRE_CASELESS option is set when the matching is required to be
+are supported by PCRE2 is included in the PCRE2 distribution, and no further
+description is included here. The PCRE2 functions are called from Exim using
+the default option settings (that is, with no PCRE2 options set), except that
+the PCRE2_CASELESS option is set when the matching is required to be
case-insensitive.
In most cases, when a regular expression is required in an Exim configuration,
lookup. Lookups of this type are conditional expansion items. Different results
can be defined for the cases of lookup success and failure. See chapter
&<<CHAPexpand>>&, where string expansions are described in detail.
-The key for the lookup is &*specified*& as part of the string expansion.
+The key for the lookup is &*specified*& as part of the string to be expanded.
.next
Lists of domains, hosts, and email addresses can contain lookup requests as a
way of avoiding excessively long linear lists. In this case, the data that is
returned by the lookup is often (but not always) discarded; whether the lookup
succeeds or fails is what really counts. These kinds of list are described in
chapter &<<CHAPdomhosaddlists>>&.
-The key for the lookup is &*implicit*&,
-given by the context in which the list is expanded.
+Depending on the lookup type (see below)
+the key for the lookup may need to be &*specified*& as above
+or may be &*implicit*&,
+given by the context in which the list is being checked.
.endlist
String expansions, lists, and lookups interact with each other in such a way
domains = ${lookup{$sender_host_address}lsearch{/some/file}}
domains = lsearch;/some/file
.endd
+.ilist
The first uses a string expansion, the result of which must be a domain list.
+The key for an expansion-style lookup must be given explicitly.
No strings have been specified for a successful or a failing lookup; the
defaults in this case are the looked-up data and an empty string, respectively.
The expansion takes place before the string is processed as a list, and the
When the lookup succeeds, the result of the expansion is a list of domains (and
possibly other types of item that are allowed in domain lists).
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using a lookup expansion"
The result of the expansion is not tainted.
+.next
In the second example, the lookup is a single item in a domain list. It causes
Exim to use a lookup to see if the domain that is being processed can be found
in the file.
Any data that follows the keys is not relevant when checking that the domain
matches the list item.
+The key for a list-style lookup is implicit, from the lookup context, if
+the lookup is a single-key type (see below).
+For query-style lookup types the query must be given explicitly.
+.endlist
+
It is possible, though no doubt confusing, to use both kinds of lookup at once.
Consider a file containing lines like this:
.code
first &%domains%& setting above generates the second setting, which therefore
causes a second lookup to occur.
-.new
The lookup type may optionally be followed by a comma
and a comma-separated list of options.
Each option is a &"name=value"& pair.
If this is given then the cache that Exim manages for lookup results
is not checked before doing the lookup.
The result of the lookup is still written to the cache.
-.wen
The rest of this chapter describes the different lookup types that are
available. Any of them can be used in any part of the configuration where a
and a single key to search for. The key must be a non-empty string for the
lookup to succeed. The lookup type determines how the file is searched.
.cindex "tainted data" "single-key lookups"
-The file string may not be tainted
+The file string may not be tainted.
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using a single-key lookup"
All single-key lookups support the option &"ret=key"&.
If this is given and the lookup
(either underlying implementation or cached value)
returns data, the result is replaced with a non-tainted
version of the lookup key.
-.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+
.next
.cindex "query-style lookup" "definition of"
The &'query-style'& type accepts a generalized database query. No particular
key value is assumed by Exim for query-style lookups. You can use whichever
Exim variables you need to construct the database query.
+
+For the string-expansion kind of lookups, the query is given in the first
+bracketed argument of the &${lookup ...}$& expansion.
+For the list-argument kind of lookup the quury is given by the remainder of the
+list item after the first semicolon.
+
+.cindex "tainted data" "quoting for lookups"
+If tainted data is used in the query then it should be quuted by
+using the &*${quote_*&<&'lookup-type'&>&*:*&<&'string'&>&*}*& expansion operator
+appropriate for the lookup.
.endlist
The code for each lookup type is in a separate source file that is included in
.cindex "single-key lookup" "list of types"
The following single-key lookup types are implemented:
-.ilist
+.subsection cdb
.cindex "cdb" "description of"
.cindex "lookup" "cdb"
.cindex "binary zero" "in lookup key"
-&(cdb)&: The given file is searched as a Constant DataBase file, using the key
+The given file is searched as a Constant DataBase file, using the key
string without a terminating binary zero. The cdb format is designed for
indexed files that are read frequently and never updated, except by total
re-creation. As such, it is particularly suitable for large files containing
because the code for reading cdb files is included directly in Exim itself.
However, no means of building or testing cdb files is provided with Exim, so
you need to obtain a cdb distribution in order to do this.
-.next
+
+.subsection dbm
.cindex "DBM" "lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "dbm"
.cindex "binary zero" "in lookup key"
-&(dbm)&: Calls to DBM library functions are used to extract data from the given
+Calls to DBM library functions are used to extract data from the given
DBM file by looking up the record with the given key. A terminating binary
zero is included in the key that is passed to the DBM library. See section
&<<SECTdb>>& for a discussion of DBM libraries.
the DB_UNKNOWN option. This enables it to handle any of the types of database
that the library supports, and can be useful for accessing DBM files created by
other applications. (For earlier DB versions, DB_HASH is always used.)
-.next
+
+.subsection dbmjz
.cindex "lookup" "dbmjz"
.cindex "lookup" "dbm &-- embedded NULs"
.cindex "sasldb2"
.cindex "dbmjz lookup type"
-&(dbmjz)&: This is the same as &(dbm)&, except that the lookup key is
+This is the same as &(dbm)&, except that the lookup key is
interpreted as an Exim list; the elements of the list are joined together with
ASCII NUL characters to form the lookup key. An example usage would be to
authenticate incoming SMTP calls using the passwords from Cyrus SASL's
&_/etc/sasldb2_& file with the &(gsasl)& authenticator or Exim's own
&(cram_md5)& authenticator.
-.next
+
+.subsection dbmnz
.cindex "lookup" "dbmnz"
.cindex "lookup" "dbm &-- terminating zero"
.cindex "binary zero" "in lookup key"
.cindex "Courier"
.cindex "&_/etc/userdbshadow.dat_&"
.cindex "dbmnz lookup type"
-&(dbmnz)&: This is the same as &(dbm)&, except that a terminating binary zero
+This is the same as &(dbm)&, except that a terminating binary zero
is not included in the key that is passed to the DBM library. You may need this
if you want to look up data in files that are created by or shared with some
other application that does not use terminating zeros. For example, you need to
calls using the passwords from Courier's &_/etc/userdbshadow.dat_& file. Exim's
utility program for creating DBM files (&'exim_dbmbuild'&) includes the zeros
by default, but has an option to omit them (see section &<<SECTdbmbuild>>&).
-.next
+
+.subsection dsearch
.cindex "lookup" "dsearch"
.cindex "dsearch lookup type"
-&(dsearch)&: The given file must be an
-absolute
-directory path; this is searched for an entry
+The given file must be an absolute directory path; this is searched for an entry
whose name is the key by calling the &[lstat()]& function.
-The key may not
-contain any forward slash characters.
+The key may not contain any forward slash characters.
If &[lstat()]& succeeds then so does the lookup.
.cindex "tainted data" "dsearch result"
The result is regarded as untainted.
An example of how this
lookup can be used to support virtual domains is given in section
&<<SECTvirtualdomains>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection iplsearch
.cindex "lookup" "iplsearch"
.cindex "iplsearch lookup type"
-&(iplsearch)&: The given file is a text file containing keys and data. A key is
+The given file is a text file containing keys and data. A key is
terminated by a colon or white space or the end of the line. The keys in the
file must be IP addresses, or IP addresses with CIDR masks. Keys that involve
IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in quotes to prevent the first internal colon
IPv4, in dotted-quad form. (Exim converts IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses to this
notation before executing the lookup.)
-.new
One option is supported, "ret=full", to request the return of the entire line
-rather than omitting the key porttion.
+rather than omitting the key portion.
Note however that the key portion will have been de-quoted.
-.wen
-.next
+.subsection json
.cindex lookup json
.cindex json "lookup type"
.cindex JSON expansions
-&(json)&: The given file is a text file with a JSON structure.
+The given file is a text file with a JSON structure.
An element of the structure is extracted, defined by the search key.
The key is a list of subelement selectors
(colon-separated by default but changeable in the usual way)
For elements of type string, the returned value is de-quoted.
-.new
-.next
+.subsection lmdb
.cindex LMDB
.cindex lookup lmdb
.cindex database lmdb
-&(lmdb)&: The given file is an LMDB database.
+The given file is an LMDB database.
LMDB is a memory-mapped key-value store,
with API modeled loosely on that of BerkeleyDB.
See &url(https://symas.com/products/lightning-memory-mapped-database/)
You will need to separately create the LMDB database file,
possibly using the &"mdb_load"& utility.
-.wen
-.next
+.subsection lsearch
.cindex "linear search"
.cindex "lookup" "lsearch"
.cindex "lsearch lookup type"
.cindex "case sensitivity" "in lsearch lookup"
-&(lsearch)&: The given file is a text file that is searched linearly for a
+The given file is a text file that is searched linearly for a
line beginning with the search key, terminated by a colon or white space or the
end of the line. The search is case-insensitive; that is, upper and lower case
letters are treated as the same. The first occurrence of the key that is found
quoted keys (exactly as for unquoted keys). There is no special handling of
quotes for the data part of an &(lsearch)& line.
-.next
+.subsection nis
.cindex "NIS lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "NIS"
.cindex "binary zero" "in lookup key"
-&(nis)&: The given file is the name of a NIS map, and a NIS lookup is done with
+The given file is the name of a NIS map, and a NIS lookup is done with
the given key, without a terminating binary zero. There is a variant called
&(nis0)& which does include the terminating binary zero in the key. This is
reportedly needed for Sun-style alias files. Exim does not recognize NIS
aliases; the full map names must be used.
-.next
+.subsection (n)wildlsearch
.cindex "wildlsearch lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "wildlsearch"
.cindex "nwildlsearch lookup type"
file that are regular expressions can be made case-sensitive by the use of
&`(-i)`& within the pattern. The following forms of wildcard are recognized:
-. ==== As this is a nested list, any displays it contains must be indented
-. ==== as otherwise they are too far to the left.
-
.olist
The string may begin with an asterisk to mean &"ends with"&. For example:
.code
- *.a.b.c data for anything.a.b.c
- *fish data for anythingfish
+*.a.b.c data for anything.a.b.c
+*fish data for anythingfish
.endd
.next
The string may begin with a circumflex to indicate a regular expression. For
example, for &(wildlsearch)&:
.code
- ^\N\d+\.a\.b\N data for <digits>.a.b
+^\N\d+\.a\.b\N data for <digits>.a.b
.endd
Note the use of &`\N`& to disable expansion of the contents of the regular
expression. If you are using &(nwildlsearch)&, where the keys are not
string-expanded, the equivalent entry is:
.code
- ^\d+\.a\.b data for <digits>.a.b
+^\d+\.a\.b data for <digits>.a.b
.endd
The case-insensitive flag is set at the start of compiling the regular
expression, but it can be turned off by using &`(-i)`& at an appropriate point.
For example, to make the entire pattern case-sensitive:
.code
- ^(?-i)\d+\.a\.b data for <digits>.a.b
+^(?-i)\d+\.a\.b data for <digits>.a.b
.endd
If the regular expression contains white space or colon characters, you must
lookup name terminated by a semicolon, and followed by lookup data. For
example:
.code
- cdb;/some/file data for keys that match the file
+cdb;/some/file data for keys that match the file
.endd
The data that is obtained from the nested lookup is discarded.
.endlist olist
&((n)wildlsearch)& can &'not'& be turned into a DBM or cdb file, because those
lookup types support only literal keys.
-.next
+.subsection spf
.cindex "spf lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "spf"
-&(spf)&: If Exim is built with SPF support, manual lookups can be done
+If Exim is built with SPF support, manual lookups can be done
(as opposed to the standard ACL condition method).
For details see section &<<SECSPF>>&.
-.endlist ilist
.section "Query-style lookup types" "SECTquerystylelookups"
The supported query-style lookup types are listed below. Further details about
many of them are given in later sections.
-.ilist
+.subsection dnsdb
.cindex "DNS" "as a lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "DNS"
-&(dnsdb)&: This does a DNS search for one or more records whose domain names
+This does a DNS search for one or more records whose domain names
are given in the supplied query. The resulting data is the contents of the
records. See section &<<SECTdnsdb>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection ibase
.cindex "InterBase lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "InterBase"
-&(ibase)&: This does a lookup in an InterBase database.
-.next
+This does a lookup in an InterBase database.
+
+.subsection ldap
.cindex "LDAP" "lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "LDAP"
-&(ldap)&: This does an LDAP lookup using a query in the form of a URL, and
+This does an LDAP lookup using a query in the form of a URL, and
returns attributes from a single entry. There is a variant called &(ldapm)&
that permits values from multiple entries to be returned. A third variant
called &(ldapdn)& returns the Distinguished Name of a single entry instead of
any attribute values. See section &<<SECTldap>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection mysql
.cindex "MySQL" "lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "MySQL"
-&(mysql)&: The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to a
+The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to a
MySQL database. See section &<<SECTsql>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection nisplus
.cindex "NIS+ lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "NIS+"
-&(nisplus)&: This does a NIS+ lookup using a query that can specify the name of
+This does a NIS+ lookup using a query that can specify the name of
the field to be returned. See section &<<SECTnisplus>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection oracle
.cindex "Oracle" "lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "Oracle"
-&(oracle)&: The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to an
+The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to an
Oracle database. See section &<<SECTsql>>&.
-.next
+
+.subsection passwd
.cindex "lookup" "passwd"
.cindex "passwd lookup type"
.cindex "&_/etc/passwd_&"
-&(passwd)& is a query-style lookup with queries that are just user names. The
+This is a query-style lookup with queries that are just user names. The
lookup calls &[getpwnam()]& to interrogate the system password data, and on
success, the result string is the same as you would get from an &(lsearch)&
lookup on a traditional &_/etc/passwd file_&, though with &`*`& for the
.code
*:42:42:King Rat:/home/kr:/bin/bash
.endd
-.next
+
+.subsection pgsql
.cindex "PostgreSQL lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "PostgreSQL"
-&(pgsql)&: The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to a
+The format of the query is an SQL statement that is passed to a
PostgreSQL database. See section &<<SECTsql>>&.
-.next
+.subsection redis
.cindex "Redis lookup type"
.cindex lookup Redis
-&(redis)&: The format of the query is either a simple get or simple set,
+The format of the query is either a simple get or simple set,
passed to a Redis database. See section &<<SECTsql>>&.
-.next
+.subsection sqlite
.cindex "sqlite lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "sqlite"
-&(sqlite)&: The format of the query is
+The format of the query is
an SQL statement that is passed to an SQLite database. See section &<<SECTsqlite>>&.
-.next
-&(testdb)&: This is a lookup type that is used for testing Exim. It is
+.subsection testdb
+This is a lookup type that is used for testing Exim. It is
not likely to be useful in normal operation.
-.next
+
+.subsection whoson
.cindex "whoson lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "whoson"
-. --- still http:-only, 2018-09-07
-&(whoson)&: &'Whoson'& (&url(http://whoson.sourceforge.net)) is a protocol that
+&'Whoson'& (&url(http://whoson.sourceforge.net)) is a protocol that
allows a server to check whether a particular (dynamically allocated) IP
address is currently allocated to a known (trusted) user and, optionally, to
obtain the identity of the said user. For SMTP servers, &'Whoson'& was popular
the authenticated user, which is stored in the variable &$value$&. However, in
this example, the data in &$value$& is not used; the result of the lookup is
one of the fixed strings &"yes"& or &"no"&.
-.endlist
in a database file is useless, because the asterisk in a partial matching
subject key is always followed by a dot.
+When the lookup is done from a string-expansion,
+the variables &$1$& and &$2$& contain the wild and non-wild parts of the key
+during the expansion of the replacement text.
+They return to their previous values at the end of the lookup item.
+
of independent, short-lived processes, this caching applies only within a
single Exim process. There is no inter-process lookup caching facility.
+If an option &"cache=no_rd"& is used on the lookup then
+the cache is only written to, cached data is not used for the operation
+and a real lookup is done.
+
For single-key lookups, Exim keeps the relevant files open in case there is
another lookup that needs them. In some types of configuration this can lead to
many files being kept open for messages with many recipients. To avoid hitting
.code
${quote_<lookup-type>:<string>}
.endd
-For example, the safest way to write the NIS+ query is
+For example, the way to write the NIS+ query is
.code
[name="${quote_nisplus:$local_part}"]
.endd
+.cindex "tainted data" "in lookups"
+&*All*& tainted data used in a query-style lookup must be quoted
+using a mechanism appropriate for the lookup type.
See chapter &<<CHAPexpand>>& for full coverage of string expansions. The quote
operator can be used for all lookup types, but has no effect for single-key
lookups, since no quoting is ever needed in their key strings.
${lookup dnsdb{>:,; soa=a.b.example.com}}
.endd
-.section "Dnsdb lookup modifiers" "SECTdnsdb_mod"
+.subsection "Dnsdb lookup modifiers" SECTdnsdb_mod
.cindex "dnsdb modifiers"
.cindex "modifiers" "dnsdb"
.cindex "options" "dnsdb"
value of the set of returned DNS records.
-.section "Pseudo dnsdb record types" "SECID66"
+.subsection "Pseudo dnsdb record types" SECID66
.cindex "MX record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
By default, both the preference value and the host name are returned for
each MX record, separated by a space. If you want only host names, you can use
.endd
-.section "Multiple dnsdb lookups" "SECID67"
+.subsection "Multiple dnsdb lookups" SECID67
In the previous sections, &(dnsdb)& lookups for a single domain are described.
However, you can specify a list of domains or IP addresses in a single
&(dnsdb)& lookup. The list is specified in the normal Exim way, with colon as
First we explain how LDAP queries are coded.
-.section "Format of LDAP queries" "SECTforldaque"
+.subsection "Format of LDAP queries" SECTforldaque
.cindex "LDAP" "query format"
An LDAP query takes the form of a URL as defined in RFC 2255. For example, in
the configuration of a &(redirect)& router one might have this setting:
&_exim.conf_&.
-.section "LDAP quoting" "SECID68"
+.subsection "LDAP quoting" SECID68
.cindex "LDAP" "quoting"
Two levels of quoting are required in LDAP queries, the first for LDAP itself
and the second because the LDAP query is represented as a URL. Furthermore,
authentication below.
-.section "LDAP connections" "SECID69"
+.subsection "LDAP connections" SECID69
.cindex "LDAP" "connections"
The connection to an LDAP server may either be over TCP/IP, or, when OpenLDAP
is in use, via a Unix domain socket. The example given above does not specify
-.section "LDAP authentication and control information" "SECID70"
+.subsection "LDAP authentication and control information" SECID70
.cindex "LDAP" "authentication"
The LDAP URL syntax provides no way of passing authentication and other control
information to the server. To make this possible, the URL in an LDAP query may
spaces. If a value contains spaces it must be enclosed in double quotes, and
when double quotes are used, backslash is interpreted in the usual way inside
them. The following names are recognized:
-.display
-&`DEREFERENCE`& set the dereferencing parameter
-&`NETTIME `& set a timeout for a network operation
-&`USER `& set the DN, for authenticating the LDAP bind
-&`PASS `& set the password, likewise
-&`REFERRALS `& set the referrals parameter
-&`SERVERS `& set alternate server list for this query only
-&`SIZE `& set the limit for the number of entries returned
-&`TIME `& set the maximum waiting time for a query
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.irow DEREFERENCE "set the dereferencing parameter"
+.irow NETTIME "set a timeout for a network operation"
+.irow USER "set the DN, for authenticating the LDAP bind"
+.irow PASS "set the password, likewise"
+.irow REFERRALS "set the referrals parameter"
+.irow SERVERS "set alternate server list for this query only"
+.irow SIZE "set the limit for the number of entries returned"
+.irow TIME "set the maximum waiting time for a query"
+.endtable
The value of the DEREFERENCE parameter must be one of the words &"never"&,
&"searching"&, &"finding"&, or &"always"&. The value of the REFERRALS parameter
must be &"follow"& (the default) or &"nofollow"&. The latter stops the LDAP
on the number of entries returned, and no time limit on queries.
When a DN is quoted in the USER= setting for LDAP authentication, Exim
-removes any URL quoting that it may contain before passing it LDAP. Apparently
+removes any URL quoting that it may contain before passing it to the LDAP library.
+Apparently
some libraries do this for themselves, but some do not. Removing the URL
quoting has two advantages:
-.section "Format of data returned by LDAP" "SECID71"
+.subsection "Format of data returned by LDAP" SECID71
.cindex "LDAP" "returned data formats"
The &(ldapdn)& lookup type returns the Distinguished Name from a single entry
as a sequence of values, for example
with a newline between the data for each row.
-.section "More about MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, InterBase, and Redis" "SECID72"
+.subsection "More about MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, InterBase, and Redis" SECID72
.cindex "MySQL" "lookup type"
.cindex "PostgreSQL lookup type"
.cindex "lookup" "MySQL"
The &%quote_redis%& expansion operator
escapes whitespace and backslash characters with a backslash.
-.section "Specifying the server in the query" "SECTspeserque"
+.subsection "Specifying the server in the query" SECTspeserque
For MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis lookups (but not currently for Oracle and InterBase),
it is possible to specify a list of servers with an individual query. This is
done by appending a comma-separated option to the query type:
&*Note*&: server specifications in list-style lookups are still problematic.
-.section "Special MySQL features" "SECID73"
+.subsection "Special MySQL features" SECID73
For MySQL, an empty host name or the use of &"localhost"& in &%mysql_servers%&
causes a connection to the server on the local host by means of a Unix domain
socket. An alternate socket can be specified in parentheses.
is zero because no rows are affected.
-.section "Special PostgreSQL features" "SECID74"
+.subsection "Special PostgreSQL features" SECID74
PostgreSQL lookups can also use Unix domain socket connections to the database.
This is usually faster and costs less CPU time than a TCP/IP connection.
However it can be used only if the mail server runs on the same machine as the
update, or delete command), the result of the lookup is the number of rows
affected.
-.section "More about SQLite" "SECTsqlite"
+.subsection "More about SQLite" SECTsqlite
.cindex "lookup" "SQLite"
.cindex "sqlite lookup type"
SQLite is different to the other SQL lookups because a filename is required in
addition to the SQL query. An SQLite database is a single file, and there is no
daemon as in the other SQL databases.
-.new
.oindex &%sqlite_dbfile%&
There are two ways of
specifying the file.
-The first is is by using the &%sqlite_dbfile%& main option.
+The first is by using the &%sqlite_dbfile%& main option.
The second, which allows separate files for each query,
is to use an option appended, comma-separated, to the &"sqlite"&
lookup type word. The option is the word &"file"&, then an equals,
then the filename.
The filename in this case cannot contain whitespace or open-brace charachters.
-.wen
A deprecated method is available, prefixing the query with the filename
separated by white space.
to 5 seconds, but it can be changed by means of the &%sqlite_lock_timeout%&
option.
-.section "More about Redis" "SECTredis"
+.subsection "More about Redis" SECTredis
.cindex "lookup" "Redis"
.cindex "redis lookup type"
Redis is a non-SQL database. Commands are simple get and set.
+.section "Results of list checking" SECTlistresults
+The primary result of doing a list check is a truth value.
+In some contexts additional information is stored
+about the list element that matched:
+.vlist
+.vitem hosts
+A &%hosts%& ACL condition
+will store a result in the &$host_data$& variable.
+.vitem local_parts
+A &%local_parts%& router option or &%local_parts%& ACL condition
+will store a result in the &$local_part_data$& variable.
+.vitem domains
+A &%domains%& router option or &%domains%& ACL condition
+will store a result in the &$domain_data$& variable.
+.vitem senders
+A &%senders%& router option or &%senders%& ACL condition
+will store a result in the &$sender_data$& variable.
+.vitem recipients
+A &%recipients%& ACL condition
+will store a result in the &$recipient_data$& variable.
+.endlist
+
+The detail of the additional information depends on the
+type of match and is given below as the &*value*& information.
+
+
+
+
.section "Expansion of lists" "SECTlistexpand"
.cindex "expansion" "of lists"
Each list is expanded as a single string before it is used.
-.section "Negated items in lists" "SECID76"
+.subsection "Negated items in lists" SECID76
.cindex "list" "negation"
.cindex "negation" "in lists"
Items in a list may be positive or negative. Negative items are indicated by a
-.section "File names in lists" "SECTfilnamlis"
+.subsection "File names in lists" SECTfilnamlis
.cindex "list" "filename in"
If an item in a domain, host, address, or local part list is an absolute
filename (beginning with a slash character), each line of the file is read and
-.section "An lsearch file is not an out-of-line list" "SECID77"
+.subsection "An lsearch file is not an out-of-line list" SECID77
As will be described in the sections that follow, lookups can be used in lists
to provide indexed methods of checking list membership. There has been some
confusion about the way &(lsearch)& lookups work in lists. Because
-.section "Results of list checking" SECTlistresults
-The primary result of doing a list check is a truth value.
-In some contexts additional information is stored
-about the list element that matched:
-.vlist
-.vitem hosts
-A &%hosts%& ACL condition
-will store a result in the &$host_data$& variable.
-.vitem local_parts
-A &%local_parts%& router option or &%local_parts%& ACL condition
-will store a result in the &$local_part_data$& variable.
-.vitem domains
-.new
-A &%domains%& router option or &%domains%& ACL condition
-will store a result in the &$domain_data$& variable
-.wen
-.vitem senders
-A &%senders%& router option or &%senders%& ACL condition
-will store a result in the &$sender_data$& variable.
-.vitem recipients
-A &%recipients%& ACL condition
-will store a result in the &$recipient_data$& variable.
-.endlist
-
-The detail of the additional information depends on the
-type of match and is given below as the &*value*& information.
-
-
-
-
-.section "Named lists" "SECTnamedlists"
+.subsection "Named lists" SECTnamedlists
.cindex "named lists"
.cindex "list" "named"
A list of domains, hosts, email addresses, or local parts can be given a name
-.section "Named lists compared with macros" "SECID78"
+.subsection "Named lists compared with macros" SECID78
.cindex "list" "named compared with macro"
.cindex "macro" "compared with named list"
At first sight, named lists might seem to be no different from macros in the
.endd
-.section "Named list caching" "SECID79"
+.subsection "Named list caching" SECID79
.cindex "list" "caching of named"
.cindex "caching" "named lists"
While processing a message, Exim caches the result of checking a named list if
&$domain_data$& variable and can be referred to in other router options or
other statements in the same ACL.
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using ACL domains condition"
The value will be untainted.
-.new
&*Note*&: If the data result of the lookup (as opposed to the key)
is empty, then this empty value is stored in &$domain_data$&.
The option to return the key for the lookup, as the value,
may be what is wanted.
-.wen
.next
&%domains%& option on a router, the value is preserved in the &$domain_data$&
variable and can be referred to in other options.
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using router domains option"
The value will be untainted.
.next
of either kind (single-key or query-style) it may be
followed by a comma and options,
The options are lookup-type specific and consist of a comma-separated list.
-Each item starts with a tag and and equals "=".
+Each item starts with a tag and and equals "=" sign.
.next
.cindex "domain list" "matching literal domain name"
involved, to ensure that the right value is being used as the key.
-.section "Special host list patterns" "SECID80"
+.subsection "Special host list patterns" SECID80
.cindex "empty item in hosts list"
.cindex "host list" "empty string in"
If a host list item is the empty string, it matches only when no remote host is
-.section "Host list patterns that match by IP address" "SECThoslispatip"
+.subsection "Host list patterns that match by IP address" SECThoslispatip
.cindex "host list" "matching IP addresses"
If an IPv4 host calls an IPv6 host and the call is accepted on an IPv6 socket,
the incoming address actually appears in the IPv6 host as
.endd
.next
.cindex "CIDR notation"
-If the pattern is an IP address followed by a slash and a mask length (for
-example 10.11.42.0/24), it is matched against the IP address of the subject
-host under the given mask. This allows, an entire network of hosts to be
+If the pattern is an IP address followed by a slash and a mask length, for
+example
+.code
+10.11.42.0/24
+.endd
+, it is matched against the IP address of the subject
+host under the given mask. This allows an entire network of hosts to be
included (or excluded) by a single item. The mask uses CIDR notation; it
specifies the number of address bits that must match, starting from the most
significant end of the address.
-.section "Host list patterns for single-key lookups by host address" &&&
- "SECThoslispatsikey"
+.subsection "Host list patterns for single-key lookups by host address" &&&
+ SECThoslispatsikey
.cindex "host list" "lookup of IP address"
When a host is to be identified by a single-key lookup of its complete IP
address, the pattern takes this form:
-.section "Host list patterns that match by host name" "SECThoslispatnam"
+.subsection "Host list patterns that match by host name" SECThoslispatnam
.cindex "host" "lookup failures"
.cindex "unknown host name"
.cindex "host list" "matching host name"
-.section "Behaviour when an IP address or name cannot be found" "SECTbehipnot"
+.subsection "Behaviour when an IP address or name cannot be found" SECTbehipnot
.cindex "host" "lookup failures, permanent"
While processing a host list, Exim may need to look up an IP address from a
name (see section &<<SECThoslispatip>>&), or it may need to look up a host name
list. The effect of each one lasts until the next, or until the end of the
list.
-.section "Mixing wildcarded host names and addresses in host lists" &&&
- "SECTmixwilhos"
+.subsection "Mixing wildcarded host names and addresses in host lists" &&&
+ SECTmixwilhos
.cindex "host list" "mixing names and addresses in"
This section explains the host/ip processing logic with the same concepts
.endlist
-.section "Temporary DNS errors when looking up host information" &&&
- "SECTtemdnserr"
+.subsection "Temporary DNS errors when looking up host information" &&&
+ SECTtemdnserr
.cindex "host" "lookup failures, temporary"
.cindex "&`+include_defer`&"
.cindex "&`+ignore_defer`&"
-.section "Host list patterns for single-key lookups by host name" &&&
- "SECThoslispatnamsk"
+.subsection "Host list patterns for single-key lookups by host name" &&&
+ SECThoslispatnamsk
.cindex "unknown host name"
.cindex "host list" "matching host name"
If a pattern is of the form
-.section "Host list patterns for query-style lookups" "SECID81"
+.subsection "Host list patterns for query-style lookups" SECID81
If a pattern is of the form
.display
<&'query-style-search-type'&>;<&'query'&>
-.section "Case of letters in address lists" "SECTcasletadd"
+.subsection "Case of letters in address lists" SECTcasletadd
.cindex "case of local parts"
.cindex "address list" "case forcing"
.cindex "case forcing in address lists"
.cindex "tainted data" definition
.cindex expansion "tainted data"
and expansion of data deriving from the sender (&"tainted data"&)
-.new
is not permitted (including acessing a file using a tainted name).
-.wen
-.new
Common ways of obtaining untainted equivalents of variables with
tainted values
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
or the password file,
or accessed via a DBMS.
Specific methods are indexed under &"de-tainting"&.
-.wen
database lookups, and the use of expansion operators such as &%sg%&, &%substr%&
and &%nhash%&.
+When reading lines from the standard input,
+macros can be defined and ACL variables can be set.
+For example:
+.code
+MY_MACRO = foo
+set acl_m_myvar = bar
+.endd
+Such macros and variables can then be used in later input lines.
+
Exim gives up its root privilege when it is called with the &%-be%& option, and
instead runs under the uid and gid it was called with, to prevent users from
using &%-be%& for reading files to which they do not have access.
.code
add_header = :at_start:${authresults {$primary_hostname}}
.endd
-This is safe even if no authentication results are available.
+This is safe even if no authentication results are available
+and would generally be placed in the DATA ACL.
.vitem "&*${certextract{*&<&'field'&>&*}{*&<&'certificate'&>&*}&&&
After expansion, <&'string'&> is interpreted as a list, colon-separated by
default, but the separator can be changed in the usual way (&<<SECTlistsepchange>>&).
For each item
-in this list, its value is place in &$item$&, and then the condition is
-evaluated. If the condition is true, &$item$& is added to the output as an
+in this list, its value is placed in &$item$&, and then the condition is
+evaluated.
+Any modification of &$value$& by this evaluation is discarded.
+If the condition is true, &$item$& is added to the output as an
item in a new list; if the condition is false, the item is discarded. The
separator used for the output list is the same as the one used for the
input, but a separator setting is not included in the output. For example:
${filter{a:b:c}{!eq{$item}{b}}}
.endd
yields &`a:c`&. At the end of the expansion, the value of &$item$& is restored
-to what it was before. See also the &%map%& and &%reduce%& expansion items.
+to what it was before.
+See also the &%map%& and &%reduce%& expansion items.
.vitem &*${hash{*&<&'string1'&>&*}{*&<&'string2'&>&*}{*&<&'string3'&>&*}}*&
Header lines that are added in a RCPT ACL (for example)
are saved until the message's incoming header lines are available, at which
point they are added.
-When any of the above ACLs ar
+When any of the above ACLs are
running, however, header lines added by earlier ACLs are visible.
Upper case and lower case letters are synonymous in header names. If the
You can use &`fail`& instead of {<&'string3'&>} as in a string extract.
-.new
.vitem &*${listquote{*&<&'separator'&>&*}{*&<&'string'&>&*}}*&
.cindex quoting "for list"
.cindex list quoting
An empty string is replaced with a single space.
This converts the string into a safe form for use as a list element,
in a list using the given separator.
-.wen
.vitem "&*${lookup&~{*&<&'key'&>&*}&~*&<&'search&~type'&>&*&~&&&
name of the subroutine, is nine.
The return value of the subroutine is inserted into the expanded string, unless
-the return value is &%undef%&. In that case, the expansion fails in the same
-way as an explicit &"fail"& on a lookup item. The return value is a scalar.
-Whatever you return is evaluated in a scalar context. For example, if you
-return the name of a Perl vector, the return value is the size of the vector,
+the return value is &%undef%&. In that case, the entire expansion is
+forced to fail, in the same way as an explicit &"fail"& on a lookup item
+does (see section &<<SECTforexpfai>>&). Whatever you return is evaluated
+in a scalar context, thus the return value is a scalar. For example, if you
+return a Perl vector, the return value is the size of the vector,
not its contents.
If the subroutine exits by calling Perl's &%die%& function, the expansion fails
.cindex "expansion" "inserting an entire file"
.cindex "file" "inserting into expansion"
.cindex "&%readfile%& expansion item"
-The filename and end-of-line string are first expanded separately. The file is
+The filename and end-of-line (eol) string are first expanded separately. The file is
then read, and its contents replace the entire item. All newline characters in
the file are replaced by the end-of-line string if it is present. Otherwise,
newlines are left in the string.
Only a single host name may be given, but if looking it up yields more than
one IP address, they are each tried in turn until a connection is made. For
both kinds of socket, Exim makes a connection, writes the request string
-unless it is an empty string; and no terminating NUL is ever sent)
+(unless it is an empty string; no terminating NUL is ever sent)
and reads from the socket until an end-of-file
is read. A timeout of 5 seconds is applied. Additional, optional arguments
extend what can be done. Firstly, you can vary the timeout. For example:
sending the request. Values are &"yes"& (the default) or &"no"&
(preferred, eg. by some webservers).
+.next
+&*sni*&
+Controls the use of Server Name Identification on the connection.
+Any nonempty value will be the SNI sent; TLS will be forced.
+
.next
&*tls*&
Controls the use of TLS on the connection.
Values are &"yes"& or &"no"& (the default).
-If it is enabled, a shutdown as descripbed above is never done.
+If it is enabled, a shutdown as described above is never done.
.endlist
restored to what they were before. See also the &%filter%& and &%map%&
expansion items.
+. A bit of a special-case logic error in writing an expansion;
+. probably not worth including in the mainline of documentation.
+. If only we had footnotes (the html output variant is the problem).
+.
+. .new
+. &*Note*&: if an &'expansion condition'& is used in <&'string3'&>
+. and that condition modifies &$value$&,
+. then the string expansions dependent on the condition cannot use
+. the &$value$& of the reduce iteration.
+. .wen
+
.vitem &*$rheader_*&<&'header&~name'&>&*:*&&~or&~&*$rh_*&<&'header&~name'&>&*:*&
This item inserts &"raw"& header lines. It is described with the &%header%&
expansion item in section &<<SECTexpansionitems>>& above.
-.vitem "&*${run{*&<&'command'&>&*&~*&<&'args'&>&*}{*&<&'string1'&>&*}&&&
+.vitem "&*${run<&'options'&> {*&<&'command&~string'&>&*}{*&<&'string1'&>&*}&&&
{*&<&'string2'&>&*}}*&"
.cindex "expansion" "running a command"
.cindex "&%run%& expansion item"
-The command and its arguments are first expanded as one string. The string is
-split apart into individual arguments by spaces, and then the command is run
+This item runs an external command, as a subprocess.
+One option is supported after the word &'run'&, comma-separated
+and without whitespace.
+
+If the option &'preexpand'& is not used,
+the command string before expansion is split into individual arguments by spaces
+and then each argument is separately expanded.
+Then the command is run
in a separate process, but under the same uid and gid. As in other command
executions from Exim, a shell is not used by default. If the command requires
a shell, you must explicitly code it.
+The command name may not be tainted, but the remaining arguments can be.
+
+&*Note*&: if tainted arguments are used, they are supplied by a
+potential attacker;
+a careful assessment for security vulnerabilities should be done.
+If the option &'preexpand'& is used,
+the command string is first expanded as a whole.
+The expansion result is split apart into individual arguments by spaces,
+and then the command is run as above.
Since the arguments are split by spaces, when there is a variable expansion
which has an empty result, it will cause the situation that the argument will
simply be omitted when the program is actually executed by Exim. If the
around the command arguments. A possible guard against this is to wrap the
variable in the &%sg%& operator to change any quote marks to some other
character.
+Neither the command nor any argument may be tainted.
The standard input for the command exists, but is empty. The standard output
and standard error are set to the same file descriptor.
.code
${run{/bin/bash -c "/usr/bin/id >/tmp/id"}{yes}{yes}}
.endd
+Note that &$value$& will not persist beyond the reception of a single message.
.vindex "&$runrc$&"
The return code from the command is put in the variable &$runrc$&, and this
-.new
.vitem &*${srs_encode&~{*&<&'secret'&>&*}{*&<&'return&~path'&>&*}{*&<&'original&~domain'&>&*}}*&
SRS encoding. See SECT &<<SECTSRS>>& for details.
-.wen
-.vitem &*${substr{*&<&'string1'&>&*}{*&<&'string2'&>&*}{*&<&'string3'&>&*}}*&
+.vitem &*${substr{*&<&'start'&>&*}{*&<&'len'&>&*}{*&<&'subject'&>&*}}*&
.cindex "&%substr%& expansion item"
.cindex "substring extraction"
.cindex "expansion" "substring extraction"
The three strings are expanded; the first two must yield numbers. Call them
<&'n'&> and <&'m'&>. If you are using fixed values for these numbers, that is,
-if <&'string1'&> and <&'string2'&> do not change when they are expanded, you
+if <&'start'&> and <&'len'&> do not change when they are expanded, you
can use the simpler operator notation that avoids some of the braces:
.code
-${substr_<n>_<m>:<string>}
+${substr_<n>_<m>:<subject>}
.endd
The second number is optional (in both notations).
If it is absent in the simpler format, the preceding underscore must also be
.vitem &*${escape8bit:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
.cindex "expansion" "escaping 8-bit characters"
.cindex "&%escape8bit%& expansion item"
-If the string contains and characters with the most significant bit set,
+If the string contains any characters with the most significant bit set,
they are converted to escape sequences starting with a backslash.
Backslashes and DEL characters are also converted.
+.vitem &*${headerwrap_*&<&'cols'&>&*_*&<&'limit'&>&*:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
+.cindex header "wrapping operator"
+.cindex expansion "header wrapping"
+This operator line-wraps its argument in a way useful for headers.
+The &'cols'& value gives the column number to wrap after,
+the &'limit'& gives a limit number of result characters to truncate at.
+Either just the &'limit'& and the preceding underbar, or both, can be omitted;
+the defaults are 80 and 998.
+Wrapping will be inserted at a space if possible before the
+column number is reached.
+Whitespace at a chosen wrap point is removed.
+A line-wrap consists of a newline followed by a tab,
+and the tab is counted as 8 columns.
+
+
+
.vitem &*${hex2b64:*&<&'hexstring'&>&*}*&
.cindex "base64 encoding" "conversion from hex"
.cindex "expansion" "hex to base64"
and selects address-, domain-, host- or localpart- lists to search among respectively.
Otherwise all types are searched in an undefined order and the first
matching list is returned.
+&*Note*&: Neither string-expansion of lists referenced by named-list syntax elements,
+nor expansion of lookup elements, is done by the &%listnamed%& operator.
.vitem &*${local_part:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
The parsing correctly handles SMTPUTF8 Unicode in the string.
-.vitem &*${mask:*&<&'IP&~address'&>&*/*&<&'bit&~count'&>&*}*&
+.vitem &*${mask:*&<&'IP&~address'&>&*/*&<&'bit&~count'&>&*}*& &&&
+ &*${mask_n:*&<&'IP&~address'&>&*/*&<&'bit&~count'&>&*}*&
.cindex "masked IP address"
.cindex "IP address" "masking"
.cindex "CIDR notation"
.code
${mask:10.111.131.206/28}
.endd
-returns the string &"10.111.131.192/28"&. Since this operation is expected to
-be mostly used for looking up masked addresses in files, the result for an IPv6
+returns the string &"10.111.131.192/28"&.
+
+Since this operation is expected to
+be mostly used for looking up masked addresses in files, the
+normal
+result for an IPv6
address uses dots to separate components instead of colons, because colon
terminates a key string in lsearch files. So, for example,
.code
.code
3ffe.ffff.836f.0a00.000a.0800.2000.0000/99
.endd
+If the optional form &*mask_n*& is used, IPv6 address result are instead
+returned in normailsed form, using colons and with zero-compression.
Letters in IPv6 addresses are always output in lower case.
.cindex "expansion" "string length"
.cindex "string" "length in expansion"
.cindex "&%strlen%& expansion item"
-The item is replace by the length of the expanded string, expressed as a
+The item is replaced by the length of the expanded string, expressed as a
decimal number. &*Note*&: Do not confuse &%strlen%& with &%length%&.
All measurement is done in bytes and is not UTF-8 aware.
.cindex "expansion" "numeric comparison"
There are a number of symbolic operators for doing numeric comparisons. They
are:
-.display
-&`= `& equal
-&`== `& equal
-&`> `& greater
-&`>= `& greater or equal
-&`< `& less
-&`<= `& less or equal
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 10* left 90* left
+.irow "= " "equal"
+.irow "== " "equal"
+.irow "> " "greater"
+.irow ">= " "greater or equal"
+.irow "< " "less"
+.irow "<= " "less or equal"
+.endtable
For example:
.code
${if >{$message_size}{10M} ...
is done by calling the &[stat()]& function. The use of the &%exists%& test in
users' filter files may be locked out by the system administrator.
-.new
&*Note:*& Testing a path using this condition is not a sufficient way of
de-tainting it.
Consider using a dsearch lookup.
-.wen
.vitem &*first_delivery*&
.cindex "delivery" "first"
.cindex "first delivery"
.cindex "expansion" "first delivery test"
.cindex "&%first_delivery%& expansion condition"
+.cindex retry condition
This condition, which has no data, is true during a message's first delivery
attempt. It is false during any subsequent delivery attempts.
.endlist
Note that negation of &*forany*& means that the condition must be false for all
items for the overall condition to succeed, and negation of &*forall*& means
-that the condition must be false for at least one item. In this example, the
-list separator is changed to a comma:
+that the condition must be false for at least one item.
+
+Example:
.code
-${if forany{<, $recipients}{match{$item}{^user3@}}{yes}{no}}
+${if forany{$recipients_list}{match{$item}{^user3@}}{yes}{no}}
.endd
The value of &$item$& is saved and restored while &%forany%& or &%forall%& is
being processed, to enable these expansion items to be nested.
Case and collation order are defined per the system C locale.
-.new
.vitem &*inbound_srs&~{*&<&'local&~part'&>&*}{*&<&'secret'&>&*}*&
SRS decode. See SECT &<<SECTSRS>>& for details.
-.wen
-.vitem &*inlist&~{*&<&'string1'&>&*}{*&<&'string2'&>&*}*& &&&
- &*inlisti&~{*&<&'string1'&>&*}{*&<&'string2'&>&*}*&
+.vitem &*inlist&~{*&<&'subject'&>&*}{*&<&'list'&>&*}*& &&&
+ &*inlisti&~{*&<&'subject'&>&*}{*&<&'list'&>&*}*&
.cindex "string" "comparison"
.cindex "list" "iterative conditions"
Both strings are expanded; the second string is treated as a list of simple
${if forany{fOo:NeeDLE:bAr}{eqi{$item}{Needle}}}
.endd
+The variable &$value$& will be set for a successful match and can be
+used in the success clause of an &%if%& expansion item using the condition.
+.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using an inlist expansion condition"
+It will have the same taint status as the list; expansions such as
+.code
+${if inlist {$h_mycode:} {0 : 1 : 42} {$value}}
+.endd
+can be used for de-tainting.
+Any previous &$value$& is restored after the if.
+
+
.vitem &*isip&~{*&<&'string'&>&*}*& &&&
&*isip4&~{*&<&'string'&>&*}*& &&&
&*isip6&~{*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
Consult section &<<SECThoslispatip>>& for further details of these patterns.
+The variable &$value$& will be set for a successful match and can be
+used in the success clause of an &%if%& expansion item using the condition.
+Any previous &$value$& is restored after the if.
+
.vitem &*match_local_part&~{*&<&'string1'&>&*}{*&<&'string2'&>&*}*&
.cindex "domain list" "in expansion condition"
.cindex "address list" "in expansion condition"
have their local parts matched casefully. Domains are always matched
caselessly.
+The variable &$value$& will be set for a successful match and can be
+used in the success clause of an &%if%& expansion item using the condition.
+.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using a match_local_part expansion condition"
+It will have the same taint status as the list; expansions such as
+.code
+${if match_local_part {$local_part} {alice : bill : charlotte : dave} {$value}}
+.endd
+can be used for de-tainting.
+Any previous &$value$& is restored after the if.
+
Note that <&'string2'&> is not itself subject to string expansion, unless
Exim was built with the EXPAND_LISTMATCH_RHS option.
.cindex "&%pam%& expansion condition"
&'Pluggable Authentication Modules'&
(&url(https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs/pam/)) are a facility that is
-available in the latest releases of Solaris and in some GNU/Linux
-distributions. The Exim support, which is intended for use in conjunction with
+available in Solaris
+and in some GNU/Linux distributions.
+The Exim support, which is intended for use in conjunction with
the SMTP AUTH command, is available only if Exim is compiled with
.code
SUPPORT_PAM=yes
This section contains an alphabetical list of all the expansion variables. Some
of them are available only when Exim is compiled with specific options such as
support for TLS or the content scanning extension.
+.cindex "tainted data"
+Variables marked as &'tainted'& are likely to carry data supplied by
+a potential attacker.
+Variables without such marking may also, depending on how their
+values are created.
+Such variables should not be further expanded,
+used as filenames
+or used as command-line arguments for external commands.
.vlist
.vitem "&$0$&, &$1$&, etc"
precedes the expansion of the string. For example, the commands available in
Exim filter files include an &%if%& command with its own regular expression
matching condition.
+If the subject string was tainted then any captured substring will also be.
.vitem "&$acl_arg1$&, &$acl_arg2$&, etc"
Within an acl condition, expansion condition or expansion item
.vitem &$acl_verify_message$&
.vindex "&$acl_verify_message$&"
After an address verification has failed, this variable contains the failure
-message. It retains its value for use in subsequent modifiers. The message can
-be preserved by coding like this:
+message. It retains its value for use in subsequent modifiers of the verb.
+The message can be preserved by coding like this:
.code
warn !verify = sender
set acl_m0 = $acl_verify_message
You can use &$acl_verify_message$& during the expansion of the &%message%& or
&%log_message%& modifiers, to include information about the verification
failure.
+&*Note*&: The variable is cleared at the end of processing the ACL verb.
.vitem &$address_data$&
.vindex "&$address_data$&"
the ACL's as well.
-.vitem &$authenticated_sender$&
+.tvar &$authenticated_sender$&
.cindex "sender" "authenticated"
.cindex "authentication" "sender"
.cindex "AUTH" "on MAIL command"
-.vindex "&$authenticated_sender$&"
When acting as a server, Exim takes note of the AUTH= parameter on an incoming
SMTP MAIL command if it believes the sender is sufficiently trusted, as
described in section &<<SECTauthparamail>>&. Unless the data is the string
possible to distinguish between &"did not try to authenticate"&
(&$sender_host_authenticated$& is empty and &$authentication_failed$& is set to
&"0"&) and &"tried to authenticate but failed"& (&$sender_host_authenticated$&
-is empty and &$authentication_failed$& is set to &"1"&). Failure includes any
-negative response to an AUTH command, including (for example) an attempt to use
-an undefined mechanism.
+is empty and &$authentication_failed$& is set to &"1"&).
+Failure includes cancellation of a authentication attempt,
+and any negative response to an AUTH command,
+(including, for example, an attempt to use an undefined mechanism).
.vitem &$av_failed$&
.cindex "content scanning" "AV scanner failure"
looked up, the contents of any associated TXT record, and the value from the
main A record. See section &<<SECID204>>& for more details.
-.vitem &$domain$&
-.vindex "&$domain$&"
+.tvar &$domain$&
When an address is being routed, or delivered on its own, this variable
contains the domain. Uppercase letters in the domain are converted into lower
case for &$domain$&.
.vitem &$domain_data$&
.vindex "&$domain_data$&"
When the &%domains%& condition on a router
-.new
or an ACL
matches a domain
against a list, the match value is copied to &$domain_data$&.
This is an enhancement over previous versions of Exim, when it only
applied to the data read by a lookup.
For details on match values see section &<<SECTlistresults>>& et. al.
-.wen
If the router routes the
address to a transport, the value is available in that transport. If the
This value may be overridden by the &%exim_version%& main config option.
.vitem &$header_$&<&'name'&>
+.tmark
This is not strictly an expansion variable. It is expansion syntax for
inserting the message header line with the given name. Note that the name must
be terminated by colon or white space, because it may contain a wide variety of
deny hosts = net-lsearch;/some/file
message = $host_data
.endd
+
.vitem &$host_lookup_deferred$&
.cindex "host name" "lookup, failure of"
.vindex "&$host_lookup_deferred$&"
of the temporary file which is about to be renamed. It can be used to construct
a unique name for the file.
-.vitem &$interface_address$&
+.vitem &$interface_address$& &&&
+ &$interface_port$&
.vindex "&$interface_address$&"
-This is an obsolete name for &$received_ip_address$&.
-
-.vitem &$interface_port$&
.vindex "&$interface_port$&"
-This is an obsolete name for &$received_port$&.
+These are obsolete names for &$received_ip_address$& and &$received_port$&.
.vitem &$item$&
.vindex "&$item$&"
is an integer. For example, if the load average is 0.21, the value of the
variable is 210. The value is recomputed every time the variable is referenced.
-.vitem &$local_part$&
-.vindex "&$local_part$&"
+.tvar &$local_part$&
When an address is being routed, or delivered on its own, this
variable contains the local part. When a number of addresses are being
delivered together (for example, multiple RCPT commands in an SMTP
.vindex "&$local_part_data$&"
When the &%local_parts%& condition on a router or ACL
matches a local part list
-.new
the match value is copied to &$local_part_data$&.
This is an enhancement over previous versions of Exim, when it only
applied to the data read by a lookup.
For details on match values see section &<<SECTlistresults>>& et. al.
-.wen
The &%check_local_user%& router option also sets this variable.
This variable contains the number of bytes in the longest line that was
received as part of the message, not counting the line termination
character(s).
-It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+It is not valid if the &%spool_wireformat%& option is used.
.vitem &$message_age$&
.cindex "message" "age of"
of seconds since the message was received. It does not change during a single
delivery attempt.
-.vitem &$message_body$&
+.tvar &$message_body$&
.cindex "body of message" "expansion variable"
.cindex "message body" "in expansion"
.cindex "binary zero" "in message body"
-.vindex "&$message_body$&"
.oindex "&%message_body_visible%&"
This variable contains the initial portion of a message's body while it is
being delivered, and is intended mainly for use in filter files. The maximum
this can be disabled by setting &%message_body_newlines%& to be true. Binary
zeros are always converted into spaces.
-.vitem &$message_body_end$&
+.tvar &$message_body_end$&
.cindex "body of message" "expansion variable"
.cindex "message body" "in expansion"
-.vindex "&$message_body_end$&"
This variable contains the final portion of a message's
body while it is being delivered. The format and maximum size are as for
&$message_body$&.
also &$message_size$&, &$body_linecount$&, and &$body_zerocount$&.
If the spool file is wireformat
-(see the &%spool_files_wireformat%& main option)
+(see the &%spool_wireformat%& main option)
the CRLF line-terminators are included in the count.
.vitem &$message_exim_id$&
line; it is the local id that Exim assigns to the message, for example:
&`1BXTIK-0001yO-VA`&.
-.vitem &$message_headers$&
-.vindex &$message_headers$&
+.tvar &$message_headers$&
This variable contains a concatenation of all the header lines when a message
is being processed, except for lines added by routers or transports. The header
lines are separated by newline characters. Their contents are decoded in the
same way as a header line that is inserted by &%bheader%&.
-.vitem &$message_headers_raw$&
-.vindex &$message_headers_raw$&
+.tvar &$message_headers_raw$&
This variable is like &$message_headers$& except that no processing of the
contents of header lines is done.
In the MAIL and RCPT ACLs, the value is zero because at that stage the
message has not yet been received.
-This variable is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+This variable is not valid if the &%spool_wireformat%& option is used.
.vitem &$message_size$&
.cindex "size" "of message"
contains the size supplied on the MAIL command, or -1 if no size was given. The
value may not, of course, be truthful.
-.vitem &$mime_$&&'xxx'&
+.vitem &$mime_anomaly_level$& &&&
+ &$mime_anomaly_text$& &&&
+ &$mime_boundary$& &&&
+ &$mime_charset$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_description$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_disposition$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_id$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_size$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_transfer_encoding$& &&&
+ &$mime_content_type$& &&&
+ &$mime_decoded_filename$& &&&
+ &$mime_filename$& &&&
+ &$mime_is_coverletter$& &&&
+ &$mime_is_multipart$& &&&
+ &$mime_is_rfc822$& &&&
+ &$mime_part_count$&
A number of variables whose names start with &$mime$& are
available when Exim is compiled with the content-scanning extension. For
details, see section &<<SECTscanmimepart>>&.
These variables are counters that can be incremented by means
of the &%add%& command in filter files.
-.vitem &$original_domain$&
+.tvar &$original_domain$&
.vindex "&$domain$&"
-.vindex "&$original_domain$&"
When a top-level address is being processed for delivery, this contains the
same value as &$domain$&. However, if a &"child"& address (for example,
generated by an alias, forward, or filter file) is being processed, this
filter, it is set up with an artificial &"parent"& address. This has the local
part &'system-filter'& and the default qualify domain.
-.vitem &$original_local_part$&
+.tvar &$original_local_part$&
.vindex "&$local_part$&"
-.vindex "&$original_local_part$&"
When a top-level address is being processed for delivery, this contains the
same value as &$local_part$&, unless a prefix or suffix was removed from the
local part, because &$original_local_part$& always contains the full local
For messages received by SMTP over TCP/IP, this is normally the uid of the Exim
user.
-.vitem &$parent_domain$&
-.vindex "&$parent_domain$&"
+.tvar &$parent_domain$&
This variable is similar to &$original_domain$& (see
above), except that it refers to the immediately preceding parent address.
-.vitem &$parent_local_part$&
-.vindex "&$parent_local_part$&"
+.tvar &$parent_local_part$&
This variable is similar to &$original_local_part$&
(see above), except that it refers to the immediately preceding parent address.
(described under &%transport_filter%& in chapter &<<CHAPtransportgeneric>>&).
It cannot be used in general expansion strings, and provokes an &"unknown
variable"& error if encountered.
+&*Note*&: This value permits data supplied by a potential attacker to
+be used in the command for a &(pipe)& transport.
+Such configurations should be carefully assessed for security vulnerbilities.
.vitem &$primary_hostname$&
.vindex "&$primary_hostname$&"
This variable is set to &"yes"& if PRDR was requested by the client for the
current message, otherwise &"no"&.
-.vitem &$prvscheck_address$&
-This variable is used in conjunction with the &%prvscheck%& expansion item,
-which is described in sections &<<SECTexpansionitems>>& and
-&<<SECTverifyPRVS>>&.
-
-.vitem &$prvscheck_keynum$&
-This variable is used in conjunction with the &%prvscheck%& expansion item,
-which is described in sections &<<SECTexpansionitems>>& and
-&<<SECTverifyPRVS>>&.
-
-.vitem &$prvscheck_result$&
-This variable is used in conjunction with the &%prvscheck%& expansion item,
+.vitem &$prvscheck_address$& &&&
+ &$prvscheck_keynum$& &&&
+ &$prvscheck_result$&
+These variables are used in conjunction with the &%prvscheck%& expansion item,
which is described in sections &<<SECTexpansionitems>>& and
&<<SECTverifyPRVS>>&.
is available in the DATA ACL, the non-SMTP ACL, and while routing and
delivering.
-.vitem &$received_for$&
-.vindex "&$received_for$&"
+.tvar &$received_for$&
If there is only a single recipient address in an incoming message, this
variable contains that address when the &'Received:'& header line is being
built. The value is copied after recipient rewriting has happened, but before
the &[local_scan()]& function is run.
-.vitem &$received_ip_address$&
+.vitem &$received_ip_address$& &&&
+ &$received_port$&
.vindex "&$received_ip_address$&"
-As soon as an Exim server starts processing an incoming TCP/IP connection, this
-variable is set to the address of the local IP interface, and &$received_port$&
-is set to the local port number. (The remote IP address and port are in
+.vindex "&$received_port$&"
+As soon as an Exim server starts processing an incoming TCP/IP connection, these
+variables are set to the address and port on the local IP interface.
+(The remote IP address and port are in
&$sender_host_address$& and &$sender_host_port$&.) When testing with &%-bh%&,
the port value is -1 unless it has been set using the &%-oMi%& command line
option.
time.
For outbound connections see &$sending_ip_address$&.
-.vitem &$received_port$&
-.vindex "&$received_port$&"
-See &$received_ip_address$&.
-
.vitem &$received_protocol$&
.vindex "&$received_protocol$&"
When a message is being processed, this variable contains the name of the
The main use of this variable is expected to be to distinguish between
rejections of MAIL and rejections of RCPT.
-.vitem &$recipients$&
-.vindex "&$recipients$&"
-This variable contains a list of envelope recipients for a message. A comma and
-a space separate the addresses in the replacement text. However, the variable
-is not generally available, to prevent exposure of Bcc recipients in
-unprivileged users' filter files. You can use &$recipients$& only in these
+.tvar &$recipients$&
+.tvar &$recipients_list$&
+These variables both contain the envelope recipients for a message.
+
+The first uses a comma and a space separate the addresses in the replacement text.
+&*Note*&: an address can legitimately contain a comma;
+this variable is not intended for further processing.
+
+The second is a proper Exim list; colon-separated.
+
+However, the variables
+are not generally available, to prevent exposure of Bcc recipients in
+unprivileged users' filter files. You can use either of them only in these
cases:
.olist
When a &%regex%& or &%mime_regex%& ACL condition succeeds,
these variables contain the
captured substrings identified by the regular expression.
+If the subject string was tainted then so will any captured substring.
-.vitem &$reply_address$&
-.vindex "&$reply_address$&"
+.tvar &$reply_address$&
When a message is being processed, this variable contains the contents of the
&'Reply-To:'& header line if one exists and it is not empty, or otherwise the
contents of the &'From:'& header line. Apart from the removal of leading
.cindex "router" "name"
.cindex "name" "of router"
.vindex "&$router_name$&"
-During the running of a router this variable contains its name.
+During the running of a router, or a transport called,
+this variable contains the router name.
.vitem &$runrc$&
.cindex "return code" "from &%run%& expansion"
happens, &$self_hostname$& is set to the name of the local host that the
original router encountered. In other circumstances its contents are null.
-.vitem &$sender_address$&
-.vindex "&$sender_address$&"
+.tvar &$sender_address$&
When a message is being processed, this variable contains the sender's address
that was received in the message's envelope. The case of letters in the address
is retained, in both the local part and the domain. For bounce messages, the
after the end of the current ACL statement. If you want to preserve it for
longer, you can save it in an ACL variable.
-.vitem &$sender_address_domain$&
-.vindex "&$sender_address_domain$&"
+.tvar &$sender_address_domain$&
The domain portion of &$sender_address$&.
-.vitem &$sender_address_local_part$&
-.vindex "&$sender_address_local_part$&"
+.tvar &$sender_address_local_part$&
The local part portion of &$sender_address$&.
.vitem &$sender_data$&
.cindex "DNS" "DNSSEC"
done using DNS information the resolver library stated was authenticated data.
-.vitem &$sender_helo_name$&
-.vindex "&$sender_helo_name$&"
+.tvar &$sender_helo_name$&
When a message is received from a remote host that has issued a HELO or EHLO
command, the argument of that command is placed in this variable. It is also
set if HELO or EHLO is used when a message is received using SMTP locally via
is known to currently ignore EDNS0, documented in CAVEATS of asr_run(3).
-.vitem &$sender_host_name$&
-.vindex "&$sender_host_name$&"
+.tvar &$sender_host_name$&
When a message is received from a remote host, this variable contains the
host's name as obtained by looking up its IP address. For messages received by
other means, this variable is empty.
&$smtp_active_hostname$& is saved with any message that is received, so its
value can be consulted during routing and delivery.
-.vitem &$smtp_command$&
-.vindex "&$smtp_command$&"
+.tvar &$smtp_command$&
During the processing of an incoming SMTP command, this variable contains the
entire command. This makes it possible to distinguish between HELO and EHLO in
the HELO ACL, and also to distinguish between commands such as these:
rewriting, whereas the values in &$local_part$& and &$domain$& are taken from
the address after SMTP-time rewriting.
-.vitem &$smtp_command_argument$&
+.tvar &$smtp_command_argument$&
.cindex "SMTP" "command, argument for"
-.vindex "&$smtp_command_argument$&"
While an ACL is running to check an SMTP command, this variable contains the
argument, that is, the text that follows the command name, with leading white
space removed. Following the introduction of &$smtp_command$&, this variable is
single connection is being processed. When a child process terminates, the
daemon decrements its copy of the variable.
+.vitem &$smtp_notquit_reason$&
+.vindex "&$smtp_notquit_reason$&"
+When the not-QUIT ACL is running, this variable is set to a string
+that indicates the reason for the termination of the SMTP connection.
+
.vitem "&$sn0$& &-- &$sn9$&"
These variables are copies of the values of the &$n0$& &-- &$n9$& accumulators
that were current at the end of the system filter file. This allows a system
which is not the leaf.
-.new
.vitem &$tls_in_resumption$& &&&
&$tls_out_resumption$&
.vindex &$tls_in_resumption$&
.vindex &$tls_out_resumption$&
.cindex TLS resumption
Observability for TLS session resumption. See &<<SECTresumption>>& for details.
-.wen
-.vitem &$tls_in_sni$&
-.vindex "&$tls_in_sni$&"
+.tvar &$tls_in_sni$&
.vindex "&$tls_sni$&"
.cindex "TLS" "Server Name Indication"
.cindex "TLS" SNI
option to a true value. To avoid breaking existing installations, it
defaults to false.
-.new
&*Note*&: This is entirely separate from Exim's tainted-data tracking.
-.wen
.section "Calling Perl subroutines" "SECID86"
.section "Miscellaneous" "SECID96"
.table2
+.row &%add_environment%& "environment variables"
.row &%bi_command%& "to run for &%-bi%& command line option"
.row &%debug_store%& "do extra internal checks"
.row &%disable_ipv6%& "do no IPv6 processing"
+.row &%keep_environment%& "environment variables"
.row &%keep_malformed%& "for broken files &-- should not happen"
.row &%localhost_number%& "for unique message ids in clusters"
.row &%message_body_newlines%& "retain newlines in &$message_body$&"
.row &%log_timezone%& "add timezone to log lines"
.row &%message_logs%& "create per-message logs"
.row &%preserve_message_logs%& "after message completion"
+.row &%panic_coredump%& "request coredump on fatal errors"
.row &%process_log_path%& "for SIGUSR1 and &'exiwhat'&"
.row &%slow_lookup_log%& "control logging of slow DNS lookups"
.row &%syslog_duplication%& "controls duplicate log lines on syslog"
.row &%notifier_socket%& "override compiled-in value"
.row &%pid_file_path%& "override compiled-in value"
.row &%queue_run_max%& "maximum simultaneous queue runners"
+.row &%smtp_backlog_monitor%& "level to log listen backlog"
.endtable
.table2
.row &%gnutls_compat_mode%& "use GnuTLS compatibility mode"
.row &%gnutls_allow_auto_pkcs11%& "allow GnuTLS to autoload PKCS11 modules"
+.row &%hosts_require_alpn%& "mandatory ALPN"
+.row &%hosts_require_helo%& "mandatory HELO/EHLO"
.row &%openssl_options%& "adjust OpenSSL compatibility options"
.row &%tls_advertise_hosts%& "advertise TLS to these hosts"
+.row &%tls_alpn%& "acceptable protocol names"
.row &%tls_certificate%& "location of server certificate"
.row &%tls_crl%& "certificate revocation list"
.row &%tls_dh_max_bits%& "clamp D-H bit count suggestion"
configuration). This &"magic string"& matches the domain literal form of all
the local host's IP addresses.
-
.option allow_mx_to_ip main boolean false
.cindex "MX record" "pointing to IP address"
It appears that more and more DNS zone administrators are breaking the rules
See section &<<CALLaddparcall>>& for details of how this value is used.
-.option check_log_inodes main integer 100
-See &%check_spool_space%& below.
-
-
-.option check_log_space main integer 10M
+.options check_log_inodes main integer 100 &&&
+ check_log_space main integer 10M
See &%check_spool_space%& below.
.oindex "&%check_rfc2047_length%&"
set false, Exim recognizes encoded words of any length.
-.option check_spool_inodes main integer 100
-See &%check_spool_space%& below.
-
-
-.option check_spool_space main integer 10M
+.options check_spool_inodes main integer 100 &&&
+ check_spool_space main integer 10M
.cindex "checking disk space"
.cindex "disk space, checking"
.cindex "spool directory" "checking space"
listens. See chapter &<<CHAPinterfaces>>& for details of how it is used. For
backward compatibility, &%daemon_smtp_port%& (singular) is a synonym.
-.option daemon_startup_retries main integer 9
+.options daemon_startup_retries main integer 9 &&&
+ daemon_startup_sleep main time 30s
.cindex "daemon startup, retrying"
-This option, along with &%daemon_startup_sleep%&, controls the retrying done by
+These options control the retrying done by
the daemon at startup when it cannot immediately bind a listening socket
(typically because the socket is already in use): &%daemon_startup_retries%&
defines the number of retries after the first failure, and
&%daemon_startup_sleep%& defines the length of time to wait between retries.
-.option daemon_startup_sleep main time 30s
-See &%daemon_startup_retries%&.
-
.option delay_warning main "time list" 24h
.cindex "warning of delay"
.cindex "delay warning, specifying"
.code
dns_again_means_nonexist = *.in-addr.arpa
.endd
-This option applies to all DNS lookups that Exim does. It also applies when the
+This option applies to all DNS lookups that Exim does,
+except for TLSA lookups (where knowing about such failures
+is security-relevant).
+It also applies when the
&[gethostbyname()]& or &[getipnodebyname()]& functions give temporary errors,
since these are most likely to be caused by DNS lookup problems. The
&(dnslookup)& router has some options of its own for controlling what happens
.cindex "ESMTP extensions" DSN
DSN extensions (RFC3461) will be advertised in the EHLO message to,
and accepted from, these hosts.
-Hosts may use the NOTIFY and ENVID options on RCPT TO commands,
-and RET and ORCPT options on MAIL FROM commands.
+Hosts may use the NOTIFY and ORCPT options on RCPT TO commands,
+and RET and ENVID options on MAIL FROM commands.
A NOTIFY=SUCCESS option requests success-DSN messages.
A NOTIFY= option with no argument requests that no delay or failure DSNs
are sent.
.option freeze_tell main "string list, comma separated" unset
.cindex "freezing messages" "sending a message when freezing"
+.cindex "frozen messages" "sending a message when freezing"
On encountering certain errors, or when configured to do so in a system filter,
ACL, or special router, Exim freezes a message. This means that no further
delivery attempts take place until an administrator thaws the message, or the
logging that you require.
-.option gecos_name main string&!! unset
+.options gecos_name main string&!! unset &&&
+ gecos_pattern main string unset
.cindex "HP-UX"
.cindex "&""gecos""& field, parsing"
Some operating systems, notably HP-UX, use the &"gecos"& field in the system
gecos_name = $1
.endd
-.option gecos_pattern main string unset
-See &%gecos_name%& above.
-
.option gnutls_compat_mode main boolean unset
This option controls whether GnuTLS is used in compatibility mode in an Exim
nowadays the ACL specified by &%acl_smtp_connect%& can also reject incoming
connections immediately.
+If the connection is on a TLS-on-connect port then the TCP connection is
+just dropped. Otherwise, an SMTP error is sent first.
+
The ability to give an immediate rejection (either by this option or using an
ACL) is provided for use in unusual cases. Many hosts will just try again,
sometimes without much delay. Normally, it is better to use an ACL to reject
.code
hosts_connection_nolog = :
.endd
-If the &%smtp_connection%& log selector is not set, this option has no effect.
+The hosts affected by this option also do not log "no MAIL in SMTP connection"
+lines, as may commonly be produced by a monitoring system.
+
+
+.option hosts_require_alpn main "host list&!!" unset
+.cindex ALPN "require negotiation in server"
+.cindex TLS ALPN
+.cindex TLS "Application Layer Protocol Names"
+If the TLS library supports ALPN
+then a successful negotiation of ALPN will be required for any client
+matching the list, for TLS to be used.
+See also the &%tls_alpn%& option.
+
+&*Note*&: prevention of fallback to in-clear connection is not
+managed by this option, and should be done separately.
+.option hosts_require_helo main "host list&!!" *
+.cindex "HELO/EHLO" requiring
+Exim will require an accepted HELO or EHLO command from a host matching
+this list, before accepting a MAIL command.
+
.option hosts_proxy main "host list&!!" unset
.cindex proxy "proxy protocol"
&%timeout_frozen_after%&.
-.option ignore_fromline_hosts main "host list&!!" unset
+.options ignore_fromline_hosts main "host list&!!" unset &&&
+ ignore_fromline_local main boolean false
.cindex "&""From""& line"
.cindex "UUCP" "&""From""& line"
Some broken SMTP clients insist on sending a UUCP-like &"From&~"& line before
&%ignore_fromline_local%& must be set to achieve this effect.
-.option ignore_fromline_local main boolean false
-See &%ignore_fromline_hosts%& above.
.option keep_environment main "string list" unset
.cindex "environment" "values from"
-.option local_from_prefix main string unset
+.options local_from_prefix main string unset &&&
+ local_from_suffix main string unset
When Exim checks the &'From:'& header line of locally submitted messages for
matching the login id (see &%local_from_check%& above), it can be configured to
ignore certain prefixes and suffixes in the local part of the address. This is
qualify domain.
-.option local_from_suffix main string unset
-See &%local_from_prefix%& above.
-
-
.option local_interfaces main "string list" "see below"
This option controls which network interfaces are used by the daemon for
listening; they are also used to identify the local host when routing. Chapter
If the platform supports Linux-style abstract socket names, the result
is used with a nul byte prefixed.
Otherwise,
-.new "if nonempty,"
it should be a full path name and use a directory accessible
to Exim.
-.new
If this option is set as empty,
or the command line &%-oY%& option is used, or
-.wen
the command line uses a &%-oX%& option and does not use &%-oP%&,
then a notifier socket is not created.
The option is available only if Exim has been built with Oracle support.
+.option panic_coredump main boolean false
+This option is rarely needed but can help for some debugging investigations.
+If set, when an internal error is detected by Exim which is sufficient
+to terminate the process
+(all such are logged in the paniclog)
+then a coredump is requested.
+
+Note that most systems require additional administrative configuration
+to permit write a core file for a setuid program, which is Exim's
+common installed configuration.
+
.option percent_hack_domains main "domain list&!!" unset
.cindex "&""percent hack""&"
.cindex "source routing" "in email address"
local parts. Exim's default configuration does this.
-.option perl_at_start main boolean false
+.options perl_at_start main boolean false &&&
+ perl_startup main string unset
.cindex "Perl"
-This option is available only when Exim is built with an embedded Perl
-interpreter. See chapter &<<CHAPperl>>& for details of its use.
-
-
-.option perl_startup main string unset
-.cindex "Perl"
-This option is available only when Exim is built with an embedded Perl
-interpreter. See chapter &<<CHAPperl>>& for details of its use.
+These options are available only when Exim is built with an embedded Perl
+interpreter. See chapter &<<CHAPperl>>& for details of their use.
.option perl_taintmode main boolean false
.cindex "Perl"
.option pipelining_connect_advertise_hosts main "host list&!!" *
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
-.cindex "pipelining" PIPE_CONNECT
-.cindex "ESMTP extensions" PIPE_CONNECT
-If Exim is built with the SUPPORT_PIPE_CONNECT build option
+.cindex "pipelining" PIPECONNECT
+.cindex "ESMTP extensions" PIPECONNECT
+If Exim is built without the DISABLE_PIPE_CONNECT build option
this option controls which hosts the facility is advertised to
and from which pipeline early-connection (before MAIL) SMTP
commands are acceptable.
See also the &%hosts_pipe_connect%& smtp transport option.
-.new
-The SMTP service extension keyword advertised is &"PIPE_CONNECT"&.
-.wen
+The SMTP service extension keyword advertised is &"PIPECONNECT"&;
+it permits the client to pipeline
+TCP connection and hello command (inclear phase),
+or TLS-establishment and hello command (encrypted phase),
+on later connections to the same host.
.option prdr_enable main boolean false
&%queue_list_requires_admin%& and &%commandline_checks_require_admin%&.
-.new
.option proxy_protocol_timeout main time 3s
.cindex proxy "proxy protocol"
This option sets the timeout for proxy protocol negotiation.
For details see section &<<SECTproxyInbound>>&.
-.wen
.option qualify_domain main string "see below"
next queue run. See also &%hold_domains%& and &%queue_smtp_domains%&.
-.new
-.option queue_fast_ramp main boolean false
+.option queue_fast_ramp main boolean true
.cindex "queue runner" "two phase"
.cindex "queue" "double scanning"
If set to true, two-phase queue runs, initiated using &%-qq%& on the
command line, may start parallel delivery processes during their first
phase. This will be done when a threshold number of messages have been
routed for a single host.
-.wen
.option queue_list_requires_admin main boolean true
&%queue_only_load%&, and &%smtp_accept_queue%&.
-.option queue_only_file main string unset
+.option queue_only_file main "string list" unset
.cindex "queueing incoming messages"
.cindex "message" "queueing by file existence"
This option can be set to a colon-separated list of absolute path names, each
option was not set.
-.option recipients_max main integer 0
+.option recipients_max main integer 50000
.cindex "limit" "number of recipients"
.cindex "recipient" "maximum number"
If this option is set greater than zero, it specifies the maximum number of
for the remaining recipients at a later time.
-.option remote_max_parallel main integer 2
+.option remote_max_parallel main integer 4
.cindex "delivery" "parallelism for remote"
This option controls parallel delivery of one message to a number of remote
hosts. If the value is less than 2, parallel delivery is disabled, and Exim
response is given to subsequent MAIL commands. This limit is a safety
precaution against a client that goes mad (incidents of this type have been
seen).
-.new
The option is expanded after the HELO or EHLO is received
and may depend on values available at that time.
An empty or zero value after expansion removes the limit.
-.wen
.option smtp_accept_max_per_host main string&!! unset
verification if there is no remote transport from which to obtain a
&%helo_data%& value.
+.option smtp_backlog_monitor main integer 0
+.cindex "connection backlog" monitoring
+If this option is set to greater than zero, and the backlog of available
+TCP connections on a socket listening for SMTP is larger than it, a line
+is logged giving the value and the socket address and port.
+The value is retrived jsut before an accept call.
+This facility is only available on Linux.
+
.option smtp_banner main string&!! "see below"
.cindex "SMTP" "welcome banner"
.cindex "banner for SMTP"
.cindex "welcome banner for SMTP"
.cindex "customizing" "SMTP banner"
-This string, which is expanded every time it is used, is output as the initial
+If a connect ACL does not supply a message,
+this string (which is expanded every time it is used) is output as the initial
positive response to an SMTP connection. The default setting is:
.code
smtp_banner = $smtp_active_hostname ESMTP Exim \
$version_number $tod_full
.endd
-Failure to expand the string causes a panic error. If you want to create a
+Failure to expand the string causes a panic error;
+a forced fail just closes the connection.
+If you want to create a
multiline response to the initial SMTP connection, use &"\n"& in the string at
appropriate points, but not at the end. Note that the 220 code is not included
in this string. Exim adds it automatically (several times in the case of a
.option smtp_connect_backlog main integer 20
-.cindex "connection backlog"
+.cindex "connection backlog" "set maximum"
.cindex "SMTP" "connection backlog"
.cindex "backlog of connections"
This option specifies a maximum number of waiting SMTP connections. Exim passes
-.option smtp_ratelimit_hosts main "host list&!!" unset
+.options smtp_ratelimit_hosts main "host list&!!" unset &&&
+ smtp_ratelimit_mail main string unset &&&
+ smtp_ratelimit_rcpt main string unset
.cindex "SMTP" "rate limiting"
.cindex "limit" "rate of message arrival"
.cindex "RCPT" "rate limiting"
delays to RCPT commands when more than four occur in a single message.
-.option smtp_ratelimit_mail main string unset
-See &%smtp_ratelimit_hosts%& above.
-
-
-.option smtp_ratelimit_rcpt main string unset
-See &%smtp_ratelimit_hosts%& above.
-
.option smtp_receive_timeout main time&!! 5m
.cindex "timeout" "for SMTP input"
is not required the &%tls_advertise_hosts%& option should be set empty.
-.option tls_certificate main string list&!! unset
+.option tls_alpn main "string list&!!" "smtp : esmtp"
+.cindex TLS "Application Layer Protocol Names"
+.cindex TLS ALPN
+.cindex ALPN "set acceptable names for server"
+If this option is set,
+the TLS library supports ALPN,
+and the client offers either more than one
+ALPN name or a name which does not match the list,
+the TLS connection is declined.
+
+
+.option tls_certificate main "string list&!!" unset
.cindex "TLS" "server certificate; location of"
.cindex "certificate" "server, location of"
The value of this option is expanded, and must then be a list of absolute paths to
Server Name Indication extension, then this option and others documented in
&<<SECTtlssni>>& will be re-expanded.
-If this option is unset or empty a fresh self-signed certificate will be
-generated for every connection.
+If this option is unset or empty a self-signed certificate will be
+used.
+Under Linux this is generated at daemon startup; on other platforms it will be
+generated fresh for every connection.
.option tls_crl main string&!! unset
.cindex "TLS" "server certificate revocation list"
The value of this option is expanded and indicates the source of DH parameters
to be used by Exim.
-This option is ignored for GnuTLS version 3.6.0 and later.
-The library manages parameter negotiation internally.
-
-&*Note: The Exim Maintainers strongly recommend,
-for other TLS library versions,
-using a filename with site-generated
+&*Note: The Exim Maintainers strongly recommend using a filename with site-generated
local DH parameters*&, which has been supported across all versions of Exim. The
other specific constants available are a fallback so that even when
"unconfigured", Exim can offer Perfect Forward Secrecy in older ciphersuites in TLS.
(the "ffdhe" identifiers).
At this point, all of the "ike" values should be considered obsolete;
-they're still in Exim to avoid breaking unusual configurations, but are
+they are still in Exim to avoid breaking unusual configurations, but are
candidates for removal the next time we have backwards-incompatible changes.
+Two of them in particular (&`ike1`& and &`ike22`&) are called out by RFC 8247
+as MUST NOT use for IPSEC, and two more (&`ike23`& and &`ike24`&) as
+SHOULD NOT.
+Because of this, Exim regards them as deprecated; if either of the first pair
+are used, warnings will be logged in the paniclog, and if any are used then
+warnings will be logged in the mainlog.
+All four will be removed in a future Exim release.
The TLS protocol does not negotiate an acceptable size for this; clients tend
to hard-drop connections if what is offered by the server is unacceptable,
acceptable bound from 1024 to 2048.
-.option tls_eccurve main string&!! &`auto`&
+.option tls_eccurve main string list&!! &`auto`&
.cindex TLS "EC cryptography"
-This option selects a EC curve for use by Exim when used with OpenSSL.
-It has no effect when Exim is used with GnuTLS.
+This option selects EC curves for use by Exim when used with OpenSSL.
+It has no effect when Exim is used with GnuTLS
+(the equivalent can be done using a priority string for the
+&%tls_require_ciphers%& option).
-After expansion it must contain a valid EC curve parameter, such as
-&`prime256v1`&, &`secp384r1`&, or &`P-512`&. Consult your OpenSSL manual
-for valid selections.
+After expansion it must contain
+one or (only for OpenSSL versiona 1.1.1 onwards) more
+EC curve names, such as &`prime256v1`&, &`secp384r1`&, or &`P-521`&.
+Consult your OpenSSL manual for valid curve names.
For OpenSSL versions before (and not including) 1.0.2, the string
&`auto`& selects &`prime256v1`&. For more recent OpenSSL versions
&`auto`& tells the library to choose.
-If the option expands to an empty string, no EC curves will be enabled.
+If the option expands to an empty string, the effect is undefined.
.option tls_ocsp_file main string&!! unset
-.option tls_privatekey main string list&!! unset
+.option tls_privatekey main "string list&!!" unset
.cindex "TLS" "server private key; location of"
The value of this option is expanded, and must then be a list of absolute paths to
files which contains the server's private keys.
&<<SECTreqciphssl>>& and &<<SECTreqciphgnu>>&.
-.new
.option tls_resumption_hosts main "host list&!!" unset
.cindex TLS resumption
This option controls which connections to offer the TLS resumption feature.
See &<<SECTresumption>>& for details.
-.wen
.option tls_try_verify_hosts main "host list&!!" unset
Any client that matches &%tls_verify_hosts%& is constrained by
&%tls_verify_certificates%&. When the client initiates a TLS session, it must
present one of the listed certificates. If it does not, the connection is
-aborted. &*Warning*&: Including a host in &%tls_verify_hosts%& does not require
+aborted.
+&*Warning*&: Including a host in &%tls_verify_hosts%& does not require
the host to use TLS. It can still send SMTP commands through unencrypted
connections. Forcing a client to use TLS has to be done separately using an
ACL to reject inappropriate commands when the connection is not encrypted.
provide data for a transport is: &%errors_to%&, &%headers_add%&,
&%headers_remove%&, &%transport%&.
+The name of a router is limited to be &drivernamemax; ASCII characters long;
+prior to Exim 4.95 names would be silently truncated at this length, but now
+it is enforced.
.option address_data routers string&!! unset
holding password data (such as NIS) are supported. If the local part is a local
user,
.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using router check_local_user option"
&$local_part_data$& is set to an untainted version of the local part and
&$home$& is set from the password data. The latter can be tested in other
preconditions that are evaluated after this one (the order of evaluation is
.cindex "router" "restricting to specific domains"
.vindex "&$domain_data$&"
If this option is set, the router is skipped unless the current domain matches
-the list. If the match is achieved by means of a file lookup, the data that the
-lookup returned for the domain is placed in &$domain_data$& for use in string
+the list.
+The data returned by the list check
+is placed in &$domain_data$& for use in string
expansions of the driver's private options and in the transport.
See section &<<SECTrouprecon>>& for
a list of the order in which preconditions are evaluated.
+A complex example, using a file like:
+.code
+alice@dom1
+bill@dom1
+maggie@dom1
+.endd
+and checking both domain and local_part
+.code
+domains = ${domain:${lookup {$local_part@$domain} lseach,ret=key {/path/to/accountsfile}}}
+local_parts = ${local_part:${lookup {$local_part@$domain} lseach,ret=key {/path/to/accountsfile}}}
+.endd
+
.option driver routers string unset
local_parts = dbm;/usr/local/specials/$domain_data
.endd
.vindex "&$local_part_data$&"
-If the match is achieved by a lookup, the data that the lookup returned
+the data returned by the list check
for the local part is placed in the variable &$local_part_data$& for use in
expansions of the router's private options or in the transport.
You might use this option, for
When a router runs, the strings are evaluated in order,
to create variables which are added to the set associated with
the address.
-.new
This is done immediately after all the preconditions, before the
evaluation of the &%address_data%& option.
-.wen
The variable is set with the expansion of the value.
The variables can be used by the router options
(not including any preconditions)
the text is included in the error message that Exim generates.
.cindex "SMTP" "error codes"
-By default, Exim sends a 451 SMTP code for a &':defer:'&, and 550 for
+By default for verify, Exim sends a 451 SMTP code for a &':defer:'&, and 550 for
&':fail:'&. However, if the message starts with three digits followed by a
space, optionally followed by an extended code of the form &'n.n.n'&, also
followed by a space, and the very first digit is the same as the default error
.scindex IIDgenoptra1 "generic options" "transport"
.scindex IIDgenoptra2 "options" "generic; for transports"
.scindex IIDgenoptra3 "transport" "generic options for"
+The name of a transport is limited to be &drivernamemax; ASCII characters long;
+prior to Exim 4.95 names would be silently truncated at this length, but now
+it is enforced.
+
The following generic options apply to all transports:
its removal from incoming messages, so that delivered messages can safely be
resent to other recipients.
+&*Note:*& If used on a transport handling multiple recipients
+(the smtp transport unless &%max_rcpt%& is 1, the appendfile, pipe or lmtp
+transport if &%batch_max%& is greater than 1)
+then information about Bcc recipients will be leaked.
+Doing so is generally not advised.
+
.option event_action transports string&!! unset
.cindex events
When the message is about to be written out, the command specified by
&%transport_filter%& is started up in a separate, parallel process, and
the entire message, including the header lines, is passed to it on its standard
-input (this in fact is done from a third process, to avoid deadlock). The
-command must be specified as an absolute path.
+input (this in fact is done from a third process, to avoid deadlock).
+The command must be specified as an absolute path.
+
+The process run by the command must use its standard input as the message
+data to be transformed, and write the results on its standard output.
The lines of the message that are written to the transport filter are
terminated by newline (&"\n"&). The message is passed to the filter before any
The expansion variables &$host$& and &$host_address$& are available when the
transport is a remote one. They contain the name and IP address of the host to
which the message is being sent. For example:
+. used to have $sender_address in this cmdline, but it's tainted
.code
transport_filter = /some/directory/transport-filter.pl \
- $host $host_address $sender_address $pipe_addresses
+ $host $host_address $pipe_addresses
.endd
Two problems arise if you want to use more complicated expansion items to
transport_filter = '/bin/cmd${if eq{$host}{a.b.c}{1}{2}}'
.endd
This runs the command &(/bin/cmd1)& if the host name is &'a.b.c'&, and
-&(/bin/cmd2)& otherwise. If double quotes had been used, they would have been
+&(/bin/cmd2)& otherwise.
+
+Option strings in general have any fully-surrounding double quote wrapping
+removed early in parsing (see &<<SECTstrings>>&).
+Then, for this option, quotes protect against whitespace being
+regarded as a separator while splitting into the command argument vector.
+Either double or single quotes can be used here;
+the former interprets backlash-quoted charachters
+and the latter does not.
+
+If double quotes had been used in this example, they would have been
stripped by Exim when it read the option's value. When the value is used, if
the single quotes were missing, the line would be split into two items,
&`/bin/cmd${if`& and &`eq{$host}{a.b.c}{1}{2}`&, and an error would occur when
used to determine the file or directory name for the delivery. Normally, the
contents of &$address_file$& are used in some way in the string expansion.
.endlist
+If the &%create_file%& option is set to a path which
+matches (see the option definition below for details)
+a file or directory name
+for the delivery, that name becomes de-tainted.
+
.cindex "tainted data" "in filenames"
.cindex appendfile "tainted data"
Tainted data may not be used for a file or directory name.
beneath.
The option must be set to one of the words &"anywhere"&, &"inhome"&, or
-&"belowhome"&. In the second and third cases, a home directory must have been
-set for the transport. This option is not useful when an explicit filename is
+&"belowhome"&, or to an absolute path.
+
+In the second and third cases, a home directory must have been
+set for the transport, and the file or directory being created must
+reside within it.
+The "belowhome" checking additionally checks for attempts to use "../"
+to evade the testing.
+This option is not useful when an explicit filename is
given for normal mailbox deliveries. It is intended for the case when filenames
are generated from users' &_.forward_& files. These are usually handled
by an &(appendfile)& transport called &%address_file%&. See also
&%file_must_exist%&.
+In the fourth case,
+the value given for this option must be an absolute path for an
+existing directory.
+The value is used for checking instead of a home directory;
+checking is done in "belowhome" mode.
+
+.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using appendfile create_file option"
+If "belowhome" checking is used, the file or directory path
+becomes de-tainted.
+
.option directory appendfile string&!! unset
This option is mutually exclusive with the &%file%& option, but one of &%file%&
(see &%maildir_format%& and &%mailstore_format%&), and see section
&<<SECTopdir>>& for further details of this form of delivery.
+The result of expansion must not be tainted, unless the &%create_file%& option
+specifies a path.
+
.option directory_file appendfile string&!! "see below"
.cindex "base62"
&%use_fcntl_lock%&, &%use_flock_lock%&, or &%use_lockfile%& must be set with
&%file%&.
+The result of expansion must not be tainted, unless the &%create_file%& option
+specifies a path.
+
.cindex "NFS" "lock file"
.cindex "locking files"
.cindex "lock files"
the &%environment%& option can be used to add additional variables to this
environment. The environment for the &(pipe)& transport is not subject
to the &%add_environment%& and &%keep_environment%& main config options.
+&*Note*&: Using enviroment variables loses track of tainted data.
+Writers of &(pipe)& transport commands should be wary of data supplied
+by potential attackers.
.display
&`DOMAIN `& the domain of the address
&`HOME `& the home directory, if set
Exim, and each argument is separately expanded, as described in section
&<<SECThowcommandrun>>& above.
+.cindex "tainted data"
+No part of the resulting command may be tainted.
+
.option environment pipe string&!! unset
.cindex "&(pipe)& transport" "environment for command"
.cindex "Cyrus"
The next example shows a transport and a router for a system where local
deliveries are handled by the Cyrus IMAP server.
+. Used to have R: local_part_suffix = .* + T: -m $local_part_suffix_v
+. but that suffix is tainted so cannot be used in a command arg
+. Really, you'd want to use a lookup for acceptable suffixes to do real detainting
.code
# transport
local_delivery_cyrus:
driver = pipe
command = /usr/cyrus/bin/deliver \
- -m ${substr_1:$local_part_suffix} -- $local_part
+ -- $local_part_data
user = cyrus
group = mail
return_output
local_user_cyrus:
driver = accept
check_local_user
- local_part_suffix = .*
transport = local_delivery_cyrus
.endd
Note the unsetting of &%message_prefix%& and &%message_suffix%&, and the use of
.option dkim_canon smtp string&!! unset
DKIM signing option. For details see section &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
-.option dkim_domain smtp string list&!! unset
+.option dkim_domain smtp "string list&!!" unset
DKIM signing option. For details see section &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
.option dkim_hash smtp string&!! sha256
DKIM signing option. For details see section &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
that is used for &%helo_data%& to be obtained by a DNS lookup of the outgoing
interface address, you could use this:
.code
-helo_data = ${lookup dnsdb{ptr=$sending_ip_address}{$value}\
+helo_data = ${lookup dnsdb{ptr=$sending_ip_address} \
+ {${listextract{1}{<\n $value}}} \
{$primary_hostname}}
.endd
The use of &%helo_data%& applies both to sending messages and when doing
callouts.
+.option host_name_extract smtp "string list&!!" "see below"
+.cindex "load balancer" "hosts behind"
+.cindex TLS resumption
+Some mail-accepting sites
+(notably Microsoft)
+operate many servers behind a network load-balancer. When this is done,
+with separated TLS session caches, TLS session resuption becomes problematic.
+It will only succeed when the same server happens to be selected by the
+load-balancer, matching the session stored in the client's cache.
+
+Exim can pull out a server name, if there is one, from the response to the
+client's SMTP EHLO command.
+The default value of this option:
+.code
+ ${if and { {match {$host} {.outlook.com\$}} \
+ {match {$item} {\N^250-([\w.]+)\s\N}} \
+ } {$1}}
+.endd
+suffices for one known case.
+During the expansion of this option the &$item$& variable will have the
+server's EHLO response.
+The result of the option expansion is included in the key used to store and
+retrieve the TLS session, for session resumption.
+
+Operators of high-load sites may wish to evaluate their logs for indications
+of other destination sites operating load-balancers, and develop a suitable
+expression for this option.
+The smtp:ehlo event and the &$tls_out_resumption$& variable
+will be useful for such work.
+
.option hosts smtp "string list&!!" unset
Hosts are associated with an address by a router such as &(dnslookup)&, which
finds the hosts by looking up the address domain in the DNS, or by
.option hosts_pipe_connect smtp "host list&!!" unset
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
-.cindex "pipelining" PIPE_CONNECT
+.cindex "pipelining" PIPECONNECT
If Exim is built with the SUPPORT_PIPE_CONNECT build option
this option controls which to hosts the facility watched for
and recorded, and used for subsequent connections.
See also the &%pipelining_connect_advertise_hosts%& main option.
Note:
-When the facility is used, the transport &%helo_data%& option
+When the facility is used, if the transport &%interface%& option is unset
+the &%helo_data%& option
will be expanded before the &$sending_ip_address$& variable
is filled in.
A check is made for the use of that variable, without the
&<<CHAPSMTPAUTH>>& for details of authentication.
-.option hosts_request_ocsp smtp "host list&!!" *
+.option hosts_request_ocsp smtp "host list&!!" "see below"
.cindex "TLS" "requiring for certain servers"
Exim will request a Certificate Status on a
TLS session for any host that matches this list.
&%tls_verify_certificates%& should also be set for the transport.
+The default is &"**"& if DANE is not in use for the connection,
+or if DANE-TA us used.
+It is empty if DANE-EE is used.
+
+.option hosts_require_alpn smtp "host list&!!" unset
+.cindex ALPN "require negotiation in client"
+.cindex TLS ALPN
+.cindex TLS "Application Layer Protocol Names"
+If the TLS library supports ALPN
+then a successful negotiation of ALPN will be required for any host
+matching the list, for TLS to be used.
+See also the &%tls_alpn%& option.
+
+&*Note*&: prevention of fallback to in-clear connection is not
+managed by this option; see &%hosts_require_tls%&.
+
.option hosts_require_dane smtp "host list&!!" unset
.cindex DANE "transport options"
.cindex DANE "requiring for certain servers"
This option provides a list of servers to which, provided they announce
authentication support, Exim will attempt to authenticate as a client when it
connects. If authentication fails
-.new
and &%hosts_require_auth%& permits,
-.wen
Exim will try to transfer the message unauthenticated.
See also chapter &<<CHAPSMTPAUTH>>& for details of authentication.
.option hosts_try_dane smtp "host list&!!" *
.cindex DANE "transport options"
.cindex DANE "attempting for certain servers"
-.new
If built with DANE support, Exim will look up a
TLSA record for any host matching the list,
If one is found and that lookup was DNSSEC-validated,
then Exim requires that a DANE-verified TLS connection is made for that host;
there will be no fallback to in-clear communication.
-.wen
See the &%dnssec_request_domains%& router and transport options.
See section &<<SECDANE>>&.
string &`IGNOREQUOTA`& is added to RCPT commands, provided that the LMTP server
has advertised support for IGNOREQUOTA in its response to the LHLO command.
-.option max_rcpt smtp integer 100
+.option max_rcpt smtp integer&!! 100
.cindex "RCPT" "maximum number of outgoing"
-This option limits the number of RCPT commands that are sent in a single
-SMTP message transaction. Each set of addresses is treated independently, and
+This option,
+after expansion,
+limits the number of RCPT commands that are sent in a single
+SMTP message transaction.
+A value setting of zero disables the limit.
+
+If a constant is given,
+each set of addresses is treated independently, and
so can cause parallel connections to the same host if &%remote_max_parallel%&
permits this.
-.new
.option message_linelength_limit smtp integer 998
.cindex "line length" limit
This option sets the maximum line length, in bytes, that the transport
It is generally wise to also check in the data ACL so that messages
received via SMTP can be refused without producing a bounce.
-.wen
.option multi_domain smtp boolean&!! true
&$address_data$&, &$domain_data$&, &$local_part_data$&,
&$host$&, &$host_address$& and &$host_port$&.
-.new
If the connection is DANE-enabled then this option is ignored;
only messages having the domain used for the DANE TLSA lookup are
sent on the connection.
-.wen
.option port smtp string&!! "see below"
.cindex "port" "sending TCP/IP"
transport. For details see section &<<SECTproxySOCKS>>&.
+.option tls_alpn smtp string&!! unset
+.cindex TLS "Application Layer Protocol Names"
+.cindex TLS ALPN
+.cindex ALPN "set name in client"
+If this option is set
+and the TLS library supports ALPN,
+the value given is used.
+
+As of writing no value has been standardised for email use.
+The authors suggest using &"smtp"&.
+
+
+
.option tls_certificate smtp string&!! unset
.cindex "TLS" "client certificate, location of"
.cindex "certificate" "client, location of"
ciphers is a preference order.
-.new
.option tls_resumption_hosts smtp "host list&!!" unset
.cindex TLS resumption
This option controls which connections to use the TLS resumption feature.
See &<<SECTresumption>>& for details.
-.wen
.cindex SNI "setting in client"
.vindex "&$tls_sni$&"
If this option is set
-.new
and the connection is not DANE-validated
-.wen
then it sets the $tls_out_sni variable and causes any
TLS session to pass this value as the Server Name Indication extension to
the remote side, which can be used by the remote side to select an appropriate
while verifying the server certificate,
checks will be included on the host name
(note that this will generally be the result of a DNS MX lookup)
-versus Subject and Subject-Alternate-Name fields. Wildcard names are permitted
+versus the Subject-Alternate-Name (or, if none, Subject-Name) fields.
+Wildcard names are permitted,
limited to being the initial component of a 3-or-more component FQDN.
There is no equivalent checking on client certificates.
The &%tls_verify_certificates%& option must also be set.
If both this option and &%tls_try_verify_hosts%& are unset
operation is as if this option selected all hosts.
+&*Warning*&: Including a host in &%tls_verify_hosts%& does not require
+that connections use TLS.
+Fallback to in-clear communication will be done unless restricted by
+the &%hosts_require_tls%& option.
.option utf8_downconvert smtp integer&!! -1
.cindex utf8 "address downconversion"
.vindex "&$sender_address$&"
At the start of an ACL for MAIL, the sender address may have been rewritten
-by a special SMTP-time rewrite rule (see section &<<SECTrewriteS>>&), but no
+by a special SMTP-time rewrite rule (see section &<<SSECTrewriteS>>&), but no
ordinary rewrite rules have yet been applied. If, however, the sender address
is verified in the ACL, it is rewritten before verification, and remains
rewritten thereafter. The subsequent value of &$sender_address$& is the
-.section "Rewriting flags" "SECID153"
+.subsection "Rewriting flags" "SSECID153"
There are three different kinds of flag that may appear on rewriting rules:
.ilist
-.section "Flags specifying which headers and envelope addresses to rewrite" &&&
- "SECID154"
-.cindex "rewriting" "flags"
+.subsection "Flags specifying which headers and envelope addresses to rewrite" &&&
+ "SSECID154"
+.cindex rewriting flags
If none of the following flag letters, nor the &"S"& flag (see section
-&<<SECTrewriteS>>&) are present, a main rewriting rule applies to all headers
+&<<SSECTrewriteS>>&) are present, a main rewriting rule applies to all headers
and to both the sender and recipient fields of the envelope, whereas a
transport-time rewriting rule just applies to all headers. Otherwise, the
rewriting rule is skipped unless the relevant addresses are being processed.
restrict this to special known cases in your own domains.
-.section "The SMTP-time rewriting flag" "SECTrewriteS"
-.cindex "SMTP" "rewriting malformed addresses"
-.cindex "RCPT" "rewriting argument of"
-.cindex "MAIL" "rewriting argument of"
+.subsection "The SMTP-time rewriting flag" SSECTrewriteS
+.cindex SMTP "rewriting malformed addresses"
+.cindex RCPT "rewriting argument of"
+.cindex MAIL "rewriting argument of"
The rewrite flag &"S"& specifies a rewrite of incoming envelope addresses at
SMTP time, as soon as an address is received in a MAIL or RCPT command, and
before any other processing; even before syntax checking. The pattern is
original address in the MAIL or RCPT command.
-.section "Flags controlling the rewriting process" "SECID155"
+.subsection "Flags controlling the rewriting process" SSECID155
There are four flags which control the way the rewriting process works. These
take effect only when a rule is invoked, that is, when the address is of the
correct type (matches the flags) and matches the pattern:
transfer of mail between servers that have no managerial connection with each
other.
+The name of an authenticator is limited to be &drivernamemax; ASCII characters long;
+prior to Exim 4.95 names would be silently truncated at this length, but now
+it is enforced.
+
.cindex "AUTH" "description of"
.cindex "ESMTP extensions" AUTH
Very briefly, the way SMTP authentication works is as follows:
-.ilist
+.olist
The server advertises a number of authentication &'mechanisms'& in response to
the client's EHLO command.
.next
Successful authentication sets up information used by the
&%authresults%& expansion item.
-
+.cindex authentication "failure event, server"
+If an authenticator is run and does not succeed,
+an event (see &<<CHAPevents>>&) of type "auth:fail" is raised.
+While the event is being processed the variables
+&$sender_host_authenticated$& (with the authenticator name)
+and &$authenticated_fail_id$& (as set by the authenticator &%server_set_id%& option)
+will be valid.
+If the event is serviced and a string is returned then the string will be logged
+instead of the default log line.
+See <<CHAPevents>> for details on events.
.section "Testing server authentication" "SECID169"
Exim abandons trying to send the message to the host for the moment. It will
try again later. If there are any backup hosts available, they are tried in the
usual way.
+
+.next
+.cindex authentication "failure event, client"
+If the response to authentication is a permanent error (5&'xx'& code),
+an event (see &<<CHAPevents>>&) of type "auth:fail" is raised.
+While the event is being processed the variable
+&$sender_host_authenticated$& (with the authenticator name)
+will be valid.
+If the event is serviced and a string is returned then the string will be logged.
+See <<CHAPevents>> for details on events.
+
.next
If the response to authentication is a permanent error (5&'xx'& code), Exim
carries on searching the list of authenticators and tries another one if
.endd
The lack of colons means that the entire text is sent with the AUTH
command, with the circumflex characters converted to NULs.
-.new
Note that due to the ambiguity of parsing three consectutive circumflex characters
there is no way to provide a password having a leading circumflex.
-.wen
A similar example
Note that Dovecot must be configured to use auth-client not auth-userdb.
If you are using Dovecot to authenticate POP/IMAP clients, it might be helpful
to use the same mechanisms for SMTP authentication. This is a server
-authenticator only. There is only one option:
+authenticator only. There is only one non-generic option:
.option server_socket dovecot string unset
dovecot_plain:
driver = dovecot
public_name = PLAIN
+ server_advertise_condition = ${if def:tls_in_cipher}
server_socket = /var/run/dovecot/auth-client
server_set_id = $auth1
server_socket = /var/run/dovecot/auth-client
server_set_id = $auth1
.endd
+
+&*Note*&: plaintext authentication methods such as PLAIN and LOGIN
+should not be advertised on cleartext SMTP connections.
+See the discussion in section &<<SECTplain_TLS>>&.
+
If the SMTP connection is encrypted, or if &$sender_host_address$& is equal to
&$received_ip_address$& (that is, the connection is local), the &"secured"&
option is passed in the Dovecot authentication command. If, for a TLS
The macro _HAVE_AUTH_GSASL_SCRAM_SHA_256 will be defined
when this happens.
-.new
To see the list of mechanisms supported by the library run Exim with "auth" debug
enabled and look for a line containing "GNU SASL supports".
Note however that some may not have been tested from Exim.
-.wen
.option client_authz gsasl string&!! unset
.option client_spassword gsasl string&!! unset
-.new
This option is only supported for library versions 1.9.1 and greater.
The macro _HAVE_AUTH_GSASL_SCRAM_S_KEY will be defined when this is so.
-.wen
If a SCRAM mechanism is being used and this option is set
and correctly sized
Note that this value will depend on the salt and iteration-count
supplied by the server.
The option is expanded before use.
-.new
During the expansion &$auth1$& is set with the client username,
&$auth2$& with the iteration count, and
&$auth3$& with the salt.
plus the calculated salted password value value in &$auth4$&,
during the expansion of the &%client_set_id%& option.
A side-effect of this expansion can be used to prime the cache.
-.wen
.option server_channelbinding gsasl boolean false
. Do not plan to rely upon this feature for security, ever, without consulting
. with a subject matter expert (a cryptographic engineer).
-.new
This option was deprecated in previous releases due to doubts over
the "Triple Handshake" vulnerability.
Exim takes suitable precausions (requiring Extended Master Secret if TLS
Session Resumption was used) for safety.
-.wen
.option server_hostname gsasl string&!! "see below"
(see &<<CHAPTLS>>&).
If an authenticator of this type is configured it is
-run before any SMTP-level communication is done,
+run immediately after a TLS connection being negotiated
+(due to either STARTTLS or TLS-on-connect)
and can authenticate the connection.
-If it does, SMTP authentication is not offered.
+If it does, SMTP authentication is not subsequently offered.
A maximum of one authenticator of this type may be present.
(If an API is found to let OpenSSL be configured in this way,
let the Exim Maintainers know and we'll likely use it).
.next
-With GnuTLS, if an explicit list is used for the &%tls_privatekey%& main option
-main option, it must be ordered to match the &%tls_certificate%& list.
+With GnuTLS, if an explicit list is used for the &%tls_privatekey%& main option,
+it must be ordered to match the &%tls_certificate%& list.
.next
Some other recently added features may only be available in one or the other.
This should be documented with the feature. If the documentation does not
explicitly state that the feature is infeasible in the other TLS
implementation, then patches are welcome.
-.new
.next
The output from "exim -bV" will show which (if any) support was included
in the build.
Also, the macro "_HAVE_OPENSSL" or "_HAVE_GNUTLS" will be defined.
-.wen
.endlist
(again depending on the &%tls_cipher%& log selector).
-.section "Requesting and verifying client certificates" "SECID183"
+.subsection "Requesting and verifying client certificates"
.cindex "certificate" "verification of client"
.cindex "TLS" "client certificate verification"
If you want an Exim server to request a certificate when negotiating a TLS
certificate is supplied, &$tls_in_peerdn$& is empty.
-.section "Revoked certificates" "SECID184"
-.cindex "TLS" "revoked certificates"
-.cindex "revocation list"
-.cindex "certificate" "revocation list"
-.cindex "OCSP" "stapling"
-Certificate issuing authorities issue Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) when
-certificates are revoked. If you have such a list, you can pass it to an Exim
-server using the global option called &%tls_crl%& and to an Exim client using
-an identically named option for the &(smtp)& transport. In each case, the value
-of the option is expanded and must then be the name of a file that contains a
-CRL in PEM format.
-The downside is that clients have to periodically re-download a potentially huge
-file from every certificate authority they know of.
-
-The way with most moving parts at query time is Online Certificate
-Status Protocol (OCSP), where the client verifies the certificate
-against an OCSP server run by the CA. This lets the CA track all
-usage of the certs. It requires running software with access to the
-private key of the CA, to sign the responses to the OCSP queries. OCSP
-is based on HTTP and can be proxied accordingly.
-
-The only widespread OCSP server implementation (known to this writer)
-comes as part of OpenSSL and aborts on an invalid request, such as
-connecting to the port and then disconnecting. This requires
-re-entering the passphrase each time some random client does this.
-
-The third way is OCSP Stapling; in this, the server using a certificate
-issued by the CA periodically requests an OCSP proof of validity from
-the OCSP server, then serves it up inline as part of the TLS
-negotiation. This approach adds no extra round trips, does not let the
-CA track users, scales well with number of certs issued by the CA and is
-resilient to temporary OCSP server failures, as long as the server
-starts retrying to fetch an OCSP proof some time before its current
-proof expires. The downside is that it requires server support.
-
-Unless Exim is built with the support disabled,
-or with GnuTLS earlier than version 3.3.16 / 3.4.8
-support for OCSP stapling is included.
-
-There is a global option called &%tls_ocsp_file%&.
-The file specified therein is expected to be in DER format, and contain
-an OCSP proof. Exim will serve it as part of the TLS handshake. This
-option will be re-expanded for SNI, if the &%tls_certificate%& option
-contains &`tls_in_sni`&, as per other TLS options.
-
-Exim does not at this time implement any support for fetching a new OCSP
-proof. The burden is on the administrator to handle this, outside of
-Exim. The file specified should be replaced atomically, so that the
-contents are always valid. Exim will expand the &%tls_ocsp_file%& option
-on each connection, so a new file will be handled transparently on the
-next connection.
-
-When built with OpenSSL Exim will check for a valid next update timestamp
-in the OCSP proof; if not present, or if the proof has expired, it will be
-ignored.
-
-For the client to be able to verify the stapled OCSP the server must
-also supply, in its stapled information, any intermediate
-certificates for the chain leading to the OCSP proof from the signer
-of the server certificate. There may be zero or one such. These
-intermediate certificates should be added to the server OCSP stapling
-file named by &%tls_ocsp_file%&.
-
-Note that the proof only covers the terminal server certificate,
-not any of the chain from CA to it.
-
-There is no current way to staple a proof for a client certificate.
-
-.code
- A helper script "ocsp_fetch.pl" for fetching a proof from a CA
- OCSP server is supplied. The server URL may be included in the
- server certificate, if the CA is helpful.
-
- One failure mode seen was the OCSP Signer cert expiring before the end
- of validity of the OCSP proof. The checking done by Exim/OpenSSL
- noted this as invalid overall, but the re-fetch script did not.
-.endd
-
-
-.new
-.section "Caching of static server configuration items" "SECTserverTLScache"
+.subsection "Caching of static server configuration items" "SSECTserverTLScache"
.cindex certificate caching
.cindex privatekey caching
.cindex crl caching
The value &"system"& results in no caching under GnuTLS.
The macro _HAVE_TLS_CA_CACHE will be defined if the suffix for "system"
-is acceptable in configurations for the Exim executavble.
+is acceptable in configurations for the Exim executable.
Caching of the system Certificate Authorities bundle can
-save siginificant time and processing on every TLS connection
+save significant time and processing on every TLS connection
accepted by Exim.
-.wen
The &%tls_verify_cert_hostnames%& option lists hosts for which additional
name checks are made on the server certificate.
-.new
The match against this list is, as per other Exim usage, the
IP for the host. That is most closely associated with the
name on the DNS A (or AAAA) record for the host.
However, the name that needs to be in the certificate
is the one at the head of any CNAME chain leading to the A record.
-.wen
The option defaults to always checking.
The &(smtp)& transport has two OCSP-related options:
-.new
-.section "Caching of static client configuration items" "SECTclientTLScache"
+.subsection "Caching of static client configuration items" SECTclientTLScache
.cindex certificate caching
.cindex privatekey caching
.cindex crl caching
The value &"system"& results in no caching under GnuTLS.
The macro _HAVE_TLS_CA_CACHE will be defined if the suffix for "system"
-is acceptable in configurations for the Exim executavble.
+is acceptable in configurations for the Exim executable.
Caching of the system Certificate Authorities bundle can
-save siginificant time and processing on every TLS connection
+save significant time and processing on every TLS connection
initiated by Exim.
-.wen
only point of caution. The &$tls_out_sni$& variable will be set to this string
for the lifetime of the client connection (including during authentication).
-.new
If DANE validated the connection attempt then the value of the &%tls_sni%& option
-is forced to the domain part of the recipient address.
-.wen
+is forced to the name of the destination host, after any MX- or CNAME-following.
Except during SMTP client sessions, if &$tls_in_sni$& is set then it is a string
received from a client.
0.5.10. (Its presence predates the current API which Exim uses, so if Exim
built, then you have SNI support).
+.subsection ALPN
+.cindex TLS ALPN
+.cindex ALPN "general information"
+.cindex TLS "Application Layer Protocol Names"
+There is a TLS feature related to SNI
+called Application Layer Protocol Name (ALPN).
+This is intended to declare, or select, what protocol layer will be using a TLS
+connection.
+The client for the connection proposes a set of protocol names, and
+the server responds with a selected one.
+It is not, as of 2021, commonly used for SMTP connections.
+However, to guard against misdirected or malicious use of web clients
+(which often do use ALPN) against MTA ports, Exim by default check that
+there is no incompatible ALPN specified by a client for a TLS connection.
+If there is, the connection is rejected.
+
+As a client Exim does not supply ALPN by default.
+The behaviour of both client and server can be configured using the options
+&%tls_alpn%& and &%hosts_require_alpn%&.
+There are no variables providing observability.
+Some feature-specific logging may appear on denied connections, but this
+depends on the behaviour of the peer
+(not all peers can send a feature-specific TLS Alert).
+
+This feature is available when Exim is built with
+OpenSSL 1.1.0 or later or GnuTLS 3.2.0 or later;
+the macro _HAVE_TLS_ALPN will be defined when this is so.
+
.section "Multiple messages on the same encrypted TCP/IP connection" &&&
&url(https://www.ssllabs.com/).
-.section "Certificate chains" "SECID186"
+.subsection "Certificate chains" SECID186
A file named by &%tls_certificate%& may contain more than one
certificate. This is useful in the case where the certificate that is being
sent is validated by an intermediate certificate which the other end does
-.section "Self-signed certificates" "SECID187"
+.subsection "Self-signed certificates" SECID187
.cindex "certificate" "self-signed"
You can create a self-signed certificate using the &'req'& command provided
with OpenSSL, like this:
user certificates, see the &'General implementation overview'& chapter of the
Open-source PKI book, available online at
&url(https://sourceforge.net/projects/ospkibook/).
+
+
+.subsection "Revoked certificates"
+.cindex "TLS" "revoked certificates"
+.cindex "revocation list"
+.cindex "certificate" "revocation list"
+.cindex "OCSP" "stapling"
+There are three ways for a certificate to be made unusable
+before its expiry.
+
+.ilist
+Certificate issuing authorities issue Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) when
+certificates are revoked. If you have such a list, you can pass it to an Exim
+server using the global option called &%tls_crl%& and to an Exim client using
+an identically named option for the &(smtp)& transport. In each case, the value
+of the option is expanded and must then be the name of a file that contains a
+CRL in PEM format.
+The downside is that clients have to periodically re-download a potentially huge
+file from every certificate authority they know of.
+
+.next
+The way with most moving parts at query time is Online Certificate
+Status Protocol (OCSP), where the client verifies the certificate
+against an OCSP server run by the CA. This lets the CA track all
+usage of the certs. It requires running software with access to the
+private key of the CA, to sign the responses to the OCSP queries. OCSP
+is based on HTTP and can be proxied accordingly.
+
+The only widespread OCSP server implementation (known to this writer)
+comes as part of OpenSSL and aborts on an invalid request, such as
+connecting to the port and then disconnecting. This requires
+re-entering the passphrase each time some random client does this.
+
+.next
+The third way is OCSP Stapling; in this, the server using a certificate
+issued by the CA periodically requests an OCSP proof of validity from
+the OCSP server, then serves it up inline as part of the TLS
+negotiation. This approach adds no extra round trips, does not let the
+CA track users, scales well with number of certs issued by the CA and is
+resilient to temporary OCSP server failures, as long as the server
+starts retrying to fetch an OCSP proof some time before its current
+proof expires. The downside is that it requires server support.
+
+Unless Exim is built with the support disabled,
+or with GnuTLS earlier than version 3.3.16 / 3.4.8
+support for OCSP stapling is included.
+
+There is a global option called &%tls_ocsp_file%&.
+The file specified therein is expected to be in DER format, and contain
+an OCSP proof. Exim will serve it as part of the TLS handshake. This
+option will be re-expanded for SNI, if the &%tls_certificate%& option
+contains &`tls_in_sni`&, as per other TLS options.
+
+Exim does not at this time implement any support for fetching a new OCSP
+proof. The burden is on the administrator to handle this, outside of
+Exim. The file specified should be replaced atomically, so that the
+contents are always valid. Exim will expand the &%tls_ocsp_file%& option
+on each connection, so a new file will be handled transparently on the
+next connection.
+
+When built with OpenSSL Exim will check for a valid next update timestamp
+in the OCSP proof; if not present, or if the proof has expired, it will be
+ignored.
+
+For the client to be able to verify the stapled OCSP the server must
+also supply, in its stapled information, any intermediate
+certificates for the chain leading to the OCSP proof from the signer
+of the server certificate. There may be zero or one such. These
+intermediate certificates should be added to the server OCSP stapling
+file named by &%tls_ocsp_file%&.
+
+Note that the proof only covers the terminal server certificate,
+not any of the chain from CA to it.
+
+There is no current way to staple a proof for a client certificate.
+
+.code
+ A helper script "ocsp_fetch.pl" for fetching a proof from a CA
+ OCSP server is supplied. The server URL may be included in the
+ server certificate, if the CA is helpful.
+
+ One failure mode seen was the OCSP Signer cert expiring before the end
+ of validity of the OCSP proof. The checking done by Exim/OpenSSL
+ noted this as invalid overall, but the re-fetch script did not.
+.endd
+.endlist
+
+
.ecindex IIDencsmtp1
.ecindex IIDencsmtp2
-.new
.section "TLS Resumption" "SECTresumption"
.cindex TLS resumption
TLS Session Resumption for TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 connections can be used (defined
.endlist
.endlist
-.wen
.section DANE "SECDANE"
for every possible target server. It also scales (slightly) better than having to maintain on an SMTP
client a copy of the standard CAs bundle. It also means not having to pay a CA for certificates.
-DANE requires a server operator to do three things: 1) run DNSSEC. This provides assurance to clients
+DANE requires a server operator to do three things:
+.olist
+Run DNSSEC. This provides assurance to clients
that DNS lookups they do for the server have not been tampered with. The domain MX record applying
to this server, its A record, its TLSA record and any associated CNAME records must all be covered by
DNSSEC.
-2) add TLSA DNS records. These say what the server certificate for a TLS connection should be.
-3) offer a server certificate, or certificate chain, in TLS connections which is is anchored by one of the TLSA records.
+.next
+Add TLSA DNS records. These say what the server certificate for a TLS connection should be.
+.next
+Offer a server certificate, or certificate chain, in TLS connections which is anchored by one of the TLSA records.
+.endlist
There are no changes to Exim specific to server-side operation of DANE.
Support for client-side operation of DANE can be included at compile time by defining SUPPORT_DANE=yes
in &_Local/Makefile_&.
If it has been included, the macro "_HAVE_DANE" will be defined.
+.subsection "DNS records"
A TLSA record consist of 4 fields, the "Certificate Usage", the
"Selector", the "Matching type", and the "Certificate Association Data".
For a detailed description of the TLSA record see
This means no MD5 and no SHA-1. SHA2-256 is the minimum for reliable
interoperability (and probably the maximum too, in 2018).
+.subsection "Interaction with OCSP"
The use of OCSP-stapling should be considered, allowing for fast revocation of certificates (which would otherwise
be limited by the DNS TTL on the TLSA records). However, this is likely to only be usable with DANE-TA. NOTE: the
default of requesting OCSP for all hosts is modified iff DANE is in use, to:
those who use &%hosts_require_ocsp%&, should consider the interaction with DANE in their OCSP settings.
+.subsection "Client configuration"
For client-side DANE there are three new smtp transport options, &%hosts_try_dane%&, &%hosts_require_dane%&
and &%dane_require_tls_ciphers%&.
The &"require"& variant will result in failure if the target host is not
The router and transport option &%dnssec_request_domains%& must not be
set to &"never"&, and &%dnssec_require_domains%& is ignored.
+.subsection Observability
If verification was successful using DANE then the "CV" item in the delivery log line will show as "CV=dane".
There is a new variable &$tls_out_dane$& which will have "yes" if
The &$event_data$& will be one of the Result Types defined in
Section 4.3 of that document.
+.subsection General
Under GnuTLS, DANE is only supported from version 3.0.0 onwards.
DANE is specified in published RFCs and decouples certificate authority trust
selection from a "race to the bottom" of "you must trust everything for mail
-to get through". There is an alternative technology called MTA-STS, which
+to get through".
+There is an alternative technology called MTA-STS, which
instead publishes MX trust anchor information on an HTTPS website. At the
time this text was last updated, MTA-STS was still a draft, not yet an RFC.
Exim has no support for MTA-STS as a client, but Exim mail server operators
testing as possible at RCPT time.
-.section "The non-SMTP ACLs" "SECID190"
+.subsection "The non-SMTP ACLs" SECID190
.cindex "non-SMTP messages" "ACLs for"
The non-SMTP ACLs apply to all non-interactive incoming messages, that is, they
apply to batched SMTP as well as to non-SMTP messages. (Batched SMTP is not
temporary error for these kinds of message.
-.section "The SMTP connect ACL" "SECID191"
+.subsection "The SMTP connect ACL" SECID191
.cindex "SMTP" "connection, ACL for"
.oindex &%smtp_banner%&
The ACL test specified by &%acl_smtp_connect%& happens at the start of an SMTP
the message override the banner message that is otherwise specified by the
&%smtp_banner%& option.
+For tls-on-connect connections, the ACL is run before the TLS connection
+is accepted; if the ACL does not accept then the TCP connection is dropped without
+any TLS startup attempt and without any SMTP response being transmitted.
+
-.section "The EHLO/HELO ACL" "SECID192"
+.subsection "The EHLO/HELO ACL" SECID192
.cindex "EHLO" "ACL for"
.cindex "HELO" "ACL for"
The ACL test specified by &%acl_smtp_helo%& happens when the client issues an
an EHLO response.
-.section "The DATA ACLs" "SECID193"
+.subsection "The DATA ACLs" SECID193
.cindex "DATA" "ACLs for"
Two ACLs are associated with the DATA command, because it is two-stage
command, with two responses being sent to the client.
the &%acl_smtp_dkim%&
and the &%acl_smtp_mime%& ACLs.
-.section "The SMTP DKIM ACL" "SECTDKIMACL"
+.subsection "The SMTP DKIM ACL" SECTDKIMACL
The &%acl_smtp_dkim%& ACL is available only when Exim is compiled with DKIM support
enabled (which is the default).
For details on the operation of DKIM, see section &<<SECDKIM>>&.
-.section "The SMTP MIME ACL" "SECID194"
+.subsection "The SMTP MIME ACL" SECID194
The &%acl_smtp_mime%& option is available only when Exim is compiled with the
content-scanning extension. For details, see chapter &<<CHAPexiscan>>&.
This ACL is evaluated after &%acl_smtp_dkim%& but before &%acl_smtp_data%&.
-.section "The SMTP PRDR ACL" "SECTPRDRACL"
+.subsection "The SMTP PRDR ACL" SECTPRDRACL
.cindex "PRDR" "ACL for"
.oindex "&%prdr_enable%&"
The &%acl_smtp_data_prdr%& ACL is available only when Exim is compiled
If the ACL is not defined, processing completes as if
the feature was not requested by the client.
-.section "The QUIT ACL" "SECTQUITACL"
+.subsection "The QUIT ACL" SECTQUITACL
.cindex "QUIT, ACL for"
The ACL for the SMTP QUIT command is anomalous, in that the outcome of the ACL
does not affect the response code to QUIT, which is always 221. Thus, the ACL
connection is closed. In these special cases, the QUIT ACL does not run.
-.section "The not-QUIT ACL" "SECTNOTQUITACL"
+.subsection "The not-QUIT ACL" SECTNOTQUITACL
.vindex &$acl_smtp_notquit$&
The not-QUIT ACL, specified by &%acl_smtp_notquit%&, is run in most cases when
an SMTP session ends without sending QUIT. However, when Exim itself is in bad
The text in a &%message%& modifier is literal; any quotes are taken as
literals, but because the string is expanded, backslash escapes are processed
-anyway. If the message contains newlines, this gives rise to a multi-line SMTP
+anyway.
+If the message contains newlines, this gives rise to a multi-line SMTP
response.
+A long message line will also be split into multi-line SMTP responses,
+on word boundaries if possible.
.vindex "&$acl_verify_message$&"
-For ACLs that are called by an &%acl =%& ACL condition, the message is
-stored in &$acl_verify_message$&, from which the calling ACL may use it.
+While the text is being expanded, the &$acl_verify_message$& variable
+contains any message previously set.
+Afterwards, &$acl_verify_message$& is cleared.
If &%message%& is used on a statement that verifies an address, the message
specified overrides any message that is generated by the verification process.
This control turns on debug logging, almost as though Exim had been invoked
with &`-d`&, with the output going to a new logfile in the usual logs directory,
by default called &'debuglog'&.
-The filename can be adjusted with the &'tag'& option, which
-may access any variables already defined. The logging may be adjusted with
-the &'opts'& option, which takes the same values as the &`-d`& command-line
-option.
-Logging started this way may be stopped, and the file removed,
-with the &'kill'& option.
+
+Logging set up by the control will be maintained across spool residency.
+
+Options are a slash-separated list.
+If an option takes an argument, the option name and argument are separated by
+an equals character.
+Several options are supported:
+.display
+tag=<&'suffix'&> The filename can be adjusted with thise option.
+ The argument, which may access any variables already defined,
+ is appended to the default name.
+
+opts=<&'debug&~options'&> The argument specififes what is to be logged,
+ using the same values as the &`-d`& command-line option.
+
+stop Logging started with this control may be
+ stopped by using this option.
+
+kill Logging started with this control may be
+ stopped by using this option.
+ Additionally the debug file will be removed,
+ providing one means for speculative debug tracing.
+
+pretrigger=<&'size'&> This option specifies a memory buffuer to be used
+ for pre-trigger debug capture.
+ Debug lines are recorded in the buffer until
+ and if) a trigger occurs; at which time they are
+ dumped to the debug file. Newer lines displace the
+ oldest if the buffer is full. After a trigger,
+ immediate writes to file are done as normal.
+
+trigger=<&'reason'&> This option selects cause for the pretrigger buffer
+ see above) to be copied to file. A reason of &*now*&
+ take effect immediately; one of &*paniclog*& triggers
+ on a write to the panic log.
+.endd
+
Some examples (which depend on variables that don't exist in all
contexts):
.code
control = debug/opts=+expand+acl
control = debug/tag=.$message_exim_id/opts=+expand
control = debug/kill
+ control = debug/opts=+all/pretrigger=1024/trigger=paniclog
+ control = debug/trigger=now
.endd
.vitem &*control&~=&~fakedefer/*&<&'message'&>
.cindex "fake defer"
.cindex "defer, fake"
+.cindex fakedefer
This control works in exactly the same way as &%fakereject%& (described below)
except that it causes an SMTP 450 response after the message data instead of a
550 response. You must take care when using &%fakedefer%& because it causes the
.vitem &*control&~=&~fakereject/*&<&'message'&>
.cindex "fake rejection"
.cindex "rejection, fake"
+.cindex fakereject
This control is permitted only for the MAIL, RCPT, and DATA ACLs, in other
words, only when an SMTP message is being received. If Exim accepts the
message, instead the final 250 response, a 550 rejection message is sent.
DATA, MIME or DKIM ACLs for a message delivered by cutthrough routing.
More than one header can be removed at the same time by using a colon separated
-list of header names. The header matching is case insensitive. Wildcards are
-not permitted, nor is list expansion performed, so you cannot use hostlists to
+list of header specifiers.
+If a specifier does not start with a circumflex (^)
+then it is treated as a header name.
+The header name matching is case insensitive.
+If it does, then it is treated as a (front-anchored)
+regular expression applied to the whole header.
+
+&*Note*&: The colon terminating a header name will need to be doubled
+if used in an RE, and there can legitimately be whitepace before it.
+
+Example:
+.code
+remove_header = \N^(?i)Authentication-Results\s*::\s*example.org;\N
+.endd
+
+List expansion is not performed, so you cannot use hostlists to
create a list of headers, however both connection and message variable expansion
are performed (&%$acl_c_*%& and &%$acl_m_*%&), illustrated in this example:
.code
warn message = Remove internal headers
remove_header = $acl_c_ihdrs
.endd
-Header names for removal are accumulated during the MAIL, RCPT, and predata ACLs.
+Header specifiers for removal are accumulated during the MAIL, RCPT, and predata ACLs.
Matching header lines are removed from the message before processing the DATA and MIME ACLs.
If multiple header lines match, all are removed.
There is no harm in attempting to remove the same header twice nor in removing
-a non-existent header. Further header lines to be removed may be accumulated
-during the DATA and MIME ACLs, after which they are removed from the message,
-if present. In the case of non-SMTP messages, headers to be removed are
-accumulated during the non-SMTP ACLs, and are removed from the message after
+a non-existent header. Further header specifiers for removal may be accumulated
+during the DATA and MIME ACLs, after which matching headers are removed
+if present. In the case of non-SMTP messages, remove specifiers are
+accumulated during the non-SMTP ACLs, and are acted on after
all the ACLs have run. If a message is rejected after DATA or by the non-SMTP
ACL, there really is no effect because there is no logging of what headers
would have been removed.
.cindex "domain" "ACL checking"
.cindex "&ACL;" "testing a recipient domain"
.vindex "&$domain_data$&"
-This condition is relevant only after a RCPT command. It checks that the domain
+This condition is relevant only in a RCPT ACL. It checks that the domain
of the recipient address is in the domain list. If percent-hack processing is
enabled, it is done before this test is done. If the check succeeds with a
lookup, the result of the lookup is placed in &$domain_data$& until the next
.cindex "local part" "ACL checking"
.cindex "&ACL;" "testing a local part"
.vindex "&$local_part_data$&"
-This condition is relevant only after a RCPT command. It checks that the local
+This condition is relevant only in a RCPT ACL. It checks that the local
part of the recipient address is in the list. If percent-hack processing is
enabled, it is done before this test. If the check succeeds with a lookup, the
result of the lookup is placed in &$local_part_data$&, which remains set until
.cindex "&%recipients%& ACL condition"
.cindex "recipient" "ACL checking"
.cindex "&ACL;" "testing a recipient"
-This condition is relevant only after a RCPT command. It checks the entire
+This condition is relevant only in a RCPT ACL. It checks the entire
recipient address against a list of recipients.
.vitem &*regex&~=&~*&<&'list&~of&~regular&~expressions'&>
non-SMTP ACLs. It causes the incoming message to be scanned for a match with
any of the regular expressions. For details, see chapter &<<CHAPexiscan>>&.
+.vitem &*seen&~=&~*&<&'parameters'&>
+.cindex "&%seen%& ACL condition"
+This condition can be used to test if a situation has been previously met,
+for example for greylisting.
+Details are given in section &<<SECTseen>>&.
+
.vitem &*sender_domains&~=&~*&<&'domain&~list'&>
.cindex "&%sender_domains%& ACL condition"
.cindex "sender" "ACL checking"
(which is the most common usage), because it prevents a DNS failure from
blocking mail. However, you can change this behaviour by putting one of the
following special items in the list:
-.display
-&`+include_unknown `& behave as if the item is on the list
-&`+exclude_unknown `& behave as if the item is not on the list (default)
-&`+defer_unknown `& give a temporary error
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 25* left 75* left
+.irow "+include_unknown" "behave as if the item is on the list"
+.irow "+exclude_unknown" "behave as if the item is not on the list (default)"
+.irow "+defer_unknown " "give a temporary error"
+.endtable
.cindex "&`+include_unknown`&"
.cindex "&`+exclude_unknown`&"
.cindex "&`+defer_unknown`&"
-.section "Specifying the IP address for a DNS list lookup" "SECID201"
+.subsection "Specifying the IP address for a DNS list lookup" SECID201
.cindex "DNS list" "keyed by explicit IP address"
By default, the IP address that is used in a DNS list lookup is the IP address
of the calling host. However, you can specify another IP address by listing it
-.section "DNS lists keyed on domain names" "SECID202"
+.subsection "DNS lists keyed on domain names" SECID202
.cindex "DNS list" "keyed by domain name"
There are some lists that are keyed on domain names rather than inverted IP
addresses (see, e.g., the &'domain based zones'& link at
-.section "Multiple explicit keys for a DNS list" "SECTmulkeyfor"
+.subsection "Multiple explicit keys for a DNS list" SECTmulkeyfor
.cindex "DNS list" "multiple keys for"
The syntax described above for looking up explicitly-defined values (either
names or IP addresses) in a DNS blacklist is a simplification. After the domain
-.section "Data returned by DNS lists" "SECID203"
+.subsection "Data returned by DNS lists" SECID203
.cindex "DNS list" "data returned from"
DNS lists are constructed using address records in the DNS. The original RBL
just used the address 127.0.0.1 on the right hand side of each record, but the
RBL+ list and some other lists use a number of values with different meanings.
The values used on the RBL+ list are:
-.display
-127.1.0.1 RBL
-127.1.0.2 DUL
-127.1.0.3 DUL and RBL
-127.1.0.4 RSS
-127.1.0.5 RSS and RBL
-127.1.0.6 RSS and DUL
-127.1.0.7 RSS and DUL and RBL
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.irow 127.1.0.1 "RBL"
+.irow 127.1.0.2 "DUL"
+.irow 127.1.0.3 "DUL and RBL"
+.irow 127.1.0.4 "RSS"
+.irow 127.1.0.5 "RSS and RBL"
+.irow 127.1.0.6 "RSS and DUL"
+.irow 127.1.0.7 "RSS and DUL and RBL"
+.endtable
Section &<<SECTaddmatcon>>& below describes how you can distinguish between
different values. Some DNS lists may return more than one address record;
see section &<<SECThanmuldnsrec>>& for details of how they are checked.
-.new
Values returned by a properly running DBSBL should be in the 127.0.0.0/8
range. If a DNSBL operator loses control of the domain, lookups on it
may start returning other addresses. Because of this, Exim now ignores
returned values outside the 127/8 region.
-.wen
-.section "Variables set from DNS lists" "SECID204"
+.subsection "Variables set from DNS lists" SECID204
.cindex "expansion" "variables, set from DNS list"
.cindex "DNS list" "variables set from"
.vindex "&$dnslist_domain$&"
-.section "Additional matching conditions for DNS lists" "SECTaddmatcon"
+.subsection "Additional matching conditions for DNS lists" SECTaddmatcon
.cindex "DNS list" "matching specific returned data"
You can add an equals sign and an IP address after a &%dnslists%& domain name
in order to restrict its action to DNS records with a matching right hand side.
-.section "Negated DNS matching conditions" "SECID205"
+.subsection "Negated DNS matching conditions" SECID205
You can supply a negative list of IP addresses as part of a &%dnslists%&
condition. Whereas
.code
-.section "Handling multiple DNS records from a DNS list" "SECThanmuldnsrec"
+.subsection "Handling multiple DNS records from a DNS list" SECThanmuldnsrec
A DNS lookup for a &%dnslists%& condition may return more than one DNS record,
thereby providing more than one IP address. When an item in a &%dnslists%& list
is followed by &`=`& or &`&&`& and a list of IP addresses, in order to restrict
-.section "Detailed information from merged DNS lists" "SECTmordetinf"
+.subsection "Detailed information from merged DNS lists" SECTmordetinf
.cindex "DNS list" "information from merged"
When the facility for restricting the matching IP values in a DNS list is used,
the text from the TXT record that is set in &$dnslist_text$& may not reflect
-.section "DNS lists and IPv6" "SECTmorednslistslast"
+.subsection "DNS lists and IPv6" SECTmorednslistslast
.cindex "IPv6" "DNS black lists"
.cindex "DNS list" "IPv6 usage"
If Exim is asked to do a dnslist lookup for an IPv6 address, it inverts it
dnslists = <; dnsbl.example.com/<|$acl_m_addrslist
.endd
+
+.section "Previously seen user and hosts" "SECTseen"
+.cindex "&%seen%& ACL condition"
+.cindex greylisting
+The &%seen%& ACL condition can be used to test whether a
+situation has been previously met.
+It uses a hints database to record a timestamp against a key.
+The syntax of the condition is:
+.display
+&`seen =`& <&'optional flag'&><&'time interval'&> &`/`& <&'options'&>
+.endd
+
+For example,
+.code
+defer seen = -5m / key=${sender_host_address}_$local_part@$domain
+.endd
+in a RCPT ACL will implement simple greylisting.
+
+The parameters for the condition are
+a possible minus sign,
+then an interval,
+then, slash-separated, a list of options.
+The interval is taken as an offset before the current time,
+and used for the test.
+If the interval is preceded by a minus sign then the condition returns
+whether a record is found which is before the test time.
+Otherwise, the condition returns whether one is found which is since the
+test time.
+
+Options are read in order with later ones overriding earlier ones.
+
+The default key is &$sender_host_address$&.
+An explicit key can be set using a &%key=value%& option.
+
+If a &%readonly%& option is given then
+no record create or update is done.
+If a &%write%& option is given then
+a record create or update is always done.
+An update is done if the test is for &"since"&.
+If none of those hold and there was no existing record,
+a record is created.
+
+Creates and updates are marked with the current time.
+
+Finally, a &"before"& test which succeeds, and for which the record
+is old enough, will be refreshed with a timestamp of the test time.
+This can prevent tidying of the database from removing the entry.
+The interval for this is, by default, 10 days.
+An explicit interval can be set using a
+&%refresh=value%& option.
+
+Note that &"seen"& should be added to the list of hints databases
+for maintenance if this ACL condition is used.
+
+
.section "Rate limiting incoming messages" "SECTratelimiting"
.cindex "rate limiting" "client sending"
.cindex "limiting client sending rates"
the &%count=%& option.
-.section "Ratelimit options for what is being measured" "ratoptmea"
+.subsection "Ratelimit options for what is being measured" ratoptmea
.cindex "rate limiting" "per_* options"
-The &%per_conn%& option limits the client's connection rate. It is not
+.vlist
+.vitem per_conn
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_conn
+This option limits the client's connection rate. It is not
normally used in the &%acl_not_smtp%&, &%acl_not_smtp_mime%&, or
&%acl_not_smtp_start%& ACLs.
-The &%per_mail%& option limits the client's rate of sending messages. This is
+.vitem per_mail
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_conn
+This option limits the client's rate of sending messages. This is
the default if none of the &%per_*%& options is specified. It can be used in
&%acl_smtp_mail%&, &%acl_smtp_rcpt%&, &%acl_smtp_predata%&, &%acl_smtp_mime%&,
&%acl_smtp_data%&, or &%acl_not_smtp%&.
-The &%per_byte%& option limits the sender's email bandwidth. It can be used in
+.vitem per_byte
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_conn
+This option limits the sender's email bandwidth. It can be used in
the same ACLs as the &%per_mail%& option, though it is best to use this option
in the &%acl_smtp_mime%&, &%acl_smtp_data%& or &%acl_not_smtp%& ACLs; if it is
used in an earlier ACL, Exim relies on the SIZE parameter given by the client
follow the limit &'m'& in the configuration with K, M, or G to specify limits
in kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, respectively.
-The &%per_rcpt%& option causes Exim to limit the rate at which recipients are
+.vitem per_rcpt
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_rcpt
+This option causes Exim to limit the rate at which recipients are
accepted. It can be used in the &%acl_smtp_rcpt%&, &%acl_smtp_predata%&,
&%acl_smtp_mime%&, or &%acl_smtp_data%& ACLs. In
&%acl_smtp_rcpt%& the rate is updated one recipient at a time; in the other
in either case the rate limiting engine will see a message with many
recipients as a large high-speed burst.
-The &%per_addr%& option is like the &%per_rcpt%& option, except it counts the
+.vitem per_addr
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_addr
+This option is like the &%per_rcpt%& option, except it counts the
number of different recipients that the client has sent messages to in the
last time period. That is, if the client repeatedly sends messages to the same
recipient, its measured rate is not increased. This option can only be used in
&%acl_smtp_rcpt%&.
-The &%per_cmd%& option causes Exim to recompute the rate every time the
+.vitem per_cmd
+.cindex "rate limiting" per_cmd
+This option causes Exim to recompute the rate every time the
condition is processed. This can be used to limit the rate of any SMTP
command. If it is used in multiple ACLs it can limit the aggregate rate of
multiple different commands.
-The &%count=%& option can be used to alter how much Exim adds to the client's
-measured rate. For example, the &%per_byte%& option is equivalent to
-&`per_mail/count=$message_size`&. If there is no &%count=%& option, Exim
+.vitem count
+.cindex "rate limiting" count
+This option can be used to alter how much Exim adds to the client's
+measured rate.
+A value is required, after an equals sign.
+For example, the &%per_byte%& option is equivalent to
+&`per_mail/count=$message_size`&.
+If there is no &%count=%& option, Exim
increases the measured rate by one (except for the &%per_rcpt%& option in ACLs
-other than &%acl_smtp_rcpt%&). The count does not have to be an integer.
+other than &%acl_smtp_rcpt%&).
+The count does not have to be an integer.
-The &%unique=%& option is described in section &<<ratoptuniq>>& below.
+.vitem unique
+.cindex "rate limiting" unique
+This option is described in section &<<ratoptuniq>>& below.
+.endlist
-.section "Ratelimit update modes" "ratoptupd"
+.subsection "Ratelimit update modes" ratoptupd
.cindex "rate limiting" "reading data without updating"
You can specify one of three options with the &%ratelimit%& condition to
control when its database is updated. This section describes the &%readonly%&
next section) so you must specify the &%readonly%& option explicitly.
-.section "Ratelimit options for handling fast clients" "ratoptfast"
+.subsection "Ratelimit options for handling fast clients" ratoptfast
.cindex "rate limiting" "strict and leaky modes"
If a client's average rate is greater than the maximum, the rate limiting
engine can react in two possible ways, depending on the presence of the
.endd
-.section "Limiting the rate of different events" "ratoptuniq"
+.subsection "Limiting the rate of different events" ratoptuniq
.cindex "rate limiting" "counting unique events"
The &%ratelimit%& &%unique=%& option controls a mechanism for counting the
rate of different events. For example, the &%per_addr%& option uses this
as intended.
-.section "Using rate limiting" "useratlim"
+.subsection "Using rate limiting" useratlim
Exim's other ACL facilities are used to define what counter-measures are taken
when the rate limit is exceeded. This might be anything from logging a warning
(for example, while measuring existing sending rates in order to define
immediately after a successful redirection. By default, if a redirection
generates just one address, that address is also verified. See further
discussion in section &<<SECTredirwhilveri>>&.
-.new
.next
If the &%quota%& option is specified for recipient verify,
successful routing to an appendfile transport is followed by a call into
No actual delivery is done, but verification will succeed if the quota
is sufficient for the message (if the sender gave a message size) or
not already exceeded (otherwise).
-.wen
.endlist
.cindex "verifying address" "differentiating failures"
If you are writing your own custom rejection message or log message when
denying access, you can use this variable to include information about the
verification failure.
+This variable is cleared at the end of processing the ACL verb.
In addition, &$sender_verify_failure$& or &$recipient_verify_failure$& (as
appropriate) contains one of the following words:
&%recipient%&: The RCPT command in a callout was rejected.
.next
&%postmaster%&: The postmaster check in a callout was rejected.
-.new
.next
&%quota%&: The quota check for a local recipient did non pass.
.endlist
clients when the SMTP PIPELINING extension is in use. The flushing can be
disabled by using a &%control%& modifier to set &%no_callout_flush%&.
+.cindex "tainted data" "de-tainting"
+.cindex "de-tainting" "using recipient verify"
+A recipient callout which gets a 2&'xx'& code
+will assign untainted values to the
+&$domain_data$& and &$local_part_data$& variables,
+corresponding to the domain and local parts of the recipient address.
+
-.section "Additional parameters for callouts" "CALLaddparcall"
+.subsection "Additional parameters for callouts" CALLaddparcall
.cindex "callout" "additional parameters for"
The &%callout%& option can be followed by an equals sign and a number of
optional parameters, separated by commas. For example:
-.section "Callout caching" "SECTcallvercache"
+.subsection "Callout caching" SECTcallvercache
.cindex "hints database" "callout cache"
.cindex "callout" "cache, description of"
.cindex "caching" "callout"
entire domain (for example, that it accepts the local part &'postmaster'&).
When an original callout fails, a detailed SMTP error message is given about
-the failure. However, for subsequent failures use the cache data, this message
+the failure. However, for subsequent failures that use the cache data, this message
is not available.
The expiry times for negative and positive address cache records are
-.new
.section "Quota caching" "SECTquotacache"
.cindex "hints database" "quota cache"
.cindex "quota" "cache, description of"
.vitem &*no_cache*&
Set both positive and negative lifetimes to zero.
-.wen
.section "Sender address verification reporting" "SECTsenaddver"
.cindex "verifying" "suppressing error details"
.vlist
.vitem &*int&~body_linecount*&
This variable contains the number of lines in the message's body.
-It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+It is not valid if the &%spool_wireformat%& option is used.
.vitem &*int&~body_zerocount*&
This variable contains the number of binary zero bytes in the message's body.
-It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+It is not valid if the &%spool_wireformat%& option is used.
.vitem &*unsigned&~int&~debug_selector*&
This variable is set to zero when no debugging is taking place. Otherwise, it
.vitem &*header_line&~*header_last*&
A pointer to the last of the header lines.
-.vitem &*uschar&~*headers_charset*&
+.vitem &*const&~uschar&~*headers_charset*&
The value of the &%headers_charset%& configuration option.
.vitem &*BOOL&~host_checking*&
.vitem &*int&~lss_match_domain(uschar&~*domain,&~uschar&~*list)*&
This function checks for a match in a domain list. Domains are always
matched caselessly. The return value is one of the following:
-.display
-&`OK `& match succeeded
-&`FAIL `& match failed
-&`DEFER `& match deferred
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 15* left 85* left
+.irow &`OK`& "match succeeded"
+.irow &`FAIL`& "match failed"
+.irow &`DEFER`& "match deferred"
+.endtable
DEFER is usually caused by some kind of lookup defer, such as the
inability to contact a database.
is done. If a message fails to be completely delivered at the first attempt,
the system filter is run again at the start of every retry.
If you want your filter to do something only once per message, you can make use
+.cindex retry condition
of the &%first_delivery%& condition in an &%if%& command in the filter to
prevent it happening on retries.
-.section "Resent- header lines" "SECID220"
+.section "Header lines"
+.subsection "Resent- header lines" SECID220
.chindex Resent-
RFC 2822 makes provision for sets of header lines starting with the string
&`Resent-`& to be added to a message when it is resent by the original
-.section "The Auto-Submitted: header line" "SECID221"
+.subsection Auto-Submitted: SECID221
Whenever Exim generates an autoreply, a bounce, or a delay warning message, it
includes the header line:
.code
Auto-Submitted: auto-replied
.endd
-.section "The Bcc: header line" "SECID222"
+.subsection Bcc: SECID222
.cindex "&'Bcc:'& header line"
If Exim is called with the &%-t%& option, to take recipient addresses from a
message's header, it removes any &'Bcc:'& header line that may exist (after
existing &'Bcc:'& is not removed.
-.section "The Date: header line" "SECID223"
+.subsection Date: SECID223
.cindex Date:
If a locally-generated or submission-mode message has no &'Date:'& header line,
Exim adds one, using the current date and time, unless the
&%suppress_local_fixups%& control has been specified.
-.section "The Delivery-date: header line" "SECID224"
+.subsection Delivery-date: SECID224
.cindex "&'Delivery-date:'& header line"
.oindex "&%delivery_date_remove%&"
&'Delivery-date:'& header lines are not part of the standard RFC 2822 header
messages.
-.section "The Envelope-to: header line" "SECID225"
+.subsection Envelope-to: SECID225
.chindex Envelope-to:
.oindex "&%envelope_to_remove%&"
&'Envelope-to:'& header lines are not part of the standard RFC 2822 header set.
messages.
-.section "The From: header line" "SECTthefrohea"
+.subsection From: SECTthefrohea
.chindex From:
.cindex "Sendmail compatibility" "&""From""& line"
.cindex "message" "submission"
name as described in section &<<SECTconstr>>&.
-.section "The Message-ID: header line" "SECID226"
+.subsection Message-ID: SECID226
.chindex Message-ID:
.cindex "message" "submission"
.oindex "&%message_id_header_text%&"
&%message_id_header_domain%& options.
-.section "The Received: header line" "SECID227"
+.subsection Received: SECID227
.chindex Received:
A &'Received:'& header line is added at the start of every message. The
contents are defined by the &%received_header_text%& configuration option, and
-H spool file is written) the earliest time at which delivery could start.
-.section "The References: header line" "SECID228"
+.subsection References: SECID228
.chindex References:
Messages created by the &(autoreply)& transport include a &'References:'&
header line. This is constructed according to the rules that are described in
-.section "The Return-path: header line" "SECID229"
+.subsection Return-path: SECID229
.chindex Return-path:
.oindex "&%return_path_remove%&"
&'Return-path:'& header lines are defined as something an MTA may insert when
-.section "The Sender: header line" "SECTthesenhea"
+.subsection Sender: SECTthesenhea
.cindex "&'Sender:'& header line"
.cindex "message" "submission"
.chindex Sender:
-.section "Errors in outgoing SMTP" "SECToutSMTPerr"
+.subsection "Errors in outgoing SMTP" SECToutSMTPerr
.cindex "error" "in outgoing SMTP"
.cindex "SMTP" "errors in outgoing"
.cindex "host" "error"
Exim can be configured to verify addresses in incoming SMTP commands as they
are received. See chapter &<<CHAPACL>>& for details. It can also be configured
to rewrite addresses at this time &-- before any syntax checking is done. See
-section &<<SECTrewriteS>>&.
+section &<<SSECTrewriteS>>&.
Exim can also be configured to limit the rate at which a client host submits
MAIL and RCPT commands in a single SMTP session. See the
-.section "Unrecognized SMTP commands" "SECID234"
+.subsection "Unrecognized SMTP commands" SECID234
.cindex "SMTP" "unrecognized commands"
If Exim receives more than &%smtp_max_unknown_commands%& unrecognized SMTP
commands during a single SMTP connection, it drops the connection after sending
circumstances, a number of non-SMTP lines are sent first.
-.section "Syntax and protocol errors in SMTP commands" "SECID235"
+.subsection "Syntax and protocol errors in SMTP commands" SECID235
.cindex "SMTP" "syntax errors"
.cindex "SMTP" "protocol errors"
A syntax error is detected if an SMTP command is recognized, but there is
-.section "Use of non-mail SMTP commands" "SECID236"
+.subsection "Use of non-mail SMTP commands" SECID236
.cindex "SMTP" "non-mail commands"
The &"non-mail"& SMTP commands are those other than MAIL, RCPT, and
DATA. Exim counts such commands, and drops the connection if there are too
-.section "The VRFY and EXPN commands" "SECID237"
+.subsection "The VRFY and EXPN commands" SECID237
When Exim receives a VRFY or EXPN command on a TCP/IP connection, it
runs the ACL specified by &%acl_smtp_vrfy%& or &%acl_smtp_expn%& (as
appropriate) in order to decide whether the command should be accepted or not.
than a verification (the &%-bv%& option). If an unqualified local part is given
as the argument to EXPN, it is qualified with &%qualify_domain%&. Rejections
of VRFY and EXPN commands are logged on the main and reject logs, and
-VRFY verification failures are logged on the main log for consistency with
+VRFY verification failures are logged in the main log for consistency with
RCPT failures.
-.section "The ETRN command" "SECTETRN"
+.subsection "The ETRN command" SECTETRN
.cindex "ETRN" "processing"
.cindex "ESMTP extensions" ETRN
RFC 1985 describes an ESMTP command called ETRN that is designed to
lists_post:
driver = redirect
domains = lists.example
- senders = ${if exists {/usr/lists/$local_part}\
- {lsearch;/usr/lists/$local_part}{*}}
+ local_parts = ${lookup {$local_part} dsearch,filter=file,ret=full {/usr/lists}}
+ senders = ${if exists {$local_part_data} {lsearch;$local_part_data}{*}}
file = ${lookup {$local_part} dsearch,ret=full {/usr/lists}}
forbid_pipe
forbid_file
When Exim encounters an empty item in the list, it searches the list defined by
LOG_FILE_PATH, and uses the first item it finds that is neither empty nor
&"syslog"&. This means that an empty item in &%log_file_path%& can be used to
-mean &"use the path specified at build time"&. It no such item exists, log
+mean &"use the path specified at build time"&. If no such item exists, log
files are written in the &_log_& subdirectory of the spool directory. This is
-equivalent to the setting:
+equivalent to the configuration file setting:
.code
log_file_path = $spool_directory/log/%slog
.endd
A log file path may also contain &`%D`& or &`%M`& if datestamped log filenames
are in use &-- see section &<<SECTdatlogfil>>& below.
-Here are some examples of possible settings:
+Here are some examples of possible Makefile settings:
.display
&`LOG_FILE_PATH=syslog `& syslog only
&`LOG_FILE_PATH=:syslog `& syslog and default path
successful, unsuccessful, and delayed delivery. These lines can readily be
picked out by the distinctive two-character flags that immediately follow the
timestamp. The flags are:
-.display
-&`<=`& message arrival
-&`(=`& message fakereject
-&`=>`& normal message delivery
-&`->`& additional address in same delivery
-&`>>`& cutthrough message delivery
-&`*>`& delivery suppressed by &%-N%&
-&`**`& delivery failed; address bounced
-&`==`& delivery deferred; temporary problem
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 10* left 90* left
+.irow &%<=%& "message arrival"
+.irow &%(=%& "message fakereject"
+.irow &%=>%& "normal message delivery"
+.irow &%->%& "additional address in same delivery"
+.irow &%>>%& "cutthrough message delivery"
+.irow &%*>%& "delivery suppressed by &%-N%&"
+.irow &%**%& "delivery failed; address bounced"
+.irow &%==%& "delivery deferred; temporary problem"
+.endtable
.section "Logging message reception" "SECID251"
SMTP RCPT commands in one transaction) the second and subsequent addresses are
flagged with &`->`& instead of &`=>`&. When two or more messages are delivered
down a single SMTP connection, an asterisk follows the
-.new
remote IP address (and port if enabled)
-.wen
in the log lines for the second and subsequent messages.
When two or more messages are delivered down a single TLS connection, the
DNS and some TLS-related information logged for the first message delivered
.display
&`A `& authenticator name (and optional id and sender)
&`C `& SMTP confirmation on delivery
+&`Ci `& connection identifier
&` `& command list for &"no mail in SMTP session"&
&`CV `& certificate verification status
&`D `& duration of &"no mail in SMTP session"&
.section "Reducing or increasing what is logged" "SECTlogselector"
.cindex "log" "selectors"
By setting the &%log_selector%& global option, you can disable some of Exim's
-default logging, or you can request additional logging. The value of
+default logging to the main log, or you can request additional logging. The value of
&%log_selector%& is made up of names preceded by plus or minus characters. For
example:
.code
.endd
The list of optional log items is in the following table, with the default
selection marked by asterisks:
-.display
-&` 8bitmime `& received 8BITMIME status
-&`*acl_warn_skipped `& skipped &%warn%& statement in ACL
-&` address_rewrite `& address rewriting
-&` all_parents `& all parents in => lines
-&` arguments `& command line arguments
-&`*connection_reject `& connection rejections
-&`*delay_delivery `& immediate delivery delayed
-&` deliver_time `& time taken to attempt delivery
-&` delivery_size `& add &`S=`&&'nnn'& to => lines
-&`*dkim `& DKIM verified domain on <= lines
-&` dkim_verbose `& separate full DKIM verification result line, per signature
-&`*dnslist_defer `& defers of DNS list (aka RBL) lookups
-&` dnssec `& DNSSEC secured lookups
-&`*etrn `& ETRN commands
-&`*host_lookup_failed `& as it says
-&` ident_timeout `& timeout for ident connection
-&` incoming_interface `& local interface on <= and => lines
-&` incoming_port `& remote port on <= lines
-&`*lost_incoming_connection `& as it says (includes timeouts)
-&` millisec `& millisecond timestamps and RT,QT,DT,D times
-&`*msg_id `& on <= lines, Message-ID: header value
-&` msg_id_created `& on <= lines, Message-ID: header value when one had to be added
-&` outgoing_interface `& local interface on => lines
-&` outgoing_port `& add remote port to => lines
-&`*queue_run `& start and end queue runs
-&` queue_time `& time on queue for one recipient
-&` queue_time_overall `& time on queue for whole message
-&` pid `& Exim process id
-&` pipelining `& PIPELINING use, on <= and => lines
-&` proxy `& proxy address on <= and => lines
-&` receive_time `& time taken to receive message
-&` received_recipients `& recipients on <= lines
-&` received_sender `& sender on <= lines
-&`*rejected_header `& header contents on reject log
-&`*retry_defer `& &"retry time not reached"&
-&` return_path_on_delivery `& put return path on => and ** lines
-&` sender_on_delivery `& add sender to => lines
-&`*sender_verify_fail `& sender verification failures
-&`*size_reject `& rejection because too big
-&`*skip_delivery `& delivery skipped in a queue run
-&`*smtp_confirmation `& SMTP confirmation on => lines
-&` smtp_connection `& incoming SMTP connections
-&` smtp_incomplete_transaction`& incomplete SMTP transactions
-&` smtp_mailauth `& AUTH argument to MAIL commands
-&` smtp_no_mail `& session with no MAIL commands
-&` smtp_protocol_error `& SMTP protocol errors
-&` smtp_syntax_error `& SMTP syntax errors
-&` subject `& contents of &'Subject:'& on <= lines
-&`*tls_certificate_verified `& certificate verification status
-&`*tls_cipher `& TLS cipher suite on <= and => lines
-&` tls_peerdn `& TLS peer DN on <= and => lines
-&` tls_resumption `& append * to cipher field
-&` tls_sni `& TLS SNI on <= lines
-&` unknown_in_list `& DNS lookup failed in list match
-
-&` all `& all of the above
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 3 2.8in left 10pt center 3in left
+.irow &`8bitmime`& "received 8BITMIME status"
+.irow &`acl_warn_skipped`& * "skipped &%warn%& statement in ACL"
+.irow &`address_rewrite`& "address rewriting"
+.irow &`all_parents`& "all parents in => lines"
+.irow &`arguments`& "command line arguments"
+.irow &`connection_id`& "connection identifier"
+.irow &`connection_reject`& * "connection rejections"
+.irow &`delay_delivery`& * "immediate delivery delayed"
+.irow &`deliver_time`& "time taken to attempt delivery"
+.irow &`delivery_size`& "add &`S=`&&'nnn'& to => lines"
+.irow &`dkim`& * "DKIM verified domain on <= lines"
+.irow &`dkim_verbose`& "separate full DKIM verification result line, per signature"
+.irow &`dnslist_defer`& * "defers of DNS list (aka RBL) lookups"
+.irow &`dnssec`& "DNSSEC secured lookups"
+.irow &`etrn`& * "ETRN commands"
+.irow &`host_lookup_failed`& * "as it says"
+.irow &`ident_timeout`& "timeout for ident connection"
+.irow &`incoming_interface`& "local interface & port on <= and => lines"
+.irow &`incoming_port`& "remote port on <= lines"
+.irow &`lost_incoming_connection`& * "as it says (includes timeouts)"
+.irow &`millisec`& "millisecond timestamps and RT,QT,DT,D times"
+.irow &`msg_id`& * "on <= lines, Message-ID: header value"
+.irow &`msg_id_created`& "on <= lines, Message-ID: header value when one had to be added"
+.irow &`outgoing_interface`& "local interface on => lines"
+.irow &`outgoing_port`& "add remote port to => lines"
+.irow &`queue_run`& * "start and end queue runs"
+.irow &`queue_time`& "time on queue for one recipient"
+.irow &`queue_time_exclusive`& "exclude recieve time from QT times"
+.irow &`queue_time_overall`& "time on queue for whole message"
+.irow &`pid`& "Exim process id"
+.irow &`pipelining`& "PIPELINING use, on <= and => lines"
+.irow &`proxy`& "proxy address on <= and => lines"
+.irow &`receive_time`& "time taken to receive message"
+.irow &`received_recipients`& "recipients on <= lines"
+.irow &`received_sender`& "sender on <= lines"
+.irow &`rejected_header`& * "header contents on reject log"
+.irow &`retry_defer`& * "&<quote>&retry time not reached&</quote>&"
+.irow &`return_path_on_delivery`& "put return path on => and ** lines"
+.irow &`sender_on_delivery`& "add sender to => lines"
+.irow &`sender_verify_fail`& * "sender verification failures"
+.irow &`size_reject`& * "rejection because too big"
+.irow &`skip_delivery`& * "delivery skipped in a queue run"
+.irow &`smtp_confirmation`& * "SMTP confirmation on => lines"
+.irow &`smtp_connection`& "incoming SMTP connections"
+.irow &`smtp_incomplete_transaction`& "incomplete SMTP transactions"
+.irow &`smtp_mailauth`& "AUTH argument to MAIL commands"
+.irow &`smtp_no_mail`& "session with no MAIL commands"
+.irow &`smtp_protocol_error`& "SMTP protocol errors"
+.irow &`smtp_syntax_error`& "SMTP syntax errors"
+.irow &`subject`& "contents of &'Subject:'& on <= lines"
+.irow &`tls_certificate_verified`& * "certificate verification status"
+.irow &`tls_cipher`& * "TLS cipher suite on <= and => lines"
+.irow &`tls_peerdn`& "TLS peer DN on <= and => lines"
+.irow &`tls_resumption`& "append * to cipher field"
+.irow &`tls_sni`& "TLS SNI on <= lines"
+.irow &`unknown_in_list`& "DNS lookup failed in list match"
+.irow &`all`& "&*all of the above*&"
+.endtable
See also the &%slow_lookup_log%& main configuration option,
section &<<SECID99>>&
only way to log such cases is to interpose a script such as &_util/logargs.sh_&
between the caller and Exim.
.next
+.cindex "log" "connection identifier"
+&%connection_identifier%&: An identifier for the accepted connection is added to
+connection start and end lines and to message accept lines.
+The identifier is tagged by Ci=.
+The value is PID-based, so will reset on reboot and will wrap.
+.next
.cindex "log" "connection rejections"
&%connection_reject%&: A log entry is written whenever an incoming SMTP
connection is rejected, for whatever reason.
followed by a colon and the port number. The local interface and port are also
added to other SMTP log lines, for example, &"SMTP connection from"&, to
rejection lines, and (despite the name) to outgoing
-.new
&"=>"&, &"->"&, &"=="& and &"**"& lines.
-.wen
The latter can be disabled by turning off the &%outgoing_interface%& option.
.next
.cindex log "incoming proxy address"
the field has a minus appended.
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
-If Exim is built with the SUPPORT_PIPE_CONNECT build option
+If Exim is built without the DISABLE_PIPE_CONNECT build option
accept "L" fields have a period appended if the feature was
offered but not used, or an asterisk appended if used.
Delivery "L" fields have an asterisk appended if used.
.cindex "log" "queue time"
&%queue_time%&: The amount of time the message has been in the queue on the
local host is logged as QT=<&'time'&> on delivery (&`=>`&) lines, for example,
-&`QT=3m45s`&. The clock starts when Exim starts to receive the message, so it
-includes reception time as well as the delivery time for the current address.
-This means that it may be longer than the difference between the arrival and
-delivery log line times, because the arrival log line is not written until the
-message has been successfully received.
+&`QT=3m45s`&.
If millisecond logging is enabled, short times will be shown with greater
precision, eg. &`QT=1.578s`&.
.next
&%queue_time_overall%&: The amount of time the message has been in the queue on
the local host is logged as QT=<&'time'&> on &"Completed"& lines, for
-example, &`QT=3m45s`&. The clock starts when Exim starts to receive the
-message, so it includes reception time as well as the total delivery time.
+example, &`QT=3m45s`&.
.next
.cindex "log" "receive duration"
&%receive_time%&: For each message, the amount of real time it has taken to
.cindex "log" "frozen messages; skipped"
.cindex "frozen messages" "logging skipping"
&%skip_delivery%&: A log line is written whenever a message is skipped during a
-queue run because it is frozen or because another process is already delivering
-it.
+queue run because it another process is already delivering it or because
+it is frozen.
.cindex "&""spool file is locked""&"
-The message that is written is &"spool file is locked"&.
+.cindex "&""message is frozen""&"
+The message that is written is either &"spool file is locked"& or
+&"message is frozen"&.
.next
.cindex "log" "smtp confirmation"
.cindex "SMTP" "logging confirmation"
.next
.cindex "log" "TLS resumption"
.cindex "TLS" "logging session resumption"
-.new
&%tls_resumption%&: When a message is sent or received over an encrypted
connection and the TLS session resumed one used on a previous TCP connection,
an asterisk is appended to the X= cipher field in the log line.
-.wen
.next
.cindex "log" "TLS SNI"
.cindex "TLS" "logging SNI"
.irow &<<SECTtidydb>>& &'exim_tidydb'& "clean up a hints database"
.irow &<<SECTfixdb>>& &'exim_fixdb'& "patch a hints database"
.irow &<<SECTmailboxmaint>>& &'exim_lock'& "lock a mailbox file"
+.irow &<<SECTexim_msgdate>>& &'exim_msgdate'& "Message Ids for humans (exim_msgdate)"
.endtable
Another utility that might be of use to sites with many MTAs is Tom Kistner's
system configuration options that configure exactly how &'exiwhat'& works. If
it doesn't seem to be working for you, check the following compile-time
options:
-.display
-&`EXIWHAT_PS_CMD `& the command for running &'ps'&
-&`EXIWHAT_PS_ARG `& the argument for &'ps'&
-&`EXIWHAT_EGREP_ARG `& the argument for &'egrep'& to select from &'ps'& output
-&`EXIWHAT_KILL_ARG `& the argument for the &'kill'& command
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 30* left 70* left
+.irow &`EXIWHAT_PS_CMD`& "the command for running &'ps'&"
+.irow &`EXIWHAT_PS_ARG`& "the argument for &'ps'&"
+.irow &`EXIWHAT_EGREP_ARG`& "the argument for &'egrep'& to select from &'ps'& output"
+.irow &`EXIWHAT_KILL_ARG`& "the argument for the &'kill'& command"
+.endtable
An example of typical output from &'exiwhat'& is
.code
164 daemon: -q1h, listening on port 25
.code
exim -bp
.endd
-The &*-C*& option is used to specify an alternate &_exim.conf_& which might
-contain alternate exim configuration the queue management might be using.
-
to obtain a queue listing, and then greps the output to select messages
that match given criteria. The following selection options are available:
Include delivered recipients in queue listing.
.endlist
+The following options give alternates for configuration:
+
+.vlist
+.vitem &*-C*&&~<&'config&~file'&>
+is used to specify an alternate &_exim.conf_& which might
+contain alternate exim configuration the queue management might be using.
+
+.vitem &*-E*&&~<&'path'&>
+can be used to specify a path for the exim binary,
+overriding the built-in one.
+.endlist
+
There is one more option, &%-h%&, which outputs a list of options.
+At least one selection option, or either the &*-c*& or &*-h*& option, must be given.
.next
&'ratelimit'&: the data for implementing the ratelimit ACL condition
.next
-.new
&'tls'&: TLS session resumption data
-.wen
.next
&'misc'&: other hints data
.endlist
.next
Limiting the concurrency of specific transports (when &%max_parallel%& is set
in a transport)
+.next
+Recording EHLO-time facilities advertised by hosts
.endlist
.section "exim_dumpdb" "SECTdumpdb"
.cindex "&'exim_dumpdb'&"
The entire contents of a database are written to the standard output by the
-&'exim_dumpdb'& program, which has no options or arguments other than the
-spool and database names. For example, to dump the retry database:
+&'exim_dumpdb'& program,
+taking as arguments the spool and database names.
+An option &'-z'& may be given to request times in UTC;
+otherwise times are in the local timezone.
+An option &'-k'& may be given to dump only the record keys.
+For example, to dump the retry database:
.code
exim_dumpdb /var/spool/exim retry
.endd
-Two lines of output are produced for each entry:
+For the retry database
+two lines of output are produced for each entry:
.code
T:mail.ref.example:192.168.242.242 146 77 Connection refused
31-Oct-1995 12:00:12 02-Nov-1995 12:21:39 02-Nov-1995 20:21:39 *
.cindex "&'exim_fixdb'&"
The &'exim_fixdb'& program is a utility for interactively modifying databases.
Its main use is for testing Exim, but it might also be occasionally useful for
-getting round problems in a live system. It has no options, and its interface
+getting round problems in a live system. Its interface
is somewhat crude. On entry, it prompts for input with a right angle-bracket. A
key of a database record can then be entered, and the data for that record is
displayed.
sequence of digit pairs for year, month, day, hour, and minute. Colons can be
used as optional separators.
+Both displayed and input times are in the local timezone by default.
+If an option &'-z'& is used on the command line, displayed times
+are in UTC.
+
.endd
Note that if a command is supplied, it must be entirely contained within the
second argument &-- hence the quotes.
-.ecindex IIDutils
+.section "Message Ids for humans (exim_msgdate)" "SECTexim_msgdate"
+.cindex "exim_msgdate"
+The &'exim_msgdate'& utility is written by Andrew Aitchison and included in the Exim distribution.
+This Perl script converts an Exim Mesage ID back into a human readable form.
+For details of &'exim_msgdate'&'s options, run &'exim_msgdate'& with the &%--help%& option.
+
+Section &<<SECTmessiden>>& (Message identification) describes Exim Mesage IDs.
+.ecindex IIDutils
. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
.cindex "security" "data sources"
.cindex "security" "regular expressions"
.cindex "regular expressions" "security"
-.cindex "PCRE" "security"
+.cindex "PCRE2" "security"
If configuration data for Exim can come from untrustworthy sources, there
are some issues to be aware of:
Letting untrusted data provide a regular expression is unwise.
.next
Using &%${match...}%& to apply a fixed regular expression against untrusted
-data may result in pathological behaviour within PCRE. Be aware of what
+data may result in pathological behaviour within PCRE2. Be aware of what
"backtracking" means and consider options for being more strict with a regular
expression. Avenues to explore include limiting what can match (avoiding &`.`&
when &`[a-z0-9]`& or other character class will do), use of atomic grouping and
start of the epoch. The second number is a count of the number of messages
warning of delayed delivery that have been sent to the sender.
-There follow a number of lines starting with a hyphen. These can appear in any
-order, and are omitted when not relevant:
+There follow a number of lines starting with a hyphen.
+These contain variables, can appear in any
+order, and are omitted when not relevant.
+
+If there is a second hyphen after the first,
+the corresponding data is tainted.
+If there is a value in parentheses, the data is quoted for a lookup.
+
+The following word specifies a variable,
+and the remainder of the item depends on the variable.
.vlist
.vitem "&%-acl%&&~<&'number'&>&~<&'length'&>"
certificate.
.endlist
-Any of the above may have an extra hyphen prepended, to indicate the the
-corresponding data is untrusted.
-
Following the options there is a list of those addresses to which the message
is not to be delivered. This set of addresses is initialized from the command
line when the &%-t%& option is used and &%extract_addresses_remove_arguments%&
senders).
-.section "Signing outgoing messages" "SECDKIMSIGN"
-.cindex "DKIM" "signing"
+.subsection "Signing outgoing messages" SECDKIMSIGN
+.cindex DKIM signing
For signing to be usable you must have published a DKIM record in DNS.
Note that RFC 8301 (which does not cover EC keys) says:
After expansion, this can be a list.
Each element in turn,
lowercased,
+.vindex "&$dkim_domain$&"
is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable
while expanding the remaining signing options.
If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done,
This sets the key selector string.
After expansion, which can use &$dkim_domain$&, this can be a list.
Each element in turn is put in the expansion
+.vindex "&$dkim_selector$&"
variable &%$dkim_selector%& which may be used in the &%dkim_private_key%&
option along with &%$dkim_domain%&.
If the option is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done for this domain,
and no error will result even if &%dkim_strict%& is set.
-.new
To do, for example, dual-signing with RSA and EC keys
this could be be used:
.code
dkim_selector = ec_sel : rsa_sel
dkim_private_key = KEYS_DIR/$dkim_selector
.endd
-.wen
.option dkim_private_key smtp string&!! unset
This sets the private key to use.
RFC 6376 lists these tags as RECOMMENDED.
-.section "Verifying DKIM signatures in incoming mail" "SECDKIMVFY"
-.cindex "DKIM" "verification"
+.subsection "Verifying DKIM signatures in incoming mail" SECDKIMVFY
+.cindex DKIM verification
Verification of DKIM signatures in SMTP incoming email is done for all
messages for which an ACL control &%dkim_disable_verify%& has not been set.
+
.cindex DKIM "selecting signature algorithms"
-Individual classes of signature algorithm can be ignored by changing
+Individual classes of DKIM signature algorithm can be ignored by changing
the main options &%dkim_verify_hashes%& or &%dkim_verify_keytypes%&.
The &%dkim_verify_minimal%& option can be set to cease verification
processing for a message once the first passing signature is found.
of this section can be ignored.
The results of verification are made available to the
-&%acl_smtp_dkim%& ACL, which can examine and modify them.
+&%acl_smtp_dkim%& ACL, which (for complex needs) can examine and modify them.
A missing ACL definition defaults to accept.
By default, the ACL is called once for each
syntactically(!) correct signature in the incoming message.
&%dkim_verify_signers%& (see above).
.vitem &%$dkim_verify_status%&
+So long as a DKIM ACL is defined
+(it need do no more than accept, which is the default),
+after all the DKIM ACL runs have completed, the value becomes a
+colon-separated list of the values after each run.
+The value is maintained for the MIME, PRDR and DATA ACLs.
+
Within the DKIM ACL,
a string describing the general status of the signature. One of
.ilist
set dkim_verify_reason = hash too weak or key too short
.endd
-So long as a DKIM ACL is defined (it need do no more than accept),
-after all the DKIM ACL runs have completed, the value becomes a
-colon-separated list of the values after each run.
-This is maintained for the mime, prdr and data ACLs.
-
.vitem &%$dkim_verify_reason%&
A string giving a little bit more detail when &%$dkim_verify_status%& is either
"fail" or "invalid". One of
.vitem &%dkim_signers%&
ACL condition that checks a colon-separated list of domains or identities
for a match against the domain or identity that the ACL is currently verifying
-(reflected by &%$dkim_cur_signer%&). This is typically used to restrict an ACL
+(reflected by &%$dkim_cur_signer%&).
+This condition is only usable in a DKIM ACL.
+This is typically used to restrict an ACL
verb to a group of domains or identities. For example:
.code
.vitem &%dkim_status%&
ACL condition that checks a colon-separated list of possible DKIM verification
-results against the actual result of verification. This is typically used
+results against the actual result of verification,
+given by &$dkim_verify_status$& if that is non-empty or "none" if empty.
+.new
+This condition may be used in DKIM, MIME, PRDR and DATA ACLs.
+.wen
+
+A basic verification might be:
+.code
+deny !dkim_status = pass:none:invalid
+.endd
+
+A more complex use could be
to restrict an ACL verb to a list of verification outcomes, for example:
.code
The possible status keywords are: 'none','invalid','fail' and 'pass'. Please
see the documentation of the &%$dkim_verify_status%& expansion variable above
for more information of what they mean.
+
+The condition is true if the status
+.new
+(or any of the list of status values)
+.wen
+is any one of the supplied list.
.endlist
.vitem &%temperror%&
This indicates a temporary error during all processing, including Exim's
SPF processing. You may defer messages when this occurs.
+
+.vitem &%invalid%&
+There was an error during processing of the SPF lookup
.endlist
You can prefix each string with an exclamation mark to invert
.vitem &$spf_received$&
.vindex &$spf_received$&
- This contains a complete Received-SPF: header that can be
- added to the message. Please note that according to the SPF
- draft, this header must be added at the top of the header
- list. Please see section 10 on how you can do this.
+ This contains a complete Received-SPF: header (name and
+ content) that can be added to the message. Please note that
+ according to the SPF draft, this header must be added at the
+ top of the header list, i.e. with
+.code
+add_header = :at_start:$spf_received
+.endd
+ See section &<<SECTaddheadacl>>& for further details.
Note: in case of "Best-guess" (see below), the convention is
to put this string in a header called X-SPF-Guess: instead.
.vitem &$spf_result$&
.vindex &$spf_result$&
This contains the outcome of the SPF check in string form,
- one of pass, fail, softfail, none, neutral, permerror or
- temperror.
+ currently one of pass, fail, softfail, none, neutral, permerror,
+ temperror, or &"(invalid)"&.
.vitem &$spf_result_guessed$&
.vindex &$spf_result_guessed$&
-.section "SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme)" SECTSRS
+.subsection "SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme)" SECTSRS
.cindex SRS "sender rewriting scheme"
-.new
SRS can be used to modify sender addresses when forwarding so that
SPF verification does not object to them.
It operates by encoding the original envelope sender in a new
encoded.
The second argument should be given as the envelope sender address before this
encoding operation.
+If this value is empty the the expansion result will be empty.
The third argument should be the recipient domain of the message when
it arrived at this system.
+All arguments are expanded before use.
+
+The result of the expansion is the replacement envelope-from (return path)
+to be used.
.endlist
.cindex SRS decoding
To decode an address use this expansion condition:
.vlist
.vitem &*inbound_srs&~{*&<&'local&~part'&>&*}{*&<&'secret'&>&*}*&
-The first argument should be the recipient local prt as is was received.
+The first argument should be the recipient local part as it was received.
The second argument is the site secret.
+Both arguments are expanded before use.
If the messages is not for an SRS-encoded recipient the condition will
-return false. If it is, the condition will return true and the variable
+return false.
+If it is, the condition will return true and the variable
&$srs_recipient$& will be set to the decoded (original) value.
+
+If the second argument is empty then the condition returns true if
+the first argument is in valid SRS formet, else false.
+The variable &$srs_recipient$& is not set for this case.
.endlist
Example usage:
# one, plus the max_rcpt and return_path options
remote_forwarded_smtp:
driver = smtp
- # modify the envelope from, for mails that we forward
+ # single-recipient so that $original_domain is valid
max_rcpt = 1
+ # modify the envelope from, for mails that we forward
return_path = ${srs_encode {SRS_SECRET} {$return_path} {$original_domain}}
.endd
-.wen
that headers will be in /usr/local/include, and that the libraries
are in /usr/local/lib.
-. subsection
+.subsection Configuration SSECDMARCCONFIG
+.cindex DMARC configuration
There are three main-configuration options:
.cindex DMARC "configuration options"
the dsn_from option, and <> is used for the
envelope from.
-. I wish we had subsections...
-
+.subsection Controls SSECDMARCCONTROLS
.cindex DMARC controls
+
By default, the DMARC processing will run for any remote,
non-authenticated user. It makes sense to only verify DMARC
status of messages coming from remote, untrusted sources. You can
There are no options to either control. Both must appear before
the DATA acl.
-. subsection
+.subsection ACL SSECDMARCACL
+.cindex DMARC "ACL condition"
-DMARC checks cam be run on incoming SMTP messages by using the
+DMARC checks can be run on incoming SMTP messages by using the
&"dmarc_status"& ACL condition in the DATA ACL. You are required to
call the &"spf"& condition first in the ACLs, then the &"dmarc_status"&
condition. Putting this condition in the ACLs is required in order
right-hand side. These strings describe recommended action based
on the DMARC check. To understand what the policy recommendations
mean, refer to the DMARC website above. Valid strings are:
-.display
-&'accept '& The DMARC check passed and the library recommends accepting the email.
-&'reject '& The DMARC check failed and the library recommends rejecting the email.
-&'quarantine '& The DMARC check failed and the library recommends keeping it for further inspection.
-&'none '& The DMARC check passed and the library recommends no specific action, neutral.
-&'norecord '& No policy section in the DMARC record for this RFC5322.From field
-&'nofrom '& Unable to determine the domain of the sender.
-&'temperror '& Library error or dns error.
-&'off '& The DMARC check was disabled for this email.
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.irow &'accept'& "The DMARC check passed and the library recommends accepting the email"
+.irow &'reject'& "The DMARC check failed and the library recommends rejecting the email"
+.irow &'quarantine'& "The DMARC check failed and the library recommends keeping it for further inspection"
+.irow &'none'& "The DMARC check passed and the library recommends no specific action, neutral"
+.irow &'norecord'& "No policy section in the DMARC record for this RFC5322.From field"
+.irow &'nofrom'& "Unable to determine the domain of the sender"
+.irow &'temperror'& "Library error or dns error"
+.irow &'off'& "The DMARC check was disabled for this email"
+.endtable
You can prefix each string with an exclamation mark to invert its
meaning, for example "!accept" will match all results but
"accept". The string list is evaluated left-to-right in a
is any error, including no DMARC record.
.endlist
-. subsection
+.subsection Logging SSECDMARCLOGGING
+.cindex DMARC logging
By default, Exim's DMARC configuration is intended to be
non-intrusive and conservative. To facilitate this, Exim will not
enable sending DMARC forensic reports
.endlist
-. subsection
+.subsection Example SSECDMARCEXAMPLE
+.cindex DMARC example
Example usage:
.code
The following expansion variables are usable
(&"internal"& and &"external"& here refer to the interfaces
of the proxy):
-.display
-&'proxy_external_address '& IP of host being proxied or IP of remote interface of proxy
-&'proxy_external_port '& Port of host being proxied or Port on remote interface of proxy
-&'proxy_local_address '& IP of proxy server inbound or IP of local interface of proxy
-&'proxy_local_port '& Port of proxy server inbound or Port on local interface of proxy
-&'proxy_session '& boolean: SMTP connection via proxy
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 30* left 70* left
+.irow $proxy_external_address "IP of host being proxied or IP of remote interface of proxy"
+.irow $proxy_external_port "Port of host being proxied or Port on remote interface of proxy"
+.irow $proxy_local_address "IP of proxy server inbound or IP of local interface of proxy"
+.irow $proxy_local_port "Port of proxy server inbound or Port on local interface of proxy"
+.irow $proxy_session "boolean: SMTP connection via proxy"
+.endtable
If &$proxy_session$& is set but &$proxy_external_address$& is empty
there was a protocol error.
The variables &$sender_host_address$& and &$sender_host_port$&
Options are a string <name>=<value>.
The list of options is in the following table:
-.display
-&'auth '& authentication method
-&'name '& authentication username
-&'pass '& authentication password
-&'port '& tcp port
-&'tmo '& connection timeout
-&'pri '& priority
-&'weight '& selection bias
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 10* left 90* left
+.irow &'auth'& "authentication method"
+.irow &'name'& "authentication username"
+.irow &'pass'& "authentication password"
+.irow &'port'& "tcp port"
+.irow &'tmo'& "connection timeout"
+.irow &'pri'& "priority"
+.irow &'weight'& "selection bias"
+.endtable
More details on each of these options follows:
but could be used for any message.
If a value is appended it may be:
-.display
-&`1 `& mandatory downconversion
-&`0 `& no downconversion
-&`-1 `& if SMTPUTF8 not supported by destination host
-.endd
+.itable none 0 0 2 5* right 95* left
+.irow &`1`& "mandatory downconversion"
+.irow &`0`& "no downconversion"
+.irow &`-1`& "if SMTPUTF8 not supported by destination host"
+.endtable
If no value is given, 1 is used.
If mua_wrapper is set, the utf8_downconvert control
expansion must check this, as it will be called for every possible event type.
The current list of events is:
-.display
-&`dane:fail after transport `& per connection
-&`msg:complete after main `& per message
-&`msg:defer after transport `& per message per delivery try
-&`msg:delivery after transport `& per recipient
-&`msg:rcpt:host:defer after transport `& per recipient per host
-&`msg:rcpt:defer after transport `& per recipient
-&`msg:host:defer after transport `& per host per delivery try; host errors
-&`msg:fail:delivery after transport `& per recipient
-&`msg:fail:internal after main `& per recipient
-&`tcp:connect before transport `& per connection
-&`tcp:close after transport `& per connection
-&`tls:cert before both `& per certificate in verification chain
-&`smtp:connect after transport `& per connection
-&`smtp:ehlo after transport `& per connection
-.endd
+.itable all 0 0 4 25* left 10* center 15* center 50* left
+.row auth:fail after both "per driver per authentication attempt"
+.row dane:fail after transport "per connection"
+.row msg:complete after main "per message"
+.row msg:defer after transport "per message per delivery try"
+.row msg:delivery after transport "per recipient"
+.row msg:rcpt:host:defer after transport "per recipient per host"
+.row msg:rcpt:defer after transport "per recipient"
+.row msg:host:defer after transport "per host per delivery try; host errors"
+.row msg:fail:delivery after transport "per recipient"
+.row msg:fail:internal after main "per recipient"
+.row tcp:connect before transport "per connection"
+.row tcp:close after transport "per connection"
+.row tls:cert before both "per certificate in verification chain"
+.row tls:fail:connect after main "per connection"
+.row smtp:connect after transport "per connection"
+.row smtp:ehlo after transport "per connection"
+.endtable
New event types may be added in future.
The event name is a colon-separated list, defining the type of
An additional variable, &$event_data$&, is filled with information varying
with the event type:
-.display
-&`dane:fail `& failure reason
-&`msg:defer `& error string
-&`msg:delivery `& smtp confirmation message
-&`msg:fail:internal `& failure reason
-&`msg:fail:delivery `& smtp error message
-&`msg:host:defer `& error string
-&`msg:rcpt:host:defer `& error string
-&`msg:rcpt:defer `& error string
-&`tls:cert `& verification chain depth
-&`smtp:connect `& smtp banner
-&`smtp:ehlo `& smtp ehlo response
-.endd
+.itable all 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.row auth:fail "smtp response"
+.row dane:fail "failure reason"
+.row msg:defer "error string"
+.row msg:delivery "smtp confirmation message"
+.row msg:fail:internal "failure reason"
+.row msg:fail:delivery "smtp error message"
+.row msg:host:defer "error string"
+.row msg:rcpt:host:defer "error string"
+.row msg:rcpt:defer "error string"
+.row tls:cert "verification chain depth"
+.row tls:fail:connect "error string"
+.row smtp:connect "smtp banner"
+.row smtp:ehlo "smtp ehlo response"
+.endtable
The :defer events populate one extra variable: &$event_defer_errno$&.
-For complex operations an ACL expansion can be used in &%event_action%&
+For complex operations an ACL expansion can be used in &%event_action%&,
however due to the multiple contexts that Exim operates in during
the course of its processing:
.ilist
The expansion of the event_action option should normally
return an empty string. Should it return anything else the
following will be forced:
-.display
-&`tcp:connect `& do not connect
-&`tls:cert `& refuse verification
-&`smtp:connect `& close connection
-.endd
+.itable all 0 0 2 20* left 80* left
+.row auth:fail "log information to write"
+.row tcp:connect "do not connect"
+.row tls:cert "refuse verification"
+.row smtp:connect "close connection"
+.endtable
All other message types ignore the result string, and
no other use is made of it.
For a tcp:connect event, if the connection is being made to a proxy
-then the address and port variables will be that of the proxy and not
-the target system.
+then the &$host_address$& and &$host_port$& variables
+will be that of the proxy and not the target system.
For tls:cert events, if GnuTLS is in use this will trigger only per
chain element received on the connection.
git://git.exim.org / exim.git / blobdiff