the actual building takes place. In most cases, Exim can discover the machine
architecture and operating system for itself, but the defaults can be
overridden if necessary.
+.cindex compiler requirements
+.cindex compiler version
+A C99-capable compiler will be required for the build.
.section "PCRE library" "SECTpcre"
the same lookup again. Otherwise, because each Exim process caches the results
of lookups, you will just get the same result as before.
+.new
+Macro processing is done on lines before string-expansion: new macros can be
+defined and macros will be expanded.
+Because macros in the config file are often used for secrets, those are only
+available to admin users.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%-bem%&&~<&'filename'&>
.oindex "&%-bem%&"
.cindex "testing" "string expansion"
${sg{abcdefabcdef}{abc}{xyz}}
.endd
yields &"xyzdefxyzdef"&. Because all three arguments are expanded before use,
-if any $ or \ characters are required in the regular expression or in the
+if any $, } or \ characters are required in the regular expression or in the
substitution string, they have to be escaped. For example:
.code
${sg{abcdef}{^(...)(...)\$}{\$2\$1}}
.code
${addresses:>& Chief <ceo@up.stairs>, sec@base.ment (dogsbody)}
.endd
-expands to &`ceo@up.stairs&&sec@base.ment`&. Compare the &*address*& (singular)
+expands to &`ceo@up.stairs&&sec@base.ment`&. The string is expanded
+first, so if the expanded string starts with >, it may change the output
+separator unintentionally. This can be avoided by setting the output
+separator explicitly:
+.code
+${addresses:>:$h_from:}
+.endd
+
+Compare the &*address*& (singular)
expansion item, which extracts the working address from a single RFC2822
address. See the &*filter*&, &*map*&, and &*reduce*& items for ways of
processing lists.
.vindex "&$config_file$&"
The name of the main configuration file Exim is using.
+.vitem &$dkim_verify_status$& &&&
+Results of DKIM verification.
+For details see chapter &<<CHAPdkim>>&.
+
.vitem &$dkim_cur_signer$& &&&
- &$dkim_verify_status$& &&&
&$dkim_verify_reason$& &&&
&$dkim_domain$& &&&
&$dkim_identity$& &&&
space removed. Following the introduction of &$smtp_command$&, this variable is
somewhat redundant, but is retained for backwards compatibility.
+.new
+.vitem &$smtp_command_history$&
+.cindex SMTP "command history"
+.vindex "&$smtp_command_history$&"
+A comma-separated list (with no whitespace) of the most-recent SMTP commands
+received, in time-order left to right. Only a limited number of commands
+are remembered.
+.wen
+
.vitem &$smtp_count_at_connection_start$&
.vindex "&$smtp_count_at_connection_start$&"
This variable is set greater than zero only in processes spawned by the Exim
&%certextract%& expansion item, &%md5%&, &%sha1%& or &%sha256%& operator,
or a &%def%& condition.
+.new
+&*Note*&: Under current versions of OpenSSL, when a list of more than one
+file is used for &%tls_certificate%&, this variable is not reliable.
+.wen
+
.vitem &$tls_in_peercert$&
.vindex "&$tls_in_peercert$&"
This variable refers to the certificate presented by the peer of an
is not required the &%tls_advertise_hosts%& option should be set empty.
-.option tls_certificate main string&!! unset
+.option tls_certificate main string list&!! unset
.cindex "TLS" "server certificate; location of"
.cindex "certificate" "server, location of"
-The value of this option is expanded, and must then be the absolute path to a
-file which contains the server's certificates. The server's private key is also
+.new
+The value of this option is expanded, and must then be a list of absolute paths to
+files which contains the server's certificates. Commonly only one file is
+needed.
+.wen
+The server's private key is also
assumed to be in this file if &%tls_privatekey%& is unset. See chapter
&<<CHAPTLS>>& for further details.
use when sending messages as a client, you must set the &%tls_certificate%&
option in the relevant &(smtp)& transport.
+.new
+&*Note*&: If you use filenames based on IP addresses, change the list
+separator in the usual way to avoid confusion under IPv6.
+
+&*Note*&: Under current versions of OpenSSL, when a list of more than one
+file is used, the &$tls_in_ourcert$& veriable is unreliable.
+
+&*Note*&: OCSP stapling is not usable when a list of more than one file is used.
+.wen
+
If the option contains &$tls_out_sni$& and Exim is built against OpenSSL, then
if the OpenSSL build supports TLS extensions and the TLS client sends the
Server Name Indication extension, then this option and others documented in
Usable for GnuTLS 3.4.4 or 3.3.17 or OpenSSL 1.1.0 (or later).
+.new
+&*Note*&: There is currently no support for multiple OCSP proofs to match the
+multiple certificates facility.
+.wen
+
.option tls_on_connect_ports main "string list" unset
.cindex SSMTP
-.option tls_privatekey main string&!! 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 the absolute path to a
-file which contains the server's private key. If this option is unset, or if
+.new
+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.
+.wen
+If this option is unset, or if
the expansion is forced to fail, or the result is an empty string, the private
key is assumed to be in the same file as the server's certificates. See chapter
&<<CHAPTLS>>& for further details.
lookup first. Only if that gives a definite &"no such host"& is the local
function called.
+&*Compatibility*&: From Exim 4.85 until fixed for 4.90, there was an
+inadvertent constraint that a transport name as an option had to be the last
+option specified.
+
If no IP address for a host can be found, what happens is controlled by the
.option dkim_private_key smtp string&!! unset
.option dkim_canon smtp string&!! unset
.option dkim_strict smtp string&!! unset
-.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! unset
+.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! "per RFC"
+.option dkim_hash smtp string&!! sha256
+.option dkim_identity smtp string&!! unset
DKIM signing options. For details see section &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
CHUNKING support, Exim will attempt to use BDAT commands rather than DATA.
BDAT will not be used in conjunction with a transport filter.
-.option hosts_try_fastopen smtp "host list!!" unset
+.option hosts_try_fastopen smtp "host list&!!" unset
.cindex "fast open, TCP" "enabling, in client"
.cindex "TCP Fast Open" "enabling, in client"
.cindex "RFC 7413" "TCP Fast Open"
On (at least some) current Linux distributions the facility must be enabled
in the kernel by the sysadmin before the support is usable.
+There is no option for control of the server side; if the system supports
+it it is always enebled. Note that legthy operations in the connect ACL,
+such as DNSBL lookups, will still delay the emission of the SMTP banner.
.option hosts_try_prdr smtp "host list&!!" *
.cindex "PRDR" "enabling, optional in client"
(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
+.new
+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.
+.wen
+.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
{HIGH:!MD5:!SHA1}}
.endd
+.new
+This example will prefer ECDSA-authenticated ciphers over RSA ones:
+.code
+tls_require_ciphers = ECDSA:RSA:!COMPLEMENTOFDEFAULT
+.endd
+.wen
.section "Requiring specific ciphers or other parameters in GnuTLS" &&&
Further protection requires some further configuration at the server end.
-It is rumoured that all existing clients that support TLS/SSL use RSA
-encryption. To make this work you need to set, in the server,
+To make TLS work you need to set, in the server,
.code
tls_certificate = /some/file/name
tls_privatekey = /some/file/name
certificates that need to be sent to the client to enable it to authenticate
the server's certificate.
+.new
+For dual-stack (eg. RSA and ECDSA) configurations, these options can be
+colon-separated lists of file paths. Ciphers using given authentication
+algorithms require the presence of a suitable certificate to supply the
+public-key. The server selects among the certificates to present to the
+client depending on the selected cipher, hence the priority ordering for
+ciphers will affect which certificate is used.
+.wen
+
If you do not understand about certificates and keys, please try to find a
source of this background information, which is not Exim-specific. (There are a
few comments below in section &<<SECTcerandall>>&.)
If the &%tls_verify_certificates%& option is set on the &(smtp)& transport, it
specifies a collection of expected server certificates.
-These may be the system default set (depending on library version),
-a file or,
-depending on library version, a directory,
-must name a file or,
-for OpenSSL only (not GnuTLS), a directory.
+These may be
+the system default set (depending on library version),
+a file,
+or (depending on library version) a directory.
The client verifies the server's certificate
against this collection, taking into account any revoked certificates that are
in the list defined by &%tls_crl%&.
.vitem &*udpsend*&&~=&~<&'parameters'&>
+.cindex "UDP communications"
This modifier sends a UDP packet, for purposes such as statistics
collection or behaviour monitoring. The parameters are expanded, and
the result of the expansion must be a colon-separated list consisting
item creates a signed address, and the &%prvscheck%& expansion item checks one.
The syntax of these expansion items is described in section
&<<SECTexpansionitems>>&.
+The validity period on signed addresses is seven days.
As an example, suppose the secret per-address keys are stored in an MySQL
database. A query to look up the key for an address could be defined as a macro
&`SNI `& server name indication from TLS client hello
&`ST `& shadow transport name
&`T `& on &`<=`& lines: message subject (topic)
+&`TFO `& connection took advantage of TCP Fast Open
&` `& on &`=>`& &`**`& and &`==`& lines: transport name
&`U `& local user or RFC 1413 identity
&`X `& TLS cipher suite
&` 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 QT,DT,D times
&` outgoing_interface `& local interface on => lines
&` outgoing_port `& add remote port to => lines
&`*queue_run `& start and end queue runs
.cindex "log" "delivery duration"
&%deliver_time%&: For each delivery, the amount of real time it has taken to
perform the actual delivery is logged as DT=<&'time'&>, for example, &`DT=1s`&.
+If millisecond logging is enabled, short times will be shown with greater
+precision, eg. &`DT=0.304`&.
.next
.cindex "log" "message size on delivery"
.cindex "size" "of message"
&%lost_incoming_connection%&: A log line is written when an incoming SMTP
connection is unexpectedly dropped.
.next
+.new
+.cindex "log" "millisecond timestamps"
+.cindex millisecond logging
+.cindex timstamps "millisecond, in logs"
+&%millisec%&: Timestamps have a period and three decimal places of finer granularity
+appended to the seconds value.
+.wen
+.next
.cindex "log" "outgoing interface"
.cindex "log" "local interface"
.cindex "log" "local address and port"
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.
+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
default "policy". Instead it enables you to build your own policy using
Exim's standard controls.
+.new
Please note that verification of DKIM signatures in incoming mail is turned
-on by default for logging purposes. For each signature in incoming email,
+on by default for logging (in the <= line) purposes.
+
+Additional log detail can be enabled using the &%dkim_verbose%& log_selector.
+When set, for each signature in incoming email,
exim will log a line displaying the most important signature details, and the
signature status. Here is an example (with line-breaks added for clarity):
.code
c=relaxed/relaxed a=rsa-sha1
i=@facebookmail.com t=1252484542 [verification succeeded]
.endd
+.wen
+
You might want to turn off DKIM verification processing entirely for internal
or relay mail sources. To do that, set the &%dkim_disable_verify%& ACL
control modifier. This should typically be done in the RCPT ACL, at points
.section "Signing outgoing messages" "SECDKIMSIGN"
.cindex "DKIM" "signing"
+.new
+For signing to be usable you must have published a DKIM record in DNS.
+Note that RFC 8301 says:
+.code
+rsa-sha1 MUST NOT be used for signing or verifying.
+
+Signers MUST use RSA keys of at least 1024 bits for all keys.
+Signers SHOULD use RSA keys of at least 2048 bits.
+.endd
+.wen
+.wen
+
Signing is enabled by setting private options on the SMTP transport.
These options take (expandable) strings as arguments.
Each element in turn is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable
while expanding the remaining signing options.
.wen
-If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done.
+If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done,
+and no error will result even if &%dkim_strict%& is set.
-.option dkim_selector smtp string&!! unset
+.option dkim_selector smtp string list&!! unset
This sets the key selector string.
-You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable to look up a matching selector.
-The result is put in the expansion
+.new
+After expansion, which can use &$dkim_domain$&, this can be a list.
+Each element in turn is put in the expansion
variable &%$dkim_selector%& which may be used in the &%dkim_private_key%&
option along with &%$dkim_domain%&.
-If the option is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done.
+.wen
+If the option is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done for this domain,
+and no error will result even if &%dkim_strict%& is set.
.option dkim_private_key smtp string&!! unset
This sets the private key to use.
be signed. This case will not result in an error, even if &%dkim_strict%&
is set.
.endlist
-If the option is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done.
+
+.new
+Note that RFC 8301 says:
+.code
+Signers MUST use RSA keys of at least 1024 bits for all keys.
+Signers SHOULD use RSA keys of at least 2048 bits.
+.endd
+.wen
+
+.option dkim_hash smtp string&!! sha256
+Can be set alternatively to &"sha1"& to use an alternate hash
+method.
+
+.new
+Note that RFC 8301 says:
+.code
+rsa-sha1 MUST NOT be used for signing or verifying.
+.endd
+.wen
+
+.option dkim_identity smtp string&!! unset
+If set after expansion, the value is used to set an "i=" tag in
+the signing header. The DKIM standards restrict the permissible
+syntax of this optional tag to a mail address, with possibly-empty
+local part, an @, and a domain identical to or subdomain of the "d="
+tag value. Note that Exim does not check the value.
+.wen
.option dkim_canon smtp string&!! unset
This option sets the canonicalization method used when signing a message.
unsigned. You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& and &%$dkim_selector%& expansion
variables here.
-.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! unset
-If set, this option must expand to (or be specified as) a colon-separated
-list of header names. Headers with these names will be included in the message
-signature.
-When unspecified, the header names recommended in RFC4871 will be used.
+.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! "see below"
+If set, this option must expand to a colon-separated
+list of header names.
+.new
+Headers with these names, or the absence or such a header, will be included
+in the message signature.
+When unspecified, the header names listed in RFC4871 will be used,
+whether or not each header is present in the message.
+The default list is available for the expansion in the macro
+"_DKIM_SIGN_HEADERS".
+
+If a name is repeated, multiple headers by that name (or the absence therof)
+will be signed. The textually later headers in the headers part of the
+message are signed first, if there are multiples.
+
+A name can be prefixed with either an '=' or a '+' character.
+If an '=' prefix is used, all headers that are present with this name
+will be signed.
+If a '+' prefix if used, all headers that are present with this name
+will be signed, and one signtature added for a missing header with the
+name will be appended.
+.wen
.section "Verifying DKIM signatures in incoming mail" "SECID514"
syntactically(!) correct signature in the incoming message.
A missing ACL definition defaults to accept.
If any ACL call does not accept, the message is not accepted.
-If a cutthrough delivery was in progress for the message it is
+If a cutthrough delivery was in progress for the message, that is
summarily dropped (having wasted the transmission effort).
To evaluate the signature in the ACL a large number of expansion variables
If a domain or identity is listed several times in the (expanded) value of
&%dkim_verify_signers%&, the ACL is only called once for that domain or identity.
+.new
+If multiple signatures match a domain (or identity), the ACL is called once
+for each matching signature.
+.wen
+
Inside the &%acl_smtp_dkim%&, the following expansion variables are
available (from most to least important):
&%dkim_verify_signers%& (see above).
.vitem &%$dkim_verify_status%&
-A string describing the general status of the signature. One of
+Within the DKIM ACL,
+a string describing the general status of the signature. One of
.ilist
&%none%&: There is no signature in the message for the current domain or
identity (as reflected by &%$dkim_cur_signer%&).
&%pass%&: The signature passed verification. It is valid.
.endlist
+.new
+This variable can be overwritten using an ACL 'set' modifier.
+This might, for instance, be done to enforce a policy restriction on
+hash-method or key-size:
+.code
+ warn condition = ${if eq {$dkim_algo}{rsa-sha1}}
+ condition = ${if eq {$dkim_verify_status}{pass}}
+ logwrite = NOTE: forcing dkim verify fail (was pass)
+ set dkim_verify_status = fail
+ set dkim_verify_reason = hash too weak
+.endd
+
+After all the DKIM ACL runs have completed, the value becomes a
+colon-separated list of the values after each run.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%$dkim_verify_reason%&
A string giving a little bit more detail when &%$dkim_verify_status%& is either
"fail" or "invalid". One of
DKIM verification. It may of course also mean that the signature is forged.
.endlist
+.new
+This variable can be overwritten, with any value, using an ACL 'set' modifier.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%$dkim_domain%&
The signing domain. IMPORTANT: This variable is only populated if there is
an actual signature in the message for the current domain or identity (as
.vitem &%$dkim_algo%&
The algorithm used. One of 'rsa-sha1' or 'rsa-sha256'.
+.new
+Note that RFC 8301 says:
+.code
+rsa-sha1 MUST NOT be used for signing or verifying.
+
+DKIM signatures identified as having been signed with historic
+algorithms (currently, rsa-sha1) have permanently failed evaluation
+.endd
+
+To enforce this you must have a DKIM ACL which checks this variable
+and overwrites the &$dkim_verify_status$& variable as discussed above.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%$dkim_canon_body%&
The body canonicalization method. One of 'relaxed' or 'simple'.
.vitem &%$dkim_key_length%&
Number of bits in the key.
+
+.new
+Note that RFC 8301 says:
+.code
+Verifiers MUST NOT consider signatures using RSA keys of
+less than 1024 bits as valid signatures.
+.endd
+
+To enforce this you must have a DKIM ACL which checks this variable
+and overwrites the &$dkim_verify_status$& variable as discussed above.
+.wen
+
.endlist
In addition, two ACL conditions are provided: