. Update the Copyright year (only) when changing content.
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-.set previousversion "4.88"
+.set previousversion "4.89"
.include ./local_params
.set ACL "access control lists (ACLs)"
.section "Exim documentation" "SECID1"
. Keep this example change bar when updating the documentation!
+.new
.cindex "documentation"
This edition of the Exim specification applies to version &version() of Exim.
Substantive changes from the &previousversion; edition are marked in some
renditions of the document; this paragraph is so marked if the rendition is
capable of showing a change indicator.
+.wen
This document is very much a reference manual; it is not a tutorial. The reader
is expected to have some familiarity with the SMTP mail transfer protocol and
examples, tips, and know-how that have been contributed by Exim users.
.cindex Bugzilla
-An Exim Bugzilla exists at &url(http://bugs.exim.org). You can use
+An Exim Bugzilla exists at &url(https://bugs.exim.org). You can use
this to report bugs, and also to add items to the wish list. Please search
first to check that you are not duplicating a previous entry.
Please ask Debian-specific questions on this list and not on the general Exim
lists.
-.section "Exim training" "SECID4"
-.cindex "training courses"
-Training courses in Cambridge (UK) used to be run annually by the author of
-Exim, before he retired. At the time of writing, there are no plans to run
-further Exim courses in Cambridge. However, if that changes, relevant
-information will be posted at &url(http://www-tus.csx.cam.ac.uk/courses/exim/).
-
.section "Bug reports" "SECID5"
.cindex "bug reports"
.cindex "reporting bugs"
Reports of obvious bugs can be emailed to &'bugs@exim.org'& or reported
-via the Bugzilla (&url(http://bugs.exim.org)). However, if you are unsure
+via the Bugzilla (&url(https://bugs.exim.org)). However, if you are unsure
whether some behaviour is a bug or not, the best thing to do is to post a
message to the &'exim-dev'& mailing list and have it discussed.
.cindex "distribution" "ftp site"
The master ftp site for the Exim distribution is
.display
-&*ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/email/exim*&
-.endd
-This is mirrored by
-.display
&*ftp://ftp.exim.org/pub/exim*&
.endd
The file references that follow are relative to the &_exim_& directories at
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"
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the
remote host supports the ESMTP &_DSN_& extension.
-.vitem &%-MCG%&
+.vitem &%-MCG%&&~<&'queue&~name'&>
.oindex "&%-MCG%&"
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
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 &%-MCt%&&~<&'IP&~address'&>&~<&'port'&>&~<&'cipher'&>
+.oindex "&%-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
+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.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%-Mc%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.oindex "&%-Mc%&"
.cindex "hints database" "not overridden by &%-Mc%&"
SMTP protocol names (see the description of &$received_protocol$& in section
&<<SECTexpvar>>&). For &%-bs%&, the protocol is always &"local-"& followed by
one of those same names. For &%-bS%& (batched SMTP) however, the protocol can
-be set by &%-oMr%&.
+be set by &%-oMr%&. Repeated use of this option is not supported.
.vitem &%-oMs%&&~<&'host&~name'&>
.oindex "&%-oMs%&"
Note the Exim already has two private options, &%-pd%& and &%-ps%&, that refer
to embedded Perl. It is therefore impossible to set a protocol value of &`d`&
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%&"
on a line by itself. Double quotes round the file name are optional. If you use
the first form, a configuration error occurs if the file does not exist; the
second form does nothing for non-existent files.
-.new
The first form allows a relative name. It is resolved relative to
the directory of the including file. For the second form an absolute file
name is required.
-.wen
Includes may be nested to any depth, but remember that Exim reads its
configuration file often, so it is a good idea to keep them to a minimum.
to 5 seconds, but it can be changed by means of the &%sqlite_lock_timeout%&
option.
-.new
.section "More about Redis" "SECTredis"
.cindex "lookup" "Redis"
.cindex "redis lookup type"
${lookup redis{set keyname ${quote_redis:objvalue plus}}}
${lookup redis{get keyname}}
.endd
-.wen
.ecindex IIDfidalo1
.ecindex IIDfidalo2
router or transport are not accessible.
For incoming SMTP messages, no header lines are visible in
-.new
ACLs that are obeyed before the data phase completes,
-.wen
because the header structure is not set up until the message is received.
They are visible in DKIM, PRDR and DATA ACLs.
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.
-.new
When any of the above ACLs ar
-.wen
running, however, header lines added by earlier ACLs are visible.
Upper case and lower case letters are synonymous in header names. If the
.code
${readsocket{/socket/name}{request string}{3s}}
.endd
-.new
The third argument is a list of options, of which the first element is the timeout
and must be present if the argument is given.
Further elements are options of form &'name=value'&.
.code
${readsocket{/socket/name}{request string}{3s:shutdown=no}}
.endd
-.wen
A fourth argument allows you to change any newlines that are in the data
that is read, in the same way as for &%readfile%& (see above). This example
turns them into spaces:
${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.
hexadecimal digits. There may be fewer than eight components if an empty
component (adjacent colons) is present. Only one empty component is permitted.
-&*Note*&: The checks are just on the form of the address; actual numerical
-values are not considered. Thus, for example, 999.999.999.999 passes the IPv4
-check. The main use of these tests is to distinguish between IP addresses and
+.new
+&*Note*&: The checks used to be just on the form of the address; actual numerical
+values were not considered. Thus, for example, 999.999.999.999 passed the IPv4
+check.
+This is no longer the case.
+.wen
+
+The main use of these tests is to distinguish between IP addresses and
host names, or between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. For example, you could use
.code
${if isip4{$sender_host_address}...
${if match_domain{a.b.c}{x.y.z:a.b.c:p.q.r}{yes}{no}}
.endd
In each case, the second argument may contain any of the allowable items for a
-list of the appropriate type. Also, because the second argument (after
-expansion) is a standard form of list, it is possible to refer to a named list.
+list of the appropriate type. Also, because the second argument
+is a standard form of list, it is possible to refer to a named list.
Thus, you can use conditions like this:
.code
${if match_domain{$domain}{+local_domains}{...
.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 &$dkim_cur_signer$& &&&
- &$dkim_verify_status$& &&&
&$dkim_verify_reason$& &&&
&$dkim_domain$& &&&
&$dkim_identity$& &&&
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).
+.new
+It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+.wen
.vitem &$message_age$&
.cindex "message" "age of"
separates the body from the header. Newlines are included in the count. See
also &$message_size$&, &$body_linecount$&, and &$body_zerocount$&.
+.new
+If the spool file is wireformat
+(see the &%spool_files_wireformat%& main option)
+the CRLF line-terminators are included in the count.
+.wen
+
.vitem &$message_exim_id$&
.vindex "&$message_exim_id$&"
When a message is being received or delivered, this variable contains the
In the MAIL and RCPT ACLs, the value is zero because at that stage the
message has not yet been received.
+.new
+This variable is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+.wen
+
.vitem &$message_size$&
.cindex "size" "of message"
.cindex "message" "size"
If you have changed &%host_lookup_order%& so that &`bydns`& is not the first
mechanism in the list, then this variable will be false.
-.new
This requires that your system resolver library support EDNS0 (and that
DNSSEC flags exist in the system headers). If the resolver silently drops
all EDNS0 options, then this will have no effect. OpenBSD's asr resolver
is known to currently ignore EDNS0, documented in CAVEATS of asr_run(3).
-.wen
.vitem &$sender_host_name$&
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
.row &%message_body_visible%& "how much to show in &$message_body$&"
.row &%mua_wrapper%& "run in &""MUA wrapper""& mode"
.row &%print_topbitchars%& "top-bit characters are printing"
+.row &%spool_wireformat%& "use wire-format spool data files when possible"
.row &%timezone%& "force time zone"
.endtable
.section "Privilege controls" "SECID98"
.table2
.row &%admin_groups%& "groups that are Exim admin users"
+.row &%commandline_checks_require_admin%& "require admin for various checks"
.row &%deliver_drop_privilege%& "drop root for delivery processes"
.row &%local_from_check%& "insert &'Sender:'& if necessary"
.row &%local_from_prefix%& "for testing &'From:'& for local sender"
Hosts may use the BDAT command as an alternate to DATA.
.new
+.option commandline_checks_require_admin main boolean &`false`&
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+This option restricts various basic checking features to require an
+administrative user.
+This affects most of the &%-b*%& options, such as &%-be%&.
+.wen
+
.option debug_store main boolean &`false`&
.cindex debugging "memory corruption"
.cindex memory debugging
This option, when true, enables extra checking in Exim's internal memory
management. For use when a memory corruption issue is being investigated,
it should normally be left as default.
-.wen
.option daemon_smtp_ports main string &`smtp`&
.cindex "port" "for daemon"
If the resolver library does not support EDNS0 then this option has no effect.
-.new
OpenBSD's asr resolver routines are known to ignore the EDNS0 option; this
means that DNSSEC will not work with Exim on that platform either, unless Exim
is linked against an alternative DNS client library.
-.wen
.option drop_cr main boolean false
of SSL-on-connect.
In the event of failure to negotiate TLS, the action taken is controlled
by &%ldap_require_cert%&.
-.new
This option is ignored for &`ldapi`& connections.
-.wen
.option ldap_version main integer unset
transport driver.
-.option openssl_options main "string list" "+no_sslv2 +single_dh_use"
+.option openssl_options main "string list" "+no_sslv2 +single_dh_use +no_ticket"
.cindex "OpenSSL "compatibility options"
This option allows an administrator to adjust the SSL options applied
by OpenSSL to connections. It is given as a space-separated list of items,
.option prod_requires_admin main boolean true
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
.oindex "&%-M%&"
.oindex "&%-R%&"
.oindex "&%-q%&"
The &%-M%&, &%-R%&, and &%-q%& command-line options require the caller to be an
admin user unless &%prod_requires_admin%& is set false. See also
-&%queue_list_requires_admin%&.
+&%queue_list_requires_admin%& and &%commandline_checks_require_admin%&.
.option qualify_domain main string "see below"
.option queue_list_requires_admin main boolean true
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
.oindex "&%-bp%&"
The &%-bp%& command-line option, which lists the messages that are on the
queue, requires the caller to be an admin user unless
-&%queue_list_requires_admin%& is set false. See also &%prod_requires_admin%&.
+&%queue_list_requires_admin%& is set false.
+See also &%prod_requires_admin%& and &%commandline_checks_require_admin%&.
.option queue_only main boolean false
By using this option to override the compiled-in path, it is possible to run
tests of Exim without using the standard spool.
+.new
+.option spool_wireformat main boolean false
+.cindex "spool directory" "file formats"
+If this option is set, Exim may for some messages use an alternate format
+for data-files in the spool which matches the wire format.
+Doing this permits more efficient message reception and transmission.
+Currently it is only done for messages received using the EMSTP CHUNKING
+option.
+
+The following variables will not have useful values:
+.code
+$max_received_linelength
+$body_linecount
+$body_zerocount
+.endd
+
+Users of the local_scan() API (see &<<CHAPlocalscan>>&),
+and any external programs which are passed a reference to a message data file
+(except via the &"regex"&, &"malware"& or &"spam"&) ACL conditions)
+will need to be aware of the potential different format.
+
+Using any of the ACL conditions noted will negate the reception benefit
+(as a Unix-mbox-format file is contructed for them).
+The transimssion benefit is maintained.
+.wen
+
.option sqlite_lock_timeout main time 5s
.cindex "sqlite lookup type" "lock timeout"
This option controls the timeout that the &(sqlite)& lookup uses when trying to
appropriate &%system_filter_..._transport%& option(s) must be set, to define
which transports are to be used. Details of this facility are given in chapter
&<<CHAPsystemfilter>>&.
-.new
A forced expansion failure results in no filter operation.
-.wen
.option system_filter_directory_transport main string&!! unset
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 forbid_blackhole redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, the &':blackhole:'& item may not appear in a
redirection list.
.option forbid_exim_filter redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is set true, only Sieve filters are permitted when
&%allow_filter%& is true.
.option forbid_file redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
.cindex "delivery" "to file; forbidding"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
.cindex "Sieve filter" "forbidding delivery to a file"
.cindex "Sieve filter" "&""keep""& facility; disabling"
If this option is true, this router may not generate a new address that
.option forbid_filter_dlfunc redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filters are not allowed to
make use of the &%dlfunc%& expansion facility to run dynamically loaded
functions.
.option forbid_filter_existstest redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
.cindex "expansion" "statting a file"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filters are not allowed to
make use of the &%exists%& condition or the &%stat%& expansion item.
.option forbid_filter_logwrite redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, use of the logging facility in Exim filters is not
permitted. Logging is in any case available only if the filter is being run
under some unprivileged uid (which is normally the case for ordinary users'
.option forbid_filter_lookup redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filter files are not allowed
to make use of &%lookup%& items.
.option forbid_filter_perl redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
This option has an effect only if Exim is built with embedded Perl support. If
it is true, string expansions in Exim filter files are not allowed to make use
of the embedded Perl support.
.option forbid_filter_readfile redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filter files are not allowed
to make use of &%readfile%& items.
.option forbid_filter_readsocket redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filter files are not allowed
to make use of &%readsocket%& items.
.option forbid_filter_reply redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, this router may not generate an automatic reply
message. Automatic replies can be generated only from Exim or Sieve filter
files, not from traditional forward files. This option is forced to be true if
.option forbid_filter_run redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, string expansions in Exim filter files are not allowed
to make use of &%run%& items.
.option forbid_include redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is true, items of the form
.code
:include:<path name>
.option forbid_pipe redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
.cindex "delivery" "to pipe; forbidding"
If this option is true, this router may not generate a new address which
specifies delivery to a pipe, either from an Exim filter or from a conventional
.option forbid_sieve_filter redirect boolean false
+.cindex "restricting access to features"
+.cindex "filter" "locking out certain features"
If this option is set true, only Exim filters are permitted when
&%allow_filter%& is true.
The value of the option is expanded, and must then be a numerical value
(decimal point allowed), optionally followed by one of the letters K, M, or G,
-for kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes. If Exim is running on a system with
+for kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, optionally followed by a slash
+and further option modifiers. If Exim is running on a system with
large file support (Linux and FreeBSD have this), mailboxes larger than 2G can
be handled.
+The option modifier &%no_check%& can be used to force delivery even if the over
+quota condition is met. The quota gets updated as usual.
+
&*Note*&: A value of zero is interpreted as &"no quota"&.
The expansion happens while Exim is running as root, before it changes uid for
failure causes delivery to be deferred. A value of zero is interpreted as
&"no quota"&.
+The option modifier &%no_check%& can be used to force delivery even if the over
+quota condition is met. The quota gets updated as usual.
.option quota_is_inclusive appendfile boolean true
See &%quota%& above.
.option path pipe string&!! "/bin:/usr/bin"
-.new
This option is expanded and
-.wen
specifies the string that is set up in the PATH environment
variable of the subprocess.
If the &%command%& option does not yield an absolute path name, the command is
of the message. Its value must not be zero. See also &%final_timeout%&.
-.option dkim_domain smtp string&!! unset
+.option dkim_domain smtp string list&!! unset
.option dkim_selector smtp string&!! unset
.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>>&.
message on the same connection. See section &<<SECTmulmessam>>& for an
explanation of when this might be needed.
+.new
+.option hosts_noproxy_tls smtp "host list&!!" *
+.cindex "TLS" "passing connection"
+.cindex "multiple SMTP deliveries"
+.cindex "TLS" "multiple message deliveries"
+For any host that matches this list, a TLS session which has
+been started will not be passed to a new delivery process for sending another
+message on the same session.
+
+The traditional implementation closes down TLS and re-starts it in the new
+process, on the same open TCP connection, for each successive message
+sent. If permitted by this option a pipe to to the new process is set up
+instead, and the original process maintains the TLS connection and proxies
+the SMTP connection from and to the new process and any subsequents.
+The new process has no access to TLS information, so cannot include it in
+logging.
+.wen
+
+
.option hosts_override smtp boolean false
If this option is set and the &%hosts%& option is also set, any hosts that are
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"
deliver the message unauthenticated.
.endlist
-.new
Note that the hostlist test for whether to do authentication can be
confused if name-IP lookups change between the time the peer is decided
on and the transport running. For example, with a manualroute
No authentication will then be done, despite the names being identical.
For such cases use a separate transport which always authenticates.
-.wen
.cindex "AUTH" "on MAIL command"
When Exim has authenticated itself to a remote server, it adds the AUTH
(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" &&&
.cindex "TLS" "configuring an Exim server"
When Exim has been built with TLS support, it advertises the availability of
the STARTTLS command to client hosts that match &%tls_advertise_hosts%&,
-but not to any others. The default value of this option is unset, which means
-that STARTTLS is not advertised at all. This default is chosen because you
-need to set some other options in order to make TLS available, and also it is
-sensible for systems that want to use TLS only as a client.
+but not to any others. The default value of this option is *, which means
+that STARTTLS is alway advertised. Set it to blank to never advertise;
+this is reasonble for systems that want to use TLS only as a client.
+
+If STARTTLS is to be used you
+need to set some other options in order to make TLS available.
If a client issues a STARTTLS command and there is some configuration
problem in the server, the command is rejected with a 454 error. If the client
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%&.
"SECTmulmessam"
.cindex "multiple SMTP deliveries with TLS"
.cindex "TLS" "multiple message deliveries"
+.new
Exim sends multiple messages down the same TCP/IP connection by starting up
an entirely new delivery process for each message, passing the socket from
one process to the next. This implementation does not fit well with the use
of TLS, because there is quite a lot of state information associated with a TLS
connection, not just a socket identification. Passing all the state information
-to a new process is not feasible. Consequently, Exim shuts down an existing TLS
-session before passing the socket to a new process. The new process may then
+to a new process is not feasible. Consequently, for sending using TLS Exim
+starts an additional proxy process for handling the encryption, piping the
+unencrypted data stream from and to the delivery processes.
+
+An older mode of operation can be enabled on a per-host basis by the
+&%hosts_noproxy_tls%& option on the &(smtp)& transport. If the host matches
+this list the proxy process descibed above is not used; instead Exim
+.wen
+shuts down an existing TLS session being run by the delivery process
+before passing the socket to a new process. The new process may then
try to start a new TLS session, and if successful, may try to re-authenticate
if AUTH is in use, before sending the next message.
remaining recipients. The &"discard"& return is not permitted for the
&%acl_smtp_predata%& ACL.
-.new
If the ACL for VRFY returns &"accept"&, a recipient verify (without callout)
is done on the address and the result determines the SMTP response.
-.wen
.cindex "&[local_scan()]& function" "when all recipients discarded"
.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
Note also that headers cannot be
modified by any of the post-data ACLs (DATA, MIME and DKIM).
Headers may be modified by routers (subject to the above) and transports.
+.new
+The Received-By: header is generated as soon as the body reception starts,
+rather than the traditional time after the full message is received;
+this will affect the timestamp.
+.wen
All the usual ACLs are called; if one results in the message being
rejected, all effort spent in delivery (including the costs on
of outgoing messages is done, because it sends data to the ultimate destination
before the entire message has been received from the source.
It is not supported for messages received with the SMTP PRDR
-.new
or CHUNKING
-.wen
options in use.
Should the ultimate destination system positively accept or reject the mail,
.cindex "&ACL;" "enabling debug logging"
.cindex "debugging" "enabling from an ACL"
This control turns on debug logging, almost as though Exim had been invoked
-with &`-d`&, with the output going to a new logfile, by default called
-&'debuglog'&. The filename can be adjusted with the &'tag'& option, which
+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 may be stopped, and the file removed, with the &'kill'& option.
+Logging started this way may be stopped, and the file removed,
+with the &'kill'& option.
Some examples (which depend on variables that don't exist in all
contexts):
.code
This is a variation of the previous option, in which a modified address is
verified as a sender.
-.new
Note that '/' is legal in local-parts; if the address may have such
(eg. is generated from the received message)
they must be protected from the options parsing by doubling:
.code
verify = sender=${sg{${address:$h_sender:}}{/}{//}}
.endd
-.wen
.endlist
need to use this option unless you know that the called hosts make use of the
sender when checking recipients. If used indiscriminately, it reduces the
usefulness of callout caching.
+
+.new
+.vitem &*hold*&
+This option applies to recipient callouts only. For example:
+.code
+require verify = recipient/callout=use_sender,hold
+.endd
+It causes the connection to be helod open and used for any further recipients
+and for eventual delivery (should that be done quickly).
+Doing this saves on TCP and SMTP startup costs, and TLS costs also
+when that is used for the connections.
+The advantage is only gained if there are no callout cache hits
+(which could be enforced by the no_cache option),
+if the use_sender option is used,
+if neither the random nor the use_postmaster option is used,
+and if no other callouts intervene.
+.wen
.endlist
If you use any of the parameters that set a non-empty sender for the MAIL
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
.endd
If you omit the argument, the default values show above are used.
+.new
+.vitem &%f-prot6d%&
+.cindex "virus scanners" "f-prot6d"
+The f-prot6d scanner is accessed using the FPSCAND protocol over TCP.
+One argument is taken, being a space-separated hostname and port number.
+For example:
+.code
+av_scanner = f-prot6d:localhost 10200
+.endd
+If you omit the argument, the default values show above are used.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%fsecure%&
.cindex "virus scanners" "F-Secure"
The F-Secure daemon scanner (&url(http://www.f-secure.com)) takes one
a commandline to send (may include a single %s which will be replaced with
the path to the mail file to be scanned),
an RE to trigger on from the returned data,
-an RE to extract malware_name from the returned data.
+and an RE to extract malware_name from the returned data.
For example:
.code
-av_scanner = sock:127.0.0.1 6001:%s:(SPAM|VIRUS):(.*)\$
+av_scanner = sock:127.0.0.1 6001:%s:(SPAM|VIRUS):(.*)$
.endd
-Default for the socket specifier is &_/tmp/malware.sock_&.
-Default for the commandline is &_%s\n_&.
-Both regular-expressions are required.
+.new
+Note that surrounding whitespace is stripped from each option, meaning
+there is no way to specify a trailing newline.
+The socket specifier and both regular-expressions are required.
+Default for the commandline is &_%s\n_& (note this does have a trailing newline);
+specify an empty element to get this.
+.wen
.vitem &%sophie%&
.cindex "virus scanners" "Sophos and Sophie"
.vlist
.vitem &*int&~body_linecount*&
This variable contains the number of lines in the message's body.
+.new
+It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+.wen
.vitem &*int&~body_zerocount*&
This variable contains the number of binary zero bytes in the message's body.
+.new
+It is not valid if the &%spool_files_wireformat%& option is used.
+.wen
.vitem &*unsigned&~int&~debug_selector*&
This variable is set to zero when no debugging is taking place. Otherwise, it
flagged with &`->`& instead of &`=>`&. When two or more messages are delivered
down a single SMTP connection, an asterisk follows the IP address in the log
lines for the second and subsequent messages.
+.new
+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
+will not be present in the log lines for the second and subsequent messages.
+TLS cipher information is still available.
+.wen
.cindex "delivery" "cutthrough; logging"
.cindex "cutthrough" "logging"
&`I `& local interface used
&`K `& CHUNKING extension used
&`id `& message id for incoming message
+&`M8S `& 8BITMIME status for incoming message
&`P `& on &`<=`& lines: protocol used
&` `& on &`=>`& and &`**`& lines: return path
&`PRDR`& PRDR extension used
&`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
.cindex "&'exipick'&"
John Jetmore's &'exipick'& utility is included in the Exim distribution. It
lists messages from the queue according to a variety of criteria. For details
-of &'exipick'&'s facilities, visit the web page at
-&url(http://www.exim.org/eximwiki/ToolExipickManPage) or run &'exipick'& with
+of &'exipick'&'s facilities, run &'exipick'& with
the &%--help%& option.
unprivileged), Exim must be built to allow group read access to its spool
files.
+.new
+By default, regular users are trusted to perform basic testing and
+introspection commands, as themselves. This setting can be tightened by
+setting the &%commandline_checks_require_admin%& option.
+This affects most of the checking options,
+such as &%-be%& and anything else &%-b*%&.
+.wen
.section "Spool files" "SECID275"
-J file and uses it to update the -H file before starting the next delivery
attempt.
+.new
+Files whose names end with -K or .eml may also be seen in the spool.
+These are temporaries used for DKIM or malware processing, when that is used.
+They should be tidied up by normal operations; any old ones are probably
+relics of crashes and can be removed.
+.wen
+
.section "Format of the -H file" "SECID282"
.cindex "uid (user id)" "in spool file"
.cindex "gid (group id)" "in spool file"
&$authenticated_sender$& variable.
.vitem "&%-body_linecount%&&~<&'number'&>"
-This records the number of lines in the body of the message, and is always
-present.
+This records the number of lines in the body of the message, and is
+present unless &%-spool_file_wireformat%& is.
.vitem "&%-body_zerocount%&&~<&'number'&>"
This records the number of binary zero bytes in the body of the message, and is
If a message was scanned by SpamAssassin, this is present. It records the value
of &$spam_score_int$&.
+.new
+.vitem &%-spool_file_wireformat%&
+The -D file for this message is in wire-format (for ESMTP CHUNKING)
+rather than Unix-format.
+The line-ending is CRLF rather than newline.
+There is still, however, no leading-dot-stuffing.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%-tls_certificate_verified%&
A TLS certificate was received from the client that sent this message, and the
certificate was verified by the server.
.ecindex IIDforspo2
.ecindex IIDforspo3
+.new
+.section "Format of the -D file" "SECID282a"
+The data file is traditionally in Unix-standard format: lines are ended with
+an ASCII newline character.
+However, when the &%spool_wireformat%& main option is used some -D files
+can have an alternate format.
+This is flagged by a &%-spool_file_wireformat%& line in the corresponding -H file.
+The -D file lines (not including the first name-component line) are
+suitable for direct copying to the wire when transmitting using the
+ESMTP CHUNKING option, meaning lower processing overhead.
+Lines are terminated with an ASCII CRLF pair.
+There is no dot-stuffing (and no dot-termination).
+.wen
+
. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Signing is enabled by setting private options on the SMTP transport.
These options take (expandable) strings as arguments.
-.option dkim_domain smtp string&!! unset
-MANDATORY:
-The domain you want to sign with. The result of this expanded
-option is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable.
+.option dkim_domain smtp string list&!! unset
+The domain(s) you want to sign with.
+.new
+After expansion, this can be a list.
+Each element in turn is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable
+while expanding the remaining signing options.
+.wen
If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done.
-.option dkim_selector smtp string&!! unset
-MANDATORY:
-This sets the key selector string. You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion
-variable to look up a matching selector. The result is put in the expansion
+.option dkim_selector smtp string list&!! unset
+This sets the key selector string.
+.new
+After expansion, which can use &$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 &%$dkim_domain%&.
+If the option is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done for this domain.
+.wen
.option dkim_private_key smtp string&!! unset
-MANDATORY:
-This sets the private key to use. You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& and
+This sets the private key to use.
+You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& and
&%$dkim_selector%& expansion variables to determine the private key to use.
The result can either
.ilist
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
+.option dkim_hash smtp string&!! sha256
+Can be set alternatively to &"sha1"& to use an alternate hash
+method. Note that sha1 is now condidered insecure, and deprecated.
+
+.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
-OPTIONAL:
This option sets the canonicalization method used when signing a message.
The DKIM RFC currently supports two methods: "simple" and "relaxed".
The option defaults to "relaxed" when unset. Note: the current implementation
only supports using the same canonicalization method for both headers and body.
.option dkim_strict smtp string&!! unset
-OPTIONAL:
This option defines how Exim behaves when signing a message that
should be signed fails for some reason. When the expansion evaluates to
either "1" or "true", Exim will defer. Otherwise Exim will send the message
unsigned. You can use the &%$dkim_domain%& and &%$dkim_selector%& expansion
variables here.
-.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! unset
-OPTIONAL:
-When 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 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_canon_body%&
The body canonicalization method. One of 'relaxed' or 'simple'.
-.vitem &%dkim_canon_headers%&
+.vitem &%$dkim_canon_headers%&
The header canonicalization method. One of 'relaxed' or 'simple'.
.vitem &%$dkim_copiedheaders%&
To include this it must be built with SUPPORT_I18N and the libidn library.
Standards supported are RFCs 2060, 5890, 6530 and 6533.
-.new
If Exim is built with SUPPORT_I18N_2008 (in addition to SUPPORT_I18N, not
instead of it) then IDNA2008 is supported; this adds an extra library
requirement, upon libidn2.
-.wen
.section "MTA operations" SECTi18nMTA
.cindex SMTPUTF8 "ESMTP option"
&`msg:rcpt:host:defer after transport `& per recipient per host
&`msg:rcpt:defer after transport `& per recipient
&`msg:host:defer after transport `& per attempt
-&`msg:fail:delivery after main `& per recipient
+&`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
before or after the action is associates with. Those which fire before
can be used to affect that action (more on this below).
+.new
+The third column in the table above says what section of the configumration
+should define the event action.
+.wen
+
An additional variable, &$event_data$&, is filled with information varying
with the event type:
.display
git://git.exim.org / exim.git / blobdiff