-$Cambridge: exim/doc/doc-txt/NewStuff,v 1.137 2007/02/06 11:11:39 ph10 Exp $
+$Cambridge: exim/doc/doc-txt/NewStuff,v 1.157 2007/08/23 11:01:49 ph10 Exp $
New Features in Exim
--------------------
test from the snapshots or the CVS before the documentation is updated. Once
the documentation is updated, this file is reduced to a short list.
-Version 4.67
+Version 4.68
------------
- 1. There is a new log selector called smtp_no_mail, which is not included in
- the default setting. When it is set, a line is written to the main log
- whenever an accepted SMTP connection terminates without having issued a
- MAIL command. This includes both the case when the connection is dropped,
- and the case when QUIT is used. Note that it does not include cases where
- the connection is rejected right at the start (by an ACL, or because there
- are too many connections, or whatever). These cases already have their own
- log lines.
-
- The log line that is written contains the identity of the client in the
- usual way, followed by D= and a time, which records the duration of the
- connection. If the connection was authenticated, this fact is logged
- exactly as it is for an incoming message, with an A= item. If the
- connection was encrypted, CV=, DN=, and X= items may appear as they do for
- an incoming message, controlled by the same logging options.
-
- Finally, if any SMTP commands were issued during the connection, a C= item
- is added to the line, listing the commands that were used. For example,
-
- C=EHLO,QUIT
-
- shows that the client issued QUIT straight after EHLO. If there were fewer
- than 20 commands, they are all listed. If there were more than 20 commands,
- the last 20 are listed, preceded by "...". However, with the default
- setting of 10 for smtp_accep_max_nonmail, the connection will in any case
- be aborted before 20 non-mail commands are processed.
+ 1. The body_linecount and body_zerocount C variables are now exported in the
+ local_scan API.
+
+ 2. When a dnslists lookup succeeds, the key that was looked up is now placed
+ in $dnslist_matched. When the key is an IP address, it is not reversed in
+ this variable (though it is, of course, in the actual lookup). In simple
+ cases, for example:
+
+ deny dnslists = spamhaus.example
+
+ the key is also available in another variable (in this case,
+ $sender_host_address). In more complicated cases, however, this is not
+ true. For example, using a data lookup might generate a dnslists lookup
+ like this:
+
+ deny dnslists = spamhaus.example/<|192.168.1.2|192.168.6.7|...
+
+ If this condition succeeds, the value in $dnslist_matched might be
+ 192.168.6.7 (for example).
+
+ 3. Authenticators now have a client_condition option. When Exim is running as
+ a client, it skips an authenticator whose client_condition expansion yields
+ "0", "no", or "false". This can be used, for example, to skip plain text
+ authenticators when the connection is not encrypted by a setting such as:
+
+ client_condition = ${if !eq{$tls_cipher}{}}
+
+ Note that the 4.67 documentation states that $tls_cipher contains the
+ cipher used for incoming messages. In fact, during SMTP delivery, it
+ contains the cipher used for the delivery. The same is true for
+ $tls_peerdn.
- 2. When an item in a dnslists list is followed by = and & and a list of IP
- addresses, in order to restrict the match to specific results from the DNS
- lookup, the behaviour was not clear when the lookup returned more than one
- IP address. For example, consider the condition
+ 4. There is now a -Mvc <message-id> option, which outputs a copy of the
+ message to the standard output, in RFC 2822 format. The option can be used
+ only by an admin user.
+
+ 5. There is now a /noupdate option for the ratelimit ACL condition. It
+ computes the rate and checks the limit as normal, but it does not update
+ the saved data. This means that, in relevant ACLs, it is possible to lookup
+ the existence of a specified (or auto-generated) ratelimit key without
+ incrementing the ratelimit counter for that key.
+
+ In order for this to be useful, another ACL entry must set the rate
+ for the same key somewhere (otherwise it will always be zero).
+
+ Example:
+
+ acl_check_connect:
+ # Read the rate; if it doesn't exist or is below the maximum
+ # we update it below
+ deny ratelimit = 100 / 5m / strict / noupdate
+ log_message = RATE: $sender_rate / $sender_rate_period \
+ (max $sender_rate_limit)
- dnslists = a.b.c=127.0.0.1
+ [... some other logic and tests...]
- What happens if the DNS lookup for the incoming IP address yields both
- 127.0.0.1 and 127.0.0.2 by means of two separate DNS records? Is the
- condition true because at least one given value was found, or is it false
- because at least one of the found values was not listed? And how does this
- affect negated conditions?
+ warn ratelimit = 100 / 5m / strict / per_cmd
+ log_message = RATE UPDATE: $sender_rate / $sender_rate_period \
+ (max $sender_rate_limit)
+ condition = ${if le{$sender_rate}{$sender_rate_limit}}
- The behaviour of = and & has not been changed; however, the text below
- documents it more clearly. In addition, two new additional conditions (==
- and =&) have been added, to permit the "other" behaviour to be configured.
+ accept
- A DNS lookup may yield more than one record. Thus, the result of the lookup
- for a dnslists check may yield more than one IP address. The question then
- arises as to whether all the looked up addresses must be listed, or whether
- just one is good enough. Both possibilities are provided for:
+ 6. The variable $max_received_linelength contains the number of bytes in the
+ longest line that was received as part of the message, not counting the
+ line termination character(s).
- . If = or & is used, the condition is true if any one of the looked up
- IP addresses matches one of the listed addresses. Consider:
+ 7. Host lists can now include +ignore_defer and +include_defer, analagous to
+ +ignore_unknown and +include_unknown. These options should be used with
+ care, probably only in non-critical host lists such as whitelists.
- dnslists = a.b.c=127.0.0.1
+ 8. There's a new option called queue_only_load_latch, which defaults true.
+ If set false when queue_only_load is greater than zero, Exim re-evaluates
+ the load for each incoming message in an SMTP session. Otherwise, once one
+ message is queued, the remainder are also.
- If the DNS lookup yields both 127.0.0.1 and 127.0.0.2, the condition is
- true because 127.0.0.1 matches.
+ 9. There is a new ACL, specified by smtp_notquit_acl, which is run in most
+ cases when an SMTP session ends without sending QUIT. However, when Exim
+ itself is is bad trouble, such as being unable to write to its log files,
+ this ACL is not run, because it might try to do things (such as write to
+ log files) that make the situation even worse.
- . If == or =& is used, the condition is true only if every one of the
- looked up IP addresses matches one of the listed addresses. Consider:
+ Like the QUIT ACL, this new ACL is provided to make it possible to gather
+ statistics. Whatever it returns (accept or deny) is immaterial. The "delay"
+ modifier is forbidden in this ACL.
- dnslists = a.b.c==127.0.0.1
+ When the NOTQUIT ACL is running, the variable $smtp_notquit_reason is set
+ to a string that indicates the reason for the termination of the SMTP
+ connection. The possible values are:
- If the DNS lookup yields both 127.0.0.1 and 127.0.0.2, the condition is
- false because 127.0.0.2 is not listed. You would need to have
+ acl-drop Another ACL issued a "drop" command
+ bad-commands Too many unknown or non-mail commands
+ command-timeout Timeout while reading SMTP commands
+ connection-lost The SMTP connection has been lost
+ data-timeout Timeout while reading message data
+ local-scan-error The local_scan() function crashed
+ local-scan-timeout The local_scan() function timed out
+ signal-exit SIGTERM or SIGINT
+ synchronization-error SMTP synchronization error
+ tls-failed TLS failed to start
- dnslists = a.b.c==127.0.0.1,127.0.0.2
+ In most cases when an SMTP connection is closed without having received
+ QUIT, Exim sends an SMTP response message before actually closing the
+ connection. With the exception of acl-drop, the default message can be
+ overridden by the "message" modifier in the NOTQUIT ACL. In the case of a
+ "drop" verb in another ACL, it is the message from the other ACL that is
+ used.
- for the condition to be true.
+10. For MySQL and PostgreSQL lookups, it is now possible to specify a list of
+ servers with individual queries. This is done by starting the query with
+ "servers=x:y:z;", where each item in the list may take one of two forms:
- When ! is used to negate IP address matching, it inverts the result, giving
- the precise opposite of the behaviour above. Thus:
+ (1) If it is just a host name, the appropriate global option (mysql_servers
+ or pgsql_servers) is searched for a host of the same name, and the
+ remaining parameters (database, user, password) are taken from there.
- . If != or !& is used, the condition is true if none of the looked up IP
- addresses matches one of the listed addresses. Consider:
+ (2) If it contains any slashes, it is taken as a complete parameter set.
- dnslists = a.b.c!&0.0.0.1
+ The list of servers is used in exactly the same was as the global list.
+ Once a connection to a server has happened and a query has been
+ successfully executed, processing of the lookup ceases.
- If the DNS lookup yields both 127.0.0.1 and 127.0.0.2, the condition is
- false because 127.0.0.1 matches.
+ This feature is intended for use in master/slave situations where updates
+ are occurring, and one wants to update a master rather than a slave. If the
+ masters are in the list for reading, you might have:
- . If !== or !=& is used, the condition is true there is at least one looked
- up IP address that does not match. Consider:
+ mysql_servers = slave1/db/name/pw:slave2/db/name/pw:master/db/name/pw
- dnslists = a.b.c!=&0.0.0.1
+ In an updating lookup, you could then write
- If the DNS lookup yields both 127.0.0.1 and 127.0.0.2, the condition is
- true, because 127.0.0.2 does not match. You would need to have
+ ${lookup mysql{servers=master; UPDATE ...}
- dnslists = a.b.c!=&0.0.0.1,0.0.0.2
+ If, on the other hand, the master is not to be used for reading lookups:
- for the condition to be false.
+ pgsql_servers = slave1/db/name/pw:slave2/db/name/pw
- When the DNS lookup yields only a single IP address, there is no difference
- between = and == and between & and =&.
+ you can still update the master by
+
+ ${lookup pgsql{servers=master/db/name/pw; UPDATE ...}
+
+11. The message_body_newlines option (default FALSE, for backwards
+ compatibility) can be used to control whether newlines are present in
+ $message_body and $message_body_end. If it is FALSE, they are replaced by
+ spaces.
+
+
+Version 4.67
+------------
+
+ 1. There is a new log selector called smtp_no_mail, which is not included in
+ the default setting. When it is set, a line is written to the main log
+ whenever an accepted SMTP connection terminates without having issued a
+ MAIL command.
+
+ 2. When an item in a dnslists list is followed by = and & and a list of IP
+ addresses, the behaviour was not clear when the lookup returned more than
+ one IP address. This has been solved by the addition of == and =& for "all"
+ rather than the default "any" matching.
3. Up till now, the only control over which cipher suites GnuTLS uses has been
for the cipher algorithms. New options have been added to allow some of the
- other parameters to be varied. Here is complete documentation for the
- available features:
-
- GnuTLS allows the caller to specify separate lists of permitted key
- exchange methods, main cipher algorithms, and MAC algorithms. These may be
- used in any combination to form a specific cipher suite. This is unlike
- OpenSSL, where complete cipher names can be passed to its control function.
- GnuTLS also allows a list of acceptable protocols to be supplied.
-
- For compatibility with OpenSSL, the tls_require_ciphers option can be set
- to complete cipher suite names such as RSA_ARCFOUR_SHA, but for GnuTLS this
- option controls only the cipher algorithms. Exim searches each item in the
- list for the name of an available algorithm. For example, if the list
- contains RSA_AES_SHA, then AES is recognized, and the behaviour is exactly
- the same as if just AES were given.
-
- There are additional options called gnutls_require_kx, gnutls_require_mac,
- and gnutls_require_protocols that can be used to restrict the key exchange
- methods, MAC algorithms, and protocols, respectively. These options are
- ignored if OpenSSL is in use.
-
- All four options are available as global options, controlling how Exim
- behaves as a server, and also as options of the smtp transport, controlling
- how Exim behaves as a client. All the values are string expanded. After
- expansion, the values must be colon-separated lists, though the separator
- can be changed in the usual way.
-
- Each of the four lists starts out with a default set of algorithms. If the
- first item in one of the "require" options does _not_ start with an
- exclamation mark, all the default items are deleted. In this case, only
- those that are explicitly specified can be used. If the first item in one
- of the "require" items _does_ start with an exclamation mark, the defaults
- are left on the list.
-
- Then, any item that starts with an exclamation mark causes the relevant
- entry to be removed from the list, and any item that does not start with an
- exclamation mark causes a new entry to be added to the list. Unrecognized
- items in the list are ignored. Thus:
-
- tls_require_ciphers = !ARCFOUR
-
- allows all the defaults except ARCFOUR, whereas
-
- tls_require_ciphers = AES : 3DES
-
- allows only cipher suites that use AES or 3DES. For tls_require_ciphers
- the recognized names are AES_256, AES_128, AES (both of the preceding),
- 3DES, ARCFOUR_128, ARCFOUR_40, and ARCFOUR (both of the preceding). The
- default list does not contain all of these; it just has AES_256, AES_128,
- 3DES, and ARCFOUR_128.
-
- For gnutls_require_kx, the recognized names are DHE_RSA, RSA (which
- includes DHE_RSA), DHE_DSS, and DHE (which includes both DHE_RSA and
- DHE_DSS). The default list contains RSA, DHE_DSS, DHE_RSA.
-
- For gnutls_require_mac, the recognized names are SHA (synonym SHA1), and
- MD5. The default list contains SHA, MD5.
-
- For gnutls_require_protocols, the recognized names are TLS1 and SSL3.
- The default list contains TLS1, SSL3.
-
- In a server, the order of items in these lists is unimportant. The server
- will advertise the availability of all the relevant cipher suites. However,
- in a client, the order in the tls_require_ciphers list specifies a
- preference order for the cipher algorithms. The first one in the client's
- list that is also advertised by the server is tried first.
-
- 4. There is a new compile-time option called ENABLE_DISABLE_FSYNC. You must
- not set this option unless you really, really, really understand what you
- are doing. No pre-compiled distributions of Exim should ever set this
- option. When it is set, Exim compiles a runtime option called
- disable_fsync. If this is set true, Exim no longer calls fsync() to force
- updated files' data to be written to disc. Unexpected events such as
- crashes and power outages may cause data to be lost or scrambled. Beware.
-
- When ENABLE_DISABLE_FSYNC is not set, a reference to disable_fsync in a
- runtime configuration generates an "unknown option" error.
-
- 5. There is a new variable called $smtp_count_at_connection_start. The name
- is deliberately long, in order to emphasize what the contents are. This
- variable is set greater than zero only in processes spawned by the Exim
- daemon for handling incoming SMTP connections. When the daemon accepts a
- new connection, it increments this variable. A copy of the variable is
- passed to the child process that handles the connection, but its value is
- fixed, and never changes. It is only an approximation of how many incoming
- connections there actually are, because many other connections may come and
- go while a single connection is being processed. When a child process
- terminates, the daemon decrements the variable.
-
- 6. There's a new control called no_pipelining, which does what its name
- suggests. It turns off the advertising of the PIPELINING extension to SMTP.
- To be useful, this control must be obeyed before Exim sends its response to
- an EHLO command. Therefore, it should normally appear in an ACL controlled
- by acl_smtp_connect or acl_smtp_helo.
+ other parameters to be varied.
- 7. There are two new variables called $sending_ip_address and $sending_port.
- These are set whenever an SMTP connection to another host has been set up,
- and they contain the IP address and port of the local interface that is
- being used. They are of interest only on hosts that have more than on IP
- address that want to take on different personalities depending on which one
- is being used.
+ 4. There is a new compile-time option called ENABLE_DISABLE_FSYNC. When it is
+ set, Exim compiles a runtime option called disable_fsync.
- 8. The expansion of the helo_data option in the smtp transport now happens
- after the connection to the server has been made. This means that it can
- use the value of $sending_ip_address (see 7 above) to vary the text of the
- message. For example, if you want the string that is used for helo_data to
- be obtained by a DNS lookup of the interface address, you could use this:
+ 5. There is a new variable called $smtp_count_at_connection_start.
- helo_data = ${lookup dnsdb{ptr=$sending_ip_address}{$value}\
- {$primary_hostname}}
+ 6. There's a new control called no_pipelining.
- The use of helo_data applies both to sending messages and when doing
- callouts.
+ 7. There are two new variables called $sending_ip_address and $sending_port.
+ These are set whenever an SMTP connection to another host has been set up.
+
+ 8. The expansion of the helo_data option in the smtp transport now happens
+ after the connection to the server has been made.
9. There is a new expansion operator ${rfc2047d: that decodes strings that
- are encoded as per RFC 2047. Binary zero bytes are replaced by question
- marks. Characters are converted into the character set defined by
- headers_charset. Overlong RFC 2047 "words" are not recognized unless
- check_rfc2047_length is set false.
+ are encoded as per RFC 2047.
10. There is a new log selector called "pid", which causes the current process
id to be added to every log line, in square brackets, immediately after the
time and date.
11. Exim has been modified so that it flushes SMTP output before implementing
- a delay in an ACL. This behaviour can be disabled by obeying control =
- no_delay_flush at some earlier point.
+ a delay in an ACL. It also flushes the output before performing a callout,
+ as this can take a substantial time. These behaviours can be disabled by
+ obeying control = no_delay_flush or control = no_callout_flush,
+ respectively, at some earlier stage of the connection.
12. There are two new expansion conditions that iterate over a list. They are
- called forany and forall, and they are used like this:
-
- ${if forany{<a list>}{<a condition>}{<yes-string>}{<no-string>}}
- ${if forall{<a list>}{<a condition>}{<yes-string>}{<no-string>}}
+ called forany and forall.
- The first argument is expanded, and the result is treated as a list. By
- default, the list separator is a colon, but it can be changed by the normal
- method. The second argument is interpreted as a condition that is to be
- applied to each item in the list in turn. During the interpretation of the
- condition, the current list item is placed in a variable called $item.
-
- - For forany, interpretation stops if the condition is true for any item,
- and the yes-string is then expanded. If the condition is false for all
- items in the list, the no-string is expanded.
-
- - For forall, interpration stops if the condition is false for any item,
- and the no-string is then expanded. If the condition is true for all
- items in the list, the yes-string is expanded.
+13. There's a new global option called dsn_from that can be used to vary the
+ contents of From: lines in bounces and other automatically generated
+ messages ("delivery status notifications" - hence the name of the option).
- 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.
+14. The smtp transport has a new option called hosts_avoid_pipelining.
- In this example, the list separator is changed to a comma:
+15. By default, exigrep does case-insensitive matches. There is now a -I option
+ that makes it case-sensitive.
- ${if forany{<, $recipients}{match{$item}{^user3@}}{yes}{no}}
+16. A number of new features ("addresses", "map", "filter", and "reduce") have
+ been added to string expansions to make it easier to process lists of
+ items, typically addresses.
- Outside a forany/forall condition, the value of $item is an empty string.
- Its value is saved and restored while forany/forall is being processed, to
- enable these expansion items to be nested.
+17. There's a new ACL modifier called "continue". It does nothing of itself,
+ and processing of the ACL always continues with the next condition or
+ modifier. It is provided so that the side effects of expanding its argument
+ can be used.
-13. There's a new global option called dsn_from that can be used to vary the
- contents of From: lines in bounces and other automatically generated
- messages ("delivery status notifications" - hence the name of the option).
- The default setting is:
+18. It is now possible to use newline and other control characters (those with
+ values less than 32, plus DEL) as separators in lists.
- dsn_from = Mail Delivery System <Mailer-Daemon@$qualify_domain>
+19. The exigrep utility now has a -v option, which inverts the matching
+ condition.
- The value is expanded every time it is needed. If the expansion fails, a
- panic is logged, and the default setting is used.
+20. The host_find_failed option in the manualroute router can now be set to
+ "ignore".
Version 4.66