. Update the Copyright year (only) when changing content.
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-.set previousversion "4.92"
+.set previousversion "4.93"
.include ./local_params
.set ACL "access control lists (ACLs)"
.set I " "
.macro copyyear
-2018
+2019
.endmacro
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
.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 this 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
.section "Including TLS/SSL encryption support" "SECTinctlsssl"
.cindex "TLS" "including support for TLS"
.cindex "encryption" "including support for"
-.cindex "SUPPORT_TLS"
.cindex "OpenSSL" "building Exim with"
.cindex "GnuTLS" "building Exim with"
-Exim can be built to support encrypted SMTP connections, using the STARTTLS
-command as per RFC 2487. It can also support legacy clients that expect to
+Exim is usually built to support encrypted SMTP connections, using the STARTTLS
+command as per RFC 2487. It can also support clients that expect to
start a TLS session immediately on connection to a non-standard port (see the
&%tls_on_connect_ports%& runtime option and the &%-tls-on-connect%& command
line option).
OpenSSL or GnuTLS library. There is no cryptographic code in Exim itself for
implementing SSL.
+If you do not want TLS support you should set
+.code
+DISABLE_TLS=yes
+.endd
+in &_Local/Makefile_&.
+
If OpenSSL is installed, you should set
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
+USE_OPENSL=yes
TLS_LIBS=-lssl -lcrypto
.endd
in &_Local/Makefile_&. You may also need to specify the locations of the
OpenSSL library and include files. For example:
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
+USE_OPENSSL=yes
TLS_LIBS=-L/usr/local/openssl/lib -lssl -lcrypto
TLS_INCLUDE=-I/usr/local/openssl/include/
.endd
.cindex "pkg-config" "OpenSSL"
If you have &'pkg-config'& available, then instead you can just use:
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
+USE_OPENSSL=yes
USE_OPENSSL_PC=openssl
.endd
.cindex "USE_GNUTLS"
If GnuTLS is installed, you should set
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
USE_GNUTLS=yes
TLS_LIBS=-lgnutls -ltasn1 -lgcrypt
.endd
in &_Local/Makefile_&, and again you may need to specify the locations of the
library and include files. For example:
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
USE_GNUTLS=yes
TLS_LIBS=-L/usr/gnu/lib -lgnutls -ltasn1 -lgcrypt
TLS_INCLUDE=-I/usr/gnu/include
.cindex "pkg-config" "GnuTLS"
If you have &'pkg-config'& available, then instead you can just use:
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
USE_GNUTLS=yes
USE_GNUTLS_PC=gnutls
.endd
Bounce messages are just discarded. This option can be used only by an admin
user.
+.vitem &%-MG%&&~<&'queue&~name'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
+.oindex "&%-MG%&"
+.cindex queue named
+.cindex "named queues"
+.cindex "queue" "moving messages"
+This option requests that each listed message be moved from its current
+queue to the given named queue.
+The destination queue name argument is required, but can be an empty
+string to define the default queue.
+If the messages are not currently located in the default queue,
+a &%-qG<name>%& option will be required to define the source queue.
+
.vitem &%-Mmad%&&~<&'message&~id'&>&~<&'message&~id'&>&~...
.oindex "&%-Mmad%&"
.cindex "delivery" "cancelling all"
without &%-bd%&, this is the only way of causing Exim to write a pid file,
because in those cases, the normal pid file is not used.
+.new
+.vitem &%-oPX%&
+.oindex "&%-oPX%&"
+.cindex "pid (process id)" "of daemon"
+.cindex "daemon" "process id (pid)"
+This option is not intended for general use.
+The daemon uses it when terminating due to a SIGTEM, possibly in
+combination with &%-oP%&&~<&'path'&>.
+It causes the pid file to be removed.
+.wen
+
.vitem &%-or%&&~<&'time'&>
.oindex "&%-or%&"
.cindex "timeout" "for non-SMTP input"
domains = ! +local_domains
transport = remote_smtp
ignore_target_hosts = 0.0.0.0 : 127.0.0.0/8
-.ifdef _HAVE_DNSSEC
- dnssec_request_domains = *
-.endif
no_more
.endd
The &%domains%& option behaves as per smarthost, above.
remote_smtp:
driver = smtp
message_size_limit = ${if > {$max_received_linelength}{998} {1}{0}}
-.ifdef _HAVE_DANE
- hosts_try_dane = *
-.endif
.ifdef _HAVE_PRDR
hosts_try_prdr = *
.endif
This transport is used for delivering messages over SMTP connections.
The list of remote hosts comes from the router.
The &%message_size_limit%& usage is a hack to avoid sending on messages
-with over-long lines. The built-in macro _HAVE_DANE guards configuration
-to use DANE for delivery;
-see section &<<SECDANE>>& for more details.
+with over-long lines.
The &%hosts_try_prdr%& option enables an efficiency SMTP option. It is
negotiated between client and server and not expected to cause problems
tools for building the files can be found in several places:
.display
&url(https://cr.yp.to/cdb.html)
-&url(http://www.corpit.ru/mjt/tinycdb.html)
+&url(https://www.corpit.ru/mjt/tinycdb.html)
&url(https://packages.debian.org/stable/utils/freecdb)
&url(https://github.com/philpennock/cdbtools) (in Go)
.endd
-. --- 2018-09-07: corpit.ru http:-only
A cdb distribution is not needed in order to build Exim with cdb support,
because the code for reading cdb files is included directly in Exim itself.
However, no means of building or testing cdb files is provided with Exim, so
the implicit key is the host's IP address rather than its name (see section
&<<SECThoslispatsikey>>&).
-.new
&*Warning 3*&: Do not use an IPv4-mapped IPv6 address for a key; use the
IPv4, in dotted-quad form. (Exim converts IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses to this
notation before executing the lookup.)
-.wen
.next
-.new
.cindex lookup json
.cindex json "lookup type"
.cindex JSON expansions
or array; for the latter two a string-representation os the JSON
is returned.
For elements of type string, the returned value is de-quoted.
-.wen
.next
.cindex "linear search"
.cindex "lookup" "lsearch"
With &"strict"& a response from the DNS resolver that
is not labelled as authenticated data
is treated as equivalent to a temporary DNS error.
-The default is &"never"&.
+The default is &"lax"&.
See also the &$lookup_dnssec_authenticated$& variable.
(notated using the quoting facility) so as to distinguish them from IPv4 keys.
For this reason, when the lookup type is &(iplsearch)&, IPv6 addresses are
converted using colons and not dots.
-.new
In all cases except IPv4-mapped IPv6, full, unabbreviated IPv6
addresses are always used.
The latter are converted to IPv4 addresses, in dotted-quad form.
-.wen
Ideally, it would be nice to tidy up this anomalous situation by changing to
colons in all cases, given that quoting is now available for &(lsearch)&.
the data type. ACL rules always expand strings. A couple of expansion
conditions do not expand some of the brace-delimited branches, for security
reasons,
-.new
.cindex "tainted data" expansion
.cindex expansion "tainted data"
and expansion of data deriving from the sender (&"tainted data"&)
is not permitted.
-.wen
object so that it doesn't reload the same object file in the same Exim process
(but of course Exim does start new processes frequently).
-There may be from zero to eight arguments to the function. When compiling
-a local function that is to be called in this way, &_local_scan.h_& should be
-included. The Exim variables and functions that are defined by that API
+There may be from zero to eight arguments to the function.
+
+When compiling
+a local function that is to be called in this way,
+first &_DLFUNC_IMPL_& should be defined,
+and second &_local_scan.h_& should be included.
+The Exim variables and functions that are defined by that API
are also available for dynamically loaded functions. The function itself
must have the following type:
.code
For the &"json"& variant,
if a returned value is a JSON string, it retains its leading and
trailing quotes.
-.new
For the &"jsons"& variant, which is intended for use with JSON strings, the
leading and trailing quotes are removed from the returned value.
-.wen
. XXX should be a UTF-8 compare
The results of matching are handled as above.
For the &"json"& variant,
if a returned value is a JSON string, it retains its leading and
trailing quotes.
-.new
For the &"jsons"& variant, which is intended for use with JSON strings, the
leading and trailing quotes are removed from the returned value.
-.wen
.vitem &*${filter{*&<&'string'&>&*}{*&<&'condition'&>&*}}*&
If the string is a single variable of type certificate,
returns the SHA-256 hash fingerprint of the certificate.
-.new
The operator can also be spelled &%sha2%& and does the same as &%sha256%&
(except for certificates, which are not supported).
Finally, if an underbar
and a number is appended it specifies the output length, selecting a
member of the SHA-2 family of hash functions.
Values of 256, 384 and 512 are accepted, with 256 being the default.
-.wen
.vitem &*${sha3:*&<&'string'&>&*}*& &&&
To scan a named list, expand it with the &*listnamed*& operator.
-.new
.vitem "&*forall_json{*&<&'a JSON array'&>&*}{*&<&'a condition'&>&*}*&" &&&
"&*forany_json{*&<&'a JSON array'&>&*}{*&<&'a condition'&>&*}*&" &&&
"&*forall_jsons{*&<&'a JSON array'&>&*}{*&<&'a condition'&>&*}*&" &&&
The array separator is not changeable.
For the &"jsons"& variants the elements are expected to be JSON strings
and have their quotes removed before the evaluation of the condition.
-.wen
.vindex "&$config_file$&"
The name of the main configuration file Exim is using.
-.new
.vitem &$dmarc_domain_policy$& &&&
&$dmarc_status$& &&&
&$dmarc_status_text$& &&&
&$dmarc_used_domains$&
Results of DMARC verification.
For details see section &<<SECDMARC>>&.
-.wen
.vitem &$dkim_verify_status$&
Results of DKIM verification.
.cindex queues named
The name of the spool queue in use; empty for the default queue.
-.new
.vitem &$r_...$&
.vindex &$r_...$&
.cindex router variables
They can be given any name that starts with &$r_$&.
The values persist for the address being handled through subsequent routers
and the eventual transport.
-.wen
.vitem &$rcpt_count$&
.vindex "&$rcpt_count$&"
&*Note*&: Under versions of OpenSSL preceding 1.1.1,
when a list of more than one
file is used for &%tls_certificate%&, this variable is not reliable.
+The macro "_TLS_BAD_MULTICERT_IN_OURCERT" will be defined for those versions.
.vitem &$tls_in_peercert$&
.vindex "&$tls_in_peercert$&"
but in the context of an outward SMTP delivery taking place via the &(smtp)& transport
becomes the same as &$tls_out_cipher$&.
-.new
.vitem &$tls_in_cipher_std$&
.vindex "&$tls_in_cipher_std$&"
As above, but returning the RFC standard name for the cipher suite.
-.wen
.vitem &$tls_out_cipher$&
.vindex "&$tls_out_cipher$&"
&<<CHAPTLS>>& for details of TLS support and chapter &<<CHAPsmtptrans>>& for
details of the &(smtp)& transport.
-,new
.vitem &$tls_out_cipher_std$&
.vindex "&$tls_out_cipher_std$&"
As above, but returning the RFC standard name for the cipher suite.
-.wen
.vitem &$tls_out_dane$&
.vindex &$tls_out_dane$&
.vindex &$tls_out_tlsa_usage$&
Bitfield of TLSA record types found. See section &<<SECDANE>>&.
+.vitem &$tls_in_ver$&
+.vindex "&$tls_in_ver$&"
+When a message is received from a remote host over an encrypted SMTP connection
+this variable is set to the protocol version, eg &'TLS1.2'&.
+
+.vitem &$tls_out_ver$&
+.vindex "&$tls_out_ver$&"
+When a message is being delivered to a remote host over an encrypted SMTP connection
+this variable is set to the protocol version.
+
+
.vitem &$tod_bsdinbox$&
.vindex "&$tod_bsdinbox$&"
The time of day and the date, in the format required for BSD-style mailbox
.option add_environment main "string list" empty
.cindex "environment" "set values"
-This option allows to set individual environment variables that the
-currently linked libraries and programs in child processes use.
+This option adds individual environment variables that the
+currently linked libraries and programs in child processes may use.
+Each list element should be of the form &"name=value"&.
+
See &<<SECTpipeenv>>& for the environment of &(pipe)& transports.
.option admin_groups main "string list&!!" unset
UTF-8 multicharacters to appear in domain name components, in addition to
letters, digits, and hyphens.
-.new
If Exim is built with internationalization support
and the SMTPUTF8 ESMTP option is in use (see chapter &<<CHAPi18n>>&)
this option can be left as default.
-.wen
Without that,
if you want to look up such domain names in the DNS, you must also
adjust the value of &%dns_check_names_pattern%& to match the extended form. A
.new
-.option dkim_verify_hashes main "string list" "sha256 : sha512 : sha1"
+.option dkim_verify_hashes main "string list" "sha256 : sha512"
.cindex DKIM "selecting signature algorithms"
This option gives a list of hash types which are acceptable in signatures,
+.wen
and an order of processing.
Signatures with algorithms not in the list will be ignored.
-Note that the presence of sha1 violates RFC 8301.
-Signatures using the rsa-sha1 are however (as of writing) still common.
-The default inclusion of sha1 may be dropped in a future release.
+Acceptable values include:
+.code
+sha1
+sha256
+sha512
+.endd
+
+Note that the acceptance of sha1 violates RFC 8301.
.option dkim_verify_keytypes main "string list" "ed25519 : rsa"
This option gives a list of key types which are acceptable in signatures,
.option dkim_verify_minimal main boolean false
If set to true, verification of signatures will terminate after the
first success.
-.wen
.option dkim_verify_signers main "domain list&!!" $dkim_signers
.cindex DKIM "controlling calls to the ACL"
This is a fudge to help with name servers that give big delays or otherwise do
not work for the AAAA record type. In due course, when the world's name
servers have all been upgraded, there should be no need for this option.
-.new
Note that all lookups, including those done for verification, are affected;
this will result in verify failure for IPv6 connections or ones using names
only valid for IPv6 addresses.
-.wen
.option dns_retrans main time 0s
.cindex "Exim version"
.cindex customizing "version number"
.cindex "version number of Exim" override
-This option allows to override the &$version_number$&/&$exim_version$& Exim reports in
-various places. Use with care, this may fool stupid security scanners.
+This option overrides the &$version_number$&/&$exim_version$& that Exim reports in
+various places. Use with care; this may fool stupid security scanners.
.option extra_local_interfaces main "string list" unset
name. If no specific path is set for the log files at compile or runtime,
or if the option is unset at runtime (i.e. &`log_file_path = `&)
they are written in a sub-directory called &_log_& in Exim's spool directory.
-.new
A path must start with a slash.
To send to syslog, use the word &"syslog"&.
-.wen
Chapter &<<CHAPlog>>& contains further details about Exim's logging, and
section &<<SECTwhelogwri>>& describes how the contents of &%log_file_path%& are
used. If this string is fixed at your installation (contains no expansion
transport driver.
-.option openssl_options main "string list" "+no_sslv2 +no_sslv3 +single_dh_use +no_ticket"
+.option openssl_options main "string list" "+no_sslv2 +no_sslv3 +single_dh_use +no_ticket +no_renegotiation"
.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,
This option is available only when Exim is built with an embedded Perl
interpreter. See chapter &<<CHAPperl>>& for details of its use.
-.option perl_startup main boolean false
+.option perl_taintmode main boolean false
.cindex "Perl"
-This Option enables the taint mode of the embedded Perl interpreter.
+This option enables the taint mode of the embedded Perl interpreter.
.option pgsql_servers main "string list" unset
that clients will use it; &"out of order"& commands that are &"expected"& do
not count as protocol errors (see &%smtp_max_synprot_errors%&).
-.new
.option pipelining_connect_advertise_hosts main "host list&!!" *
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
.cindex "pipelining" PIPE_CONNECT
See also the &%hosts_pipe_connect%& smtp transport option.
Currently the option name &"X_PIPE_CONNECT"& is used.
-.wen
.option prdr_enable main boolean false
added to the message. Otherwise, the string should start with the text
&"Received:"& and conform to the RFC 2822 specification for &'Received:'&
header lines.
-.new
The default setting is:
.code
${if def:sender_helo_name {(helo=$sender_helo_name)\n\t}}}}\
by $primary_hostname \
${if def:received_protocol {with $received_protocol }}\
+ ${if def:tls_ver { ($tls_ver)}}\
${if def:tls_in_cipher_std { tls $tls_in_cipher_std\n\t}}\
(Exim $version_number)\n\t\
${if def:sender_address \
id $message_exim_id\
${if def:received_for {\n\tfor $received_for}}
.endd
-.wen
The reference to the TLS cipher is omitted when Exim is built without TLS
support. The use of conditional expansions ensures that this works for both
&%sender_unqualified_hosts%&, or if the message was submitted locally (not
using TCP/IP), and the &%-bnq%& option was not set.
-.option add_environment main "string list" empty
-.cindex "environment"
-This option allows to add individual environment variables that the
-currently linked libraries and programs in child processes use. The
-default list is empty.
-
.option slow_lookup_log main integer 0
.cindex "logging" "slow lookups"
&*Note*&: Under versions of OpenSSL preceding 1.1.1,
when a list of more than one
file is used, the &$tls_in_ourcert$& variable is unreliable.
-
-&*Note*&: OCSP stapling is not usable under OpenSSL
-when a list of more than one file is used.
+The macro "_TLS_BAD_MULTICERT_IN_OURCERT" will be defined for those versions.
If the option contains &$tls_out_sni$& and Exim is built against OpenSSL, then
if the OpenSSL build supports TLS extensions and the TLS client sends the
The value of this option is expanded and indicates the source of DH parameters
to be used by Exim.
-.new
This option is ignored for GnuTLS version 3.6.0 and later.
The library manages parameter negotiation internally.
-.wen
&*Note: The Exim Maintainers strongly recommend,
for other TLS library versions,
Certificate Authority.
Usable for GnuTLS 3.4.4 or 3.3.17 or OpenSSL 1.1.0 (or later).
+The macro "_HAVE_TLS_OCSP" will be defined for those versions.
-.new
For OpenSSL 1.1.0 or later, and
-.wen
for GnuTLS 3.5.6 or later the expanded value of this option can be a list
of files, to match a list given for the &%tls_certificate%& option.
The ordering of the two lists must match.
+The macro "_HAVE_TLS_OCSP_LIST" will be defined for those versions.
-.new
The file(s) should be in DER format,
except for GnuTLS 3.6.3 or later
or for OpenSSL,
PEM blobs (ie. separate OCSP responses), it sends them in the
TLS Certificate record interleaved with the certificates of the chain;
although a GnuTLS client is happy with that, an OpenSSL client is not.
-.wen
.option tls_on_connect_ports main "string list" unset
.cindex SSMTP
This makes the configuration file less messy, and also reduces the number of
lookups (though Exim does cache lookups).
-.new
See also the &%set%& option below.
-.wen
.vindex "&$sender_address_data$&"
.vindex "&$address_data$&"
unless you really, really know what you are doing. See also the generic
transport option of the same name.
-.option dnssec_request_domains routers "domain list&!!" unset
+.option dnssec_request_domains routers "domain list&!!" *
.cindex "MX record" "security"
.cindex "DNSSEC" "MX lookup"
.cindex "security" "MX lookup"
This option controls whether the local part is used to form the key for retry
hints for addresses that suffer temporary errors while being handled by this
-.new
router. The default value is true for any router that has any of
&%check_local_user%&,
&%local_parts%&,
&%local_part_suffix%&,
&%senders%& or
&%require_files%&
-.wen
set, and false otherwise. Note that this option does not apply to hints keys
for transport delays; they are controlled by a generic transport option of the
same name.
matters.
-.new
.option set routers "string list" unset
.cindex router variables
This option may be used multiple times on a router;
The list separator is a semicolon but can be changed in the
usual way.
-Each list-element given must be of the form $"name = value"$
+Each list-element given must be of the form &"name = value"&
and the names used must start with the string &"r_"&.
Values containing a list-separator should have them doubled.
When a router runs, the strings are evaluated in order,
(not including any preconditions)
and by the transport.
Later definitions of a given named variable will override former ones.
-Varible use is via the usual &$r_...$& syntax.
+Variable use is via the usual &$r_...$& syntax.
This is similar to the &%address_data%& option, except that
many independent variables can be used, with choice of naming.
-.wen
.option translate_ip_address routers string&!! unset
Section &<<SECID136>>& contains further information.
-.new
This option should not be used when other message-handling software
may duplicate messages by making hardlinks to the files. When that is done Exim
will count the message size once for each filename, in contrast with the actual
disk usage. When the option is not set, calculating total usage requires
a system-call per file to get the size; the number of links is then available also
as is used to adjust the effective size.
-.wen
.option quota_warn_message appendfile string&!! "see below"
details.
-.option dnssec_request_domains smtp "domain list&!!" unset
+.option dnssec_request_domains smtp "domain list&!!" *
.cindex "MX record" "security"
.cindex "DNSSEC" "MX lookup"
.cindex "security" "MX lookup"
Exim will not use the SMTP PIPELINING extension when delivering to any host
that matches this list, even if the server host advertises PIPELINING support.
-.new
.option hosts_pipe_connect smtp "host list&!!" unset
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
.cindex "pipelining" PIPE_CONNECT
presence of a &"def:"& test on it, but suitably complex coding
can avoid the check and produce unexpected results.
You have been warned.
-.wen
.option hosts_avoid_tls smtp "host list&!!" unset
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&!!" unset
.cindex "TLS" "passing connection"
.cindex "multiple SMTP 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.
-.wen
The traditional implementation closes down TLS and re-starts it in the new
process, on the same open TCP connection, for each successive message
.cindex "RFC 3030" "CHUNKING"
This option provides a list of servers to which, provided they announce
CHUNKING support, Exim will attempt to use BDAT commands rather than DATA.
+.new
+Unless DKIM signing is being done,
+.wen
BDAT will not be used in conjunction with a transport filter.
.option hosts_try_dane smtp "host list&!!" *
the Cyrus SASL authentication library.
The third is an interface to Dovecot's authentication system, delegating the
work via a socket interface.
-.new
The fourth provides for negotiation of authentication done via non-SMTP means,
as defined by RFC 4422 Appendix A.
-.wen
The fifth provides an interface to the GNU SASL authentication library, which
provides mechanisms but typically not data sources.
The sixth provides direct access to Heimdal GSSAPI, geared for Kerberos, but
use unencrypted plain text, you should not use the same passwords for SMTP
connections as you do for login accounts.
-.section "Plaintext options" "SECID171"
+.section "Avoiding cleartext use" "SECTplain_TLS"
+The following generic option settings will disable &(plaintext)& authenticators when
+TLS is not being used:
+.code
+ server_advertise_condition = ${if def:tls_in_cipher }
+ client_condition = ${if def:tls_out_cipher}
+.endd
+
+&*Note*&: a plaintext SMTP AUTH done inside TLS is not vulnerable to casual snooping,
+but is still vulnerable to a Man In The Middle attack unless certificates
+(including their names) have been properly verified.
+
+.section "Plaintext server options" "SECID171"
.cindex "options" "&(plaintext)& authenticator (server)"
When configured as a server, &(plaintext)& uses the following options:
This is actually a global authentication option, but it must be set in order to
configure the &(plaintext)& driver as a server. Its use is described below.
-.option server_prompts plaintext string&!! unset
+.option server_prompts plaintext "string list&!!" unset
The contents of this option, after expansion, must be a colon-separated list of
prompt strings. If expansion fails, a temporary authentication rejection is
given.
non-issue, as a man-in-the-middle attack will cause the correct client and
server to see different identifiers and authentication will fail.
-This is currently only supported when using the GnuTLS library. This is
+.new
+This is
only usable by mechanisms which support "channel binding"; at time of
writing, that's the SCRAM family.
+.wen
This defaults off to ensure smooth upgrade across Exim releases, in case
this option causes some clients to start failing. Some future release
(which usually means the full set of public CAs)
and which has a mail-SAN matching the claimed identity sent by the client.
-Note that, up to TLS1.2, the client cert is on the wire in-clear, including the SAN,
+&*Note*&: up to TLS1.2, the client cert is on the wire in-clear, including the SAN.
The account name is therefore guessable by an opponent.
TLS 1.3 protects both server and client certificates, and is not vulnerable
in this way.
-Likewise, a traditional plaintext SMTP AUTH done inside TLS is not.
.section "Using external in a client" "SECTexternclient"
.section "OpenSSL vs GnuTLS" "SECTopenvsgnu"
.cindex "TLS" "OpenSSL &'vs'& GnuTLS"
-The first TLS support in Exim was implemented using OpenSSL. Support for GnuTLS
-followed later, when the first versions of GnuTLS were released. To build Exim
-to use GnuTLS, you need to set
+TLS is supported in Exim using either the OpenSSL or GnuTLS library.
+To build Exim to use OpenSSL you need to set
.code
-USE_GNUTLS=yes
+USE_OPENSSL=yes
.endd
-in Local/Makefile, in addition to
+in Local/Makefile.
+
+To build Exim to use GnuTLS, you need to set
.code
-SUPPORT_TLS=yes
+USE_GNUTLS=yes
.endd
+in Local/Makefile.
+
You must also set TLS_LIBS and TLS_INCLUDE appropriately, so that the
include files and libraries for GnuTLS can be found.
if it requests it. If the server is Exim, it will request a certificate only if
&%tls_verify_hosts%& or &%tls_try_verify_hosts%& matches the client.
-.new
-Do not use a certificate which has the OCSP-must-staple extension,
+&*Note*&: Do not use a certificate which has the OCSP-must-staple extension,
for client use (they are usable for server use).
-As TLS has no means for the client to staple before TLS 1.3 it will result
+As the TLS protocol has no means for the client to staple before TLS 1.3 it will result
in failed connections.
-.wen
If the &%tls_verify_certificates%& option is set on the &(smtp)& transport, it
specifies a collection of expected server certificates.
For client-side DANE there are three new smtp transport options, &%hosts_try_dane%&, &%hosts_require_dane%&
and &%dane_require_tls_ciphers%&.
-The require variant will result in failure if the target host is not
+The &"require"& variant will result in failure if the target host is not
DNSSEC-secured. To get DNSSEC-secured hostname resolution, use
the &%dnssec_request_domains%& router or transport option.
If DANE is not usable, whether requested or not, and CA-anchored
verification evaluation is wanted, the above variables should be set appropriately.
-Currently the (router or transport options) &%dnssec_request_domains%& must be active and &%dnssec_require_domains%& is ignored.
+The router and transport option &%dnssec_request_domains%& must not be
+set to &"never"&, and &%dnssec_require_domains%& is ignored.
If verification was successful using DANE then the "CV" item in the delivery log line will show as "CV=dane".
the operation and configuration of DKIM, see section &<<SECDKIM>>&.
+.vitem &*control&~=&~dmarc_disable_verify*&
+.cindex "disable DMARC verify"
+.cindex "DMARC" "disable verify"
+This control turns off DMARC verification processing entirely. For details on
+the operation and configuration of DMARC, see section &<<SECDMARC>>&.
+
+
.vitem &*control&~=&~dscp/*&<&'value'&>
.cindex "&ACL;" "setting DSCP value"
.cindex "DSCP" "inbound"
&'Resent-Cc:'& header lines exist, they are also checked. This condition can be
used only in a DATA or non-SMTP ACL.
-.new
There is one possible option, &`case_insensitive`&. If this is present then
local parts are checked case-insensitively.
-.wen
There are, of course, many legitimate messages that make use of blind (bcc)
recipients. This check should not be used on its own for blocking messages.
specialized interfaces for &"daemon"& type virus scanners, which are resident
in memory and thus are much faster.
-.new
Since message data needs to have arrived,
the condition may be only called in ACL defined by
&%acl_smtp_data%&,
&%acl_smtp_data_prdr%&,
&%acl_smtp_mime%& or
&%acl_smtp_dkim%&
-.wen
A timeout of 2 minutes is applied to a scanner call (by default);
if it expires then a defer action is taken.
HAVE_LOCAL_SCAN=yes
LOCAL_SCAN_SOURCE=Local/local_scan.c
.endd
-for example. The function must be called &[local_scan()]&. It is called by
+for example. The function must be called &[local_scan()]&;
+.new
+the source file(s) for it should first #define LOCAL_SCAN
+and then #include "local_scan.h".
+.wen
+It is called by
Exim after it has received a message, when the success return code is about to
be sent. This is after all the ACLs have been run. The return code from your
function controls whether the message is actually accepted or not. There is a
This function is used in conjunction with &'smtp_printf()'&, as described
below.
-.vitem &*void&~smtp_printf(char&~*,&~...)*&
-The arguments of this function are like &[printf()]&; it writes to the SMTP
+.vitem &*void&~smtp_printf(char&~*,BOOL,&~...)*&
+The arguments of this function are almost like &[printf()]&; it writes to the SMTP
output stream. You should use this function only when there is an SMTP output
stream, that is, when the incoming message is being received via interactive
SMTP. This is the case when &%smtp_input%& is TRUE and &%smtp_batched_input%&
If an SMTP TLS connection is established, &'smtp_printf()'& uses the TLS
output function, so it can be used for all forms of SMTP connection.
+The second argument is used to request that the data be buffered
+(when TRUE) or flushed (along with any previously buffered, when FALSE).
+This is advisory only, but likely to save on system-calls and packets
+sent when a sequence of calls to the function are made.
+
+The argument was added in Exim version 4.90 - changing the API/ABI.
+Nobody noticed until 4.93 was imminent, at which point the
+ABI version number was incremented.
+
Strings that are written by &'smtp_printf()'& from within &[local_scan()]&
must start with an appropriate response code: 550 if you are going to return
LOCAL_SCAN_REJECT, 451 if you are going to return
multiple output lines.
The &'smtp_printf()'& function does not return any error indication, because it
-does not automatically flush pending output, and therefore does not test
+does not
+guarantee a flush of
+pending output, and therefore does not test
the state of the stream. (In the main code of Exim, flushing and error
detection is done when Exim is ready for the next SMTP input command.) If
you want to flush the output and check for an error (for example, the
arguments. It flushes the output stream, and returns a non-zero value if there
is an error.
-.vitem &*void&~*store_get(int)*&
+.new
+.vitem &*void&~*store_get(int,BOOL)*&
This function accesses Exim's internal store (memory) manager. It gets a new
-chunk of memory whose size is given by the argument. Exim bombs out if it ever
+chunk of memory whose size is given by the first argument.
+The second argument should be given as TRUE if the memory will be used for
+data possibly coming from an attacker (eg. the message content),
+FALSE if it is locally-sourced.
+Exim bombs out if it ever
runs out of memory. See the next section for a discussion of memory handling.
+.wen
-.vitem &*void&~*store_get_perm(int)*&
+.vitem &*void&~*store_get_perm(int,BOOL)*&
This function is like &'store_get()'&, but it always gets memory from the
permanent pool. See the next section for a discussion of memory handling.
&%millisec%&: Timestamps have a period and three decimal places of finer granularity
appended to the seconds value.
.next
-.new
.cindex "log" "message id"
&%msg_id%&: The value of the Message-ID: header.
.next
This will be either because the message is a bounce, or was submitted locally
(submission mode) without one.
The field identifier will have an asterix appended: &"id*="&.
-.wen
.next
.cindex "log" "outgoing interface"
.cindex "log" "local interface"
On accept lines, where PIPELINING was offered but not used by the client,
the field has a minus appended.
-.new
.cindex "pipelining" "early connection"
If Exim is built with the SUPPORT_PIPE_CONNECT build option
accept "L" fields have a period appended if the feature was
offered but not used, or an asterisk appended if used.
Delivery "L" fields have an asterisk appended if used.
-.wen
.next
.cindex "log" "queue run"
.vitem &*-x*&
Match only non-frozen messages.
-.new
.vitem &*-G*&&~<&'queuename'&>
Match only messages in the given queue. Without this, the default queue is searched.
-.wen
.endlist
The following options control the format of the output:
certificate.
.endlist
-.new
Any of the above may have an extra hyphen prepended, to indicate the the
corresponding data is untrusted.
-.wen
Following the options there is a list of those addresses to which the message
is not to be delivered. This set of addresses is initialized from the command
The domain(s) you want to sign with.
After expansion, this can be a list.
Each element in turn,
-.new
lowercased,
-.wen
is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable
while expanding the remaining signing options.
If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done,
Signers SHOULD use RSA keys of at least 2048 bits.
.endd
-.new
EC keys for DKIM are defined by RFC 8463.
-.wen
They are considerably smaller than RSA keys for equivalent protection.
As they are a recent development, users should consider dual-signing
(by setting a list of selectors, and an expansion for this option)
certtool --load_privkey=dkim_ed25519.private --pubkey_info --outder | tail -c +13 | base64
.endd
-.new
Exim also supports an alternate format
of Ed25519 keys in DNS which was a candidate during development
of the standard, but not adopted.
A future release will probably drop that support.
-.wen
.option dkim_hash smtp string&!! sha256
Can be set to any one of the supported hash methods, which are:
Verification of DKIM signatures in SMTP incoming email is done for all
messages for which an ACL control &%dkim_disable_verify%& has not been set.
-.new
.cindex DKIM "selecting signature algorithms"
Individual classes of signature algorithm can be ignored by changing
the main options &%dkim_verify_hashes%& or &%dkim_verify_keytypes%&.
The &%dkim_verify_minimal%& option can be set to cease verification
processing for a message once the first passing signature is found.
-.wen
.cindex authentication "expansion item"
Performing verification sets up information used by the
&%authresults%& expansion item.
-.new
For most purposes the default option settings suffice and the remainder
of this section can be ignored.
-.wen
The results of verification are made available to the
&%acl_smtp_dkim%& ACL, which can examine and modify them.
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
Note that if the option is set using untrustworthy data
(such as the From: header)
care should be taken to force lowercase for domains
and for the domain part if identities.
The default setting can be regarded as trustworthy in this respect.
-.wen
If multiple signatures match a domain (or identity), the ACL is called once
for each matching signature.
To enforce this you must either have a DKIM ACL which checks this variable
and overwrites the &$dkim_verify_status$& variable as discussed above,
-.new
or have set the main option &%dkim_verify_hashes%& to exclude
processing of such signatures.
-.wen
.vitem &%$dkim_canon_body%&
The body canonicalization method. One of 'relaxed' or 'simple'.
SPF is a mechanism whereby a domain may assert which IP addresses may transmit
messages with its domain in the envelope from, documented by RFC 7208.
-For more information on SPF see &url(http://www.openspf.org).
-. --- 2018-09-07: still not https
+For more information on SPF see &url(http://www.open-spf.org), a static copy of
+the &url(http://openspf.org).
+. --- 2019-10-28: still not https, open-spf.org is told to be a
+. --- web-archive copy of the now dead openspf.org site
+. --- See https://www.mail-archive.com/mailop@mailop.org/msg08019.html for a
+. --- discussion.
Messages sent by a system not authorised will fail checking of such assertions.
This includes retransmissions done by traditional forwarders.
message = $sender_host_address is not allowed to send mail from \
${if def:sender_address_domain \
{$sender_address_domain}{$sender_helo_name}}. \
- Please see http://www.openspf.org/Why?scope=\
+ Please see http://www.open-spf.org/Why?scope=\
${if def:sender_address_domain {mfrom}{helo}};\
identity=${if def:sender_address_domain \
{$sender_address}{$sender_helo_name}};\
"Best-guess". Strictly speaking, "Best-guess" is not standard
SPF, but it is supported by the same framework that enables SPF
capability.
-Refer to &url(http://www.openspf.org/FAQ/Best_guess_record)
+Refer to &url(http://www.open-spf.org/FAQ/Best_guess_record)
for a description of what it means.
-. --- 2018-09-07: still not https:
+. --- 2019-10-28: still not https:
To access this feature, simply use the spf_guess condition in place
of the spf one. For example:
.cindex lookup spf
A lookup expansion is also available. It takes an email
address as the key and an IP address
-.new
(v4 or v6)
-.wen
as the database:
.code
-.new
.section DMARC SECDMARC
.cindex DMARC verification
For building Exim yourself, obtain the library from
&url(http://sourceforge.net/projects/opendmarc/)
-to obtain a copy, or find it in your favorite rpm package
+to obtain a copy, or find it in your favorite package
repository. You will need to attend to the local/Makefile feature
SUPPORT_DMARC and the associated LDFLAGS addition.
This description assumes
from a link at &url(https://publicsuffix.org/list/, currently pointing
at https://publicsuffix.org/list/public_suffix_list.dat)
See also util/renew-opendmarc-tlds.sh script.
-The default for the option is /etc/exim/opendmarc.tlds.
+.new
+The default for the option is unset.
+If not set, DMARC processing is disabled.
+.wen
The &%dmarc_history_file%& option, if set
status of messages coming from remote, untrusted sources. You can
use standard conditions such as hosts, senders, etc, to decide that
DMARC verification should *not* be performed for them and disable
-DMARC with a control setting:
+DMARC with an ACL control modifier:
.code
control = dmarc_disable_verify
.endd
be subscribed to, etc). You must configure exim to submit forensic
reports to the owner of the domain. If the DMARC record contains a
forensic address and you specify the control statement below, then
-exim will send these forensic emails. It's also advised that you
-configure a dmarc_forensic_sender because the default sender address
+exim will send these forensic emails. It is also advised that you
+configure a &%dmarc_forensic_sender%& because the default sender address
construction might be inadequate.
.code
control = dmarc_enable_forensic
.endd
(AGAIN: You can choose not to send these forensic reports by simply
not putting the dmarc_enable_forensic control line at any point in
-your exim config. If you don't tell it to send them, it will not
+your exim config. If you don't tell exim to send them, it will not
send them.)
There are no options to either control. Both must appear before
. subsection
DMARC checks cam be run on incoming SMTP messages by using the
-"dmarc_status" ACL condition in the DATA ACL. You are required to
-call the "spf" condition first in the ACLs, then the "dmarc_status"
+&"dmarc_status"& ACL condition in the DATA ACL. You are required to
+call the &"spf"& condition first in the ACLs, then the &"dmarc_status"&
condition. Putting this condition in the ACLs is required in order
for a DMARC check to actually occur. All of the variables are set
up before the DATA ACL, but there is no actual DMARC check that
-occurs until a "dmarc_status" condition is encountered in the ACLs.
+occurs until a &"dmarc_status"& condition is encountered in the ACLs.
-The dmarc_status condition takes a list of strings on its
+The &"dmarc_status"& condition takes a list of strings on its
right-hand side. These strings describe recommended action based
on the DMARC check. To understand what the policy recommendations
mean, refer to the DMARC website above. Valid strings are:
processed, and you can use them in this ACL. The following
expansion variables are available:
-&$dmarc_status$&
+.vlist
+.vitem &$dmarc_status$&
.vindex &$dmarc_status$&
.cindex DMARC result
-is a one word status indicating what the DMARC library
+A one word status indicating what the DMARC library
thinks of the email. It is a combination of the results of
DMARC record lookup and the SPF/DKIM/DMARC processing results
(if a DMARC record was found). The actual policy declared
in the DMARC record is in a separate expansion variable.
-&$dmarc_status_text$&
+.vitem &$dmarc_status_text$&
.vindex &$dmarc_status_text$&
-is a slightly longer, human readable status.
+Slightly longer, human readable status.
-&$dmarc_used_domain$&
+.vitem &$dmarc_used_domain$&
.vindex &$dmarc_used_domain$&
-is the domain which DMARC used to look up the DMARC policy record.
+The domain which DMARC used to look up the DMARC policy record.
-&$dmarc_domain_policy$&
+.vitem &$dmarc_domain_policy$&
.vindex &$dmarc_domain_policy$&
-is the policy declared in the DMARC record. Valid values
+The policy declared in the DMARC record. Valid values
are "none", "reject" and "quarantine". It is blank when there
is any error, including no DMARC record.
+.endlist
. subsection
In order to log statistics suitable to be imported by the opendmarc
tools, you need to:
.ilist
-Configure the global setting dmarc_history_file
+Configure the global option &%dmarc_history_file%&
.next
Configure cron jobs to call the appropriate opendmarc history
import scripts and truncating the dmarc_history_file
In order to send forensic reports, you need to:
.ilist
-Configure the global setting dmarc_forensic_sender
+Configure the global option &%dmarc_forensic_sender%&
.next
Configure, somewhere before the DATA ACL, the control option to
enable sending DMARC forensic reports
warn add_header = :at_start:${authresults {$primary_hostname}}
.endd
-.wen
.display
&`dane:fail after transport `& per connection
&`msg:complete after main `& per message
+&`msg:defer after transport `& per message per delivery try
&`msg:delivery after transport `& per recipient
&`msg:rcpt:host:defer after transport `& per recipient per host
&`msg:rcpt:defer after transport `& per recipient
-&`msg:host:defer after transport `& per attempt
+&`msg:host:defer after transport `& per host per delivery try; host errors
&`msg:fail:delivery after transport `& per recipient
&`msg:fail:internal after main `& per recipient
&`tcp:connect before transport `& per connection
with the event type:
.display
&`dane:fail `& failure reason
+&`msg:defer `& error string
&`msg:delivery `& smtp confirmation message
&`msg:fail:internal `& failure reason
&`msg:fail:delivery `& smtp error message
+&`msg:host:defer `& error string
&`msg:rcpt:host:defer `& error string
&`msg:rcpt:defer `& error string
-&`msg:host:defer `& error string
&`tls:cert `& verification chain depth
&`smtp:connect `& smtp banner
&`smtp:ehlo `& smtp ehlo response